Robert Findlater - Preacher with Power

A talk given in Inverness

If we choose to wander through the gate of the cemetery in Academy Street in Inverness, we will soon come across a grave on which the following is engraved: ‘In Memory of the Rev. Robert Findlater, Minister of the Inverness Chapel of Ease, where he officiated 11 years and 4 months. He died 7th September, 1832, in the 46th of his age, and the 25th of his ministry. He was by the mysterious visitation of providence cut off by cholera, during the time it visited this place, in the course of its desolating career over a rueful world. He died in the midst of his usefulness, deeply lamented by his attached congregation, and by the people of his former charge at Lochtayside, among whom he zealously laboured eleven years and two months. His solemn exhibition of the truth, and earnest appeals to the conscience of his hearers were eminently blessed by his Lord and Master. ’ 

We might read these words and pass on, not wondering too much more about the individual about whom we have read a brief bio, although we would be saddened at knowing he was cut off in the midst of his ministry. The epitaph does not reveal that he was a man who had known great blessing from God, indeed Findlater had experienced days of powerful spiritual revival in his place of service before he came to Inverness.

Perhaps you wonder why I am speaking about this man. We are walking on ground where spiritual giants once walked and where the blessing of God was known in widespread ways; and it is beneficial for us to learn from them. So while many today may not have heard of Findlater, it is fair to say, that when his life is reviewed on the Day of Judgement, a lot more will be said about him.

So who was Robert Findlater? His contemporaries thought him significant enough to publish a biography of his life. In that biography we find that he was born in August, 1786, in the parish of Kiltearn, Ross-shire.

The importance of pious parents

Obviously there are many examples of persons from ungodly families who became zealous Christians. Yet it is also the case that many prominent Christians came from deeply-religious homes and it is inevitable that parental influence was felt. Findlater belonged to the second group. His parents were devout Christians and it was their aim to rear their son in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They received very strong encouragement from his baptism, which took place on the Monday of a communion season in Ferintosh during the ministry there of Charles Calder. The baptismal service, taken by a minister called MacAdam, made a deep impression on the listeners, with many regarding his explanation of the ordinance and his address to the parents as a precious time of refreshing from God. In Robert’s case, the impression was certainly fulfilled, although he would not be converted until he was sixteen.

In the biography, which was written by his brother, a great deal is said about his parents. Both took seriously their responsibilities regarding their children and prayed earnestly for their salvation. They ensured that their offspring were taught the contents of the Bible as well as the Shorter Catechism. One feature that is worth mentioning is their passionate concern for the spread of the gospel throughout the world, even although they lived in the north of Scotland.

The father, who was a reasonably prosperous businessman, was one of the chief instigators of the Northern Missionary Society which was formed in 1800, and developed a programme of deepening missionary interests throughout the church in the Highlands. For those of you who know about the history of missions, you will be aware that the last decade of the eighteenth century saw the formation of Missionary Societies and indeed the beginning of the modern missionary movement. The Baptist Missionary Society, linked with William Carey, was formed in 1792. Three years later, in 1795, the London Missionary Society commenced. In 1796 the Edinburgh Missionary Society began, mainly caused by the failure of the Church of Scotland to countenance missions. Interest in the Edinburgh Society was strong in the Black Isle and Easter Ross, and this led to the formation of the Northern Missionary Society at a meeting in Tain in August 1800. Two points are worth noting: (a) the Lord burdened his people in the Highlands, as well as elsewhere, concerning worldwide mission; (b) despite the lack of modern communication the church in the Highlands knew what was going on elsewhere. Going back to Robert, it is valid to comment that he could not but be influenced by the gospel in such a home.

As a child Robert showed he possessed remarkable abilities. Before he was five years of age he could read the Bible fluently and recite the answers in the Shorter Catechism. His schooling was intense: he commenced Latin when he was six years old, and Greek when he was twelve (within a year he could analyse several chapters of the Greek New Testament). Such abilities led him to begin studying at Edinburgh University in 1799, when he was only thirteen. Findlater had weak sight, but it is not known whether this was caused by too much study or by a physical cause. In any case, it resulted in him not being able to spend more than a short time at reading or writing when he became an adult.

Yet he did not think seriously about his relationship with God until after he had left the university in 1802. His thoughts were deepened by his intention to become a minister, which caused him to pray earnestly for divine guidance regarding this potential role. He developed a friendship with another individual in similar situation to himself and they often met to discuss religious subjects, along with an older Christian who helped them from his own spiritual experiences.

In 1803, he began attending the Divinity Hall in Edinburgh, with some financial help being provided by ‘The Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge’. It was during that summer that he openly professed his faith and first sat at the Lord’s Table on 14th October, 1804.

