These meditations were first printed years ago in a monthly magazine called “Present Testimony” which was edited by G. V. Wigram. In a preface, he wrote that the manuscript was presented to him and he was urged to publish it, although it pretended to no finish, for it was a collection of rough notes, perhaps of private readings. Mr. Wigram felt that “it was precious, and calculated to refresh souls,” and so commended it “as a basket of broken fragments to the hungry in Christ.”
We have recently read these notes and have been richly rewarded in feeling the genial warmth and comfort of a heavenly atmosphere which is strongly contrasted with the chill air blowing across the world from man's frigid intellectualism and materialism. The notes breathe the fragrance of that glorious land to which we are going, and indicate that the writer was living in happy communion “with the Father and the Son.” They are not calculated to merely increase our knowledge, as such, but, what is of more importance, they touch our hearts as we see the heart of God displayed in the Man Christ Jesus; they also reach the conscience, for truth rightly received is bound to enter by that avenue. We should not become spiritual Athenians who are interested only in hearing or reading “some new thing,” but rather seek every opportunity to grow in grace and in acquaintance with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. What characterized the “fathers” (those who had made the most progress) in John's first epistle was that they knew “Him that was from the beginning”; that is, Christ Jesus. Those whose hearts are full of Him have little to fear from either the world or false doctrines; therefore, the Apostle John addressed no special exhortation to them. (See 1 John 2.)
“Present Testimony” ran these meditations anonymously in 1867 as did “Christian Truth” in 1957. Now some evidence has come to light that they were probably written by Mr. J. G. Bellett, and the style of writing seems to bear this out. We append this information for what it might be worth to our readers, but we commend the ministry herein to their spiritual judgment on its own merit.
The Publishers