Select Letters of John Newton 9781848711402
Publisher's note.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
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’.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Introduction | vii | |
| 1 | Grace in the Blade | 1 |
| 2 | Grace in the Ear | 8 |
| 3 | The Full Corn in the Ear | 14 |
| 4 | Communion with God | 22 |
| 5 | Spiritual Blindness | 30 |
| 6 | The Right Use of the Law | 36 |
| 7 | Snares and Difficulties Attending the Ministry | 46 |
| 8 | Marks of a Call to the Ministry | 53 |
| 9 | Advice on the Work of the Ministry | 57 |
| 10 | Some Blemishes in Christian Character | 61 |
| 11 | Love to the Brethren | 68 |
| 12 | Doctrines of Election and Final Perseverance | 74 |
| 13 | Divine Guidance | 83 |
| 14 | The Practical Influence of Faith | 90 |
| 15 | Family Worship | 96 |
| 16 | Temptation | 102 |
| 17 | Controversy | 111 |
| 18 | Man in His Fallen Estate (1) | 117 |
| 19 | Man in His Fallen Estate (2) | 124 |
| 20 | Causes, Nature, and Marks of a Decline in Grace | 131 |
| 21 | Acquired and Experimental Knowledge | 136 |
| 22 | Believer’s Inability on Account of Remaining Sin | 141 |
| 23 | Evil Present with the Believer | 146 |
| 24 | Advantages from Remaining Sin | 150 |
| 25 | What the Believer Can Attain to in this Life | 155 |
| 26 | The Greatness of God | 161 |
| 27 | The Lord the Shepherd of His People | 166 |
| 28 | The Blessedness of the Believer | 171 |
| 29 | The Character of a Christian | 177 |
| 30 | Cases of Conscience | 187 |
| 31 | How To Meet the Assaults of Satan | 195 |
| 32 | How To Keep Close to the Lord | 200 |
| 33 | The Benefits of Affliction | 203 |
| 34 | Contrary Principles in the Believer | 206 |
| 35 | Christ All-sufficient | 210 |
| 36 | Blessed Are They that Mourn | 213 |
| 37 | Conflict Exercises the Graces | 218 |
| 38 | Submission to the Will of the Lord | 222 |
| 39 | The Vanity of the World | 225 |
Publisher's note.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
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’.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Introduction | vii | |
| 1 | Grace in the Blade | 1 |
| 2 | Grace in the Ear | 8 |
| 3 | The Full Corn in the Ear | 14 |
| 4 | Communion with God | 22 |
| 5 | Spiritual Blindness | 30 |
| 6 | The Right Use of the Law | 36 |
| 7 | Snares and Difficulties Attending the Ministry | 46 |
| 8 | Marks of a Call to the Ministry | 53 |
| 9 | Advice on the Work of the Ministry | 57 |
| 10 | Some Blemishes in Christian Character | 61 |
| 11 | Love to the Brethren | 68 |
| 12 | Doctrines of Election and Final Perseverance | 74 |
| 13 | Divine Guidance | 83 |
| 14 | The Practical Influence of Faith | 90 |
| 15 | Family Worship | 96 |
| 16 | Temptation | 102 |
| 17 | Controversy | 111 |
| 18 | Man in His Fallen Estate (1) | 117 |
| 19 | Man in His Fallen Estate (2) | 124 |
| 20 | Causes, Nature, and Marks of a Decline in Grace | 131 |
| 21 | Acquired and Experimental Knowledge | 136 |
| 22 | Believer’s Inability on Account of Remaining Sin | 141 |
| 23 | Evil Present with the Believer | 146 |
| 24 | Advantages from Remaining Sin | 150 |
| 25 | What the Believer Can Attain to in this Life | 155 |
| 26 | The Greatness of God | 161 |
| 27 | The Lord the Shepherd of His People | 166 |
| 28 | The Blessedness of the Believer | 171 |
| 29 | The Character of a Christian | 177 |
| 30 | Cases of Conscience | 187 |
| 31 | How To Meet the Assaults of Satan | 195 |
| 32 | How To Keep Close to the Lord | 200 |
| 33 | The Benefits of Affliction | 203 |
| 34 | Contrary Principles in the Believer | 206 |
| 35 | Christ All-sufficient | 210 |
| 36 | Blessed Are They that Mourn | 213 |
| 37 | Conflict Exercises the Graces | 218 |
| 38 | Submission to the Will of the Lord | 222 |
| 39 | The Vanity of the World | 225 |