1824–1905

Introduction

portrait

Born: De­cem­ber 10, 1824, Hunt­ly, Ab­er­deen­shire, Scot­land.

Died: Sep­tem­ber 18, 1905, Ash­tead, Sur­rey, Eng­land.

Buried: Cim­i­te­ro In­gle­se di Bor­di­ghe­ra, Bor­di­ghe­ra, It­aly.

portrait

Biography

MacDonald re­ceived his MA de­gree (and hon­or­ary LLD) from King’s Col­lege, Uni­ver­si­ty of Ab­er­deen.

He brief­ly stu­died for the Con­gre­ga­tion­al Min­is­try at High­bury Col­lege, Lon­don, then be­came pas­tor of the Con­gre­ga­tion­al Church at Arun­del, Sus­sex (1850–53). He af­ter­wards preached for a short time to a small com­pa­ny at Man­ches­ter and Bol­ton.

Relinquishing the min­is­try, he be­came a lec­tur­er on En­glish li­te­ra­ture at King’s Col­lege, Lon­don, and ul­ti­mate­ly gave him­self up en­tire­ly to li­ter­ary pur­suits.

Works

Most of Mac­Don­ald’s hymns were con­trib­ut­ed to Hymns and Sac­red Songs for Sun­day Schools, ed­it­ed by him­self, his bro­ther, and G. B. Bu­bi­er (Man­che­ster, Eng­land: Fletch­er & Tubbs, 1855). Oth­ers ap­peared in The Dis­ci­ple, and Oth­er Po­ems.

Poem

Blind Bartimeus

As Jesus went into Jericho town,
’Twas darkness all from toe to crown,
About blind Bartimeus.
He said, “Our eyes are more than dim,
And so, of course, we don’t see him,
But David’s son can see us.

Cry out, cry out, blind brother—cry;
Let not salvation dear go by.
Have mercy, Son of David.

Though they were blind, they both could hear—
They heard, and cried, and he drew near;
And so the blind were saved.

O Jesus Christ, I am deaf and blind;
Nothing comes through into my mind;
I only am not dumb:
Although I see thee not, nor hear,
I cry because thou may’st be near:
O son of Mary, come.

I feel a finger on mine ear;
A voice comes through the deafness drear:
Be opened, senses dim!
A hand is laid upon mine eyes;
I hear, and hearken, see, and rise—
’Tis He: I follow him.

George MacDonald
The Dis­ciple, and Oth­er Po­ems, 1867

Sources

Lyrics