SIR ROBERT ANDERSON
Secret Service
Theologian
BIOGRAPHY
CHAPTER XI
COUNSELLOR AND HELPER OF MANY
How hast thou helped? . . . How
hast thou counselled? Job xxvi: 2, 3
"STRENGTH and sensitiveness are the twin qualities of a
really great soul," wrote Dr. Stuart Holden. The measure in which my father
possessed these, together with the gift of ready genuine sympathy, must account
to some extent on the human side for the way in which so many folk appealed to
him confidently for counsel and help. A letter from an old friend of mine,
grandson of one of the leaders in Irish Revival days, gives an insight into
this. Writing about the first edition of this memoir, he said:
"I owe so
much to Sir Robert, for it was he who opened my Bible to me, and taught me of
the hidden harmonies therein; hidden to so many but wonderful and absolutely
engrossing when explored with the key in ones hands. And to how many your
father gave that key! He was always so kind and sympathetic to me when I asked
what must have seemed such silly questions. He always answered as if I was his
mental equal and, unlike most people of whom one asks questions, when he
answered one immediately under stood. . . . I rarely pick up my Bible without
thinking of him."
"I am rather scared of pundits," wrote another friend to
him; "but you are so kind in that way. You know a lot, but you do not have the
fact written all over you; and you have always been so kind to me that you are
bound to have your good nature abused." And speaking of the original memoir
Mrs. Hugh Falconer wrote: "Dear Sir Robert! You have succeeded in making him
live again in the pages. . .. . His sternness and love, his knowledge and
capacity for making allowances, and all his humanness." "It is so difficult,"
said a medical student, "to meet people who are both fitted and fearless enough
to attempt to answer questions that press upon one at every turn. This is the
only excuse I have for troubling you." And this was from an American lady: ". .
. The time has come when the need for advice from a friend with a big brain and
a big heart is most urgent. May I turn to you?" A long correspondence sometimes
began as a result of letters in the Press or articles and addresses. In 1892
The Times published a series of letters on "The Bible and Modern
Criticism" from Professor T. H. Huxley and my father, the (8th) Duke of
Argyll and others also taking part. Afterwards a lady wrote to Sir Robert:
"Will you allow me to thank you for the personal note struck in your letter to
The Times last week? . . . My faith is not as unfaltering as I could wish I
feel the power of destructive criticism. I have taken a great interest in the
letters, but none have appealed to me like yours or satisfied my intelligence
as well." And again : - " I feel that every line you write to me is prompted by
kindness and Christian consideration for a total stranger who appeals to you
for counsel and guidance because you know. It may seem strange that I should
prefer to write to you instead of speaking openly to a friend, or making my
confession to some doux pasteur de troupeau des ames, but your writings impress
me as other peoples do not."
Many letters speak of help received
from the books. One of special interest came from Capt. E. J. Carré,
widely known in connection with the Merchant Service Officers Christian
Association, who tells the story of his conversion in the booklet Out of the
Power of Darkness. He wrote:
"I wish you to know how much the thoughts
expressed in your book The Silence of God helped me in the time of
crisis in my life when the darkness was densest before the dawn. I think the
booklet fully expresses just how you helped me, and I wish to thank you
greatly."
From another sailor, a Norwegian, came this message:
"High
up in a little watch-room in a lighthouse on the coast of Norway I am sitting
during my lonely watch hours reading and thinking over a book The Gospel and
its Ministry. A perfect. stranger as I am to you, I take the liberty to
write this letter in view of that Christian fellowship and brotherhood that
exist between all true believers. This is the true freemasonry, the only
brotherhood worth calling so."
And this writer testified
"After years
of Church training I was cast as a lad of 18 into the land of Australia, there
amid the stern realities of life to find that all I had learned and believed
was nothing more than a myth. . .
I cannot tell all that The Silence of
God and others of your books have done for me and what a new God and
Saviour they have revealed to me."
A Vancouver correspondent said : "Dr.
Torrey sent me a goodly number of your books. I could not tell you how many
have blessed God for them. I owe more than I can ever tell to them and to the
kindly loving counsel received in letters from you." A California lawyer, an
avowed unbeliever, through the reading of The Silence of God and other
books publicly announced his belief in the Scriptures and the Deity of Christ.
" Sir Robert holds a brief for Christ" was his witness.
A lonely
up-country trader in South Africa wrote: Sir Robert Andersons books have
put me right. I have thanked God for him many times." The Rev. H. Hofmeyr, a
missionary of the Dutch Reformed Church, said: "May God nerve you to other
efforts for the strengthening of the faith of many more in His word and in the
person of His Son." And the beloved Rev. W. M. Douglas wrote also from South
Africa: "I am only one of thousands to whom he has been the messenger of grace
and peace because he had himself faced and conquered the doubts and fears that
beset so many of us through the modern criticism of the Word of God." Yet
another honoured Christian worker said : "His was the strong understanding
faith that helped me when things seemed tottering."
But it was not only in
spiritual things that his help was sought and given. "You have such a kind way
of doing kind things," said one friend; which may partly account for the
variety of the requests that poured in. A minister asks for assistance in
getting his son into the Royal Air Force. Another letter asks help in getting
an ex-convict relieved of the duty of reporting to the police. A Christian
worker wants an introduction to some police official in Rome. A friend desires
to secure the services of an cx- policeman for a post. A peeress seeks advice
about seeing a procession. An artist wants a permit to sketch in a military
area during the war.
