Hugh Martin 1822-1885

MARTIN, HUGH (1822–1885), minister of the free church of Scotland, born at Aberdeen on 11 Aug. 1822, was son of Alexander Martin, and was educated at the grammar school and Marischal College of his native city. He had a distinguished career in the university classes, obtaining, among numerous prizes, the Gray bursary, the highest mathematical reward at Marischal College. He graduated M.A. in April 1839, and subsequently attended the theological classes at King's College, Aberdeen. He was in his student days opposed to the 'non-intrusion' party, which in 1843 became the free church; but at the general assembly of the church of Scotland in 1842 he was converted by a speech of Dr. Cunningham to free church principles. Licensed as a minister in 1843, he was appointed in 1844 to Panbride, near Carnoustie, in the presbytery of Arbroath, to build up the free church charge after the disruption. Martin remained at Panbride till 1868, when he was called to the important charge of Free Greyfriars in Edinburgh. This position he held till June 1865, when he retired owing to ill-health. In 1866-8 Martin acted as examiner in mathematics for the degree of M.A. in the university of Edinburgh, which conferred upon him in 1872 the degree of doctor of divinity. In the debates in the general assembly of the free church Martin was a frequent and an able speaker. On his retirement from Greyfriars, Martin took a house at Lasswade, near Edinburgh, where he occupied himself with music and mathematics. He died 14 June 1885.
Martin was a frequent contributor to the 'British and Foreign Evangelical Review' and the 'Transactions of the London Mathematical Society.' His works comprise: 1. 'Christ's Presence in the Gospel History,' 8vo, London, 1860. 2. 'The Prophet Jonah, his Character and Mission to Nineveh,' 8vo, London, 1866. 3. 'A Study of Trilinear Co-ordinates,' 8vo, Cambridge, 1867. 4. 'The Atonement,' 8vo, London, 1870. 5. 'National Education,' 8vo, Edinburgh, 1872. 6. 'Mutual Eligibility,' 8vo, Edinburgh, 1872. 7. 'Relations between Christ's Headship over Church and State,' 8vo, Edinburgh, 1875. 8. 'The Shadow of Calvary,' 8vo, Edinburgh, 1875. 9. 'The Westminster Doctrine of the Inspiration of Scripture,' 8vo, London, 1877 (this work reached a fifth edition in the same year). 10. 'A Sequel to "The Westminster Doctrine of the Inspiration of Scripture,"' 8vo, London, 1877.

[Information obtained from Dr. Martin's son, the Rev. Alexander Martin, M.A., one of the ministers of Morningside Free Church, Edinburgh.]
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Martin,_Hugh_(DNB00)

http://articles.ochristian.com/article15445.shtml      Hugh Martin lived from 1822 to 1885, through some of the most interesting, turbulent and consequential years of Scottish church life. He was born in 1822 (although some sources date the year as 1821), and studied in his native Aberdeen. He was a distinguished mathematician while at Marischal College, and studied theology at King's. While listening to a speech by William Cunningham, he was won over to the cause which would result in the Disruption of 1843; Martin's ordination as a Free Church minister took place the following year.
      Hugh Martin's first charge was in the Forfar parish of Panbride, where his famous son -- the future Principal Alexander Martin of New College -- was born in 1857. Martin remained at Panbride until called to Free Greyfriars, Edinburgh, in 1858, where he remained until he retired through ill-health in 1865. James Begg, John Kennedy and Hugh Martin formed a redoubtable triumvirate set for the defence of Calvinistic orthodoxy in a day of compromise and of controversy. Some of Martin's best work appeared in the British and Foreign Evangelical Review, and, in the words of G.N.M. Collins, "in him, penetrating theological insight was matched with warm evangelical fervour".      Hugh Martin's publications covered both mathematical and theological topics, but the mathematician comes through in the theologian. His works are clear, logical and thorough, as he works through the implications of his argument. He uses the language of mathematics explicitly in places: "this train of thought leans us on the verge of a very great enlargement or (to use the language of geometry) extension of our theorem". He is a shining example of the old Scottish ideal of scholarship and piety combined. The degree of Doctor of Divinity from Edinburgh in 1872 was a fitting tribute to his theological acumen.      One of his early theological works was Christ's Presence in the Gospel History (1867), published as The Abiding Presence. Martin's starting-point is to conjoin the opening words of Matthew's Gospel -- "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ" -- with the closing promise of the same book -- "I am with you always, even to the end of the world". The Gospel, says Martin, purports to be a history, and is also pregnant with the promise of the presence of Jesus Christ.      If all we had were the biographical narrative, it would interest us as a record of great words and powerful deeds, but it would only be the record of dead history. And if all we had were the promised presence of Christ, then we could never define the Person whose promise it is to be with us always. The presence gives reality to the biography, while the biography gives manifestation to the presence.      Martin's work is a powerful directive regarding the handling of the Gospel materials. The late nineteenth century Scottish Church was to wrestle with the burgeoning science of critical Old Testament scholarship, which seemed to re-write the Bible; but New Testament scholarship was not far behind in introducing new approaches to the biblical text, questioning the supernatural element of the miracle stories and championing Jesus as the supreme critic of the Old Testament. The critics made Jesus a child of his times, and in doing so drove a wedge between the historical Jesus and the later theological tradition. The phenomenon known as Christianity was said to have had little to do with the historical Jesus.      But for Hugh Martin and his evangelical contemporaries, there was no such divergence. True religion is a matter of real communion with God in Christ. And that communion was not merely an association with the post-resurrection church and its witness to the teaching of Jesus. No, says Martin: "you do not deal with reminiscences of Christ -- memories and mementoes of Him, however accurate; conceptions, notions, ideas concerning Him, however true; no, nor even with mere doctrines concerning Him, however truly divine and infinitely precious in their own place as these unquestionably are. You deal with HIM and He with you".




1. 'Christ's Presence in the Gospel History,' 8vo, London, 1860.
    http://www.westminsterconfession.org/the-doctrines-of-grace/christs-presence-in-the-gospel-history.php


2. 'The Prophet Jonah, his Character and Mission to Nineveh,' 8vo, London, 1866.


3. 'A Study of Trilinear Co-ordinates,' 8vo, Cambridge, 1867.
    Third Edition 1889


4. 'The Atonement,' 8vo, London, 1870.
The Atonement: In Its Relation to The Covenant, The Priesthood, The Intercession of our Lord - 1877


5. 'National Education,' 8vo, Edinburgh, 1872.


6. 'Mutual Eligibility,' 8vo, Edinburgh, 1872.
    Free Church Tracts


7. 'Relations between Christ's Headship over Church and State,' 8vo, Edinburgh, 1875.


8. 'The Shadow of Calvary,' 8vo, Edinburgh, 1875. Borrow 1983 Banner of Truth Trust Edition
    E-Book from monergism.com   E-Book at gracegems.org


9. 'The Westminster Doctrine of the Inspiration of Scripture,' 8vo, London, 1877 (this work reached a fifth edition in the same year).
 The Westminster Doctrine of the Inspiration of Scripture: (With a Prefatory Note on the Free Church College committee's Report, and with Remarks on Marcus Dods's Recent Sermon) - 1890


10. 'A Sequel to "The Westminster Doctrine of the Inspiration of Scripture,"' 8vo, London, 1877.
      Letters to Marcus Dods, D.D.   Copy 2  Copy 3  Copy 4


Holy Scripture Free in the Schools of Scotland: Speech Delivered in the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland on Thursday, May 30, 1872