THE Half-yearly Meeting of Synod was held in the Free Presbyterian Church, Inverness, on Tuesday the sixth day of July. The Moderator, Rev. Neil Cameron, St. Jude’s, Glasgow, conducted public worship at 11 a.m., and preached from Psalm 122, 6: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” After public worship was ended, the Moderator constituted the Synod with prayer, and the roll was called. There were present:—From the Western Presbytery—Rev. Donald Graham, Shieldaig, minister; with Mr. John M’Donald, Stornoway, elder. From the Northern Presbytery—Revs. D. Macfarlane, Dingwall; John R. Mackay, Inverness; Ewen Macqueen, Dornoch; and Norman Matheson, Halkirk, ministers; with Messrs. Lachlan M’Lean (for Dingwall); Alexander M’Lean, Inverness; Alexander Gray, Lairg; John Swanson, Halkirk, elders. From the Southern Presbytery—Revs. Neil Cameron (Moderator), and James S. Sinclair (Clerk), ministers; with Capt. Neil M’Donald, elder.
Mr. William Fraser was appointed officer of court. The minutes of last meeting of Synod were read and approved of.
It was agreed that all the members of Synod meet as a Committee on Bills and Overtures at the Manse at 4 p.m. Examiners of Presbytery Records were appointed:—Rev. E. Macqueen, and Mr. A. Gray, for the Records of the Southern Presbytery; Rev. N. Matheson, and Mr. S. Swanson, for those of the Western Presbytery; and Rev. J. S. Sinclair, and Capt. M’Donald, for the Records of the Northern Presbytery.
Rev. John R. Mackay moved, and Rev. D. Macfarlane seconded, that the Moderator be requested to publish his sermon in the Magazine. The motion was unanimously agreed to.
The Court adjourned to meet again (God willing) at half-past six in the evening. The meeting was closed with prayer.
The Synod met in the evening at the hour appointed, and was constituted with devotional exercises by the Rev. Neil Cameron, Moderator. There were present:—From the Northern Presbytery:
Revs. D. Macfarlane, J. R. Mackay, D. Beaton (Wick), Ewen Macqueen, and N. Matheson, ministers, with Messrs. L. M’Lean, A. M’Lean, A. Gray, and J. Swanson, elders. From the Southern Presbytery: Revs. Neil Cameron and J. S. Sinclair, ministers, with Capt. M’Donald, elder. From the Western Presbytery: Revs. Alexander Macrae, Portree, and D. Graham, ministers, with Mr. John M’Donald, Stornoway, elder. The Clerk reported apologies for absence from the Revs. John Robertson, Greenock, and Duncan M’Kenzie, Gairloch.
The minutes of the former sederunt were read and approved of.
The Clerk read the Report of the Committee on Bills and Overtures as to the order of business, which was adopted. The following was the order:—(1) Report of Committee on Bills, etc.; (2) Reports of Examiners of Presbytery Records; (3) The Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statement; (4) Appointment of the Annual Collections; (5) Foreign Mission Report; (6) Canadian Mission Report; (7) The Church Magazine Report; (8) Report of the Theological Classes; (9) Remits from Presbyteries; and (10) Any Competent Business.
The Examiners of Presbytery Records briefly delivered their several reports, and agreed in commending the manner in which the various Records were kept. Rev. John R. Mackay suggested that the Clerks of Presbyteries should supply on the margins of their Records a rubric indicating the contents, as this proved very useful to anyone who had occasion to search records for information. He moved accordingly. The motion was seconded by the Rev. D. Beaton, and unanimously agreed to.
Mr. Angus Clunas, general treasurer, submitted his annual financial statement, which is printed in another part of the Magazine. Rev. John R. Mackay moved the adoption of the report, and delivered the following address in support of his motion:
“MODERATOR AND BRETHREN,—The treasurer’s abstract of the Church’s financial statement for the year ending 31st March, 1909, has now been read in your hearing. I beg to move ‘That the Synod adopt the report, acknowledge the Lord’s goodness in supplying the material necessities of the ministers and missionaries of this Church during the past year, commend anew to the generous sympathy of all members and adherents of this Church all the Church’s schemes, and especially that of the Sustentation Fund, and offer the Synod’s thanks to the treasurer and auditors for their valuable services.’
