Scotland

You are currently browsing articles tagged Scotland.

December 22: Hugh McKail Martyred (1666)

22 December, 2014 in December 2014 by davidtmyers | No comments

He Gained the Martyr’s Crown

The enemies of the Covenanters had very long memories. Long after sermons were preached or actions taken, the authorities in Scotland remembered words and actions against them. Such was the case with a young minister by the name of Hugh McKail.

A child of the manse, from Bothwell, Scotland, his pastor father was one of those forced out of his pulpit and parish when he refused to conform to Prelacy.  Little is known of young Hugh’s early days, but he did go to Edinburgh for education. There he was soon marked out as a young man of exceptional ability. For that, upon graduation, he was chosen to be a chaplain and tutor of the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir James Stewart. In that Covenanter home, he would sit at the feet of those in leadership positions in the church and learn of the dire situation facing both the church and the state.

In 1661, he applied to the Presbytery for licensure in the ministry. Preaching in a variety of situations, he was quickly recognized by his hearers for his great ability in the Word of God. However, his ministry soon came to an end as it became obvious that he wouldn’t compromise his convictions, just as his father before him.  Preaching his last sermon in a church in Edinburgh, he had a sentence in it which marked him for remembrance by the Prelate forces of his day. He said, “the Church is persecuted by a Pharaoh on the throne, a Haman in the State, and a Judas in the Church.” The identification was obvious to all in the pews that day.

Forced to leave his beloved Scotland, the young twenty-six year old would spend the next three years in Holland. On his return to Scotland, the situation had not improved any and there was a spark of rebellion in the air. That spark was ignited, as my post on November 28 indicated, at the Battle of Rullion Green. Hugh McKail was among the nine hundred in the Covenanter ranks that day. But his own physical weakness removed him before that great battle arrived, and he traveled to Edinburgh instead. There he was arrested by the authorities, not so much for his Covenanter attachments as for his statement made in that Edinburgh church some years before.

Interrogated in prison, he was placed in the Boot, a fearful torture device which all but crushed his leg while he remained silent in voice. He was ordered to die by hanging on December 22, 1666. His exact words that day of death have been preserved through the ages. They were:

Farewell father, mother, friends, and relations; Farewell the world and its delights; farewell meat and drink; farewell sun, moon, and starts; Welcome God and Father; welcome sweet Jesus Christ the mediator of the New Covenant; welcome blessed Spirit of grace, the God of all consolation; welcome glory, welcome eternal life; welcome death!  Into Thy Hands I commit my spirit.”

Words to Live By:
Could Hugh McKail have compromised his convictions and avoided suffering and death? Certainly, and many did. But this young man  was reared by a parent who by his example remained steadfast to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. With such an example like that, it is no wonder the young minister was given over to sacrifice, in loyalty to both the Living and Written Word, come what may to his physical body. Addressing all parents reading these posts on Presbyterian history: Your life preaches all the week. Are those in your family being helped or hindered to follow the Living and Written Word?

Tags: , , ,

December 20: First General Assembly of Scotland (1560)

20 December, 2014 in December 2014 by davidtmyers | No comments

Beginnings can be Interesting

Beginnings of anything can be interesting. This author once planted a mission church in a sizeable Midwest city. He had done all the preliminary preparation for the mission. Several families committed themselves to the endeavor. The first worship service was planned in a spacious worship center of an evangelical church, rented for the occasion. We all went with expectations of a good beginning, but only one family showed up for the beginning worship time.  It is true that God did some extraordinary things in the first six years of our ministry there. I rejoice that this established church is progressing ahead by means of being a mother church to several congregations.

In 1560, a Scottish Reformation Parliament abrogated and annulled the papal jurisdiction for Scottish churches, ending all the authority flowing from Rome.

This set the grounds for the establishment of the Church of Scotland that same year. Let W. M. Hetherington in his book “History of the Church of Scotland” pick up the account. He writes on page 53,

“They (the Reformation Parliament) enacted no ecclesiastical jurisdiction whatever in its stead. This it left the reformed Church to determine upon and effect by its own intrinsic powers. And this is a fact of the utmost it cannot be too well known and kept in remembrance. It is, indeed, one of the distinctive characteristics of the Church of Scotland, that it owes its origin, its form, its jurisdiction, and its discipline, to no earthly power. And when the ministers and elders of the church of Scotland resolved to meet in a General Assembly, to deliberate on matters, which might tend to the promotion of God’s glory and the welfare of the Church, they did so in virtue of the authority which they believed the Lord Jesus Christ had given to the Church. The parliament which abolished the papal jurisdiction made not the slightest mention of General Assembly. In that time of comparatively simple and honest faith, even statesmen seem instinctively to have perceived, that to interfere in matters of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, so as to appoint ecclesiastical tribunals, specify their nature, and assign their limits, was not within their province. It had been well for the kingdom if statesmen of succeeding times, certainly not their superiors in talent and in judgment, had been wise enough to follow their example.”

