Thomas M'Crie was born at Dunse in November 1772. His father was a
merchant; his mother came from a
farming family. His parents were Presbyterians, members of the Antiburgher
Seceders. Thomas's early
religious impressions may be traced to the pious example of his mother.
In his youth, Thomas proved himself a diligent student. By the age of
15, he had taught
at two country schools. At age 16, he was enrolled as a student at the
University of Edinburgh. He
seems to have spent much of his spare time in research.
In 1791, M'Crie began theological studies under the direction of
Archibald Bruce. He was licensed to
preach in 1795 by the Associate Presbytery of Kelso; and he was ordained
as the minister of the Potterrow
congregation (Edinburgh) on 26 May 1796. Soon after his settlement in
Edinburgh, M'Crie married Janet
Dickson, the daughter of a farmer. During the early years of his ministry,
he developed a respectable
reputation as a preacher.
At the time M'Crie entered the ministry, the ecclesiastical scene in
Scotland was one of disarray. The
Established Church was controlled by the Moderate Party, which preached
dry philosophical morality,
instead of proclaiming the saving gospel of Christ crucified.
About sixty years earlier, the Seceders had withdrawn from the
Established Church, taking a stand
against patronage and declaring a firm commitment to the Westminster
Standards and the National Covenants
of Scotland. But the Secession Church was itself divided in
1747 "by a dispute as to whether or no Seceders could consistently
swear a certain clause in the oath taken by the free burgesses of a few
Scottish
towns."[1] When he began his pastorate, M'Crie
was still affiliated with the Antiburgher section of the
Secession. But it was becoming apparent that both sections of the Seceders
were waning in their commitment
to the valiant theological heritage of their ancestors.
About the turn of the century, M'Crie's Synod became embroiled in a
controversy over Church and State.
Specifically, some Presbyterians had softened their public testimony on
the role of the civil magistrate:
Such opinions not only repudiated confessional teachings; these views
also reflected negatively on the National Cov
enants of Scotland.
In the midst of the controversy, M'Crie made this subject an object of
special study. He became fully
persuaded that it is the magistrate's duty "to take order, that unity
and peace be preserved in the Church, that
the truth of God be kept pure and entire; that all blasphemies and
heresies be suppressed; all corruptions and
abuses in worship and discipline prevented or reformed; and all the
ordinances of God duly settled, administered,
and observed" (Westminster Confession
23:3; original wording).
As the dispute heated up, the Synod drew up a New Testimony which, in
effect, repudiated the theological
heritage of the Secession Church respecting the civil government and
National Covenants. At this point
M'Crie witnessed the drama of denominational politics being rehearsed
before his own eyes. For a while, he
(and several others) registered protests against the actions of the Synod.
But the protesting brethren received
no relief. A variety of additional maneuvers were employed for the purpose
of quieting the unrest in the
church. Of one political ploy, M'Crie wryly comments: "others who
expressed themselves decidedly against
it will fall in for peace' sake and the necessity of the times."
Elsewhere, he observed:
Many have both a capacity to understand and a desire to acquire some
knowledge about subjects that come into
controversy; they will read, converse, and dispute; having some conviction
of right and wrong, they will
frequently express their approbation of the one and their condemnation of
the other: but this is all the length they
will go. Their judgment may be convinced, but their sentiments have no
proper influence upon their hearts or
conduct. They make no open or consistent appearance for the truth when
injured or opposed, they will not
disarrange their connections, or risk their ease, convenience, interest,
or reputation in its support. They will
sometimes pay a just compliment to it in speech, while in practice they
desert and dishonour it; like those
mentioned by the poet, who are loud in the praises of virtue, while they
suffer it to starve. They will sometimes
condemn and lament many evils which yet they support, or concur with those
who do so.
