CHAPTER LXI.

GILBERT KENNEDY, JUNIOR, M.A. (1732—1773),

MINISTER AT LISBURN, KILLELEAGH, AND BELFAST.

1. The Wicked Ruler, or the mischiefs of absolute arbitrary power. A Sermon preached in the Second Presbyterian Congregation of Belfast, December 18, 1745, being the day of the General Fast appointed by Government. [Prov. xxviii. 15.] pp. 29. Belfast, 1745.

2. The Great Blessing of Peace and Truth in our days. A Sermon preached at Belfast on Tuesday, April 25th, 1749, being the day of Public Thanksgiving for the Peace. [2 Kings xx. 19.] pp. 26. Belfast, 1749.

M. C. D. 3. The Ambitious Designs of wicked men under the restraint of Divine Providence. A Sermon preached at Belfast on Thursday, November 29th, 1759, being a day of Public Thanksgiving appointed by authority for the successes of the preceding campaign. [Isaiah x. 5–7.] 12mo, pp. 27. Belfast, 1759. A. C. B.

4. The Character and Conduct of St. Paul recommended as a pattern to all who devote themselves to the Christian Ministry. A Sermon preached at Lurgan, June 26th, 1764, at a General Synod of the Protestant Dissenting Ministers of the Presbyterian Persuasion in Ulster, and published at their desire. [Gal. i. 10.] 12mo, pp. 44. Belfast, 1764. A. C. B.

GILBERT KENNEDY was son of the minister of Tullylish (see ch. xxxi.), and his Christian name was the same as his grandfather's and father's. Gilbert Kennedy of Tullylish had been one of the orthodox leaders in the Non-subscription Controversy: his son's sympathies were all on the other side, though he did not think it necessary to withdraw from the Synod of Ulster.

He was ordained as minister of Lisburn, in succession to the Rev. Alexander M'Crackan (see ch. xli.), on the 7th of

June, 1732. His settlement there does not seem to have been harmonious. A section of the congregation withdrew from his ministry, formed a new congregation, and built another place of worship. Finding his position thus made uncomfortable, he accepted with the more readiness an invitation to Killeleagh in 1733, where he succeeded the Rev. Patrick Bruce (1717-1732), formerly of Drumbo, who had lived only a year after being appointed to take charge of his father's congregation. Here Mr. Kennedy spent eleven years. In 1744 the choice of the Second Congregation of Belfast, then vacant by the death of Dr. James Kirkpatrick (see ch. xviii.), fell upon him, and he removed from Killeleagh. The Second Congregation of Belfast, since the exclusion of the Non-subscribers in 1726, had been connected with the Presbytery of Antrim, but now that Mr. Kennedy became pastor, he did not renounce his ecclesiastical connection. The people having secured a minister of sentiments similar to their own, did not trouble themselves about his ecclesiastical relationships, so he and they again became connected with the Synod of Ulster. It is not known to me when he first began to sit loose to the early orthodox opinions that he had learned in his father's home; but all men, less or more, are modified by circumstances, and his new position, as minister of a congregation trained by its late pastor to Non-subscribing principles, may have helped to tone down the early lessons of orthodoxy which he had learned at Tullylish.

Mr. Kennedy's publications are all sermons, preached on various occasions during his ministry at Belfast. The first of them, The Wicked Ruler, was preached on the 18th of December, 1745, on occasion of the public fast appointed in consequence of the Highland rebellion in favour of "Prince Charlie."

His second appearance in print was a thanksgiving sermon preached on the 25th of April, 1749, at the conclusion of the war with France and Spain which terminated in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. In discussing his subject, he follows the natural order by

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first explaining what is meant by peace and truth, and then showing that the preservation and continuance of them is a just foundation for gratitude and thankfulness. The peace thus celebrated did not last for any length of time. War broke out again, and raged more fiercely than before. The year 1759 was distinguished in the history of the nation; it was the year of the battle of Minden and of the storming of Quebec. The public thanksgiving for the triumph of British arms led to the publication by Mr. Kennedy of another sermon, preached in Belfast on the 29th of November in that year, entitled, The Ambitious Designs of Wicked Men under the Restraints of Divine Providence. As indicated by the title, its object is to point out that although God may permit tyrants to go to great extremes in wickedness, yet they are never from under His control, and that He often overrules their very wickedness to advance good ends which they never contemplated. He remarks upon the cruel and unscrupulous conduct of those who are actuated by ambition, but he maintains that Divine Providence rules notwithstanding. He concludes with suitable reflections founded on these considerations, calling on the people to rejoice that God reigns, to detest tyranny, and to be grateful for the national successes. So far as style and sentiment are concerned, the production is creditable to its author; but, in common with the other productions of the same school, it is deficient in that evangelical teaching without which preaching of any kind is of little worth.

