THE subject of this obituary, John Urquhart, Greenock, was born in the Island of Rona, north of the Island of Raasay, some seventy-two years ago. His father, who was a native of Gairloch, Ross-shire, came to the Island of Rona as a Gaelic-English teacher, and remained there until his death. James Urquhart died at a comparatively early age; he was the son of the famous catechist, William Urquhart.
Nevertheless, when James Urquhart arrived in the Island of Rona, he was like the rest of the sons of Adam—”without God, and without hope in the world”—but, having been brought up in the atmosphere of true godliness and practical piety, when the Holy Ghost changed James Urquhart from “darkness to light, from the power of sin and Satan unto God,” he was soon made a happy instrument in the hands of the Holy Spirit, to declare the gospel of God’s grace, to the benighted islanders of Rona. It was obvious that the Lord had sent him to the Island of Rona on the great mission of being instrumental, under the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, which he so faithfully declared to his fellow-creatures, in turning others “from darkness to light and from the power of sin and Satan unto God,” and the Word had free course, and was glorified in the conversion of not a few.
It was in this atmosphere of godliness, piety and uprightness of life and conversation that our late worthy friend John Urquhart was born into this world. John was about eight years of age when his father was removed from time to eternity. He could not, at that period, realise the tremendous loss he had sustained; but the Lord had provided for John an excellent teacher under His own blessed hand, in that his God-fearing mother was left with them at this tender age. John spoke to the very last most lovingly of his mother, as a woman who feared the Lord above many. He deeply loved her memory. However, godliness does not run in human flesh and blood. After their father’s death, the Raasay proprietor kindly provided a house for the widow and the young orphans, not far from the village of Claichan in the south-end of the Island of Raasay.
John, being one of the oldest of the family, had very little opportunity of attending public school after his beloved father’s death, with the result that, although he was a man of extraordinary intellectual abilities, shrewdness of understanding, retentiveness of memory and a natural sagacious discernment, yet he always lamented, when confiding in his friends, that he missed the opportunity of acquiring in his early boyhood, the education that would have supported and enabled him to have made more use of the opportunities and privileges he afterwards enjoyed in connection with the gospel of the grace of God. John never lamented from a worldly nor a selfish point of view, but simply for that glorious knowledge that is revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He had to take part, at an early age, with other men in trying to earn his livelihood and help his widowed mother and the younger members of the family. He thus came in contact with the world, its ways and evil propensities, at an early stage of his youthful life but let us hope that the school of adversity into which he was now plunged proved a school of advantage when God’s time came to change his benighted condition to the glorious liberty of the sons of God. While he remained in Raasay, he was outwardly exemplary, sober and unimpeachable in his moral character. There were many of the Lord’s people in the various townships of the Island of Raasay at that time, who, by their walk, life and conversation as God-fearing men and women, had an extraordinary beautiful, restraining influence on the young. However, old Adam is too strong for any restraints that may be put on sinners in this world, unless they are changed effectually by the power of God’s grace. John went to sea; as far as I can ascertain, he generally sailed on yachts, first as an assistant cook, and later as a deck-hand. I remember him telling me on one occasion, that, while in the Mediterranean, as the yacht lay in a certain bay opposite Mount Vesuvius, he and other sailors went ashore and thought it great sport to climb up as high and as near as possible to the crater of Vesuvius. Prayerless, thoughtless and reckless, off they set, to get as near Vesuvius as they could. While climbing up the mountain they began to feel conscious of being in imminent danger; their boots were hot and burning and they immediately concluded that the best part of valour was to make as quick a descent from Vesuvius as possible. Lo and behold, in their descent, they began to sink in the lava and before they had descended many yards they were terror-stricken that they would be swamped into the very heart of the burning volcano. John related this episode with a deep sense of feeling and consciousness of how indebted he was to the God of all grace, who did not permit him, at that moment, to drop as to his body into the heart of Vesuvius and as to his soul, to the bottomless pit of eternal destruction. I am inclined to think, as far as I could ascertain from John, that this was probably a warning which made an indelible impression upon his mind. He used to have terrors of conscience long before this, but when coming in contact with his fellows, the devil and the world and the flesh would soon hul his natural conscience to sleep.
But when God’s time came, the Holy Spirit called John effectually, convincing him that he was a lost and ruined sinner—naked and exposed to the curse of God and to the wrath that shall eternally come upon all, who shall die Christless. John could say with the Apostle—”When the commandment came, sin revived and I died”—but there was a struggle in this death—for many a day and night, John was on the brink of eternal ruin, terrified night and day, sleep departing from his very eyes; he could neither eat nor drink, as on former occasions, nor enjoy the fellowship of any mortal creature under Heaven, but seemed like one that was forsaken of God and man, the law of God sounding and resounding through his immortal being, “Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them.” Many and varied were the temptations of his soul at this time, not at all unknown to some of the Lord’s people. The awful suggestions of Satan and the consciousness of guilt, brought John Urquhart to a very low state in mind and body.
