J.P. Struthers

I intend, if the Lord will, I live and my internet connection does not go down, to post as a weekly feature some of the wit and wisdom of the greatest Reformed Presbyterian preacher of the nineteenth Century, the Rev. J.P. Struthers of Greenock, 'The Children's Editor'. Struthers' dates are 1851-1915. A brilliant intellect, he sacrificed great prospects of worldly success for the ministry of the Reformed Presbyterian or Cameronian Church. He served in only two pastorates, in the little congregation of Whithorn for three years from 1878-1881, and in the congregation of Greenock for the rest of his life. He held firmly to the Reformed doctrine, and preached the Truth fearlessly. He loved the whole Bible with all his heart.
From 1888 until his death Struthers edited the Morning Watch, the Sabbath-school magazine of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Morning Watch was a legend in its own age, and the twenty-seven slim volumes are a mine of pure gold. Most of the contents of the magazine was written by Struthers himself, and its value was vastly increased by the charming chalk illustrations, of which I intend to post more God willing. The illustrator married Mr. Struthers, so it became a family affair, "a little book for children, crammed full of stories," Mrs. Struthers called it. But it is not only for children, as I hope to prove.