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Since
the Reformation there has been but fifteen Ministers called to Torphichen
Kirk, five of them during the last century.
One of the best-known Ministers to be called
during the 17th century was the Rev John Bonar, an ancestor of
Horatius Bonar, the well-known hymn writer. Mr Bonar was called to the Parish on
the 7th August 1692, though he was not settled until March the
following year. The Manse at
that time was in the Kirk Gate, as the manse, which is now called "The
Glebe" was not built until 1760, when Mr Paton was called as Minister.
Perhaps the best way to begin the story of John
Bonar's ministry at Torphichen is to look at some of the comments and
actions made by his great, great grandson when he was Minister at Collace
and came to preach at Torphichen Free Kirk (now St John’s Hall) on 2nd
August 1849. Andrew Bonar came
at the invitation of the Rev John Dunns, the young Minister at the Free
Kirk. This was to mark the 6th
Anniversary of the opening of the Free Kirk. Andrew Bonar recorded in his diary
"The memory of the just is still fragrant here. Old Mr Bonar is well known by
tradition. An old woman showed
me his grave in the Preceptory, I know not how, but there was all the time
upon me a peculiar solemnity and pleasant yet serious delight in being
here, mixed with much hope. I
felt too, as if the Lord, who used to be here with His Saints, was still
here remembering days of old; and when the Minister pointed to the Kilsyth
Hills from which strangers used to come, and over which Mr Bonar went, I
felt as if the feet of these Saints were still scarcely lifted from these
scenes."
What kind of Minister was John Bonar? It is
said he was a man before his time.
He was a strong character who had the courage of his own
conviction. He was said to be of
the Evangelical rather than of the moderate camp. He criticised the establishment but
was against separation, which resulted in the secessions, which came about
as a result of Ministers ejected.
The first of these was to take place on the 5th December
1733, when four Ministers formed themselves into the Associated
Presbytery. He was a great
lover of the Sacrament. He
supported Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine who were at the forefront of
Evangelism and he stood by their opinions. John Bonar was one who refused to
take the Oath of Abjuration because he would not support the theory that the
Sovereign should always be a member of the Prelatical Church of England;
and in another field, being one of the twelve members of the General
Assembly who made a protest against the condemnation of the Evangelical
doctrines expressed in the book called "The Morrow of Modem
Divinity". However, when
the Erskines seceded, his loyalty to the Church of Scotland prevailed and
he parted company with them.
The Rev John Bonar made his name in the manner
in which he preached. This fact
is best found in the way in which he conducted the Sacrament. His services
were in great demand in the neighbouring parishes.
As Torphichen was a Parish Kirk, on Communion
Sundays, people would come from far and wide. According to the custom of
the time, he was in great demand as a preacher in neighbouring Parishes and
when he celebrated in Torphichen, visitors would come during the previous
evening and passed the night singing and praying under the trees,
"there being no room for them in the houses". It should be remembered
at that time, the Kirk was still the old nave of the Preceptory. It was at
one of these large attendances that there was a great number of the
congregation crowded into Lord Torphichen’s private loft, which was
then at the west end of the nave. Due to the great number, the front gave
way. The Kirk Session promptly effected repairs, lest they incurred the
displeasure of his Lordship.
During the early months of 1742, on hearing
the accounts of the Cambuslang Revival, with fifty years of ministry behind
him, he set off on his pony to see the Lord's work for himself. The Cambuslang Revival was the
result of a membership response to good preaching. It was also associated with the work
of a travelling preacher, George Whitefield, who came from England. Although the journey to Cambuslang
is only 25 miles away, Bonar took three days to get there. He arrived in time for the second
great Communion Service.
Although Communion at that time was only celebrated once or twice a
year. there were at least two on this revival. According to the records "when
helped up to the tent, he preached three times with great life, and
returned with much satisfaction and joy". The services were held in
the open air and the ‘tent’ was the pulpit of the Kirk, which
had been place on a bank opposite. The congregation at times was said to
number at least 30,000. It is
said that, on his return to his manse, which was then in the Kirk Gate, as
he crossed the threshold, he quoted the cry of Simeon, "Lord now
lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy
Salvation". Mr Bonar had
still a few years of ministry left.
One regrettable episode during Mr
Bonar’s ministry began in 1709, when the Kirk Session saw fit to
rearrange the celebration of Communion. New tokens were struck and new
cloths were bought for the "Communion Boards" (Tables). Unfortunately, at this time the Kirk
Session judged the pre-reformation Communion Cup as old fashioned - today
they would be priceless. They
were taken to a silversmith in Edinburgh who melted them down and produced
two "modern cups", which bear the date 1709. The one redeeming feature of this
event, with the inadequacy of just two cups, moved William Nimmo of
Bridgehouse to leave funds for a second pair, which bear the date
1715. The use of these four
cups over the past 275 years is, next to the pulpit and other parts of the
building the longest unbroken visible link in the chain of the Parish
history.
The Torphichen Case
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