As if it had been suggested to his mind, he went to see some of his father’s people living in the parish of Gairloch, for he thought, that if he met and came in close contact with those who feared the Lord, he might hear something that might do him good. But he himself used to say: “Alas! alas! there was nothing for me there.” When the time of deliverance came, the Word of God in the hand of the Holy Spirit began to speak to John, not in the terrors of the holy law of God, that had swept away all false hope and carnal pretensions for ever from him, leaving him naked and wounded, ready to die eternally, but in the sweet balmy way of the promises of the gospel. Christ was revealed to him in the Word, yea, and it was Christ crucified, that was revealed to him—Christ that came into this world “to seek and to save that which was lost.” The Holy Spirit began to reveal Christ to him as his own Saviour—as one that was “near of kin” to him. John’s soul was astounded at the infinite mercy, goodness, power, pity, compassion and love of God, to such a poor miserable hell-deserving sinner, such as he found himself to be, on the infallible authority of God’s Holy Word. He drank deeply, by faith, out of the wounds of a crucified Redeemer—”by His stripes we are healed.” John told us that he got such draughts of the love of God as revealed in Christ, that he came to the conclusion he was now to leave this world, and to pass to glory to enjoy this liberty, this love, this consolation, without intermission, for ever. He told us he would not believe an angel were he to tell him otherwise, but at the end of forty-eight years, believing, following and professing Christ in the world, our worthy friend said, near his end, “Oh! what I am now afraid of, and very often afraid of, is that I will not reach at all, and if I do, and if the Lord will grant me to see His face in mercy it must be grace, all grace, and nothing but grace.”
John made his home in the town of Greenock, after the great change he had passed through in his soul, state and nature. In those days, it was not so difficult as it is in our day, to earn one’s livelihood by following the occupation of a sailor. He got employment in the old David MacBrayne steamers during the summer season, but his home was in the town of Greenock. When the latitudinarian practices of desecrating God’s holy day were inaugurated, under the guise of the works of necessity and mercy, John Urquhart was compelled, for conscience sake, to give up the MacBrayne steamers—indeed, for protesting against Sabbath desecration, word was sent to one of the captains of MacBrayne’s boats that “that man John Urquhart” was not to be employed in their service a day longer; and to this John could say—we have no hesitation in saying so—”Amen! David MacBrayne!” After dismissal from MacBrayne’s Company because he would not work on the Lord’s Day, he was not a day idle, and got far better employment in Scott’s Yard, Greenock—better wages, better hours, and at home every night. John was a very shrewd observer of the times in which he lived, and we seldom, if ever, met a man who had such a clear discernment as to the conduct of men; he weighed them, not by their profession of words and loud speeches, but by their conduct in the world. He was seeing, along with many others, that the Church to which he belonged, and of which he was a professed member, namely, the Free Church of 1843, was going to wreck and ruin, by the destructive doctrines and practice of that Church long before 1893. It is very remarkable that our worthy friend had made up his mind, not rashly nor hastily, but thoughtfully and prayerfully and by the guidance of the Word and Spirit, if the Declaratory Act was to be passed by the Supreme Court of the Church, as a law binding upon the members and adherents of that Church, that he would sever, as long as he was left in this world, connection with the Free Church. When the Assembly of 1893 confirmed by a large majority, what was done by the Assembly of 1892, the first Sabbath after the passing of this infamous Act, John Urquhart remained at home with his Bible. The following week, his minister met him, and asked him why he was not at Church last Sabbath. John respectfully told the reverend gentleman, that never again would he worship in a Church that had dealt so treacherously with the Word of God, the courts of the Church of Christ, with Christ and with His people—that he was forever done with that Church. He was a man of action and not of mere words. Never again did he enter that Church under any assumed name whatsoever. Indeed, the following Sabbath after the passing of the said infamous Act, some of the members and office-bearers of the Free Church Gaelic congregation called at John’s house enquiring as to his health, thinking, by his absence, that he was ill. Several had called but John was not ill in body; but told them he was not to worship in that Church any more. The men then arranged that they would have a prayer-meeting in John’s house that Sabbath evening. We may say this was the first Free Presbyterian prayer-meeting held in Greenock. Great was the joy of John Urquhart and the rest of the Lord’s people in this town, who separated for ever from the Declaratory Act Church, when they became acquainted with the fact that the late Rev. Donald MacFarlane had also severed connection with that Church. The Rev. Donald MacFarlane had great love and respect for John Urquhart, and ever after their first meeting in Greenock, attended the Communion once a year as long as he was able to travel. Mr. Urquhart used to relate in his own inimitable way, some of Mr. MacFarlane’s beautiful and spiritual statements with such solemnity, that it was most refreshing to listen to him.
