File Name: Jay, William - Evenings With Jesus.zip
File Submitter: LarryG
File Submitted: 09 Jun 2012
File Category: Devotionals
Author: Rev. William Jaye-Sword Version: 9.x - 10.x
Rev. William Jay (6 May 1769 – 27 December 1853):
Four different devotionals can be attributed to Rev. Jay, the first two (Morning and Evening Exercises for The Closet) he wrote personally and the second two (Mornings and Evenings With Jesus) were compilations of his sermon notes shortly after he died. This particular devotional is one of those compiled after his death. Rev. Jay was a long standing friend to the English Christian politician William Wilberforce and the first two of his devotionals are dedicated to this brother. Below are three different testimonies of Rev. William Jay and his impact upon his world. Further information about this brother is available at these sites: http://en.wikipedia...._%28minister%29 and http://www.bath-heri....co.uk/jay.html The majority of his works may be downloaded via either the Internet Archive or Google books.
Testimonies:
1] At the young age of seventeen, Charles Haddon Spurgeon took the pastorate of a small congregation of believers at Waterbeach, in Cambridgeshire, meeting in a building that once was a birdhouse for pigeons. On May 28, 1855, he preached a sermon based on the text of Isaiah 46:6. He was just 20 years old. In that sermon, Spurgeon mentions that he had the opportunity to hear a pastor preach by the name of William Jay.
Jay died on December 27, 1853 at the age of 84, when Spurgeon was 19 and in the midst of his Waterbeach pastorate (1851-1854). The ministry of William Jay was coming to a close while the ministry of young Charles Spurgeon was just dawning. Only a few years later, Spurgeon would take the pulpit of the well-known Metropolitan Tabernacle.
Both men wrote a daily devotional: Jay wrote the famous “Morning Exercises for Every Day in the Year” and “Evening Exercises for Every Day of the Year” while Spurgeon wrote the much loved “Morning & Evening”. Interestingly, it was Jay’s devotional that Spurgeon highly recommended. The difference between the two is that Jay’s daily devotion is up to two pages compared to Spurgeon’s consistent single page. Both obviously worthy of use and spiritual benefit, although Jay’s can be a formidable workout for the mind and soul, and that is a good thing!
William Jay was one of the most outstanding preachers of the nineteenth century, second, perhaps, only to Spurgeon himself. As pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Bath, England for 62 years, Jay’s devotionals are still highly in use and are much loved for his profound insights into the Word of God and their practical applications to the individual believer.
(From Sprinkle Press http://5ptsalt.com/2...ev-william-jay/)
2] CH. Spurgeon: In "Commenting & Commentaries" on page 4, after giving high praise to the spiritual value of Matthew Henry's Commentary to his student's, Spurgeon says this: "Mr. Jay's sermons bear indubitable evidence of his having studied Matthew Henry almost daily. Many of the quaint things in Jay's sermons are either directly traceable to Matthew Henry or to his familiarity with that writer. I have thought that the style of Jay was founded upon Matthew Henry: Matthew Henry is Jay writing, Jay is Matthew Henry preaching. What more could I say in commendation either of the preacher or the author?"
3] From the book, "Historical Sketches of Hymns: Their Writers and Their Influence" by Joseph Belcher, D.D.
REV. WILLIAM JAY: "Come, Thou Soul-transforming Spirit," is one of about twenty similar compositions from the pen of this late eminent preacher, who was born of very humble parents in 1770, and died at Bath, in England, after a ministry in one edifice of sixty-three years, in 1854, aged eighty-four years. Few men were more distinguished for a catholic spirit and constant pulpit-labor. He never forgot, when he ascended his "throne,"—as he regarded it,—that he had men, women, and children hanging upon his lips; and, instead of discoursing- before them, he addressed himself to them. Whatever might be his theme, he intermixed statements and illustrations which at once explained the subject, touched the springs of human sympathy, and conveyed important suggestions for the conduct of life.
My testimony:
Even though the English language has changed radically in the past two hundred years these devotions are understandable for their depth of insight - he reminds me a lot of Thomas Brooks (1600s) and Gardiner Spring (1800s). There is a very real similarity about men who love Christ, the Bible and souls. Although Pastor Jay can be sometimes a little verbose, he always has an important point to make. These devotionals speak on a personal level to myself and I found them to be a blessing to contemplate and very sobering. Fear of the Lord, Hope and Joy seem to be major theme's simmering in this Pastor's devotions. Over sixty years in one pastorate - how blessed this under-shepherds lambs must have been! A faithful man and a skilled surgeon of men's souls.
[Postscript: I have already done much work on both 'Evening Exercises for The Closet' and 'Morning Exercises for The Closet'. Hopefully I can have these completed this year. lg]
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