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Diary and Life
The Diary and Life of Andrew Bonar (1810-1892), gives a panoramic view of one of the most fascinating periods of Scotland's church history. But first and foremost it is the record of God's work in the life of a man who represented all that was finest in the evangelical life of that country.A pupil of Thomas Chalmers, friend of Robert Murray M'Cheyne, participant in the revivals of 1839 and 1859, faithful witness against the inroads of 'Higher Criticism', Bonar's name became highly esteemed far beyond the borders of his own church. Yet his life-long concern was communion with God and his diary discloses that hidden yet most helpful aspect of his witness.Convinced, like M'Cheyne, that 'it is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus' and that 'unholiness lies at the root of our little success', Andrew Bonar sought to press further and further into the presence of God. He knew that 'one of the gravest perils which besets the ministry is a restless scattering of energies over an amazing multiplicity of interests which leaves no margin of time and of strength for receptive and absorbing communion with God'. Consequently prayer, meditation, and Bible study were for him the chief work of every day. The confession, in reviewing his life and ministry, 'One terrible failure confronted me everywhere, viz., ;Ye have asked nothing in my name& want of prayer in right measure and manner', was not the vain regret of a morbid mind but of one who had learned by experience the supreme importance and value of prayer.Unlike some diarists, however, Bonar was no recluse. Rather he 'seemed to live in a perpetual sunshine and to spread not gloom but brightness and good nature wherever he appeared'. His Diary and Life is one of the great treasures left to the church from the nineteenth century, and deserves to be widely and eagerly read.
550 pages, Library Binding
First published February 1, 1961
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About the author
Andrew A. Bonar
134 books10 followersAndrew Alexander Bonar (May 29, 1810 in Edinburgh – December 30, 1892 in Glasgow) was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland and youngest brother of Horatius Bonar.
Bonar studied at Edinburgh; was minister at Collace, Perthshire, 1838 – 1856 (both in the Church of Scotland and the Free Church); and of Finnieston Free Church, Glasgow, 1856 till his death. He joined the Free Church in 1843, and was its moderator in 1878. He was identified with evangelical and revival movements and adhered to the doctrine of premillennialism. With Robert Murray McCheyne he visited Palestine in 1839 to inquire into the condition of the Jews there. During the visit of Dwight L. Moody to Britain in 1874 and 1875, Moody was warmly welcomed by Bonar, despite the latter receiving considerable criticism from other Calvinist ministers in the Free Church.
Bonar studied at Edinburgh; was minister at Collace, Perthshire, 1838 – 1856 (both in the Church of Scotland and the Free Church); and of Finnieston Free Church, Glasgow, 1856 till his death. He joined the Free Church in 1843, and was its moderator in 1878. He was identified with evangelical and revival movements and adhered to the doctrine of premillennialism. With Robert Murray McCheyne he visited Palestine in 1839 to inquire into the condition of the Jews there. During the visit of Dwight L. Moody to Britain in 1874 and 1875, Moody was warmly welcomed by Bonar, despite the latter receiving considerable criticism from other Calvinist ministers in the Free Church.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 2, 2020
Several years ago I was given this books as a gift from a dear friend and church member. I began to sip from Bonar's cup over these years (diaries are best sipped), and then last month I decided to guzzle the remnants. The book is divided into two main parts: his diary and a brief biography. Both are excellent.
Reading a diary is not riveting, but neither is mining for diamonds - mostly you're just whacking away at mundane earthiness until you uncover some precious gem. Bonar's diary has not a few gems of encouragement, comfort, and examples of human behavior (which is something we don't always associate with great ministers of the past).
In college, we were required to read the diary of David Brainerd, something which I am glad to have done. But Brainerd's diary sometimes has the opposite of the intended effect when his example of godliness overwhelms the reader with feelings of desperate inadequacy. We feel we could never measure up to the standard set by Brainerd's life-cut-short, even though we are blessed with three of four times the life span.
Bonar's diary is different. He complains of his deficiencies, he reveals heartbreak, he grieves lost loved ones, but he always presses on. For years and years he presses on. Too many preachers today want the fast-paced hare to mark their ministry, but what we need are the faithful tortoises who continually take the next step in the right direction.
Edwards challenges us. Spurgeon inspires us. Brainerd convicts us. Bunyan enthralls us. But Bonar? He is with us in the trenches. Some luminaries are at the head of the company, doing exploits; others are next to us in the mud and blood of spiritual warfare as an ever-comforting reminder that our Savior also uses common people in mighty ways.
