Part 1

Transcriber's note:

Obvious printer errors corrected silently.

Correspondence included in the 'Memoir' has been indented. A notice of another book by one of the editors has been shifted to the end.

Small capitals have been replaced by full capitals. Italics are indicated by _underscores_.

PROFESSOR W. G. ELMSLIE, D.D.:

_MEMOIR AND SERMONS_.

EDITED BY W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D., AND A. N. MACNICOLL.

_SECOND EDITION._

London: HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27, PATERNOSTER ROW.

MDCCCXC.

Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.

ADVERTISEMENT.

My share in this book has been the writing of the brief introductory Memoir, with the exception of the pages relating to Regent Square and Willesden. These have been contributed by Mr. A. N. Macnicoll, who has also given me the benefit of his advice throughout. I have also to acknowledge the kindness of Principal Dykes, who has read the proofs, and of the friends who have, amid pressing engagements, enriched the volume with their reminiscences. The many correspondents who sent help of various kinds are warmly thanked. There was abundant material for a larger biography, and some of it will be utilised in another way. But it was thought desirable that the memorial volume should be issued at a moderate price, and that it should, so far as possible, consist of Professor Elmslie's own work.

W. R. N.

* * * * *

For the selections from Dr. Elmslie's sermons which are contained in this volume I am entirely responsible. These sermons were seldom fully written out, and some of them required considerable amplification. In every case the thought of the writer has been rigidly preserved, and the wording has been left, as far as possible, untouched. In cases where I have had the benefit of short-hand reports I have, with the slightest alteration, printed the sermons as they were delivered. Two "Sunday Readings" are reprinted from _Good Words_, and an article on Genesis from the _Contemporary Review_.

A. N. M.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

MEMOIR 1

SERMONS.

I. CHRIST AT THE DOOR 81

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me."—REV. iii. 20.

II. THE DARK ENIGMA OF DEATH 92

ST. JOHN xi.

III. THE STORY OF DORCAS 108

ACTS ix. 36-43.

IV. UNFULFILLED CHRISTIAN WORK 118

"And unto the angel of the Church in Sardis write; These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God."—REV. iii. 1, 2.

Reading the last clause a little more literally will more fully bring out the meaning: "For I have found no works of thine fulfilled before my God."—R.V.

V. A LESSON IN CHRISTIAN HELP 133

"Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the [en]∆feeble[d] knees; and make straight [smooth] paths for [with] your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed [or, in order that that which is lame may not be caused to go astray, but may rather be healed]."—HEB. xii. 12, 13.

VI. JOSEPH'S FAITH 149

(_Preached on Sunday Evening, October 20th, 1889, in St. John's Wood Presbyterian Church._)

"By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones."—HEB. xi. 22.

VII. THE BRAZEN SERPENT 162

"He [Hezekiah] removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan."—2 KINGS xviii. 4.

VIII. THE GRADATIONS OF DOUBT 175

PSALM lxxiii.

IX. THE STORY OF QUEEN ESTHER 192

(_Preached in Balham Congregational Church, on Sunday Evening, August 11th, 1889._)

ESTHER iv. 13-17.

X. THE EXAMPLE OF THE PROPHETS 205

"Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example."—JAMES v. 10.

XI. THE MAKING OF A PROPHET 220

(_Preached at Nottingham, before the Congregational Union of England and Wales, on Monday Evening, October 8th, 1888._)

"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train overspreading the temple floor. Seraphs were poised above, each with six wings, with twain veiling his face, with twain veiling his feet, and with twain hovering. And those on one side sang in responsive chorus with those on the other side, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The fulness of the whole earth is His glory.' And the foundations of the threshold trembled at the sound of that singing, and the house was filled with incense smoke. Then cried I, 'Woe is me! for I am a dead man; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.' Then flew one of the seraphs unto me, having in his hand a burning ember, which with a tongs he had taken from off the incense altar; and he touched my mouth with it, and said, 'Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.' Thereupon I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I cried, 'See me; send me.'"—ISAIAH vi. 1-8 (_annotated_).

