By Rev. JAMES MACLEOD, Greenock.
“PRECIOUS in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” The men and women, who in their youth were adherents of those who witnessed for the cause of Christ in Scotland are fast passing away. When infidels and atheists took full advantage of the weak state and condition of the testimony of our fathers of the 1st and 2nd Reformation in Scotland; there were a goodly number of youth who supported the fathers, who in May, 1893, adhered faithfully to the truth of God.
The subject of this brief obituary was among those who supported the cause of Christ. Donald Macphee, born in Roag, Dunvegan, Skye, over seventy years ago, was one of those who consistently and faithfully adhered to the cause of Christ to the last breath. He was of a shy, retiring, disposition, and a man of few words, but steadfast in his daily life and conversation. He began to follow the Free Presbyterian Church from the first time he heard the late Rev. D. Macfarlane explaining the nature, meaning, and consequences of the infamous Declaratory Act. He never resiled from that position to the end. His comment to us on one occasion about those who made such lapwing noise about the effect of the “protest” of May, 1893, “that they were triflers.” We fully agreed with the good man’s comment. He was a lover of “good men”—men like Owen, Boston, Bunyan, McCheyne, and such books as the Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms, etc. His love for the Lord’s Day was beautiful. He told us one day during the War, that he had to go to the Town Hall on Sabbath afternoon in connection with “fire watching;” but, at 6.30 p.m. we saw Donald coming to Church and waited to hear what happened. His comment was, “I could not stay in that company on the Lord’s Day although the Empire would burn from end to end!” He would never bow the knee to Baal to work on the Sabbath for men or money. The Sabbath Day was to him, the Lord’s Day in reality, his words were few, and his actions consistent with what he believed to be the greatest Day in the history of the human race—the resurrection of his Lord and Saviour from the dead.
He was no legalist—the Sabbath Day was to him a day for worship, rest, peace and quietness. The last three years of his life it was most edifying to listen to his prayers—solemn, very deliberate, and extraordinarily reverential. The acme of eternal realities were deeply impressed upon his soul! The cause of Christ lost in Donald Macphee a man who prayed earnestly for the prosperity of Zion. We called to see him the day before he died, and in his usual solemn manner he said, “between the spasms of pain, I have sweet and solemn communion, oh! minister, it is very sweet.” As it is written, “truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” The day of eternal communion was dawning and the long, dreary wilderness was coming to an end.
Donald Macphee would be at times so cast down and tried in his soul, that he was like as we read in Psalm cvii., “They mount up to heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They steel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.” The child of God must wait upon the Lord to take him out of the depth. Donald Macphee was one of them who could never take himself out of the depth. When he would get relief it was well seen that he was comforted not by men, but by the good Shepherd of the flock of God. His end was peace. He left his wife, one son and two daughters behind to mourn his loss. The Greenock Congregation lost a praying man and a sincere friend to the cause of Christ in church and state. To the sorrowing widow and children we extend our deepest sympathy, and may the God of the husband and father be their God and Saviour.
Mrs. Samuel Macdonald passed away recently to her rest. A native of the Braes, of Portree, Skye, born there over sixty-six years ago. She was nurtured in the fear of God from her infancy. Her mother was a god-fearing woman, and directed the attention of her children to the claims of God and consequence from their earliest recollection. The seed was sown, but the clods were not broken up for many a year and all labour appeared to have been lost! It was not lost. The time came when Mrs. Macdonald felt herself a lost sinner and hopeless without Christ and His grace. The Word of God began to grow in conviction of sin, guilt and misery. It was awful to be without Christ—no peace, no happiness and none to comfort. The Lord will try some and allow them to go so far as to make a public profession of the Christian religion without regeneration. That has happened to many of the Lord’s people before they were actually “born again.” They will be for ever after more consciously indebted to free and sovereign grace than others. The awful dangers, and narrow escapes, the chasms, and miry clay from which they were graciously and mercifully delivered. When Mrs. Macdonald was brought by the Spirit and Word of God to the clear and saving knowledge of the way of salvation through the precious blood of the Lamb of God, her love and affection to the means of grace and the Lord’s people was very obvious. She could say with blessed Asaph, “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. . . . Until I went into the sanctuary of God: then understood I their end.” She saw then as never before the infinite value of God’s truth, and what an inestimable benefit it was to adhere to the testimony, doctrines and practice of the Church of God! Her place in the Church would not be empty on the Sabbath, nor at the weekly meetings if she could be there, nothing but ill-health would keep her back. She loved the cause of Christ, the Church of which she was a member, and did not hesitate to bear witness against idolatry, vanity, and false religion. She dreaded false religion more than death. She saw and experienced how ruinous false teaching was to the souls of sinners. That the poor young were in eternal danger from the dope that was taught in the name of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She had no place for those who sneered at and traduced the good name, or tried to spoil the usefulness of such as were faithful to the truth of God and the souls of their fellows. It is the habit of the fault-finder and over-righteous hypocrite to attach like the old sea pirates the ships which are laden to the plimsoll line. They (the pirates) will never attach the light-weights. Mrs. Macdonald met, and knew the pirates, and abominated their methods and tactics. Like all genuine and sincere Christians, she was given to hospitality. At communion season her house would be open to receive the people of God. She could not do enough for those who professed Christ and came to help the cause of Christ.
Greenock, like other places in the land, the hearts and homes are closed against Christ, His people, and the poor and needy. Where Christ cannot enter in His people, we cannot believe that there is room or place for Christ in the soul. It is a true mark from Scripture that the true child of God is given to hospitality. Otherwise, he or she is not a child of God. Where the bowels of compassion were never opened in compassionate regard to your fellow-man, you may as well cast your false religion to the dung-hill in mercy and seek grace to repent of your wickedness ere it be too late. It is the practice of religion that counts, that is of value, and is Scriptural: not a vociferous acclamations which is generally used to cover from view the emptiness of the professor! The people who valued the truth, testimony and witness of God’s people, and servants in our Church loved to shine in their sincerity and gratitude by their quiet and loving actions. The subject of this obituary was of that type and class. If her children will follow her Christian example, they will never regret it. If they depart from it they will have to give a solemn account to Him with whom all have to do at the great day. Mrs. Macdonald had a serious illness some years ago from which she never wholly recovered. She was able to attend the services occasionally, and made great efforts, but the end came suddenly, and she passed out of this life leaning and trusting in the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. We mourn her loss! and would take this opportunity to offer the bereaved husband, children and relatives our sincere sympathy.