“Moderator and Brethren,—We have now 16 years to look back upon of Free Presbyterian Church history, and when we think that during that period our average annual salary as ministers has been £142, that our missionaries have been paid at salaries ranging from £40 to £5 per annum according as their circumstances and services differed, we are bound to acknowledge the Lord’s goodness to us in this connection. Our Church has no
endowment whatsoever to fall back upon. Our people for most part are, as compared with some other Churches in this country, poor, yet the Lord who provided for His people of old in the wilderness is able to support His cause, and has been supporting His cause among us, notwithstanding how unpromising the circumstances may look from a worldly point of view.
“There is an aspect of the Lord’s kindness to us as a Church to which, as being a work of God, I should in this connection like to refer briefly. I am speaking of the measure of kindness which our ministers have received from our people in all places where we have people adhering to us. Our ministers have, for the past 16 years, been having frequent occasions to visit all parts of the country in dispensing ordinances, and the generosity with which houses, and every available comfort have been put at our disposal, is a matter worthy of note. We ought not to think that this was of the people themselves, but from the Giver of all good who moved them to show this kindness.
“The abstract now read deals with all the financial schemes and interests of the Church. Speaking generally, there is cause for satisfaction with the response which our congregations have given to appeals for support in regard to all the schemes, with the possible exception of the Church and Manse Building Fund. The Sustentation Fund, however, is the fund in which most of all the credit of the Church is concerned. When one thinks that twelve ministers, one probationer, and thirty-one missionaries or catechists or office-bearers are so largely dependent upon this scheme, it needs no argument from me to make it clear that it is a matter calling at once for prayer, and active self-denial on the part of the Church. If the salaries of ministers be maintained at £140, as has been the case for the last three years, we require £2,440 to meet our present annual expenditure. £140 is a sum somewhat lower than the ministers of this country have been wont to receive, but I believe that if it could be maintained our ministers would be content with their wages, whileas, on the other hand, if the salary falls below that sum, it will be difficult, at least with those having families, to maintain such honourable throughcoming and respectable appearance as I know our people would wish our ministers to be able to maintain. Readers of John Knox’s ‘First Book of Discipline’ are familiar with the emphasis which the Scottish Reformer gave to this aspect of the country’s duty towards the Evangel planted among us.
“But how may we expect that a sum so considerable should be collected annually among a comparatively poor people? We cannot charge our people, as a whole, with having no adequate sense of their responsibility in this matter, but there are portions of the Church where duty appears to be neglected. If, then, the entire Church entered heartily, under a sense of their obligations to Christ, into this undertaking, I believe the problem would solve itself very simply. To this end our people should be taught that
herein we are simply insisting on an ordinance of the Lord’s own appointment, for ‘the Lord hath ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel.’ In Old Testament times those who gave of their means for the support of the Lord’s instituted worship were regarded as giving to the Lord himself, and the case is not otherwise under the New Testament. The Lord reckons what is given to His cause as given to Himself. Liberality towards the maintenance of a Gospel ministry, is a form of obedience to which He has attached several precious promises, and the neglect of this duty is regarded in the Bible as a form of disobedience deserving of punishment. ‘Honour,’ says He, ‘the Lord with thy substance; so shall thy barns be filled with plenty’: ‘He that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully: He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly’: ‘Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn’: ‘Doth the Lord,’ says the apostle Paul, ‘care for oxen?’ or saith He it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written:—’If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?’ nay, more, He challenges His people to put Him to the test in this matter, and to consider whether liberality towards His cause ever proved an injury to those who thus acted. ‘Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive.’ These are only samples of the way in which the Lord by His word exhorts those that fear Him to their duty in this connection, and I verily believe that it is only because so many people think that in giving to the support of the ministry they are giving only to men, that it becomes a difficult matter, notwithstanding the comparative poverty that prevails generally in our midst, to raise a sum adequate for the support of a Gospel ministry in our midst. We should remember that it is not possible to us to give of our means immediately to the Lord, neither stands He as to His own person in need of it. If we give of our means to the Lord we must give it to His cause; and He in His cause now needs it in Scotland. Surely this is an appeal which should reach the heart of those who profess to see in the Free Presbyterian Church Christ’s cause. Let us beware of sowing to the flesh in this matter; for those who, instead of doing what they might towards His cause, try to hoard up wealth instead are, so far, sowing to the flesh, according to Biblical teaching; whereas those who, with an evangelical mind, give for the support of His cause in the world, are regarded in the Scriptures as, in that, sowing to the Spirit. All our ministers and missionaries have a duty to perform to their congregations in this matter. Of course, it is not desirable that this matter should for ever be insisted on. At the same time no minister or missionary should think it beneath his dignity on suitable occasions to shew from the
Scriptures that liberality towards the Lord’s cause is part of evangelical obedience, and a form of obedience to which many precious promises are attached in the divine Word.”
