^JS^of™^ -^OGjCM^^V^"^ BX^9u6l .Jd Ido"/ Johnston, John C. Treasury of the Scottish covenant TREASU RY OF THE Scottish Covenant. REV. JOHN C. JOHNSTON, DUNOON. EDINBURGH : ANDREW ELLIOT, 17 PRINCES STREET I SS7. TO MRS. ROBERT SMITH, OF O L A S r: O \V, W//0 DiKit AT II Afros IIovsK, Dc.\0'>.\, AciiCST lOr/f, 136S. INHERITING NO SMALL MEASURE OF THE SPIRIT WHICH CHARACTERISED THE LADIES OF THE COVENANT, SHE BEFRIENDED THE ORPHAN ; RECLAIMED MANY A VICTIM OF INTEMPERANCE ; AND PKOVED A WARM-HEARTED AND GENEROUS SUPPORTER OF EVANGELISTIC EFFOKT AT HOME, AND <»F BIP.LE AND MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AP>RuAD. AND TO MRS. NISBET, OF CLVTHA. HILL, DCXOON, OF LIKE COVENANTING SPIRIT. A "SUCCOURER OF MANY,' AND " OUR HELPER IN CHRIST." PREFACE. ^HI8 book is not intended to furnish a history of the Covenant; but, as its name imports, to constitute a Treasury, or repertory, whence those who are interested in the study of the subject may derive what knowledge they seek, or find a sign-post pointing to it elsewhere, — and where likewise they may discover somewhat of the wealth of Covenanting literature, as indicated by the '' treasures '' gathered together into this storehouse from different lands and from different periods of time. The object which the compiler has had in view has been to present a picture, based on the best of all testimony, of the religious life of Scotland, from the period of the Reformation to the present time, and particularly to supply the youth of the land — fast acquiring a taste in too many instances for light reading — with a work bearing upon the history of their country, such as the writer himself would have been pleased to meet with a quarter of a century ago : — to wit, a volume embodying the chief historic documents^ connected with a period of Scottish history full of incident, and spiritually bracing and invigorating ; — containing, secondly, an enumeration and specification of the. principal literary productio7is of the Covenanters in the course of the long-sustained and heroic resistance offered by them to the spiritual despotism which was sought to be thrust upon them, and in defence of our civil and religious liberties ; — supplying likewise such notices of confessors and martyrs, — of heroic men and women, — of gentle and humble birth, — as might be calculated to provoke emulation on the part of their descendants, check downward tendency, rebuke indifferentism, and urge to still higher advances along the lines of true national progress ; together with such references to scenes, incidents, and objects of interest as might induce young men and women to visit the rich Covenanting shrines of Scotland, and draw courage and inspiration from the memories and associa- tions of events bygone. VI PREFACE. Many of the documents here given at length, it is true, — much of the literature connected with the Covenant can only be regarded now in the light of curiosity, — can be preserved only as the pot of manna, which was " laid up before the Lord," or like the sword of Goliath, as a trophy of the victory gained over the Philistines. But the thoughtful observer will perceive that our boasted liberties have been secured in part by the aid of humble instrumentality of a literary kind as really as by such heavy artillery as " Lex Rex," Gillespie's "Dispute," or the " Informatory Vindication." Some of the documents, however, — indeed all of them, — will bear to be read in the light of the nineteenth century, and very specially as the two hundredth anniversary of the "glorious" Revolution approaches. Not that the writer is one of those who imagine that Scotland has been lying under a curse far the space of two hundred years, — who maintain that nothing will be right politically or religiously till we return as a nation to every iota of the Covenant and to every mode of action set in operation by our forefathers. The truth is that the Covenant, piire and simple, is as little adapted to the present age as the lamps and pitchers whereby God delivered the Midianites into the hands of Gideon would be found adapted to modern warfare. These were the right weapons in an age long bygone, when the cry was "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." And the Scottish Covenant, with its watchword also, has been an instrumentality as manifestly owned and blessed of God in times less ancient. We are now, however, in advance of the Covenant ; and were the Covenanters to rise out of their graves at this moment we feel convinced they would have no compunction in regarding as laggards such individuals as they chanced to find clinging unreasonably to the past, vainly endea- vouring to stereotype any particular age, however good. On the other hand we feel assured they would search out " the men of Issachar," to whatever Church they belonged — "men that had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do." But while we are done with the Covenant, as a weapon defensive and ofiensive, we are not done — and never can be — with the history of the Covenant, or with the lessons of that history. No more can we afford to lose sight of the spiritual advantages procured for us through the blood of the martyrs than we can afford to forget the memories associated with Stirling Bridge or Bannockburn. Nor is it to the credit of our schools and universities that our sons and daughters are made familiar with the heroes of ancient Greece and Rome, while they are taught to know so little comparatively about Knox and Melville, — and almost nothing of the brave men overshadowed by these names, some of them scarcely inferior : — Welsh, Bruce, Douglas, Henderson, Rutherford, George Gillespie, Patrick Gillespie, Durham, Dickson, James Guthrie, William Guthrie, Peden, and others — men who have made their country great, and who have sown the seeds of a harvest that will be reaped in all time coming. While we are under obligation to the Covenanters for much, we are especially indebted to them for the Evangelical doctrine that is preached in our pulpits, and for the spiritual life that, in consequence, throbs in our hearts. Our Covenanting forefathers contended for trifles indeed if they fought for anything short of this. But it was for this mainly that the battle was waged along the whole line of march from the Reformation to the Revolution. "This controversy," spake Gillespie truly, "rises to the heavens, and its summit is above the clouds." It has been for this " evangel," too — promulgated first by Wishart and Knox — that, with some little change of front, the controversy has been maintained in the providence of God on Scottish soil from the Revolution down to the present time. This Evangelical element the compiler of the present work has had pleasure in tracing along the divided stream of Scottish Presbyterianism. If the pleasure has not always been unalloyed, he has found compensation in the hope which he has been led to cherish that at no very distant day — the tide of Christian senti- ment having set in — the separate streams of our common Presby- terianism and common Evangelism will again "see and flow together." While he has contemplated Scottish ecclesiastical life from the stand-point of the Church to which he has the honour to belong — a Church second to none in warm admiration of the Covenanters, and yielding to none in the maintenance and advocacy of the great principles of civil and religious liberty for which they sufiered — he has endeavoured to commend true excellence wherever he has seen it, and to admire sacrifice for the sake of principle wherever he has found it. He is aware that some Christians in the land lay claim to being regarded the true successors of the vm PREFACE. Covenanters. That claim he cannot but respect. He is aware also that certain others would dispute the right of the United Presbyterian Church of the nineteenth century to any share in the glorious traditions of the past. But our sturdy Covenanting forefathers built the wall in troublous times, and reared the stronghold of our precious Christian liberties, even when to not a few they seemed to be pulling the spiritual fabric to pieces. The best part of the Church of Scotland — its very strength and life — lay long under the ban, alike of Church and State, until it rose and triumphed at the Revolution of 1688. And when the King of Zion shall again appear in glory "to gather together the dispersed of Judah " in a truer bond than that which united them two hundred years ago, the scattered children will once more be reckoned among the builders, and find their acknowledged place in the House of God. The "Treasury" is little more than a compilation. As such, however, it is the result of many years' leisure reading, from which, next to the exercise of his ministry, the compiler has derived heartfelt pleasure and satisfaction. The publication of the work has been very much a labour of love. Ifc is now sent forth in this compact form, in the hope that the student of history, the preacher of the " evangel," the teacher in day-school or Sabbath - school, the patriot, the philanthropist, the theologian in the pew, and the Christian at the fireside, may, each and all, find it a storehouse of "goodly pearls." It is all but impossible that such a publication can be free from mistake, but no pains have been spared to secure accuracy throughout. The writer at one time hoped to be favoured with an Intro- duction to the "Treasury" from the pen of the late Professor John Ker, D.D., but in this, alas! he has been disappointed. To the many friends of the Covenant who have, by living voice or pen, supplied information or contributions for the " Treasury," the Editor tenders his best thanks. He has taken the liberty of publishing part of a letter written by the late Ptev. William B. Robertson, D.D., Irvine, in response to a request for such a contribution. J. C. J. Dunoon, December, 1886. CONTENTS. Introdcctiox, 13 Elements of Scottish Xatioxality, 14 I. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS, Etc., 21 Early Religious Bands, 23 The Scottish Parliament of 1560, . - . . - 28 The First General Assembly, 32 The First Book of Discipline, .-.--. 3") The Second Book of Discipline, 44 The King's Confession of Faith, 48 The Black Acts, 53 The Great Charter of Presbytery, 54 Renewal of King's Confession or Covenant, - - - 58 Assembly at Aberdeen, 60 The Five Articles of Perth, 67 The National Covenant of Scotland, .... 78 The Glasgow Assembly, 88 The Solemn League and Covenant, 97 The Westminster Assembly, 105 The Restoration of Episcopacy, 121 The Disruption of 1662, 124 Rutherglen Declaration, 131 Queensferry Paper, 134 Sanquhar Declaration, - - 141 Lanark Declaration, - - 144 The Revolution, 149 X COXTENTS. PACK The Eevolution Settlement, 150 The Reformed Presbyterian Church, . . - - 161 The Secession Church, - - - 165 The Church of Relief, 171> Voluntaryism, --.----.-. 1S5 The Established Church, 193 State-Churchism, 197 The Free Church, - 209 Spiritual Independence, 214 Act Abolishing Patronage, 222 Unions of 187G, 230 Reconstruction of Presbyterianism, 234 II. BIBLIOGRAPHY: The Literature of the Covenant, 230 1. Literature of the Reformers and Early Covenanters- George WisHART to James Durhaji, - - - 241-320 2. Literature of the Later Covenanters- James Guthrie to the Earl of Argyll, - - 321-411 3. Literature of the Post-Revolution Period — Historians of the Covenant, 423 Established Church Literature, 438 Reformed Presbyterian Church Literature, - - 451 Secession Church Literature, - - - - - 465 Eree Church Literature, 499 Non-Presbyterian and General Literature, - - 531 4. Poetical Literature, and Tales of the Covenant- Poems, - - 543 Ballads and Songs, 555 Miscellaneous Poetry, 566 Tales of the Covenant, 573 CONTENTS. XI PAOK III. MISCELLANEA, r^7\> 1. Prisons of the Scottish Covenanters, . . . . 581 2. Martykology ok the Covenant, 59r> Martyrs of the Reformation, 595 Martyrs of the Covenant : Men, 59G John Brown of Priesthill, ()02 The Women of the Covenant, 605 The Wigtown Martyrs, 610 3. Tombstones and Monuments of the Covenanters, - - 617 List of Places, 618 In Memoriam : Tributes to the Covenanters, - - 628 4. Eeliques of the Covenant, 631 In Museum of Society of Antiquaries, Etc., - - 632 Lists of Copies of Covenants, 636 Lochgoin Relics, Etc., 638 Bibles, . . . G40 Banners, Swords, Etc., 641 5. The Covenant in Art, - 647 Conclusion— Retrospect, 652- Do., Forecast, 6.54 General Index, 663 Pafife 274, line 12 from top, for Jolm read Alexander. .. 421, line 2 from top, for caluminous read calumnious. .. 434, line 3 from top should read, His sort wrote, etc. ,, 473, line 7 from bottom, for William Wilson, read James Fisher. I Westfield House, West Calder, March 26, 18S6. My Dear Mr. Johnston, . . . Health somewhat broken by this severe winter, the spring is hardly repairing, for which and other reasons I am out on strike, and " bound over to keep the peace." Whether the warmer sunrise of mid- summer may not draw forth some sounds from the old battered statue, I don't know. You say my friends may have left Dunoon before another summer, which I am very sorry to hear ; but so long as you are there . may I not always count on having a few friends, who will not deny me their affection, as they are very sure of mine ? Now I won't be in Dunoon, or near it, without if possible seeing you, but the preaching — should not that be left to the "sons of the prophets" that distinguish themselves . . . while we older men walk up to our privileges and aim at becoming more what we should be, as sicift fo hear and slow to speak ? I have never attacked the Covenanters, and don't know so much about them as I will do after your " Treasury " comes out. It is a happy thought, and you will work it out so as to make us all your debtors. If you would visit the moors and mosses between this and Glasgow, where the troopers were often bogged, and "the Earth helped the Woman," come on by rail to Newpark Station, and you will find a right hearty, joyous welcome, and better fare at least than Covenanters had. Only let me know a day beforehand, to make sure of my being at home, which, among other uncertainties of health may sometimes be, as the weather groM's finer, a little uncertain. But I could come home, and would do so gladly, if not at too great a distance, if I knew the time. Believe me, with warmest regards, Yours very truly, (Signed) W. B. ROBERTSON. TKEASUKY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT, INTRODUCTION-SCOTTISH NATIONALITY. I seek upon the height.s of time tlie source Of a holy rivei*, ou whose banks are found Sweet pastoral flowers, and laurels, that have crowned Full oft the unworthy brow of lawless force; Where, for delight of him who tracks its course, Immortal amaranth and palms abound. — Wordncorth. SCOTLAND, regarded socially, morally, and religiously, occu- pies a foremost place in the rank of the nations of the world. This pre-eminence is due to a variety of causes. As the broad rivers of the valleys, which find their beginnings in remote and sometimes inaccessible upland fastnesses receive contributions notwithstanding from many rills, and these not seldom from opposite mountain sides, so the stream of our national greatness has its spring— its well-spring — in the remote past, and also its tributary streams in connection with events more related to the present. If we would trace our national blessings to their primal source, we must not stop at any intermediate point on the journey ; we must go beyond the period, which it is the object of the pages of this book to magnify. For the events connected with the Covenant have their roots in a remoter time. The second Reformation brings up the first. Even at the first Refor- mation we can only pause, along with the other free-born nations of Europe, to thank God for scattering the mists of superstition that enveloped the land during the night of Popish ascendency. For that night, long and dark though it seemed, obtained not from the beginning, but on the contrary closed in upon a period of history bright and luminous. Popery is essentially arrogant in its pretensions to antiquity; but it can really claim as Dr. M'Lauchlan has well shown in his " History of the Early Scottish Church" — but four of the nineteen Christian centuries of Scottish history, namely, the period between 1150, when King David forced a Romish establishment upon the people, and 1550, when this establishment was overturned "by the resuscitation of old Scottish principles at the Reformation." Beyond this we have the entire history of the old Columban and Culdee Church, a history intensely interesting ; and back of that again the period 14 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. of the primitive British Church, and the story, not so easily told, of the planting of Christianity in the kingdom. But while we travel back to the beginning of the Christian era ; while we seek to find, in the great Reformation