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Horatius Bonar
Horatius Bonar (1808 - 1889). Scottish Presbyterian minister, poet, and hymn-writer born in Edinburgh to a ministerial family. Educated at Edinburgh University, he was ordained in 1837, serving Kelso’s North Church for 30 years. Joining the Free Church of Scotland during the 1843 Disruption, he later pastored Chalmers Memorial Church in Edinburgh (1866-1889). Bonar wrote over 600 hymns, including “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say,” and authored books like The Everlasting Righteousness (1873), emphasizing justification by faith. A prolific evangelist, he edited The Quarterly Journal of Prophecy and published tracts reaching millions. Married to Jane Lundie in 1843, they had nine children, five surviving infancy. His devotional works, blending Calvinism and warmth, influenced global Christianity. Bonar’s hymns remain sung in churches worldwide, and his writings, notably God’s Way of Peace, endure in reprints. His poetic style enriched Victorian spirituality, inspiring figures like Charles Spurgeon. Despite personal losses, he preached hope and Christ’s return until his final years.
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Sermon Summary
Horatius Bonar emphasizes that it is not the strength of our faith that saves us, but the perfection of Christ's sacrifice. He reassures that even with weak faith and a fearful heart, the efficacy of Christ's blood remains unchanged and powerful. Bonar highlights that faith, regardless of its strength, clings to the promise that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. He encourages believers to trust in God's declaration of justification, which cannot be undone by human doubt or weakness. Ultimately, the assurance of salvation rests on Christ's unchanging sacrifice rather than our fluctuating faith.
Saving Faith
With a weak faith and a fearful heart, many a sinner stands before the Lord. It is not the strength of our faith, but the perfection of Christ's sacrifice that saves! No feebleness of faith, nor dimness of eye, no trembling of hand can change the efficacy of Christ's blood. The strength of our faith can add nothing to it, nor can the weakness of our faith take anything from Him. Faith (weak or strong) still reads the promise, "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." If at times my eye is so dim that I cannot read these words, through blinding tears or bewildering trials, faith rests itself on the certain knowledge of the fact that THE PROMISE IS THERE, and the blood of Christ remains in all its power and suitableness upon the altar, unchanged and unaffected. God says that the believer is justified. What God bath joined together, let not man put asunder.
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Horatius Bonar (1808 - 1889). Scottish Presbyterian minister, poet, and hymn-writer born in Edinburgh to a ministerial family. Educated at Edinburgh University, he was ordained in 1837, serving Kelso’s North Church for 30 years. Joining the Free Church of Scotland during the 1843 Disruption, he later pastored Chalmers Memorial Church in Edinburgh (1866-1889). Bonar wrote over 600 hymns, including “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say,” and authored books like The Everlasting Righteousness (1873), emphasizing justification by faith. A prolific evangelist, he edited The Quarterly Journal of Prophecy and published tracts reaching millions. Married to Jane Lundie in 1843, they had nine children, five surviving infancy. His devotional works, blending Calvinism and warmth, influenced global Christianity. Bonar’s hymns remain sung in churches worldwide, and his writings, notably God’s Way of Peace, endure in reprints. His poetic style enriched Victorian spirituality, inspiring figures like Charles Spurgeon. Despite personal losses, he preached hope and Christ’s return until his final years.