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December 3: First Covenant Subscribed (1557)

3 December, 2014 in December 2014 by Wayne Sparkman | No comments

“The first godly band” 

A covenant can most easily be thought of as a contract between God and man. As Presbyterianism was gaining ground in Scotland, so too the understanding of covenants. So it is that those Scottish Presbyterians, who came to be known as Covenanters, sought to bind themselves under a series of covenants, seeking to uphold Presbyterian doctrine, worship and government as the only expression of religion in the land.

It was in response to the perception that Roman Catholicism was attempting to regain its position in Scotland, by way of royal marriage, that the first “band” or covenant was signed. A document of great importance in connection with the history of the Reformation in Scotland, what is today known as the First Covenant of Scotland bound its signatories to uphold and promote “the blessed work of God and his Congregation [i.e., the Protestants] against the Congregation of Satan” [i.e., the Roman Catholics]. Among those signing the covenant were the Earls of Argyll, Morton, Glencairn and John Erskine of Dun. The text of this First Covenant follows:

The First Covenant of Scotland. At Edinburgh, 1557.

WE perceiving how Satan in his members, the Antichrists of our time, cruelly do rage, seeking to overthrow and destroy the Gospel of Christ, and his Congregation, ought, according to our bounden duty, to strive in our Master’s Cause, even unto the death, being certain of the Victory in him: The which our duty being well considered, We do promise before the Majesty of God, and his Congregation, That we (by his grace) shall with all diligence continually apply our whole power, substance, and our very lives, to maintain, set forward, and establish the most blessed Word of God, and his Congregation: And shall labour according to our power, to have faithful Ministers, truly and purely to minister Christ’s Gospel and Sacraments to his people. We shall maintain them, nourish them, and defend them; the whole Congregation of Christ, and every Member thereof according to our whole powers, and waging of our lives, against Satan and all wicked power that doth intend Tyranny or trouble against the foresaid Congregation. Unto the which holy Word, and Congregation, we do join us; and so do forsake and renounce the Congregation of Satan, with all the superstitious abomination and idolatry thereof. And moreover, [we] shall declare ourselves manifestly enemies thereto, By this our faithful Promise before God, testified to this Congregation by our Subscription at these Presents.

At Edinburgh, the third of December, anno 1557. God called to witness.

A. Earle of Argyle.
Glencarne.
Mortoun.
Archibald, Lord of Lorne.
Iohn Erskin of Dun,
Et cetera.

Then in God’s providence, within just a few years, this was the picture throughout Scotland:

“. . . In Scotland we hear that there have been some disturbances, I know not of what kind, respecting matters of religion; that the nobles have driven out the monks and taken possession of the monasteries; that some French soldiers of the garrison have been slain in a riot, and that the Queen was so incensed as to proclaim the banishment of the preacher Knox by sound of horn, according to the usual custom in Scotland, when they mean to send any one into exile. What has become of him I know not,” . . . .London, May 1559.

“. . . Everything is in a ferment in Scotland. Knox, surrounded by a thousand followers, is holding assemblies throughout the whole kingdom. The old Queen (dowager) has been compelled to shut herself up in the garrison. The nobility, with united hearts and hands, are restoring religion throughout the country, in spite of all opposition. All the monasteries are everywhere levelled with the ground; the theatrical dresses, the sacrilegious chalices, the idols, the altars, are consigned to the flames; not a vestiage of the ancient superstition and idolatry is left.” — London, August 1, 1559.

” . . . The Scots have in their camp the preachers Knox and Goodman, and they call themselves the ‘Congregation of Christ.’ Their next step was to send to the Queen to retire from Leith, if she would not be driven from thence by force and violence. And from this time they began to treat an alliance with England.” — London, Dec. 1, 1559.

[excerpted from letters of Bishop Jewel to Peter Martyr]

Words to Live By:
It is the Lord who raises up kings, and who brings down nations. (Judg 2:16; Isa. 9:11; Prov. 21:1). More importantly, salvation belongs to the Lord (Ps. 3:8; Jonah 2:9). When the Lord turns His face toward us, we shall be saved. When the Lord sovereignly sends His Spirit, then and only then might a nation be called back from sin and destruction to repentance and godliness. When Reformation came to Scotland, it was the work of the Lord and not the work of men. Pray the Lord would so move across this earth again. Pray that Christ would be lifted up, that all men might be drawn to Him.

