DONALD MACLEAN had the great blessing of having had a godly mother, whose efforts to instil into his mind in his early days the need he had of forsaking sin and of looking to Jesus Christ alone for repentance and forgiveness, and whose prayers on his behalf were answered in after days. But it was made evident in the case of Donald that it “is not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man” that any of Adam’s lost race receives Christ as his Saviour, “but of God,” for he lived till he was about forty years of age “doing the will of the flesh and of the mind” and proved that he was as careless about the great concerns of his soul and the claims of God upon him as any of his fellow-sinners in Harris.
He was born at Borve, Harris, in April, 1857. In 1897 the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. The anguish of soul through which he passed was so terrible that during four years he could not go near the public means of grace. Satan tempted him with his lies that if he would go to God’s house he would bring a curse upon all that might be present. He would give the whole world, had he it, to be able to go, and he envied none but such as were attending there, but Satan made his hands so strong that it required the almighty power of “Him who is stronger than the strong man to cast him out—taking from him his armour and dividing his spoil.” There are many living yet in South Harris who remember the great distress through which he passed during these, to him, long four years. The soul grief through which he went had the effect of turning patches of the hair of his head white while the rest of it continued chestnut coloured as formerly. This continued for some time after the Lord of His great mercy delivered him from these awful terrors of conscience, as the writer saw him with his hair in this condition shortly after he was delivered from the pit.
At last the Lord’s time to deliver him came. “Evidently while engaged in prayer in the open field in a place called Quidnish” these words in the 52nd psalm, first verse—”The goodness of God endureth continually” came into his soul with such power that all his bands were loosed. The Lord brought him out of the horrible pit and miry clay, and set his feet upon a rock, and established his goings. The following Lord’s day he went to church with the voice of joy and praise.
The first time the writer heard him was on the Friday of a communion season in North Uist. He perceived that this man who had been up till then unknown to him was deeply taught of the Holy Spirit to know himself as an absolutely ruined sinner as regards his nature and practice, and having no hope in anything that he could do to extricate himself from being under the wrath and curse of a righteously offended God. When he spoke of the love, pity and mercy of God in sending His Son into this world to take the law place of such guilty rebels, and His Spirit to regenerate them through the truth in order to work faith in Christ Jesus and repentance toward God in their hearts, it became very evident that Donald MacLean knew by experience what he was speaking of. In after years his exercises both in praying and speaking to “the question” on the Fridays at communion seasons were very edifying and refreshing and encouraging to the Lord’s poor and afflicted people. Without disparaging others Donald made always a deep impression on the audience, and his real earnestness caused even the unconverted to be deeply moved by his appeals to their consciences.
He became one of our Missionaries at Finsbay, Harris, where he laboured with much acceptance for seven years. After this he came to Applecross where he remained to the end of his days on earth. His labours among our people there were highly appreciated especially by the Lord’s people who considered themselves greatly favoured by the Lord in giving them such a teacher. But in the inscrutable providence of God during the last four years of his life he was under a very dark cloud. His mind fell so low that he very seldom rose off his bed neither did he speak much to anyone. The writer saw him at this time. He was painfully tempted by Satan that he was not elected and, therefore, that all his past experiences were nothing but a delusion and that he could not now be saved seeing he had been so many years deceived and deceiving others. When the writer questioned him about his past experiences under law and gospel, he confessed that he had such experiences, and when it was brought before him from passages of the Scriptures that the Lord’s people in the past had the same experiences that he had, he acquiesced. When his present experiences were inquired into it became very evident that he was truly a most gracious man, and he confessed that David, Paul and others had the same temptations and misery through heart sins that he had; but he always fell back upon election—”If I am not elected I cannot be saved.” It was brought before him that it is those whom God foreknew and predestinated that were called and justified and glorified; that by his own confession he was truly called effectually by the Holy Spirit and also that he had then the real experiences of the Lord’s people as these are set forth in God’s Word. But he could not get out of the awful pit of his not having been elected. The writer came to the conclusion that he was suffering from acute melancholia, and that Satan was taking advantage of this affliction to harass his mind. A few days before his end came he got out of this terrible mental anguish, and expressed so much to his wife.
Donald MacLean was a very warm hearted friend. His love to the Lord’s people was both sincere and steadfast. It could truly be said of him that he was like Ruth when she said—”Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God . . . the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.” This became very evident when he was in the company of the Lord’s people at any time. His happiness could not be concealed by putting on a reticent and morose appearance; on the contrary his affability and Christian conversation made all enjoy his fellowship.
He was a very sincere and steadfast Free Presbyterian. He knew very well the causes of our separation in 1893, and he was more upright in heart than some who seemed to be whole hearted in maintaining it for a time and then fell away. Donald was quite as firm to the last as to his duty in adhering to God’s Word in its entirety as being of a truth His inspired Word; to the Westminster Confession of Faith in all its doctrines and principles, and to Church practice conformable to both as he was at the beginning. He was more intelligent than to be carried away by every wind of doctrine which will blow the chaff one day to the east and next day to the west. He passed away to his everlasting rest on 18th February, 1929, at the age of 72 years.
The complaint of Asaph is very applicable to the great trials of Donald MacLean:—”Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart; and my spirit made diligent search. Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will He be favourable no more? Is His mercy clean gone for ever? doth His promise fail for evermore? Hath the Lord forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in His anger shut up His tender mercies? I said this is my infirmity” (Psalm, lxxvii. 4-10).
We express our sincere sympathy with his widow and family, and commend them to the care and mercy of the God and Saviour of a loving husband and father. “Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me” (Jer. xlix. 11).—N. C.