of the sixteenth century, the secret of a deeper evangelical life possessed by us, in common with other nations, it must be admitted that there is not a little that is distinctive, pre-eminent it may be affirmed, in the features of Scottish religious life at the present time. Water takes the shape of the crystal into which it is poured. The river follows the particular trend of the valley through which it flows. Sometimes it is broken by falls; at other times it meets and mingles in its onward course with the waters of a lake hid in the recesses of the mountains whose bosom lies open to receive the influences of the sun by day and the dews and rains by night. This land of ours, both in a literal and metaphorical sense, is "the land of the mountain and the flood." For her distinguishing excellence, Scotland is indebted to the noble stand made by her sons and daughters, in bygone days, for Christ's Crown and Covenant. " Scotland," writes the Kev. A. Rattray {Scottish Anmcal, 1859), " occupies a foremost place in the rank of nations. No natural advantages, no mere accidental superiority of position, have given her this honourable pre-eminence. She has won it by her intelligence — she has deserved it by her moral worth — she has achieved it by a series of heroic struggles unsurpassed in the annals of mankind. Scotland has acted a part in the history of the world which can never be forgotten. She has fought the battle of civil and religious freedom, with a constancy and courage which have won for her imperishable fame. That liberty which is our glory and boast, which is the true secret of our greatness, which makes these islands the admiration and envy of the earth — the terror of despots, the consolation and hope of down-trodden nations — the open sanctuary of the oppressed and persecuted, the escaped slave or the banished refugee — that liberty is not of yesterday. It is the growth of ages. It is the heritage of the past. It is the legacy bequeathed to us by the j^atriotism and the piety of our fathers." The various elements which go to make up Scottish nationality, soul and body, may be briefly enumerated. The enumeration will lead forward step by step to the Covenant, the crowning charac- teristic of Scottish nationality. The constituents are these : — Physical Aspect op Country. — While we believe in an over- ruling guidance which divides to the nations their inheritance, and moulds their character, we can see that it makes use of means to gain the result. The features of the country have no doubt had their influence. The brown moorlands and misty hills are SCOTTISH SATIOSALITY. 15 in harmony \vith the grave, and sometimes sombre temperament of the people ; and the sweet romantic dells and hidden nooks of beauty that surprise one, ever and again, in the midst of the barest stretches, are reflected in the tenderness and picturesque- ness of the national lyrics, and in the latent poetry which breaks the hard surface of prevailing reserve among the country po[)u- lation, wherever they are found in their old simplicity. Yet it is easy to make too much of this, — John Ker^ D. D. I may claim the reader's gratitude to the mountains, as having been the centres, not only of imaginative energy but of purity both in doctrine and practice. The enthusiasm of the persecuted Covenanter, and his various modified claims to miraculous pro- tection or prophetic inspiration, hold exactly the same relation to the smooth proprieties of lowland Protestantism, that the demon- combats, fastings, visions, and miracles of the mountain monk or anchorite hold to the wealth and worldliness of the Vatican. — Buskin, " SelectionSj^ p. 309. Mixture of Race. — The mixture of races has been dwelt upon by some, as if that were a preponderating element in our national greatness. Hence has sprung, we are told, that 'perfervidum ingenium, spoken of by George Buchanan for the first time, and referred to by all subsequent writers, so characteristic of the Scottish people. There may be a portion of truth in this also, but it is not difiicult to exaggerate its importance. " On the whole," writes Dr. Ker, " while natural scenery and blood have their influence on national character, there is an agency more powerful than either, that of history. The determining factor in the sphere of humanity is not materialistic, but a free personality, working under the arrangements of a Divine providence." National Freedom. — More closely do we come to the strength and distinguishing characteristics of Scottish nationality when we speak of the heroic struggles of our forefathers for national independence. The fight for national existence begun by Walhice was carried on successfully to completion by Bruce. Their exploits, written in the nation's annals, recorded in heroic verse, or trans- mitted orally from father to son, and from one generation to another, have done much to put one conscious heart and will into the life of the nation. The most interesting of histories is the history of a people's freedom ; for a people become a nation in proportion as they are free. Humanity can only be developed under the conditions of freedom. Despotism imposes intolerable restrictions and limita- tions which render impossible the growth of a proper manhood. The rule of repression, the ostracism of thought and opinion is fatal alike to the interests of the individual, and the interests of society. Human energies to be brought into play must have a clear stage. — Bev. A. Rattray, M.A. 16 TREASUny OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. It was the preservation of its independence that prepared the way for the development of the Reformation principles in the form they have taken in the northern Kingdom. The two periods are in close, one might say logical, connection, and the men who filled them had the same spirit and sinew. Wallace made a nation and Knox a people. The one secured the soil on which the other built up the church polity and in which he implanted the religious principles that have since been associated with the name of Scotland, wherever it is known, and that have given it a place in the world out of all proportion to its extent or population or material resources. But for the war for national independence, the battle for spiritual freedom would have been fought at a great disadvantage, and we should now have been among those in England who are struggling with an overmastering prelatic establishment which denies to all outside of it the most common rights of citizenship and sends ofi' its recruits in increasing numbers to the Church of Rome. Any one who knows how our forefathers defied the Papal interdict in 1317, when it was used ao^ainst their just rights, or who has read the memorable letter of the barons to the Pope, will discern the same spirit which came out in the Solemn League and Covenant, when the Word of God had opened to the Commons of Scotland the conception of a higher freedom than had been fought out centuries before by their forefathers on many a bloody field. The true inheritors of the old Scottish chivalry, who held out on the grim edge of despair till native endurance conquered, were the Camerons and Cargills, who wandered in the very haunts of Ayrshire and the Torwood where Wallace had his retreats; and the Lauderdales and Rotheses, the Middletons and Claverhouses were the successors of the recreant nobles who betrayed their country and its liberty to the foreigner and the tyrant. — John Ker, B.D. Hugh Miller was introduced to the legendary histories of Wallace and Bruce at an early age, and the occupation had its use. It gave him a capacity for admiring what was great though perilous in exploit, and for truly and largely sympathising with what was patriotic and self-sacrificing in character; and so it created a ground-work for his own future thinking and acting. The admira- tion he then bore to these earliest of our Scottish Worthies, who vindicated on Bannockburn and kindred fields Scotland's right to be an independent and free country he afterwards transferred to our later Worthies, whom he revered as greater still. He regarded Knox and Melville as men occupying a yet higher plat- form— as gifted with a yet deeper insight into their country's wants — as, in short, carrying iorward and consummating the glorious task which Wallace and Bruce had but begun. He saw that unless our reformers had come after our heroes, planting schools, founding colleges, and above all, imparting to their countrymen a sciiptural and rational faith, in vain had Wallace SCOTTISH NATIONALITY. 17 laid down his life. Wallace and Bruce had created an indepen- dent country ; Knox and Melville had created an independent people. They were the creators of our Scottish nation — the real enfranchisers of our people. — The Witness. The national religion had got for its base that old spirit of national independence which had ever resented so fiercely all interference from without. — Burton. This independence of the Scottish Church belonged, in fact, to the independence of the Scottish race. It was nurtured, if not produced, by the long previous struggle, first of Wallace, and then of Bruce, which gave to the whole character of the people a defiant self-reliance such as was perhaps not equally impressed on any other kingdom in Europe. The badge of the Church of Scotland, a bush burning but not consumed, was as true a type of Scotland's inexpugnable defence of her ancient liberties, as it was of the Jewish people in their emergence from Egyptian bondage. And so the early history of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland had been one long struggle of dogged resistance to superior power. — Dean Stanley. History and Song. — I come to this land, which, though small, is as full of memories as the heaven is full of stars, and almost as bright. There is not the most insignificant piece of water that does not make my heart thrill with some story of heroism, or some remembered poem ; for not only has Scotland had the good fortune to have had men that knew how to make heroic history, but she has reared those bards who have known how to sing her histories. -//. W. Beecher. Oh, for the pipe of silver sound, On which the shepherd lover, In ancient days, breathed out his soul, Beneath the mouDtain's cover ! Oh, for that great lost Power of Song, So soft and melancholy, To make thy every hill and dale Poetically holy ! And not alone each hill and dale, Fair as they are by nature, But every town and tower of thine, And every lesser feature ; For where is there the spot of earth Within my contemplation, But from some noble deed or thing, Has taken consecration ! Scotland ! the land of all I love. The land of all that love me ; Land, whose green sod my youth has trod, Whose sod shall lie above me. Hail, country of the brave and good ; Hail, laud of song and story ; Land of the uncorrupted heart, Of ancient faith and glory [—Robert Chambers, LL. 1). B 18 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The Reformation. — What gave the Scottish Reformation its character, and what has marked it throughout is, that it was, and is a movement of the people. The sympathies of the men who were its great leaders, and the essence of its truths carried it straight to the popular heart. It took men at once to the Word of God, and taught them to read their rights as Christians and citizens, with a definite place in the Church and the Common- wealth, and its efifect was marvellous in the new spirit it breathed into the old, rude clay of the Scottish nation. But the appeal to the people was in the circumstances a matter of necessity. The Reformation had to meet the frown of royalty in Mary of Guise, her daughter, and her grandson, and was compelled to speak God's Word to kings without fear. The nobles at first aided the cause : some, whose names shine out with honour, from conviction; but many more from a love of the broad lands of the old Church, and when the booty was secured, and persecution arose because of the Word they soon became ofiended. — John Ker, D.D. In the history of Scotland, too, I can find properly but one epoch: we may say, it contains nothing of world-interest at all but this Reformation by Knox. A poor barren country, full of continual broils, dissensions, massacrings ; a people in the last state of rudeness and destitution, little better perhaps than Ireland at this day. It is a country as yet without a soul: nothing developed in it but what is rude, external, semi-animal. And now at the Reformation, the internal life is kindled, as it were, under the ribs of this outward, material death. A cause, the noblest of causes kindles itself, like a beacon set on high, — high as heaven, yet attainable from earth, — whereby the meanest man becomes not a citizen only, but a member of Christ's visible Church \ a veritable hero, if he prove a true man ! This that Knox did for his nation, I say, we may really call a resurrection as from death. It was not a smooth business; but it was welcome surely, and cheap at that price, had it been far rougher. On the whole, cheap at any price ; — as life is. The people began to live : they needed first of all to do that, at what cost and costs soever. Scotch literature and thought, Scotch industry ; James Watt, David Hume, Walter Scott, Robert Burns: I find Knox and the Reformation acting in the heart's core of every one of these persons and phenomena : I find that without the Reforma- tion they would not have been. — T. Carlyle. The Covenant. — Covenanters, in Scottish history, the name applied to a party embracing the great majority of the people, who, during the seventeenth century bound themselves to establish and maintain the Presbyterian doctrine and polity as the sole religion of the country to the exclusion of Prelacy and Popery. There were several successive Covenants similar in spirit and SCOTTISH NATIONALITY. 19 expression, the most important historically being the National Covenant of 1638 and the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643. — Ency. Britannica. Scotland you learn to love passionately. You pace to and fro in the Covenanters' burial grounds; you walk over the fields made classic by Burns and Scott ; you look abroad from Scottish heights upon many a landscape in which no hill rears its head unsung ; you come into close sympathy with her reformers, her orators, her poets, her statesmen; you find the whole heaven of the inner sky in Scotland studded with sacred stars, and you have an inspiration every time you touch but the hem of the garment of the most heroic portions of Scottish religious history. — Joseph Cook. Such a history cannot be too deeply pondered, or too often told. . . . As to its history I need not say that there is in human or in Christian annals none grander, sterner or more pathetic than that of the great religious struggles of Scotland. For their parallel we have to go back to the time when Herod killed James with the sword, and Stephen became first of the noble army of martyrs, — to the days of the catacombs, when the early Church founded a new and a mightier Rome than the old Rome — an empire that went deeper and has spread wider than even its universal sway. Essentially Scottish, having for its marked and massive framework the mountains and moors of that land of heroes and martyrs, as also the market-places and streets of its villages and cities, Cumnock, and Sanquhar, and Rutherglen, as well as Glasgow and Edinburgh ; essentially Scottish, also, with the national independence and courage of Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn transfigured into that of the Pentlands and Drum- clog and Bothwell ; better still, it is essentially human in its noblest types of manhood struggling for freedom ; and best of all, essentially Christian in its marvellous sameness with all struggling and sufiering souls, — in its more marvellous likeness to the struggling and sufiering soul of the great Covenant King and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. — ProJ. W. Graham, D.D. As the cooling breeze braces and invigorates the body enfeebled by the efiects of a tropical clime, so our fellowship with those " ancient worthies " lifts us above the low level of our ordinary business life, strengthens our souls for the resistance of its deteriorating infiuences, strings us up to the performance of nobler deeds. Receiving from our contact with them a healthier moral tone, we return to our ordinary avocations, prepared to do our daily duties in a devouter spirit, and to subordinate our secular work to highest Christian ends. It is with the firmest belief in the attainableness of this result that I ask you to spend a short time in company with the Scottish Covenanters. I am convinced that their history cannot be approached in a reverent, sympathis- ing spirit without exerting a salutary influence. I know not 20 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. where you can find so many