- Taken, with editing, from The Free Presbyterian Magazine, vol 14. It is an example of the biographical material to be found in such volumes of this Magazine; see also page 380 of this issue. The article is signed, AM.
Angus MacLeod was the third son of Angus MacLeod, an elder in Strathy Point. Young Angus, as he was usually named, was a bright and shining light, although his light was seen only by a small circle of friends. This was due partly to the fact that he was of a shy disposition, and partly because he was more or less an invalid since the great change in his life took place. He was naturally quite above the average in intelligence. He followed closely the various movements which took place in the Churches during the last 18 years, and it is not too much to say that many of his friends were indebted to him for light on these matters. It was hardly possible to meet anyone who saw better through ecclesiastical subtleties than he did.
Angus was the subject of religious impressions from his youth. A few weeks before he died, he was asked if godly Mr Christopher Munro of Strathy “preached to sinners”. He said that, when a young lad, he used to be riveted to his seat in the Strathy Church, under Mr Munro’s searching eye, and to feel within himself that he was “the man” [whom Mr Munro was addressing]. He had a profound regard for Mr Munro’s memory and often used to say that it was a remarkable thing that the people of Strathy should go astray as they did after having so recently enjoyed the services of such a godly minister.
Angus was a long time labouring in the dark. The writer remembers going in his company, about nine years ago, to Portskerra – a village three miles from Strathy – and on the way Angus began such a powerful discourse on the vanity of life, and the necessity of knowing God, that his companion was very much affected by his arguments. When he was afterwards spoken to about this discourse, he said, “That was all head knowledge”. And so it was, for he was then “without God and without hope in the world”. He was, however, like Samson, moved at times, by the Spirit of the Lord, in the camp of the enemy.
The writer often conversed with him before the change about spiritual matters, and he always seemed so pleased to have such a conversation; in fact, it was easy to do so, as he almost invariably introduced the subject himself. One often felt cheered by the hope that he was “not far from the Kingdom”. To his poor, dark soul, however, matters were only becoming darker and darker, until at last he found out that man, by wisdom, cannot know God, and he ceased to look any more to himself for salvation. Like Paul, he could now say, “The commandment came, sin revived, and I died”.
It was an autumn evening, about four years ago, when he first spoke about the great change which then took place. We were both sitting alone in his father’s house, and there was an unusual, solemn expression on his face as he said, “I have had a wonderful experience lately”. When asked if he could describe his experience, he replied that he had not been so well some days before then and that, on one of these days, as he lay in bed, a most wonderful light shined into his mind which gave him quite a different conception of the Almighty; he had seen such a view of the goodness and blessedness of God that he was powerless for the time being. “I was so overpowered,” he said, “by the glory of God that, when my mother brought me some milk to drink, I could not ask a blessing on it – I felt everything was blessed.”
He was asked further if the light came through any portion of Scripture being opened up to his mind. He said that it was not through any particular passage the light had come, but that when the light came, everything seemed to open up to his mind; and that the verse in Romans 5 which says, “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”, was opened up in a wonderful way. He said, “I saw the wonderful love of God to sinful creatures; I saw that He had done everything and I was overpowered by the revelation”.
He was then asked if he now saw Christ to be the only ground of acceptance with God. He replied that he now understood so well how everything was through Christ, but that it was not so much the glory of Christ which affected him as the glory of God the Father who had given His Son to die for sinful men and who was commending His love to them in such a glorious manner. This conversation was the occasion of much joy and left the distinct conviction that Angus had experienced what it was to be born again. All things had become indeed new to him, and the more one saw of him afterwards the more attractive he became.
For two or three weeks before he died the writer had the privilege of conversing with him almost every day. It was clearly seen that he was fast ripening for the garner. When he was asked if he now thought he was converted, he replied that he would be guilty of denying the Lord’s work if he said he was not. In his last illness he often spoke about head knowledge, remarking, “Head knowledge can go very far”. Reminded how well he could speak himself about religion before he knew the Lord, he would answer, “Isn’t that how I know [about head knowledge] so well?” But, to do him justice, although he would speak about religion in his former days, he would always end by saying, “I am ignorant myself, although I speak in this manner”. With all his head knowledge, he was not a hypocrite. On the contrary, he seemed to be an earnest searcher after a true foundation upon which to build his hopes for an endless eternity.
Although his faith was strong to the end, he was no stranger to the corruption of his heart. There was, however, a rare beauty about his disposition, afflicted as he often was by bodily weakness and mental darkness. One could not but envy his trust in the Lord as he talked one afternoon about the awful corruption of the human mind, and remarked as follows: “Many a night I go to bed thinking I will never see the morning, and my mind will be troubled with all the folly imaginable, so that I cannot think of anything good. But I leave myself in the hand of the Lord, knowing that there can be no fear although I should die during the night, for He can do all things.” Such was the faith and hope of our beloved friend. He also spoke often about the freeness of the gospel; he had learned in a remarkable degree the lesson that salvation is altogether of free grace. He would say, “If sinners would only come to the Lord, making use of the means He has set up and blessed to others, He would do everything for them”.
He followed the interests of our Church with a zealous regard from the very beginning, and in his last illness he used to speak in a very encouraging way of the future prospects of the Church. Unlike many who speak about these things, he did not speak at random, but spoke by faith.
His health broke down about five years ago, and latterly his trouble developed into a consumption which ended his brief, but bright, career on Sabbath morning, 20 June 1909, at the comparatively early age of 42. The deepest sympathy is felt for his aged parents and their family in their sore bereavement. Parents could not have a more dutiful son than Angus, but their loss is his gain. “He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder” (Ps 107:14).