Duties are ours, and events are the Lord's." It wasn't easy in coming, but that was the conclusion reached by a discouraged preacher who felt abandoned by God and useless. And small wonder: He had been removed from his church, forbidden to preach anywhere in his land, and confined to the town of Aberdeen.

Little did he expect at first that his exile would provide the occasion for him to write a volume of letters that nearly four hundred years later would still be acclaimed as masterpieces. In fact, one of the greatest wordsmiths ever, Charles Haddon Spurgeon said of his letters: "When we are dead and gone, let the world know that Spurgeon held Rutherford's letters to be the nearest thing to inspiration which can be found in all the writings of mere man."

Spurgeon spoke of Scotsman Samuel Rutherford who was born in 1600. He would bless the world with spiritual literature that endures, a monumental legal classic, a major role in the formation of one of Christendom's finest confessions of faith and foundational concepts later developed in the US Constitution. Yes, Samuel took up his duties. God saw to the events!

Rutherford attended the University of Edinburgh, served as a professor for two years, studied theology, and was licensed as a preacher at age 27. He was assigned the rural county parish of Anwoth in Scotland. There was no village near the small church; the congregation was scattered among the surrounding farms. Though his congregation was small, Rutherford was devoted to his flock. He was known to rise as early as 3 A.M. to begin praying, studying, and caring for the spiritual needs of his congregation.

Family Tragedy
In 1630, after barely five years of marriage, Samuel's wife died. She had suffered a painful illness of thirteen months, and Samuel was deeply affected by her loss. The Rutherfords’ two children also died, and Samuel himself had a debilitating fever three months before his wife's death. RUTHERFORD'S many sufferings only gave him a greater heart of sympathy for the suffering in his flock.

Difficult Days
Rutherford lived during a time of religious persecution in Britain, and many were leaving for the new land of hope, America. Rutherford, however, remained to fight the spiritual battles in Scotland. In 1636, he published an Apology of Divine Grace against the heresies of a righteousness based on human works then spreading the land. This work offended the government and Bishop Laud, who then controlled the established churches of Britain.

Muzzled and Exiled
So, Rutherford was put out of his church. However long the Lord chose to keep him in exile at Aberdeen, Rutherford would not question Him. In a letter to one of his flock at Anwoth, Rutherford wrote, "It is not for us to set an hourglass to the Creator of time."

Though it appeared Rutherford's service for the Lord was being restricted by his confinement, in reality his usefulness increased. The hundreds of letters he wrote to members of his congregation at Anwoth and to fellow-Christians were full of encouragement and loving devotion to Christ. Rutherford had an intimate communion with the Lord which he was not afraid to talk about. He wrote always of Christ, not just of the blessings and work of Christ, but of the wondrous glory of His Person. His letters are full of anticipation of Christ's coming, as Rutherford eagerly awaited the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb." After his death, Rutherford's letters were published; they are still in print and continue to minister to Christians.