John McMillan’s Dying Letter to his Flock, 1819.
James Dodson
1819-John McMillan III.-This is a poignant farewell letter written by Reverend John M’Millan to his Stirling congregation in June 1819 before departing for Bath to seek medical treatment, from which he would never return alive. Expressing both the hardship of separation and his trust in divine providence, M’Millan commends his flock to God’s care, urging them to remain steadfast in the principles of their Covenanted Reformation—principles he has upheld against “the numerous looser tenets of the age”—and to cultivate Christian love among themselves. With moving pastoral tenderness, he acknowledges the uncertainty of whether they will meet again on earth, but assures them that if not, their ecclesiastical union below will have prepared them for reunion in the sanctuary above.
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