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John Nelson Darby

John Nelson Darby (1800 - 1882). Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, author, and founder of the Plymouth Brethren, born in London to a wealthy family. Educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Dublin, he graduated with a gold medal in classics in 1819 and was called to the Irish bar in 1822. Ordained a deacon in the Church of Ireland in 1825, he served as a curate in Wicklow but left in 1827, disillusioned with institutional religion. In 1828, he joined early Brethren in Dublin, shaping their dispensationalist theology and emphasis on simple worship. Darby translated the Bible into English, French, and German, and wrote 53 volumes, including Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. His teachings on the rapture and dispensationalism influenced modern evangelicalism, notably through the Scofield Reference Bible. Unmarried, he traveled extensively, planting Brethren assemblies in Europe, North America, and New Zealand. His 1860s split with B.W. Newton led to Exclusive Brethren. His works, at stempublishing.com, remain influential despite his rigid separatism.
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Sermon Summary
John Nelson Darby expresses the profound joy and hope found in the anticipation of seeing Jesus face to face, emphasizing the deep love and grace that believers experience in their relationship with Him. He reflects on the sweetness of belonging to Christ and the eternal joy that comes from being united with Him and His saints in glory. The sermon highlights the assurance of God's faithful love, which sustains believers through their earthly journey and culminates in a future filled with praise and worship.
Hymn: Fulness of Joy
OH, bright and blessed hope! When shall it be That we His face, long loved, Revealed shall see? Oh! when, without a cloud, His features trace, Whose faithful love so long We've known in grace; That love itself enjoy, Which, ever true, Did in our feeble path Its work pursue? O Jesus, not unknown, Thy love shall fill The heart in which Thou dwell'st, And shalt dwell still. Still, Lord, to see Thy face, Thy voice to hear; To know Thy present love For ever near; To gaze upon Thyself, So faithful known, Long proved in secret help With Thee alone; To see that love, content, On me flow forth, For ever Thy delight, Clothed with Thy worth! O Lord, 'twas sweet the thought That Thou wast mine; But brighter still the joy That I am Thine! Thine own, O Lord, the fruit, The cherished fruit, Of Thine all perfect love! No passing root Of evil e'er will dim Thy cloudless rays; But a full heart pour forth Thine endless praise! Nor what is next Thy heart Can we forget - Thy saints, O Lord, with Thee In glory met, (Perfect in comeliness Before Thy face - Th'eternal witness all Of Thine own grace), Together then their songs Of endless praise, With one harmonious voice, In joy shall raise! O joy supreme and full, Where sunless day Sheds forth, with light divine, Its cloudless ray!
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John Nelson Darby (1800 - 1882). Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, author, and founder of the Plymouth Brethren, born in London to a wealthy family. Educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Dublin, he graduated with a gold medal in classics in 1819 and was called to the Irish bar in 1822. Ordained a deacon in the Church of Ireland in 1825, he served as a curate in Wicklow but left in 1827, disillusioned with institutional religion. In 1828, he joined early Brethren in Dublin, shaping their dispensationalist theology and emphasis on simple worship. Darby translated the Bible into English, French, and German, and wrote 53 volumes, including Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. His teachings on the rapture and dispensationalism influenced modern evangelicalism, notably through the Scofield Reference Bible. Unmarried, he traveled extensively, planting Brethren assemblies in Europe, North America, and New Zealand. His 1860s split with B.W. Newton led to Exclusive Brethren. His works, at stempublishing.com, remain influential despite his rigid separatism.