By THOMAS BOSTON.
VI.
(Continued from p. 378.)
Thirdly, Christ had the good of souls in his eye. He came to seek and to save that which was lost; he came to seek the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So he sent out the apostle to open the eyes of the blind, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. Follow Christ in this, O my soul, that thou mayest be a fisher of men. When thou studiest thy sermons, let the good of souls be before thee; when thou preachest, let this be thy design, to endeavour to recover lost sheep, to get some brands plucked out of the burning; to get some converted, and brought in to thy Master. Let that be much in thy mind, and be concerned for that, whatever doctrine thou preachest. Consider, O my soul, for this effect,—1. What the design of the gospel is. What is it but this? It is the everlasting gospel that Christ has made manifest, declaring the will of God concerning the salvation of man. 2. Consider wherefore God did send thee out. Was it to win a livelihood to thyself? Wo to them that count gain godliness; that will make the gospel merely subservient to their temporal wants. Rather would I perish for want than win bread that way. Well, then, was it not to the effect thou mightest labour to gain souls to Christ? Yea, it was. Have a care, then, that thou be not like some that go to a place, being sent thither by their Master, but forget their errand, when they come there, and trifle away their time in vanity and fooleries. 3. Consider the worth of souls. If thou remember that, thou canst not but have an eye to their good. The soul is a precious thing: which appears, if you consider—(1.) Its noble endowments, adorned with understanding, capable to know the highest object; will to choose the same; affections to pursue after it, to love God, hate sin; in a word, to glorify God here, and to enjoy Him here and hereafter. (2.) It must live or
die for ever. It shall either enjoy God through all the ages of eternity, or remain in endless torments for evermore. (3.) No worldly gain can counterbalance the loss of it. “What shall it profit a man, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (4.) It cost Christ His precious blood ere it could be redeemed. It behoved him to bear the Father’s wrath, that the elect should have borne through all eternity; and no less would redeem it. So that the redemption of the soul is indeed precious. (5.) Christ courts the soul. He stands at the door, and knocks to get in. The devil courts it with his baits and allurements. And wilt thou, O my soul, be unconcerned for the good of that which is so much courted by Christ and the devil both? Be ashamed to stand as an unconcerned spectator, lest thou shew thyself none of the Bridegroom’s friends. 4. Consider the hazard that souls are in. Oh! alas, the most part are going on in the high way to destruction, and that blind-folded. Endeavour, then, to draw off the veil. They are as brands in the fire: wilt thou then be so cruel as not to be concerned to pluck them out? If so, thou shalt burn with them, world without end, in the fire of God’s vengeance, and the furnace of his wrath, that shall be seven times more hot for unconcerned preachers than others. 5. Consider what a sad case thou thyself wast in, when Christ concerned himself for thy good. Thou wast going on in the way to hell as blind as a mole; at last Christ opened thine eyes, and let thee see thy hazard, by a preacher—(worthy Mr. H. Erskine), —that was none of the unconcerned Gallio’s, who spared neither his body, his credit, nor reputation, to gain thee, and the like of thee. And wilt thou preach unconcerned for others? I should abhor myself as the vilest monster in so doing. Lord, my soul rises at it, when I think on it. My soul hates and loathes that way of preaching; but without thee I can do nothing. Lord, rather strike me dumb, than suffer me to preach unconcerned for the good of souls; for so I should murder neither my own soul nor those of others. 6. Consider that unconcernedness for the good
of souls in preaching, argues,—(1.) A dead lifeless heart, a loveless soul, with respect to Christ. If thou hast any life or love to Christ, dares thou be unconcerned in this matter? Nay, sure, he that has life will move; and he that hath love, will be concerned for the propagating of Christ’s kingdom. (2.) Unbelief of the threatenings of God especially. For if thou believe that the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God, thou canst not preach to them as if thou wert telling a tale. If thou believe that they must depart into everlasting fire, thy heart will not be so frozen as to be unconcerned for them. The sight of it by faith will thaw thy frozen heart. (3.) A stupid heart, and so a hateful frame. Who would not abhor a watchman that saw the enemy coming on, if he should bid them only in the general provide to resist their enemies, or should tell them that the enemy were coming on so unconcernedly, as they might see he cared not whether they should live or perish? And what a hateful stupidity is it in a preacher of the gospel to be unconcerned for souls, when they are in such hazard? 