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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 Jesus warning against the sin of covetousness, using the story of a rich man who focused on earthly possessions and neglected his soul. The rich man's folly in seeking happiness through material wealth is contrasted with the true source of fulfillment, which is communion with God. Mortimer emphasizes the importance of being rich towards God through faith in the Lord Jesus, highlighting that true riches come from a relationship with God that transcends worldly treasures and ensures eternal happiness.
Luke 12:13-21. the Rich Fool Who Was Suddenly Cut Off.
While Jesus was instructing his disciples in the presence of the multitude, he was interrupted by a man applying to him with this request—"Speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me." This man's thoughts were engrossed by a perishing inheritance, while Jesus was pointing to that which fades not away. Had the Lord come into the world to be a judge of temporal affairs, he would have attended to the administration of justice—but he had come for a different purpose, and he spent all his strength and all his time in finishing the work that his Father had given him to do. He made the request of this man the occasion of warning his disciples against the sin of covetousness. He had warned them against hypocrisy, one of the chief sins of the Pharisees; and now he bade them beware of covetousness, another of their sins. He pointed out the folly of covetousness by describing the case of a rich man who was suddenly called away when he had been making plans for future enjoyment. We often hear of these sudden removals, but we do not know the secret thoughts of those who are thus unexpectedly cut off. He, who knows all the thoughts of all the men that have ever lived upon earth, has revealed to us what passed in the mind of a certain man just before his death. This man had grown rich through the fertility of his fields; his barns were completely filled with corn, wine, and oil; and he determined to pull down these storehouses, and to build larger. He never thought of distributing among the poor the overflowings of his granary, and it is too probable that much of his property had been acquired by the oppression of his laborers. He made plans for his own happiness, but had no desire to make others happy. He was so foolish as to believe that his soul would be satisfied by the abundance of the things he possessed. A beast indeed may be satisfied with a plentiful provision for its body; but a human creature has a soul that thirsts for some higher enjoyment than this world can afford. Sumptuous feasts cannot make him happy; nor lovely gardens and splendid houses, nor scientific knowledge and elegant accomplishments—no, not even affectionate friends and dutiful children. Nothing but communion with God can fill the aching void of the human soul. Adam was happy when he walked with God, but when by sin he lost that privilege, he became wretched. When man returns to God, he feels the first emotions of real bliss. David knew this, therefore he said, "Return unto your rest, O my soul." How different was David's command to his soul from that of the rich man, who said, "Soul, take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry!" But even if the things of this world could satisfy an immortal spirit, there is one circumstance in our present lot that would embitter every moment. It is the uncertainty of life. Many a rich man remembers with uneasiness that he must one day (and he knows not how soon) leave all his possessions. This conviction is like a thorn in many a downy pillow, and in many a glittering crown. But he, whose history the Lord related, had contrived to smother this unpleasant recollection. He was deceived by the fond hope of many years' enjoyment of his riches. Well did he merit the name by which God called him, "You fool!" How many lost spirits are now denouncing their own folly during the short season granted them on earth! What an opportunity we are now enjoying of securing real and eternal happiness! We might now, during this life, become rich towards God. Those are truly rich who have faith in the Lord Jesus. God has declared that some of the poor in this world are rich in faith. (James 2:5.) Faith is the gold that Christ offers to bestow on all that ask it—"I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich." (Rev. 3:18.) If faith is in our hearts, we shall never hear the summons, "You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you." But rather, we shall hear in God's appointed time a voice saying to our spirits, "Come up here." (Rev. 4:1.)
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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.