Fill Your Heart With Christ

Wise counsel from a father, David Kinghorn, to his son, Joseph Kinghorn, who was preparing for the ministry, April, 1791:

Though customs not enjoined by the great lawgiver are not binding on conscience [he was writing about Lent], yet we should be careful not to give offence to those who are bound by them. You have, for the present, got your head full of Moses. I wish your heart may be filled with Christ.

The Life and Works of Joseph Kinghorn, by Martin Hood Wilkin, reprinted by Particular Baptist Press, 1995, p. 191.

Total Abstinence

Writing to the recently established Tabernacle Total Abstinence Society at his church, March 15, 1882, pastor C. H. Spurgeon said:

I sincerely believe that, next to the preaching of the gospel, the most necessary thing to be done in England is to induce our people to become total abstainers.

He signed the letter, “Yours teetotally, C. H. Spurgeon.”

Letters of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Selected with Notes, by Iain H. Murray, Banner of Truth, p. 153.

His Sufficiency

A selection from a letter by Mrs. Vera Pink to Evelyn Green:

There are times in the lives of all women when the changes which the years bring on are trying, but it is a wonderful opportunity for us to prove again, and yet again, his sufficiency. Ah, how patient he is – how longsuffering! The more we lean upon him the more we please him.

The Life of Arthur W. Pink, Ian Murray, Banner of Truth, p. 150.

The Best Letter

An extract from a letter by Benjamin Morgan Palmer, to a friend about letter writing, May 16, 1866:

The best letter is that which contains the simple outpouring of feeling and thought, such as would spring to utterance in the freedom and abandon of conversation. No matter if it does ramble from topic to topic. This license of gossip is the privilege of fireside chat, and is the charm of correspondence. Never fear, then, to give your pen all the liberty of the tongue, for which at best it is only the sorry substitute.

The Life and Letters of Benjamin Morgan Palmer, by Thomas Cary Johnson, Banner of Truth, pp. 371-72).

Let Us Be Active Here

A selection from a letter by Thomas Charles, to a young clergyman, March 23, 1808:

Avoid indulgence, sloth and idleness. Let every portion of your time be usefully and conscientiously spent. Our time is short, and life is uncertain… We have eternity to rest; let us be active here.

Thomas Charles’ Spiritual Counsels: Selected from his Letters and Papers, by Edward Morgan, first published in 1836, reprinted by the Banner of Truth, 1993, p. 390.

Laying Up

From the pen of J. C. Philpot to Jesse Crake, November 24, 1856:

There must be times, especially in a minister, for laying up as well as laying out. There is a trading in divine matters whereby the soul becomes enriched with heavenly treasure.

Letters and Memoir of Joseph Charles Philpot, first published in 1871, reprinted by Baker Book House, 1981, p. 250.

To Whom Shall We Go?

A selection from a letter written by missionary Henry Martyn, July 11, 1808, to Rev. D. Corrie, about his sermon preached the day before to fourteen people in attendance at the church:

I spoke to them on the text, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.’ To whom shall we go? To the Padre – to the Virgin Mary – to the Saints – to the world – to works – to repentance? No; to Christ.

The Life and Letters of Henry Martyn, by John Sargent, first published in 1819, published by the Banner of Truth, 1985, p. 248.