John Kennedy and the Christian life



The two greatest ministers that the Highlands produced were John Macdonald of Ferintosh and his biographer John Kennedy of Dingwall. Macdonald was a roving evangelist in the days when Moderatism held much of Scotland in its icy grip. Revival followed him to many needy parishes. Kennedy was also an evangelist but especially a feeder of the Lord’s people. When Kennedy died, C. H. Spurgeon wrote of him to his widow as one “whom I venerated as every inch a man of God. His death was a loss to the Highlands greater than could have befallen by the death of any other hundred men”.

Outline of his life
He was born on 15th August 1819, the fourth son of the Rev John Kennedy of Killearnan, who himself was a saintly evangelical preacher of rare unction. Young John soon showed his ability, being able to conjugate Latin verbs at the age of six. Later, at Aberdeen University, without any great effort he collected several prizes. He spent a summer with his uncle in Kishorn and there mastered Gaelic. At this early point the stage fascinated him more than the pulpit and novels more than theology. He began divinity studies in 1840 and was converted the following year through his father’s death. The Disruption took place in 1843 and he enthusiastically joined the new Free Church. His only charge was Dingwall where he became minister in February 1844. He was diagnosed as suffering from diabetes in 1880 and died on 28th April 1884, aged 64 years. During his 40 years ministry he had many calls to other congregations but felt it was God’s will that he remain in Dingwall. There he was centrally placed for a ministry which covered the whole of Scotland but especially the Highlands. He was buried beside his church, greatly mourned by all. Sixty ministers attended his funeral.
This article, rather than dealing with the details of his life, will consider what we can learn from Kennedy that will be of benefit for us in the Christian life today.