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December 1: Rev. John Paton

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

Licensed to Preach the Gospel

Having had one post already on John Paton, we consider another from his remarkable life. It was on this day, December 1, 1857, that he was licensed to be a preacher of the gospel by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland. It would be just four months later that he would be ordained as a minister of the gospel. But what is significant about this date in December is that he had already been faithfully carrying on the work of the gospel as  a home missionary with the Glasgow City Mission in Glasgow, Scotland.

The latter city mission advertises itself even now as the world’s first City Mission, having begun in 1826. His ministry with them was that of working in one of the poor and downtrodden neighborhoods of that city, seeking to lead its citizens to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Yes, temporal needs were to be provided to them. But as the slogan on the city mission states, “Providing hope for Today, Tomorrow, Eternity.” And clearly the need was great, for as Paton wrote on page 55 of his Autobiography, “in many of its closets and courts, sins and vice walked about openly—naked and not ashamed.”

Upon being assigned to his particular neighborhood, Paton sums up his ministry as “being expected to spend four hours daily in visiting from house to house, holding small prayer meetings amongst those visited, calling them together for evening meetings, and trying by all means to do whatever good was possible amongst them.”

After the first year of fairly exhausting labors in their midst, John Paton could count on the fingers of one hand the number of people who attended his public meetings.  But then the site of those meetings was hardly inviting in that it was, in his words, “a hay loft under which a cow feeder kept a large number of cows, and which was reached by an outside rickety wooden stairs.” (p. 56). Finding so little spiritual fruit, the directors of the city mission planned to move the young missionary to a more promising neighborhood, but John Paton begged for more time, even six months longer. Thankfully the directors agreed, and within that time, attendance doubled and then doubled again. Particularly helpful was the move to buildings purchased for the ministry by Dr. Symington’s congregation, where Rev. Paton was a member.

Notice, dear reader, the following description of his work there: On Sunday morning at 7 am, Paton offered a Bible study, which was eventually attended by 70 to 100 people. No day off on Monday either! Another Bible study was offered on Monday night. Wednesday was the weekly prayer meeting. Thursday brought a Shorter Catechism class, which turned into a Communicant’s class for church membership. Seven members from this theological class eventually entered the ministry. Friday night was a Singing class, which taught church music to the attendees. And Saturday night was a Total Abstinence class for the many drunkards in the neighborhood. All together, some five to six hundred residents regularly attended meetings led by Rev. Paton. Whew!

And yes, during this busy schedule, John Paton continued on with his own education at the University of Glasgow, the Reformed Presbyterian Divinity Hall, and also classes in medicine at the Andersonian College. God’s Spirit was doing much with this young man, and would do much for him in the future.

Words to Love By: 
John Paton said, “I was sustained by the lofty aim which burned all these year bright within my soul, namely—to be qualified a preacher of the Gospel of Christ, to be owned and used by Him for the salvation of perishing [men and women].” ( p. 82)  Oh, how the visible church today, even the local congregation where you yourself are a member, needs people who have as their aim in life, that of being “owned and used by Him” for the salvation of others. Pray with us, will you, that the Lord of the harvest will send laborers into the fields.

And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.“—Luke 10:2, ESV.

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November 28: The Battle of Rullion Green

28 November, 2014 in Uncategorized by davidtmyers | No comments

The Time Was Not Ripe

This mysterious phrase is found on a stone memorial on the grounds of the Battle of Rullion Green which is located eight miles south of Edinburgh, Scotland. It tells the tragic story of defeat in the first battle of the Scot Covenanters—Presbyterians all—against the English government of Charles II.

This battle was part of the Killing Times era of Scottish Covenanters. In essence, the Anglican government had declared war against the Presbyterians of Scotland, asking for unconditional surrender on their part. Their pastors—some 400 of them—had been ejected from their pulpits, their manses, and their parishes. When some of them began to preach to their people in the fields and moors, that whole scene became a dangerous practice, with fines leveled against the attenders, and imprisonment and death as well. All that was needed was a spark to ignite the smoldering indignation of the Scottish people of God.

