Having completed the usual
course of academical discipline at Glasgow, Mr Macknight went to Leyden, in
order to prosecute the study of theology, to which he had shown an early
attachment. While he remained in Holland, he had an opportunity of procuring
many valuable books, written by foreign divines, which afterwards assisted
his own labours in explaining Scripture. After his return to Scotland,
having received from the presbytery of Irvine a license to preach the
gospel, he was chosen to officiate at the Gorbals, a district of Glasgow; a
situation which at that time could be held by a licentiate of the church,
before being ordained to the pastoral function. On this occasion, one of the
candidates was Mr Robert Henry, afterwards the well known historian of Great
Britain. It chanced that the gentlemen who were thus placed in competition
with each other at the commencement of life, were at last, after an interval
of many years, associated as colleagues in the charge of the Old Church
parish of Edinburgh.
From the Gorbals, Mr
Macknight went to Kilwinning, in consequence of an invitation from Mr
Fergusson, then minister of that place; and acted for some time as his
assistant in the charge of the parish. Here he conducted himself with such
propriety, that his character began to be established; and on the death of
Mr Fisher, at Maybole, he obtained the vacant living there, with the
concurring wish of the heritors and people. Of this charge, accordingly, he
was ordained as minister, on the 10th of May, 1753. At Maybole, Mr Macknight
continued sixteen years; and discharged the duties of the pastoral office
with such assiduity and kindness, that, when he left it, he carried with him
the affections and regret of all his flock, it may be mentioned, as a
pleasing evidence of attachment, that when he proposed accepting a
presentation to the living of Jedburgh, many respectable inhabitants of the
parish of Maybole, joined together in earnestly soliciting him to remain as
their pastor; and in order to obtain his compliance with this request, they
offered, not only to augment the value of his income, but to provide him an
assistant, should the state of his health render it necessary. This generous
proposal, however, he judged it proper from prudential considerations, to
decline.
It was at Maybole, that,
amidst his professional occupations in a populous charge, Dr Macknight
composed the first and second of his works. Of the former, indeed, or the
Harmony of the Gospels, it appears from his papers, that the plan had been
conceived by him so early as the third or fourth year of his attendance at
the university; and from that time he began to collect materials for the
publication. The first edition of this book was published in 1756. Although
the plan of it differed considerably from that of former Harmonies, in
supposing that the Evangelists have not neglected the order of time in the
narration of events, the reception it met with from most competent judges
was so favourable, that the author was encouraged to undertake a second
edition, with considerable improvements and additions. This edition appeared
in 1763. In the same year, was also published by Dr Macknight, another
performance of great merit, entitled the Truth of the Gospel History, which
had been the fruit of the author’s studies during the interval between the
first and second editions of his Harmony. Its object is, to illustrate and
confirm, both by argument and by appeal to the testimony of ancient authors,
what are commonly arranged under the three great titles of the Internal, the
Collateral, and the Direct Evidences of the Gospel History.
By these publications, Dr
Macknight soon obtained a high reputation for theological learning. The
university of Edinburgh conferred on him (among the first who obtained that
distinction in Scotland) the degree of Doctor of Divinity; and he was, in
1769, chosen moderator of the General Assembly of the church of Scotland.
During the course of the same year, he was translated to the parochial
charge of Jedburgh; in which he remained about three years, and where he
received from his people the most flattering tokens of respect and kindness.
In 1772, he was elected one of the ministers of Edinburgh; a preferment for
which he was chiefly indebted to the long-continued and steady friendship of
the very respectable and highly esteemed family of Kilkerran. His first
charge in Edinburgh was the parish of Lady Yester’s; from which he was
translated, in 1778, to the Old Church, where he continued during the
remainder of his life.
Besides performing the
ordinary duties of the pastoral function, a minister of Edinburgh, in virtue
of his office, is much occupied with public meetings on business of various
kinds, especially the management of the different charitable foundations,
which have long been the boast of the capital of Scotland. On these,
accordingly, Dr Macknight, though he entertained some doubts respecting the
good effects of such institutions, bestowed much of his attention; and his
judicious counsels of management, were undoubtedly productive, at that time,
of considerable benefit, in maintaining the strictness of their discipline,
as well as the purity of their administration. Among other objects of such
official care, is the fund established by act of parliament for a provision
to the widows and children of ministers in the church of Scotland. As one of
the trustees appointed by the act, he had long taken a leading part in
conducting the business of this Charity; and after the death of Dr Webster,
he was appointed joint collector with Sir H. Moncrieff Wellwood, Bart.