  1. The importance of a Christian upbringing
    Dr Kennedy’s father was godly from childhood. There is a story of a notorious woman converted through overhearing him praying when he was just four years old. Kennedy admired his father and had great faith in his prayers. Yet it seemed the teaching and godly example of his father had no effect on this pleasure- loving young man. One evening, he and several friends were together in his lodgings in Aberdeen when a student from Killearnan walked in. “What is wrong with you?” Kennedy asked, “Have you seen a ghost?” “No”, he replied, “But I have just received news that your father has died”. With a groan, Kennedy left the room and threw himself on his bed. Early next morning he set off home and two weeks later he returned a new man. His father never saw it, yet the upbringing he had received was blessed to his son. Remember the covenant promises. Teach your children the law but also the gospel. Be a godly example. Pray with expectation looking to the Lord for the salvation of your children and you will yet rejoice in God’s covenant mercies.
  2. Look for real conversions
    Making a superficial decision for Christ is not the same as true conversion. When Kennedy heard of his father’s death, he was terribly convicted of the sin of neglecting his father’s preaching. In the presence of death he saw the emptiness of worldly pleasures and realised that he deserved to perish. From this darkness he emerged only slowly. Experiences vary, yet Kennedy always looked for some law work in converts. He wanted people to be aware of their sin, the holiness of God and their need of a Saviour. Paul spent three days fasting and praying before God saw fit to send Ananias to him with the “good news”. Kennedy was not happy with too much preaching of the promises but not the threatenings. When Moody and Sankey arrived from America in the 1870s, their easy decisionism was widely accepted but Kennedy wrote against it. He taught that faith is beyond the power of man and only the Spirit can convert. Many people think they are Christians because they grew up in a Christian home or because they made a decision for Christ, but the Bible says, “Ye must be born again” (Jn.3:7).
  3. Assurance
    Many people regard questioning their conversion as sinful doubting. They define faith as believing that you are saved rather than believing in Jesus in order to be saved. Kennedy struggled with assurance. His diary reveals his soul-searching. Only gradually did he emerge into the light of full assurance. Fearing that he and others might be deceived he demanded self-examination. Assurance should be growing stronger daily. “Give diligence to make your calling and election sure” (2Pet.1:10). If your faith is real it will bear examination. Be content with nothing less than a felt Christ.
  4. Holy life
    In his early days as a student, Kennedy was keen on novels and plays but once he was converted a new seriousness characterised him. He now saw the emptiness of worldly pleasures. He devoted himself to the Bible, prayer and Christian fellowship. The reality of eternal things made the temporal look exceedingly trivial. Today professing Christians ask: “What is wrong with going to pubs, discos and pop concerts?” Liberty of conscience has become licence to sin. Kennedy lived a holy life and he looked for Christians to love the Lord and demonstrate this by their consecration to Him.
  5. “The secret of the Lord”
    Kennedy wrote his famous book, The Days of the Fathers in Ross-shire, because he felt that formality was taking the place of godliness. By the “secret of the Lord” he meant that those who are very close to the Lord are sometimes given special insights. His own father contracted smallpox at the age of six and seemed to be dying. A local fortune-teller predicted that by the time the receding tide returned he would be gone. But at that moment his grandfather returned from wrestling with God in the barn and announced to his weeping wife: “The Lord has given me the life of my child and he shall serve Him in the gospel of His Son”. When Kennedy began his ministry he started a series of sermons on the Psalms. He told some friends that his work in Dingwall would not be finished till he reached the end of the Book of Psalms. No wonder there was concern when forty years later, just before setting out on a trip to Italy, he preached on Psalm 150! Why is this so rare today?
  6. Labourer
    We are called to be workers for God and Kennedy certainly challenges us to diligence. Of average height but of massive build, he had a very strong constitution. His first Sabbath service was in Gaelic and lasted from 11am till 1.30pm. His English service began at 1.45pm. The evening service was alternately Gaelic and English. He preached in Gaelic every Tuesday night and in English on Wednesday. He regularly catechised his congregation and was diligent in visiting the sick. He never refused an invitation to preach and was often away at communions all over Scotland. As clerk of presbytery and synod he was actively involved in the courts of the Church. His interest in the young was shown by his chairmanship of the Dingwall School Board. Somehow he also found time to write several books. But his health broke in 1870 and he went to London to rest. There he formed a deep friendship with Spurgeon, whom he persuaded to come to Dingwall to open his new church. When latterly he could not attend church he wrote a weekly sermon which was printed. He was a labourer for God for forty years.
  7. Contender for the Faith
    When a committee was set up to negotiate union with the United Presbyterian Church, he was part of the committee and initially enthusiastic. However when he discovered that some of the U.P.s did not believe in limited atonement and that they were against any church state relationship he strongly opposed the union. Though believing in the free offer of the gospel he opposed Moody’s Arminianism. He argued against the introduction of hymns and organs in worship and fought for the preservation of the Sabbath. He viewed fighting for the faith as an essential part of Gospel obedience. His contentions brought him into close fellowship with like-minded men such as James Begg and Hugh Martin.
  8. Compassion
    His oldest child Cathy showed evidence of grace when she was just two years old. At three she became seriously ill with a disease that carried away many children in the area. Making a partial recovery she lived another year and during that time her spiritual interest deepened greatly. She sat on her father’s knee singing Psalms to God just minutes before she died. Her passing was a terrible blow to Kennedy but he acknowledged that he received a wonderful view into heaven at her open grave. His only son also died in infancy. The Lord was shaping him to be a comforter to the sorrowing.
  9. Hospitality and generosity
    He grew up in a hospitable home and he followed that example. His motto was “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Mat.10:8). Early in his ministry, visiting a poor invalid, he emptied his purse to him. The following Monday a visitor gave him £100 for his own use. A man from Aultbea who had been discharged from hospital as incurable, collapsed in Dingwall on his way home. His sister called at the manse. Mr Kennedy carried the man home, made a bed for him at his fire and nursed him for three days till he died. Is Kennedy not an example to us?
  10. Prayer
    When he arrived home for his father’s funeral one of the local worthies saw him first go to a secluded part of the garden. He followed and overheard him pray. He said concerning Kennedy that he “became a man of prayer before a preacher and to my mind his prayers were always ahead of his preaching”. Once listening to Ally the half-wit enjoying rapturous communion with God in prayer, young Kennedy was full of envy. Too often today prayer is seen as a duty or a prayer list. In The Days of the Fathers in Ross-shire, he describes three of the old ministers. One of them spent whole nights in prayer, another forgot his meals and a third would wear the study rug thin in a matter of months wrestling with God. A woman in the house in which he died in Bridge of Allan spoke of the awesomeness of his prayers during his last days. His power in the pulpit was closely connected with his power at the throne of grace.


    Any comments or questions please E-Mail me or Rev William Macleod the editor.

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