Listening to the Giants

David Brainerd died at the young age of 29. Early death in itself is not unusual, but might the young missionaries’ death been preventable? Jonathan Edwards (author of Brainerd’s diary) explains, “Another imperfection in Mr. Brainerd, which may be observed in the following account of his life, was his life, was his being excessive in his labors; not taking due care to proportion his fatigues to his strength.” Yet I would encourage the reader to not be too critical of Brainerd’s imperfection. I believe there are three reasons for Brainerd’s recklessness. Life was short at that time. I have dealt with this issue in a previous post, addressing the grim realities for John Calvin and most humans in the last two millennia.   “It is hard for the 21st century Christian to truly grasp the regularity of death for the 16th century person. Most children did not make it to adulthood (Calvin’s only son died two weeks after birth) and therefore, time for Calvin was against him an...

Out of all of McCheyne’s entries, these impacted me the most. Nov. 12—“Reading H. Martyn’s Memoirs. Would I imitate him, giving up father, mother, country, house, health, life, all—for Christ. And yet, what hinders/ Lord, purify me and give me strength to dedicate myself, my all to Thee!” It seems a common trend among the “giants” to drink of the springs of those “who have walked before them”. The reason is obvious: Encouragement to finish the race . Encouragement to finish the right way. Dec. 18—“My heart must break off from all these things. What right have I to steal and abuse my Master’s time? Redeem it. He is crying to me.” Nothing grieves my heart more than “wasted time”. Conversely, nothing strengthens the Christian more than the joy of a clear conscience (Acts 23:1). Aug. 18—“Heard of the death of James Somerville by fever, induced by cholera. O God, Thy ways and thoughts are not as ours! I saw him last on Friday, 27 th of July, at the College gate; shook h...

Death is an unnatural joy. This is not to say that death is not normal, because it certainly is. Its sting brings fear, and yet, by the mercy of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the sting of death has been relieved (1 Cor. 15:55-57). For Robert Murray McCheyne, it was the sting of his brother’s death that awakened him to the Divine peace. McCheyne’s brother David was 8 or 9 years older and was the light of Christ in the McCheyne household. It was said of him that he was a man of “sensitive truthfulness”. Just a grieved look from his godly brother often led McCheyne to inner shame and subsequent repentance. The months leading up to David’s death were difficult for McCheyne. His brother had a severe bout of melancholy (i.e. depression —modern use), which ate away at his body, leaving him susceptible to physical illness. Before he died, the clouds of depression lifted, but David’s suffering had great impact on McCheyne, who often spoke of his brother’s death...

The death of Mrs. Müller was no surprise to Müller or anyone else, but his response did catch a few people off guard. His biographer reveals the details below:   “The death of this beloved wife afforded an illustration of this. Within a few hours after this withdrawal of her who had shared with him the planning and working of these long years of service, Mr. Müller went to the Monday-evening prayer meeting, then held in Salem Chapel, to mingle his prayers and praises as usual with those of his brethren. With a literally shining countenance, he rose and said: “Beloved brethren and sisters in Christ, I ask you to join with me in hearty praise and thanksgiving to my precious Lord for His loving kindness in having taken my darling, beloved wife out of the pain and suffering which she had endured, into His own presence; and as I rejoice in everything that is for her happiness, so I now rejoice as I realize how far happier she is, in beholding her Lord who she loved so well, than in ...

Throughout the next few weeks, this blog will examine certain “snapshots” of D.L. Moody, which I hope will bring a deeper appreciation for this servant and a greater love for the God whom he gave his life to. This is a letter Moody wrote to his children regarding the death of their son and his only grandson (who had his namesake): "I know Dwight is having a good time, and we should rejoice with him. What would mansions be without children? He was the last to come into our circle, and he is the first to go up there! So safe, so free from all the sorrow that we are passing through! I do thank God for such a life. It was nearly all smiles and sunshine, and what a glorified body he will have, and with what joy he will await your coming! God does not give us such strong love for each other for a few days or years, but it is going to last forever, and you will have the dear little man with you for ages and ages, and love will keep increasing. The Master has need of him, or He ...