Charles Hodge to Lennie

I will be posting in a minute or so on Charles Hodge, but to illustrate Hodge’s approach to life and Christian devotion, I want to provide a letter he wrote to his nephew, Hugh Lenox Scott:

Dear Lennie,

Never pass a day without reading the Bible and calling upon God in prayer.

Learn to pray aways. The Lord Jesus is ever near you. It does not take long to say: “Lord preserve me; Lord help me; Lord keep me from sin.” We need to say this a hundred times a day.

Never gamble.

Never drink intoxicating liquor.

Never use profane language.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.

Never incur debt.

Live peaceable with all men.

Never be afraid to confess Christ.

Let your last words every night be: “I take Jesus Christ to be my God and Saviour.”

May the blessing of God be upon you always and everywhere.

Your Loving Grandfather, Charles Hodge, Princeton, Sept. 15, 1876

From Paul Gutjahr, Charles Hodge: Guardian of American Orthodoxy, 320.