And there were of course many appeals for help in
graver matters. A young man desires a long talk about the question of
ordination. Advice is asked as to the best book to put into the hands of a
young man who has promised to read any one book given to him. A heart-broken
parent (a complete stranger) seeks light on the silence of God. A young man
wants to start a fresh and better life. A beautiful silver box now in my
possession bears the simple inscription : "Robert Anderson; from a grateful
father." Back of this lies a tragedy of the C.I.D. days.
Letters came from
Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Brunswick; Austria, Germany, Norway,
Sweden, Switzerland; Belgium, Holland, Congo-Beige; Canada, British Columbia;
the United States (many parts) ; the Argentine, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica;
Portugal, Tangier, Malta; India, China, Burma, Turkey-in- Asia; from South
Africa (the Cape, the Transvaal and Natal); and from many another place. The
way Sir Roberts writing and speaking appealed to the more educated
classes as well as to others is illustrated by these extracts from letters. The
Rev. Dr. Sinker of Cambridge wrote with reference to one of the books : "I gave
a copy to a most dear friend, a highly cultured woman and a humble believer. It
has been such a joy to her, and we have often had talks about it." Another
referred to The Silence of God: "Many, many thanks for the book. We have
had another long letter about it from Lady -.
I am unspeakably thankful to
have just such a book to put into such.hands, for she reads much and is
clever." A delightful expression of thanks came from Miss Emma Bland, herself a
gifted writer
"I have been helped and blessed by your book, and I thank God
for putting it into your heart to write it. I feel like a person who has had a
beautiful but badly tangled skein of silk, of which I have been cutting a
needleful day by day for personal use. But this makes me feel as if the right
thread has been put into my hand by which I can unwind the skein and have it
all in one piece. My dear old Bible! Im so glad I never gave it up by
reason of its tangles. It has always been the living Word of God to me, but it
is more wonderful than ever since I have finished your book."
The hymn,
"Safe in Jehovahs Keeping," printed on page 169, was a means of
encouragement to many. One said : "The great rock of real help and comfort was
that glorious hymn. I couldnt tell you the number of times I have turned
to it when days were very dark and difficulties overwhelming." And the famous
missionary, Dan Crawford, author of Thinking Black, wrote: "I have translated
Dr. Andersons glorious version of "Safe" ; there is scarcely its kin the
broad and brown earth over." There is also a Danish translation.
One
quality in my fathers writing and speaking which made a special appeal
was the strength and certainty of his own beliefs. "Amidst all the weakness and
mystifying," said Sir Hugh Gilzean Reid, "it gives one hope to read your strong
words." And Bishop Taylor Smith wrote: "Sir Robert always inspired and helped
me." The Rev. J. Chalmers Lyon testified: "His ceaseless and fearless advocacy
of the great essentials of the faith, and his utter devotion to his Lord, made
an abiding impression on all who knew him; and J owe him much."
The late
W. ("Cairo ") Bradley wrote to my sister: "Your father was a wonderful champion
for the truth, and can ill be spared in these days when error seems rampant,
and those who should hold forth the truth only seem to be watering it down."
And from the Rev. E. L. Langston came these words: "Sir Robert has been an
inspiration to us all in his strong adherance to the Word of God and his zeal
for the truth." "A Prince has fallen," said Dr. A. J. H. Townsend; "he was a
born leader; and with such intellectual gifts and deep learning in the
Scriptures he combined the lowliest humility in spiritual things."
A
member of the Trinity (Notting Hill) congregation wrote when on active service:
"It seems as though a personal friend had gone, for Sir Robert was one of the
few men in whom I had absolute confidence . . . one who helped me to have an
intelligent understanding of the faith I now hold." And an elder of the same
church said: "1 learned to love and honour Sir Robert for his wonderful
Christian life and example, and as a man who never feared the opinion of the
world." A missionary in China wrote:
"How thankful I am that Redemption
Truths ever came into my hands. It has helped me more than any book I have
read for many a day." And another in Asia Minor, saying he had bought six of
the books within a year, added that a missionary needs absolute confidence in
the Word of God. " The Lord from Heaven opened a larger view of
Gods Word than I had ever before received," wrote a journalist in
California. And an English lawyer in Switzerland said: "Long ago when I was
seeking God I found great help from The Gospel and its Ministry." Yet
another testimony was: "The Silence of God held me strongly by the hand
when I staggered for a wee bit near the Slough of Despond." "So many
commentaries," said another letter, "shirk all the difficult texts and give
voluminous notes on easy passages; whilst you, like good old Bishop Ryle,
fairly face them."
The following incident was told me by my aunt, Miss Lee
Anderson. Mrs. White Jansen was staying at a Mission House in China when she
saw a young Chinese doctor talking to a poor man about the Lord Jesus. She
joined them, and the doctor said to her: - " All I know I owe to Sir Robert
Anderson. When a student in London I was at his home, and I can never tell what
I owe to him; I have all his books."
The closing chapter will tell how
this ministry continued until the end of the earthly pilgrimage.
Chapter Twelve
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