Rev. E. Macqueen put a question regarding an item in the Organisation Fund, which was answered. He then seconded the adoption of the Report. Mr. John M’Donald, Stornoway, spoke in support of the motion, and said the ministers should press the duty of liberality upon the people. This would uphold the hands of the Collectors in their work. Rev. D. Macfarlane also urged the claims of the Sustentation Fund. He said it was not greed that made them speak. They were concerned for the maintenance of the cause of God in the world. He remarked that they would be willing to do without meat or drink, if such were possible, until they entered the rest that remaineth for the people of God. The motion, adopting the Report, was unanimously agreed to.
Rev. J. R. Mackay moved, that Messrs. Maclean and Maciver, who had kindly acted as auditors in the past, be re-appointed. This was cordially agreed to, and the gentlemen being present, were asked by the Moderator if they would accept the re-appointment. They at once signified their acceptance.
The next head was the “Appointment of the Annual Collections,” and the Clerk read the order and dates of Collections as recommended by the Committee on Bills and Overtures:—
- Students’ Aid Fund—August.
- Missionaries and Catechists—October.
- Organisation Fund—December.
- Church Building Fund—February.
- Foreign Mission—March.
- Aged and Infirm Ministers, and Ministers’ Widows’ and Orphans’ Fund—June.
It was moved by the Rev. Ewen Macqueen, and seconded by the Rev. D. Beaton, that the above order of collections be adopted. This was agreed to. It was also agreed that on this occasion the Missionaries’ and Catechists’ Collection be taken by book, from house to house, in October, and that the Foreign Mission Collection be taken at the church door in March.
The fifth head was the Foreign Mission Report. With a view to present this, the Moderator (Rev. Neil Cameron) left the chair, which was taken meantime at his request by the Rev. J. R. Mackay. Mr. Cameron said that he had nothing new to report regarding the progress of the Mission in South Africa. Readers of the Magazine were familiar with their latest information. He had to mention, however, that a lady friend of the Church had recently given a generous donation of £100 to the Foreign Mission Fund, and that £30 of this sum had been sent to the Rev. J. B. Radasi, as his salary was not too large, to meet the expenses he had recently incurred with the serious illness of his wife and child, everything also being so expensive in that remote part of the world. Mr.
Cameron intimated that the Committee which had been appointed to arrange for one of the ministers to go out and visit the South African Mission had asked one of their number, Rev. J. R. Mackay, to go out, and that Mr. Mackay had kindly consented to go early in September. Mr. Cameron further went on to inform the Synod that he had had a communication from a member of the Brushgrove-Grafton Presbyterian Congregation, Clarence River, New South Wales, on the subject of that congregation connecting itself with the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. That congregation had up till now been presided over by the Rev. Walter Scott, who was presently in the home country, and who might yet return to the same field again. Mr. Cameron concluded by moving that the Synod approve of the arrangements that had been made in connection with the South African Mission, and that they give powers to the Committee to take any necessary steps before next Synod, should they receive any further communication from the Brushgrove-Grafton Congregation on the subject of connection with the Church. The Rev. J. R. Mackay said that, though he did not find it altogether an easy task, he was willing to do what he could for the Foreign Mission, and to visit the field. The motion was agreed to. At this point the Clerk intimated that he had received £8 8s. from the Rev. Walter Scott, being the collection for the Foreign Mission by the Brushgrove-Grafton Congregation, Clarence River. Mr. Scott, he said, was presently supplying the Oban congregation, and regretted that he was not able to be present to personally hand over the contribution. The thanks of the Synod were given to Mr. Scott and the Brushgrove-Grafton Congregation for their kind interest and help.