In 1763, Mr. Kennedy was appointed to be Moderator of the Synod of Ulster. When resigning that office the year after, he preached at Lurgan a sermon on the Character and Conduct of St. Paul, which seems to have given great satisfaction to his brethren, for they gave him public thanks and asked him to print the discourse for general edification. In this production he dwells on various particulars which show the integrity and unselfishness of Paul in preaching Christianity, and he points out how far it is wrong and

unjustifiable to act from the motive of pleasing man. The various unsatisfactory opinions advanced do not speak much for the orthodoxy of the preacher, nor for the theological soundness of the Synod, at whose request the sermon was given to the world. It shows how very low the Synod of Ulster had fallen from the high tone of the Presbyterian Fathers of the previous century, and even of the men who forty years before had fought the battle of orthodoxy against the Belfast Society.

Mr. Kennedy died on the 12th of May, 1773. His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. James Mackay, minister of the First Congregation, who spoke of him in the following terms:

"As a preacher his talents and abilities were universally acknowledged. Having an early taste for literature, a strong desire for improvement, and being naturally studious and contemplative, he acquired a considerable stock of knowledge, especially in those branches which related more immediately to his own profession. That branch of knowledge the most important of all others to a divine-I mean that which treats of human nature and the evidences of natural revealed religion-he had carefully studied, and was well acquainted with the best writers on these subjects, ancient and modern. The sacred writings, the sources. of religious knowledge, he read with particular care and attention. As he made these, and not the creeds and systems of fallible men, the rule and standard of his faith, with candour and impartiality he inquired into their true sense and meaning, and in the course of preaching and expounding, explained them with critical skill and judgment."

A portrait of him is said to be still in existence, and an inscription, which is given in M'Creery's Ministers of Killeleagh, p. 150. In M'Comb's Presbyterian Almanac for 1868, at page 75, I find the following notice of the descendants of Mr. Kennedy :—

"His son, William Trail Kennedy, was a Belfast wine merchant; and among his papers the late Dr.

Stephenson discovered the long-lost copy of the famous. Adair Manuscript. The daughter of this William Trail Kennedy, of Annadale, is at present the wife of His Grace the Most Reverend Dr. Beresford, Lord Primate of all Ireland."

Life is as wonderful as romance. How strange to find the descendants of the minister of Dundonald, who was persecuted by Roger Boyle, Bishop of Down, and who, for fear of the prelates and of the military, often preached in the glens of Comber by the light of the stars (see ch. xxxi.), in possession of the Archiepiscopal Palace of Armagh, and sitting in the high places of the Church Establishment at the very hour of its fall.*

POSITION OF DISSENTERS IN 1749.

Is it not good, then, that we enjoy truth as well as peace; that the most sacred of all rights, that of conscience and private judgment, is preserved to us; that we have the liberty of reading the Scriptures, of judging freely and professing our religious sentiments without molestation in all points that do not affect the peace of society? And Dissenters in particular, when they look back upon former times, and consider the hardships their forefathers suffered in every reign from the Reformation to the Revolution (or, I should say, the taking place of the Hanover succession), certainly have special reason to rejoice and be thankful for the freedom and tranquillity they enjoy. What a happiness is it that we may now serve God without fear, and worship Him in the way we judge most agreeable to His will, without running the hazard of enormous fines, being confined to loathsome dungeons, or forced to seek shelter in foreign lands! We suffer no hardships now on account of religion, excepting such as are negative-I mean, our being put on a level with the notorious and avowed enemies of the constitution; by being legally disqualified from serving His Majesty and the public in any places of trust; for this very reason and no other, because we conscientiously scruple the terms of conformity. For disloyalty and disaffection to the Government is not, cannot be alleged, since, when there are public ends to serve which require our assistance, the penal law is superseded as long as the necessity for our service continues. This incapacity, though it be complained of as a grievance, a hardship

Minutes of Synod: Killen's History, vol. iii. p. 325: Mackay's Funeral Sermon.