The first meeting of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was held on this day, December 20, 1560. Forty delegates were in attendance. For that number, only six were ministers. They were John Knox (Edinburgh), Christophere Gudman (St. Andrews), John Row (Perth), David Lindesay (Leith), William Harlaw (St. Cuthberts), and William Christesone (Dundee). While their names, with the exception of Knox and possibly Row, are unknown to many of our readers, Hetherington remarks that “they were men of great abilities, of deep piety, fitted and qualified by their Creator for the work which He had given them to do.” (p. 53)

Words to Live By:
Not only had the Creator fitted and qualified them, but so had their Great Redeemer fitted and acquired them to raise up a Church faithful and true to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. It may have been small in man’s estimation at the beginning, but the Spirit of God judged it otherwise. He would bring the increase in His time. So be faithful, dear reader, in the place where God has planted you. Keep looking to Him, for He will accomplish His will through you, in the work and place where you have been planted to serve our Lord and Savior.

Tags: ,

December 19: Horatius Bonar born (1808)

19 December, 2014 in December 2014 by davidtmyers | 2 comments

The Prince of Scottish Hymnists

bonarHoratiusAmong the Presbyterian hymn writers of the Church, none stand higher than that of Horatius Bonar. Born on this day December 19, in 1808, Horatius Bonar came from two centuries of ministers, a total ministerial ancestry of 364 years of ministry.  When Horatius was just twelve years old, death took his father, James Bonar.  His saintly mother, Marjory, and his elder brother James, took over his spiritual upbringing.  Attending Edinburgh University, the beneficial influence of Dr. Thomas Chalmers added to that training.

Horatius  Bonar entered the ministry of the Church of Scotland, being ordained in 1837.  His first charge was that of mission work in Leith at St. John’s parish, and then at Kelso, Scotland.  In 1843, he married Jane Catherine Lundie, with five of their nine children dying in succession.  Taking his stand with the Bible-believers in the church, he joined the Free Church of Scotland and then began to display his gift of hymn writing.  Moving to Edinburgh, he ministered in a church named after his former professor, Chalmers Memorial Church.  He was honored by his colleagues by being elected as Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland in 1883.  He died on May 31, 1889.

Such are the facts of his life.  What is more interesting to our readers may be to think upon many of his hymns which have blessed the church world ever since.  Those who come to this site with their worship rooted in the Blue or Red Trinity hymnal will find 19 hymns in the blue Trinity and 14 hymns in the red Trinity hymnal.  We are blessed by them all.

It is clear that his hymns included the state of the sinner outside of Christ.  “I was a wandering sheep,” he wrote in hymn number 464. “I would not be controlled,” he added. Does not that describe our condition before Christ found us? “I was a wayward child, I once preferred to roam,” was our sad testimony.

Then came the wonderful words of life. “I heard the voice of Jesus say, ‘Come unto me and rest.'” And then our testimony, “I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad; I found in Him a resting place, and he has made me glad.” No. 304. Is this your testimony?

In his life, Bonar was a soul-winner, with a special interest in the salvation of the Jews. He was sent to Palestine in 1839 to visit the principle points of their existence. He visited again in 1856. It is interesting to this author that his eschatology was pre-millennial, with God’s future for Israel upon his heart.

He certainly lived the words of “Go, Labor on” on page 584. Verse 5 should describe you and me when it says, “Toil on, faint not, keep watch and pray; be wide the erring soul to win; go forth into the world’s highway, compel the wand’rer to come in.”

Words to Live By:
There may be great spiritual profit to gather a few Christian friends together around a piano, or at a Sunday evening service, to sing the hymns of Horatius Bonar. Let the pastor and/or song leader do more study on his life.  After each song is sung, discuss what doctrines or duties are found in the words. Share how his words speak to your heart and are seen in your actions.

Tags: , , ,

December 15: They Stood Alone Because They were Left Alone

15 December, 2014 in December 2014 by davidtmyers | No comments

Ministry in Troubling Times

Here’s a question for those of you who are teaching elders and pastors:—how long would your congregations exist without your presence, or any pastor-teacher’s presence over them in the Lord? In other words, suppose your congregation did not have a pastor for an extended period of time? And further, there were no supply pastors available to minister the Word and Sacrament to them. Question? Would they persevere in the faith as an organized body of believers?

Such was the case in Scotland in the late 17th century. Presbyterianism as a whole in 1690 had been restored to Scotland by what is known as the Revolution Settlement. Covenanters however were disappointed by this settlement as it ignored early covenants made by the people. It further gave the civil government some authority over the church. And to make matters worse for the Covenanters, they were without an ordained minister at this time. Some 16 years later, the Rev. John MacMillan left the Church of Scotland to minister to their spiritual needs. But in hindsight, that was sixteen years down the proverbial pike. Sixteen years without a pastor! It took a degree of faith to stand together for the faith, by faith. And faith they did indeed possess, as evidenced by their organizing themselves in what is known as the Society People of Scotland.

