Rejoice and be glad!
The Redeemer has come!
Go look on His cradle,
His cross, and His tomb.
Refrain
Sound His praises, tell the story,
Of Him Who was slain;
Sound His praises, tell with gladness,
He liveth again.
Rejoice and be glad!
It is sunshine at last!
The clouds have departed,
The shadows are past.
Refrain
Rejoice and be glad!
For the blood hath been shed;
Redemption is finished,
The price has been paid.
Refrain
Rejoice and be glad!
Now the pardon is free!
The Just for the unjust
Has died on the tree.
Refrain
Rejoice and be glad!
For the Lamb that was slain
O’er death is triumphant,
And liveth again.
Refrain
Rejoice and be glad!
For our King is on high,
He pleadeth for us on
His throne in the sky.
Refrain
Rejoice and be glad!
For He cometh again;
He cometh to glory,
The Lamb that was slain.
Sound His praises, tell the story,
Of Him Who was slain;
Sound His praises, tell with gladness,
He cometh again.
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The son of James Bonar, Solicitor of Excise for Scotland, he was born and educated in Edinburgh. He comes from a long line of ministers who have served a total of 364 years in the Church of Scotland. One of eleven children, his brothers John James and Andrew Alexander were also ministers of the Free Church of Scotland. He had married Jane Catherine Lundie in 1843 and five of their young children died in succession. Towards the end of their lives, one of their surviving daughters was left a widow with five small children and she returned to live with her parents. Bonar's wife, Jane, died in 1876. He is buried in the Canongate Kirkyard.
In 1853 Bonar earned the Doctor of Divinity degree at the University of Aberdeen.
He entered the Ministry of the Church of Scotland. At first he was put in charge of mission work at St. John's parish in Leith and settled at Kelso. He joined the Free Church at the time of the Disruption of 1843, and in 1867 was moved to Edinburgh to take over the Chalmers Memorial Church (named after his teacher at college, Dr. Thomas Chalmers). In 1883, he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland.