Alexander Cruden was born in Scotland on May 31, 1699. His father, a strict Puritan, forbade games on the Lord’s Day, and Alexander entertained himself by tracing words through the Bible. He enrolled in college at 13, graduated at 19 … and fell in love. The girl’s father forbade him in the house, and when the girl became pregnant, she was sent away. Alexander, his nerves shattered, entered an asylum.
Alexander fell in love again, was rejected again, and went to such extremes to attract the woman’s affection that he was seized, taken to a private asylum, and chained to a bed for ten weeks. He finally managed to escape by cutting off the bed leg, then began traveling around calling himself “Alexander the Corrector,” trying to reform morals. One evening, wanting to stop a man from swearing, he hit him over the head with a shovel. A riot ensued, and Alexander endured a third stay in an asylum.
People thought him crazy! But this half-crazed man gave Christians of many generations Cruden’s Concordance. Spurgeon wrote in the flyleaf of his Bible, “For ten years this has been at my left hand when the Word of God has been at my right. This half-crazy Cruden did better service to the church than half the D. D.’s and L. L. D.’s of all time.”
Recall God’s summary of King David? We may remember his moral failures – murder, adultery and pride (counting of the men) – but God summarizes David’s life by saying, “He was a man after His own heart, and David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” Acts 13:22, Psa 78:72
So don’t believe the lie of Satan, which says to you (when you’ve blown it), “You’re a lie!” Believe the word of God that tells you: You were born with value and purpose. Your life has promise and potential as it unfolds in accordance to God’s eternal plan.
*From “Does a Man’s (Moral) Failure Mean He’s a Lie?” Sermon #3334; Cruden illustration taken from On This Day.
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