Article on Andrew
Thomson D.D. 1779-1831,
by Rev. James Gardner, M.D.,
A.M.
In preparing the following imperfect sketch of the life of
this distinguished individual, we have been considerably indebted to the short,
but excellent, Memoir prefixed to the posthumous volume of his Sermons and
Sacramental Exhortations.
Dr. Andrew Thomson was born on the 11th July
1779, at Sanquhar, in Dumfries-shire, of which parish his father, the late Rev.
Dr. John Thomson of Edinburgh, was at that time minister.
After going
through the usual course of classical and theological study, he was, in the
beginning of the year 1802, licensed to preach the gospel by the presbytery of
Kelso; and having soon after received a presentation to Sprouston, in
Roxburghshire, he was ordained on the 11th of March following, and immediately
commenced his ministerial labours in that parish.
Dr. Thomson's ministry,
during his incumbency at Sprouston, was characterized by the same faithfulness
which marked his subsequent labours. The Catechism on the Lord's Supper, which
he published at that time for the use of the young people in his parish, has
been of great service to many besides those for whom it was originally
intended; and as a proof of the general estimation in which it is held, it may
be mentioned, that it has passed through upwards of thirty editions, and more
than forty-two hundred thousand copies of it have been sold. Besides devoting
unremitting attention to the immediate duties of his parish, he also began at
this early period to take an active part in the important business of the
Church courts.
After remaining for a period of about six years at
Sprouston, he received a presentation to the East Church, Perth, to which he
removed in the year 1808; and there his ministry was equally acceptable as in
his former charge. It was not long, however, before his talents becoming more
extensively known, he was promoted to the vacant charge of the New Greyfriars'
Church, in the city of Edinburgh.
On commencing, in the spring of 1810, his
stated labours in this important situation, he made a most favourable
impression on the minds of his hearers. Many who were attracted by the
brilliancy of his talents and the eloquence of his preaching, became regular
attendants on his ministry, and not a few owe their earliest religious
impressions to the sound, practical, and efficient instructions which they were
at this time privileged to receive from him. The peculiar doctrines of
Christianity, which he saw it his duty to bring most prominently forward in his
discourses, were not at that period so generally acceptable as at present; but
it is almost needless to state, that these doctrines were laid before his
hearers with all that candour and faithfulness by which he was ever
distinguished. Indeed, no feature in his character was more strongly developed
than his aversion to any improper compromise or concealment; and though this
circumstance was occasionally, in controversy, productive of consequences by no
means agreeable to himself, he was thereby often enabled to render eminent
service to the cause of truth, while others shrunk back from the unpleasant but
salutary duty.
St George's church, which had been for some years building,
having been opened for public worship in the month of June 1814, Dr. Thomson
was selected by the Magistrates and Town-Council as the most suitable minister
for so influential and important a station. The difficulties to be encountered
in collecting and retaining a large congregation in this new sphere of
usefulness, situated as it then was at the extremity of the city, were not few.
His was a mind, however, not to be discouraged, but rather stimulated to
exertion, by difficulty. And while he at once devoted all the energies of his
powerful mind to the discharge of his multifarious duties, he soon had the
satisfaction of finding the pleasure of the Lord prospering in his hands, and
of seeing his labours crowned with abundant success. The congregation by whom
he began to be surrounded was of the highest respectability, and to many of
them he was enabled, under the blessing of God, to be of great spiritual
service. The respect shown to him by his people was gratifying in the highest
degree, and over them be soon acquired an influence scarcely ever possessed by
any preacher. Nor, says the author of the Memoir, is it
necessary to say, that he owed this enviable ascendancy to no compromise of
principle-to no unworthy accommodation of divine truth to the prejudices of his
audience. In addressing himself to a congregation peculiarly exclusive and
sensitive, he stood upon the high ground of his office as an ambassador for
Christ; and with the apostle of the Gentiles, to whose bold unfearing character
his own, in many points, bore a striking resemblance, he determined to know
nothing, as the subject of his ministry, but Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
How fully, effectively, and perseveringly he adhered to his system, the
recollection of his hearers, as well as the strain of his published discourses,
amply testify.