In the church courts he acted
steadily on that system of ecclesiastical policy, which for many years had
guided the decisions of the General Assembly. At the same time, he firmly
resisted whatever appeared to him as any infringement on the constitutional
law or practice of the church; and, accordingly, when some of his moderate
friends wished for the abolition of Calls, as an unnecessary form in the
settlement of ministers, he moved and carried a resolution of the Assembly
of 1782, (relative to certain overtures on the subject, then under the
discussion of the house,) "declaring, that the moderation of a Call in
settling ministers, is agreeable to the immemorial and. constitutional
practice of this church, and that it ought to be continued:" a resolution
which was afterwards converted into a declaratory act, and printed as such
in the proceedings of the Assembly for that year.
But what chiefly engaged his
mind, and occupied his time, after he became a minister of Edinburgh, was
the execution of his last and greatest work on the Apostolical Epistles;
which was published in 1795, in four volumes quarto. Respecting this work,
it is perhaps not unworthy of being told, that it was the result of the
unremitting labour of almost thirty years; that, notwithstanding his
numerous professional avocations, the author, while composing it, was seldom
less than eleven hours every day employed in study; and that before it came
to the press, the whole manuscript had been written no less than five times
with his own hand.--At the time of publishing "The New Translation of the
Apostolical Epistles, with a Commentary and Notes," Dr Macknight was highly
indebted to the patronage of the duke of Grafton; and after the work made
its appearance, he received the most honourable testimonies of approbation
from many of the bishops and respectable dignitaries of the church of
England, as well as from the ablest divines of all descriptions.
After the publication of this
work, Dr Macknight considered himself as having accomplished the greatest
object of his life; and, wishing to enjoy at the end of his days, some
relief from the labour of study, he resisted the repeated solicitations of
his friends, who earnestly urged him to undertake the illustration of the
Book of the Acts, on the same plan which he had so successfully followed in
explaining other parts of the New Testament.—But soon after this period,
from the want of their usual exercise, a sensible decline of his faculties,
particularly a failure of his memory, was observed by his family. This fact
is a striking instance of the analogy between the powers of the body and
those of the mind, both of which suffer by inaction; and it furnishes a
useful caution to those who have been long habituated to any regular
exertion of mind, against at once desisting entirely from its usual efforts;
since the effect, in the course of nature, is not only to create languor,
but to hasten the progress of debility and failure.
As yet, however, (1796,) Dr
Macknight’s bodily vigour seemed to be but little impaired. In early life,
he was afflicted with frequent headachs; but after, he had reached the age
of thirty, they seldom returned: and he afforded a singular instance of a
sedentary life long continued, with hardly any of those complaints which it
usually induces. This uninterrupted enjoyment of health he owed, under
Providence, to a naturally robust make, and a constitution of body
uncommonly sound and vigorous, along with regular habits of temperance, and
of taking exercise, which he did by walking nearly three hours every day.
Having finished the task he
had prescribed to himself as an author, he mingled frequently in the society
of his friends, from which, at intervals, he had always received much
enjoyment; and long retained the same cheerfulness of temper, for which at
the hours of relaxation from severe study, he had been remarkable, when in
the company of those whom he esteemed. Even after the symptoms of his
decline were become visible, (1798,) his natural sagacity and strength of
judgment, as well as his extensive and familiar knowledge of the Scriptures,
were still to be discerned in his conversation and public appearances. And
so habitual was his anxiety to discharge his duty, that he insisted on
officiating for a considerable time after his friends had wished him to
withdraw from public labour. It was not, indeed, without much entreaty, that
he at last consented to accept the services of an assistant.
The disease which terminated
his life was the peripneumonia notha, occasioned by an incautious exposure
to the severity of the weather, about the end of December, 1799. This
distemper, in its progress and issue, resisted the ablest and most assiduous
efforts of medical skill.—During his illness, his mind was composed,
tranquil, and resigned; he never complained; and on the morning of the 13th
of January, 1800, he expired without a struggle. As in the course of the
preceding night he slept but little, the time was employed in hearing
passages from the Psalms and Evangelists, which by his own desire were read
to him by one of his family.—Thus, having spent his life in illustrating
Scripture, and exerted the last efforts of his attention in listening with
delight to its precious words, he may be truly said to have slept in Jesus.