7. The devil shames such preachers. He goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; and they, set to keep souls, creep about like a snail. He is in earnest when he tempts: but such are unconcerned whether people bear or forbear to hear their invitations, reproofs, &c. Yea, how concerned are the devil’s ministers that agent his business for him? They will compass sea and land to gain one proselyte. And shall the preachers of the gospel be unconcerned? 8. If it be so that thou be unconcerned for the good of souls, it seems thou camest not in by the door, but hast broken over the wall, and art but a thief and a robber,—John x. i., compared with verse 12. “He that is an hireling, seeth the wolf coming, fleeth, and leaveth the sheep, and the wolf catcheth them.” Verse 15, “The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.” O my soul, if at any time thou findest thy heart unconcerned then, not having the good of souls before thee, remember this. 9. Lastly, Thou canst not expect God’s help, if thou forgettest thy errand.
Hast thou not known and experienced, that these two—God’s help in preaching, and unconcernedness for the good of souls—have gone with thee together? O my soul, then endeavour to be much in the following of Christ this way, setting the good of souls before thine eyes; and if thou dost so, thou mayest be a fisher of men, though thou knowest it not.
(To be continued.)
Mr. John Maclaine, Elder, Oban.
JOHN Maclaine was born at Kinloch, Mull, but came to Oban in early youth. He became a member of Oban Free High Church when he was quite young and during his life he maintained a Christian walk and stood faithfully to the position he took up in 1893. He was of a very reticent nature but when in private with him one soon discovered that he had been a diligent reader of the writings of men which gave nourishment to Christians in days gone by who fed upon them. For many years he carried on a stationery business in Portree and on his retiral he took up house at Connel, near Oban. Latterly he removed to Oban and was elected an Elder in our congregation there. It was with great reluctance he was persuaded to accept the office but on doing so he proved himself to be helpful to his minister and the congregation in many ways. Up to the time of his death he acted as the congregational treasurer.
As to his spiritual experience we are not in a position to say how he came under the truth or what was the instrument that was used by the Lord in effecting the great change which clearly took place as evidenced by his life up to his death, but a letter has come into our possession written to one in soul concern in which he gives an account of his own experience. We here reproduce the part of the letter bearing on his own case and the advice he conveyed to the one in trouble:—”Some years ago I was in deep agony about my soul and I went from church to church and from meeting to meeting to see if I could find rest—
but no—I could not; and I remained in this state for a considerable time. The reason why I was not finding rest was that I thought it was to be found by my own exertions until I was led to see that it was alone to be found in Christ. He did the great and glorious work of redemption already and it is in Him we are accepted and for His sake. Before the time of which I mention and a while afterwards I had a great difficulty in giving up my own self-righteousness, and I think that this is the cause of the difficulty of many in the same condition. I may tell you that soon after this I experienced a time of joy that I shall not forget as long as I live. In fact, I was almost carried to the third heaven with delight in my soul and then I experienced a new life altogether and I saw, as it were, with new eyes, and everything seemed to me as new. Surely all this is what is meant by the Scripture text that says:—‘If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature.’ I may tell you that I was much surprised when I would see men passing and repassing and yet they seemed to have no anxiety about eternal things, but I can understand the reason now. It is just that they were walking in darkness and that they did not see things in the same light as I did. Christ was not then to me ‘A Root out of a dry ground,’ but became a reality. Secret prayer was a great delight to me then. I also got a relish for divine things and the Word became my delight.