The Clerk read the report of the Canadian Mission, which was sent by the Rev. Donald Macleod, missionary, and which is printed elsewhere. The report was listened to with much interest and appreciation. Rev. A. Macrae moved that the report be received, and that Mr. Macleod be thanked for his labours. The motion was cordially agreed to.
Rev. J. S. Sinclair, as Editor and Treasurer of the Church Magazine, delivered the annual report. He said that owing to illness during the past month he had not been able fully to review the financial situation for the past year, but that he was able to give a general idea at present of how things stood. He stated that the circulation of single copies was increasing, and that now 2,100 copies were issued every month. Subscriptions were on the whole very promptly paid, and he was able to meet the quarterly accounts without any delay. Upwards of £8 of donations were received during the past year, and the Donation Fund contained now upwards of £25. There was also a small sum in the Free Circulation Fund. Rev. Ewen Macqueen moved that the report be received with pleasure. The motion was seconded by the Rev. Norman Matheson, and unanimously agreed to.
Rev. John R. Mackay next presented the Report of the Theological Classes, as follows :—
“ Moderator and Brethren, I rise to give a brief account of my stewardship as Theological Tutor during the past session. We had only one Theological Student in training last winter, Mr. Andrew Sutherland. We took up work about the beginning of December, and, with a short interval towards the end of January and the beginning of February, we continued to work up to about the middle of April. Mr. Sutherland was taught last winter in first Hebrew, and first Systematics. We met four times a week, and for about two and a half hours each day. Nearly the whole of the Epistle to the Romans in Greek was carefully gone over by us. In Hebrew we went carefully through Davidson’s Introductory Grammar, and, besides, gave an amount of attention to Hebrew Syntax greater than I had been able to do in any previous course. As Mr. Sutherland had had more tutoring in Hebrew in his first course, we were able to commence reading in Genesis in an early part of the session. As, however, in our first year we discuss, so far as concerns the portion read, all the phenomena of the Massoretic text, we are able to overtake but a comparatively small portion of the Hebrew Bible in our first year’s reading.
“ In Systematic Theology I lecture three days a week. In the first year I am able to do little more than treat of Introduction, or Apologetics. This I endeavour to deal with under four aspects—the philosophical, which is but an exposition of the four well known theistic proofs; the psychological, or the discussion of man’s religious capacity as fallen, and as restored by grace; the historical, or the question of the Christian evidences; the bibliological, or the question of the Canon and of Inspiration. In this connection we devoted a good deal of time to Paley’s Natural Theology, as, besides being a powerful argument for Theism, it is of considerable value as a means of culture in pointing out evidences of design in the human frame which every minister of the Gospel should be acquainted with.
“ A part of our students’ Theological training to which I attach much importance is our reading of Turrettine in Latin on Fridays. In former years we made use of some part of his Controversial Theology; this last winter we took up his De Satisfactione. It is probably the greatest work on the Atonement in any language. The division of the work is threefold—the necessity, the truth, and the perfection of the Atonement. The first, and part of the second of these divisions we went over, and I am hopeful, if that is the Lord’s will, that next session we shall make an acquaintance with the entire treatise. As an indication of Mr. Sutherland’s diligence I may say that he carefully wrote out a translation of the whole of Part I. of the first division of the De Satisfactione. I should like, if I might be able, in our next session to give a succinct view of Dogmatics in the strict sense. In view of the state of Mr. Sutherland’s health towards the end of the session, I did not prescribe to him summer work.”
