Bøker av Richard Treffry

Memoirs of the Reverend Joseph Benson is a comprehensive biography of one of the most influential preachers and theologians of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. The book provides a detailed account of Benson's life, including his early years, his spiritual journey, his involvement in the Oxford Movement, and his contributions to the Methodist Church. Drawing on primary sources and personal accounts, the book provides a vivid portrait of a man who played a crucial role in shaping Wesleyan Methodism.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

In times when gospel fires are burning low, one way to begin fanning the embers of spiritual desire into flames is to read the biographies of saints in ages past whose love for God was blazing hot. Such a one was John Smith, an itinerant Wesleyan Methodist preacher whose passion for God and for souls was equal to that of David Brainerd, Henry Martyn, Robert Murray McCheyne, and David Stoner. Like them, his light only blazed forth for a short time, being extinguished by his untimely death at the youthful age of 37.Smith was radically converted in his late teens, and from the very beginning of his Christian life he manifested a burning desire to see others come to know the Christ he loved so ardently. Throughout his short career as a Methodist itinerant preacher, thousands of souls were swept into the kingdom of God. He was remarkable for his firm faith in God's great willingness to save the worst of sinners, for his love for prayer meetings after public worship, and for his urgency upon sinners to receive Christ now and be saved on the spot.His prayer life was nothing short of astounding. It was not unusual for him to spend several hours at a time in prayer, weeping for souls, leaving the floor of his study wet with his tears. His friend Mr. Calder wrote: "I have often seen him come down stairs in the morning, after spending several hours in prayer, with his eyes swollen with weeping. He would soon introduce the subject of his anxiety by saying, 'I am a broken-hearted man; yes, indeed, I am an unhappy man; not for myself, but on account of others. God has given me such a sight of the value of precious souls that I cannot live if souls are not saved. O give me souls or else I die!'" No wonder he reaped such a huge harvest!