As was intimated in an earlier issue of this magazine, a communion was to be held at Perth on 29th September. The communion has now come and gone, and perhaps it is not out of place to give some details of it to those who may be interested. What invests this item of news with special interest is that this is the first time that our Church has held a communion in Perth.
Rev. John W. Ross, Lochcarron, preached on the following texts and subjects: on Thursday evening, we heard about Jacob and God’s recalling him to Bethel (Gen. 35. 1,2). The theme was that the goodness of God should lead us to repentance. On Friday, we heard a sermon giving ‘marks’ of those who are believers and who are not. The discourse was based on Matthew 7:24-27 — the two houses, one built on sand, the other on a rock. On Saturday the sermon was on Peter’s following the Lord ‘afar off’, and the subsequent difficulties his conduct brought on him. The action sermon on the Lord’s Day was based on the evil desire of the Jews to ‘destroy Jesus’ (Matt. 27. 20). The message was that though the Christian Faith is beset with violent enemies, its triumph is secure. The evening service was taken by Rev. M. Radcliff. He addressed the congregation on the words of Psalm 14.1: ‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God’. This service, like Saturday’s, was followed by a short prayer-meeting. On Monday morning, Mr Ross preached an encouraging sermon on Zech. 4. 7: ‘Who art thou, O great mountain?’ etc. We were told of the obstacles which impede the progress of the gospel, and how we are to fix our eyes upon God who is able to make them a plain.
The number of visitors to our communion was a very encouraging feature of the season. Friends came from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness. On Sabbath morning, there was a congregation of over forty, of whom twenty-nine were communicants. At the evening service, there were over fifty persons present. From the remarks of several who attended the services, one would gather that, over all, it was a very pleasant season of fellowship in the gospel.
The above are the details of the communion. The most important matter is, however, that the gospel was preached, and that the death of our Saviour was remembered according to His wish and command: ‘This do in remembrance of me’. It was at Dundee (about 20 miles away) that Wishart began to administer the Lord’s Supper according to the Genevan pattern. It is good that, though our day is dark and dismal, there are still those who adhere to the Word of God and the administration of the sacraments in their purity. Perth itself is one of those spots where Christ has won some of His signal victories — we refer to the preaching of Knox, and the nineteenth century revivals. We trust that the same Spirit who worked powerfully and effectually in the past will visit us again. We seek the prayers of the friends of Zion: that the Word preached amongst us, and the setting forth of Christ crucified in the sacrament, will be blessed to us, and that though our beginning be small yet may our latter end greatly increase.
I.R.T.
Church Deputies to Canada
Rev. D. MacLean, Glasgow, returned to this country on 21st September after his visit to Ontario. We extend our sympathy to him on the loss of his mother while he was abroad. Rev. Fraser Talloch expects to go as Deputy to Canada on 22nd October, D.V. We trust that the Lord will bless the labours of the Deputies in that part of the world.