“It was
the first Sunday in November, 1893”, he writes, “when I was spending a half
term holiday at Blackheath (England). I
realized for the first time, although I had often heard it before, that Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, had come to this earth for the express purpose of
laying down His life as the atonement for my sin, in order to deliver me from
its penalty and power, so that I might go free! I then and there accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour, on the
grounds that by His death He had settled my debt once for all…”
Dobbie
was Governor of Malta during World War II – and in his book, A Very Present
Help, gives gratitude to God for the deliverance He wrought during those
incredibly dark days (1940-1942).
==============================================
This
is the day that … ABSALOM
BACKUS EARLE
was “endued with power from on high” in the year 1863.
Born in Charlton, New York, in
1812, converted at the age of 16, Absalom Earle began preaching two years
later. And seemingly he never
stopped. For the next 58 years “he
preached more frequently than any other man living at the same time” (Deeper Experiences, by J.G. Lawson, page
214). It has been estimated that he
held 39,330 services and led 160,000 souls to Christ. He influenced 400 men to enter the ministry.
“I have reason to believe,” he is
quoted as saying, “that a single sermon I have preached on “The sin that hath never forgiveness” has been the means of more
than 20,000 conversions” (Hall of Fame,
by E. Towns, page 111).
It was “on the second day of
November, 1863”, he tells us, a new dimension was added to his spiritual
life. “For the first time in my life I
had the rest which is more than peace … Jesus has been my all since then. There has not been one hour of conscious
doubt or darkness since that time. A
heaven of peace and rest fills my soul…
My success in leading souls to Jesus has been much greater than before…”
Theologians have called this
experience by various names – but the history of the Christian church has shown
that many saints have experienced this “second blessing” or whatever name they
called it.
A.B. Earle also authored many
hymns, the most well known being that which expresses the passion of his heart:
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Snatch them
in pity from sin and the grave.
This is the day that …SAMUEL DAVIES was born in Delaware, USA, in 1723.
Converted at the age of 12, he was later ordained by the Presbyterians
and became one of their outstanding evangelists. The same year, 1747, his wife of one year died. The following year he married Jean Holt.
We are told “his ministerial dignity and solemn
demeanour inspired awe. Numbers flocked
to hear a man … who preached the solemn truths of the gospel in a style that
arrested their attention and impressed their hearts” (Cyclopaedia of
Religious Biographies, page 155).
He visited England with fellow preacher, Gilbert
Tennent, and preached before King George II by royal invitation.
He was one of the preachers used by God in the Great
Awakening, which resulted in the conversion of multitudes.
Back in America Samuel Davies followed Jonathan
Edwards to the presidency of “The College of New Jersey”, later to become
Princeton University.
Early the following year he preached on “This year
thou shalt die” (Jeremiah 28:16), little knowing that the Lord would call him
home a month later (4 February, 1761).
He was 36 years of age.
His great hymn is still sung today:
are matchless, Godlike and
divine;
But the fair glories of Thy grace
more Godlike and unrivalled
shine:
Who is a pardoning God like Thee?
Or who has grace so rich and free?
==============================================
This
is the day that … JAMES
MONTGOMERY
was born in Scotland, in 1771.
This son of a Moravian minister
“wrote more hymns in common use today than any writer except Charles Wesley and
Isaac Watts”.
He was reared in a Christian boys’
boarding school in Yorkshire, England, whilst his parents served as
missionaries in the West Indies.
He was apprenticed to a baker, but
at the age of 16 he ran away to London to find a publisher for some poems he
had penned. But to no avail.
He finally found employment in a
bookshop and then, in London, working for a radical newspaper, The Sheffield Register, and eventually
rose to the position of editor. Twice
he was imprisoned for “seditious libel” against the government!
John Telford wrote: “His father had been a disciple of John
Cennick, and it is said that a volume of Cennick’s sermons was the means of
James Montgomery’s conversion. He lived
a busy life as editor, lecturer and advocate of Foreign Missions and of the
Bible Society” (Methodist Hymnal
Illustrated, page 101).
Montgomery wrote over 400 hymns –
many of which are still sung. Among his
most popular are:
Hail to the Lord’s anointed –
Great David’s greater Son…
and
Stand up and bless the Lord,
Ye people of His choice …
And the Christmas carol, penned on
Christmas Eve, 1816:
Angels from the realms of glory…
Unlike most male hymnists, James
Montgomery was not a clergyman. Nor did
he ever marry. He died in his sleep on
30 April, 1854.
This
is the day that … BENJAMIN
BRECKINRIDGE WARFIELD was born in Kentucky, U.S.A., in 1851.