XII. FOR AND AGAINST CHRIST 230

"He that is not with Me is against Me: and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth."—LUKE xi. 23.

"He that is not against us is on our part."—MARK ix. 40.

XIII. THE PROPHECY OF NATURE 240

"When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet."—PSALM viii. 3-6.

"But now we see not yet all things put under Him."—HEB. ii. 8.

XIV. CHRISTIAN GIVING 248

(_Preached in Willesden Presbyterian Church, September 24th, 1882._)

"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."—1 COR. xv. 55-8.

"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem."—1 COR. xvi. 1-3.

XV. OUR LORD'S TREATMENT OF ERRING FRIENDS 267

SUNDAY READINGS.

I. Read Ps. cxxxviii., and John xiii. 1-17. THE SELF-ASSERTING.—John xiii. 4, 5.

II. Read Job xvi., and Matt. xxvi. 31-46. THE UNSYMPATHETIC.—John xiii. 1-3.

III. Read 2 Sam. xxiv., and John xxi. 15-23. THE WILFUL.—John xiii. 6-10.

IV. Read 1 Sam. xxiv., and Luke xxii. 47-62. THE FAITHLESS.—John xiii. 11.

V. Read Isa. xl., and 1 Cor. xiii. THE SECRET OF MAGNANIMITY.—John xiii. 12-17.

XVI. A HYMN OF HEART'S EASE 284

SUNDAY READINGS.

"Lord, my heart is not haughty, Nor mine eyes lofty: Neither do I exercise myself in great matters, Or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved And quieted myself; As a child that is weaned of its mother, My soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord From henceforth and for ever."—Ps. cxxxi.

I. Read Job xxvi., and 1 Cor. xiii. THE SOURCE OF UNREST. "Things too high for me."

II. Read Ps. xxxvii., and Matt. xi. THE SECRET OF REST. "Lord my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty."

III. Read Ps. lxxiii. and Heb. xii. CALM AFTER STORM. "Surely I have behaved and quieted myself."

IV. Read Ps. xlvii. and Phil. ii. VICTORY BY SURRENDER. "As a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child."

V. Read Gen. xxxii. and Rev. vii. THE RECOMPENSE OF FAITH. "Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever."

XVII. THE FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS 302

MEMOIR.

Although Dr. Elmslie was not destined to a long career, and died with the greater purposes of his life work almost entirely unfulfilled, very few men in the Nonconformist churches of Great Britain were better known and loved. The expectations of many in his native Scotland were fixed on him from the first; in England no preacher of his years had a larger or more enthusiastic following. Among students of the Old Testament he was beginning to be known as a master in his own subject, and as one likely to accomplish much in the reconciliation of criticism and faith. Add to this that he possessed the rarer charm of an almost unique personal magnetism—that many were attached to him by the chain which is not quickly broken, the bond of spiritual affinity, and it becomes necessary to apologise only for the imperfections, not for the existence, of this memorial.