of the virtues, which appeal to the sympathies and awaken the admiration of mankind, crowded together into so brief a space. — Dr. Landels. These little matters act the part of tests. Have you love of freedom ? You will watch that it be not infringed even to the smallest iota. But ia fact they were no trifles that then threatened Church and State. A king stopping the expression of public sentiment, and gagging the public courts of the Church, is that a trifle ? A king forcing upon a people a form of religious instruction which in their inmost souls they disapproved, is that a trifle ? A king employing his packed Parliament to do anything and everything that he pleased, is that a trifle ? Our whole civil, our whole religious rights at the foot of one man, is that a trifle ? . . . That kingdom of Scotland, so outlandish a part of the world, so down-trodden by English usurpation, its aff"airs so unimportant that even its civil war of 1638 was unnoticed in the London Gazette, it spoke out for itself. How has the possession of this one truth — of religious freedom, and conjoined with it, of civil freedom — elevated the Covenanters to a moral renown and grandeur. When the memory of James and Charles and Laud is fast passing away, that of the Covenanters is blooming forth afresh ; future ages shall delight to trace to them the dawning of the new day, and shall deck their tombs with immortal laurel. More noble and commanding are those brawny figures that fought at Bothwell Brig and dyed the waters of the stream with their blood than even those of Crusaders wading in gore to Jerusalem, or CaBsar's legions plunging across the Kubicon. — Rev. J. Grierson Scott, Glasgow. We saw much of a general character to interest us, as we prosecuted our pilgrimage ; we picked up not a few wild-flowers by the wayside ; but we hesitate not to confess that the object of our search morning, noon, and evening, during a short autumn holiday, was a Plant of Renown — a plant which, two hundred years ago, grew to goodly dimensions, all the more so that its roots were watered with blood, — a plant which took deep root at the time and filled the land, and under the shadow of whose branches since we have been sitting through many generations, none daring to make us afraid. Nor was our search in vain. XVe found this Plant of Renown in every district through which we passed. The air was laden with its perfume. In some instances we found it far up the mountain slope. At other times we plucked it beside the crystalline spring on the moor, where, as we stooped to drink, we read from "Moorland Rhymes " : — Wha kens but Peden'a haly lip, Or black MacMichael's bearded mou'. At times may hae been fain to dip Where mine but gethert strength enow ? Or, sin' thy sweets are free as grace. E'en Clavers may hae lichtit doon, Het frae some cantrip deevil's chase, And gledly quaff 't thy profiert boon ! — MS. Lectures. Better that Scotland were hacked by Claverhouse for cleaving to the Lord, than that she should be flattered by infidels for her gradual depar- ture from the faith. Let not the blood of the Covenanters be spilt in vain. . . . I am glad you are writing on the " Scots Worthies, " Oh, that Scotland may stand fast in this evil day ! — C. H. Spurgeon. I. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS, CONSISTING OF BANDS, CONFESSIONS, COVENANTS, ACTS OF PARLIAMENT, ACTS OF PRIVY COUNCIL, ACTS OF ASSEMBLY, DECLARATIONS, Etc. 1556 — 1876. History, which proves the responsibility of nations — history adds its chapter to the Sacred Book. It shows how soon the wings of every vulture flapped heavily over the corpse of a nation that had fallen into moral death. . . . Every great historian should be no dull registrar of events, but a prophet, standing like him of old, amid the careless riot and luxuri- ous banqueting of life, and teaching men to decipher that gleaming message of God, written as with the fingers of a man's hand on the parliament of nations and the palaces of kings, that what is morally just must be politically expedient, that "what is morally wrong cannot be politically right." — Farrar, "The Voice of History." MEMORABLE DATES. A.D. Agricola's Invasion of Caledonia, 80 Ancient British Church, 81-410 Palladius sent to the Scots, 430 Death of Ninian at Candida Casa, 432 Columba's Arrival in Iona, 563 Death of Cuthbert at Farne, 687 Period of the Culdees, 700-1200 Church of Rome Established, 1150 The Reformation, 1560 Reformed Church Established, 1567 Death of Knox, 1572 The King's Confession, 1580 New Year changed from 25th March, - - - Jan. 1, 1600 Union of the Crowns, 1603 The Aberdeen Assembly, 1605 Five Articles of Perth Passed, 1618 Laud's Service Book ordered to be used, .... 1637 National Covenant Signed, 1638 The Famous Glasgow Assembly, 1638 The Solemn League and Covenant, 1643 Westminster Assembly of Divines, 1643-1649 The Commonwealth, 1649-1660 Four Hundred Ministers Ejected, 1662 Sanquhar Declaration, 1680 The Revolution, 1688 Union of the Parliaments, 1707 Rise of the Secession, 1733 Rise of Church of Relief, 1752 Rise of Congregationalism, 1797 The Ten Years' Conflict, 1833-1843 The Disruption, 1843 Union of Secession and Relief, 1847 Education Act Passed, 1872 Patronage Abolished, 1874 Union of R. P. Church and Free Church, ... - 1876 HISTORIC DOCUMENTS, When we talk of The Covenanters we refer to those patriotic men of our own country who combined to resist the tyranny of the last two sovereigns of the House of Stuart. Let it not be thought, however, that these were the only men among our forefathers to whom the name applies, as having banded together on behalf of their religion and liberties. To entertain such an opinion would evince a tyro-like ignorance of history. The truth is that the Protestants of Scotland were Covenanters for a century and more ere Charles II. began to persecute, and three years at least anterior to that epoch when the Reformation from Popery obtained the sanction of Parliament. — Ter -Centenary, 2^. 44. The Earliest Religious "Band" in Scotland. 1556. What was actually the first " Band " or Covenant in Scotland, so far as is known, was entered into at Dun in Forfarshire in 1556. This was the seat of the patriotic John Erskine, the friend of Knox and the Reformation. On his first visit to the laird, Knox remained a month, being " daily exercised in preaching whereunto resorted the principal men of the country." This Bond was of a less public character than that which follows, which is usually- styled the First Covenant : — From Calder, John Knox departed the second time to the Laird of Dun, and, teaching them in greater liberty, the gentlemen required that he should minister likewise unto them the table of the Lord Jesus, where were partakers the most part of the gentlemen of the Mearns, who God be praised ! to this day constantly remain in the same doctrine which then they professed, viz., that they refused all society with idolatry, and bent themselves to the uttermost of their powers to maintain the true preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as God should offer unto them preachers and opportunity. — Knox, ^^ History of the Reformation.^' At this time the greater part of the gentlemen of Mearus made profession of the Reformed religion, by sitting down at the Lord's table ; and entered into a solemn and mutual bond, in which they renounced the Popish com- munion, and engaged to maintain and promote the pure preaching of the gospel, as providence should favour them with opportunities. This seems to have been the first of those religious Bonds or Covenants by which the confederation of the Protestants in Scotland was so frequently ratified. Although they have been condemned as unwarranted in a religious point of view, and dangerous in a political, yet are they completely defensible upon the principles both of conscience and of policy. A mutual agreement, compact or covenant is virtually implied in the constitution of every society, civil or religious ; and the dictates of natural law conspire with I he declarations of revelation in sanctioning the warrantableness and propriety of explicit engagements about any lawful and important matter, and of ratifying these, if circumstances shall require it, by formal sub- scription, and by a solemn appeal to the Searcher of hearts. — Dr. M'Crie, *' Life of Knox," p. 110. 24 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. This is his [Knox's] challenge to Scotland, "Neither yet may ye do this so quietly that ye will admit no witnesses." This is his name for the con- gregation in the castle: "The professors of Christ's true evangel." His words took practical shape when the gentlemen of Mearns, after sitting down together at the communion table, entered into a solemn league to promote the preaching of the gospel as opportunity offered. It was among the first applications of a principle, which Knox asserted from the beginning, and for which he contended throughout — the right of subjects to convene, and to combine, for purposes within the law. On the same principle the lords acted in openly furthering the Eeformation, each within his own jurisdiction, when the Regent refused to act as her people's repre- sentative. This was the first Covenant in Scotland : it was not the last. — Barbour, " Ev. Sicc. LecL," II. 61. Ane Godlie Band for maintenance of the Evangel maid BE ye Erle of Argill and uyer noble men, Deceriihery 1557. [The First Covenant.] This is what is described as *' a Common Band " by Knox, and " Ane Godlie Band " by the contemporary hand that endorsed the document. It was subscribed at Edinburgh, 3rd December, 1557, by five noblemen, as follows : — A Erle of Ergyl. Glencarn. MORTOUN. A Lord of Lorne. JOHNNE ErSKYNE OF DOUN. In the " Tercentenary of the Scottish Reformation " there is an interesting account, by Rev. James Young, of an original copy of this Covenant found among the family papers of James Erskine of Little Sauchie, a kinsman of Erskine of Dun. The juncture at which the Band was drawn up marked a crisis in the history of the Reformed religion of the land. Knox was at Dieppe, whence he wrote to the friends of the Reformed faith : " Advise diligently, I beseech you, with the points of that letter which I directed to the whole nobility ; and let every man apply the matter and case to himself ; for your conscience shall one day be compelled to acknowledge that the reformation of religion, and of public enor- mities, appertains to more than the clergy, or chief rulers, called kings. The mighty Spirit of the Lord Jesus rule, and guide your counsels to His eternal glory." The letter read and pondered, a new consultation was held as to what was the best course to adopt, when it was resolved " to commit themselves and whatso- ever God hath given them into His hands, rather than sufier idolatry so manifestly to reign, and the subjects of that realm to be defrauded of the only true food of their souls, the true preach- ing of Christ's gospel," And in order that everyone should be strengthened, " a Common Band " was made and subscribed, the tenor of which ran thus : — We, perceiving how Satan in his members, the Antichrist of our time, cruelly does rage, seeking to overthrow and destroy the gospel of Christ HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 25 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 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 vSatan, and all wicked power that doth intend tyranny or trouble against the aforesaid 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, shall declare ourselves manifest enemies thereto, by this our faithful promise before God, testified to this congregation by our subscription at these presents. [The original document is preserved in the National Museum of the Society of Antiquaries.] Our Reformer's letter to the Protestant lords in Scotland produced its intended effect, in reanimating their drooping courage. . . . Having sub- scribed a solemn bond of mutual assistance they renewed their invitation to Knox ; and being afraid that he might hesitate on account of their former irresolution, they wrote to Calvin, to employ his influence to induce him to comply. — Dr. M'Crie, '^ Life of Knox," p. I40. The turbulent character of the Scotch barons and the weakness of the central authority, whether of King or Estates, led to constant confedera- tions of nobles and others to carry out with safety, enterprises sometimes legal, sometimes outside law. . . . This " Band" was the first of the Five Covenants famous in the history of the Reformed Church of Scotland. To this Covenant were attached two resolutions in which the confederates resolved to insist on the use of King Edward's Prayer Book, in parishes under their control, and to further the exposition of Scripture privately in houses until the authorities permitted public preaching by true and faithful ministers. This act gave great encoui-agement to all who desired a reform- ation, and emboldened the people to express their distaste for the super- stitious ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church. — Prof. T. M. Lindsay, D.D., ''The Reformation . ' ' The Second Covenant, or Band for Mutual Defence at Perth, May 31, 1559. The Court prohibited all persons from preaching who had not the authority of the bishops. This was the answer to the petition which backed up the First Covenant. Meanwhile Knox had returned to Scotland to preach. He landed at Leith, May 2, and went to Perth, where the Lords of the Congregation assembled to protect him. Before the lords departed the following Bond was written and subscribed : — At Perth the last day of May, the year of God 1559, the congregations of the west country, with the congregations of Fife, Perth, Dundee, Angus, Mearns and Montrose, being convened in the town of Perth in the name of Jesus Christ, for the setting forth of His glory, understanding nothing more necessary for the same than to keep a constant amity, unity, and fellowship together, according as they are commanded by God, are con- federate ... to put away all things that dishonour His name, so that 26 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. God may be truly and purely worshipped, etc. In witness and testimony of the which the whole congregation aforesaid have ordained and appointed the noblemen and persons underwritten to subscribe these presents. Sic subscribitur, Arch. Argyle. James Stuart. Glencairn. Robert, Lord Boyd. Lord Ochiltree. Mat. Campbell, of Teringland. To give the most succinct account of them, to tell the dates and sub- scribers, the circumstances in which they originated, and the particular objects which were contemplated by them, would be something tantamount to writing the history of Reformation times. This I attempt not; still less the task of vindicating them from many rather foolish objections, and many foul aspersions. Neither would I be thought to justify everything done latterly under their sacred sanction. One thing, however, I dare to say, let what may have been said or sung to the contrary, that Scotsmen liave no reason to be ashamed, but every reason to be proud of their Covenants and Covenanting ancestors. Of all the instrumentalities which were employed to further and give victory to religion and the Reformation in this kingdom, none under God proved so efl&cient as did these. We love our country ... by eminence, The Land of the Covenant. — Bev. James Young. The Third Covenant, or Band for Mutual Defence at Stirling, August 1, 1559. The Queen-regent summoned the Protestant preachers to appear at Stirling to be tried. Setting out from Edinburgh on the 26th July, 1559, the Lords of the Congregation came "first to Linlithgow, and after to Stirling, where after consultation the Bond of defence and maintenance of religion, and for mutual defence every one of the other, was subscribed of all that were there present." The tenor of the Bond is given in Knox's " History," as follows : — We, foreseeing the craft and slight of our adversaries, who try all manner of ways to circumvent us, and by privy means intend to assail every one of us particularly, by fair heights and promises, there-through to separate "ane of us from ane uthir," to our utter ruin and destruction: for remedy thereof, we faithfully and truly bind us in presence of God, and as we tender the maintenance of true religion, that none of us shall in time coming pass to the Queen dowager, to talk or commune with her, for any letter or message sent by her unto us, or yet to be sent, without consent of the rest, or common consultation thereupon ; and how soon that either message or writing shall come from her unto us, with all diligence we shall notify the same one to another, so that nothing shall proceed therein without common consent of us all. This Bond subscribed, and we, foreseeing that the Queen and bishops meant nothing but deceit, thought good to seek aid and support of all Christian princes against her tyranny in case we should be more sharply pursued. And because that England was of the same religion, and lay next unto us, it was judged expedient first to prove them, which we did by one or two messengers. — Knox. historic documents. 