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Favell Lee Mortimer
Favell Lee Mortimer (July 14, 1802 – August 22, 1878) was a British author and educator whose evangelical writings preached salvation and moral instruction to children across the 19th century. Born in London, England, to David Bevan, a Barclays bank co-founder, and Favell Bourke Lee, she was the third of eight children in a wealthy Quaker family that moved to Hale End, Walthamstow, when she was six. Raised under evangelical influences like Rev. George Collison, she oversaw religious education on her father’s estates in Wiltshire and East Barnet, deepening her faith after a conversion in 1827. Mortimer’s preaching career took shape through her pen after marrying Rev. Thomas Mortimer in 1841, a popular London preacher whose ministry she supported until his death in 1850. Her sermons emerged in best-selling books like The Peep of Day (1833), which sold over 500,000 copies and was translated into 37 languages, delivering simple gospel truths to young minds with a stern emphasis on sin and hell. Works like Line Upon Line and More About Jesus extended her reach, blending education with evangelistic zeal, while later geographic titles like Near Home reflected her moral worldview. Widowed, she adopted a son, Lethbridge Charles E. Moore, and died at age 76 in West Runton, Norfolk, England.
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Favell Lee Mortimer preaches about the identity of the Word spoken of in the verses, emphasizing that He is the Son of God who reveals the unseen Father to us. The Son and the Father are distinct persons yet one God, as the Son was with the Father from the beginning and is declared to be the Creator of all things. Jesus Christ is not a mere creature but the giver of life, both natural and spiritual, and the Light that shines into the darkness of men's hearts, offering salvation and enlightenment.
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John 1:1-5. the Word
Who is the Word spoken of in these verses? He is the Son of God. He is called the WORD, because he makes God his Father known to us. How is it that our thoughts are made known to our fellow creatures? By our words. Thus the unseen Father is made known to men by his Son Jesus Christ. No man can know the Father, but by the Son. The Son and the Father are distinct persons, for it is written in the first verse, "The Word was with God;" that is, the Son was with the Father. Yet the Son and the Father are one God, for it is added, "The Word was God." But even if we had not found this sentence, "The Word was God," we would have known that he was God, by the things that are said of him in the following verses. First, it is declared that he was from the beginning with God. Now God is the First, and if the Son of God is from everlasting, then he is First, and he must be God. Again it is declared that all things were made by him. Thus we know the Son is the Creator of the world. He cannot then be a creature; for no creature can "create." God alone can create. Then again it is said, He is the "Life." He gives life. All the angels in heaven cannot give life to the smallest insect, or even to the lowest flower—but the Son can give life to the creatures he has made; not only natural life, but spiritual and eternal life. Lastly, it is declared that he is the Light of men—a brighter light than the sun, a light which shines into the heart and enlightens the dark mind. And what is MAN called? Observe the name that is given to him. He is called "Darkness." In verse the fifth it is written, "The light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehends it not." Ever since Satan, the prince of darkness, tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, the minds of men have been dark; they have neither known what is right, nor loved what is good. Christ came into the world to bring light to the dark minds of men. But alas! how few receive him! Most people are so much pleased with the trifles of time, or so much taken up with the cares of the world, that they turn away from the Son of God. This blessed book which we hold in our hands tells us about Him. Does not each of us wish to be happy forever? Then let us listen attentively, and let us entreat God to give us faith that we may believe and be saved.
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Favell Lee Mortimer (July 14, 1802 – August 22, 1878) was a British author and educator whose evangelical writings preached salvation and moral instruction to children across the 19th century. Born in London, England, to David Bevan, a Barclays bank co-founder, and Favell Bourke Lee, she was the third of eight children in a wealthy Quaker family that moved to Hale End, Walthamstow, when she was six. Raised under evangelical influences like Rev. George Collison, she oversaw religious education on her father’s estates in Wiltshire and East Barnet, deepening her faith after a conversion in 1827. Mortimer’s preaching career took shape through her pen after marrying Rev. Thomas Mortimer in 1841, a popular London preacher whose ministry she supported until his death in 1850. Her sermons emerged in best-selling books like The Peep of Day (1833), which sold over 500,000 copies and was translated into 37 languages, delivering simple gospel truths to young minds with a stern emphasis on sin and hell. Works like Line Upon Line and More About Jesus extended her reach, blending education with evangelistic zeal, while later geographic titles like Near Home reflected her moral worldview. Widowed, she adopted a son, Lethbridge Charles E. Moore, and died at age 76 in West Runton, Norfolk, England.