The Life And Letters Of Benjamin Morgan Palmer

Benjamin Morgan Palmer (1818-1902) ‘one of the few greatest preachers of the first nineteen centuries of the Christian era’, was just 25 when he became the successor of J. H. Thornwell in Columbia, South Carolina, and 38 at the commencement of his 46-year pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church in the great business centre of New Orleans.

This biography takes us behind the public figure to the humble, prayerful Christian whose life was marked by affliction. His only son was lost in childhood and four daughters were to die, one after another, followed by his wife. As Palmer saw it, ‘The earthly lights are put out that no earthly love may come in between Him and us.’

This is not only a great biography; it is an outstandingly relevant record in an age when the church needs a recovery of spiritual strength and vision. It would be hard to read it sympathetically without being led to pray.