He graduated from Princeton
University “with highest honours” in 1871, and announced his decision to enter
the ministry the following year.
He entered Princeton Theological
Seminary in 1873 and graduated three years later.
In 1876 he married Annie Kinkead,
they honeymooned in Europe - during which time “she was struck by lightning and
permanently paralysed (Great Leaders of
the Christian Church, Moody Press, page 344).
For the next 39 years Benjamin
Warfield “seldom left home for more than two hours at a time”.
He became Professor of New
Testament at a Presbyterian college, and later Professor of Theology at
Princeton. He also edited the Presbyterian Review.
Various books came from his
scholarly pen, many still in print. Counter Miracles (1918), was a strong
defence of the cessationist viewpoint, that is, that the signs and wonders of
Bible times ceased with the death of the apostles.
His Inspiration and Authority of the Bible (1948) “asserted that verbal
inspiration had been perfect in the original manuscripts” (Dictionary of Religious Biography, page 492).
His writings in defence of Calvinism
are also worthy of mention.
On Christmas Eve, 1920, Professor
Warfield suffered a stroke – he recovered enough to resume his classes on 16
February, 1921, but died that night as a result of a further stroke.
This
is the day that … ARCHIBALD
THOMAS ROBERTSON was
born in Virginia, USA, in 1863.
This Southern Baptist scholar is
remembered especially for his Harmony of the New Testament.
Altogether he wrote 45 books, each
displaying a scholarly grasp of theology.
His biographer tells us that “Dr
Bob”, as he was affectionately called, “wore out a dozen Greek Testaments in
his lifetime” (page 125).
W.R. Moody – son of the famous
evangelist – invited A.T. Robertson to speak at the Northfield Conference … sharing
the platform with such men as Dr R.A. Torrey and Campbell Morgan.
Concerning liberal theology with
its downgrading of Scripture, “his arrows were swift and deadly” against it (Baptists and the Bible, page 303).
Nevertheless, he did accept
Theistic evolution (Biography, page
181), nor would he be dogmatic concerning millennial views (page 187).
On Monday, 24 September, 1934, he
was lecturing in the Southern Baptist Seminary, Kentucky, when he became ill
and unable to continue. He was taken
home, and entered the presence of his Lord before the day was through.
Converted
at the age of 16, Billy Graham threw himself into Christian work, eventually,
in March, 1938, “on the eighteenth green of a golf course”, promising the Lord
that he would devote himself to preaching the gospel.
In
1943 he married Ruth Bell … became evangelist for Youth for Christ two years
later, and became a nationally known figure with his 1949 Los Angeles
CrU.S.A.de.
In
1950 The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association was born, and since that time he
has “preached the gospel to more people than any evangelist in the history of
the church, reaching nearly one hundred million individuals in person and
untold numbers by radio and television throughout the world” (Dictionary of Christianity in America,
page 492).
It
is estimated that two million individuals have responded to the invitation
given at the close of his sermons.
Whilst
he has his critics – some say he is too ecumenical and others that he is too
Arminian … (which is outside the scope of these few paragraphs) – many have found the Saviour as a result of his clear-cut gospel
presentation.
==============================================
This
is the day that … JOHN
MILTON died
in 1674.
He is described as “the greatest
poet of Christian themes England has produced”.
Born in London on 9 December, 1608,
his genius for poetry revealed itself at an early age. His paraphrase of Psalm 136 was written when
he was 15 years of age …
Let us with a gladsome mind
praise the Lord for He is kind …
Originally it had 24 stanzas.
Caught up in the Civil War, he
became secretary to Oliver Cromwell and wrote several prose works from a
Puritan perspective.
At the age of 44 he became totally
blind – but continued to write political treatises.
Then – in later life – he turned
back to poetry.
Paradise
Lost
was published in 1667 – in which he “sought to justify the ways of God to
man.” The copyright was sold for 5 pounds Sterling.
His domestic life was sad. His first wife, Mary Powell, left him after
“a few weeks”, returned two years later (1645), and bore him three daughters.
After her death he re-married
(1656), but his second wife died two years later.
At the age of 58 he married again,
and his third wife seemed to bring him peace in his last eight years.
His last manuscript, A Treatise of Christian Doctrine, in
Latin, was not found until about 150 years after his death. It reveals Arian views – and a willingness
to tolerate polygamy … (Chambers
Biographical Dictionary).
This is the day that … JOHN
HYDE was born in Illinois, USA, in 1865.
His
father was a Presbyterian minister, and in that manse the power of prayer
became a reality to young John. In
later years he would be known to his fellow missionaries as “Praying” Hyde.
On 15
October, 1892, he and five other missionaries sailed for India. Here he spent whole nights in prayer – and
days ministering the gospel to needy souls.