This is even something worse than sinful ignorance; it is plain
dishonesty. It flows not from defect of light, but
from want of conscience and religion. To him that knoweth to do good, and
doth it not, to him it is sin. Many
persons of this description have been found in all corrupt churches, and
in degenerate times. Those churches
must be far gone in degeneracy, whatever their avowed system may be, when
their teachers can say and unsay,
pretend to dissent and yet conform, can assent to whatever is demanded of
them, and acquiesce silently in
changes made from time to time by a majority, though opposite to what they
formerly professed, and without or
contrary to conviction. Such a disposition, though manifesting itself in
smaller matters, is an alarming symptom,
as it indicates a want of conscience and integrity, which would operate in
things of the greatest
magnitude.[4]
In consequence of the Synod's New Testimony and newly-imposed terms of
communion, M'Crie an
three other ministers (Archibald Bruce, James Aitken, and James Hog)
joined together, on 28 August 1806,
to form the Constitutional Associate Presbytery. In so doing, they
declared themselves "not to be
responsible to the Synod, or inferior judicatories, as presently
constituted," saying they "would
hold any censures as null and void that might be pronounced against
them."[5]
In response, the Synod immediately (on September 2), without ordinary
process, passed a sentence of
deposition on all four men, and excommunicated M'Crie. Thus, the division
between the two groups was sealed.[6]
Although the division was regrettable, separation is sometimes
necessary, as M'Crie explains:
M'Crie continued in the ministry, pastoring that portion of his
congregation which, with him, adhered
to the Confessional Standards and the original Testimony of the Secession
Church. "The newly formed
Presbytery entrusted to M'Crie, who was the youngest of its members, the
task of writing a Statement of the
Differences between the new Testimony . . . and the old Testimony, which
was set aside" by the Synod. The
work was published in 1807 under the title of The Statement of the
Difference Between the Profession of the
Reformed Church of Scotland, as Adopted by Seceders, and the Profession
Contained in the New Testimony and
Other Acts, Lately Adopted by the General Associate Synod; Particularly,
on the Power of Civil Magistrates
Respecting Religion, National Reformation, National Churches, and National
Covenants, etc.
The book "is perhaps the ablest work extant that deals with the
Confessional teaching on the subject of
National Religion."[8]
In the years which followed, M'Crie's literary output took a different
form. In November
1811, M'Crie released the first edition of his Life of John Knox.
The work painted an arresting portrait
of Knox, while providing a forum to review the vital issues which gave
shape to the Scottish Reformation.
Prior to the Life of Knox, the Reformer's reputation had suffered
greatly from misrepresentations of
religious adversaries and the bigotry of infidel historians. Further,
"the authentic records of the period,
hid in manuscripts, or detailed in the antiquated and ungainly style of a
past age, had become utterly unavailable
for the purposes of general instruction and excitement."[9]
Most important, however, the biography promoted a revival of true
religion within the hearts of many
readers. 'All over Scotland this work was used to revive the memory of the
great Reformer and nothing could
have been a more telling protest against the stifling influence of
Moderatism. It brought many a student and
minister into the experience once described by James Fraser of Brea in his
Memoirs: "When I read Knox,
I thought I saw another scheme of divinity, much more agreeable to the
Scriptures and to my experience than
the modern." '[12]
In 1813, the University of Edinburgh awarded to M'Crie the degree of
Doctor of Divinity. "This was the
first instance in which they ever conferred such a degree on any
dissenting minister in Scotland."[13]
About this time, there was a growing movement for the formation of
interdenominational mission societies.
Many Christians were convinced that interdenominational agencies would
become an effective vehicle
in fulfilling the Great Commission. M'Crie's convictions were otherwise.
M'Crie's great pastoral friend, Professor Bruce, died in 1816. As a
result, M'Crie acquired added
responsibilities teaching theology in the seminary of his denomination in
1817 and 1818.
Throughout his life, M'Crie maintained regular correspondence with his
ministerial colleagues, and also
frequently contributed reviews and articles to various periodicals, such
as the Christian Instructor.
In June 1816, the Instructor
ran an article by an Establishment minister in defense of the doctrinal
standards of the
Scottish Church. M'Crie responded with delight, in a letter to the
magazine's editor, Andrew Thomson.
Tell the author, said M'Crie, "that if all the General Assembly were
like-minded with him, I would willingly
become their door-keeper; and that if I could be assured that there were
fifty as true staunch thorough
out-and-in Calvinists and Presbyterians in the Auld Kirk, as I
think him to be, I would not be much afraid to
enter its walls tomorrow, convinced that we would soon be able to rout the
whole phalanx of the moderates
and religious mongrels."[15]
Meanwhile, M'Crie's former denomination, the Antiburgher Seceders, had
continued to drift since the
time M'Crie and his fellow ministers withdrew. Further, the other section
of the Secession, the Burghers,
joined with the Antiburghers to form the United Associate Synod. This
ecclesiastical merger served to
illustrate just how far both groups had departed from the theological
heritage of the covenanted Church of
Scotland.
