February - the Free Presbyterian church of Scotland

46
The Free Presbyterian Magazine
ful, Evangelical men, all desiring to win souls to Christ and to do good to
their fellow men.
We fully understand the criticisms widely levelled at the Anglican chaplains
who were civil magistrates as well as gospel ministers; yet in these times,
extraordinary measures were called for, when there were few men who could
fulfil the function. It would have been far preferable for these chaplains to
have avoided this aspect of the duties that were thrust upon them. Regardless,
they carried out their duties as unto God, according to the penal code
of the day – harsh though it may appear to have been from this standpoint in
time. A new country called for settling; so in the spirit of “subduing the earth”,
these men had also to supplement their stipends by farming, and while some
are critical of them for the success they achieved and the massive contribution
they made to Australian agriculture, they were obedient to the
direction: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might” (Ecc
9:10). They were “not slothful in business; [but] fervent in spirit; serving the
Lord” (Rom 12:11).
They met with varying degrees of success in their primary callings as ministers
of the gospel, and only eternity will reveal the good they did. They have
left us a rich heritage, although the vast majority of Australians today
have no understanding of it nor love for it. We, 170 years later, are blessed
with the privileges of the Holy Scriptures that are able to make us wise unto
salvation, a faithful gospel ministry, and easy access to the means of grace,
without the privations, hardships and loss these faithful, pioneering labourers
suffered in this corner of the Master’s vineyard. Accordingly we should ever
be thankful that the light of the gospel shone on this land with the advent of
European settlement.
Thoughts of a Young Christian 1
Robert Findlater
uesday, October l6. Great and manifold are the mercies and loving-kind-
of God to us, that He has not mingled our blood with our sacrifices,
Tness
but that, in His infinite mercy, He has still spared us as living monuments of
His longsuffering and forbearance. Yesterday He gave us another opportunity
of meeting in His house of prayer. I heard Dr Davidson preach from 1 Peter
2:21: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us,
1 An edited extract from Findlater’s diary for 1804, as recorded in his Memoir. It was
shortly after he had made a profession of faith, when he was studying in Edinburgh. (For
more about Findlater, see last month’s Magazine).