The peculiar qualifications which he brought to his task
are, at the same time, not to be overlooked. To a manner of great animation and
fire, yet restrained and dignified, he added a style of uncommon simplicity and
spirit, which nature enabled him to set off to advantage by the tones of a
voice remarkable for compass and harmony. He delighted in argument, but his
arguments were of that direct, palpable, practical character which stimulate
attention, and admit of being appreciated and followed by the most ordinary
understanding; while the truths he laboured to establish were all of
acknowledged importance, bore so intimate a relation to the system which, as a
Christian minister, it was his province to illustrate and enforce, and came so
closely and powerfully home to every man's heart and conscience, that nothing
could appear more natural than the pains he took to explain and defend them. As
in the clear fountain of his thoughts there were no turbid elements, no
confusion of ideas, no obscure images, no surface on which a wayward fancy
could paint the fluctuating figures of its own changeful extravagance; so, in
his discourses, all was simple, perspicuous, unaffected, and intelligible.
Imagination was not, perhaps, his distinctive faculty; yet even of the glow and
peculiar effect of a well disciplined imagination, his compositions were not
destitute. When he chose, he could be tender, descriptive, and impassioned; and
when he indulged neither in declamation addressed to the fancy, nor in appeals
which went to the heart, he uniformly commanded attention by the clearness of
his statements, the force of his reasonings, and the pointed and practical
strain of his exhortations. It has been well remarked of him, that few men, and
especially few public instructors, ever displayed a greater acquaintance with
human nature, or could turn their knowledge to better account.
His hearers,
accordingly, however secular their habits, could not but feel that they were
addressed by one intimately conversant with life and manners; they could not
evade the force of his arguments and lessons, by ascribing them to the
ignorance or austerity of their instructor; they could not but perceive in his
delineations of character, a faithful mirror, in which their own modes of
thinking and acting were exhibited to the life; nor could they be insensible to
the value of warnings and of counsels, in which the acuteness of the man of
liberal ideas and of general observations, was blended with the wisdom of the
moralist, and the sanctity of the Christian and the divine. To causes such as
these, accordingly, we are to ascribe the high place which Dr. Thomson acquired
and held in the estimation of the religious public of Edinburgh. Nor, in any
review of the religious history of the period, will the deserved fame of Dr.
Thomson be overlooked, as one of the causes of the revived taste for the
faithful preaching of the gospel, which has happily characterized Edinburgh for
the last fifteen or twenty years.
By the young people of his
congregation he was more than usually beloved, and their affection was
responded to on his part by the most laborious and diligent exertions for their
spiritual improvement. Many of them still bear in mind the affectionate
addresses and sound and wholesome advices which, from time to time, they
received from him, both publicly and in private, and look back with melancholy
satisfaction on those pleasant hours which, in Sunday classes and week-day
meetings, he so unremittingly devoted to their spiritual instruction.
But
these labours among the young were not confined to the congregation. He soon
found there were many in the parish whom his Sabbath ministrations could not
reach, either from their not attending church, or requiring more instruction
than could be given them on that day. To meet their case, he collected funds
for the erection of a school in Young Street, where the children of the poorer
classes of his parishioners might receive the elementary principles of
education and religion at a cheap rate. To this school it was Dr. Thomson's
practice to devote entire days of his valuable time, and, till a teacher was
trained by himself, and qualified to follow out efficiently his own plans of
instruction, he regularly attended at nine o'clock every morning, and commenced
his self-imposed but laborious task. In no circumstances, perhaps, did he
appear more truly great than when thus unostentatiously engaged in these
labours of love; and so completely did he accommodate himself to the
understandings of the children, that instead of being awe-struck in his
presence, they seemed apparently as happy under his instructions as when
engaged in their innocent amusements. For the use of the children attending
this school, he prepared several excellent manuals of education, one of which,
a Collection for the highest class, contains many original
compositions, and is justly held in very high estimation.
It is known to
many that Dr. Thomson took also a great interest in the improvement of the
psalmody of the congregation of St George's. Possessed of a fine ear and taste
for music, he was well qualified to effect a salutary change in this important
part of the services of the sanctuary. He drew up a collection of the most
approved psalm tunes, all of which he carefully revised, and added several
original compositions, and a few of his own of great beauty. The improvement
which within these few years has taken place in this part of public worship, in
many of the congregations in Edinburgh, and throughout the country, may, in no
small degree, be ascribed to the unremitting exertions made by him in this
respect.
