The Suburbs of Heaven (2014), The Diary of Murdoch Campbell, edited by David Campbell, Covenanters Press, 160pp
Reviewed in the April 2015 issue of The
Record of the Free Church of Scotland
A long time ago, when I was a new Christian, I was aware
of the name of Rev. Murdoch Campbell, and that for two reasons. First, his
several books, although written by a Free Church minister, had managed to get
over the very high walls erected by the denomination in which I spent my
childhood and youth and were read eagerly by its people. Second, after Campbell
retired, he lived near an elder of the congregation in which I was converted,
and he could not make any sense of Campbell’s mysticism. Later I realised that
the first denomination shared Campbell’s Highland and Celtic spirituality,
whereas the elder in the second denomination did not. I suspect that the same
two reactions will re-appear with regard to this book.
Some will read the extracts from the diary
with a sense of spiritual nostalgia and appreciate what they say because they
describe circumstances that are gone and spiritual experiences that no longer
seem to exist, even in the Scottish Highlands. Others will read about some of
the experiences and wonder what is the connection between mysticism and
Christian encounters with the unseen world – especially when the person
describing his experiences was known for having a close walk with God – and how
they enable a sinner to live with God on his journey together through this
world. His unusual awareness of God speaking to him in dreams and of his
awareness of praying while asleep will raise the eyebrows of some. Of course,
when they do, they should recall that Andrew Bonar, himself not a Highlander,
once found himself trying to form new Greek words in his sleep in order to
express the love of Christ.
The extracts reveal a man honest with
himself, yet willing to mention and sometimes detail his experiences for the
benefit of others, including the prominent in the land, as Campbell did when
writing to encourage Winston Churchill during the Second World War. Many times
in the diary he records how Bible verses came to him with such power that he
was aware they were conveying special, indeed specific, instructions and
comforts from God. Moreover, his confidence regarding the post-millennial view
of the future, and the spiritual comfort he received through thinking about it,
may surprise those who regard it as an unsound interpretation.
Some of his details refer to his efforts
in the pulpit such as him having mental freedom in preaching whilst his heart
remained unmoved, and what added to the problem was that his listeners on that
occasion seemed unmoved as well. He comments about times when prayer was hard
and other times when he found it a pleasant experience. There are references to
spiritual conflicts within and the power of the adversary. Occasionally he
details meetings with kindred spirits who shared his awareness of God’s
presence. Now and again he gives his assessment of a book he has been reading.
The diary refers to his family and to his
friends, mainly fellow ministers and elders. There are notes of gladness when
he records having met or heard of individuals blessed through his ministry.
Statements of concern about the direction in which the national Church was
travelling seem prophetic when looked at from our standpoint.
All this and more is found in this diary
and yet it is not a large volume. Yet it has much to say about how we can
interact with God in and through his Word. So I would recommend it to all, but
especially to those who are finding their spiritual journey dull and flat. For
the clear effect of reading this volume is that it describes one who walked
with God, but does it in such a way that his readers can think, ‘So can I.’
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