His
biographer tells how he began to pray for one soul a day – not just to be an
enquirer, but to be baptized. Then two
souls a day … then four …
“I remember John telling me if on any day four souls were not brought into the fold … at night he could not sleep … (Praying Hyde, by F. McGaw, Moody Press, page 49).
At the age of 45 he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. And back in America, on 17 February, 1912, he cried – in the Indian dialect with which he was so familiar – “Bol, Yisu Nasih, Ki Jai!”, which means, “Shout the victory of Jesus Christ!” They were his dying words.
This is the day that … Henry
Morton Stanley said: “Dr Livingstone, I
presume!” It was 1871, in the heart of Africa, at Ujiji. The meeting is recorded in Stanley’s own book, How I Found Livingstone in Central Africa
(page 331).
Stanley – an “illegitimate son of
Britain’s industrial masses” – eventually emigrated to New Orleans as a
teenager. He fought for the Confederate
army, was wounded, and taken prisoner during the Civil War.
After a remarkably varied career he
became a newspaperman and was sent by the editor of the New York Times to find David Livingstone.
For four months he lived with the
great missionary, and he gives this assessment: “His religion is not of the theoretical kind, but it is a
constant, earnest, sincere practice. It
is neither demonstrative nor loud, but manifests itself in a quiet, practical
way and is always at work… His
gentleness never forsakes him; his
hopefulness never deserts him. No
harassing anxieties, distraction of mind, long separation from home or kindred,
can make him complain. He thinks ‘all
will come out right at last’, he has such faith in the goodness of Providence”
(page 351).
Methinks Livingstone himself would
have said “in the goodness of God”, but we make allowances for this hard-bitten
journalist.
This
is the day that … St
Martin of Tours Day
is celebrated in many churches, “possibly the anniversary of his funeral” (The Spreading Flame, by F.F. Bruce,
pages 350-351).
This biographer assures us that St
Martin “belonged to the true evangelical succession” (ibid, page 350).
He was born in Hungary about AD 317
to pagan parents, and he became a cavalry officer in the Roman army.
In Gaul, “the most famous incident
in his life” took place … a meeting with a half-naked beggar. Martin cut his scarlet officer’s cloak in
two - and gave the beggar half. That
night he dreamed – or was it a vision? - he saw Christ wearing the very cloak
he had given away. A voice spoke,
“Martin has clothed Me with this garment.”
As a result young Martin was
baptised into the Christian faith, returned home to win his mother to Christ,
and then became famous as a healer, exorcist and missionary. “He was active in winning non-Christians and
travelled extensively. He believed that
no-one was so depraved that he was beyond the scope of God’s pardon…” (History of Christianity, by K.
Lattourette, page 231).
He later founded a monastery and
his fame spread. He was loved by all …
except some bishops!
In AD 371 he was appointed Bishop
of Tours, in France, and from here he continued to exercise a wide
influence. “Out from Tours as a centre
he led an army of monks through the land destroying idols, pagan temples – and
preaching,” writes Elgin Moyer (Who Was
Who In Church History).
Whilst acting as bishop he refused
a throne and preferred to sit on a small wooden stool.
Whilst the stories of many of the
‘saints’ of the early church are encrusted with legend and superstition, there
is good reason to believe that Martin of Tours was a true child of God.
“St Martin died about AD 397 …
no-body seems to know for sure. And
over 1000 years later the Luther family in Germany named their little son after
this remarkable monk.”!
This
is the day that … RICHARD
BAXTER was
born, in 1615. The place was
Shropshire, England.
Baxter was largely self-educated,
suffered with various bodily infirmities, and knew the reality of persecution …
but nevertheless he was to become “one of the foremost Puritan spokesmen within
the Church of England”.
Richard Baxter has been described
as “one of the most successful preachers and pastors of the Christian church” (Who was Who in Church History, by E.
Moyer).
Ordained by the Presbyterian
Church, he served as minister at Kidderminster from 1641 until 1660. But “The
Act of Uniformity” of 1662 put an end to that.
This Act demanded that every
clergyman must give “unfeigned consent and assent” to the Anglican Book of
Common Prayer, and accept ordination by a bishop, among other issues.
Suffice to say Baxter – and
something like 2000 others – refused to bow the knee to this attack on
religious freedom and ousted from their
parishes. He stood for liberty of
conscience in worship and church government.
And it cost him his freedom.
Twice, in 1685 and again in 1686, he was imprisoned for continuing to
preach although ‘unlicensed’ to do so – this latter time for two years.