A few of my favorite excerpts:
"Saturday, April 4th [1857] - For nearly ten days past have been much hindered in prayer, and feel my strength hindered thereby. I must at once return through the Lord's strength to not less than three hours a day spent in prayer and meditation upon the Word."
"Friday 16th [August 1859] - Still instances of blessing, but Satan has tempted me to ingratitude by underrating these. Lord, enable me to take the position Thou puttest me in, however obscure."
"December 3rd [1888] - ...my fear is that there is some secret cause why the Lord does not use me more, and so I have been speaking to Him much about this matter."
"November 24th [1888] ...O that I had prayed a hundredfold more!"
And especially interesting is Bonar's brief review of Brainerd's diary:
"Reading Brainerd's Life, it seemed to me that he did not hold fellowship with the living Saviour as he might have done, and did not see himself covered with Christ's merits whereby God's eye was turned away from his imperfections, corruptions, ignorance, failures, because the obedience of Christ was imputed to him. I would be like Brainerd every day, mourning and sad, if I did not see myself so covered with the obedience of Christ that the Father saw me in Him to be beautiful and attractive, because of the garment of righteousness."
One more: writing to a Mr. Manson he said, "I rejoice with you [at tidings of revival]. I try my own soul by this test, - can I be as glad at this news as if my own parish had been the scene of wonders?"
Reading a diary is not riveting, but neither is mining for diamonds - mostly you're just whacking away at mundane earthiness until you uncover some precious gem. Bonar's diary has not a few gems of encouragement, comfort, and examples of human behavior (which is something we don't always associate with great ministers of the past).
In college, we were required to read the diary of David Brainerd, something which I am glad to have done. But Brainerd's diary sometimes has the opposite of the intended effect when his example of godliness overwhelms the reader with feelings of desperate inadequacy. We feel we could never measure up to the standard set by Brainerd's life-cut-short, even though we are blessed with three of four times the life span.
Bonar's diary is different. He complains of his deficiencies, he reveals heartbreak, he grieves lost loved ones, but he always presses on. For years and years he presses on. Too many preachers today want the fast-paced hare to mark their ministry, but what we need are the faithful tortoises who continually take the next step in the right direction.
Edwards challenges us. Spurgeon inspires us. Brainerd convicts us. Bunyan enthralls us. But Bonar? He is with us in the trenches. Some luminaries are at the head of the company, doing exploits; others are next to us in the mud and blood of spiritual warfare as an ever-comforting reminder that our Savior also uses common people in mighty ways.
A few of my favorite excerpts:
"Saturday, April 4th [1857] - For nearly ten days past have been much hindered in prayer, and feel my strength hindered thereby. I must at once return through the Lord's strength to not less than three hours a day spent in prayer and meditation upon the Word."
"Friday 16th [August 1859] - Still instances of blessing, but Satan has tempted me to ingratitude by underrating these. Lord, enable me to take the position Thou puttest me in, however obscure."
"December 3rd [1888] - ...my fear is that there is some secret cause why the Lord does not use me more, and so I have been speaking to Him much about this matter."
"November 24th [1888] ...O that I had prayed a hundredfold more!"
And especially interesting is Bonar's brief review of Brainerd's diary:
"Reading Brainerd's Life, it seemed to me that he did not hold fellowship with the living Saviour as he might have done, and did not see himself covered with Christ's merits whereby God's eye was turned away from his imperfections, corruptions, ignorance, failures, because the obedience of Christ was imputed to him. I would be like Brainerd every day, mourning and sad, if I did not see myself so covered with the obedience of Christ that the Father saw me in Him to be beautiful and attractive, because of the garment of righteousness."
One more: writing to a Mr. Manson he said, "I rejoice with you [at tidings of revival]. I try my own soul by this test, - can I be as glad at this news as if my own parish had been the scene of wonders?"
November 10, 2024
Top notch
April 1, 2018
I really expected to like this book but ended up being quite disappointed. The man himself was a godly man worthy of imitation and a joy to be around. Unfortunately his biography does not do him justice. The first 300 pages are excerpts from his diary. Diaries are often hard reading and his is not an exception. It would have been better to use the material from his diary to write his biography and quote from it here and there.
Then again, given the skills of the his daughter compiling the book, maybe not. I expected that when I got to the last 100 pages, which are reminiscences of his life, that it would get better, but it got worse. As far as being tedious, disjointed and just very bland. It is obvious that his daughter loved him very much and shared his convictions, which is sweet, but she simply didn't know how to write a book and it is sad that no one better able came forward to do this work.
