BELIEVERS are God’s friends. This is not a title that exclusively belonged to Abraham, but the title of all the righteous. Christ says: “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth,” and more expressly: “Henceforth I call you not servants but friends.” This was the undoubted relationship of our subject to her covenant God. This one could easily discover by paying attention to her actions, for she was a woman of actions more than words.
Mrs. MacKenzie was born at Loch-a-Druing about sixty-three years ago. This place is now without inhabitants, and is situated inland between Inverasdale and the extreme west of the parish of Gairloch. It was the home of her grandparents. Her own home was in Arrat, a little hamlet on the shores of Loch Torridon. Here her parents resided. And here she was brought up under strict parental and scriptural control, and besides had the great privilege of being under the ministry of the eminently pious Rev. Donald Macdonald of Shieldaig.
When she was in her teens, she went to Laide to serve with an uncle, a brother of her mother. Here she was married to Alexander Mackenzie, merchant at Sand, when she was about eighteen years of age. Alexander Mackenzie was considered to be a man who feared the Lord, and was frequently called upon to pray in public at the meetings, though he never became a member of the church in full communion. Her married life was a short one. Her husband, though much older than she, died when comparatively young. The young widow was now left to look after the business and the croft, and provide for her three fatherless children.
This she competently did under the guidance of the Father of the fatherless and the Judge of the widow. The God of all grace maketh Himself over to His people with all His power and mercy, so that no dispensation cometh to them but in the way of a blessing.
In the day of power the Covenant God of Israel made over himself to her, and so by entire resignation she gave herself up to Him. She had no great law work, she herself used to relate, sometimes with anxiety, afraid the ground-work was not done in her, and that all was a deceit. But it was not always so with her, for she often found her way into the chambers of the King, the “banqueting house” of the Song of Solomon. She had her closet mercies and sweet fellowship. She knew when she first tasted that the Lord was gracious. The place was Melon-Udrigle, about four miles from her home, where she had attended a meeting. The instrument in the hand of the Lord was the late eminently godly Mr. Murdo Mackay, who finished his course as lay missionary of Strathy, Sutherland. Mr. Mackay was for a time preaching at Laide and on this occasion he conducted a meeting on a week-day at Melon-Udrigle. His text was: “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” This was the Scripture and sermon that filled her soul to overflowing with Christ and the benefits of the everlasting Covenant. William Gurnall says: “As one may draw out the wine of a whole hogshead at one tap, so may a poor soul derive the comfort of the whole Covenant to himself through one promise, if he be able to apply it.” It seems that this was the way in the case of Mrs. MacKenzie. She saw in this portion of God’s Word the benefits of a whole Covenant made over to her. She was outstandingly strong physically, but on this occasion her bodily strength had enough to stand up to the measure of the Lord’s presence which she got; in fact, while on the way home she had to rest at a friend’s house owing to the bodily weakness that had overtaken her. Shortly after she derived great benefit from Mr. Mackay’s reading of the 32nd Psalm at family worship. Ever after she had the greatest place for Mr. Murdo Mackay as a servant of Christ. The day he left the place she was working at peats and she climbed a hill so that she could see the conveyance that carried him for a long distance after he had passed where she was. So great was her attachment to him. We are not in a position to say when she experienced the above, but she made a public profession of her faith in the year 1916, and had ever after adorned that profession. She had the works of faith which ratified the Spirit’s witness in her soul. Abraham’s faith was manifested by his works according to the testimony of God. “My little children,” says John the Apostle, “let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and truth.” Mrs. MacKenzie quite unassumingly sought conformity to this divine injunction. Further, the same Apostle says: “Hereby we know we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him”; that is, by real acts of love. Flashes of comfort are only sweet and delightful while felt; but it is said of grace that it is the “seed that remaineth.” Where that “seed” is, it is apparent as it was in our subject. She was a good friend to the Cause of Christ and rejoiced in any measure of prosperity it had. The Cause at Laide and in general lost an earnest pleader at the throne of grace.
She was a stong, hard-working woman who never had much illness till the summer of 1946. Medical advice necessitated an operation, which was performed in the Northern Infirmary, Inverness, where she lay for about five weeks. In her mind while there she was comfortable, having had the comforts of the Holy Spirit. She told us that before her operation she had great comfort from the words of Gen. xlvii. 4, which God had spoken to Jacob: “I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will surely bring thee up again.” These words she took as a token from the Lord that she was to be restored. She said that this Scripture was not familiar to her mind, and that it greatly strengthened her. The Lord, however, meant the opposite from what she thought and He wisely hid it from her. We were reminded of the incident in the life of the saintly Rev. Hector Macphail of Resolis who had the same Scripture from the Lord in similar circumstances. It was his last illness and his Catechist, Thomas Holm, visited him. On being asked by the Catechist if he had any hopes of being restored to health, the minister replied that he had such a hope founded on the words: “I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will surely bring thee up again.” “That passage contains good news for you, Mr. Macphail,” said the Catechist, “but sad news for the Parish of Resolis, and for this part of the country. God went with Jacob into Egypt, and continued with him there, but it was only his bones that were brought back from Egypt.” “Thomas,” replied Mr. Macphail, “you were ever ahead of me, and you are ahead of me in your view of this passage, that is the Lord’s mind in the verse.” This is the way it turned out to be in the case of Mrs. MacKenzie. She was apparently improving, but she had a relapse and the end came rather sudden on Wednesday, 3rd July, 1946. Her mortal remains were buried in the Laide Cemetery the following Saturday beside that of her husband deposited there thirty-seven years before. Our sympathy is extended to her sorrowing family and relatives. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”—A. B.