He penned over 160 books – many of
them best sellers in his day, and some still being re-printed more than 400
years later … and he had 60 written against
him! (Heroes of the Faith, by F. Ballard, page 24).
Among the classics to come from his
pen are The Saints’ Everlasting Rest, The
Reformed Pastor, and A Call to the
Unconverted. This latter volume was
an influence upon the young Spurgeon, he tells us in his autobiography.
Theologically Baxter is described
as, wait for it, Latitudinarian!
Once of his most famous sayings
bears repeating – “I preached as a dying man pleading with dying men.”
On 8 December, 1691, Richard Baxter
went home to “the Saints’ Everlasting Rest”.
This
is the day that … AURELIUS
AUGUSTINE,
Bishop of Hippo, was born in Togaste, North Africa, in AD 354.
His impact upon church history
cannot be estimated. Benjamin Warfield
says “he transfigured the Christian faith for those who would follow”.
Kenneth Scott Latourette wrote
“without Augustine’s massive intellect Western theology would never have taken
the shape in which it is familiar to us”.
His autobiography, Confessions, is regarded as a classic of
Christian literature.
Roman Catholics canonised him … and
a young Martin Luther belonged to the Augustinian order of monks.
His treatises against the heresies
of his day reveal him to be the church’s most able apologist. One statistician claims that Augustine – in
his writings – quoted the Old Testament 13,276 times, and the New Testament
29,540 times! (Treasury of Evangelical Writings, by D.O. Fuller, page 51).
But not everybody sings the praises
of this famous Bishop of Hippo.
Arminius disputes his teaching on
election. Baptists question his
paedo-baptist stance, pre-millennialists take issue with his prophetic views,
and his emphasis that the church should “compel her erring sons to return to
the fold” led to the deaths of thousands when baptism or the sword became a
matter of ‘conversion’.
Augustine died on 28 August, AD
430.
This
is the day that … HELEN
HOWARTH LEMMEL
was born in England to a Wesleyan Methodist pastor and his wife.
One book tells me that it was 1863,
another 1864. Nine years later, or was
it 12? the family migrated to America.
Helen’s singing ability soon became
evident; she studied for a while in
Germany, sang in churches throughout America, and even taught singing at Moody
Bible Institute.
Five hundred hymns and poems came
from her pen, possibly the best known being triggered off in her mind as she
read a phrase in a tract. It was 1918,
and she wrote:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face …
Helen Lemmel “remained active for God in her musical and literary pursuits until her home going at the age of 97”. Or was it 96?
This
is the day that … JACOB
DeSHAZER
was born in 1912.
He flew with the Doolittle raiders,
the first air attack on Japan in World War II.
But on the way home from that raid
the B-25, on which he was bombardier, ran out of fuel. The crew bailed out over enemy occupied
territory, and were taken prisoners.
There followed solitary
confinement, and the death sentence carried out on three of his ‘buddies’.
It was in May, 1944, after two
years’ imprisonment, that he asked a guard for a Bible. DeShazer’s father had been a Church of God
minister. And for long years he had
been “in the far country”. But in the
P.O.W. camp he read God’s Word and the Spirit of God applied it to his
heart. On 8 June, 1944, he tells us, he
was truly converted.
On 20 August, 1945, the war
ended. Before long DeShazer was
re-united with his family, and then, at the age of 34, he entered Seattle
Pacific (Bible) College, to train for missionary service.
And the field? Japan.
The 1972 edition of his biography
contains a photo of DeShazer and his wife, just before their third
furlough. “I love these beautiful
Japanese people so much”, he is quoted as saying. “They all look beautiful to me.
They need Jesus.”
The
Irish-born “evangelist, apologist and theological educator” cut his
evangelistic teeth as an open-air preacher on the streets of Cork. The “boy Hammond”, as he was called, soon
aroused the ire of Roman Catholic passers-by.
This was
followed by two years of training, two years of itinerant evangelism, and then,
in 1900, he entered Trinity College, Dublin.
In the
years that followed he became a rector of the Church of Ireland.
He became
involved in the work of IVF and “from this connection came an invitation to
write an introductory hand-book of doctrine.
In Understanding be Men was the result, an outstanding
best-seller.
He was
nearly 60 years of age when appointed Principal of Moore College in Sydney
(Aust.), and his weekly “Principles of Protestantism” radio broadcast opposed
the teachings of Roman Catholicism.
At the
age of 84 he heard the Saviour’s “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
This
is the day that … JOHN
WILLIAMS
arrived in Tahiti, in 1817.
Williams was one of those
unstoppable missionaries who seemed to take every obstacle in his stride.
Sent by the London Missionary
Society to the South Seas in 1816, he mastered the language in 10 months and
was ready to preach!