27 The Fourth Covenant, or Band for expelling the French, Edinburgh, April 27, 1560. In Knox's "History" this is entitled ''The Last Band at Leith." In October, 1559, the Lords of the Congregation marched to Edinburgh, took possession of the city, convened the Estates, and deposed the Regent. A treaty was concluded with England, and English troops came to the assistance of the congregation. A battle was fought in which the French troops, which had come to the assistance of the Queen, were repulsed. In the meantime this new religious Band was made by " the nobility, barons and gentlemen professing Christ Jesus in Scotland." We, whose names are underwritten, have promised and obliged ourselves faithfully in the presence of God, and by these presents do promise that we together in general, and everyone of us in special by himself, with our bodies, goods, friends, and all that we can do, shall set forward the reformation of religion, according to God's Word ; and procure by all means possible that the truth of God's Word may have free passage within this realm, with due administration of the sacraments, and all things depending upon the said Word : and such like, deeply weighing with ourselves the misbehaviour of the French ministers here, the intolerable oppression committed by the French men of war upon the poor subjects of this realm, etc. This Contract and Band came not only to the ears but also within sight of the Queen-dowager, whereat she is reported to have stormed with rage, and exclaimed, " The malediction of God I give unto them that counselled me to persecute the preachers, and to refuse the petitions of the best part of the true subjects of this realm. It was said to me that the English army could not continue in Scotland ten days ; but now they have lain near a month and are more like to remain than they were at the first day they came." The Queen-regent died shortly after, and the Reformation made headway. [Fifth Band : Subscribed by the Barons and Gentlemen of Kyle, Carrick, and Cunningham, at Ayr, September 4, 1562. Preserved by Knox in his " History " 11. , 348. Sixth Band : Subscribed by the Citizens of Edinburgh, in 1572. Previous to the cessation of arms agreed upon in July, 1572, the banished citizens of Edinburgh, who had taken up their residence chiefly in Leith, entered into a solemn league by which they engaged "in the fear of God the Father, of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, that they would with their lives, lands, and goods promote the gospel professed among them, maintain the authority of the King and Regent, assist and concur with others against their enemies in the castle, defend one another if attacked, and submit any variances which might arise among themselves 28 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. to brotherly arbitratioD, or to the judgment of the town-council." — Bannatyne Memorials, p. 361. Except in the case of the '" Godlie Band" no original copies of these six Bands (seven, including that of 1556) with signatures have been discovered.] The Scottish Parliament of 1560. The meeting of this Parliament at Edinburgh, 8th-27th August, 1560, was the most important meeting of the Three Estates ever held in Scotland. Six days were spent in making arrangements, and it was decided to proceed to business in the absence of any royal commission. With the exception of one or two Popish prelates and lords, the great body of the Estates crowded to the capital. On the 8th August, the procession advanced from Holyrood up the " steep ascent of the picturesque Canongate " to the Tolbooth. The noblemen included the Duke of Chatelherault, the Regent; the Earls of Argyll, Glencairn, Morton, Angus, Atholl, Sutherland, Rothes, and Monteith ; Lords Arran, Livingstone, Sommerville, Cathcart, Boyd, Ogilvy, Glammis, and others. The barons included Kirkaldy of Grange, Patrick, Lord Ruthven, and the Master of Lindsay. Tlie members having taken their seats, according to their respective ranks, Maitland of Lethington was chosen speaker. In accordance with arrangements made that morning at Knox's house, Canongate, the first subject introduced was the matter of the religion of the people. It came up in the form of a Petition from a number of Protestant barons, gentlemen, burgesses, and others, which ran in the following terms : — Please your honours to reduce to your remembrance how divers and sundry times, we with some of yourselves most humbly denied at the feet of the late Queen-regent, freedom and liberty of conscience, with a godlj^ reformation of abuses, which by the malice of Satan and negligence of men are creeped in into the religion of God, and are maintained by such as take upon them the name of clergy. And albeit that our godly and most reasonable suit was then disdainfully rejected, whereof no small troubles have ensued, as your honours well know, yet seeing that the same necessity yet remaineth that then moved us ; and moreover that God of His mercy hath now put into your hands such order as God thereby may be glorified, this commonwealth quieted, and the policy thereof established, we cannot cease to crave of your honours the redress of such enormities as manifestly are, and of long time have been committed by the placeholders of the ministry, and others of the clergy within this realm, etc. The petitioners craved that the " many pestiferous errors " of the Romish Church should be disavowed; that means should be taken to restore purity of worship and primitive discipline, and that the ecclesiastical revenues should be applied to the support of an evangelical ministry, the promotion of education, and relief of the poor. The supplication having been read, the barons and ministers were called and commandment given them " to draw HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 29 in plaine and severall heads the summe of that doctrine which thej would mainteane, and desire the parliament to establishe. This was gladelie undertaken, and within foure days after, the Confession of Faith was presented." The Confession of Faith, Professed and Believed by the Protestants within the Realm of Scotland, Pub- lished BY them in Parliament, and by the Estates thereof Ratified and Approved as Wholesome and Sound Doctrine Grounded upon the Infallible Truth of God, 1560. This is the Gonfessio Scotica, or Scotch Confession, the work of six Scotch Reformers — Knox, Spottiswood, Willock, Row, Douglas, and Winram, all surnamed John. It consists of a preface, twenty-five articles and a conclusion. The opening sentences of the preface give character to the whole : — Long have we thirsted, dear brethren, to have notified unto the world the sum of that doctrine which we profess, and for the which we have sustained infamy and danger; but such hath been the rage of Satan against us, and against the eternal verity of Christ Jesus, lately now a»ain born amongst us, that to this day no time hath been granted unto us, to clear our consciences, as most gladly we would have done : for how we have been tossed a whole year past, the most part of Europe doth understand. [The subjects treated are these : God ; the Creation of Man ; Orio-inal Sin ; the Revelation of the Promises ; the Continuance of the Church ; the Incarnation ; the Cause of Good Works ; what Works are reputed good before God, etc.. The conclusion is contained in these world- embracing words : — ] Arise, O Lord, and let Thine enemies be confounded ; let them flee from Thy presence that hate Thy holy name. Give Thy servants strength to speak Thy Word in boldness, and let all nations attain to Thy true knowledge. Amen. The document was brought before Parliament on the 17th August, and read article by article. Knox tells us that "of the temporal estate only three voted on the contrair, the Earl of Athol, the Lords Somervaill and Borthwick, and yet for their dissenting they produced no better reason, but ' we will believe as our fathers believed.' " The Confession was thereupon recof^- nized as the national profession of the Three Estates, and the Duke of Chatelherault, according to ancient custom "gave a piece of silver to the clerk of the register to have an instrument of the same." This was the most signal triumph yet gained by the Reformers. The royal sanction was not yet obtained, but the Confession stood in the same category as other acts which passed into law, and were afterwards acquiesced in, and confirmed. Randolph^ the English ambassador, who witnessed the adoption of the Confession and described the scene to Cecil, Elizabeth's great minister, tells us how that when the articles were read one by one, and agreed to, some of the barons were so moved that they 30 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. started forward, offering "to shed their blood in defence of the same," and that old Lord Lindsay gave expression to his feeling in these terms, " I have lived many years ; I am the oldest in this company of my sort; now that it hath pleased God to let me see this day, where so many nobles and others have allowed so worthy a work, I will say, with Simeon, Nunc dimittis." The Confession contains all the Ecumenical doctrines, as they have been called — that is the truths taught in the early Ecumenical councils, and em- bodied in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds ; and adds those doctrines of grace, of pardon, and of enlightenment through Word and Spirit which were brought into special prominence by the Eeformation revival of religion. —Prof. T. M. Lindsay, D.D. The Book of Common Order contains a Confession of Faith fundamentally different from that larger Confession adopted by the Parliament and the General Assembly. If we seek its origin we shall find this in a mere recasting of those passages in Calvin's Catechism, which contain a critical examination of the Apostles' Creed. The Scots Confession embodies that creed. — Burton, IV. 339. On the whole, the old Scots Confession is an ably-drawn document of the kind ; and being remarkably free from metaphysical distinctions and theological minutiee, it runs in an easy style, and in fact reads like a good sermon in old Scotch. — T. M'Crie, LL.D. This document is written in the most honest, straightforward, manly style without compliment or flattery, without affectation of logical precision or learned accuracy, as if it came fresh from the heart of laborious work- men, all day long busy with the preaching of the truth, and sitting down at night and embodying the heads of what they continually taught. Its doctrine is sound ; its expression is clear ; its spirit is large and liberal ; its dignity is personal and not dogmatic, and it is redolent with the unction of holiness and truth. — Edioard Irving. For nearly a hundred years this Confession was the only recognised standard of the Church of Scotland. The greatest battles the Church ever waged were fought under it. It was the authoritative creed of the Melvilles, the Hendersons, the Rutherfords, and must ever be regarded as an extraordinary evidence of the intellectual grasp and theological attain- ment of those who, in four days, drew up such a document to be adopted by the legislature of their country. — Donald Macleod, D.D. It holds a distinguished place among the Confessions of that age, and is a credit to our Reformer and his associates. Coinciding not unfrequently in expression, and agreeing generally in its definitions of doctrine, with the other Reformed or Calvinistic Confessions, the Scottish Confession had characteristics of its own, — a framework rather historical than dogmatic, and a liberal and manly yet reverend and cautious spirit. It probably con- tributed to mould the early Scottish theology into a form somewhat less minute and rigid than the Swiss, yet considerably less vague and indefinite than the earlier English.— Pro/. Mitchell, ''B. and For. Ev. Rev.,'' XXI. 92. Act kepealing all former Acts of Parliament contrary to THE Word of God and the Confession of Faith recently adopted. 1560. This, and the two acts following, were, along with the Confession, publicly ratified seven years after — in 1567. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 31 The Act for Abolishing op the Pope and his usurped Authority in Scotland. August 24, 1560. By this it was legally "ordanit that the Bishop of Eome haif na jurisdiction or authority within this realme in tymes cuming, and that nane of our said soverane's subjects shall sute or desyre in ony tyme hereafter title or right by the said Bishop of Rome or his sect, to onythicg within this realm." Subjects were forbidden under pain of proscrii)tion, banishment, and disqualification for civil office, to carry any question relating to any matter in Scot- land before the Pope. This was 2i formal abolishing, for in point of fact Romish worship had practically ended, and the monuments of idolatry and superstition had been swept away. So recently as 1878 this Act was directly contravened, and the Papal Hierarchy, with territorial titles, established in Scotland. The country was silent at the time. But if the people slept, it is to be hoped it was with one eye open. The occasion called forth "The Papal Hierarchy" from the scholarly author of "The History of Protestantism," Dr. Wylie. "In this pamphlet," writes Mr. Spurgeon, "he most ably exposes the tactics which priestism uses for the overthrow of national and spiritual liberty. He seems to know all the subtle ramitications of Popery, and therefore he is the better able to warn us against its plottings." An Act against the Mass and the Sayers and Hearers thereof. August 24, 1560. It enacted that no manner of person in time coming administer any of the sacraments secretly, or any other way, but only these that are admitted and have power to that effect ; nor say mass, nor hear mass, nor be present thereat under the pain of coufisca- tion of all their goods and punishing of their bodies, at the dis- cretion of the magistrates within whose jurisdiction such persons happen to be apprehended — for the first act ; banishment, for the second act ; and death, for the third act. This severe statute was never executed, so far as I have been able to learn, and probably it was never intended to be executed in its full extent. — Principal Lee. The only apology which some can find for this dubious act of policy is that the principles of religious hberty were not then so fully understood, and that it is no wonder our ancestors carried with them a portion of the intolerance of the Romish Church from which they had so lately escaped. Our Reformers, however, had no idea of converting their creed into a penal code, or of punishing all who departed from it as heretics. They regarded Papists as enemies to the State, and the leading principles of Popery as subversive of all good order in society. The proscription of the mass, the characteristic of Popery, was certainly the most effectual way of putting down the civil nuisance. The truth is they would not allow the mass to be a point of religion at all; they regarded it as manifest idolatry— an opinion in which every sound Protestant will coincide; but having, erroneously we think, conceived that the Mosaic law against idolaters was still bindiiig on Christian nations, they applied the statute to it as a civil crime. What- ever may be thought of this interpretation of the civil law it was obviously 32 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. a very different thing from the spirit of Popery, which, stamping the whole of its code with the attribute of infallibility and denying all hope of salvation to those beyond its rule, enforces all its dogmas with civil pains on those whom it accounts heretics ; and that the object of our Keformers was not to punish the persons of heretics, or religious opinions as such, but to stay the plague of idolatry and profaneness in the land, appears from two facts which we shall now state : The first is, that the penalties actually inflicted on " massmongers," as they were termed, were entirely of the ignominious kind usually allotted to persons convicted of infamous crimes and intended to brand the practice as odious and disreputable ; and the other fact, to which we refer with pride (and England, with all her boasted liberality, cannot say so much), is, that not a single Papist suffered death in Scotland for the sake of his religion. We hear of four priests con- demned to death for saying mass in Dunblane ; but the sentence was remitted, and they were merely set in the pillory. Candour will ascribe this as much to the lenity and liberality of our Protestant ancestors as to the reluctance of the Popish clergy to suffer martyrdom for conscience' sake.