That spark occurred on November 13, 1666 when an old man by the name of John Grier was accosted by the soldiers of the English government. Unable to pay a fine for his absence from his church with its Anglican curate in the pulpit, he was beaten severely that day. Four local Covenanters  happened upon the scene, and tried first to reason with the soldiers. When that failed, words turned to actions, and one of the soldiers was shot. Other villagers joined in the fray and took the solders prisoners. At this point, the Covenanters numbered ninety people.

Aware of the danger posed by their actions, they marched to Dunfries, Scotland, where they attacked other soldiers, killing one in the process. By this time, their numbers had reached two hundred and fifty. On the way, they captured Sir James Turner, the overall military commander in the area. Continuing further, they encountered a soldier friend by the name of James Wallace, who had experience in warfare. He and his military subordinates joined the Covenanter crowd. They then headed to Edinburgh, the capital city, to find more support for their actions to stop “the killing times,” though to their surprise, the weapons of the citizens were turned against them. The time was not ripe for a rebellion against English rule, evidently, despite their numbers having reached some three thousand or more by this time.

The English government dispatched General Thomas Daiziel against them, who with an army of 3000 (some sources say 5000 soldiers), marched after them. The Covenanter force, with their inadequate weapons and supplies, began to fail, with many deserting the force, leaving some 900 left to do battle. On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 28, 1666, on a long slope in the country side south of Edinburgh, three thrusts by the government forces eventually brought a crushing of the valiant forces of the Covenanters. Some fifty were killed, including two Presbyterian ministers from Ulster. But that was only the beginning of the killing done that day. A bloody retribution was exacted upon the prisoners, including starvation, death by handing, and sending many on prison ships to the American colonies and the West Indies.

Words to Life By:
On the monument which marks the battlefield, there is carved a biblical text from Revelation 12:11, which reads, “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”  Another inscription reads,

“A cloud of witnesses lyes here,
who for Christ’s interest did not appear,
For to restore true Liberty
Overturned then by Tyrany
and by Proud Prelates who did rage
Against the Lord’s own heritage.
Their sacrifices were for the Laws
of Christ their king,  his noble cause,
These heroes fought with great renown,
By falling got the Martyr’ Crown.”

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November 21: Second Reformation of the Church of Scotland (1638)

21 November, 2014 in November 2014 by davidtmyers | No comments

Principles of the Second Reformation of Scotland (1638)

The readers of these posts should be familiar with the first Reformation in Scotland, featuring John Knox and others who raised the bar of God’s truth to the people and basically led the entire nation out of Romanism. The second Reformation, which began at a General Assembly meeting on November 21, 1638 in Glasgow, Scotland, and continued for ten tumultuous years afterward, was in essence a reformation from Prelacy. [Prelacy is defined as the government of the Christian Church by “clerics of high social rank and power.”]

We have an excellent presentation of the Principles of the Second Reformation presented in a lecture by the Rev. Dr. Andrew Symington, a minister of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Delivered in 1841 in Glasgow under the auspices of the Society for Promoting the Scriptural Principles of the Second Reformation, he gave a long lecture of the six principles of that reformation.  The whole address is much too long for our purposes here, but this writer will give them in succinct form for your reading pleasure. Click here if you wish to read the full lecture.

First, the Second Reformation placed as foremost the universal supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Dr. Symington noted that the Lord Jesus “is given to be the head of all things to the church. The church is Christ’s. He has loved her, redeemed her, chartered her, and given  her a constitution, immunities, and laws, and officers.”

Another leading principle is the spiritual independence of the church of Christ. Symington added that “the church receives the doctrines of her faith, the institutions of her worship, her polity, and her discipline from Jesus Christ, independently of all foreign authority.”

The third principle, the supreme and ultimate authority of the word of God in the church, was in effect a summary of the Second Reformation. Its people and adherents, said Dr. Symington, “brought every matter of faith, worship, discipline, and government, to the test of the divine word.”

Next, another principle of the Second Reformation was “the subjection of nations to God and to Christ.”  Rev. Symington was clear that “civil authority should acknowledge Divine Revelation, bow at the footstool of Jesus’ throne, and erect its constitution, enact its laws, and conduct its administration, in subservience to the interests of the kingdom of Christ.”

