Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

ed"
pledge."
existed."
cheek"
soul"
Retrospect of Covenanting
Rev. Roy Blackwood
Saturday Evening Address before the Grinnell Conference
THE PROVING TIMES
(Continued from last week)
Satan returned in this next inning at the head
of an army of blood-thirsty dragoons. The whole of
Scotland became a hunting ground: 18,000 men,
women and children, by an undenied 20th century
estimate, were killed for 'owning the Covenants."
The king was trying now to force his will over
the consciences of the people and the great ques
tion was; could they stand the sword The thumb
screws were brought from Russia; the Guillotine
from France and mercenaries from everywhere.
The men of those PROVING TIMES are an import
ant phase of the highlights of covenanting.
Dr. Landell described, ".
. .the men who form
ed the torrent. .
.the center and soul of the move
ment . . . who gave it its vitality and strength. . .the
liigh-souled men who loved their Bibles and believed
in God. With them the signing of the covenant was
no idle vaporing, no meaningless ceremony. .
-was done in grim earnest in the sight of God. And
when politicians trimmed and compromised and selfseeking
men betrayed the Covenant. . .and the un
thinking rabble changed sides, these men under all
changes, continued faithful to their
The Marquis of Argyle and James Guthrie died
the same week in Edinburgh in 1611. A host of
others followed: Brown of Priesthill, Paton the
soldier, Cameron the Lion of the Covenant, Peden,
the prophet; Margarets McLaughlin and Willson
drowned in the Solway Tide; Isobel Allison bravest
of women ; Cargill the strong !
Thousands of others, no less worthy James
Renwick last of all. That land is yet today "flower
with the graves of martyrs. Any traveler can
see their tombstones in the open fields where they
fell as he drives along the roads of Scotland. They
"loved not their lives unto the death."
They were not fanatics. Their zeal was in all
things tempered with knowledge scriptural know
ledge! They Believed on Christ and therefore testi
fied, and for that testimony were often called on to
suffer for His sake.
They daily wrestled with God in secret in their
own private closets and poured out their hearts to
Him in prayer. They fed their souls with the meat
of His Word. Family worship was regularly held
with "the great 'ha Bible" read by father. Nothing
could keep them from public worship; storm, miles,
dragoons, business, nor expediency!
The sacraments were always attended
to-^even
when it meant the risk of mingling their own
blood with that of the Saviour's in the communion
cup. The marks by
which the dragoons were to
know them were their having a Bible in their hands,
being found at prayer, or going to a conventicle.
Their principles were condemned, their methods
questioned and public deeds criticized but none have
dared to question their private lives not even their
20th century persecutors.
They did a magnificent work. They delivered
their church from a debasing priesthood, and they
166
.it
emancipated their country from the galling yoke
of popish and episcopal domination even when it
meant taking the sword to defend their souls and
church and nation.
Their sermons burn with a fervent and personal
gospel appeal that almost every historian has ignor
ed! Thousands were turned to Christ at those con
venticles, and in spite of persecution they grew in
numbers because of men "closing with Christ." They
bore an abundant fruit in the midst of adversity.
A recent critic admitted of Cargill that "He preach
ed a fervent gospel to the individual and that
often, "there was scarce a dry in his audi
ence. That same critic said, "On the whole, save
within the bounds of the Covenanting movement,
religion in Scotland was practically dead, and among
the Covenanters, a deep and fervent religious life
They suffered mockery, torture, imprisonment,
false trials, and through it all evinced the Spirit
that comes only from trust in God, in Christ, and
His promises. "God and our Country" was their
motto; and if you'll place Cameron's Apologetical
Declaration beside our Declaration of Independence,
you'll find whole thoughts and words which are
similar. Pro Christo et Patria is not a new motto
in our church!
These men knew that nothing could keep them
"from the love of Christ Jesus their Lord." For
them the scaffold was a step toward heaven, and
the fire a beacon of victory. Hyslop pictured it
rightly :
When the righteous had fallen, and the combat
had ended
A Chariot of fire through the dark cloud descended
And the souls that came forth out of great tribu
lation,
They mounted the chariots and steeds of salvation.
Glide swiftly, bright spirits, the prize is before ye,
A crown never fading, a kingdom of glory.
But it's the cause and not the blood that makes
the martyr. According to their first printed "Tes
timony,"
these men believed:
First : Salvation by the free sovereign grace of God,
through faith in Jesus Christ.
Second: The SOLE authority of the Bible in all mat
ters of religion and right of all men to own Bibles.
Third: Sole headship of Christ over the church.
Fourth: The Headship of Christ over nations.
Fifth: Right to resist civil rulers when their ac
tions jeopardized men's souls.
Sixth: These beliefs were welded together in one
compact unit with the men who held them, the God
who authorized them, the Christ they glorified, and
the Spirit who directed them; by means of a cove
nant.
They saw in covenanting the God-appointed
means of professing, advancing, and maintaining the
cause of the reformation; and of comforting and
fortifying the church in times of trial.
These men of the covenant were not perfect.
COVENANTER WITNESS