— J/'Cw, "Scot. Ch.,'' p. 43. The Reformed became the religion recognised in Scotland by legal authority. The authority, however, was the power of the Estates apart from the sovereign ; for the queen-regent was dead, and her daughter, Mary, Queen of Scotland, had not yet returned from France. ... A messenger, despatched to Paris with the Confession of Faith, not only failed to receive the young Queen's signature, but was informed of her displeasure ac the events which had taken place in Scotland ; and seven years of struggle, ending in the deposition of the monarch, lay before the final rati- fication of the Confession, and the full legal recognition of the Reformed Church in Scotland. — Prof. T. M. Lindsay, D.D. All that we did [sendiag word to Queen Mary and her husband of the proceedings] was rather to show our dutiful obedience than to beg of them any strength to our religion, ichich from God hasfidl power, and needeth not the suffrage of man, but in so far as man has need to believe it, if that ever he shall have participation of the life everlasting. — Knox, " History," p. 222. The First Generall Assemblie, holdin at Edinburgh, December 20, 1560. The first Assembly consisted of forty-two members, only six of whom were ministers. The following are the names of the ministers and commissioners, as also the places represented : — Andrews, St., - - - Christopher Goodman, Minister. David Spence. Robert Kynpont. Calder, James Douglas. James Moir. Carnbee, - - - . David Weems. Dunbar, - - - William Lamb. William Boncle. Dundee, . . . . William Christison, Minister. George Lowell. "William Carmichael. Edinburgh {City), - - Johx Knox, Minister. James Baron. Edward Hope. West Kirk, beside\ William Harlaw, Minister. Edinburgh, ) Robert Fairlie, of Braid. ( HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 33 For/ar, - Alexander Guthrie, of Hackerton. William Durham, of Grange. Kirkliston, - - John Kincaid. Kyle, . ■ - - Hugh Wallace, of Carnall. John Fullarton, of Dreghorn. Charles Campbell, of Skeldum. Leith, - - David Lindsay, Minister. Andrew Lamb. Patrick Boyman. Linlithgow, - - Charles Drummond, Provost. James Witherspgon. Andrew Mill. Linton, - Walter Balfour. Lothian {East), - George Hume, of Spott. Mearns, - Laird of Tullyvard. Laird of Fettercairn. Montrose, - John Erskine, of Dud. Andrew Mill. mthsdale, - - Laird of Garleis. Perth, - - John Row, Minister. Batho, - - Egbert Wynram. Stirling, - William Darroch. William Ngrwell. Torphichen, • - John Brown. Thomas Boyd. James Pglwart. The Assembly met in the old Chapel in the Cowgate, which had been dedicated to St. Magdalene. It met by its own authority founded on the Word of God. For the long period, indeed, of twenty years no commissioner was appointed to represent the sovereign, although during that period about forty assemblies were held. The right of the Assembly so to meet was challenged, however, by Maitland of Lethington. '*The question is," said he, " whether the Queen allo^veth such conventions." " If the liberty of the Kirk should depend on the Queen's allowance or dis- allowance," was the reply, " we are afraid we shall be deprived not only of assemblies but of the public preaching of the Gospel." " No such thing," said Maitland. " Well," said Knox, " time will try ; but I will add. Take from us the freedom of assemblies, and take from us the evansjel." The names of such individuals over and above the members of Assembly, throughout the country, lay or clerical, as were con- sidered suitable to act as ministers, readers, or teachers were given in to the number of 43, making a total of 85 Presbyterian workers to whom was entrusted the Christian evangelization of Scotland. The Parliament, which met in August, accepted the Confession of Faith, drawn up by Knox and his friends, and definitely abolished Papal juris- diction, without, however, bestowing upon the new Church the yoke of the State. Thus, the first fact we meet with in this history is this : the Church began in Scotland by lying under the cross and receiving from the" political powers nothing but persecution. In 1560 she became in a manner C 34 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. national, yet she remained free ; and it was only seven years later that she was erected into a State Chnrch, and became what is called in Britain an Establishment. . . . Popery being thus abolished the Christian Church proceeded to constitute itself, and on the 20th December, 1560, the first General Assembly was held. It did not meet by the convocation of the Parliament. That important body in the State remained passive in regard to it, and did nothing either for or against it. It was the authority of the Church itself which was set forth alone by this Assembly. This first great Synod had no other origin than the conscience of the evangelized people, than the convocation of Christ. This origin of the Church of Scotland is of great importance to enable us to comprehend the freedom which is her characteristic. — D'Aubigne, ^'Scotland," 238. The First General Assembly : Its Independence of the State. — "The child is father of the man." — With churches as with individuals this holds true ; and it stands conspicuously verified in the histories of the two Keformed Churches of England and Scotland. The English Church was created by a fiat of the monarch. . . . From that period till the present time the reigning monarch has been the Head of the English Church ; a dogma which finds one of its embodiments in the fact, that in all matters, even as to doctrine and discipline, there lies an appeal from the ecclesiastical to the civil courts. It was exactly the reverse in Scotland. It is now nearly three hundred years since the first General Assembly convened in Edinburgh. It met by no summons, it received no express sanction from the State. The spread of the Holy Scriptures, and the preaching of that Gospel which they contain, had so leavened the general community, that in 1560, by the Estates of Parliament and against the Sovereign's will, the Papal jurisdiction was abrogated. But no other was substituted in its stead. At their own instance, and having the Word of God as their alone guide and warrant, a few clergymen and laymen assembled and organised the Protestant Church of Scotland. They framed a creed, drew up a code of discipline, and resolved that as the highest court of the Church exercising supreme legislative and judicial authority, they should meet in General Assembly twice each year. There were not wanting those who challenged the lawfulness of these Assemblies. . . . Seven years elapsed ; fifteen General Assemblies were held ; kirk-sessions were instituted ; provincial synods erected ; ministers appointed, suspended, deposed ; in a word all the highest functions of ecclesiastical authority were exercised without any authority from, or any recognition by the State, It did finally interfere, not to create, however, but to ratify. — Dr. Hanna, " Memoirs of Chalmers,'' IV. 175. Events proved that in claiming at the outset an inherent autonomy for the Church, a principle was laid down of supreme practical importance. The Ileformei's had no idea of doing anything in secret, or doing anything of which they required to be ashamed ; and they suggested to the Queen that if she entertained any suspicious about them, she might send a repre- sentative of the Crown to hear the deliberations. Hence arose the ofiice of Lord High Commissioner. But from the beginning, the freedom of the Church was emphatically asserted, and the presence of a commissioner was never held to imply any right on the part of Majesty to constitute or dissolve General Assemblies. — Rev. N. L. Walker. I often go back in imagination to that first General Assembly held in the Magdalene Chapel of this city, on 20th December, 1560, when six ministers and two or three dozen of laymen met to constitute the Reformed Church of Scotland. The little one has indeed become a thousand. In Scotland alone we have nearly three thousand congregations. We have flourishing churches in England and Ireland, while across the Atlantic, in a HISTORIC DOCUMKSTS. 35 continent our Reformers hardly knew of, we have double the number of all the British congregations ; and in our colonies all up and down the world vigorous shoots from the same sturdy tree. — Ur. IV. G. Blaikie. The [First] Book of Discipline, 1560. The Privy Council instructed Knox, Winram, Spottiswood, Willock, Douglas, and Row " to draw a platforme of the Church policie as they had done of the doctrine." The result was the Book of Policy, or the First Book of Discipline. It was approved at a Convention held January 15, 1561 ; was signed by a large number of the nobles and burgesses, but never received legal sanction. This was owing to the chapter on the "Patri- mony of the Kirk," which many called a " devout imagination." Not a few of the barons had appropriated the patrimony to their own uses. The head of the refractory party was Lord Erskine, afterwards Earl of Mar, two-thirds of whose estates consisted of church lands. Notwithstanding, the book was regarded as a standard of the Church, and it regulated her practice for many years. The following are the principal subjects treated of : — Sound Doctrine. — This had the first place. The "evangel" was to be preached and the sacraments administered in all purity and simplicity. The Lord's Supper was to be observed four times a year. In the Order of Baptism the father of the child was asked to rehearse the articles of his faith in the Creed, as follows : — I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth ; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord ; conceived by the Holy Ghost ; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified ; died, and buried, and descended into hell ; the third day He rose again from the dead ; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty ; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost ; the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints ; the Forgiveness of Sins, the Resurrection of the Body, and Life Everlasting. The Christian Ministry. — The Spirit of God, first inwardly moving the heart to seek to enter into the holy calling for Christ's glory and the profit of the kirk, and thereafter the nomination of the people, the examination of the learned, and public admission make men lawful ministers. — Knox. Personally Knox regarded the call of the people of God (for from the first the Church recognised the popular voice in the election of miuisters), the trial of gifts by the Church, and due appointment as all that was necessary for valid orders. — Donald Macleod, D.D., " St. Giles' Led.'" Church Organization. — The ordinary and permanent office- bearers of the Church were of four kinds : — The Minister or Pastor, preaclier of the evangel. The Doctor or Teacher, including those who taught theology in schools and universities. 36 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The Elding Elder, who assisted in the government of the Church. The Deacon, who had the oversight of the revenues. Besides these, it was found necessary at the time to employ : — Readers, who publicly read the Scriptures to the people, assist- ing the minister, or, where there Avas none, temporarily taking his place. Exhorters, such as were able to add to the simple reading exhortation. Superintendents. — " A thing most expedient at this time, that from the whole number of godly and learned men now present in this realm, there be selected ten or twelve to whom charge and commandment should be given to plant and erect kirks, to set, order, and appoint ministers as the order prescribes." It used to be maintained by Scotch Episcopalians, and has been reiterated even in our own day, that there is hardly any diflference to be discerned between these superintendents and the old bishops, save the substitution of a name which is bad Latin for one which is good Greek. This is more smart than true. [Four marked differences are stated by Prof. Mitchell, who then adds:] On these grounds I am so far from admitting that the superintendent was in all respects identical with the bishop, that I am inclined to hold that it was just because he was so com- pletely stripped of all real Episcopal power, that when the hierarchy was revived, even the most moderate of the bishops found they could not contain themselves within the limits prescribed to the superintendents, and that one of the main obstacles in the way of their success in the struggle with their refractory presbyters was occasioned by their own hastj^ promise to observe the caveats founded on the previous practice in the case of superintendents, and especially by their promise to be subject to the judgment and censure of the General Assembly. — Brit, and For. Rev., XXI. 112. Knox was too great and too practical an administrator to sacrifice vital interests to technicalities. The country required to be evangelised. That was the problem pressing for solution. And without caring apparently whether he was misjudged or not, he recommended the setting up of a temporary order of officials who had prima facie a suspicious resemblance to bishops. These he proposed to call superintendents. There are some, of course, who have seen in this arrangement a testimony to Prelacy, but what is most visible in it is clearly the inspiration of common-sense. The system is expressly described as a temporary expedient ; and that Prelacy was not intended to be set up is plain from this that one of the first superintendents was the good old Baron Erskine of Dun. — N. L. Walker. Ecclesiastical Discipline. — Discipline in private and public is painfully enlarged upon, as also excommunication, showing the low state of morality in pre-Reformation times ; just as the neces- sity for readers, exhorters, and superintendents shows that Popery had not been a whit more favourable to mental culture than to the interests of morality. Stipends. — The property of the Romish Church was enormous, and after restoring to the oppressed people that which superstition had extorted from them, it was proposed to apply the revenues in HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 37 support of the ministry, for the furtherance of education, and for the maintenance of the poor. For the ministry the compilers of the book recommended an " honest provision," such as would give " neither occasion of solicitude, neither yet of insolencie and wantonnesse." Education. — On this head we have the following golden statements : — Oflf necessitie thairfore we judge it, that everie several churche have a scholmaister appointed, suche a one as is able, at least, to teach Grammar and the Latine toung, yf the Toun be of any reputatioun. Yf it be Upaland, whaire the people convene to doctrine bot once in the weeke, then must eathir the Reidar or the Minister thair appointed take cayre over the children and youth of the parische, to instruct them in thair first rudimentis, and especiallie in the Catechisme [translation of Calvin's Cate- chism], as we have it now translated in the Booke of our Common Ordour, called the Oidour of Geneva. And farther, we think it expedient, that in every notable toun, and especiallie in the toun of the Superintendent, [there] be erected a Colledge, in which the Artis, at least Logic and Kethorick, togidder with the Tongues, be read be sufficient Maisteris, for whome honest stipendis must be appointed ; as also provisioun for those that be poore, and be nocht able by them sellis, nor by thair friendis, to be sustened at letteris, especiallie such as come from Landwart. The great Schollis, callit Universiteis, shall be repleanischit with those that be apt to learnyng ; for this must be cairfullie provideit, that no fader, of what estait or conditoun that ever he be, use his children at his awin fantasie, especiallie in their youth-heade; but all must be compelled to bring up their children in learnying and virtue. The rich and potent may not be permitted to suffer thair chil- dren to spend their youth in vane idilnes, as heirtofore they have done. But thei must be exhorted, and by the censure of the cburche compelled to dedicat thair sones, by goode exercise, to the proffit of the churche and to the commonwealth ; and that thei must do of thair awdn expensses, becaus thei ar able. The children of the poore must be supported and sustenit on the charge of the Churche, till tryell be tackin, whethir the spirit of docilitie be fund in them or not. Yf thei be fund apt to letteris and learnying, then may thei not (we meane neatheir the sonis of the riche, nor yet the sonis of the poore) be permittit to reject learnying ; but must be chargeit to continue their studie, so that the commonwealth may have some comfort by them. The Grammar Schollis and of the Tounsjis beinf^j erected as we have said, nixt we think it necessarie thair be three Universities in this whole Kealme, establischeit in the Tounis accustumed. 