In other words, the mutual disdain to the truths which once united them,
along with a growing laxity
toward the matters which previously divided them, combined to form a
latitudinarian basis for organic
union.
The author surveys the biblical landscape to provide a helpful
discussion of these questions. He yearns for
true scriptural unity: a yearning which should characterize every pious
church member. He deplores schism.
Yet, he also asserts our duty to preserve the truth, and exposes "the
fallacies and unscriptural character of
modern plans of union."[18]
Personal burdens soon began to take their toll on M'Crie's literary
endeavors. His wife died in June
1821. When his health began to suffer from his intense studies, he had to
scale back his research. Further, his
father died in March 1823. These changes did produce a salutary effect on
his pastoral labors; his sermons
began to display "a deeper unction" than before.[19]
In 1824, M'Crie received a letter from George Sinclair, urging him to
take a leading role in formulating
a plan to unite various Presbyterian denominations in Scotland. In his
reply, M'Crie describes his own desire
to see greater ecclesiastical unity. But he makes it clear that there can
be no meaningful organizational union,
so long as there is no underlying adherence to scriptural doctrine and
purity. What we need, says M'Crie, are
not new plans of union or contemporary statements of common
principles; what we need is a more rigorous
employment of the old established standards. He states:
Although M'Crie opposed specious ecclesiastical mergers, he was a friend
to genuine church unity. He
always regarded his denominational commitments as a stewardship of the
Scottish Reformation. He maintained
cordial relations with men of other denominations. Further, he was willing
to consider any overture
to union, provided it promised to preserve intact the Reformation heritage
and the covenant obligations of
the Church of Scotland.
Consequently, M'Crie was a prime mover in the formation of the Associate
Synod of Original Seceders.
The union was composed of the Constitutional Presbytery (M'Crie's
denomination) and the Associate
Synod of Protesters, a body which had withdrawn from the unsatisfactory
United Associate Synod. This
union was based upon a mutual adherence to the Westminster Standards and
the National Covenants of the
Church of Scotland. The new Associate Synod was formed in 1827.
By 1827, M'Crie's health was somewhat improved. He took a second wife,
Mary, the daughter of a
minister, Robert Chalmers of Haddington.
Throughout his career, M'Crie's outspokenness often made him "more
plain than pleasant."[21]
In this respect, he possessed one of the prominent qualities of mentor John
Knox. Like Knox, M'Crie was moved
by a passionate regard for his sacred calling as a minister of Christ
Jesus. He was noted for "the
determination with which he adhered to his impressions of truth and
convictionsof duty the sternness with which
he could reprobate lax opinions or vicious practices."[22] Among Christ's faithful
undershepherds, there is no place for dissimulation, or the "fear of
man," which is a snare (Prov. 29:25).
Said M'Crie:
As a student of history, M'Crie possessed a keen ability to analyze
contemporary public issues in the light
of Scripture and Christian history. He supported a society which promoted
public recognition of the Lord's
Day. He criticized the practice of patronage in the Established Church. He
often delivered statements on
social and political issues which had a bearing on the interests of religion.
At one public meeting, in April 1832, he testified against a government
strategy for education in Ireland.
The government program included plans to issue a cheap school book
composed of extracts from the Bible;
and it was obvious that these extracts were to be edited in a manner as to
make the selection inoffensive to
Roman Catholics. In correspondence, writing on this matter, M'Crie notes:
M'Crie had begun work on a new project, a biography on John Calvin. Yet,
he did not live to complete
this effort. On 4 August 1835, he was seized with sharp pains in the
bowels. He quickly slipped into
unconsciousness. Shortly after noon on August 5, he died, having attained
the age of sixty-three.
M'Crie's influence continued many years beyond his death. His writings
provided momentum for the
fight against Moderatism in the Established Church. Especially with
reference to the Life of Knox,
"there is reason to believe that the impulse given by it to the study
of the history of the Scottish
Reformation, and the principles involved in the subsequent conflicts of the Scottish Church, did much to bring
about that movement which resulted in the disruption of 1843."[25]
M'Crie's life is proof that conscientious dissent, in the cause of
truth, can make a difference. By maintaining
the high ground of principle, M'Crie was a faithful pastor, and he became a
catalyst for reform well
beyond the bounds of his own small denomination. May God give us more
pastors of this sort. Such men
promote both the true peace and the purity of the Church.