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Hugh Black
Hugh Black (March 26, 1868 – April 6, 1953) was a Scottish-American theologian and author. Black was born on March 26, 1868, in Rothesay, Scotland. He received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Glasgow in 1887, and studied divinity at Free Church College Glasgow from 1887 until 1891. Black was ordained in 1891 and became associate pastor at St George's Free Church in Edinburgh in 1896, where he worked with Alexander Whyte.Hugh Black (March 26, 1868 – April 6, 1953) was a Scottish-American preacher, theologian, and author whose ministry bridged pastoral service and academic theology, impacting congregations across Scotland and the United States for over five decades. Born in Rothesay, Scotland, to parents whose details are not widely documented—likely a modest Presbyterian family—he grew up immersed in the Free Church tradition. He graduated with a Master of Arts from the University of Glasgow in 1887 and studied divinity at Free Church College Glasgow (1887–1891), ordained in 1891 without further formal degrees, though he later received honorary Doctor of Divinity titles from Yale (1908), Princeton, and Glasgow (both 1911). Black’s preaching career began as assistant pastor at Sherwood Church in Paisley, Scotland, followed by a decade as associate pastor at St. George’s Free Church in Edinburgh (1896–1906) under Alexander Whyte, where his eloquent sermons earned him renown as a “whitener” to Whyte’s “blackening” style. Emigrating to the United States in 1906, he became Professor of Practical Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City (1906–1937), preaching at college chapels and guest pulpits like Central Congregational Church in Providence, Rhode Island, with a focus on practical faith and evangelism. He pastored First Congregational Church in Montclair, New Jersey, from 1930 to 1937, retiring to write and lecture. Author of works like The Art of Being a Good Friend (1899) and Christ’s Service of Love (1907), he married with family details unrecorded and passed away at age 85 in Montclair, New Jersey.
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Hugh Black emphasizes the transformative power of love in obedience to God's commandments, highlighting how love makes obedience a joy rather than a burden. He explains that when we view God's law as an expression of His love for us, obedience becomes natural and sweet, contrasting obedience out of fear with obedience out of love. Black underscores the importance of developing a personal relationship with God, where we become co-workers with Him in shaping our moral character and fulfilling His will.
Love-Inspired Obedience
"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God" (Acts 16:25). What can turn the statutes into songs, take the sting out of the commandments, make the will of God a delight? When it is all transfigured by the glory of love. Love inspires obedience to law, and makes it easy. If we see law not as something external, an obligation imposed on us from without, a despotism against which we cannot rebel, and to which we can only sullenly submit; if we see law as the law of our own life, the fruit of the tenderest and highest love, the commandments are seen not to be grievous, and obedience becomes sweet and natural. We know the difference between obedience dictated by fear and obedience dictated by love. When we are brought into a personal relation to God and enter into fellowship with Him, we realise that even in the making of our own moral life, in the creating of our own character, we are fellow-workers with God. We desire the same end as He does, and it is the best end. The love of Christ is the great instrument of sanctification; for it breeds in us a passion to do God's will and keep His commandments. 'Ye are complete in Him,' says St. Paul. He fills out our incompleteness, and for the first time we feel that we are truly ourselves, and for the first time really possess our souls, and are in harmony with the great end of our existence. When our heart is enlarged we can run in the way of God's commandments. Life breaks out into music and light.
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Hugh Black (March 26, 1868 – April 6, 1953) was a Scottish-American theologian and author. Black was born on March 26, 1868, in Rothesay, Scotland. He received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Glasgow in 1887, and studied divinity at Free Church College Glasgow from 1887 until 1891. Black was ordained in 1891 and became associate pastor at St George's Free Church in Edinburgh in 1896, where he worked with Alexander Whyte.Hugh Black (March 26, 1868 – April 6, 1953) was a Scottish-American preacher, theologian, and author whose ministry bridged pastoral service and academic theology, impacting congregations across Scotland and the United States for over five decades. Born in Rothesay, Scotland, to parents whose details are not widely documented—likely a modest Presbyterian family—he grew up immersed in the Free Church tradition. He graduated with a Master of Arts from the University of Glasgow in 1887 and studied divinity at Free Church College Glasgow (1887–1891), ordained in 1891 without further formal degrees, though he later received honorary Doctor of Divinity titles from Yale (1908), Princeton, and Glasgow (both 1911). Black’s preaching career began as assistant pastor at Sherwood Church in Paisley, Scotland, followed by a decade as associate pastor at St. George’s Free Church in Edinburgh (1896–1906) under Alexander Whyte, where his eloquent sermons earned him renown as a “whitener” to Whyte’s “blackening” style. Emigrating to the United States in 1906, he became Professor of Practical Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City (1906–1937), preaching at college chapels and guest pulpits like Central Congregational Church in Providence, Rhode Island, with a focus on practical faith and evangelism. He pastored First Congregational Church in Montclair, New Jersey, from 1930 to 1937, retiring to write and lecture. Author of works like The Art of Being a Good Friend (1899) and Christ’s Service of Love (1907), he married with family details unrecorded and passed away at age 85 in Montclair, New Jersey.