OPENING OF A NEW CHURCH.
THE new church erected by the Free Presbyterian Church congregation of Dingwall in Hill Terrace, was formally opened on Wednesday, 24th July. There was a large audience which packed the church, and included many people from a distance. Rev. J. R. Mackay, Inverness, who was accompanied to the pulpit by the Rev. D. Macfarlane, minister of the congregation, officiated, and preached an eloquent sermon from Hebrews ix. and 15,—“And for this cause He is the Mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
Rev. Mr. Macfarlane, at the close of the sermon in the course of a few remarks, said that after the gospel sermon they had listened to he did not intend to say very much. They had to acknowledge God’s great kindness to them as a congregation in providing for them in his good providence, a church in which to worship. With regard to the cost of building the church they had found all the friends to whom they had appealed, willing and liberal in contributing to the building fund, and money had been sent by several parties without application at all. That was the second church with which he had been connected more immediately, and he appreciated all the more the willing readiness of friends in their own church and in the various congregations, in helping them. They had had to appeal to the congregations when they had put up a church and manse at Raasay, and again when erecting the manse in Dingwall, and he felt a delicacy in appealing so soon again to the same friends when they required to build a church. But this last appeal had been responded to as if they had given nothing before, and they ought to acknowledge that. When the church took up its position in 1893 they were deprived of two churches and manses, one at Raasay and another at Sheildaig. And now after fourteen years had elapsed since they had taken up that position in defence of the truth of God in a backsliding age, they had about thirty-three Churches, not to speak of several meeting-houses. The two Churches were taken from them by men for adhering to the principles, and God had given them instead thirty-three Churches. He might also mention that whereas they had only two ministers in 1893, they had now twelve, and they expected more. They had got, in God’s providence, a new Church, but they did not purpose preaching a new gospel. They adhered to the old gospel which they had heard that day. They had proposed as in the past to preach the gospel that was preached to their first parents in the Garden of Eden, the gospel that was preached by the prophets in the Old Testament, by the apostles, and by all true ministers of Christ, and the gospel which
would be preached by all true servants of Christ until He come again. They were sometimes called Seceders. They denied that. They claimed, and that justly, that they were the representatives of the Free Church of 1843, and in order to stick to the position taken up then, they refused to move away. It was those who removed from the position who were the seceders, not those who remained faithful. They also claimed to be the true representatives of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland in its best days. They claimed to be the true representatives of the apostles because they held the same doctrine that the apostles preached, and kept the same mode of worship which they practiced, and adhered to the same Church Government which they had. With regard to the erection of the new church, he said that the builders, Messrs. Spiers, Glasgow, had received £189, but including all the expenses the total cost would be about £284. Of that they had £223, and they had much cause to be thankful that so much of the debt had been paid. They still required £60, and he had no doubt at all that that would come, and perhaps very soon.
Rev. Mr. Mackay said he thought it was not out of place that he should congratulate Mr. Macfarlane and his congregation upon the success that had attended their efforts in erecting that church. He was inclined to say that if the people of the Free Presbyterian Church, after having fourteen years to meditate over it, thought that Mr. Macfarlane had wittingly or unwittingly misled them in 1893, they would not have at that time of day, shown their liberality in such a manner. He did not mean that all the money had come from the Free Presbyterian Church people. Others outside the Church had contributed, and to those they were much indebted, but most of the money had come from people in the Free Presbyterian Church, and the fact that they had contributed so liberally showed that they were convinced of the righteousness of the step they had taken in 1893. He criticised the building as a neat, substantial, and commodious place of worship, and had a very pleasant situation.—Ross-shire Journal.
Spread of the Bible.—Never before in human history were so many millions of Bibles circulated as in recent years; last year 5,977,453, complete or portions, were disseminated by the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 400 different languages or forms of speech the Society has produced and sent forth the Word of Life to mankind. Seven out of every ten human beings in the world may now have it in their own tongue. Yet some 450,000,000 of our fellowmen have no portion of the Bible in any language they can understand. If all the Bibles ever published were distributed to-day, one to each person, there would still be millions of people for whom no copy would be available.