38 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The first iii Sanctandrois, the secound in Glasgow, and the third in Abirdene. His [Knox's] scheme of education as developed in the First Book of Disciphne was higher in its literary aims, more complete in its machinery, and more extensive as regarded population than any that has yet [I860] been offered to the nation's acceptance. That his ideas were not fully realised was no fault of his. The first part of his scheme was deferred for a century and a half by the wretched despotism of the Court. The second was partially defeated by the grasping avarice of the nobles. — Dr. Wylie, " Tercentenary," p. 74' Management of the Pook. — We must crave of your honours [Great Council of the nation] in the name of the Eternal God, and of His Son Christ Jesus, that ye have respect to your poor brethren, the labourers and manurers of the ground, who by thir cruell beastes, the Papists, have before been opprest, that their life to them hath been dolorous and bitter : If ye will have God author and approver of this Peformation ye must not follow their foote-steps, but ye must have compassion of your brethren, appointing them to pay reasonable teinds, that they may find some benefite of Christ Jesus, now preached unto them. . Every several liirk must provide for the poor within itself. . We are not patrons for stubborne and idle beggars, but for the widow and fatherlesse, the aged, impotent, or lamed. In this oppression [of the poor] it would be hard to say whether the ecclesiastics or the nobles and lairds were the most exacting ; for while the former, like vultures, were ever on the watch for befitting occasions to spoil the poor with their demands for exorbitant fees, in connection with baptisms and marriages, the uppermost cloth and corpse present at funerals, and clerk-mails, pasch-oiferiugs, teind-ale, etc., etc., the owners of the land oppressed them by exorbitant rents and other exactions. Against all such modes of oppression the Reformers set their faces like a flint.— i?ev. W. Boss, LL.D. The First Confession of Faith, the First Book of Discipline — in its magnificent comprehensiveness, one of the most remarkable compositions of a great time — both of them chiefly the work of Knox. — Dr. Walker, " Scottish Theology" p. 1. It is a remarkable composition, and shows how advantageous to the Peformer had been his diversified experiences and educa- tion. Its discipline, technically so called, is severe, so much so that the Council hesitated to put its official imprimatur on the book ; but altogether it is a wide-minded, catholic-spirited pro- duction, such as was hardly to have been expected in the age to which it belongs.— iV^. L. Walker, " Scot. Ch. Hist.," p. 32. The [Reformed Free Presbyterian] Church of Scotland, 1560—1567. In Scotland the Reformation was essentially a religious move- ment among the people from the very first. Begun by Patrick Hamilton, who sealed his testimony with his blood ; continued HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 39 by George \Yisharfc, whose ministry and martyrdom gave a mighty impulse to the sacred cause, the work was consummated by the commanding genius and unconquerable energy of Knox, whose voice was heard throughout the kingdom, alike l)y prince and peasant, in the palace and in the cottage. So far from the State helping the movement, it had to encounter at every step the opposition of civil and political intrigue. The Church of Scot- land framed its Confession of Faith and its First Book of Discipline, and met in its first General Assembly for its own government seven years before it was recognised as a national Church, and before its doings received the sanction of the legis- lature. The first General Assembly was held in 1560. On the other hand the Act of Parliament recognising it as the national Church was not passed till 1567. Seven times they sat and did the Church's work without the semblance even of a president. So really did they feel themselves to be the body of Christ ; so truly did they hold the Head. Knox was a member of Assembly throughout almost all the next twelve years. Henceforth he never acted apart from it. For more than half of this period the Church was unrecog- nised by the State. Yet all the while she was being recognised on her own ground. " They had neither law nor parliament for their religion," said some. "We have the authority of God for it," was Knox's answer. — Barbour, ''Ev. Sue." II. 70. The day most appropriate for such an end [Tercentenary of the Refor- mation] is the 20th of December, when, without any appointment of Parliament, or Privy Council, the first General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was held ; and that Church in all the freshness, simplicity, and freedom of young life stood forth like the primitive Church at Jerusalem, organised and ardent to fulfil the mission for which she had been called into being, alike unendowed by and unallied with the State. . . . And if on every branch of the Keformed Church this duty is incumbent, especially does it devolve on that, which, to maintain the purity of the Reformed doctrine, and the fidelity of the Reformed discipline, and the integrity of the Reformed liberty of the members of the Church to elect their own pastors, when all these were corrupted or ignored in the Kirk of Scotland, was the first to secede from it, and to encounter all the hazards and dishonour of dissent — that which is the oldest therefore of all the dissenting Churches in Scotland. — Bev. Henry Benton. This rise of the Church has been decisive regarding her relation to the State, for the State being afterwards induced to establish the Church found her already formed and organised, and thus we may account for the inde- pendence and ecclesiastical power which the Church has possessed from the commencement of her legalised existence, and of which the destruction by the one party and the defence by the other have formed the main feature of her history. — Sydow, ^^ Scot. Ch." p. I4S. Act of Parliament, April 19, 1567. Queen Mary, previous to her imprisonment, passed an Act securing to her Protestant subjects immunity from civil injury. The recognition of the Reformed faith by Parliament, however, did not take place till December, under the regency of Moray. 40 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The struggle began at her coming. She and her court ostentatiously went to mass on the first Sunday after her arrival, although the saying and hearing of mass had been forbidden under severe penalties. She challenged at once the legality of the proceedings of the Estates which had legalised the Reformation. . . . After seven years of struggle Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, deposed, and her infant son James YI. was placed on the throne, while her half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, was made regent. The Estates, or Scottish Parliament, again voted the Confession of Faith, engrossed it in their Acts ; the regent for the sovereign signed it ; and thus ratified it became part of the law of the land, and the Keformed religion was the form of Christianity legally recognised in Scotland. — Prof. Lindsay, " The Reformation." Act of Parliament, December 15, 1567 : Anent the True AND Holy Kirk, and op them that are Declared Not to be of the Same [National Establishment]. Popery was overthrown and the Reformation established in 1560, yet " it ^vas deemed prudent," writes Burton, " to confirm the legislative work of that year in 1567." This was the so-called national Establishment of the Protestant religion. The Endoivment of the National Church did not spring up along with the idea of its establishment, but was an after-thought. "Establishment, or the national recognition of a particular faith," says Norman L. Walker, " was not at once seen to be the same thing as the direct support of it out of the material resources of the kingdom." The following is the tenor of the Act : — Forasmuch as the ministers of the blessed evangel of Jesus Christ, whom God of His mercy has now raised up among us, or hereafter shall raise, agreeing with them that now live, in doctrine and administration of the sacraments, and the people of this realm that profess Christ as He now is ofi'ered in His evangel, and do communicate with the holy sacraments (as in the Reformed Kirks of this realm are publicly administered) according to the Confession of the Faith, our Sovereign Lord, with advice of my Lord Kegent, and three Estates of this present Parliament, has declared, and declares the foresaid Kirk to be the only true and holy Kirk of Jesus Christ within this realm, and decerns and declares that all and sundry who otherwise gainsay the Word of the evangel received and approved as the heads of tlie Confession professed in Parliament of before, in the year of God 1560 years, as also specified in the Acts of this Parliament, more particularly do express, and now ratified and approved in this present Parliament, or that refuse the participation of the holy sacraments as they are now administered, to be no members of the said Kirk within this realm now presently professed, so long as they keep themselves so divided from the society of Christ's body. The "prudence^' of the step may now be questioned. For the progress made by the Church during the seven years from 1560 to 1567 — the period of its entire freedom and independence of the State — was remarkable. At the first General Assembly there were but six ministers present; there were not as many more who had embraced the Reformed faith in broad Scotland. Yet in 1567 there were no fewer than 1080 churches, under charge of HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 41 257 ordained ministers, 455 readers, and 151 exhorters, besides the five superintendents. Moreover, while the State seemed to confer a gift with the left hand, it stole with the right. For it was in 1567 that Parliament cancelled one of the best provisions of the Book of Discipline, and declared that, while the examina- tion and admission of ministers was only in the power of the Kirk, the " presentation of laic patronages " was '' reserved to the just and ancient patrons." — See Register of Ministers, etc., " Wod. \msc.," p. 326. Mary Stuart had fallen. Immediately there took place throughout Scotland so decided a movement in favour of Presbyterianism, as to proceed perhaps beyond desirable limits. I he excellent Earl of Moray was placed as Regent at the head of the Government ; the Parliament met on the 15th of December ; and it was then that the Reformed Church was recognised and established by the State — a triumph similar to that of Christianity, when under Constantine the religion of the Crucified One ascended the throne of the C£esars. Alas ! what worldhness and corruption did the Church find on the throne of the Emperors ! what anguish, what struggles, and what martyrdom did she find around the throne of the Stuarts ! Nevertheless the Church, founded in opposition to a tyrannical hierarchy and a hostile Government, had assumed a character of liberty of which .she could never be deprived. The Scottish people, ardently devoted to the Reformation, had joyfully embraced the principles of the Presbyterian institution. Of simple manners, fond of civil liberty, full of affection for the things of God, this generous nation, while withstanding the claims of an ambitious clergy, had asserted their right of effecting for themselves all that they judged to be needful. But now that the State and Church are united (1567), will not the Church in Scotland, as elsewhere, purchase the favour of the State by concession ? By no means. I will quote an instance of this. The seventh chapter of the Act of Parliament in 1567 asserts in the most positive manner the independence of the Church. "It is ordained," it is there said, "that the examination and admission of ministers shall be only in the power of the Kirk." The Act adds, that "if the person presented by the patron is refused, the patron may appeal to the Synod ; and that if the latter refuse likewise, the patron may appeal to the General Assembly, by whom the cause, being decided, shall take an end as they discern and declare." This fundamental law, therefore, establishes that when the supreme ecclesiastical authority has decided, the cause is concluded, so that no appeal can be made from the General Assembly to any civil authority. The final judgmeuc belongs to the ecclesiastical authority. This law was one of the causes which, in 1S43, brought about the founding of the Free Church. They were desirous after three centuries of remaining faithful to it. . . . Thus in 1567 the Reformed Church of Scotland, which had long before existed, was recognised, but not created by the State. It was no act of Parliament that brought her into existence : it was from a decree of the court of Heaven, from the will of the Head of the Church that she derived her life. She existed with her doctrine, with her discipline, with her constitution, and with her Presbyteries, her Synods, and her General Assemblies in greater completeness, perhaps, than any other Church when the State adopted her. Far from bringing her into existence, it had long sought to put her to death. — D' Aubigne, " Scotland" p. 246. As to religion, the quietness you presently enjoy declares sufficiently the victory that God hy Bis Word has obtained among you within a space of 42 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. eight or nine years ; how feeble the foundation was in the eyes of men ; how unlikely it was to rise so suddenly to so large and huge a greatness ; with what calmness the work has proceeded, not one of you is ignorant. Iron has not been heard in the house of the Lord ; that is to say, the whole has been builded, set up, and erected to this greatness without bloodshed. Note it, I pray you, as a singular testimony of God's favour, and a peculiar benefit granted only to the realm of Scotland, not as the most worthy, but chosen out of His providence from among all nations, for causes hid and unknown to us, and to foreshow His almighty power, that the true religion has attained a free course universally throughout the whole realm, and yet not a Scotchman's blood shed in the forthsetting of the whole quarrel. With what nation in the earth has God dealt so mercifully ? — Maitland of Lethington. Pkesbytery versus Prelacy, 1571. The period of conflict between Presbytery and Prelacy extended from 1571 to 1638. The period of the Covenant proper followed, when the right of the Church to shape its own constitution was contended for. A great victory for Presbytery Avas obtained in 1592, after which Prelacy was in the ascendant until 1638. During that period the Court trampled upon the rights of the Kirk. Some have tried to prove that Knox established Prelacy in 1560, but it was otherwise. At the Peformation the nation made a leap from Popery to Presbytery. Knox, indeed, was the first to begin that war against Prelacy, which raged so long in the land. He opposed the plan of the unprincipled Morton with might and main, and w^hen unable by reason of infirmity to be present at the Assembly he wrote : " Unfaithful and traitors to the flock shall ye be before the Lord Jesus, if that with your consent, directly or indirectly, ye suffer unworthy men to be thrust into the ministry of the Kirk, under what pretence what- ever it be. Remember the Judge before whom ye must make account, and resist that tyranny as ye would avoid hell-fire." A remonstrance was written, in name of the Assembly, by Erskine of Dun, and forwarded to the Regent Mar. " There is," says that remonstrance, "a spiritual jurisdiction and power which God has given unto His Kirk, and to them that bear office therein ; and there is a temporal jurisdiction and power given of God to kings and civil magistrates. Both the powers are of God, and most agreeing to the fortifying one of the other, if they be rightly used. But when the corruption of man enters in, confounding the offices, usurping to himself what he pleases, nothing regarding the good order appointed of God, then confu- sion follows in all estates." So far as the legal establishment of the opposing systems went, the attitude of affairs was this : — Presbytery. Episcopacy. Aug. 17, 1560— Feb. I, 1572. February!, 1572— June, 1592. June, 1592— October, 1612. October, 1612— June, 1640. June, 1640— May, 1661. May, 1661— June, 1690. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 43- Of these 130 years, Presbytery was the legal system at three dififereiit periods, covering in round numbers 52 years ; Episcopacy was the legal system at three different periods, covering in round numbers 78 years. But the periods of possession are no indication of the relative hold of the systems upon the minds of the people generally. In every instance PJpiscopacy was violently imposed by the sovereign, and was overthrown by the people. It thus became in their minds the symbol of despotism. There can be no doul)t that all through, the feelings and convictions of the mass of the people, except in the North, were on the side of Presbytery. — Dr. Macgre(jor, "-57. Giles' Lectures.'