- Home
- Speakers
- Andrew Bonar
- Letters: Mr. Robert Young Edinburgh (1)
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.”
Download
Topics
Sermon Summary
Andrew Bonar reflects on the sudden death of his wife, Isabella, expressing deep sorrow and the bewilderment of loss. He shares the comfort found in knowing she leaned on Jesus in her final moments and the hope of reunion in glory. Bonar acknowledges the profound emptiness left behind and the importance of prayer for strength and understanding during this difficult time. He emphasizes the promise that God will take care of those left behind, filling the void left by loved ones.
Scriptures
Letters: Mr. Robert Young Edinburgh (1)
AFTER MRS. BONAR'S DEATH GLASGOW, 17th Oct. 1864. MY DEAR MR. YOUNG, —This has been an awfully sudden and solemn stroke. All went well till the afternoon of Friday—nothing indeed to startle us till about six o'clock, and in three hours all was over. . . . During the three hours she was at last only half-conscious—no pain at all—but rapid breathing and restlessness. Not long before she passed away I said, 'I know you are leaning on Jesus.' She tried gently to speak, but in vain, and soon the breathing became lower and lower, till she sank, we believe, into the arms of Him who loved her more than any of us ever did, for He gave Himself for her. It is bewildering still—so sudden. . . . O how stunning the thought from time to time, 'Isabella gone!' What an awful blank! for there could not be a happier home than she made mine to be. But the Lord has said, 'Them that sleep in Jesus He will bring with Him.' O that the day were come! . . . I know how Mrs. Young will feel. It is the quenching of a long and happy friendship till it be relighted up in Glory. You will both pray for me and mine. We need it—for it would be bitterer still were we to suffer all this in vain. Will you ask that the children may know (and I also) what that means, 'When . . . mother leaves me the Lord will take me up,' —becoming Himself mother in every way, and Himself taking her place to do and to be all.—Yours truly, my dear Mr. Young, ANDREW A. BONAR.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
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.”