Alexander Stewart

Early Life

Alexander Stewart was born in 1843, a year of enormous spiritual significance in Scotland—the year of the Disruption, when many left the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church. His parents were respected members of the Church of Scotland, and he grew up in an environment shaped by religious seriousness and moral responsibility.

Despite this background, Stewart lived without a personal knowledge of God for the first nineteen years of his life.

Awakening and Long Conviction

One day, while walking through a street in Glasgow, Stewart suddenly felt faint and dizzy. In that moment a piercing thought entered his mind: “If I were to die here, I would be lost forever.” That realization marked the beginning of a deep spiritual crisis.

For nine months, he lived under intense conviction of sin. He tried every avenue he knew to find peace—returning to church attendance, consulting his minister, and even teaching a Sunday School class. Yet none of these efforts brought him rest. As he later admitted, he remained in spiritual darkness, not knowing how peace with God could truly be found.

“It Is Finished” — Peace at Last

His breakthrough came quietly but decisively. Lying on his bed one day in great distress of soul, the words of Scripture suddenly came to him:

“It is finished.”

In that instant, everything changed. Stewart later explained that he saw, for the first time, that salvation did not depend on anything he needed to do. The work had already been fully accomplished by Jesus Christ on the cross.

As he put it, he realized he was “eighteen hundred years on the other side of a finished work.” Peace flooded his heart. The burden lifted. He had found rest—not in effort, but in Christ.

Searching for Fellowship

After his conversion, Stewart joined a church and took part in Communion. Yet instead of joy, he soon became deeply unhappy. Sensing that something was still wrong, he withdrew and spent the next two years without formally identifying with any religious body.

He later compared himself to Noah’s dove, flying to and fro, unable to find a resting place.

During this period, he attended a meeting of the Exclusive Brethren in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, where he was welcomed at the Lord’s Table. There he met respected teachers such as W. T. P. Wolston and Andrew Miller, whose fellowship he deeply appreciated.

However, Stewart’s heart was too broad to remain within any group that limited fellowship to a particular party. He longed for unity with all true believers, and this conviction shaped the rest of his life.

A Natural Evangelist

Driven by compassion for the lost, Stewart soon began open-air preaching at Phoenix Corner in Cowcaddens, Glasgow. For a time, he was joined by Murray McNeil Caird, a young law student and the son of a senior legal official.

Stewart was never short of listeners. His rich, commanding voice, dignified presence, natural intelligence, and deep spirituality drew crowds wherever he spoke—whether on street corners, in kitchens, or in public halls. People listened, not merely out of curiosity, but with respect.

Growing Assemblies and Long-Term Ministry

As a result of his evangelistic labours, many people were converted. Naturally, the question arose: What should be done with these new believers?

Groups began meeting on Sunday mornings to remember the Lord in the breaking of bread, moving between various locations until they secured Clarendon Hall, and later Union Hall, where Stewart ministered the Word for many years to large and appreciative audiences.

About twenty years before his death, Stewart moved from Glasgow to Prestwick, on the Ayrshire coast. There he joined a small local assembly, which grew significantly under his wise care and rich Bible teaching.

Writer and Hymn Writer

In addition to being a gifted speaker, Stewart was a capable writer. Throughout his life, he contributed many thoughtful and helpful articles to The Witness, addressing both doctrinal and practical Christian themes.

He also wrote hymns, two of which became especially loved and were included in the Believers’ Hymn Book:

• “Lord Jesus Christ, we seek Thy face”

• “O Lamb of God, we lift our eyes”

These hymns reflected the same Christ-centred devotion that marked his preaching.

Physical Weakness and Spiritual Strength

Alexander Stewart was never physically robust. At only twenty-seven years of age, the strain of constant preaching forced him to take a voyage to Australia for rest. Though absent for only eight months, he returned eager to resume his work for the Lord.

In later years his strength gradually declined, and during the final weeks of his life he was confined to bed. Yet even in weakness, his conversation remained fixed on the Lord, His Word, and His work.

Shortly before his death, he said to a visiting friend:

“If we never meet again, remember—it has been mercy from first to last.”

To another he remarked simply:

“I’m only a sinner, saved by grace.”

Home-Call and Legacy

Alexander Stewart passed peacefully into the presence of the Lord on April 27, 1923.

His life was not marked by controversy or ambition, but by faithfulness, humility, and steady service. He left behind a legacy of souls saved, believers strengthened, assemblies built up, and Christ honoured.

He remains remembered as a man who trusted completely in a finished work, loved the whole family of God, and served quietly yet powerfully for the glory of Christ.