CHAPTER VII. ALEXANDER PATERSON, THE PLOUGHMAN. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed."-2 TIMOTHY ii. 15. "That man who bearing precious seed, In going forth doth mourn; He doubtless, bringing back his sheaves, ALEXANDER PATERSON was one of Dr. Chalmers's earliest converts, the first-fruits of the awakened and Christian ministry which, after twelve years of merely moral preaching, characterized that eminent man of God. The subject of our sketch was born in Kilmany, Fifeshire, in 1790. His education in youth was meagre. His boyhood was spent in tending cattle on a farm; and when his youth arrived he was placed at the loom, the trade of his father. This was too confining for his health, and a sickness ensued, which led to the abandonment of the shuttle, and of what was of mightier moment to Alexander Paterson,-his sins also. Serious thoughts pressed upon his attention during his affliction; the visits of Dr. Chalmers were blessed to his soul; and as his recovery made progress, he was an anxious inquirer at the manse of Kilmany. Along with Robert Edie, his most intimate friend, and also an inquirer, he met with his minister. Often "the conversation became so engrossing that they did not leave the manse till two o'clock in the morning; when, instead of returning home to sleep, Paterson, who had now removed to a farm some miles distant, and was engaged at the plough, arrived in time only to commence the operations of the day.". They were thoroughly in earnest; and when they found peace, their mutual faith was a means of establishing both. "I hope," he wrote to his friend, Robert Edie, "you are putting on strong resolutions to follow your great Redeemer, who came from the bosom of the Father, and tabernacled among sinful men. The time is drawing near that we are to commemorate that awful event which took place at Jerusalem. Oh, the love of Christ ! it passes all understanding." Then he goes on to say, "It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. We must pray to God for his Spirit to help us in the time of need. And this is a time of need, for the devil will be going about, like a roaring lion, to cast us down into the pit. .Oh, my lovely friend, what think you of Christ? Do you find some warm love burning in your breast ??? 66 An early mark of Alexander Paterson's devotedness was social prayer. Robert Edie generally accompanied him part of the way home from church. About one hundred yards from the road along which they travelled, in the thickly screened seclusion of a close plantation, and under the shade of a branching fir-tree, the two friends found a quiet retreat, where, each returning Sabbath evening, the eye that seeth in secret looked down upon these two youthful disciples of the Saviour on their knees, and for an hour their ardent prayers alternately ascended to the throne of grace. The practice was continued for years, till a private footpath of their own had been opened to the trysting-tree.” Thus he grew in grace, and was qualified for usefulness. He then began to do good to his fellow-ploughmen. In some parts of Scotland farm-servants reside together in one apartment, called the "Bothy." "Its inmates," says Mr. Baillie, the accomplished and excellent author of his Memoir, "are usually at the zero-point, intellectually and morally. A field less likely to yield 'fruit unto eternal life' could not easily be named." But Alexander Paterson tried it; and by early rising to read the word of God, by consistent conduct, he made an impression on others, and succeeded in establishing in some places daily prayer, and in winning souls to Christ. Did he go to town with his cart?-he went as a Christian. "In addition to his ordinary labours as a farmservant, he had to drive a cart-load of meal once a-week to Wemyss; that he might arrive in time with his load, he left home about midnight. These night journeys, though in an open cart, he greatly prized; for in the bright moonlight he was able, by the help of an uncommonly fine sight, to study the word of God. The retailer to whom he carried the meal, confined to his bed from the effects of a fall, and consequently prevented from attending religious ordinances, longed for the morning when he was to arrive, for he came to him as an angel of God; they never parted without having tasted and seen' that the Lord was with them." Nearly every evening he kept a meeting for prayer in some district in his neighbourhood; and on the Sabbath he had a morning class for children, and an evening class for young men and women. From these he reaped much fruit; and often in after life was he hailed by the Christian recognition of those who had been in his Sabbath-class on Dairsie Moor, and who had found the Lord by his instrumentality. . Though faithful at the plough in secular service, it was manifest to Dr. Chalmers, who never lost sight of his convert, that Alexander Paterson was peculiarly fitted for home missionary labour. His thorough earnestness, winning manners, assiduous perseverance, prayerfulness, and love of souls, qualified him for usefulness in the church. A place was found for him when Lady Grace Douglas offered to support a missionary in the Canongate of Edinburgh. It was with great reluctance that the humble ploughman gave his consent. Much conference and prayer with his friend Robert Edie preceded his acceptance of the office. "It was proposed by certain friends that he should prepare for the new work by attending some classes. "No, no,” said Dr. Chalmers, "it will never do to put a sclatch o' English upon Sandie Paterson; there's an earnestness about him, and a natural eloquence, which will carry him through anywhere; let him take his own way,-no fear of Sandie." He entered on his mission in 1827, and continued in it for twenty-four years. The Canongate of Edinburgh was most degraded. Thousands crowded its high tenements and dark closes who never attended the house of God. With his Bible in his hand, and grace on his lips, Alexander Paterson went from house to house publishing salvation, holding little meetings of families in a "flat" of houses, addressing larger audiences on Thursday and Sabbath evenings, and urging sinners to seek the Saviour. From 10 A.M. to 8 P.M. he daily moved among the people, "instant in season and out of season" for their spiritual welfare. People received him kindly; admired his self-denial, zeal, and perseverance in his efforts for them. The careless were awakened, the profligate reclaimed, infidels convinced, and many converted, by the faithful labours of the Missionary of Kilmany. Narratives of deeply interesting cases are given at length in his Memoir, which attest sufficiently how largely the Lord blessed him, and encourage similar attempts among the outcasts at home. "My labours," he wrote to Mr. Edie, "are getting on as well as I could expect. I always find a ready reception; and there is at present a great concern among some of them about their souls. It is the Lord's doing. Many who never attended divine worship are attending our meetings. Many of them that were drunkards and whoremongers, and were given to other wickedness, declare that the word has been blessed to them." Again he writes: "I have great reason to believe that the Lord is with me in my work. Many are under great concern for their souls, who have lived for forty, fifty, sixty, and eighty-five years, in unconcern." He could persevere, notwithstanding many obstacles and refusals. His long-suffering abounded as did his Master's. A dyinginfidel, whom he visited, on three successive occasions showed his hardness so resolutely as to read the newspapers when Mr. Paterson began to pray. But the fourth visit was the turningpoint. "I'll pray for you once more," said the missionary. The newspaper was accordingly raised. "But before he had prayed a few minutes, the paper fell from his hand. When the prayer was concluded, he was bathed in tears, and so also was his wife." The heart had opened. The missionary was urged to come back, and by degrees the infidel believed, and died saying, "None but Christ for me." It is only by such painstaking labours that the masses of the people who have sunk so low in ungodliness can be reached. The gospel, simply told, truly illustrated in the life, and pressed home to every conscience with earnestness and prayer, is the divine means of elevating the degraded. Men of God who know the truth and feel its power, who burn with a zeal for God and love for souls, are most likely to have success in the work. Alexander Paterson possessed the grandest qualification, and devoted himself to the work with all the energy of one who would save his brother. Hence, when the typhus fever cut him off in 1851, many tears were shed in the Canongate, and the people felt that they had lost a father and a friend. These were his last words: Perfect peace!'-'O death! where is thy sting?'-'Who shall deliver me?'-' Thanks be unto 466 |