GLASGOW, March 1st, 1879.
DEAR MRS. THOM,
—I was glad to hear from you. You seem
to thrive on Highland air and Highland services. . . . Pray for us here, seek
power from on high to minister and people. I read the other day that two
American professors have lately shown how the power that is in the Niagara Fall
may be transmitted along a copper cable half an inch thick, to the distance of
500 miles. We know how to get greater power than Niagara power from above. Do
we think sufficiently on this? For read Paul's prayer, Eph. 1.: 'that the eyes
of your understanding being enlightened .. . ye may know the exceeding
greatness of His power,' etc.
Here is another exercise for you.
Find
out eleven ways in which 'justification' is spoken of, e.g. the act of the
Father,—then of Christ,— by grace, etc.
Study Esther and Job in
connection. The former is the mystery of providence in public affairs, the
latter, in believers personal affairs.
Take each chapter of Proverbs after
the ninth, and set yourself to find an instance that illustrates each
successive verse, e.g. 'a wise son maketh a glad father;' Solomon himself,
etc.
In the twelve minor prophets note the special mission or burden of
each, e.g. Hosea, the prophet of the backslider; Joel (the earliest book of
written prophecies), the announcer of the full gift of the Spirit in the midst
of judgments abroad.
The cold has been intense here and long continued.
Our new church is very comfortable, but my voice is not what it should be, even
in the new church. The Holy Spirit seems sometimes to breathe among us very
blessedly. . .. Again asking to be remembered— Believe me always, yours
truly in the Lord,
ANDREW A. BONAR.
GLASGOW, 12th May 1883.
DEAR MRS. THOM,
—There is no second baptism in the
Acts of the Apostles. There is a second, and a third, and a fourth, and as many
as you like filling with the Holy Ghost. From time to time the Lord is
pleased to give more and more out of Christ's fulness. The mistake which some
people make about a second baptism is this. They do not notice that the thing
promised was a far fuller gift of the Spirit than in Old Testament times, as
soon as Christ was ascended to the Father with His completed sacrifice. Whoever
acknowledged this completed work of Christ was warranted at once to ask and
expect the fuller gift of the Spirit. Until disciples acknowledged this
completed work they got only the Old Testament measure of the Spirit. Hence in
Acts xix. i-6, the question to the twelve disciples, 'Have you received the
promised full gift of the Holy Spirit?' The answer was, 'We know by John's
teaching that such a thing is to be, but as yet we have not heard that any of
that shower has fallen.'
Upon this they were instructed in the whole truth
about Christ and His finished work, and were baptized (as a sign of this) in
the way Christ appointed. And then there followed the gift of the full shower
on their souls. Is this satisfactory? Pray for us.—Yours in Him,
ANDREW A. BONAR.
Transcribed from Reminiscences of Andrew A.Bonar D.D.
first published
LONDON, HODDER AND STOUGHTON,
27 Paternoster
Row
1895
HTML transcription files copyright © 2001-2006.
Jane Newble
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August 2001