Letters by Donald Mackay
My Dear Brother,
I am, after coming home, somewhat cast down because I fear that I have grieved the Holy Spirit of God, and if the Spirit will leave me I need not continue this work. My desire and prayer for you is that you may be filled with the Spirit. I long to see you again. May Jesus grant that I may not be separated from you at the Judgement Day, when all will go to their own place.
You may know the way coming home was not very comfortable with these two passages: “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption”, and, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways”. If I should have the Spirit, I could enjoy myself, but when I am in this way, it is very few that I find shelter with. I am thinking my soul longs to meet with you, though I am afraid I am discouraging you with my dull spirit. O that light would break in on my soul once more, and that I would taste of the forgiveness of sins. May His Spirit be with you, to give you a door of utterance. O that it would please Him to bring in other sheep in some place by someone. As for myself, my sins are so great, and I am so
1These two letters also are reprinted from volume 7 of this Magazine. The first was written from Portree and has no date, the second from Strathy Head on 5 October 1898. Donald Mackay was studying for the ministry of the Church when he died, aged 33, in August 1900. It was said of him in his obituary: “His exercises in prayer were distinguished by a rare spirituality. They exhibited the case of a soul deeply emptied of self, humbled in the dust of self-abasement, a soul that had no righteousness or strength of its own, but whose desires were wholly towards the Lord as the fountain of its life and happiness. The obituary appears in The Free Presbyterian Magazine, vol 5, p 182ff.
unwatchful. May Jesus forgive such a sinner! Remember me to all the friends, and tell them to pray in a special manner for me, to see if the Spirit will return to my soul. I have a very kind letter from M__ before me as I write. May the love of Christ be in you; and the more I get of the Spirit of prayer for you all there, the happier I will be. Be sure to write immediately, supposing it were only a few lines.
PS. Do pray for me, though you will feel tired in the Lord’s work. O that light would come from heaven!
My Dear Friend,
I was pleased to get your kind and welcome letter a few days ago, though we would like better if you had come yourself, if that would be His will. A day came on the Apostle Paul when he had to lay aside his own will in order that he might do the will of the Lord. It seems, the more of this spirit is found in any soul, the more he will enjoy of the peace of God. And when the day will come when they will have no other will, this peace will flow through their souls like a stream or river.
What would do us good is that the virtue which flows from the intercession of Christ would reach us. When the woman mentioned in the Gospel touched His garment through faith, virtue went out of Him, by virtue of which she acknowledged that she was healed from her disease. So those who get nearness to Him through faith will realise in themselves that quickening power has come to their souls, and although they shall not be wholly delivered from their diseases in time, their souls will be made perfect in holiness at death, freed from all sin – and at the great and last day their bodies also. And I am persuaded you are among these, because you have been often raised with Him by the power of His Spirit working in you effectually.
Tell our dear friend __ that I am thinking of going to Glasgow, but that I am not quite sure yet, as I am far from being strong. I hope you will both pray for me in this matter. I desire to be kindly remembered to all the household, also to all other friends.
The reason we come away so cold from reading the Word is because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation.
Some need a flaming sword to keep them off the Lord’s table; and others need Christ’s “whip of small cords” to drive them to it.
Duty is the golden path to walk in, but not a silver crutch to lean on.
The more bitterness we taste in sin, the more sweetness we shall taste in Christ.
Presumptuous sins open the mouth of conscience to accuse and shut the mouth of God’s Spirit, which should speak peace. Yet cast not away your anchor; look up to the blood of Christ; it can forgive sins against mercy.
Thomas Watson