With the assistance of some friends, Dr. Thomson had commenced,
in the month of August 1810, the publication of the Edinburgh Christian
Instructor. Of this periodical he continued, for the twenty years which elapsed
from its establishment till the time of his death, its only and unassisted
editor, except on occasions when necessarily absent from town. The amount of
labour which he thus voluntarily undertook was very great, and it is known that
he spent many an almost sleepless night in making the necessary preparations
for its publication. In the course of his career both as an editor and a
minister of the gospel, Dr. Thomson found himself often reluctantly dragged
into controversies which occasionally exposed him to calumny and reproach. To
use the language of Dr. M'Crie, who has also since gone to his eternal rest,
he was not exposed to the woe denounced against those of whom all men
speak well. He had his detractors and enemies, who waited for his halting, and
were prepared to magnify and blazon his faults.
Of him it may be said, as
of another Christian patriot, no man ever loved or hated him moderately. This
was the inevitable consequence of his great talents, and the rough contests in
which he was involved. His generous spirit raised him above the indulgence of
envy and every jealous feeling, but it made him less tolerant of those who
displayed these mean vices. When convinced of the justice of a cause, and
satisfied of its magnitude, he threw his whole soul into it, summoned all his
powers to its defence, and assailed its adversaries, not only with strong
arguments, but with sharp, pointed, and poignant sarcasm; but unless he
perceived insincerity, malignity, or perverseness, his own feelings were too
acute and too just to permit him, gratuitously, to wound those of others That
his zeal was always reined by prudence; that his ardour of mind never hurried
him to a precipitate conclusion, or led him to magnify the subject in debate;
that his mind was never warped by party feeling; and that he never indulged the
love of victory or sought to humble a teasing or pragmatic adversary--are
positions which his true friends will not maintain. But his ablest opponents
will admit, that in all the great questions in which be distinguishes himself,
he acted conscientiously; that he was an open, manly, and honourable adversary;
and that, though he was sometimes intemperate, he was never disingenuous.
Dr. Thomson was by constitution a reformer; he felt a strong sympathy with
those great men who, in a former age, won renown by assailing the hydra of
error, and of civil and religious tyranny; and his character partook of theirs.
In particular, he bore no inconsiderable resemblance to Luther, both in
excellencies and defects; his leonine nobleness and potency, his masculine
eloquence, his facetiousness and pleasantry, the fondness which he showed for
the fascinating charms of music, and the irritability and vehemence which he
occasionally exhibited, to which some will add the necessity which this imposed
on him to make retractations, which, while they threw a partial shade over his
fame, taught his admirers the needful lesson, that he was a man subject to like
passions and infirmities with others. But the fact is, though hitherto known to
few, and the time has now come for revealing it, that some of those effusions
which were most objectionable, and exposed him to the greatest obloquy, were
neither composed by Dr. Thomson, nor seen by him, until they were published to
the world; and that in one instance, which has given rise to the most unsparing
abuse, he paid the expenses of a prosecution, and submitted to make a public
apology, for an offence of which he was innocent as the child unborn, rather
than give up the name of the friend who was morally responsible for the deed-
an example of generous self-devotion which has few parallels.
Dr.
Thomson at all times took an interest in the business of many of the public
charities and societies connected with Edinburgh. He was never unwilling to
give his powerful assistance, either in siding to their management or pleading
their cause from the pulpit. It is, indeed, matter of surprise how he found
time for the multifarious duties which he was, in this and other respects,
called to perform, no less than of admiration at the apparent ease and
cheerfulness with which he went through them all. Superadded to his other
labours, must, in particular, be mentioned the leading part which he took in
the business of the ecclesiastical courts. In these courts, indeed, he was, for
many years preceding his death, acknowledged as the leader of the Evangelical
party, to which he was, from principle, attached. The amount of personal labour
and anxiety which was thus devolved upon him it would not be easy to estimate,
and few men, it is believed, could have so long sustained the unceasing demands
which, in addition to his other duties, were thus made on his time and
exertions.
