The Religious Texts of Martha Laurens Ramsay

Of course, as a pious Christian, Martha also read a large number of religious texts. Old Testament, New Testament and Bible were the most important religious texts for her and she read them quite frequently. Among the list of her religious texts, they included Philip Doddridge’s Rise and Progress of Religion, John Owen’s On the Nature, Power, Deceit and Prevalence of Indwelling Sin in Believers, John Flavel’s A Treatise on Keeping the Heart, Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and Dying, Mrs. Trimmer’s Scripture history, Isaac Watts's Divine and Moral Songs for Children, A Short View on the Whole Scripture History, The Psalms and Hymns and World to Come, Richard Allestree's The Whole Duty of Man, William Law's Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, William Burkitt’s A Help and Guide to Christian Families, Henry Bullinger’s Exposition of the Scripture, Thomas Boston’s The Crook in the Lot, or A Display of the Sovereignty and Wisdom of God in the Affliction of Men and so on. She was a high-minded Christian who knew "nearly the whole" of Edward Young's Night Thoughts from memory. Moreover, her diary also reflected imagery from other women's devotional writings and memoirs, including such self-referents as "a monument of forbearing mercy" or the sin of "unrecorded mercies" from the English poet Elizabeth Singer Rowe.

In Martha’s mind, Christianity occupied a very important place. On December 23, 1770, when Martha was 14 years old, she made a self dedication and solemn covenant with God. She wrote: “I DO this day, after full consideration, and serious deliberation, and after earnest prayer for the assistance of Divine Grace, resolve to surrender and devote my youth, my strength, my soul, with all I have, and all I am, to the service of that great and good God.” At the end of the solemn covenant between Martha and God, she wrote a short poem:

Lord I am thine, for ever thine,
My soul doth cleave to thee;
My dearest, Lord be ever mine,
I'll have no love but thee.

Since she made this holy covenant with God, she belonged to God and determined to dedicate herself to be a pious Christian. As a Christian, Martha kept on reading the Bible. During her visit to Paris, “her Bible was her companion and counsellor. She read it by day, and meditated on it by night. It had taught her to bear adversity with patience, resignation, and fortitude.”