And he set to work building a boat
– the first of five – which would enable him to sail to the other islands. But such a course of action did not meet
with the approval of the mission directors back in England.
It was the old, old question, oft
to be repeated: who knows best – the
man on the field where the action is, or the administrators in their office
back home?
“The years that followed were
tainted by conflict – sometimes heated and bitter – as Williams in flagrant
violation of the directors’ mandate continued his nautical activity” (From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, by Ruth
Tucker).
It is recorded that during his 22
years of ministry, Williams saw 300,000 natives brought to Christ. He taught them to build houses and
furniture, churches and schools, and raise sugar cane.
Natives were trained as teachers
and as missionaries to other islands.
The Rarotongan translation of the
New Testament was printed during his lifetime.
On 20 November, 1839, at the age of
43, he visited the isle of Erromanga, and was clubbed to death by hostile
cannibals.
Soon
we find him meeting to break bread with a small fellowship of earnest believers
in Dublin, and his teaching gift soon became evident.
He
also met with a similar group in Plymouth, England, led by Benjamin Wills
Newton, but by 1845 a split took place over some prophetic issues and how
‘closed’ the fellowship should be.
This
unimposing figure, yet distinguished scholar, was to influence the evangelical
world with his Christ-exalting ministry, his emphasis on the priesthood of all
believers, and his dispensational prophetic teachings.
Thus
we have the early days of the Christian Brethren Movement, and Darby was
certainly their most gifted teacher in those early days.
“He
was an itinerant man of few domestic pleasures, a man with magnetic electric personal qualities combined
with a tyrant’s will to lead…” is Ernest Sandeen’s appraisal of him (The Roots of Fundamentalism, page 31).
His
hymns are still sung in Brethren meetings, and his translation of the New
Testament is still used by some of the old-timers in Brethren circles. One of his hymns is :
Jesus,
we wait for Thee,
With
Thee to have our part,
What
can full joy and blessing be
But
being where Thou art.
About
40 volumes also came from his able pen, his
Synopsis of the Bible probably being his best-known work.
About
the time of his death at the age of 82 there were some 1,500 assemblies across
the world which esteemed him as their founder or guide.
This
is the day that … WILLIAM
ASHLEY SUNDAY
was born in Iowa, USA, 1862.
He never saw his father. Billy, as he is better known, was born four
months after his father had marched away to fight in the Civil War – never to
return.
By 1880 baseball had become the
passion of his life … even playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates!
Then, in 1887, he yielded to the
claims of Christ upon his life.
After working for some years with
the YMCA and then as assistant to evangelist Wilbur Chapman, Billy Sunday
launched out into an itinerant evangelistic ministry (1896-1935).
Thousands crammed into specially
built ‘tabernacles’ with sawdust-lined aisles to hear the explosive preaching
of this new revivalist.
“By the end of his career he had
preached to 100 million souls, of whom a million had walked the ‘sawdust trail’
– that is, had responded to his invitation for them to accept Christ as Saviour
(Christianity Today, June, 1991, page
36).
“His magnetic personality, blended
with sensational speech and theatrical gestures, kept audiences spellbound!”,
says the Dictionary of Religious
Biography, page 443.
His anti-booze sermon caused
“scores of towns and counties” to go dry.
Hotels went out of business. His
acrobatic preaching meant “he had to change his sweat-soaked suit after each
meeting”.
His song-leader, Homer Rodeheaver,
wrote that when Billy preached his sermon “The
Devil’s Boomerang” – “until he tempered it down a little … two to 10 men
fainted every time I heard him preach it!” (Twenty
Years with Billy Sunday, page 32).
Not without his faults – as his
most recent biographer reveals – and plagued by errant sons, nevertheless Billy
Sunday stood tall among the giants of evangelism.
Born in London, he worked as an ironmonger in his youth, was converted about the age of 20, and offered himself to the London Missionary Society.
He married Mary Chauner – and
together they set sail for the South Seas in December, 1816.
For the next 23 years he preached
the gospel – and translated the New Testament into the Raratongan language.
“In 1823,” Williams wrote, “I found
them (the Raratongans) all heathens; in
1834 they were all professing Christians.
At the former period I found them with idols … in 1834 congregations
amounting to 6000 persons assembled every Sabbath day; I found them without a written language, and
left them reading in their own tongue the wonderful works of God” (Epoch Makers
of Modern Missions, page 127).
It is one of the great stories of
missionary endeavour with which every Christian should be acquainted.
==============================================
This
is the day that … WILLIAM
SHRUBSOLE JNR
was born in Kent, UK, in 1759.
After working some years as a clerk
in the Bank of England he eventually became secretary to the Committee of the
Treasury. And he forsook the Church of
England, spending the last 20 years of his life with the Congregationalists.
He took an active role in the Bible
Society, the London Missionary Society, and the Religious Tract Society,
holding offices in these organisations.
And he was a lay preacher.
About 20 hymns were written by him,
but only one is in some of today’s hymnbooks:
Arm of the Lord, awake! awake!
Put on your strength, the nations
shake,
And let the world, adoring, view
Triumphs of mercy done by You.
Some authorities consider this to
have been actually written by his father (of the same name), who is best known
for the hymn tune he composed, “Miles
Lane”.
It is interesting to see a verse of
“Arm of the Lord, awake” that is no
longer included in today’s hymnals:
Arm of the Lord, Thy power extend,
Let Mahomet’s imposture end!
Break papal superstition’s chain
And the proud scoffer’s rage restrain.
The hymn was written in 1780 – and
both William Shrubsoles (Senior and Junior) were living at that date.
This
is the day that … DANIEL
WEBSTER WHITTLE
was born in Massachusetts, in 1840.
During the Civil War he marched
with General Sherman as he blazed his way through the Southern States. At the battle of Vicksburg Whittle lost his
right arm and was taken prisoner by the Confederate Army.
But like thousands of others – in
both the Northern and Southern troops – Whittle came to a saving knowledge of
Christ. It has been estimated that over
100,000 were converted in the Union Army … and approximately 150,000 among the
Confederates (Christian History Magazine,
Volume 33).
Near the close of that awful war,
Whittle was promoted to the rank of major – and it is as Major D.W. Whittle he
became well- known in Christian circles as an evangelist.
About 200 gospel songs were penned
by him – some under the pseudonym of “El Nathan” - many still popular today:
“There shall be showers of blessing,” “Have you any room for Jesus?”, “I know not why God’s wondrous grace to me hath been made known”, “There’s a royal banner given for display”.
At the Chicago World Fair in 1893,
his friend Henry Varley had commented to Major Whittle that he did not like the
hymn, “I need Thee every hour..” “I
need Him every moment!” Varley added.
So Major Whittle wrote:
Moment by moment I’m kept in His love,
Moment by moment I’ve life from above…
The melody was composed by his
daughter, May, who married the son of D.L. Moody.
This is the day that … JOHN
GILL was born in 1697. The place was Northamptonshire, England.
His
father was a non-conformist preacher of the gospel.
Although
schooling was limited, young John is said to have taught himself Hebrew, even
writing a book later in life on “The Antiquity of the Hebrew Language”. Latin and Greek likewise were mastered by
this profound scholar.
“Gill’s
thirst for knowledge was insatiable”, writes one biographer – and it was no
surprise that after his conversion, at the age of 19, he began to preach.
For
over 50 years he pastored the same congregation, and wrote voluminously. Of his Commentary on the whole Bible,
Spurgeon writes: “For good, sound,
massive, sober sense in commenting, who can excel Gill?” (Commenting on Commentaries, page 9). His portrait hung in Spurgeon’s vestry.
But
it needs to be added that Gill was a hyper-Calvinist, so zealous to emphasise
the sovereignty of God that “he denied preachers the right to offer Christ to
unregenerate sinners” (Dictionary of the
Christian Church, page 413).
Ed
Reese comments that Dr Gill “may be the greatest scholar the Baptists ever
produced” … but that would probably depend upon one’s theological leaning!
He
died on 14 October, 1771.
This is the day that … JOHN
KNOX died, in 1572.
The
exact date of his birth, even the year, is unknown. Biographers range from 1505 to 1514, but nobody knows for sure.
We
do know, however, that this Scotsman was ordained to the Roman Catholic
priesthood before he was 25 years of age, and that by 1542 he had been
converted to the Protestant faith.
There
follows some months as bodyguard (“drawn sword in hand”) to George Wishart,
leader among the Scottish reformers.
But on 29 February, 1546, Wishart was martyred and Knox was arrested the
following year by the Roman Catholic authorities.
Thus
it was for 18 months that Knox found himself as a galley-slave on a French
ship, the “Notre Dame”.
In
1549 we find him preaching up a storm both in the British Isles and on the
Continent. His denunciations of the
mass and Roman Catholicism in general did much to bring about a law, passed by
the Scottish Parliament on 1 August, 1560, establishing Protestantism as the
religion of that country.
He
then spent some years in Geneva, where Calvin was exercising a remarkable
influence.
Knox
returned to his native land “a Calvinist of the Calvinists”, and found himself
in head-on collision with the Roman Catholic queen. When Mary, Queen of Scots, had mass celebrated in her palace
chapel, the “thundering Scot” made known his feelings on this ‘sin of idolatry’
from the pulpit of St Giles.
It
is probably true to say that Knox was a stern man, but he lived in an age that
needed someone of his character to stem the inroads of Romanism.
Shortly
before his death he asked his wife to read him John 17 – “for that is where I
first cast my anchor”.
This is the day that … JAMES
EVANS died in 1846.
This
long-forgotten missionary (alas) was born in England, in 1801. The grocer who employed him as a youth
expected his employees to attend church.
It was there young James heard Irish evangelist Gideon Ouseley, was converted,
and had his thoughts turned towards missionary service.
In
1823 he went to Canada, “first as a school teacher and then as a great flaming
evangelist” among some Red Indian tribes (Epoch
Makers of Modern Missions, by A. McLean, page 231).
His
biographer states that Evans had “a zeal that never flagged, a courage that
never faltered, and a love that never cooled”.
He
translated the Scriptures into various indigenous dialects; he
“inculcated
cleanliness among those won to Christ”;
he urged his converts to abstain from strong drink, and clashed with
white traders who supplied it.
He
scaled snow-covered heights and canoed down dangerous rapids. “He went from wigwam to wigwam and explained
the way of salvation” (page 239).
But
near the end of his ministry, tragedy struck.
His gun accidentally discharged and the Red Indian travelling with him
was killed. Evans went to the tribe and
confessed what had happened. Some
wanted his scalp! “But the mother of
the dead man saved his life”, interceding for him. He was adopted into the tribe.
Orders came from England that he
was to return. And when he did he found
the missionary society “believed him guilty” of rumours that had been spread
concerning his ministry.
Although vindicated of these charges
after a strenuous series of meetings, James Evans died at the age of 45.
This
is the day that … WILLIAM
COWPER was
born, in Hertfordshire, England, in 1731.
His father was a Church of England
clergyman. His mother died when William
was but six years of age, and he found himself in boarding school facing
“loneliness, insecurity and bullying”.
It was probably the result of these
sad days that led to bouts of insanity in adulthood.
He studied law, was called to the
bar in 1754 … but never practised law.
Fear of appearing in public and mental illness prevented him from doing
so. “On this occasion he bought poison
and placed a penknife at his heart, but hadn’t the courage to kill himself by
either. Then he tried hanging himself
with a garter, but the garter broke” (Gospel in Hymns, by Barclay, page
13).
Lord David Cecil, in his biography
of Cowper, tells us that he was committed to Dr Cotton’s asylum in St Albans,
“a gibbering, raving maniac” (page 71).
“Day after day he lay upon his bed bound for fear he would kill
himself.”
The fear that he had committed the
unpardonable sin burned into his brain.
It was whilst in the asylum,
“walking in a garden, he came upon a Bible lying on a bench”. He read John 12 – and took the Bible to his
room to read some more. “I flung myself
into a chair near the window,” Cowper wrote later, “and ventured once more to
apply to it for comfort and instruction.
The first verse I saw was the 25th verse of Romans 3: “Whom God set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of
sins.” Immediately, I received strength
to believe it and the full beams of the Son’s righteousness shone upon me. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement He
had made, my pardon sealed in His blood…
In a moment I believed and received the gospel…” (Quoted in The Stricken Deer, the Life of Cowper,
by Lord David Cecil, page 74).
It would be good to be able to say
that he was miraculously healed of his mental troubles. But such was not the case. There were still days ahead of unbearable
suffering. And attempted suicide again.
Eighteen months later, however, he
left Dr Cotton’s asylum and moved to Olney.
Here he began a close friendship with the local vicar, Rev. John Newton
(who wrote “Amazing Grace”). For the next 12 years Newton and Cowper
served the Lord as a team, the latter caring for “the poor, the sick and the
dying”.
When a bout of melancholy oppressed
his friend, Newton suggested they write hymns.
Thus it was that William Cowper loomed large in the history of hymnody.
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform …
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins …
Hark, my soul, it is the Lord,
‘tis the Saviour, hear His Word…
Oh, for a closer walk with God …
Sometimes a light surprises …
All these, and more, came from his pen.
Cowper’s place at Olney is now a museum. A painting on the wall shows an eccentric poet absent-mindedly boiling his watch over the grate and holding an egg in his hand! (Bailey, page 133).
Bouts of depression continued until 25 April, 1800, when he passed into his heavenly home where suffering and pain are no more.
27 November
This
is the day that … ADELAIDE
ADDISON POLLARD
was born in Iowa, USA, in 1862.
Actually she was christened
‘Sarah’, but she did not like it and ‘adopted’ the name ‘Adelaide’ instead!