As a clergyman, the
sentiments and conduct of Dr Macknight were equally characterized by
consistency and propriety. In the discharge of every public and private duty
of religion, with a constant reliance on divine aid, he was regular and
steady. He knew and felt what became the sacred office which he held; and
never departed, on any occasion, from the dignity or decorum of his
professional character. Having given himself wholly to the meditation of
divine things, he continued in them: in the work of his Master he was
steadfast and faithful to the end.—His piety was at once sincere, rational,
and without ostentation. To be useful in the cause of truth and virtue, was
his highest ambition; and with all the means of attaining this end which the
resources of a well-informed and liberal mind could supply, he united a zeal
for the interests of Christianity, which terminated only with his life.
When engaged, either in
private controversy or in the public debates of the church courts, he was
always remarkable for speaking strictly to the point at issue. He was
likewise distinguished by coolness, discretion, and command of temper; he
listened with patience to the arguments of his opponents; and in delivering
his opinions, he showed himself uniformly open, candid, and explicit. At the
same time, his talent was rather that of business than of address; he
appeared to be better fitted for deciding on the merits of a question in
debate, than for soothing the passions, or managing the humours of
mankind,—a qualification rarely possessed but by minds of a superior order.
On various subjects, besides
those embraced by his profession, his range of knowledge was ample and
profound. He perused the writers of antiquity with critical skill; and of
his acquaintance with the Greek language, especially the original of the New
Testament, his observations on the force of the particles, in his
Commentary, are a sufficient proof. In the speculations, also, of
metaphysical, moral, and mathematical science, he was a considerable
proficient. The fact is, his powers were such as might have been turned with
advantage to any department of knowledge or learning.
It may further be noticed,
that in conducting the ordinary affairs of life, he displayed uncommon
prudence and sagacity. He was one of those who are generally attentive to
small concerns, but on proper occasions show themselves liberal to a high
degree. Of this, different instances occurred in the course of his
transactions with his friends; and he was enabled to act on such a principle
of generosity, by his usual habits of economy and prudence.--Dr Macknight’s
external appearance was sufficiently expressive of his character. His
countenance was manly and commanding, and his gait remarkably erect and
firm.
Dr Macknight’s "Harmony of
the Gospels" has long been esteemed a work of standard excellence for the
students of evangelical knowledge. His "Truth of the Gospel History" has
hitherto attracted the notice of the public less than any of his other
productions; but it well deserves to be more generally read; since of what
it proposes to establish, it contains the most satisfying views that can be
suggested by learning, acuteness, and good sense, and is admitted by the
best judges to be a performance as useful and instructive as any we have on
that important subject. It is, in fact, a kind of storehouse, from which
subsequent writers on the same subject, have borrowed largely in point of
argument and illustration.
The "Commentary on the
Apostolical Epistles" is now held in peculiar estimation; and it may be
doubted whether the scope of the sacred authors of these writings was ever,
in any former age of Christianity, more fully, clearly, and happily stated,
than has been done by Dr. Macknight, in the general views and illustrations
which he has prefixed to the several chapters of the Epistles.
The Life of the Apostle Paul,
which concludes the fourth volume of "The Translation and Commentary," is an
excellent compendium of the apostolical history, and may be considered as
the author’s view and illustration of the Acts of the Apostles—the only part
of the New Testament writings (besides the Revelation of St John) to which
the labours of Dr Macknight, as a commentator, were not directed.—In all his
writings, his style, though unambitious of elegance or ornament, is
perspicuous, and appropriate to the subject.
All Dr Macknight’s works were
originally printed in quarto. Of the "Harmony" and the "Epistles" many
editions have since been published in octavo. To show the respect which has
been paid in England to his various works, the following passage from the
"Library Companion" of the Rev. T. F. Dibdin, may be quoted. After
recommending to the young theologian the works of Lardner, Doddridge, and
Watts, Mr Dibdin says, "Nor let the name of Macknight be forgotten. His
works, indeed, are the more exclusive property of the disciplined
theological student; but the general reader will do well to
secure his inviting quartos upon the Gospels and Epistles of
the New Testament. In these he will find learning without pedantry, and
piety without enthusiasm. In short, no theological collection can be perfect
without them. If any man may be said to have exhausted his subject, it is
Macknight."
Soon after the time of his
being ordained, Dr Macknight married Elizabeth M’Cormick, eldest daughter of
Samuel M’Cormick, Esq., general examiner of the excise in Scotland. Of his
family the only one remaining became a clergyman of the church of Scotland.