He was born at Alva, in Stirlingshire. Having taken the arts curriculum at the University of Glasgow, he studied for the ministry at the Divinity Hall of the United Secession Church, a dissenting body which, on its union a few years later with the Relief Church, adopted the title United Presbyterian. In 1843 Eadie was appointed professor of biblical literature and hermeneutics in the Divinity Hall of the United Presbyterian body. He held this appointment along with his ministerial charge till the close of his life. He received the degree of LL.D from Glasgow in 1844, and that of D.D. from St Andrews in 1850. He died at Glasgow on 3 June 1876. His library was bought and presented to the United Presbyterian College.
Ministry
In 1835 he became minister of the Cambridge Street Secession church in Glasgow, and for many years he was generally regarded as the leading representative of his denomination in Glasgow. As a preacher, though he was not eloquent, he was distinguished by good sense, earnestness and breadth of sympathy. In 1863 he removed with a portion of his congregation to the new Lansdowne United Presbyterian Church, which became a notable landmark at Kelvinbridge. Cambridge Street was in one of the poorer parts of Glasgow, in stark contrast to the Lansdowne area. This gave rise to the following verse, well known in Glasgow church circles: This Church is not built for the poor and needy, But for the rich and Dr. Eadie. The rich may come in and take their seat, But the poor must go to Cambridge Street.
Works
His publications were connected with biblical criticism and interpretation, some of them being for popular use and others more strictly scientific. To the former class belong the Biblical Cyclopaedia, his edition of Alexander Cruden's Concordance, his Early Oriental History, and his discourses on the Divine Love and on Paul the Preacher; to the latter his commentaries on the Greek text of St Paul's epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Galatians, published at intervals in four volumes. His last work was the History of the English Bible. He rendered service as one of the revisers of the authorized version.
