The Scottish Reformation | Page 8

by your own Kirk: it is an honest Kirk, one
of the few that has fairly rid itself of sacerdotalism and ritualism, and
you have no cause to be ashamed of it"--he goes on to say: "The advice
is not unneeded in the present day by others than he to whom it was
originally tendered, and I give it this publicity for the benefit of all
whom it may concern. The Reformed Church of Scotland from the first
rid herself of these medieval corruptions, and the attempt to bring her
again under the yoke issued in dire disaster to those who made it. This
surely is no time for the Presbyterian Churches to swerve from the
testimony they have so long and resolutely borne against all such errors.
When we think of the mischief they are now causing in the Church of
England, and the grief they are occasioning to many of her most loyal
sons, rather does it become us to bear more decided testimony to the
truths, that under the New Testament there is but one Priest, who ever
liveth to make intercession for us, and one sacrifice once offered, which
perfects for ever them that are sanctified; that He has not
communicated His priestly office to His ministers either by succession
or delegation, nor authorised them to repeat or continue that sacrifice
which is the propitiation for sin; and that He has neither Himself
imposed, nor warranted others to impose, a load of 'fondly' invented
ceremonies in His worship."
If the Professor thus strenuously opposed sacerdotalism on the one
hand, he had as little sympathy with Broad Churchism on the other.
The non-natural sense in which the narratives of the New Testament

miracles are understood and interpreted by some of the modern critics
he rejected as subversive of Christian truth, a common saying of his
being, "If the Gospel is not true historically, it is not true at all: 'If
Christ be not raised, your faith is vain'"; and while he mellowed with
advancing years, he never wavered in his deep religious convictions,
nor for a moment relaxed the tenacious grasp which he had of the
doctrines of Christianity as set forth in the standards of the Reformed
Churches. One of his latest sayings was, "I die in the faith which I have
always professed."
From his Alma Mater the Professor had received the degree of D.D. in
1862, and in 1892 the University of Glasgow conferred upon him the
degree of LL.D. in recognition of his eminence as a teacher and an
author. A young minister of the Church, himself one of his most
distinguished students, has drawn a picture of him as he appeared about
the latter of these dates, which is so true to the life that no excuse is
needed for introducing it here. He says: "St Andrews and Professor
Mitchell are inseparable. For forty-four years he has taught in the
University: first the Hebrew Tongue; next the History of the Church of
Christ. As a Professor, Dr Mitchell comes into contact with a
comparatively small number of students. The classes in St Mary's are
diminutive--in some ways a source of much gratification to the writer
and others--consequently he is little known by most men here. Of
course, all are familiar with the Figure pacing the town in the bright of
the forenoon; or, arm-in-arm with a youthful Professor, walking as far
as the Swilcan; or, at a Graduation Ceremony, scanning the audience, if
perhaps he may get a glimpse of some old pupil among the crowd of
interested spectators. For many of his students have risen high: and
some of them have a weight of years to bear. But all are not aware that
in the Church History Class-Room English is spoken as she is nowhere
else in St Andrews. The beautifully rounded and perfectly balanced
sentences, and the elegance of the language, will hardly be excelled. To
make the study of Church History what is called popular is one of the
few impossibilities of life, but there is no man living who can invest the
subject with more interest; for Professor Mitchell is thoroughly up to
date with all his facts, and loses no opportunity of visiting the great
German authorities.... To be reproved in class by the Professor is not to

be desired: to be 'spoken to' in his ante-room still less so. Many men
stand in awe of him--I have always thought unnecessarily so."
The Professor continued to take a warm interest in his students after
they had left the Divinity Hall, and had entered on the work of the
ministry; and when attending the General Assembly he could generally
tell how many of its members had passed through one or other of his
classes in St Mary's College. When he