REV. JOHN MACDONALD, D.D.
Dr Macdonald, of Ferintosh, as “The Apostle of the North,” is a household word in the Highlands. As an orator, preacher, and evangelist, no man of his day was the instrument of greater good to his countrymen, by whom his memory will be warmly cherished for generations. In The Gaelic Messenger (1829-30) appeared the first and the best of his poems, which have been the delight of more than one generation of Highlanders. This was a poem of three parts—The Christian on his Journey to, at, and beyond Jordan. Some of his other poems are biographical. His poetical works were published in a neat volume in 1846. Here are a few verses translated from the “Christian’s Journey:”—
ON THE WAY TO JORDAN.
He often sought for special grace
At mercy’s fountain free,
To keep up aye a cheerful face
Hard though the heart might be;
And by that smile of happiness—
That fragrance sweet he found—
He helped a holy cheerfulness
In all the saints around.
He hated all hypocrisies,
The silent face of gloom,
The moaning and the plaintive sighs
That savour of the tomb.
But the sweet breath of life he knew
Amidst the tainted air;
Heart-brokenness that came to view
Would have his tender care.
ON THE BANKS OF JORDAN.
I hear the floods of Jordan roll,
My flesh is seized with dread;
But shame shall ne’er approach my soul,
By hope of heaven led.
That hope the Rock of Ages showed
To those who went before,
Who safely trod the sacred road
That leads to Canaan’s shore.
My spirit trembles with affright
As down to death I go;
Around me glide the shades of night,
And weary doubtings grow.
Before is an eternity
Unreckoned by our years;
The shoreless and the boundless sea
That wakens shrinking fears.
But on the Christ my eye doth rest,
I trust his gracious power;
He succoured me when sore distressed,
And He will save that hour.
Yea, He a help will yet provide,
While I am on this shore;
The waters great He will divide,
Till Jordan I am o’er.
BEYOND JORDAN.
That Christian who once fearful stood
Where high the waters swell’d
Lamenting there before the flood,
Corruption still unquell’d,
Has entered now into that rest
Whose light aye filled his eye;
His spirit now in glory drest
Surrounds the throne on high.
The popular and living character of Macdonald’s preaching genius is everywhere apparent in his hymns. Sweetness, elegance, and genial, broad spiritual-mindedness, have rendered his compositions universally pleasing. He will probably ever remain the chief type of the Highland preacher.