So far I have told you some of my experiences, but I don’t want you to make them a criterion for your own guidance. God has so many different ways of bringing anxious enquirers to the light and some are deluded by thinking that because they are not brought to the light in exactly the same way as some other person, that, therefore, they are still in the dark. I could not direct you to a safer guide than His own Word and there you have the promises that are able to guide you to salvation. Ask the guidance of the Holy Spirit that He may take the things of Christ and shew them to you.
Perhaps what I have said does not bear on your case at all, and if anything I have said does not apply to your case, you
will kindly dismiss it from your mind and stick close to the inspired Word. I may tell you that I lost my relish for worldly things and you will likely do the same. We have a scriptural authority for this—that whosoever drinketh of this water shall not thirst again, that is, they will not thirst for earthly things as they did formerly. I may tell you also that before the period referred to I had a good moral character and this is in itself a good thing, but Satan, the enemy of souls, used it as an instrument whereby it kept me from accepting Christ by making me believe that I would reach heaven by my own righteousness but you know that in His sight no flesh shall be justified—that is justified out of Christ. My dear—Evil thoughts will arise in your heart and hard thoughts of God and you will sometimes think that God is unjust by the way He works, but these are from the Evil One and the only way to make him flee is to use the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, an instrument that never fails. Another thing that troubled me much was the doctrine of election—but I don’t concern myself with that now. We have one great authority to come to Christ for He said Himself: “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”—but ‘coming to Christ’ are words that puzzled me and I shall endeavour to explain it the best way I can in a few words. It just means that you are enabled to come to Him as a lost sinner, having nothing of your own that you can lay any hope on and that everything acceptable in the sight of God is in Him and if God gives you anything it is for His sake.
I am so constructed by nature that I am won by the preachers who declare the love of God rather than those who preach the threatenings of God . . . . I may tell you that you have been remembered often in my prayers. I would just like to give you one little piece of advice and that is to keep aloof as much as possible from the world, as it is always a snare and that you do not go to any place which may be quite harmless but which may grieve the Holy Spirit. I think you should not go to this choir practice in the meantime. I am sorry that you could not speak to me
about these things but I believe it is because I showed so little of the Christian spirit in my walk and conversation. I confess that my love has cooled a good deal for some time past just because I was giving myself up too much to the affairs of the world. Satan promises us all manner of good things when he sees we are in an anxious state. He even tempted our blessed Saviour by promising all the kingdoms of the earth if He would fall down and worship him.”
Mr. Maclaine passed away on 8th September and was buried at Pennyfuir Cemetery, Oban. We extend our sympathy to his widow and pray that the Lord would sustain her in the loss of a loving husband.
The late Mr. John MacLeod, Elder, Edinburgh.
THE Scripture which says that “the righteous man perisheth and no man layeth it to heart, and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come” might be applied to us as a people. The Lord is removing His own people from our midst. North and South, but how few take to heart that they are removed from the fearful judgments which are threatening us as a land. When the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, are few in number, the removal of one will cause a great blank. Such a blank was made in the Edinburgh congregation by the sudden removal of Mr. John MacLeod, Elder.
John was born in Glendale, Skye, in the year 1882. He was the son of the late Roderick MacLeod, Borve, and a grandson of the godly blind Norman MacLeod, Glendale, who died at the patriarchal age of 101 years.
John’s early Christian training made an impression on his mind so that even in his unconverted days he had a great outward respect for the things of God, especially the Sabbath day. He
came to Edinburgh when a young man and was employed by Messrs. Macniven and Cameron. In coming to the city he associated himself with our congregation and took a lively interest in all its concerns, supporting it with his means and and presence. In 1905 when the congregation passed through a severe ordeal, the majority having joined the Free Church, John faithfully stood by the testimony raised in 1893. Being an intelligent reader and an independent thinker he had a firm grasp of the reasons for which the Free Presbyterian Church stood and no persuasion could dissuade him from giving them up and he held them firmly to the end of his days.
