Erskine, RALPH

Erskine, RALPH, brother of Ebenezer, was born at Monilaws, in Northumberland, March 18, 1685, and, after studying at Edinburgh, was ordained to the parish church of Dunfermline in 1711. Like his brother, he took part on the evangelical side in the Marrow Controversy (q.v.); and, after the formation of the Associate Presbytery, he withdrew from the communion of the Established Church, and joined the former in 1737. In the controversy concerning the Burgess oath he also took part with the Burghers, and wrote several pamphlets in defence of their position. He was, however, less a controversialist than a practical writer. Being a very popular preacher while he lived, his sermons were greatly prized after his death, and many of them were translated into Dutch and widely circulated in Holland. His Gospel Sonnets and Scripture Songs are well known. He died November 6, 1752. See the Life by James Fisher, prefixed to his Practical Works (2 vols. 1764).