* * * * *

WILLIAM GRAY ELMSLIE was born in the Free Church Manse of Insch, Aberdeenshire, October 5th, 1848, the second son of the Rev. William Elmslie, M.A., and May Cruickshank, his wife. Writing to his parents from Berlin more than twenty years after, he says, "How thankful I ought to be that I was born in dear old Scotland, and in the humble little Free Church manse of Insch!" His father was famous for his shrewd, homely, genial wisdom. He was a native of Aberdeen, and had the strong sense and quick perception for which Aberdonians are known. By no means without the nobler enthusiasms of Christianity, he had shared in the fervour of the Disruption movement, and was the popular and successful minister of a congregation large for the district, and including many members of earnest Christian principle. Mr. Elmslie was the father and counsellor of the whole parish; his advice was sought by members of all Churches, and cheerfully given. If there was any danger of his practical nature becoming somewhat too hard and worldly, the influence of his wife was a corrective. Dr. Elmslie's mother—a beautiful and accomplished woman—was a religious enthusiast. "I recognised," writes her son, from the New College, Edinburgh, "mamma's review in the _Free Press_ by the words 'wrestling believing prayer.'" They were indeed characteristic, and it was the rare union of mystic elevation and warmth with perfect comprehension of ordinary life that gave Dr. Elmslie his separate and commanding place among the teachers of his time. The austerity, the somewhat chilly rigour which characterised manse life in the Free Church were not found at Insch. The children never suffered from the want of affection—what the French call _le besoin d'être aimé_. All the best was brought out in them, and in the case of our subject the brightness and sweetness of his disposition procured for him more than ordinary endearments. Two lovingly preserved letters in a large round child's hand give a better idea of the home than anything I can say. The first describes a visit to Huntly and the home of Duncan Matheson, the great evangelist, who did yeoman service in the Crimean War.

"INSCH, _July 14th, 1856_.

"MY DEAR MAMMA,—I am always glad when I hear that you are all keeping well. I have such a long string of news that I do not know where to begin, for I was at Huntly, and saw so many things there. I will now tell you the most of what I saw. I first saw the Bogie, and a few sheep being washed in it. When I arrived at Huntly, and had walked a short distance, Mr. Matheson and I met his dog Dash. When I got to the house I was first shown the Bugle, then the Drum, and three swords; one was broken after killing five Russians, and the man who had used it killed. And then I saw the Rifle, and fired it off, though without shot. When I got out of the house I went to a shop where I bought a gun and Almonds, and on our way home Miss Matheson and I called on the Lawsons, and brought Johny and Jamie home, where we met William Brown, with his Aunt Mrs. Douglas, waiting us. When we went into the house there were two pistols which William and I took, and frightened some boys with them. I saw a piece of the rock of Gibralter. I saw a piece of wood made into stone, and two teeth—one a shark's, and the other an Alligator's— hardened into stone. There were medals and coins of the various countries of Europe, a piece of a church in Sevastopool, and a thing which the Russian soldiers wear on their coats. I also saw a brush which the Turks use for brushing themselves. I also saw an idol and a great many pictures of the Virgin Mary. I saw a small picture-book with all the different priests of Rome. Our Rabbits are all quite well and growing. I am your affᵗᵉ Son,

"WILLIAM GRAY ELMSLIE."

"MY DEAR MAMA,—I am glad to hear that Papa is keeping better. How I would like to be with you, and see the beautiful scenery and the many rabbits. Tell our cousins to come here some time soon, and let them see our rabbits if they will come. I send some Heather and some broom which we got on the hill beside John Davison, and took tea with him. I enclose what I got down of the forenoon sermon. I am your affᵗᵉ son,

"W. G. ELMSLIE."

P.S.—We sometimes receive to small dinners, but sometimes pretty good.

"W. G. ELMSLIE."