He was, however, admirably qualified is occupy such an important
and commanding station, Not only was he well acquainted with the laws al the
Church, and the different forms requisite in conducting business, but for
ability and readiness is debate he stood almost unrivalled. Many will recollect
the bursts of eloquence which they have heard from his lips in the General
Assembly, and the ability, dignity, and ease with which, even on the spur of
the moment., be could reply to the arguments of an opponent. The important
objects which he often had in view were, no doubt, sometimes thwarted by large
majorities, but his intrepidity and fortitude never forsook him, and want of
success only produced in him redoubled exertion.
This is not the place,
nor have we any wish to enter on the protracted discussion to which the
proceedings of the directors of the British and Foreign Bible Society,
regarding the circulation of the Apocrypha, unfortunately gave rise, and in
which Dr. Thomson took so prominent apart. While, however, some of the
consequences which ensued from these discussions were deeply regretted, and by
none more than Dr. Thomson himself, it will be admitted by every unprejudiced
mind, at all acquainted with the circumstances of the case, that the practice
complained of called most loudly for redress, and that the great principles
maintained in this controversy, on his part, had for their only object the
preservation and purity of the Word of God, without mixture, diminution, or
addition.
The discourses which Dr. Thomson delivered, and afterwards
published, the winter preceding his death, on the doctrine of Universal
Pardon, were highly seasonable and useful at the time, and contain a
triumphant refutation of the errors they are intended to expose. These
discourses are regarded by many as the best specimen of the diversified talents
of their author; and certainly display his ability to great advantage, not only
as an acute reasoner, but as a profound theologian and Scripture critic.
The leading part which he took in regard to the important subject of the
abolition of negro slavery, must not be passed over without notice. This was
the last public question to which he devoted the energies of his powerful and
versatile mind. With characteristic boldness and magnanimity he set his face
against all partial measures for the improvement of this system of bodily and
mental oppression, and, in the midst of much opposition, stood fearlessly
forward, the avowed, determined, and able advocate of immediate emancipation. A
meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society having been held in the month of October
1830, Dr. Thomson attended, and after some other speakers had addressed the
meeting, and stated their views as to the proper time for abolition, he rose
from the centre of the room, and craved permission to explain the conclusions
at which he bad arrived. With a power of argument, and an earnestness and
elevation of tone which can never be forgotten, he entered on the subject, and
in a brief speech explained the points in which he differed from the former
speakers, as well as those in which he agreed with them. Never was the triumph
of truth and eloquence more complete. Before he had concluded, the majority of
the meeting was with him; the confidence of the directors of the society, in
the measures they had come forward to recommend, was shaken; and, in the
rapturous acclamations of a crowded assembly, he had the satisfaction of
listening to the first echo which Great Britain, through all her provinces, has
since sent back to the call of justice and religion, in behalf of the injured
children of her colonies
At a subsequent meeting of the friends of
immediate abolition, Dr. Thomson attended along with the directors of the
Anti-Slavery Society, who now almost unanimously coincided in his views. The
speech which he delivered on that occasion was perhaps the most splendid effort
of his genius, abounding in high and elevated feeling, and carrying conviction
irresistibly home to the understanding and the heart. Rarely have we witnessed
such unequivocal symptoms of admiration and enthusiasm as this brilliant
effusion of his eloquence produced on the densely crowded meeting assembled on
the occasion. The concluding paragraph of his address is so beautiful and so
characteristic of the determined views which he entertained on this great
question, that we cannot resist recalling it to the recollection of our
readers: If, said he, there must be violence, let it even
come, for it will soon pass away - let it come, and rage its little hour, since
it is to be succeeded by lasting freedom, and prosperity, and happiness. Give
me the hurricane rather than the pestilence.- Give me the hurricane, with its
thunder, and its lightning, and its tempest; give me the hurricane, with its
partial and temporary devastations, awful though they be;- give me the
hurricane, with its purifying, healthful, salutary effects;- give me that
hurricane, infinitely, rather than the noisome pestilence, whose path is never
crossed, whose silence is never disturbed, whose progress is never arrested, by
one sweeping blast from the heavens; which walks peacefully and sullenly
through the length and breadth of the land, breathing poison into every heart,
and carrying havoc into every home, enervating all that is strong, defacing all
that is beautiful, and casting its blight over the fairest and happiest scenes
of human life, and which, from day to day, and from year to year, with
intolerant and interminable malignity, sends its thousands and its tens of
thousands of hapless victims into the ever-yawning and never-satisfied
grave!