^ The Convention of Leith, 1572. Holden at Leith in January, 1571, or, according to our present computation, 1572. This Convention, or informal Assembly, unin- tentionally laid the foundation of the prelatical system, which has all along proved so hateful to the Scottish people. A measure of com- promise was carried, whereby certain Episcopal titles were allowed, and certain duties ordained, but all to be under the control of the Assembly, and in no wise to prejudice Presbyterianism in practice. The matter was efiected in this wise. The Komisli prelates, set aside at the Reformation, had been generously allowed two-thirds of their revenues. Some of them having died, it became a question to what uses the freed rentals and teinds were to be put. Morton had his eye on the rich spoils, and a custom somewhat prevalent then in certain parts gave a name to the expedient to which he had recourse. When the farm servant wished to have the milk of a cow whose calf had been taken away, she set before the cow, especially if the creature was refractory, a stuffed calf-skin to which she managed to give the semblance of life. This was called a tulchan. The cow thus gave her milk apparently for the tulchan, but in reality for the farmer. Morton, the Regent, did the same. At the death of Hamilton, Archbishop of St. Andrews, he made an arrangement with John Douglas, to whom he gave the title of archbishop, reserving for his own use the rents of the see. "The bishop," says Calderwood, "had the title, but my lord got the milk." The end of the wedge, by means of which this prelatic and Erastian system was designed to rend in pieces the constitution and liberties of the Reformed Church, was introduced in 1572 at the convention of Leith. — Dr. Robert Buchanan. This nominal order of bishops was created just for the purpose of securing a certain fraction of the revenues of each see to the titulars or tulchans, while the lion's share was to be conveyed by statute to those of the nobility who put them in, and who were already in possession of the ecclesiastical plunder. In short, they were made up of tulchan calves to become golden calves, to low and chew the cud in cathedral stalls. — Dr. Gordon's *' Scotichronicon," I. 315. There were many among the Lords of the Congregation who hungered and thirsted more after the cornfields of the monks than after righteousness. But, as the law stood, it was only abbots who could lift the rents of the abbey lands. To the lay mmd it seemed that to destroy these orders was 44 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVEXAXT. to disturb the balance of the constitution, by removing the Third Estate. This feeling lay at the bottom of the . . . Concordat of Leith. According to this, archbishops and bishops, abbots and priors, were to be continued subject to the jurisdiction of the Assembly. This compromise being made, the vacant bishoprics were soon tilled ; but it was everywhere whispered that the patrons had bargained with the presentees that a portion of the episcopal revenues was to be handed over to them. — Z)r. Cunningham. The above regulations were indeed formally abrogated by subsequent Assemblies ; but they were revived by an Act of Privy Council in 1581 ; and for a period of nearly thirty years a protracted struggle was carried on between the two parties in the Church and State. The more zealous and intrepid Presbyterian ministers continued to resist the encroachments of the Court, until the Assembly which was held at Glasgow in 1610, when the old forms of Presbyterian Discipline and Church government having been in a great measure overthrown, Episcopacy in a somewhat less anomalous form was introduced, and two years later was confirmed by an Act of Parliament. But even in this period, extending from the year 1610 to 1637, Episcopacy may be said to have existed more in name than reality in Scotland. — Dr. Laing, ^'Misc. Wod. Soc," p. 694- The General Assembly never ceased to maintain its jurisdiction, notwithstanding the arrangements of the Convention of Leith, It asserted its supremacy over the bishops, against which, to do them justice, they did not reclaim, and it never for a day receded from the principle of presbytery involving the equality of ministers, and the authority of Church courts over all their constituent members. The bishops were counted to be constituent members of those courts, on an equality with the other brethren — nothing more. — Di'. Beith. General Assembly, 1575: The Word "Bishop." Andrew Melville came to Scotland with strong Genevese pro- clivities, and it was not long till he threw down the gauge to the Episcopal party in the Church. The battle began in the Assembly of 1575, and here he obtained his first victory, from his accurate knowledge of his Greek Testament. The Assembly declared that the name " Bishop " properly belonged to all who had charge of a flock ; and all scholars are now agreed that according to apostolic usage the Assembly was right. But Melville was not content with this. The Assembly of 1580 declared the office of a diocesan bishop to be unlawful. — Dr. Cunningham. Second Book of Discipline, 1578. Having abolished prelacy, Melville })roceeded to lay the foundations of Scottish Presbyterian! sm, as they had never been laid before, in the Second Book of Discipline. Sanction was given to it by the General Assembly which met in the Magdalene Chapel, Edinburgh, in April, 1578, under the moderatorship of Melville. After some adjusting it was again sanctioned, in its final form, in 1581. Its acceptance by the civil power was solicited, but Morton resolutely refused this. The StcpjMcation will be found in the Wodrow Miscellany. " The quhilk [book] because this declining age is beginning to forget and slip fra," HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 45 James Melville inserted in his " Diary." There it occupies thirty- pages — p. 87. The following are the heads of the Policy of the Kirk, with a few of the propositions : — 1. Of the Kirk and Policy thereof in general, and wherein it is different from the Civil Policy. 9. For this power ecclesiastical flowes immediatlie from God, throw the Mediator, Jesus Chryst, and is spirituall nocht haiffing a temporall head on erthe, hot onlie Chryst, the spirituall Kyng and Governour of His Kirk, now in glorie within the heavines, at the right hand of His Father. 12. It is proper to kings, princes, and magistrates to be callit lords and dominators ower thair subjects, whom they govern civilie ; bot it is proper to Chryst alean to be callit Lord and Maister in the spirituall government of the Kirk, etc. 2. Of the Parts of the Policy of the Kirk, and Persons, and Office-bearers to whom the administration thereof is committed. 10. Ther ar four ordinar functiones or offices in the Kirk of God : the office of the Pastor, Minister or Bischope ; the office of Doctor ; of the Presbyter or Eldar ; and of the Deacon. 3. How the Persons that be in ecclesiastical offices are admitted to their functions. 9. In this order of Election [be the judgment of the Elderschipe and consent of the Congregation] is to be eschewit, that na persone be intrusit in anie of the offices of the Kirk against the will of the Congregation over quhilk they ar to be apointed, or without the vot of the Elderschipe. 4. Of the Office-bearers in particular ; and first of the Pastor or Minister. 10. He aught to watche above the maners of his flock, that he may the better apply to tham, in rebuking dissolut persoues, and exhorting the godlie to continow in holines and the feir of the Lord. 5. Of Doctors and their office, and of the Schools. 1. Ane of the twa ordinar and perpetuall functiones that travelles in the Word is the office of a Doctor, wha may also be called a Prophet. Bischope, Eldar, or Catechisar, that is, a teatchar of the Catechisme and Rudiments of Religion. 6. Of the Elders and their office. 7. Of Eldership, Assemblies, and of Discipline. 8. Of the Deacons and their office ; the last ordinary function in the Kirk. 9. Of the Patrimony of the Kirk, and Distribution thereof. 9. The ancient Canones make mention of a four-fauld distribution of the patrimonie of the Kirk ; wharof a part was apointed for the pastors or bischopes, for thair sustentation and hospitalitie ; the second to the eldars and deaoones and all the clarf;ie ; the thride to the pure [poor], seik persones, and strangers ; the fourt for the fabric and uphauld of the kirks, and uther efFeares, namlie, extraordinar. 10. We add heir unto the scholles and scholmaisters, quhilk may be weill susteined of the sam guids, and ar comprehendit under the clargie, etc. 10. Of the office of a Christian Magistrate. 10, . . . yit whar the ministerie of the Kirk is annes [once] lawfullie institut, and they that ar placed in offices lawfullie callit, then all godlie 46 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. princes and magistrates aught to heir and obey thair voice, and reverence the majestic of the Sone of God, be them speakand [by tbem spoken], 11. Of the Present Abuses remaining in the Kirk, which we desire to be reformed. 10. The Hberty of election of ecclesiasticall persones callit to bear function in the Kirk, observit veithout interruptit continowance unto the corruption of Antichryst, we desyre to be restored and reteined within this realm, sa that nan be intrusit upon anie congregation, ather be prince or inferiour persone without laA\-full election and consent of the peiple ower whome the persone is to be placed ; as the practise of the apostolicall primitive Kirk, and all guid reasone, and ordour craves. 12. Certain special Heads of Reformation craved. 13. The Utility that shall follow of this Keformation to all Estates. Such are the general principles of this Scottish Charter. The Book of Policy having been sanctioned by the General Assembly was presented to the king to receive his confirmation. This prince, or rather his court, demanded an amendment, says Calderwood. He desired that in the article against the intrusion of a minister, these words — " contrary to the will of the congre- gation " — should be erased, and the following substituted — "if the people have a lawful cause against his life or manners." The Church rejected this amendment. She believed, doubtless, that there would always be persons ready to assert that the objection was not valid, and that thus the liberties of the Church would be reduced to nothing. The amendment desired, though not obtained by James, very nearly resembles that which was recently passed in Lord Aberdeen's bill. However this may be, the evangelical party in the Church of Scotland has always regarded this amend- ment as a sort of back door through which might be taken away what is apparently given us by the front one. , . . This con- stitutional book of the Church of Scotland, drawn up in 1578, was one of the causes which brought about the great Disruption in the nineteenth century. There is, perhaps, no Church which has preserved its homogeneity so completely as the Church of Scotland. -^D'Auhigne, '' Scotland^' p. 252. The conduct of the Assembly in proceeding to express their own final approbation of the book, and to enrol it in their records [1581] while the king was still desirous that further conference should take place in regard to it, seems to have had the efiect of widening the breach between his majesty and the Church. Lennox and Arran employed every art to impress upon the king's mind the idea that such a scheme of ecclesiastical governinent as the ministers were setting up was utterly incon- sistent with the authority which should exist in a pure monarchy; and the ministers on the other hand were not only persuaded HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 47 that their policy was grounded in Scripture, but they were also stimulated to more than ordinary exertion in its defence by the growing conviction that the Reformed faith itself was in danger of beinor overthrown to make room for Poperv. — Taylor's '^Scot- hmd," 11. 281. [The Second Book of Discipline was sworn to in the National Covenant in 1581, and revised by the Assembly of 1638. The most important parts of the book were legalized in 1592, and again in 1690. Calderwood, the historian, edited "The First and Second Book of Discipline," printed in 1621.1 The General Assembly at Dundee, 1580. This Assembly, held at '-Dundie," the 12th July, condemned "the office of a bishop, as it is now used and commonly taken within this realm, as having no sure warrant, authority, nor good ground, out of the Book and Scriptures of God, but brought in by the folly and corruption of men's invention." Further, the Assembly ordained " all such persons as bruike, or hereafter shall bruike the said office, to be charged simpliciter to demit, quit, and leave off the same, as an office whereunto they are not called by God."— .See Caldericood, III. 469. Unhappily ecclesiastical disquiet and political mischief soon broke in upon the academic labours of the Principal of Glasgow University, and Melville, whose bent was towards the cloister, was pushed by stress of circumstances into the church court, and he had to accept the role of an ecclesiastical leader and a champion of popular liberties. The "tulchan" bishops were aiming at episcopal jurisdiction, and were exhibiting prelatic pride ; they were the creatures of a rapacious nobility, intruded into the sanctuary for mere carnal and worldly ends ; and Melville placed himself in direct antagonism to the policy of the Court, by whom they were supported. There could be no question that the cause of righteousness demanded the abolition of prelates of the tulchan type. . . . The Assembly of 1580 by its declaration calling on those who held the office of bishop to resign it virtually rang the death -knell of Prelacy. — Dr. Story. The Church in 1580 reverted to the policy of 1560. It went further. Knox held episcopacy to be lawful but not convenient — an allowable form of government, but not the purest or the best. Melville held episcopacy to be unlawful — opposed to Scripture — allowable in no circumstances. ... It was a wonderful victory to be obtained so quickly by one man against the influence of the Regent, the simoniacal nobility, and the bishops, whom they had set up. ... In 1580 the triumph of Presbytery was complete ; Episcopacy had been condemned ; the bishops had bowed their heads before the victorious presbyters ; but they had bowed them only as the bulrush bows its head under the wave, to lift it up again when it has rolled past. — Br. Cunninfjham, ''History,'' I. 438. See also *'St. Giles' Lect.," I. 164, fur Dr. Cunningham's well-considered answer to the question. Should we regret the loss of the church dignities, even at the sacrifice of the greater part of the revenues ? 