©2007, The Banner of Truth Trust, 416 pp. in hardback

Today, hand-written letters have been replaced by e-mail messages. The time required to write letters by hand probably allowed for more thoughtful reflection and more personable expression than is often reflected in today's e-mails. Also, in bygone eras, hand-written letters were at times saved by their recipients.

John Newton was born early in the eighteenth century. Many readers are familiar with his life on the sea. Those days are a sharp contrast to his life as a new creature in Christ. After his salvation he was called to preach and pastored a congregation in Olney, England for sixteen years.  His young adult years taught him much about the depth of depravity in his heart and also much about the sustaining providence and patience of God who had set His love on him before the foundation of the world.

In his ministry he took time to provide counsel to many people by means of letters. This book brings together a good selection of those letters.  A benefit of this particular reprint is that the editor, Josiah Bull, provides a biographical sketch of the recipients of the letters included. Following the sketch, the text of letters to that person are printed in chronological order.

The reader will find the author addressing a wide variety of issues. He points a non-Christian brother-in-law to the veracity of the Gospel. Several letters to Mrs. William Wilberforce are included. These often address the awfulness of our sin, our increasing awareness of it as we grow spiritually, and the resulting necessity of Christian warfare and Christ-centeredness. His letters to William Cowper are full of encouragement, addressing Cowper’s doubts, which were an ongoing problem for him.

Other letters are full of pastoral counsel regarding suffering, facing Satan’s temptations, how to deal with individuals who disagree with us, and the explanation of controversial Calvinistic doctrine. On these and other subjects Newton exercises great wisdom in his wording, humility in his approach, and Christ-centeredness in his letters’ contents. Letters make apt and appropriate references to scripture passages. Newton evidences a real gift to know just how to give necessary spiritual counsel.

These letters can be read with great profit in our day. They can feed our souls and also provide insight as to how we can address individuals facing similar issues today. The editor has included each letter’s topics prior to the body of that letter. This allows the reader to turn to particular letters that will be of most particular benefit at that time.    

Review ©2009 Byron Snapp, Hampton, Virginia