Dr. Thomson was thus busily engaged in the discharge of the
duties of his situation, greatly beloved by his congregation, and generally
respected by his fellow citizens. And though, to all human appearance, he had
the prospect of long remaining in the commanding and elevated station which he
occupied, and of being continued for many years a bright ornament of the Church
to which he belonged, a blessing to his people and a benefit to the community,
it pleased God, in the mysterious arrangements of His Providence, to remove him
suddenly by death, in the midst of his usefulness, in the prime of his life,
and in the zenith of his popularity. It is believed by many of his friends that
his death was hastened by the incessant labours in which he was called to
engage, and that the mournful event, though unexpected by others, was not
altogether unlooked for by himself. It is certain, at all events, that during
the latter days of his life there was perceptible an increasing earnestness,
richness, and variety in his prayers, both in the public services of the
sanctuary and in the private devotions of his own family; and when urged, on
more than one occasion, to relieve himself of some of the heavy duties which
pressed upon him, he replied, with affectionate solemnity, I must work
the work of Him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh when no man can
work
The circumstances of his lamented death are thus narrated in
the Memoir already mentioned:-On the 9th of February 1831, the day on
which he died, he appeared to his family in his usual health. As was his
custom, he rose and breakfasted at an early hour. During the devotions of the
family, which he conducted as usual, he read the last three Psalms, and he
concluded the service by a prayer, remarked at the time for its spirituality
and fervour. After baptizing a child, he left his house to pay some visits to
the sick; and at a later hour he appeared in his place at a meeting of the
presbytery of Edinburgh, specially convened for the purpose of ordaining a
minister to one of our West India settlements. During his attendance at the
presbytery, he displayed his usual interest, and took his usual share in the
business of the court. At the close of the meeting, about five in the
afternoon, he proceeded homeward; and with a friend, who met him by the way, he
conversed with animation and cheerfulness till he reached his own door, on the
threshold of which, without a struggle or a groan, he suddenly fell, overtaken
by that summons which recalls the 'good servant' from his labour to his
reward.
It would not be easy adequately to describe the deep
sensation which this mournful event produced, not only in Edinburgh, but
throughout all parts of the country. The eminence of the man, the high place
which he occupied in the Church, and the great value of his public and
ministerial labours, were every way calculated to make his name extensively
known, and his loss deeply felt. There are many who can never forget the
bitterness of the feeling which entered their souls when the tidings of the
distressing and afflicting bereavement first reached them. They could scarcely
believe that he who had so lately been seen and listened to and admired in all
the strength and maturity of his character, and in the enjoyment apparently of
excellent health and spirits, was in reality so suddenly brought down from his
commanding station-the ties which united him to an affectionate family, an
extensive circle of friends, and an attached congregation, all cut asunder in a
moment--and the well-known voice which had so often, so eloquently, and withal
so recently, been lifted up in the Redeemer's cause, hushed for ever in the
unbroken silence of death. Under the stunning heaviness of such a bereavement,
many, in the bitterness of their hearts, were ready to exclaim, Help,
Lord, for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children
of men!
On the day of the funeral, ministers assembled from all
parts of the country to pay the last tribute of respect to one whom, in life,
they regarded with so much affection and esteem. The students of divinity
requested permission to attend in a body; and not only the members of the
congregation, but multitudes of the most respectable inhabitants of Edinburgh,
took this last opportunity of testifying their sense of his high character and
numerous virtues; and, amid the deep seriousness that sat on every countenance,
bespeaking, not the pageantry, but the whole power and reality of
woe, his earthly remains were borne along the densely-crowded streets,
and consigned to their last resting-place, in sure and certain hope of a
glorious resurrection. [from the Christian Cyclopaedia 1853 edition]
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