At that time, Robert commenced a diary and in it he records his assessment of the significance of his act of public witness. Here is what he wrote:

‘I have this day done the most important thing that ever I have done, and which a person could do in this world. I went to the Lord’s table, to declare that I choose God to be my only portion. By this most solemn act, I declared that there is none in heaven whom I have, neither is there any in all the earth whom I desire, besides God. I have announced Christ to be my Saviour, and that there is none other name given under heaven among men by which I can be saved; and that it is alone by and through the righteousness of Christ I can be saved. I have announced before God, before angels, before men, and devils, that I will no more serve sin, but be a servant of God.

‘I have declared that I am not mine own, but that I have freely and voluntarily resigned myself to God. I have freely and voluntarily laid myself under a vow, that I will be the Lord’s henceforth and for ever. I have declared that I will leave and forsake every sin, every lust, every evil affection, and that I will have God as my portion, my hope, and my everlasting enjoyment. I have done all this over the consecrated symbols of Christ’s broken body and shed blood. Accept, O Lord, of this dedication of myself to thee! Receive me to thyself, and give me grace to live to thee; for of myself I can do nothing.’

During his breaks from study in Edinburgh a great deal of time was spent in helping Dr. Ross, later of Lochbroom, in checking the proof-sheets of the first complete edition of the Gaelic Bible. He benefited from working with the learned doctor as it increased his abilities in understanding Gaelic.

Robert was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Dingwall on 7th October, 1807. Since he was still relatively young, he was reticent regarding accepting preaching engagements in case he would disappoint his hearers by failing to edify them. He was helped by advice from Charles Calder, the minister in Ferintosh, who reminded him that his work was twofold: first, he had to exalt Christ and, second, he had to be much in prayer.

In 1810 he  was sent to the vacant mission in Lochtayside in Perthshire, and it was there that he was to be an instrument in the widespread revival that occurred there between 1816 and 1819. This is a revival that today we have forgotten about. When Robert went there, he realised that spiritual darkness marked the communities in his parish. So he set up a system whereby he could do some preparatory work. He increased the number of services and engaged in catechising (in one year, he spoke with over 1,600 persons about their knowledge of the catechism). I am not mentioning that figure to suggest we re-introduce catechising. But the figure does indicate the number of persons that we can witness to.

We have not got time to say much about the revival. But let me quote about the beginning of the revival, which was linked to a communion weekend:

‘We also had an extra sermon on Friday evening on the other side, in the tent, as the church could not contain the people who assembled. Many were bathed in tears, and deeply affected with the word preached. Mr. M’Gillivray joined us on Friday evening, and preached an excellent sermon on Saturday. But the Sabbath was the great day with us.

‘The whole services were in the open air. I thought proper to give to Mr. M’Donald the action sermon, to which he readily consented. It may be really said, he came to us in the fulness of the gospel of peace. There was a vast congregation collected, reckoned between 4000 and 5000; for I spread the information far and wide. He preached two hours and twenty minutes from Isaiah 44:5: ‘‘For thy Maker is thine husband.” I may say, during the whole sermon there was hardly a dry eye. Eagerness to attend to the word preached was depicted on every countenance, while tears were flowing very copiously, and literally watering the ground. The most hardened in the congregation seemed to bend as one man; and I believe if ever the Holy Ghost was present in a solemn assembly it was there. Mr. M’Donald himself seemed to be in raptures. There were several people who cried aloud; but the general impression seemed to be a universal melting under the word. The people of God themselves were as deeply affected as others; and many have confessed they never witnessed such a scene. It will be a day remembered through the ages of eternity, as many, I trust, have enjoyed eternal good. There was no doubt joy in heaven on the occasion. I could compare it to nothing but the days of the apostles, after the day of Pentecost. I attempted to preach in the evening, from a sense of duty.’

This revival lasted for three years. Soon the effects spread. Findlater later said that ‘there were few families without one, and in some two or three, professing deep concern about the salvation of their souls’. The effects of the revival were remarkable and lasting. Many of those who were converted emigrated, mainly to America, in 1816 because of a famine. But the flow of conversions ceased after 1818.

His call to Inverness

In July 1820, on a visit north, Findlater preached in the Chapel of Ease in Inverness (now the East Church). The chapel had been built in order to meet the spiritual needs of a growing town. Its population had increased to about 12,000. Several prominent laymen had been at the forefront of erecting a new place of worship because the existing churches could not cope. The congregation had developed charitable programmes, opened its pulpit to notable preachers local and from afar, and supported the work of organisations who spread the gospel around the world.

