Van Til's Letter to John Murray Near the Time of his Death

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TylerRay

TylerRay

Puritan Board Graduate
This comes from Iain Murray's short biography of John Murray:

Dear John,

Yesterday Paul Woolley called up to say that in a letter to him you said that you wished to be remembered to us. That did our hearts good

We had already learned about your illness. So I was, in any case, going to write to you and tell you how much you have meant to me.

You will not remember, but when you were about to leave us and return to your home-land we shook hands. I turned away and wept.

Throughout the years of our association together you were to me (a) an example of godly living and (b) of utter devotion to your Lord.

It was obvious to all of us that you loved your Savior passionately, that you sought to serve your Lord with utter sincerity and that your ambition was to point out to all men everywhere that only by the 'good pleasure' of God can they be saved from the wrath of God.

Nothing has helped me more, John, than to hear you pour out your heart in prayer for the church of Jesus Christ as a whole and for individuals in particular.

Ed Clowney remarked to several of us in the faculty room, the other day, how his heart had been stirred when you led prayer at the occasion of his mother's death.

I recall that my father remarked about the genuine communion of saints that he had experienced when, visiting with him, you had led him, together with yourself, to the throne of grace.

Many a time, in chapel, and in faculty meetings, I was personally brought closer to my Savior by your prayer.

As I write I think of Dr. Machen, lying on his death-bed in Bismarck, North Dakota, sending you a telegram - 'How wonderful is the active obedience of Christ!' You had helped him see the significance of this aspect of our Savior's work as he had never seen it before.

And then I think of one occasion when you rebuked me for some folly of mine. I fully deserved it but you alone had the courage to administer the admonishment of Christ to me.

But I shall not continue. Allow me only to mention your love for the Psalms of David. Rena and I were brought up on the psalms. We still sing them together. When she underwent surgery recently we sang them together in the hospital. She sang one of them as she came out of the state of unconsciousness...

And now, John, may the Lord bless thee and keep thee, cause his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee; may he lift up his countenance upon the and give thee peace.

Hattie de Waard.
Rena and Kees Van Til.
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Thank you for posting this. I have differences with Van Til's epistemology and apologetics, but he was a wonderful churchman and a truly godly man.
 
ReformedReidian said:
Thank you for posting this. I have differences with Van Til's epistemology and apologetics, but he was a wonderful churchman and a truly godly man.
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I share your reservations about Vantilianism. Van Til, on the other hand, I don't know a whole lot about. This letter throws some light on both its author and its audience.
 
Nothing has helped me more, John, than to hear you pour out your heart in prayer for the church of Jesus Christ as a whole and for individuals in particular.
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I can also witness to being profoundly moved in prayer whilst hearing Prof. Murray pray before sermon, and these were only on tape.
 
I met the great man once, as a boy, when my father and I were visiting in the Highlands in the early '70s. He gave me a pat on the head and 50p.

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Thanks for sharing this beautiful letter. Both Murray and Van Til have helped me tremendously in the last year as I wrestled with theology. I wish that I could have met them.
 
Remark how important small kindnesses are to a child, that you remembered that. Let us all be very kind to children.
 
When I was going to Westminster OPC in the late 90s, I had the great pleasure to sit in one-on-one membership classes with my pastor. One time he mentioned how he was a student of John Murray's, and so I asked about him. My pastor's eyes lit up, and his voice was beaming with love for the man as he recounted stories and told much of his godly character. I was truly moved by this moment, and I doubt I'll ever forget it. John Murray made a profound impact on my wonderful pastor's life.
 
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