THE Free Presbyterian Church lost a goodly number of her outstanding godly men this year. This has been true both of the North and South. We deeply feel our loss, and mourn over it. At the same time we would desire to act like David, when he said: “I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it.” In the North two, who were conspicuous among the men, were removed to their everlasting rest, viz., Mr. Neil MacKinnon, Portree, and Mr. Alexander MacLennan, Rona. These two men were strong pillars to our Church in Skye, and throughout the length and breadth of the land. They were powerful in word and deed before the Lord and all the people. They were true men, in whom the utmost confidence could be placed when a day of trial came. This continued to be their character from first to last.
The first time the writer met Alexander MacLennan was at the Communion held in Raasay in June of 1893. At that Communion a minister, who assisted, endeavoured to persuade him that he should not follow the Rev. D. Macfarlane in separating from the so-called Free Church. Alexander replied, by asking the minister, “If cholera were to come to the island, and that all who took it died of it, and that the people were fleeing out of it, would he himself consider him a wise man should he take his advice to remain in the island in such circumstances?” The minister answered that he would not consider him wise should he take his advice in such a case. “Well,” said Alexander, “I tell you that I consider this Declaratory Act more dangerous to the souls of men than cholera would be to their bodies.” This put an end to the conversation. The writer concluded that this was one man at least who realised the danger to which the new creed exposed the souls of men, and that, while he held to that view of it, it was not probable that he would prove faithless.
Alexander was a great admirer of the late Dr. Kennedy and the late Rev. Alexander MacColl. This was true of all the faithful men and women in the Free Church, on account of the outstanding position of these two men as preachers of the Gospel of Christ in its absolute freeness to the chief of sinners, and also on account of their faithfulness in maintaining and defending the doctrines and principles of the Church of the Reformation in Scotland. Alexander valued very highly the pure Gospel, and especially such ministers as the above, who proved that they were true ambassadors of Jesus Christ. He repeatedly told the writer of an aged and godly woman who, when she heard that one of these faithful ministers had passed through a part of the district in which she lived, thanked the Lord that, notwithstanding she had neither seen nor heard the man preach, he had been there; because she considered it a favour from the Lord that His true ambassadors had set foot in that part of the land. This was exactly how he felt himself as regards the faithful ministers of Christ. His love to all the Lord’s people was deep and sincere, and their fellowship was intently desired by him.
He was endowed with mental ability of a high order. There are few men who could use language to the same effect that he was capable of. His expressions were always admirably adapted to convey to others the exact meaning of his thoughts, so that none could misunderstand what he meant. He made good use of illustrations in his public addresses, whereby he fixed, what he meant an audience to grasp, indelibly on their memories. As an example of this, the writer, on one occasion, heard him speak on a Friday of a Communion season at Flashadder in Skye. When he rose up, he said: “Some men think that, when we speak as we do here to-day, we pass judgment upon men as regards their state before God, but that is not so. All we do is to show the difference between the conduct of the Lord’s people and that of graceless men, and the Word of God allows of this, as it is written, ‘by their fruits ye shall know them.’ To give you an example of what I mean, say, that a man came into an orchard in early spring and asked the gardener, What kind of a tree is this? The gardener answered, It is an apple tree. The man could not believe that it was an apple tree. So they disagreed about it. But, say that the same man came back in August when the trees bore fruit, and that he and the gardener had a look at the trees, and coming to the tree in dispute, the man knew at once by its fruit what kind of tree it was. So we should judge men by the fruit they bear. Give you a man time till he bears fruit by his conduct in the world, and then you can safely conclude whether he is a true Christian or not. There is also a very clear distinction between the true Christian and the hypocrite. I will try to explain it thus: Two men out of the same township were going to sea; one of them went out to the end of his house now and again to have a look at the sky and at the sea, while the other sat still and quite unconcerned at his own fireside. What was it that made the difference between the conduct of these two men? The one, who looked so anxiously to sky and sea, had one port before his mind, and he was afraid that the wind might blow so strongly against him that he could not make for the port he desired to reach; for, if he did not get into that port, all was lost for him. The one, who acted so unconcernedly, was going to sea without having any definite port in view, and consequently, should the wind blow hard against him, he would give her sheet, and run before the wind for shelter in any port. The true Christian has heaven in his eye, and is afraid that Satan, the world and the flesh may prove that he has not got grace, and that he will make shipwreck of the faith, and come short of eternal life. The hypocrite has got no such fears, so he can trim his course to suit any kind of weather. He is like our rich people who sail in yachts for pleasure, and who, when the wind gets too strong ahead and sailing becomes uncomfortable or dangerous, turns away and runs before the wind. Such professors of religion are to be met with in our day, as there were such in the time of the Lord Jesus and His Apostles.” The above loses much of its perspicuity in the translation, as it was spoken in the Gaelic language. Much more might be recorded of his pithy sayings, but the time of the writer, and space, will not permit.
Alexander had his own large share of the troubles that afflict the just, but he kept them to himself, and opened them to the Lord only, and that not in public, but in secret. In this he was very wise, for he might make a mistake in relating them even to such as he might expect to sympathise with him. About ten years ago he had a great mental trial. The enemy did his utmost to cast him down utterly by holding out that there was no mercy in God for him. During the space of about two years he would not speak at the fellowship meetings, and when he did engage in private or public at home, he was very brief and almost inaudible. But the Lord came to his help, and delivered him out of that temptation. The first time he spoke in public after the relief came all who were present felt the power and unction with which he spoke. This liberty continued for some years, so that many praised the Lord for the goodness and mercy with which He visited the man of God. But he had to drink again of the waters of Marah. A son of his, who had enlisted in the British Army several years before the commencement of the great War, and who became a truly pious young man, was killed at the front during that War. This was a terrible blow to his poor, old father, but, so far as we could ascertain, he bowed his head before this providence in the spirit of real submission to the Lord’s will concerning himself and all his family. However, the trial had the effect of bringing on a shock, by which he was incapacitated so far as to be unable to rise from his bed. It did not affect his speech, but it left his feelings weak and easily touched. Latterly he became dropsical, and being a powerfully-built and heavy man, his wife and daughters had enough to do, until a son came home to help them. At the end of June, 1919, the writer, on his way from the Gairloch Communion to Raasay, expressed his desire to visit him to the kind friends who ferried him, and they most willingly called at Rona for that purpose. He was overjoyed when he heard that we had landed to pay him a visit. We had a considerable time with him. He was as concerned about the cause of Christ at home and abroad as he used to be when in perfect health, and especially with everything connected with the Free Presbyterian Church. He referred to the ministers who had left our Church in November of the previous year, by saying: “You need not expect that our Church will fare better than the Church did in the days of the Apostle Paul, who had to write: ‘This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.’ But as long as you will adhere faithfully to the truth you will prosper, whoever they be that will turn from you.” We parted with him that day, realising that we would never see him again till the day of eternity. So it came to pass, for he passed away to his everlasting rest at the time of the Communion at Gairloch this year, and was buried at Lochcarron on Saturday the 26th June, 1920. So far as we have been able to ascertain, he was about eighty-two years of age.
The writer desires to express his sincere sympathy with his widow and each member of the family, also with the people of Rona, who lost a friend indeed the day Alexander MacLennan was taken from them.
N. C.