Rev. E. MacQueen moved that the report be received and the
Rev. J. R. Mackay be thanked for his services as Theological Tutor. Rev. A. Macrae seconded the motion and acknowledged how much they were indebted to the Most High for giving them such efficient men as teachers of their students. The motion was cordially agreed to.
It was agreed that the University studies of Mr. Alexander Mackay, student, be regarded as complete. The Clerk stated that Mr. Mackay had received instruction in London in Hebrew and Greek, and that the lecturer, who was a Jew (Dr. Simons, B.A. (Lond.), Ph.D.), had certified that “his progress in both subjects has been exceptionally good.” Rev. D. Beaton proposed, and Rev. E. Macqueen seconded, that the following Examiners be appointed for students entering upon their Divinity course:—Rev. N. Cameron, Bible Knowledge; Rev. A. Macrae, Latin; and Rev. J. S. Sinclair, Greek. Messrs. Cameron and Sinclair expressed their inability, owing to other work, to undertake these labours. It was then agreed that the Rev. D. Beaton take the Greek, and the Rev. D. Graham, Bible Knowledge.
The ninth head was “Remits from Presbyteries.”—(1) The Northern Presbytery: (a) Rev. J. R. Mackay presented the case of Lochinver and Stoer, which desired to be combined as one regularly sanctioned charge, and so to be in a position to give a call to a minister. He reported that enquiry had been made of the people as to contributions to the Sustentation Fund, and that £97 17s. had been promised, to which sum £12 might be added, a number of persons having been away at the fishing when the enquiry was made. Mr. Mackay concluded by moving that the request be granted. A member asked whether two missionaries would then be required in those places as at present. Mr. Mackay said that one at least would be necessary. Rev. A. Macrae seconded the motion, which was unanimously agreed to. (b) Rev. J. R. Mackay also submitted the case of Beuly and Stratherrick as requiring regular supply. Rev. D. Macfarlane moved that the Synod send a missionary or student to supply these places regularly. The motion was unanimously agreed to.
(2) The Western Presbytery: (a) Rev. A. Macrae reported that the Presbytery had appointed Mr. John M’Kenzie as missionary in North Uist, and that they craved the Synod to approve of the appointment and to fix Mr. M’Kenzie’s salary. Mr. Macrae moved, and Mr. Macqueen seconded, approval, which was unanimously agreed to. It was decided to refer the matter of salary to the Financial Committee. (b) Rev. A. Macrae stated that Mr. Donald Maciver had been sent as missionary to Breaslate, Lewis, at a salary of £13, that the Rev. Neil Macintyre had given Mr. Maciver to understand before then that his salary would be £20, and that the increase to that sum was really necessary in the circumstances of the missionary’s outlay. Mr. Macrae moved, and Mr. John M’Donald, elder, seconded, that the salary be £20. The motion was unanimously agreed to.
(3) The Southern Presbytery: (a) Rev. J. S. Sinclair, as Clerk
of this Presbytery, submitted a remit concerning an application from the Mission at Wallace Street, Dumbarton. The elders of the Mission had applied for a missionary to take charge of the Mission for a time, who would visit as well as preach, there having been previously only occasional Sabbath supply. The Presbytery felt this a difficult task, and had not yet succeeded in accomplishing it, but a regular supply had been sent for some months for each Sabbath. The special part of the application which was presently remitted to the Synod was a request for financial assistance, if such would be necessary, to carry on the work of the mission. Mr. Sinclair explained that the increased supply meant increased outlay, but that the financial assistance would only be asked for if it was really needed at the end of the year. Rev. D. Beaton moved that the application for financial assistance be granted. He said that several of them knew that the Dumbarton people had struggled on very bravely for a number of years, and that they deserved encouragement. The motion was seconded and unanimously agreed to. (b) Rev. J. S. Sinclair also submitted an application from Mr. John Mackay, missionary, Greenock, for an increase in his salary, which had been considerably reduced at a recent term owing to the decrease in the Funds. On the motion of the Rev. A. Macrae, seconded by the Rev. E. Macqueen, the case was remitted to the Financial Committee for consideration.
