IN building up His Church the Lord has been pleased to gather together in Christ men of varied gifts and temperaments. Paul and Nathanael were very different in the gifts and temperaments with which they were endowed, and the Holy Spirit made use of these in His own sovereign way. The Redeemer has left on record for all ages coming in words that His Church will never forget the outstanding feature of Nathanael’s character, so beautiful in its guilelessness—”Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile.” As we think of our dear departed friend, Donald Sinclair, these words stand out as a fit description of one who lived a life of guileless trust in His Redeemer, and whose whole walk and conversation manifested a child-like simplicity that was refreshing to see.
The subject of our sketch was the son of John Sinclair, farmer, Leosach, near Halkirk. We are not in a position to say when and how the change came which set Donald’s face towards that country which he for many a day was longing desires to enter, but it was a change so manifestly clear that no one who had ever the privilege of knowing him could stand in doubt for a moment that he was a stranger and a pilgrim in this world.
For a number of years Donald farmed the sheep farm of Braehour, but his skill in managing worldly affairs was not one of his strong points, and getting into financial difficulties, he had to give up farming. About this time though in deep waters as far as worldly things were concerned, the Lord was pleased to manifest Himself to him, and he was much comforted with the words—”The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seals thereof” (Rev. v. 5). After leaving Braehour, he resided for a time at Appat, and it was while there he had a signal manifestation of God’s favour from the words which he so often repeated with heavenly fervour and unfeigned delight—”But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raiseth the dead, who delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver, in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (II. Cor. i. 9, 10). Those who heard him repeat these words, and he often repeated them, will never forget the fulness of meaning with which they were filled as they fell from the lips of one who had heard in them a message from Heaven’s throne itself.
Donald was afflicted with epilepsy, which at times dulled his mental faculties, and rendered it difficult for him to express the thoughts that were in his mind, but whatever difficulty he might be in as to words, we never heard him during all the time we knew him, either in prayer or in speaking to “the question,” give utterance to sentiments at variance with the Word of God, and in this the kindness of the Lord to him was very manifest.
He was the last of a family, the members of which gave evident marks that they belonged to that family who have Jesus Christ as their Elder Brother. It was a family whom the Lord had blessed, and now they have become united in that larger family where earthly relationships have given place to the heavenly.
Rarely have we met one who was so spiritually minded, and so much taken up with the things of heaven. This was particularly noticeable in his conversation and prayers. Latterly he had a great longing to get away—to be with Christ, which is far better. His hope was bright and his assurance was strong—it was a good hope through grace, and an assurance founded on a work that was perfect and finished for ever. There was nothing about either to make one feel that the hope was delusive or the assurance presumptuous. It was the child-like trust of one leaning upon Christ alone for salvation, and who, with such a trust in Him, faced the future and all that it had without dismay. When listening to the word preached, whenever he heard anything that pleased him, he would give a quiet ejaculation of delight. At Communion seasons he was invariably in an ecstasy of delight, and his bright, happy, heavenly conversation enlivened the companies of God’s people. His prayers on such occasions for the ministers were, with great earnestness, presented before the throne of grace, and in his removal our ministers have lost as true a friend as ever pled for them to the God of heaven.
A number of years ago Donald was elected an elder in the Halkirk congregation, and fulfilled his duties until declining health detained him in the house. He spent his latter days with his nephew, Mr John Macadie, farmer, Brawlin, and his nieces, the Misses Macadie, who tenderly attended him in his declining years, and our prayer for them and all his relatives is that his God may be their God, and we extend to them our sincere sympathy in their loss.
Donald Sinclair passed to his everlasting rest on 20th December 1922. One by one the Lord has been removing his saints—gathering those who had made a covenant by sacrifice with Him—and the Church that is below, with its eyes looking towards the nearing but seemingly distant goal, bids them farewell until the day dawn and the shadows forever flee away.
On the Sabbath following his death, Rev. Malcolm Gillies made the following reference from the pulpit:—We are called to-day to mourn for the removal of one from our midst who adorned his profession by godly life and practice for many years. You knew him much better than I, who only saw him when body and mind had become greatly enfeebled by old age and wasting disease. There were a few things most marked about him which I would like to point out. He was a spiritually minded man. He lived for eternity, not for time. The things of this world were made very small to him, and his thoughts and affections were occupied with the word of God, especially as it sets forth the love of Christ to His Church. One would not be long in Donald Sinclair’s company without finding the breath of prayer about him. His prayers were simple, direct, child-like expressions of need directed to Him whom he believed was both able and willing to perform more than we can ask or think. Then there was his upright walk and conversation. He was not perfect more than any other, but he was enabled to keep his garments clean to the end of the journey, and that is better for one than though he should gain the whole world.
He was a humble man, who had a daily sense of being a sinner, and his continual cry was to be under the shelter of the blood of Christ, which alone could give him a standing before God. The last thing I mention about him was his hopefulness as to his interest in Christ. God’s people are often tried with doubts as to their saving union with Christ, but they cannot rest in that matter. What they seek is to have evidence of faith in Christ. Our friend was enabled by grace to come with boldness to the fulness that is in Jesus, and receiving out of that fulness, he had a good hope which sustained him in life and encouraged him to long for the day when he would leave the world behind him and depart to be with Christ, which is far better.
I have been thinking lately about Stephen and the devout men who carried him to his burial, and the lamentation they made over him. It is a sad token of the state of our day when little lamentation is made over the removal of God’s people. But if the Church in apostolic times which had so many of the true people of God among them felt Stephen’s death so keenly, how much more should we mourn the removal of the witnesses, when they are so very few in our midst. The devout men were no doubt praying that the Lord would raise up another in the place of Stephen, and had their prayers answered in the person of Saul of Tarsus, who had consented to Stephen’s death. Let us plead that the Lord would enable us to follow in the footsteps of the witnesses which He had among us, who are now almost out of sight. Let us seek that He would raise up others in their place by awakening and convincing them of sin and misery, and uniting them to Himself in Christ and to His Church on earth.