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Andrew Bonar
Andrew Alexander Bonar (1810–1892). Born on May 29, 1810, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Andrew Bonar was the youngest of seven brothers, including hymn-writer Horatius, in a devout Presbyterian family. Orphaned by his father at seven, he struggled with faith until finding assurance at 20 through William Guthrie’s Saving Interest of Christ. He studied divinity at Edinburgh University, was licensed to preach in 1835, and ordained in 1838 at Collace, Perthshire, serving 18 years. A friend of Robert Murray M’Cheyne, he co-wrote a mission report on Palestine’s Jews in 1839 and authored M’Cheyne’s memoir, a lasting Christian work. Joining the Free Church of Scotland after the 1843 Disruption, he preached in a tent until a church was built, fostering revival during the 1839–1840 Kilsyth movement. In 1856, he became minister at Finnieston Free Church, Glasgow, until his death on December 30, 1892. Married to Isabella Dickson in 1848, he was widowed in 1864 after having six children. Known for expository preaching and fervent prayer, Bonar’s ministry bore a guiding principle from Proverbs 11:30, as he wrote in his diary, “He that winneth souls is wise.”
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Andrew Bonar reflects on the profound loneliness and sorrow following the loss of loved ones, expressing his belief that God’s afflictions are rooted in fatherly love and compassion. He acknowledges the support he has received through prayers and letters, which have been a source of comfort during his grief. Bonar encourages his sister Jane to find solace in the beauty of memories while also reminding her of the eternal hope found in Christ, emphasizing that present afflictions are temporary and lead to greater glory. He highlights the importance of living fully for the Lord amidst trials and cherishes the memory of their loved ones, affirming that their separation is brief in the light of eternity.
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Letters: Mrs. Horatius Bonar His Sister-in-Law (2)
GLASGOW, 28th Oct. 1864. MY DEAR JANE, —Perhaps you and Horace will excuse me for not writing sooner. It requires something to raise me before I can at present take up the pen. The bewilderment is passing away—all appears too real now, but the loneliness, when will that pass away? I know 'He doth not willingly afflict,' —I have felt that—for, though the Lord saw that He must send the stroke, He has not failed, when it was over, to relieve the wound by many means. I am sure many have prayed for me. I have got many most helpful letters of sympathy, all which are sufficient to assure me that the Elder Brother's heart feels for me in infinite love. Tell Horace I have tried to glean something in his fields, The Night of Weeping-. But oh! Jane, when I look back on the sixteen years of happy, happy home-life, and when I take up some letter or paper or anything else that recalls past days of peace and most helpful affection, all I can say is, that the Lord who so filled my cup, and then in a moment dashed it to the ground, must be dealing in fatherly love, and must be doing even this in the depths of His compassion for me. 'It is the Lord.' Let us live with all our might for the Lord. My dear Isabella could not bid me farewell—was it meant as if to intimate 'no need of farewell, the time of separation is so short.' Do not forget my motherless children. How she cared for them! I never knew one who was more led to tell the Lord all little cares and difficulties, and more habitually made conscience of little things in the family. Mrs. Grant and her daughter have been most useful and kind to us. . . . We are looking forward to the baptism [of the motherless baby] on Sabbath eight days. —Your affectionate brother, ANDREW A. BONAR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GLASGOW, 22nd June 1870. MY DEAR JANE, —I can quite sympathise with your sadness when the flowers in the garden recall Kitty and her cheerful, happy ways. The very beauty and bloom help to deepen the melancholy feeling which weighs down the soul as you remember the absent one whose presence was sunshine, and for whom the garden seemed to blossom. But it is written, 'Our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work out for us—glory, while we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things which are unseen.' May I not adopt the language of John, and say, 'I heard a voice from heaven saying, there is present rest for the aching heart in beholding the Lamb slain, and holding fellowship with Him.'. . . Kindest love to all. —Your affectionate brother, ANDREW A. BONAR.
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Andrew Alexander Bonar (1810–1892). Born on May 29, 1810, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Andrew Bonar was the youngest of seven brothers, including hymn-writer Horatius, in a devout Presbyterian family. Orphaned by his father at seven, he struggled with faith until finding assurance at 20 through William Guthrie’s Saving Interest of Christ. He studied divinity at Edinburgh University, was licensed to preach in 1835, and ordained in 1838 at Collace, Perthshire, serving 18 years. A friend of Robert Murray M’Cheyne, he co-wrote a mission report on Palestine’s Jews in 1839 and authored M’Cheyne’s memoir, a lasting Christian work. Joining the Free Church of Scotland after the 1843 Disruption, he preached in a tent until a church was built, fostering revival during the 1839–1840 Kilsyth movement. In 1856, he became minister at Finnieston Free Church, Glasgow, until his death on December 30, 1892. Married to Isabella Dickson in 1848, he was widowed in 1864 after having six children. Known for expository preaching and fervent prayer, Bonar’s ministry bore a guiding principle from Proverbs 11:30, as he wrote in his diary, “He that winneth souls is wise.”