Tributes from the Presbyteries of the Free Presbyterian Church.
SOUTHERN PRESBYTERY.
AT a meeting of the Southern Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, held at Glasgow on the 3rd day of June, 1921, it was resolved (inter alia) to place on their Records their deep sense of the loss sustained by them through the death of their beloved brother, Rev. J. S. Sinclair, Clerk of Presbytery, and to send an abstract of the same to Mrs. Sinclair and her family.
Mr. Sinclair was not an ordinary minister in the Church he belonged to. He was a special gift of the “Lord of the harvest.” The position which he held as Editor of the Free Presbyterian Magazine from its inception, and as Clerk of Synod for many years, as well as Clerk of this Presbytery, makes his removal by death far more keenly felt, and especially so when it was universally recognised that he was the right man in the right place in these respective offices.
As a minister of the Gospel, Mr. Sinclair possessed in a marked degree the Apostolic qualification of “rightly dividing the word of truth.” His discourses were the result of careful study, a clear conception of Calvinistic doctrines, and a true appreciation of Christian experience.
As a member of this Court, his attitude at all times was one of calm confidence in the God of all grace. To his brethren in the Court he was always most respectful, and they all looked up to him as a brother in the Lord, a warm-hearted and constant friend, and a wise councillor.
Amid all the great trials through which the Church passed since the Free Presbyterian Church was formed, Mr. Sinclair asserted, maintained, and defended the principles which the Church contended for with no uncertain sound. In point of fact, his whole life was devoted to the interests of the Free Presbyterian Church.
The Presbytery would humbly give thanks to the Head of the Church for having carried His servant, Mr. Sinclair, through life so honourably to the very end. The words of the apostle Paul, “I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith,” appropriately express Mr. Sinclair’s career as a public witness for Christ in a backsliding age.
The Presbytery desire to convey to Mrs. Sinclair and family their deepest sympathy in her great bereavement and sorrow. The Presbytery feel that they share in no small measure in this sorrow, and they “commend to God and to the word of His grace” Mrs. Sinclair and her family, and pray that the Most High, in His own bountiful manner, may take their interests, both spiritually and temporally, into His own gracious hands.
“Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom Thou mayest make princes in all the earth.”
NORTHERN PRESBYTERY.
At a meeting of the Northern Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church, held at Inverness, on 24th June, 1921, it was resolved that the following tribute to the late Rev. James S. Sinclair be placed on record in the minutes of the Presbytery:—”It was unanimously agreed that the Presbytery expresses its deep sense of the loss sustained by the Free Presbyterian Church as a whole, and by the visible Church, in the removal of their beloved brother, the Rev. James S. Sinclair, who was called to his rest on the 30th day of May, 1921. The members of this Presbytery feel that, as a brother minister, he endeared himself to them all, and are aware that the scriptural injunction, ‘Love one another,’ was fulfilled by him as much as by any mortal man whom they came in contact with. As Clerk of Synod he fulfilled his duties in a most patient and masterly way, and, further, as editor of the Free Presbyterian Magazine, his praise is in all the churches, so that we cannot but feel keenly the loss of such an excellent, God-fearing editor.
The Presbytery would render thanks unto the Head of the Church for lending to the Church such a worthy and laborious servant, and also expresses its deepest sympathy with his dear widow and family, to whom he was more than we can express. May the Lord prove to them what is written of Him, ‘A father to the fatherless and a judge of the widows.'”
WESTERN PRESBYTERY.
The Presbytery has learned with deep and profound sorrow of the death of their respected and honoured friend and brother, the Rev. J. S. Sinclair, and they wish to place on record their tenderest sympathy with Mrs. Sinclair and family in their sad and sore bereavement, and pray that the Husband of the widow, and the Father of the fatherless may be their comforter and sustainer in their great sorrow.
They would also express their keen sense of the loss sustained by the John Knox’s Congregation in the removal of their beloved pastor, and trust that the Shepherd of Israel may tenderly watch over them.
The Presbytery also desire to express their sympathy with their brethren in the Southern Presbytery, in the breach made upon them, by the removal of one of their most esteemed and useful members.
While we all have much reason to mourn the great breach made, yet we would recall, with much gratitude to the Head of the Church, that our departed brother was enabled by grace to render much valuable service to His Cause, and particularly to the Free Presbyterian Church of which he was a faithful and useful member from its very beginning. He has finished his course, having kept the faith.
The Clerk was instructed to send a copy of this Minute to Mrs. Sinclair, John Knox’s Congregation, and to the Southern Presbytery.
