HE subject of this notice was born in the Canongate of Edinburgh, of which parish his father was minister, in the year 1781. Whilst yet a child he lost his father; but he was brought up under the care of a godly mother, from whom he received those early impressions which prove most deep and lasting. Almost from boyhood, his thoughts were turned to the ministry. Having frequent intercourse, as he grew up, with such eminent ministers of the day as Dr John Erskine, Sir. Henry Moncreiff, and Dr Buchanan, his father's successor, he did not fail to profit by their example and advice. He entered the Hall as a student of divinity in 1798, and was licensed to preach the gospel, by the Presbytery of Edinburgh, in 1803. It was about this time he received further and clearer impressions of divine truth, by the perusal of Wilberforce's "Practical View of Christianity," the book which some years after exerted such a powerful influence on Dr Chalmers. In 1806, Mr M'Farlan was ordained minister of the parish of Kippen, in the Presbytery of Dunblane; here he remained till 1810, when he was translated to the parish of Polmont, near Linlithgow. He continued there for fourteen years, during which he devoted himself to pastoral duties with great earnestness and fidelity, and with no common measure of success; proving himself a good minister of Jesus Christ, both in the pulpit and in private visitation. It was at this time, too, that he acquired that experience in ecclesiastical affairs, and that knowledge of the forms of Church Courts, which afterwards proved of so much service. The high position he now occupied in the estimation of the Church, was shewn by his appointment in 1824 as successor to Dr Chalmers in St John's parish, Glasgow. It was an arduous undertaking indeed, to carry on the work of his illustrious predecessor both in the congregation and the parish; but he applied himself to it with his usual earnestness and energy. After two years, however, finding it too heavy a burden, he removed to St Enoch's parish, where he ministered for several years to a large and influential congregation. In 1832, he was translated to the west parish of Greenock, and in that town he continued his ministerial labours for seventeen years, till his death.
Dr M'Farlan had always taken an active part in Church affairs, and in such questions as interested the Christian community. For public debate and controversial discussion, he had special qualifications. In the Assembly of 1825 he distinguished himself, in connection with the debate on Pluralities; and in the Apocrypha controversy, his pen was employed with characteristic clearness and decision. The influence he had attained and the confidence reposed in him by his brethren, were evidenced in the most unequivocal manner, when he was made Moderator of the General Assembly of 1834. At that Assembly the Veto Act was passed, and the conflict was begun, which ended in the Disruption. In that great struggle no man took a more decided and honourable part than Dr M'Farlan. He was indeed, in the strictest sense, a non-intrusionist; always refusing to take up anti-patronage ground; believing that the operation of the Veto Law, would effectually protect the Church, from those abuses which had done it such injury in time past. But he was quick to perceive the vital nature of the question, raised by the judgment of the civil courts in the Auchterarder case; as regarded the Church's spiritual independence he would admit of no compromise; he took up a decided position from the outset, and maintained it with unwavering consistency to the end.
At a public meeting in Greenock, in December 1839, having set forth with great clearness the position in which the Church was placed, he concluded as follows:-
" ' Oh!' say some well-intentioned people, 'just submit to the deliverance of the civil courts. It is really painful to think of this contention; you will tear the country and the church in pieces; just submit.' Now I do not understand this whining. To me it seems sheer nonsense. It is just saving, ' We conjure you to sacrifice your consciences, and all your views of duty, and all your sense of obligation to the authority of Christ, as the great Head of the Church. Do sacrifice these on the altar of expediency, and make a low bow of submission to the Court of Session.' For myself I answer, I will not yield: If you ask why, I reply, Because I cannot.
"It has pleased God in His providence to fill me, as far as stipend is concerned, a fuller cup than has fallen to many of my brethren; but this I say, and say it advisedly, so help me God - holding the views I entertain of this subject, and regarding it as impossible, without a sacrifice of conscience, to submit to and acquiesce in that decree to which I have referred, I would rather cast that cup to the ground than I would taste it again, embittered, as it would be if I were to yield, by the consciousness of having deserted what I believe to be my duty to God, and my duty to the Church."
In the Assemblies of 1840 and 1841 Dr M'Farlan took a leading part, especially in the discussion on Lord Aberdeen's Bill, and in the various proceedings connected with the case of the Strathbogie ministers. At the August Commission of 1841, when the leaders of the Moderate party had openly taken part with the deposed ministers, and were manifestly bent on bringing matters to a crisis, he made a most impressive speech, at the close of which he called on his brethren to stand fast to their principles, in the following terms:-
"If we shrink, we are undone. If we depart from principle, there is no hope for us: we shall neither propitiate men in power nor gain the respect of the country. Let us trust in God, who has been the protection of the Church in ages past - in that divine Saviour to whom we profess allegiance as the great King and Head of His Church, that the struggle in which we are now to be engaged shall issue in triumph. But if, in the mysterious providence of God, it should prove otherwise, we shall have the satisfaction, in looking back, to think that we stood forth in defence of sound scriptural principles; and we shall never have cause to regret, though left houseless and homeless, and without the means of support, that we preferred peace of conscience to all that is valuable to us in this world."
