Select Letters of John Newton
Publisher's note:
John Newton (1725-1807), sailor, preacher and hymnwriter, was one of the most colourful figures in the great Evangelical Revival of the 18th Century. ‘Once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa,’ he wrote for his own epitaph, ‘by the rich mercy of Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long laboured to destroy’.
It was through his correspondence that Newton fulfilled his distinctive work as ‘the letter writer par excellence of the Evangelical Revival’. His grasp of Scripture and deep personal experience, his many friends (among them, George Whitefield, William Cowper and William Wilberforce), his manifold trials, his country pastorate, his strong, clear, idiomatic style — all these factors combined to prepare the author of How sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds, for the exercise of his special gift.
These practical letters cover a wide variety of subjects and aim ‘to conform the believer to Christ’.
Contents:
Introduction
1. Grace in the Blade
2. Grace in the Ear
3. The Full Corn in the Ear
4. Communion with God
5. Spiritual Blindness
6. The Right Use of the Law
7. Snares and Difficulties Attending the Ministry
8. Marks of a Call to the Ministry
9. Advice on the Work of the Ministry
10. Some Blemishes in Christian Character
11. Love to the Brethren
12. Doctrines of Election and Final Perseverance
13. Divine Guidance
14. The Practical Influence of Faith
15. Family Worship
16. Temptation
17. Controversy
18. Man in His Fallen Estate (1)
19. Man in His Fallen Estate (2)
20. Causes, Nature, and Marks of a Decline in Grace
21. Acquired and Experimental Knowledge
22. Believer’s Inability on Account of Remaining Sin
23. Evil Present with the Believer
24. Advantages from Remaining Sin
25. What the Believer Can Attain to in this Life
26. The Greatness of God
27. The Lord the Shepherd of His People
28. The Blessedness of the Believer
29. The Character of a Christian
30. Cases of Conscience
31. How To Meet the Assaults of Satan
32. How To Keep Close to the Lord
33. The Benefits of Affliction
34. Contrary Principles in the Believer
35. Christ All-sufficient
36. Blessed Are They that Mourn
37. Conflict Exercises the Graces
38. Submission to the Will of the Lord
39. The Vanity of the World
Publisher's note:
John Newton (1725-1807), sailor, preacher and hymnwriter, was one of the most colourful figures in the great Evangelical Revival of the 18th Century. ‘Once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa,’ he wrote for his own epitaph, ‘by the rich mercy of Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long laboured to destroy’.
It was through his correspondence that Newton fulfilled his distinctive work as ‘the letter writer par excellence of the Evangelical Revival’. His grasp of Scripture and deep personal experience, his many friends (among them, George Whitefield, William Cowper and William Wilberforce), his manifold trials, his country pastorate, his strong, clear, idiomatic style — all these factors combined to prepare the author of How sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds, for the exercise of his special gift.
These practical letters cover a wide variety of subjects and aim ‘to conform the believer to Christ’.
Contents:
Introduction
1. Grace in the Blade
2. Grace in the Ear
3. The Full Corn in the Ear
4. Communion with God
5. Spiritual Blindness
6. The Right Use of the Law
7. Snares and Difficulties Attending the Ministry
8. Marks of a Call to the Ministry
9. Advice on the Work of the Ministry
10. Some Blemishes in Christian Character
11. Love to the Brethren
12. Doctrines of Election and Final Perseverance
13. Divine Guidance
14. The Practical Influence of Faith
15. Family Worship
16. Temptation
17. Controversy
18. Man in His Fallen Estate (1)
19. Man in His Fallen Estate (2)
20. Causes, Nature, and Marks of a Decline in Grace
21. Acquired and Experimental Knowledge
22. Believer’s Inability on Account of Remaining Sin
23. Evil Present with the Believer
24. Advantages from Remaining Sin
25. What the Believer Can Attain to in this Life
26. The Greatness of God
27. The Lord the Shepherd of His People
28. The Blessedness of the Believer
29. The Character of a Christian
30. Cases of Conscience
31. How To Meet the Assaults of Satan
32. How To Keep Close to the Lord
33. The Benefits of Affliction
34. Contrary Principles in the Believer
35. Christ All-sufficient
36. Blessed Are They that Mourn
37. Conflict Exercises the Graces
38. Submission to the Will of the Lord
39. The Vanity of the World