The Rev. D. Beaton, preaching on Sabbath, 5th June, in John Knox’s Hall, on 2 Tim. iv. 7—”I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing”—said, at the conclusion of his sermon:—”It now remains for me to say something in connection with the sad event that is so present to our minds this day—the sudden removal by death of your beloved pastor from your midst. You can well understand how difficult it is for me to say anything at such a time as this. The state of one’s feelings is so ready to hinder the utterance of the very things one would wish and ought to say, that the effort to say what ought to be said becomes a very difficult task. But as the brethren of the Southern Presbytery are engaged, as you are aware, with the Communion services at Greenock, they have deputed me to preach here to-day. And, I trust, in anything I have to say about your beloved pastor, in connection with the grace and gifts he received from God, that nothing will be said to exalt the man, but rather that the loving-kindness and goodness of God, in bestowing these gifts upon him and putting him into the ministry, may be magnified.
As a Preacher he has ministered to you for the long period of twenty-five years, and it is the testimony of those upon whose judgment I can rely, that his message as a preacher became more precious as the years passed by. In his preaching he made no effort to gloss over the complete ruin of man by the fall. The watchman, in sounding the trumpet, gave no uncertain sound on this cardinal doctrine, but over against this ruin he pointed to God’s great remedy in Christ, and his happiest moments in the pulpit were those when he was unfolding the boundless treasures of the God of salvation to perishing sinners. The calm reserve of his accustomed demeanour passed away, and as he spoke with lively gesture and glowing animation, one could see that the preacher himself was drinking deeply out of the wells of salvation. There was a keen note of discrimination in the preaching. The wicked were told it would be ill with them, and the righteous that it would be well with them, for ever. Both law and gospel had their place in his preaching. The consciousness that there was a hell for the wicked made him zealous to warn his hearers of the doom of the impenitent, and, however solemn the words of Scripture were about the doom of the lost, he never allowed his natural feelings to act as judge, and he declared faithfully the counsel of God.
As a Pastor he was a man of a deeply sympathetic nature. And some of you who tasted the bitter cup of sorrow will recall this day his kind and sympathetic interest with you. There come back
to my mind occasions when I met with him after there had been some sore bereavement, either in this congregation or St. Jude’s, and vividly remember how deeply his own spirit drank of the cup of sorrow that was placed to the lips of those in whom he was interested. He rejoiced with you in your prosperity, and was happy to see your children get on. In your sorrow he wept with you, and was a son of consolation at such times in your homes.
As Clerk of Synod, Clerk of Southern Presbytery, and Editor of the Free Presbyterian Magazine, it is becoming that something should be said. His calm demeanour and sober judgment were invaluable assets to one who had so much to do in directing the affairs of the supreme court of the Church, and in connection with Presbytery work. His imperturbability of temper had a sobering and moderating influence on others who were not blessed with such a placid nature.
His work as editor of the Free Presbyterian Magazine for 25 years speaks for itself and made him known far beyond the borders of his own Church. As editor, he addressed monthly a large congregation, and, it is not too much to say, that his work was greatly appreciated. As a writer he was possessed with an invaluable literary gift in which lucidity and strength were happily blended. He employed no useless embellishments nor literary devices to catch and maintain the interest of the reader, yet the virility of the style and the solidity of the matter presented caught the reader’s attention in such a way that the interest in the subject was steadily maintained.
In connection with his editorial work he was called upon time and again to defend the cardinal doctrines of the faith, and he always did so with intelligent appreciation of the issues involved. It fell to his lot, in his student days, to study the Romish Controversy, and the pages of the Magazine bear abundant evidence of his familiarity with the points involved in the Controversy. It may be pertinent here to remark that his controversial writing was not fitted to leave a wrong impression in the mind of the reader as to the writer’s character. But the sternness was not so much a natural disposition as the outcome of deep concern for the truth which he felt ought to be defended at all costs. This was pre-eminently the case when he was called upon to defend the principles of our own Church against departing friends. No one knows what it cost him to have to enter into the lists with friends with whom he enjoyed a lifelong friendship of the most intimate character. His very nature revolted against giving pain to others, and nothing but a sense of duty and zeal for the truth compelled him to go forward.
He was specially interested in the young, and watched with keen interest the progress of our students in their studies. While he was willing always to take a back place himself, he made a point of encouraging those who needed encouragement. Our students, I am sure, will heartily associate themselves with what has been said in this connection.