The last head was “Any Competent Business.”—(a) Rev. A. Macrae gave a report of Committee for Supply of Summer Fishing Stations, the arrangements for which have already appeared in the Magazine. The Committee asked that the expenses of deputies, as far as necessary, be paid out of the Organisation Fund. On the motion of the Rev. D. Beaton the report was approved, and the request of the Committee granted.
(b) The Clerk reported that he had sent the Synod’s Protest against the Deceased Wife’s Sister Act to Sir John H. Kennaway, M.P., who was opposed to the Act, to be tabled in the House of Commons, but that Sir John replied that it was not in order to table a protest after a Bill had become law. It appeared, the Clerk said, that a petition for repeal was the only thing they could send in the matter. It was moved by the Rev. J. R. Mackay, and seconded by the Rev. E. Macqueen, that the document be forwarded to Parliament in the form of a Petition. The Moderator pointed out that the Synod was in nowise departing from its protest on this account. The motion was agreed to. Rev. A. Macrae moved that a Committee consisting of the Moderator, Rev. J. R. Mackay, and the Clerk, be appointed to draw up a further statement to define the Church’s position, in view of the fact that the two largest Presbyterian bodies in the country, the Established and the United Free, had removed ecclesiastical disabilities from those contracting such marriages, just as the State had removed civil disabilities, and that the said statement be published in the press. The motion was seconded, and unanimously agreed to.
Rev. Ewen Macqueen submitted the following motion with regard to praying at the grave at funerals :—” I beg to move that, seeing that there appears to be some uncertainty in some places as to our attitude regarding praying at the grave, the Synod resolve to make it plain to all their people that as it is not the practice of this Church to engage in prayer at the grave, they advise them not to ask or encourage others to do so, but to adhere to the Directory for Public Worship (bound up with the Confession of Faith) on that point.” Mr. Macqueen recommended that a note be put in the Magazine on the subject. Rev. Norman Matheson spoke in favour of Mr. Macqueen’s motion and seconded it. Rev. D. Macfarlane remarked that, while the Directory allowed the minister to address words of exhortation to the people, it forbade prayer at the grave.
(4) The Clerk reported that on request, the Rev. J. R. Mackay had indicated his willingness to send copies of his pamphlet on Romanism to Members of Parliament. The Clerk moved that the expense in connection with these copies be defrayed from the Organisation Fund. The motion was agreed to.
(5) The matter of the Raasay Church Debt was next taken up, and it was agreed, on the motion of the Rev. J. R. Mackay, seconded by the Rev. A. Macrae, that the balance of £28 be paid out of the Organisation Fund.
(6) A request was presented from the Trustees of St. Jude’s Church, Glasgow, asking power to borrow money on the Church property recently acquired. A question was asked as to the amount, and the Moderator, as minister of the Church, suggested £1,000. The Clerk moved, and Rev. A. Macrae seconded, that power be given to the Trustees to borrow to the extent of the sum named, if necessary.
The Synod adjourned to meet again (God willing) in St. Jude’s Hall, Glasgow, on Tuesday after the second Sabbath of November, at eleven in the forenoon.
The Meeting was closed with singing the last three verses of the twenty-eighth Psalm and prayer.
Knox Club for Scotland.—It has been suggested that in view of the general apathy in Protestant matters that a Knox Club should be formed in Scotland. Circulars have been issued stating that such a Club would seek (1) to maintain the Protestant succession to the Throne, and all existing safeguards thereto ; (2) to resist the efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to regain its influence in Scotland ; (3) to promote the study of Scottish history, and in particular the period associated with John Knox ; and (4) to secure the election on all public institutions of those who subscribe the foregoing constitution. We are not in a position to say anything further in connection with the matter, but all those interested may write to Mr. F. J. Robertson, 34 Warrender Park Terrace, Edinburgh, for further particulars.