One thing I got from the book is the ongoing grief of loss. Bonar's wife died after 17 years of marriage when he was 54. He never remarried and talked often about his feelings of loss and that things were never the same after that. He lived another 30+ years but for over a decade her death seemed to be never far from his thoughts. It was a good reminder of how long grief takes and that there are some tears that will only be wiped away in heaven.
I had trouble appreciating excerpts from his preaching or Bible exposition. His exposition was more emotional than it was carefully reasoned. The outcome was generally sound but not always the method/approach. His warm heart was certainly a strength of his preaching and of his life and was a beautiful. I do wish I could have known him. I do not particularly wish though to read things written by him. I do wish to be more like him. He was prayerful, conscientious, devout; he loved his Savior and he loved his people.
Then again, given the skills of the his daughter compiling the book, maybe not. I expected that when I got to the last 100 pages, which are reminiscences of his life, that it would get better, but it got worse. As far as being tedious, disjointed and just very bland. It is obvious that his daughter loved him very much and shared his convictions, which is sweet, but she simply didn't know how to write a book and it is sad that no one better able came forward to do this work.
One thing I got from the book is the ongoing grief of loss. Bonar's wife died after 17 years of marriage when he was 54. He never remarried and talked often about his feelings of loss and that things were never the same after that. He lived another 30+ years but for over a decade her death seemed to be never far from his thoughts. It was a good reminder of how long grief takes and that there are some tears that will only be wiped away in heaven.
I had trouble appreciating excerpts from his preaching or Bible exposition. His exposition was more emotional than it was carefully reasoned. The outcome was generally sound but not always the method/approach. His warm heart was certainly a strength of his preaching and of his life and was a beautiful. I do wish I could have known him. I do not particularly wish though to read things written by him. I do wish to be more like him. He was prayerful, conscientious, devout; he loved his Savior and he loved his people.
September 2, 2016
I remember the effect this book had on me. Reading the thoughts of this godly man as he wrestled with the demands of ministry, suffering the loss of his wife, dealing with his own sense of sin and unworthiness, expressing his immense love for and profound joy in the Lord Jesus - all this and more made me long to imitate his faith and serve Jesus as he did.
January 18, 2021
If you are looking for a narrative biography of Andrew Bonar, this is not it.
In terms of its flow, it's quite scattered. The first part we get the "diary" part which consists of mainly diary entries but also some letters written by Bonar.
The second half is just as scattered: describing his "life".
The diary entries were illuminating in having a look inside Bonar's thoughts. There were some themes that kept reoccuring: his struggles regarding the fruitfulness of his own ministry, reflecting on the anniversaries of his ordination/first sermon, his own lack of prayer, his constant reflection on death (especially as he saw many of his friends pass away), and his reminiscing on the death of his father and McCheyne every year.
In terms of its flow, it's quite scattered. The first part we get the "diary" part which consists of mainly diary entries but also some letters written by Bonar.
The second half is just as scattered: describing his "life".
The diary entries were illuminating in having a look inside Bonar's thoughts. There were some themes that kept reoccuring: his struggles regarding the fruitfulness of his own ministry, reflecting on the anniversaries of his ordination/first sermon, his own lack of prayer, his constant reflection on death (especially as he saw many of his friends pass away), and his reminiscing on the death of his father and McCheyne every year.
September 21, 2024
He was a godly man and pastor worthy of imitation. Diaries are usually tough reads, and this is no exception. It can seem quite redundant. I felt the last 100 pages of reminiscence of his life and sayings was better, but it’s not a biography. Even so, the book made me want to draw closer to Christ and serve like Bonar. I do wish someone would write a proper biography of him.
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July 11, 2020It is finished.
February 25, 2023
Such an inspiring book! I was especially challenged by Bonar's rich prayer life.
December 10, 2023
I wish I could give this gem more stars. Andrew Bonar is a spiritual father who died 100 years before I was born. I am deeply grateful for his faith, his godliness, his wisdom, and his character.
April 29, 2024
Found it a good read, even though it took awhile I found Andrew Bonar a man I can learn from, of his humility and devotion to God.
January 20, 2014
he was a good friend of Robert Murray McCheyne! when Andrew and Horatius Bonars and Robert were studying for ministry under the leadership of the wonderful Thomas Chalmers, these young men used go to the poor areas of Edinburgh on their lunch breaks! their zeal for learning was balanced with love for people, sharing the good news to the rejected and the despised!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews