This letter was written by the late Alexander Maclennan, Muir of Ord, Home Missionary of the Free Presbyterian Church and an Elder in the Dingwall and Beauty Congregation, who died on 1st January 1972, aged 82. It is addressed to a cousin, the late Miss Chrissie Mackenzie, Gairloch, the eminently godly teacher of Port Henderson School for many years who died in 1962 at the age of 66.
I Tomich
Muir of Ord
My Dear Chrissie,
How kind of you to send such lovely gifts. May we see in all such what has been dearly purchased by the sufferings of the incarnate God. We would value the least token of good will from our fellows if we knew our deserts.
Yes, we had a great season of the pure gospel from Thursday to Monday in Inverness. I don’t remember if I ever heard so much of Christ and His works…
Now, I see you are very unwell. I am so sorry, and all I can do is plead with the God of all comfort that He may alleviate your pain and discomfort, prepare you for His will, and give you a desire for heaven — that you may anticipate your end with resignation and calmness — that before you depart you may have assurance of the everlasting love of God, which would make the last messenger welcome.
We should remember that death is terrible only to those who have made no preparations for it. I remember the Rev. E. Macqueen saying that when he was in America he saw written on a tombstone,
Bha losa mo rùn
na luidha san uir
s’rinn E an leabaidh
cùibhraidh dhomsa*
When it is your daily desire to be washed in the precious blood of Christ and to be prepared by His Spirit for the inheritance of the saints, your departure will be a happy event. It is the Bible that says that the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
As far as I know myself, I have been seeking preparation to die for about forty years. I cannot relax in the matter — the end determines our fate.
* Jesus, my Beloved, was lying in the dust, and He perfumed the.
We should be more afraid of sin than of death. My mother’s stay and comfort to the end of her pilgrimage was this, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
I am afraid I dishonour God very much by unbelief. Although he has given me such tokens of His good will, I find something within me saying, “You have peace of conscience now but wait till you come to Jordan.” One sometimes feels as if “waited for of the sword” (Job 15:22); as if God was planning to fall upon one. What base ingratitude — what distrust of a merciful God it is to believe the father of lies whose work is to harass pilgrims.
However, fear which is within reasonable bounds is a healthy exercise inasmuch as it puts you to prayer. Was it not about Mr Fearing that Bunyan said, “I never saw the river so low as when he was crossing”? My prayer is, May the Blessed One sustain you with the hope of the endless life to be found in the Son of God.
What a glorious prospect this truth reveals when applied to our hearts: “Behold, I make all things new” — a new body included.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Alex Maclennan.