After studying elocution and
teaching in various girls’ schools she claimed to be healed of diabetes through
the ministry of Rev. John Alexander Dowie.
Although “she continued to suffer
from physical ailments and disabilities the rest of her life”, her confidence
in Dowie never wavered (Forty Stories of
Famous Gospel Songs, by E. Emurien, page 38). She even assisted him in some of his healing sessions and played
a portable organ in open-air meetings.
At the age of 33 her desire to go
to Africa as a missionary was thwarted by ill health, but it was during this
time she penned the autobiographical gospel song for which she is still
remembered:
Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own
way;
Thou art the Potter – I am the clay;
Mould me and make me after Thy will,
while I am waiting, yielded and still.
After a short time in Africa, World War I broke out and she found it necessary to move to Scotland … then back to America, where “illness and suffering plagued her declining years” (ibid, page 39).
Adelaide Pollard died in New York on 20 December, 1934.
28 November
This
is the day that … JEREMIAH
EAMES RANKIN died in 1904, at the age of 76.
After his ordination to the Congregational ministry
in 1855 he pastored in various American states, including 15 years as minister
of the First Congregational Church, Washington DC (1869-1884).
During this time – in 1882 – he penned the words of
a Benediction to be sung by his church members at the close of the services.
It was popularized by Ira Sankey in D.L. Moody’s
evangelistic meetings. And many a
missionary sailing for an overseas field of service would hear friends singing
it as the boat left the wharf.
The hymn :
God be with you ’till
we meet again,
By His counsels guide,
uphold you,
With His sheep
securely fold you –
God be with you ’till
we meet again.
In
1889 he was elected to the Presidency of Howard University, Washington, where
he continued until his death.
==============================================
29 November
This
is the day that …NARCISSA AND MARCUS
WHITMAN were massacred – in 1847.
Married
in 1836, this dedicated couple set their sights on taking the gospel to the Red
Indians.
The day
after their wedding they left for Missouri in the company of another couple,
Henry and Eliza Spaulding. Some years
previously Narcissa had rejected Henry’s marriage proposal, nor did Henry have
a ‘personality suited to teamwork’.
The
biographer surely understates the case when she writes: “It was not an ideal situation!”
After
2000 miles of ‘gruelling hardship’ the two couples parted company. Narcissa and Marcus settled in Oregon (in
1844), building a “rough lean-to with a mud roof … and only blankets for doors
…” And there, three months later, a
baby daughter was born. The saga of
that early mission is sad to read.
Three
new missionary couples arrived, “bringing further conflicts.” Two year-old Alice Whitman was drowned in a
nearby stream. But the mission station
began to grow, “it resembled an inn for immigrants”, and prices at the Whitman
store – justly or unjustly? – were spoken of as being exploitive. The Indians resented the missionaries’
‘prosperity’. The mission board 2000
miles away heard rumours and censured them.
There
was little response to their preaching.
And when plague broke out among the Indians it was the missionaries who
were blamed for poisoning them with their ‘medicine’.
In
November, 1847, the mission station was attacked and 14 of the 72 people living
there were slain – including the Whitmans.
Narcissa was 39 years of age;
Marcus was 45.
Not
a preacher, not a reformer, not a gospel singer, not a hymn-writer, but a
businessman, who learned to give Christ first place in his industrial
life. And we need to remember that the
Lord does not call every believer to stand behind a pulpit, or sing like a
nightingale!
He
was the fourth of eight children, ran away from home at the age of 13, and gave
up school at 14 in favour of working in an iron foundry! By the time he was 28 he was working as a
mechanic – and eloping with his 16 year-old bride.
But
godly parents, Caleb and Elizabeth LeTourneau, were praying for this rebellious
son, and at 17 he had made a commitment to Christ.
Robert
and wife, Evelyn, became involved with the Christian and Missionary Alliance
Church. And Matthew 6:33 – “Seek ye
first…” became his life motto. It
carried over into his manufacturing plant – inventing or perfecting heavy
earth-moving equipment. “Seventy
percent of earth moving machinery used by the Allies in World War II was
supplied by his company!”
LeTourneau brought dozens of
innovations to the industry he helped to create … and millions of dollars have
been channelled into evangelical Christian work as a result.
He once said, “If you’re not
serving the Lord, it proves you don’t love Him: if you don’t love Him, it proves you don’t know Him. Because to know Him is to love Him, and to
love Him is to serve Him.” (Do I hear
an ‘Amen’!)
Robert G. LeTourneau died on 1
June, 1969.
(References: Mover
of Men and Mountains, by R.G. LeTourneau, and God Runs My Business, by A. Lorimer.)