The outcome was that in December he received a unanimous call to minister there. He was surprised at receiving the call, but on that account regarded it as a call in Providence which he had not attempted to arrange and therefore should consider carefully. Wisely he consulted with friends, and all apart from one encouraged him to accept the call. Although he found it hard to leave Lochtayside he concluded that he should move to Inverness. Although he had decided to leave Lochtayside, he remained on good terms with his former flock and returned annually to preach at their communion seasons, and in return many of them attended the annual communion week in Inverness.

In writing to accept the call, he said to the Managers of the Chapel: ‘I pray that the Lord may bless the intended connection, and that he may pour down much of his Spirit on you, and on the congregation. I claim a particular interest in your prayers, and in those of the congregation, that in the prospect of coming among you, I may be enabled to be found faithful in the discharge of the solemn trust, and that the Lord may make us mutual helps to one another.’

His new congregation in Inverness was large, often with more than 1,800 attending the forenoon Gaelic service. The church had gone through a period of turmoil caused by some with a separatist tendency, but seemed to have moved on from it. A weekly lecture on Thursday evenings was taken in turn by surrounding ministers, and it was well attended. Findlater quickly realised that the problem in Inverness was not a lack of faithful gospel preaching; instead what was missing was divine blessing on it in a significant way. Since he had just come from a location which had experienced such blessing, he knew what he was saying in making such an assessment.

It was evident that Findlater’s ministry here was quite different from his work in Lochtayside. Instead of preaching in different locations, he had a specific building. His congregation was more affluent, had been used to gifted preachers, and was already large numerically. Yet he would still need to have an evangelistic thrust in the sense of winning the unchurched.

Findlater did not regard it as appropriate to use the pulpit as the place for sorting out controversies. It was his opinion that the best way to get rid of error was to preach the truth. Nor did he think that the pulpit was suitable for dealing with the personal doubts and fears of individuals – such should be dealt with privately with those concerned. Instead the pulpit was for preaching the gospel, a practice he affirmed was easily seen in the Book of Acts and in the Letters of the New Testament. As long as he focused on the great doctrines of the gospel, he discovered that his listeners were most helped, and spiritual results followed. It was his opinion that listeners should be pressed for an immediate and cordial acceptance of the gospel.

Findlater was not content in having a large audience. He was concerned that most of his regular hearers were satisfied with listening to sermons instead of living out the practical implications of the sermon. One group that drew his attention were the large number of individuals who came to Inverness for work. It was his desire that established Christians would show more concern in telling those workers about the gospel. He was also aware that many of these workers did not know sufficient of the Bible in order to understand a sermon. Therefore he arranged for and supported the creation of Sabbath schools for adults where Bible knowledge could be conveyed to those without knowledge, and he had the joy of seeing many of them converted. I suppose he would say to us, ‘What are you doing about all the foreign workers who have come to Inverness?’

His end

Findlater attended communions in Perthshire in August 1832. He arrived back in Inverness on the last day of the month and found that an outbreak of cholera had broken out. The outbreak had begun in Sunderland in 1831 and despite efforts to prevent its spread, the disease reached Inverness after affecting areas to the north. His sermon on the following Sunday dealt with the appearance of this lethal disease. In the morning he preached from Psalm 106:29: ‘Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions; and the plague brake in among them;’ and in the afternoon, he preached from Joel 2:14: ‘Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?’

The appearance of such a deadly disease caused many families to leave town. While aware of the dangers of visiting the afflicted, he resolved to remain in the town in order to help his congregation through this dangerous period. Nightly prayer meetings were arranged, and he participated in them. He went to a prayer meeting on Tuesday evening, but took ill early on Wednesday morning and died on the following Saturday, the 7th September, 1832. He was buried in the Chapel yard on the following day, Sunday afternoon. Overall there were 553 cases in Inverness, with 175 deaths.

What can we learn from Findlater’s ministry in Inverness? Here are six brief comments:

• One is that the church that God uses in an urban situation will have a wide range of activities. His congregation was concerned about local social issues, about missionary activities, and loved to listen to good preachers from elsewhere. A church without a programme will not survive in an urban area and it should look after all age groups.

• A second lesson is that activities are not enough – there has to be abundant prayer; Findlater stressed that from the beginning of his ministry.

• Third, it is important to foster good relations with surrounding churches and create opportunities for benefiting from local ministers.

• Fourth, Findlater would say that we should have our eyes on providence (in other words, be contemporary) – he noted the arrival of workers from elsewhere and resolved to get the gospel to them, and ensured that his church members were involved.

• Fifth, Findlater would stress the message of the pulpit on Sundays should focus on Jesus Christ and not on individual spiritual needs, which can be dealt with in other ways.

• Sixth, he would tell us that if death comes suddenly, we should be able to leave Christ’s cause in his hands.