Andrew A. Bonar

The pastoral visitation of the sick and sorrowful is a spiritual exercise. Its purpose is to bring God’s Word to those in need in the prayerful hope of the Spirit’s blessing upon it. Such visitation is not the preserve of pastors only; it is the duty of the whole church, as our Lord reminded his disciples with the words, ‘I was sick, and ye visited me’ (Matt. 25:36).

How we should visit the sick, and what we should say on our visits to them are the important matters addressed in this most useful book. Written by a spiritual giant of the nineteenth-century church, the book contains much-needed advice and clear guidance. Bonar gathers together a great number of Bible verses that will prove eminently suitable for a wide range of individual cases. These selected scriptures are interspersed with the author’s own brief, spiritual, and helpful comments. Here then is a book that should be in the hands of every Christian visitor. It ought to be consulted prayerfully before embarking with God’s Word to the sick and sorrowful.

Andrew Bonar was a man who lived to bring people back to the gospel and to focus their attention on what matters most.  It is not hard to see why his preaching and writing was so used of God–his sermons are full of Christ.  In sixteen brief chapters, Bonar deals with a wide range of important subjects related to the Christian life, such as, coming to Christ, growing in grace and holiness, and serving the Lord in the work of the gospel.

The story of the life of Robert Murray M’Cheyne. Spurgeon said “The memoir of such a man ought surely to be in the hands of every Christian and certainly every preacher of the Gospel.”

Andrew Bonar’s biography of M’Cheyne conveys the fragrance of his life that no later writer could ever recapture.  Being dead, M’Cheyne yet speaks and it may be doubted whether any Christian can seriously read these pages without having an example of the power of godliness stamped upon their conscience in a manner that will remain with them for all their days.