John Ross Macduff
John Ross Macduff (23 May 1818 - 30 April 1895) was a Scottish divine and a prolific author of religious essays. He published many practical and devotional works which have attained a wide circulation. Born in Bonhard, Scone, Perthshire, Macduff was educated at the University of Edinburgh,[1] and was ordained as minister of Kettins, a parish in Forfarshire in 1843.[1] He returned to St Madoes, a parish in Perthshire in 1849,[1] which he left to take charge of Sandyford, a new church in Glasgow.[1] He preached there for fifteen years (until 1870), and then went to live in Chislehurst, Kent, in order to focus entirely on writing.[1] His best known books were: "The Prophet of Fire"; "Memories of Bethany": "Memories of Gennesaret"; "The Shepherd and His Flock ": "Sunset on the Hebrew Mountains "; "Comfort Ye"; "The Golden Gospel"; "Morning and Night Watches"; "The Bow in the Cloud"; "The Story of a Dewdrop"; and "The Story of a Shell."[1] In 1857 he was appointed by the General Assembly a member of their Hymnal Committee. His 31 hymns appeared in his Altar Stones, 1853, and were also included with his later poems in his The Gates of Praise, 1876
Macduff died in Chislehurst.