In 1916 he joined the Army and spent most of his military life in Salonica. Being demobilised in 1919, he returned home to his wife and family. He found it difficult to get employment which would not involve him in Sabbath work. With a large family to support this was a trying and testing ordeal, but he was sympathetically supported by Mrs. Macleod in his attitude. He was offered and accepted an appointment with the Edinburgh Corporation Tramcar Company, on condition that he would not be asked to work on Sabbath. The Company accepted his terms but stipulated that he would supply a substitute. To this he agreed and for a time did not realise that he was guilty in engaging another man to take his place. Sometime after I became minister of the Edinburgh congregation John called on me with the purpose of expressing his intention of coming forward as a member in full communion. After relating some of his experience and his hope that he was delivered from the fearful pit and miry clay he went on to speak of how his mind was troubled about engaging another to take his place on the Sabbath. I told him that from my own personal experience I was convinced he was almost as guilty as the one who took his place. With this view he fully concurred and resolved not to come before the Session. I advised him to make the question a matter of prayer and to go to the Manager and ask him to be relieved of his responsibility. To this he replied that it would be futile as he
(the Manager) would not grant his request. Sometime after on calling at his house he told me he had got rid of the Sabbath responsibility. “Did you go to the Manager?” I asked. “No,” he said, “but he came to me and said: ‘MacLeod, we take the responsibility of supplying a man to take your place on Sabbath.'” This surely was a clear answer to prayer and the care the Lord had over him. “When a man’s ways please the Lord He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
Sometime after John appeared before the Session and gave an account of the Lord’s dealings with him as a lost, guilty sinner and of his hope for eternity, with which the Session was fully satisfied. In 1931 he was unanimously elected an Elder and faithfully performed the duties of that office to the entire satisfaction of his brethren. One could not wish for a more agreeable and peaceable member in a church court than he. He was a man given much to private prayer and meditation and we often enjoyed his exercises in public prayer, especially, when he spoke of the love and sufferings of Christ.
Until a few years ago he enjoyed a healthy, robust constitution, but latterly was much troubled with a weak heart and high blood pressure which made walking any distance difficult for him. Living at a distance from the church he had to leave early to be in time for the service. On Sabbath 31st July he left home in his usual health for the service and after walking a few hundred yards he fell on the pavement and immediately expired, we believe, to enter into the joy of his Lord. His sudden death came as a great shock to the congregation and his removal is greatly missed and deeply mourned by them all. May this loud call be blessed to us as a people and may the Lord arise in infinite mercy and raise up the children instead of the fathers and repair the breaches on the walls of Zion.
We wish to express our sincere sympathy with Mrs. MacLeod and family in their sad and sore bereavement and would pray that the Lord, who promised to be a husband to the widow and a father to the fatherless, be their God and Comforter in their deep sorrow.—N. M.
The late John Grant, Opinan, Laide.
IN January of last year John Grant entered heaven, we believe, to enjoy the bliss of the ransomed. He was born at Opinan near Laide; where in the providence of the Most High he finished his pilgrimage. He reached a good old age, being, as far as we can ascertain, in his ninety-first year when he died. He made a public profession some fifteen or sixteen years ago. The love of Christ constrained him then. At that time he told a friend of the cause that he could not keep any longer from professing his Lord publicly. The late judicious James Maciver, Lairg, in writing to a friend at the time of John’s death said that he remembered that those who had the best discernment in the old Free Church concluded that he feared the Lord from the time he was a young man. He lived “soberly, righteously and godly” and so never belied that opinion.
He cast in his lot with those who formed the Free Presbyterian Church in 1893, and never wavered. He was naturally reserved and did not go much abroad but those who knew him intimately could discern that his Bible was his constant companion. Mr. Mackay, our missionary at Laide, says that as his end was drawing near that his mind was more and more on eternity, and that he was supported by the truth, the 130th Psalm being an overflowing well to him. He was a widower for fifty-one years. His wife having died eleven months after he was married.—A. B.