These groups, according to A.S. Horne in his small booklet “Torchbearers of the Truth,” were not large in number, often being between ten and twelve individuals. If they grew beyond this, then they were required to split into two groups. They knew that the times were against them, as the principles of the Reformation had been largely swept aside and abandoned by the nation. Spiritual declension marked their times. Scrupulous care had to be exercised as to new members in their society.

Listen to one rule of entrance into a society, according to Horne. “None are to be invited, or upon his own desire brought into any Society” wrote author Horne, “but by the advice and consent of all the Society; and that he is particularly known at least to some of the members; that he is one who makes conscience of secret prayer, and of prayer in his family and he is of exemplary and blameless conversation and free from all scandal.”

Further, their meetings were quite obviously for the professing, committed Christian. A full meeting was “four hours at least should be seriously and closely spent about the work for which they meet, which is prayer and spiritual conference.” In addition, they “are not to be diverted from their work by talking about their worldly affairs or public news until they close, except something for the informing of the meeting whereof may be useful.”  It is clear that the primary purpose of the Society meetings were for spiritual edification.

There were other rules too, but space hinders their inclusion in this post. Some 7000 Scottish Covenanters regularly met together in this way throughout Central and Southern Scotland. Finally, a general meeting was held, with representatives from as many of the societies as could attend. The first of these general meetings was held on December 15, 1681 in Lanarkshire, Scotland. In all, some forty-one general meetings were held during this twenty years of persecution, “and never in one instance did informers succeed in getting information of them in time to prevent them, or capture those who attended them.”

Words to Live By:
This author can still remember during his years as a pastor-teacher, a church member who came to the door after the sermon, to urge  him to end his sermon on time as she and her husband wanted to be able to get the best seat in their local restaurant for their noon lunch! Contrast that remark with the Covenanters who, in the prelude to the Killing Times in Scotland, gathered together for hours in prayer and spiritual conversation so as to be made strong and valiant for the Lord.

Tags: , , ,

A Sunday Bonus: Communion Bread

7 December, 2014 in Uncategorized by archivist | No comments

As a bonus, and as our church this morning observed the Lord’s Supper, here is an interesting quote, accompanied by two recipes.

Communion Bread

“In some parts of Scotland, short bread was till quite recently chosen as the most appropriate bread for the Christian passover. [i.e., communion]. During the first year of my own ministry in Galloway, I was one day accosted by the beadle [i.e., sexton], and told that he and his friends were hoping I would give them short bread at the sacrament. ‘We used to have it till three years ago’, he said, ‘and we thought it very shabby in the minister to change the old custom and give us plain bread.’ . . . I cannot make out whether shortbread was ever used or not at the communion in Maunchline. I have heard old people say that in their fathers’ or grandfathers’ days it was used in some Parishes in Ayrshire, and the expression in our records two hundred years ago, ‘bringing home the bread,’ rather indicates that it was not ordinary bread that was used, but bread that had to be brought from a distance. At the present day, as may be seen from the last published volume of the Queen’s Journal, the communion bread in some parts of Aberdeenshire is cut into small cubes like dice. These are put on large plates, and on the top of them are two or three longer peces of bread for the ministers to break before distribution . . . ”

Source: Old Church Life in Scotland: Lectures on Kirk-Session and Presbytery Records, by Andrew Edgar (London: Alexander Gardner, 1885), pp. 148-149. As cited in Communion Tokens: Their Origin, History and Use, by Mary McWhorter Tenney (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1936), p. 52, where she adds in footnote 121 that “Shortbread is a peculiarly Scottish cake. There is not taint of leaven in its composition. This is the reason they assigned for using it.” Elsewhere, I have seen another statement, which I like, that shortbread was used, “because we bring the Lord the best we have.”

Two Recipes for Communion Bread, courtesy of Roberta Collison:

Grandcote Reformed Presbyterian Church (PCA), Coulterville, Illinois recipe:

2-3 cups of flour

1 tsp of baking powder

A pinch of salt

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of shortening

1 egg

1/2 cup of milk

Cut the shortening into the first four ingredients. Blend in beaten egg and milk. Roll out on cookie sheet and score into 1/2 inch squares, before baking at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

The Covenant Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Missouri recipe:

3 cups of flour

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of Crisco shortening

2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt

3/4 cup of milk

Cut in shortening to dry ingredients. Add milk. Blend. roll on floured surface. Finish pressing into approximately 12″ x 18″ jelly roll pan. Cut before baking at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cut again before cooling. Serves 550-600.

Tags: , , ,

« Older entries § Newer entries »