That he should have exerted much influence in the counsels of the Church at such a crisis, was not surprising, considering his great experience in ecclesiastical affairs, his soundness of judgment, and skill in debate. But besides this, when the issue of the struggle began to be foreseen, and the sacrifices it would entail on those who adhered to their principles, Dr M'Farlan's position and the attitude he maintained attracted special attention, on the part both of friends and opponents, for the simple reason, that the west parish of Greenock was, at that time, the richest living in the Church of Scotland. Would a minister deliberately give up such emoluments for the sake of principle? Amongst worldly men there were few that believed it. Dr M'Farlan indeed had declared, in the most explicit manner, that he was prepared to do so. But by too many this was regarded as no better than an empty threat; and the expectation that he would draw back found frequent expression. Those who thought so little knew the man - the integrity of his character, the depth of his convictions, and the steadfastness of his purpose. It is scarcely necessary to add, that when the time came he nobly redeemed his pledge. Nothing became him better - the strength and dignity of his Christian character - than the way in which he accepted the change of circumstances which the Disruption involved. In his case the change was a very material one, such as a man of his tastes and habits, of his liberal disposition and large hospitality, could not possibly be insensible to. But no one ever heard a complaint from him; he had the same cheerful, happy demeanour as before: his was the unbroken serenity of a good conscience.
After the Disruption, Dr M'Farlan continued for more than six years to minister to a numerous and attached congregation. In the Free Church at large, he held a prominent place, and exerted very great influence. His noble testimony, his long experience and mature wisdom, secured for him no ordinary measure of respect and attention. He was called to the Moderator's chair in the Assembly of 1845, presiding both at its ordinary meeting in May, and its special meeting at Inverness in August. His sympathies were by no means confined to the limits of his own communion: he was one of the original promoters of the Evangelical Alliance, and he took a special interest in the Continental Churches, and the revival amongst them of evangelical religion. His death took place at Greenock, after a short but severe illness, in November 1849, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. He retained his mental faculties to the last, giving frequent expression to his faith and hope as a Christian, with singular distinctness and solemnity. It deserves to be noticed that he was the fourth in a succession of ministers, continued from father to son, since the time of the Revolution. In the ministry of the Free Church, he has been worthily succeeded by his son, the Rev. John M'Farlan of the Free Middle Church, Greenock, and his grandson, the Rev. Andrew Melville of Free St Enoch's, Glasgow.
Dr M'Farlan's personal appearance was very prepossessing. His head and face would have attracted observation in any assembly - suggesting the idea of culture and refinement, of mental acuteness and moral elevation. His voice was clear and ringing, rather than strong. His speaking, both from the pulpit and in debate, was characterised above everything by clearness and precision. He was wanting in the power of Illustration; but there was an admirable distinctness which went far to make up for the defect; he always knew what he meant to say, and made it perfectly plain to his hearers. He was distinguished, too, in a remarkable degree, by business talents; in this respect his acquaintance with forms, his tact, his readiness of word and pen, were of invaluable service to his brethren. Indeed, one of his most characteristic features was facility of execution: what he had to do, he could do at once, without hesitation or delay, an important quality for one so much engaged in public affairs. In the pulpit, that defect in the illustrative faculty just referred to, was, no doubt, a serious drawback. The want of imagination necessarily interfered with any widespread popularity, beyond the sphere of his own congregation. But, on the other hand, his clear exhibition of gospel truth, set forth with simplicity and earnestness, made his preaching most weighty and acceptable among the people of his charge. It was the old gospel, known and realised in his own experience, which he preached to others with fulness and fidelity. In the more private duties of the pastoral office he was unwearied; having a strong hold on the affections of his people by his sympathy with them in times of difficulty and trial; while the cheerful affability of his manner was attractive alike to young and old. Indeed, in him the Christian minister and the Christian gentleman were most happily blended: he was a gentleman of the old school, always courteous, with that ease and self-possession, which tended to relieve others from any feeling of restraint or embarassment. He shone in company by his conversational powers; but however lively and entertaining, he never forgot what was due to his office, nor allowed others to forget it. There was an unfailing dignity and propriety in his demeanour, which added greatly to his weight and influence. He was a man with much warmth of heart and feeling: in his family, overflowing with affection, and the object of affection in a corresponding degree; while to others on intimate terms with him, he was the most steadfast of friends and the most delightful of companions. Those who remember how, in early life, they were admitted to his society and enjoyed his confidence, and the encouragement thereby afforded them at the outset of their ministry, can never cease to cherish his memory, as of one of their best and dearest friends. By the Free Church at large, the name of Dr Patrick M'Farlan is to be remembered, as occupying a prominent place in the list of Disruption Worthies, on account of the noble part he acted at that memorable crisis. As one of the fathers and founders of the Free Church of Scotland, his name will ever be associated with her history.
W. L.
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