Rev-dr-horatius-bonar-1808-1889-of-kelso-and-edinb

Rev-dr-horatius-bonar-sitting-1808-1889-of-kelso-and-edinb

The grave of Horatius Bonar, Canongate Kirkyard

Horatius Bonar (19 December 180831 July 1889), a contemporary and acquaintance of

Robert Murray M'cheyne Robert Murray M'Cheyne (21 May 1813 – 25 March 1843) was a minister in the Church of Scotland from 1835 to 1843. He was born at Edinburgh on 21 May 1813, was educated at the university and at the Divinity Hall of his native city, and wa ...

was a Scottish churchman and poet. He is principally remembered as a prodigious

hymnodist A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...

. Friends knew him as Horace Bonar. Licensed as a preacher, he did mission work in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

for a time, and in November 1837 he settled at Kelso as minister of the new North Church founded in connection with Thomas Chalmers's scheme of church extension. He became exceedingly popular as a preacher, and was soon well known throughout Scotland.

Life

He was the son of James Bonar (1758–1821), Solicitor of Excise for Scotland, and his wife Marjory Pyott Maitland. The family lived in the Broughton district of Edinburgh. He came from a long line of ministers who served a total of 364 years in the Church of Scotland. One of eleven children, his brothers John James and Andrew Alexander were also ministers of the Free Church of Scotland. Horatius studied Divinity at

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

and was ordained as a minister for the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

in 1838 at the North Church in Kelso. In the

Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of S ...

he left the established church and joined the Free Church of Scotland. In 1866 he moved to the newly built Chalmers Memorial Church in Edinburgh. He married Jane Catherine Lundie in 1843 and five of their (nine) young children died in succession. Towards the end of their lives, one of their surviving daughters was left a widow with five small children and she returned to live with her parents. In 1853, Bonar received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

. He died at this home, 10 Palmerston RoadEdinburgh Post Office Directory 1889 in the

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austr ...

, 31 July 1889. They are buried together in the

Canongate Kirkyard The Canongate Kirkyard ( en, Churchyard) stands around Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland. The churchyard was used for burials from the late 1680s until the mid-20th century. The most celebrated burials at the kirkyard are ...

in the lair of Alexander Bonar (and his parents), near the bottom of the eastern extension.

Family

He married 16 August 1843, Jane Catherine (died 3rd December 1884), third daughter of Robert Lundie, minister of Kelso, and had issue — *Mary Lundie, born 14 June 1844 (married 29 August 1876, George Theophilus Dodds, M'All Mission, Paris) *James, born 25 May, died 19 July 1847 *Marjory Emily Jane, born 29 August 1849, died 28 June 1850 *Christian Cornelia, born 10 October 1852, died 17 July 1869 *Lucy Jane, born 22 September 1854, died 20 August 1858 *Eliza Maitland, born 10 September 1857 *Horatius Ninian, sometime minister of United Free Church, Saltoun, born 2 April 1860 *Emily Florence, born 26 December 1861 (married 2 August 1894, Duncan Clark MacNicol, minister of Stockbridge United Free Church, Edinburgh) *Henry Robert, born 17 December 1865, died 26 March 1869. He was brother to the Rev. John James Bonar of

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowland ...

(1803–1891).

Service

He entered the Ministry of the

. At first he was put in charge of mission work at St. John's parish in Leith and settled at Kelso. He joined the

Free Church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fro ...

at the time of the

, and in 1867 was moved to Edinburgh to take over the Chalmers Memorial Church (named after his teacher at college, Dr.

Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...

). In 1883, he was elected

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states t ...

of the Free Church of Scotland.

Works

He was a voluminous and highly popular author. He also served as the editor for "The Quarterly journal of Prophecy" from 1848 to 1873 and for the "Christian Treasury" from 1859 to 1879. In addition to many books and tracts was a prolific

; many of his

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

s, e.g., "I heard the voice of Jesus say" and "Blessing and Honour and Glory and Power," became known all over the English-speaking world. A selection of these was published as ''Hymns of Faith and Hope'' (3 series). His last volume of poetry was ''My Old Letters''. Bonar was also author of several biographies of ministers he had known, including "The Life of the Rev.

John Milne John Milne (30 December 1850 – 31 July 1913) was a British geologist and mining engineer who worked on a horizontal seismograph. Biography Milne was born in Liverpool, England, the only child of John Milne of Milnrow, and at first raised i ...

of Perth" in 1869, and in 1884 "The Life and Works of the Rev. G. T. Dodds", who was married to Bonar's daughter and who died in 1882 while serving as a missionary in France. His hymns, which number over 140, include: *All Praise to Him Who Built the Hills *All That I Was *Fill thou my life, O Lord, my God *I heard the Voice of Jesus say *I Was a Wandering Sheep *Thy way, not mine, O Lord *Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face *A few more years shall roll *Come Lord and tarry not *O love of God, how strong and true *Go, Labour on: Spend and Be Spent Some of his books include: * * * * * * * * – commentary on

Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, and

1 Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-au ...

and

2 Corinthians The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author named Timothy, and is addressed to the church in Corinth and Christians in the ...

ASIN B002ZJRS9K * – commentary on the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

ASIN B002ZRQ55U

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

* *
"I heard the voice of Jesus say"
– words and score for Bonar's hymn * " So Soon in the Morning", a song by Joan Baez and Bill Wood (1329) containing two lines from Bonar's "I heard the voice of Jesus say"
The Hymns of Horatius Bonar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonar, Horatius 1808 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland Burials at the Canongate Kirkyard Scottish evangelicals Clergy from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Free Church of Scotland hymnwriters Church of Scotland hymnwriters 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Writers from Edinburgh Musicians from Edinburgh