A Biographical Sketch
of A.B. Simpson
Introduction
When students of the Bible study the life of Christ, there is much consideration of His person as well as His work. It is usually the same when we look at the life of one of the Lord's servants: we want to know the person, as well as what the person did. What life experiences shaped him, and what vision motivated his work?
A. B. Simpson (1843-1919) was one of the most important Christian workers of his day. He was an ardent soul-winner and was active in raising up new believers and in training Christian workers. He began his service as a Presbyterian minister, but later resigned after realizing the inherent frustrations in trying to serve the Lord within the denominational framework. He wrote over 70 books on the Bible and the Christian life. His many hymns and poems are full of inspiration and truth. He is known for preaching the "fourfold gospel," referring to Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and coming King. He was the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
This sketch outlines some of the details of the life and work of this notable servant of the Lord.
Heritage and Upbringing
Albert Benjamin Simpson was born December 15, 1843, in Bayview, Prince Edward Island, Canada. His birth was an answer to the prayer of his mother. She had lost her firstborn son when he was just a toddler. Albert's sister said, "Like little Samuel, he [Albert] was given to the Lord from his birth. My mother told me that she gave him to the Lord to use him in life or death; to be a minister and a foreign missionary, if the Lord so willed, and he lived to grow up, and was so inclined." Shortly after his birth a missionary christened Albert and dedicated him to the ministry.
Albert's ancestors were from Scotland and had emigrated to Canada over 60 years earlier. His Christian heritage was from the line of the persecuted Covenanters. Albert's parents, James and Jane Simpson, eventually settled in Western Ontario. His mother, of a sensitive and poetic temperament, cultivated in him a love for books. His father was industrious, religious, and a strict disciplinarian. He was a virtuous elder of the Presbyterian Church. He drilled his children weekly on the shorter catechism and did not allow playing or even laughing on the Sabbath. Although Albert was not always happy in his strict surroundings, he later expressed gratitude for the "stern mold in which my early life was shaped." The law preserved him and conducted him unto Christ. He said it "often safeguarded me afterwards when thrown as a young man amid the temptations of the world," and it gave him a "wholesome discipline" and a "horror for evil things." Later in life, while reflecting on his upbringing, he commented that a healthy family was with "a blending of thorough discipline with true Christian liberty and love."
Simpson's mother taught her children to bring whatever concerned them to the Lord in prayer. One of Albert's earliest memories was of kneeling down to ask the Lord to help him find his lost jackknife. To his joy he found it and later remarked, "The incident made a profound impression upon my young heart and gave me a life-long conviction, which has since borne fruit innumerable times, that it is our privilege to take everything to God in prayer."
The Lord's keeping hand was upon young Albert as he grew up. He was miraculously saved from death several times in his youth, once when he fell from a high scaffold, another time when he almost drowned, and in two separate accidents involving horses.
Early Struggles
Albert had planned from a young age to study for the ministry. His father, however, chose his older brother for future schooling, considering him to be of more promise than Albert. There was not enough money in the Simpson household to send two sons to college. With much trepidation, Albert asked his father if he also could continue his education if he did not require any funds from the family. To this his father agreed.
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