THE MEMOIR AND REMAINS OF THE REV. D. MACDONALD,
SHIELDAIG.
The first edition of this interesting volume by the Rev. D. Macfarlane, which consisted of 1,000 copies, is now nearly sold out, and it is hoped that those who desire to possess the book, but have not yet secured it, will send in their orders as soon as possible to the Rev. Mr. Macfarlane, F.P. Manse, Craig Road, Dingwall. The price is 2s. 9d., including postage. Should the author have a considerable number of subscribers unsupplied, he will be encouraged to proceed with a second edition. The book has been reviewed by several magazines and newspapers, and the opinions generally expressed have been very laudatory indeed.
EXTRACTS FROM THE OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
The thanks of many saints of God in all parts of the kingdom are due to the Rev. Donald Macfarlane, Dingwall, for the preparation of the Memoir and Remains of the Rev. Donald Macdonald of Shieldaig. The book contains a sketch of Mr. Macdonald’s life, some letters from his pen, twenty sermons by him, and the funeral sermon and tributes. From these “Remains” it is clear that this devoted minister was a man of great piety and usefulness. In the persecutions at the constitution of the Free Presbyterian Church, Mr. Macdonald acted in a patient and heroic manner.—The Reformed Presbyterian Witness.
If you love the truth and the memory of the faithful in Christ Jesus, buy this little book. Donald Macdonald was minister of a remote corner in Ross-shire from 1872-1901. His college career was long, and his ministry comparatively short, as men count
these things, but if his ministry began, as in truth it did, from 1849, the year of his liberation and enjoyment of fellowship with Christ, then his was a long and singularly fruitful ministry. His brother and companion in bearing testimony for the truth, has beautifully executed the task committed to him. This little volume is worthy to be included in the memorials of the righteous, of which M’Cheyne’s Memoirs form a classic. We venture thus highly to commend the book, having read it, and to express our approbation of the spirit which animates its author. It is not a polemic; it is a modest recital of the life of one who was first of all an exercised believer, a sinner saved by grace, and because of that, a faithful witness in a day of rebuke and blasphemy. We should like all young people to read this book. It will show them that the day of spiritual experiences may be theirs also.—The Free Church Record.
It is a true saying of Solomon’s, that the memory of the just is blessed, and never did the truth of the saying seem more apparent to some than in the reading of this Memoir and Remains of the saintly minister of Shieldaig. . . . The reading of these sermons recalls to mind occasions when the very odour of the Rose of Sharon seemed to be diffused throughout the place of preaching. . . . And in the delineation of Mr. Macdonald’s life-story, Mr. Macfarlane has right nobly done his part. There is a thoroughness and withal an ease and literary grace, that interests while it satisfies. . . . The Remains consist of four letters and twenty discourses, which include one Communion table address and two question meeting addresses. Among these, one is glad to find such favourites as the Forgiven Penitent, Joseph’s Brethren, the Rose of Sharon, Black but Comely, and Christ’s Invitation to His Bride, all of which are full of the sweet consolations of the gospel. . . . But if Mr. Macdonald’s sermons abound in the consolations of the gospel, they are not lacking in solemn warnings to false professors and the careless. One will find enough in them to make one carefully ponder what road he has chosen for eternity. There is a faithfulness and earnestness about them that tell plainly enough that Mr. Macdonald did not set himself out to please men. . . . The book has as a frontispiece a striking portrait of Mr. Macdonald. The whole get-up of the work shows taste and care, and the printing is admirable.—The Free Presbyterian Magazine.
The late Rev. Donald Macdonald, Shieldaig, was a man conspicuous for the earnestness of his Christianity, for his zeal and devotion to the work of the Church, and the high standard of life and duty he set up as an example and followed to the end. . . . The volume, which contains a portrait of speaking merit, will be read with interest. . . . Being in perfect sympathy with Mr. Macdonald, Mr. Macfarlane does his friend every possible justice in the book.—The Northern Chronicle.
The late Mr. Macdonald was one of the most prominent ministers in the communion of the Free Presbyterian Church, and
a stalwart in a school of pure and stern doctrine which in these days is almost exclusive to the Highlands . . . Early in life Mr. Macdonald came under the influence of some of the “giants of those days,” and Mr. Macfarlane gives slight glimpses in this Memoir of the spiritual struggles through which the subject of it passed . . . Mr. Macfarlane has performed his task well, and with manifest sincerity. Honesty of purpose is perfectly discernible. A less conscientious writer would have been fulsome where he is ingenuous; a less kindly critic would not have read so well the true inspiring motive of this typical Celt, and simple but massive and manly Christian minister. The sermons given are not exactly highly flavoured literary essays. They are robust but simple withal, and, as may be expected, are free of that modernism in which invention often takes the place of interpretation, and through which new creeds are being daily constructed. The Memoir and Sermons together should be welcomed and widely read by those who desire to get closer to what religion means and what religious teachers really are in the Highlands.—The Ross-shire Journal.
Mr. Macfarlane has done his work well; the whole tone of the Memoir is impartial and well balanced . . . One has been so accustomed to hear the most ridiculous and far-fetched stories about Mr. Macdonald that it seemed that there must be some truth in them after all, but a reading of this book reveals a reverent mind, a winning personality, a life richly imbued with love to Christ and sanctified by prayer. The volume is got up in a neat style, well printed, and has as a frontispiece a portrait of Mr. Macdonald.—The Northern Herald.