Missionary!

From Maggie Paton, wife of missionary to the New Hebrides, John Paton, to her sister, about what a native called her husband, November 3, 1875:

We were amused at his calling him Cap’ain, evidently intending it as a great compliment to John, who would scorn to put even the title of King on a par with that of MISSIONARY!

Letters and Sketches from the New Hebrides, by Maggie Whitecross Paton, printed by Reformation Heritage Books and Sprinkle Publications, 2003, p. 237.

The Happiness of Man

From a letter by Henry Venn, Church of England minister, to a friend, September 22, 1766:

Strange as it sounds, and worse than nonsense, in the ears of a carnal man, yet it is most true, that the happiness of man consists in his humbling views of his own sinfulness; and he enjoys the presence and the love of God deeply in his heart, only in proportion as he feels himself deserving of hell.

Letters of Henry Venn, by John Venn, first published in 1835, republished by the Banner of Truth, 1993, p. 116.

Had Not He Stretched Forth His Hand

From the pen of John Calvin, about the death of his wife, to his friend, William Farel, April 11, 1549:

May the Lord Jesus strengthen you by His Spirit; and may He support me also under this heavy affliction, which would certainly have overcome me, had not He, who raises up the prostrate, strengthens the weak, and refreshes the weary, stretched forth His hand from heaven to me.

Letters from John Calvin: Selected from the Bonnet Edition, the Banner of Truth, 1980, p. 107-108.

It Is A Wonder

Extract from a letter by the New England Baptist preacher, John Leland, to Rev. John Taylor, Dec. 10, 1830:

On a serious reflection, I cannot much condemn myself, that I have not devoted as much of my time in my ministerial labors, as human and civil duties admitted; but, have much cause of self-condemnation when I reflect on the languor of soul, and indifference of spirit that have beset me when preaching eternal realities. It is a wonder that ever a holy God should have crowned my imperfect labors with any success; and yet, amidst all, I have great joy to think that I have not altogether ‘run in vain, nor labored in vain.’

The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland, 1845, reprinted by Church History Research and Archives, 1986, p. 602.

Mortality

From the pen of Thomas Chalmers, to his friend Robert Brown, April 17, 1832, upon the death of Brown’s mother:

Nothing brings home more experimentally to my heart the lesson of my native carnality than the constant need which there is of having the doctrine of mortality so repeatedly told to me; and it does shew how prone we are to cleave to the dust of a perishable world, that though told of death over and over again, yet do we persist in living here as if here we were to live forever.

Letters of Thomas Chalmers, edited by William Hanna, first published 1853, reprinted by The Banner of Truth, 2007, p. 181.

The Worth of Souls

From the pen of Isaac Backus to his mother regarding the awakening of several sinners who were seeking Christ, written on September 27, 1762:

I daily look upon myself as a vile creature, yet the worth of souls and the great concerns of the kingdom of Christ, have, I think, engaged my mind as fully as ever in my life, to labor in his vineyard. Oh, these are golden moments, and woe to those who trifle them away.

A Memoir of the Life and Times of the Rev. Isaac Backus, by Alvah Hovey, 1858, republished by Gano Books, 1991, p. 138.

The Most Momentous News of All

From a letter by Martyn Lloyd-Jones to his son-in-law and daughter, Fred and Elizabeth Catherwood, April 5, 1954, about the sermon he preached the night before from Acts 17:1-3:

My theme in general was this: Paul did not discuss the questions of the day but always preached Jesus. His method is important… He ‘opened’ the Scriptures, then reasoned in them and then alleged or propounded his message that Jesus is the Christ. It is the most momentous news of all.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Letters 1919-1981, Selected with Notes, by Ian H. Murray, Banner of Truth, 1994, p. 119.