The religious forces of the time were those of that Evangelicalism which has been the base of so many powerful characters, even among those who have afterwards rejected it, like Cardinal Newman and George Eliot. These were reinforced by the influences of the Disruption, then at their strongest. It was something to be born at such a time, a time when, to use the words of Lacordaire, there was a noble union of heroic character and memorable achievement. The pecuniary poverty and spiritual opulence of Scotland, on which Carlyle has said so much, were then seen at their best. If a cautious, reticent race, impatient of extravagant action and unmeasured speech, is to be found anywhere, it is among the peasants of Aberdeenshire; but when possessed and stirred by religious feeling they are capable of unyielding firmness and unstinted devotion. These qualities were remarkably brought out at the Disruption. The religious life of New England, pictured by Harriet Beecher Stowe, must have been similar in many things, and Dr. George Macdonald, who was born in Huntly, a few miles from Insch, has rendered some aspects with incomparable beauty and tenderness in his first works. The preaching was intensely theological. The great highways of truth were trodden and retrodden. Texts were largely taken from the Epistles, and the doctrines of grace were accurately and thoroughly expounded. Freshness, style, and the other qualities now held essential to popular sermons were unknown. But the preaching did its work, nevertheless, as Dr. Macdonald says, because it _was_ preaching—the rare speech of a man to his fellows, whereby they know that he is in his inmost heart a believer. As the result, every conscience hung out the pale or the red flag. Dr. Macdonald complains of the inharmonious singing, but others will testify with Mrs. Stowe that the slow, rude, and primitive rendering of the metrical Psalms excited them painfully. "It brought over one, like a presence, the sense of the infinite and the eternal, the yearning, and the fear, and the desire of the poor finite being, so ignorant and so helpless." Not less impressive was the piety to be found among the peasants. There were David Elginbrods in their ranks, men among whom you felt in the presence of the higher natures of the world—and women delivered from lonely, craving solitude by the Eternal Love that had broken through and ended the dark and melancholy years. These were to be found not only among the prominent Church members, but among others willing to be unknown, to be stones sunk in the foundation of the spiritual building. Under such influences the boy became a Christian almost unconsciously. There was no crisis in his life, that I can trace. When a mere boy he writes to his parents, during their absence from Insch, that he had conducted family worship according to their desire. "It required a great deal of previous thought and prayer, too, for I have found that is useful, and not study only, in preparing for the service of God. Yet I have good cause to be glad and thankful that I am able to do it; and I feel it a real relief and privilege to commit all to the care of God." At this time he visited an aged member of his father's Church, and prayed with her. He repeats with pride the compliment paid him in return, "Ye ken hoo to be kind and couthy wi' a puir auld body." His faith and vision grew clearer, but in cruder shape those thoughts were his from the beginning that haunted him to the very end.

The intellectual atmosphere of the place was much more quickening than might be thought. Insch is a cosy little village enough, and though not in itself beautiful, has picturesque bits near it. But even in summer sunshine it can hardly be called lively, and in winter, when the snow is piled for weeks on hill and field, and the leaden-coloured clouds refuse to part, it could not well look duller. But the Free Church manses of the district were full of eager inquiry. The ministers were educated men, graduates of the University, and in some cases had swept its prizes. Their ambition was satisfied in the service of Christ. There was a noble contentment with their lot which it is inspiring to think of; but they cherished a righteous ambition for their children, and spared no toil and no self-denial to open the way for them. From three Free Church manses in that neighbourhood, all at first included in the same Presbytery, have gone forth men whose names are familiar to the English people. From the manse of Keig, Professor Robertson Smith; from Rhynie, Mr. A. M. Mackay, of Uganda, the true successor to Livingstone, whose early death is announced as these sheets are passing through the press; and from Insch, Professor Elmslie. The educational facilities of the district were of almost ideal excellence. The parish teachers, when salaries were increased by certain wise and liberal bequests, were almost without exception accomplished scholars. They took pride in a promising pupil, and would cheerfully work extra hours to ensure his success. Their fees were sufficiently moderate, one pound being enough to cover all expenses for a year. At these schools a boy might remain till he had reached the age, say, of fourteen or fifteen, when he might go to Aberdeen to compete for a scholarship, or "bursary" as it was called. Of these, perhaps forty were offered every year, varying from £35 a year for the University course, downwards. It was thought wiser to go for the last year or two to the Grammar School in Aberdeen, to receive the last polish; but often lads went in from their native glens, and defeated all competitors. Elmslie was trained at first in the Free Church school at Insch, then at the parish school, under the Rev. James McLachlan. He then proceeded to the Aberdeen Grammar School, where he was two years, under the Rev. William Barrack, a teacher of rare attainments and enthusiasm. He carried off one of the highest honours, and in 1864 entered the University of Aberdeen.