Fifth, the duties of covenanting with God, and the obligation of religious covenants were important. Historically, that General Assembly meeting in Glasgow in 1638 began with a repetition of the National Covenant of Scotland and the Solemn League and Covenant.  Such covenanting “united friends . . . in the bonds of truth.”

And last, these Presbyterians of centuries ago, acted upon the principle of holding fast past attainments, advancing in reformation, and extending its blessings to others.”  We Presbyterians in the United States can be thankful that they “cast their eyes abroad, contemplating the enlargement of the Kingdom of the Savior.”

Words to Live By:
Rev. Symington stated the obvious when he said that the church of God, since it was first established in Eden, has never had a very lengthy period of prosperity. Yet it is also true that we can reflect on our Savior’s promise to the church in Matthew 16:18 that “the gates of Hades will not overpower” the church.  Let us be comforted in this promise even as we seek to extend her witness to the nations around us.

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October 1: Parliament evicts 400 Presbyterian pastors from Scotland (1662)

1 October, 2014 in October 2014 by davidtmyers | No comments

Suppose . . . just suppose now  . . . the government, whether national, regional, or local, would arrive one Sunday to your congregational worship, your Presbyterian church, to check  up on the church attendance that morning, or evening  After the sermon, an individual would have a listing of all the members of your  church, and proceed to read the names of the family members. Those missing from the attendance that day would be marked at absent. The absentees would then have a fine given to the head of the home to pay within a certain time. If any were not able to pay that fine, then a company of  soldiers would take up their quarters at that home, proceeding to devastate the food supplies, clothes supplies, and anything else of value in the home. After a time, what they had not used in their possession time in the home, they would leave, but not before they destroyed all that which was left. Surely, such a practice would not be tolerated in any civilized nation, but this is exactly what was the case in the land of Scotland in 1662. It began with the great ejection of Presbyterian ministers, some 400 pastors in all, from their pulpits and manses and parishes.
It was called the Act of Glasgow on October 1, 1662. The Privy Council met to deal with what they believed was a gross disrespect of Anglicanism. No funds were being collected and given for the upkeep of the Anglican bishops. So this proclamation was passed to banish from their churches and parishes all Presbyterian ministers who had been ordained since 1649. The Act was published on October 4, 1662, ordering all Presbyterian ministers to withdraw themselves and their families from their manses and parishes by November 1, forbidding them to reside within the bounds of their respective presbyteries. Part of  their reasoning  came because they were incapable of reasoning rightly in their minds. Why? Because there was only one sober delegate at the meeting. All the rest were drunk. For this reason, it was known in history as the Drunken Act of Glasgow.
The Anglican authorities were astonished at their commitment to their faith. I mean, it was right before the onset of winter. Surely, there would be an immediate support of the Anglican order in the cities and towns and country. But four hundred clergy immediately left their pulpits, manses, parishes, and went out into the wilderness . . . despite the winter upon them. Two hundred churches immediately closed their doors for lack of both preachers and people.
There was unmitigated shock in the established Anglican church. To attempt to keep open the doors, hundreds of what was called “raw untaught young men” were brought in to succeed the ejected clergy. Even a bishop complained that “they were ignorant to a reproach, with many of them as incapable as they were welcome.” In some cases, their arrival were met by a shower of stones, and with the church door being barricaded on the Lord’s Day.
At first, the masses of Scottish Presbyterians left their parishes to attend the older pastors who were ordained before 1649. But love for their own pastors who were forced to preach in the fields and the moors began to garner their presence in worship. Fines, imprisonment, and even death did not prevent their attendance. Some were branded on the cheek and sent as slaves to . . . the American colonies. It was a terrible time to be a Scottish Presbyterian.
Words to Live By:
John M’Main best summarizes our feelings in relations to the Covenanters.  How can we read such a post like this,  “without blushing for our low attainments and small proficiency in the school of Christ!  How unlike we are to them!  How zealous were they for the honor of Christ! How lukewarm are we, of whatever profession or denomination! How burning were their love to Him, His truths, ordinances, and people! How cold is ours! How selfish and worldly are we!”  May a post from church history, from This Day in Presbyterian History, be used by the Holy Spirit to cause us to examine ourselves, to confess our sins of commission and omission, to seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit once again, to rededicate our lives to King Jesus again, to be the salt and light of the world once again, in that place where we are, by God’s grace.

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