John remained faithful to his dying day by the grace of God, witnessing for Christ, His truth and His cause in the world. Many were his trials and difficulties, as we heard him say on one occasion—”many are the waves that shall pass over the immortal soul, between the door of the new birth and the ultimate arrival of the soul in the Haven of Eternal Rest. He was a most beautiful preacher of the everlasting gospel. He had a deep grasp of the evangelical doctrines of God’s infallible truth and loved to dwell much on the suffering love of the ever-glorious Redeemer. His spirituality of mind, his humility and self-loathing, as one who was utterly unworthy, in himself to touch the hem of the garment of His sufferings, endeared him to all of the Lord’s people, who came in close contact with this worthy man of God. We have not the least hesitation in saying that the Lord acknowledged John’s service in the conversion of some men and women in this town. Some of them are still left in this world, some passed before himself to their Eternal Rest, who adorned the gospel of God’s grace that saved them from going down to the pit forever, because “He had found a ransom.” Others are left to mourn their loss for they had a large share in his prayers night and day, at a throne of grace, but let us say, in the language of Holy Writ, “Christ is the same, yesterday, and to-day and forever.” John was loved by all our people who knew him—not only by those that were “lovers of good men,” but the most careless had great respect for Mr. John Urquhart.
He was not without his trials and crosses in the world, but like a wise and humble believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, he kept the darkest clouds and the frowns that he had to pass under, in the inscrutable providence of the Most High, almost and altogether between his own soul and the Lord at a throne of grace. He confided in us, not long before he was taken to his eternal rest, some of his fiery trials which we are not at liberty to divulge, and we came to this conclusion that it was no wonder at all to us, although he was such a beautiful Christian in life, walk, and conversation, who was kept so continuously at a throne of grace and mercy, looking, crying, seeking and waiting upon the Lord on all occasions for deliverance—”Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” He did not look for perfection in this world, although he sought with tears, in faith and hope, for the grace that perfects for eternity. Thus, being conscious of his own imperfections, shortcomings and his need and want of all the graces of the Holy Spirit, he was not in the habit of going about with long scissors, trying to trim the Lord’s people; fault finding, black-mailing, and back-biting were not the element in which John Urquhart lived.
He was most sympathetic towards those in distress of soul and what a beautiful nurse he was to any in whom he thought there was the faintest groan after Christ! He was very tender, yet very faithful and stern; when it was necessary for him to buckle on his armour, he hesitated not to do it at any time, when the cause of Christ and the Word of God demanded it. He was fully of the mind that he might be left in the world for a little time longer and intended to settle among our people on the coast of Ross-shire, but the Lord’s time had come to remove him from the Church militant to the Church triumphant. He suffered very severe bodily pains, but in the midst of the most excruciating moments, he would always say, “Who am I? that I should complain,” and “Oh! Lord, keep me from complaining!”
We cannot close this brief notice of our worthy friend, without recording that our kind young doctor (Dr. D. A. McIntyre) did everything that was humanly possible to mitigate John’s sufferings. He was at his bedside night and day when occasion demanded. A son could not do more for a father; but there is nothing in this world, that men can do, to keep back the cold hand of death. When John realised that God was calling him to eternity, and that the hour of his departure had come, he was often heard praying to the Lord in childlike simplicity, “Lord, wash me, cleanse me from all sin—I am so vile and so unfit for that place where there is perfect, absolute purity and holiness.” He used to say to us that there was not such a sinner on the face of this earth as he was—so vile and so ruined. But we noticed that a certain portion in Psalm lxxiii. 24—”Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory,” becalmed his troubled soul before the end came. This he would repeat, “Yes, Lord, thou wilt receive me, thou wilt receive me.” His latter end was peace.
We mourn his loss. The blank that his death made among us, we are afraid, shall not be made up in time. He was a wise counsellor, gentle, faithful and so sincere. His love to the cause of Christ, to His people, His law and gospel was most remarkable from the beginning to the end of his day. Our people in this place felt as if the father of a family had been taken from among them: old and young were and some are mourning their loss, but what was our loss is his eternal gain. He had to act for a time precentor, preacher and treasurer in the congregation, and when through ill-health, he could not carry on these duties any longer, he suggested to us to appoint two of the men in the congregation as joint-treasurers—one of them was more or less acting with himself for a few years previously, making up the books at the end of the financial year. When going over the books, John was anxious that everything was perfectly square and above board. Our acting treasurer told him that not only were the books square and everything perfectly correct, but that there were twelve pounds sterling, over and above what was in the books; John with a beautiful smile, said, “What a blessing that it was not twelve pounds short.” We have no doubt at all, but that he was putting of his own little limited means so freely into the treasurer’s box, that the worthy man was carrying out the blessed injunction—”let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.”
His wife predeceased him about a year. John expressed a wish that he would be interred along with his father and mother in the Island of Raasay. His wish was carried out and there his mortal body remains until the blast of the last trumpet, when Christ shall come with His holy angels to gather His saints unto Him. We have no doubt but John will stand in his lot in that day with the rest of the redeemed of the Lord. To his surviving sisters, we desire to extend our sympathy in their sad bereavement, and may the Lord grant them, that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of their fathers, would reveal Himself to them as their own God and Saviour.—J. M.