48 treasuby of the scottish covenant. The King's Confession, 1580-[81]. Drafted by John Craig, minister of Holyrood House. Calder- wood calls it the Second Confession of Faith. It is likewise called the Negative Confession, to distinguish it from Knox's Confession of 1560, wl]icli was affirmative in its form, and was adopted as a mode of preventing defection by a solemn renunciation of Popery. The following is the title in Row : " Ane short and Generall Confessione of the True Christiane Fayth and Religione, according to Code's Vorde, and Actis of our Perlamentis, subscryued by the Kingis Maiestie and his Houshold, with sindrie otheris, to the glorie of God, and good example of all men, att Edinburghe, the 28 day of Januare, 1580, — and 14 yeare of his Maiestie's reigne." It was sent throughout the land to be subscribed in every parish, and all commissioners and ministers were *'to crave subscription and report refusers under the pain of forty pounds to be taken from their stipends." A copy with the old spelling, carefully collated with the original document in the Advocates' Library by Dr. Laing, will be found in Row's "History" (Wod. Soc), p. 74. It was printed in various forms, and translated into different languages. Rollock signed a copy embodied in the Register-book of Laureations in the University of Edinburgh in 1585, and 47 students, who graduated in 1587, as well as others in succeeding years, followed his example. The following is the tenor : — We all and every one of us underwritten, protest, That, after long and due examination of our own consciences in matters of true and false religion we are now thoroughly resolved in the truth by the Word and Spirit of God ; and, therefore, we believe with our heaits. confess with our mouths, subscribe with our hands, and constantly affirm, before God and the whole world, that this only is the true Christian faith and religion, pleasing God, and bringing salvation to man, which is now by the mercy of God, revealed to the world by the preaching of the blessed evangel ; and is received, believed, and defended by many and sundry notable kirks and realms, but chiefly by the Kirk of Scotland, the King's majesty, and three estates of this realm, as God's eternal truth, and only ground of our salvation ; as more particularly is expressed in the Confession of our Faith, established and publicly confirmed by sundry acts of Parliament, and now of a long time hath been openly professed by the King's majesty, and whole body of this realm both in burgh and land. To the which Confession and Form of religion we willingly agree in our consciences in all points as unto God's undoubted truth and verity, grounded only upon His written Word. And therefore we abhor and detest all contrary religion and doctrine ; but chiefly all kinds of Papistry in general and particular heads, even as they are now condemned and confuted by the Word of God and Kirk of Scotland. But, in special we detest and refuse the usurped authority of that Roman Antichrist upon the Scriptures of God, upon the kirk, the civil magistrate, and consciences of men ; all his tyrannous laws made upon indifi'erent things against our Christian liberty ; his erroneous doctrine against the sufficiency of the written Word, the perfection of the law, the offices of Christ, and this blessed evangel; his corrupted doctrine concerning original sin, our natural inability and rebellion to God's law, our justification by faith only, our imperfect sanctification and obedience HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 49 to the law; the nature, number and use of the holy sacraments ; his five bastard sacraments, with all his rites, ceremonies and false doctrine, added to the ministration of the true sacraments without the Word of God ; his cruel judgment against infants departing without the sacrament; his abso- lute necessity of baptism ; his blasphemous opinion of transubstantiation or real presence of Christ's body in the elements and receiving the same by the wicked, or bodies of men ; his dispensations with oaths, perjuries, and decrees of marriage forbidden in the Word ; his cruelty against the innocent divorced ; his devilish mass ; his blasphemous priesthood ; his profane sacrifices for the sins of the dead and the quick ; his canoniza- tion of men ; calling upon angels and saints departed ; worshipping of imagery, relics, and crosses ; dedicating of kirks, altars, days ; vows to creatures ; his purgatory, prayers for the dead ; praying or speaking in a strange language ; his processions, and blasphemous litany, and multitude of advocates or mediators ; his manifold orders, auricular confession ; his desperate and uncertain repentance ; his general and doubtsome faith ; his satisfactions of men for their sins ; his justification by works ; his opu-i operatum, works of supererogation, merits, pardons, peregrinations, and stations ; his holy water, baptising of bells, conjuring of spirits, crossing, sayning, anointing, conjuring, hallowing of God's good creatures, with the superstitious opinion joined therewith ; his worldly monarchy, and wicked hierarchy ; his three solemn vows, with all his shavelings of sundry sorts ; his erroneous and bloody decrees made at Trent, with all the subscribers and approvers of that bloody bond, conjured against the kirk of God. And finally, we detest all his vain allegories, rites, signs, and traditions brought into the kirk without or against the Word of God. and doctrine of this true reformed kirk ; to the which we join ourselves willingly in doctrine, faith, religion, discipline, and use of the holy sacraments, as lively members of the same in Christ our Head : promising and swearing, by the great name of the Lord our God, that we shall continue in the obedience of the doctrine and discipline of this kirk, and shall defend the same, according to our vocation and power, all the days of our lives ; under the pains contained in the law, and danger both of body and soul in the day of God's fearful judgment. And seeing that many are stirred up by Satan, and that Roman Anti- christ, to promise, swear, subscribe, and for a time use the holy sacraments in the kirk deceitfully, against their own conscience, minding hereby, first, under the external cloak of religion, to corrupt and subvert secretly God's true religion within the kirk, and afterward, when time may serve, to become open enemies and persecutors of the same, under vain hope of the Pope's dispensation, devised against the Word of God, to his greater confusion, and their double condemnation in the day of the Lord Jesus : We, therefore, willing to take away all suspicion of hypocrisy, and of such double dealing with God and His kirk, protest, and call the Searcher of all hearts for witness, that our minds and hearts do fully agree with this our Confession, promise, oath, and subscription ; so that we are not moved for any worldly respect, but are persuaded only in our conscience through the knowledge and love of God's true religion imprinted in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, as we shall answer to Him in the day when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed. And because we perceive, that the quietness and stability of our religion and kirk doth depend upon the safety and good behaviour of the King's Majesty, as upon a comfortable instrument of God's mercy, granted to this country, for the maintaining of His kirk, and ministration of justice among us, we protest and promise solemnly with our hearts, under the same oath hand-writ, and pains, that we shall defend his person and authority with our geare, bodies, and lives, in the defence of Christ, His evangel, liberty of our country, ministration of justice, and punishment of iniquity, against 50 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. all enemies within this realm or without, as we desire our God to be a strong and merciful Defender to us in the day of our death, and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ; to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory eternally. Amen. James R. mortoune. Lenox. James Mr. Ogilvy. Argyll, Allane Mr. Cathcart. rcthvbn. williame schaw. Robert Stewart. James Steuart. Seton. Alexr. Seytouk. R. Dunfermling. J. Chishley. P. Mr. of Gray. James Colvill, of Est Wemes. Cathcart. George Douglas. James Halyburtoun. Alexr. Durem. Mr. JoHNE Crag. Walter Steuard, pryore of Blan tyre. Jhon Duxcanson. William Rtjthven, off Billindane. Michael Elphinstoun. Jhox Scrymgeour, zownger off Glas- P. Young. William Morray. [wall. Robert Erskyne. David Murray. James Elphinstoux. James Frasser. S. Borthik, with hand and hart. Richard Heriot. Welzame Crag. Maister Thomas Hamilton. Jhone Mordo. Walter Kyer. There were several successive Covenants similar in spirit and expression, the most important historically being the National Covenant of 1638, and the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643. These were both based upon earlier documents. In 1581 the General Assembly of Scotland adopted a Confession of Faith, or National Confession, drawn up by John Craig, condemning Episcopal government under the name of hierarchy. This Cove- nant was signed by James I., and enjoined on all his subjects. It was again subscribed in 1590 and 1596. — Ency. Britannica. The short Confession of Faith in condemning the wicked hierarchy of the Romish Antichrist was understood afterwards by all the Presbyterians to condemn the Episcopalian distinctions of bishops, presbyters and deacons. But I cannot help owning that the supposition, that this w^as the meaning in which it was under- stood by all who subscribed it, is quite at variance with the account which every waiter of these times has given of the cause for which the negative Confession was composed. It is known that the dissensions between the King and the Church encouraged many Jesuits and other Papists to avow their tenets openly. Dispensations from Rome were obtained by the priests, giving full permission to the Catholics to swear and subscribe to any obliga- tion, which might be required of them, provided that in mind they continued firm, and secretly used their diligence to advance the Romish faith. Some of these dispensations were shown to the King, w^ho required his minister, Mr. John Craig, to write an abjuration of Popery, in which not only all the doctrines and rites. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS, 51 as well as corruptions in discipline, were solemnly renounced, but a protestation was added in which the subscribers called God to witness that they were not moved by any worldly respect, but were persuaded only in their consciences, to defend the purity of the Gospel and liberty of the realm against all enemies within the realm or without, etc. — Principal Lee, D.D., LL.D., ''Lectures^ [While the Glasgow Assembly of 1638 was sitting, the Marquis of Hamilton, in "Profession and Declaration," tried to prove that Episcopal government was not abjured by the Covenant of 1580. But the Assembly declared that Prelacy was therein abjured, being included in the phrase "the Pope's wicked hierarchy." The Covenanters also published an *' Answer to Profession and Declaration."] This recantation [of Lennox] allayed the jealousy of the nation. But it was soon after revived and kindled into a flame by the interception of letters from Eorae, granting a dispensation to the Roman Catholics to profess the Protestant tenets for a time, provided they preserved an inward attachment to the ancient faith, and embraced every opportunity of advancing it in secret. This discovery was the immediate occasion of that memorable transaction, the swearing of the National Covenant. . . . This solemn transaction had a powerful influence in rivetting the attachment of the nation to the Protestant religion, but it did not prevent those who had engrossed the royal favour, from prosecuting the designs which they had formed. — Dr. JPCrie, *' Life of Melville," 80. The Reformation in Scotland was soon followed by the first Covenant of 1581, which, suggested by Old Testament examples simply to serve a passing crisis, Ava^ a fresh abjuration of Popery, and a solemn resolution by an oath to support Protestantism. With this Protestantism was bound up at the time kindred matters. First, Presbyterianism, or the parity of ministers against a Popish prelacy; and again, the independence of the nation as against a foreign and Popish despotism. John Knox had died, but Andrew Melville grasped with a firm hand the standard he had so nobly carried to victory, and held it up as it passed into new and trying conflicts. In this first Covenant we have the germs of all that followed, and indeed of all our modern struggles and successes in civil and religious liberty. — Prof. W. GraJiam, D.D. Act of Assembly 1582. No max can pretend to Ecclesias- tical Functions, Office, Promotion, or Benefice, by ANY ABSOLUTE GIFT, COLLATION OR ADMISSION BY THE Civil Magistrate or Patron. The occasion of the passing of this Act was James imposing Robert Montgomery, whom Lennox had made Tulchan Archbishop of Glasgow, upon the General Assembly. "But that body," says D'Aubigne, "con- a2 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. tained men too friendly to liberty and too inimical to hierarchical abuses, not to protest against this simoniacal introduction of Episcopacy," Montgomery was summoned to the bar of the Assembly and suspended from the office of the ministiy, notwithstanding that a messenger-at-arms appeared, and in the King and Council's name, ordered the members under "the pains of rebellion" to desist. Thereafter the ministers of the metro- politan Presbytery w^ere summoned before the Privy Council, one of their number banished, and the sentence of excommunication which they had passed declared null and void. The emergency was urgent ; a special meeting of Assembly was called ; and a remonstrance dra-\vn up to be forwarded to the King. Remonstrance of the General Assembly. 1582. Three Assemblies were held this year. The second met at Edinburgh, 27th June, Andrew Melville having been continued Moderator. The paper of Grievances, which will be found in Cald. "Hist," III. 628, contains the following passage: — Your Majesty, by advice of some counsellors, is taught to take upon your Grace that spiritual power and authority which properly belongeth to Christ, as only King and Head of the Kirk. The ministry and execution thereof is only given to such as bear office in the ecclesiastical government of the same ; so that in your Grace's person some men press to erect a new popedom, as though your Majesty could not be full king and head of this commonwealth, unless, as well the spiritual as the temporal sword be put in your hand — unless Christ be bereft of His authority ; and the two jurisdictions confounded which God has divided, which directly tends to the wreck of all true religion. Montgomery and the Court at last gave way. The struggle continued, however, till 1592. [For an interesting chapter on this struggle betwixt the Church and State, as well as the Inde- pendence of the First General Assembly, see Br. Hanna's " Memoirs of Chalmers,'' IV. 180.] It now remained to present this spirited address to the King. A depu- tation, at the head of which was that excellent minister Andrew Melville, repaired to Perth, where the King was residing. The Court was indignant at the boldness of the Assembly ; the two favourites exclaimed loudly against it, and all were apprehensive that the ministers would expiate their audacity with their lives, " Beware," they were told, " beware of appear- ing before the King." Melville replied, "I thank God I am not afraid, nor feeble-spirited in the cause and message of Christ. Come what God pleases to send, our commission shall be discharged !" . . . Melville went forward and gravely read the remonstrance. But hardly had he finished, when Arran, who was standing near the throne, frowning terribly on all around him, exclaimed, in a threatening voice, " Who dare subscribe these treasonable articles?" *' VYe dare," repbed Melville calmly; and then advancing to the table which was before the King, he took a pen from the hand of the secretary of the coimcil and signed his name below the articles. The other deputies followed his example. Everyone was struck with wonder, and none dared to interrupt them. This Christian calmness laid the storm. The spirited resistance of the Church bore its fruits [although Melville had to suifer for his boldness in the meantime]. £>'Aubigne. historic documents. 53 Band Subscribed by the Members and Favourers of the Raid of Ruthven. 1582. Copy will be found in " Calderwood," III. 644. The Raid was approved bj the 46th General Assembly, convened in the New- Kirk, Edinburgh, 9th October. Protest or Declinature of Andrew Melville. 1584. On February 15, 1584, Melville received a charge to appear before the Privy Council at Edinburgh, on the 17th current, to answer for alleged seditious and treasonable speeches uttered in his sermons and prayers on a Fast kept the preceding month. He "compeered" and declared by word of mouth what he had said. Thereafter he gave in this declaration — " I, Mr. Andrew Melville, protest before God and His elect angels, as I did the first day of my compearance in presence of the King's Majesty, that I spake nothing in that sermon tending to the slander or dishonour of my sovereign in any wise," etc.—" Calderwood," IV. 5. The reading of the paper threw the King into a rage, especially when he came to state that he had preached from the words in which Daniel reminded Belshazzar of the history of his father Nebuchadnezzar. , . . Melville was charged to get ready to be conveyed to Blackness, but he slipped out at the port, "lodged that night where God had prepared, and within twenty-four hours entered Berwick in place of the Blacknesse." Melville, in becoming the champion of the spiritual independence of the Church, though it might not be in his mind, was the champion of liberty of speech, without which there can be no liberty of action, nor the free enjoy- ment of the natural rights of men. — Dr. Beith, "Scot. Be/, and Martyrs.'' The Black Acts. May 22, 1584 [Black Prelacy]. In May, 1584, a Parliament, which met with closed doors, and in which the notorious Montgomery sat as Archbishop of Glasgow, and the base Adamson as Archbishop of St. Andrews, declared that all that had hitherto been done by the Church in relation to Prelacy was treason. One of the Acts confirmed the King's " royal power over all states and subjects within this realm." A second ordained that no ecclesiastical assembly should be held without the King's consent : " Act discharging all jurisdictions and judgments not approved by Parliament, and all assemblies and conventions without our sovereign Lord's special licence and com- mandment." By the third, ministers were compelled to acknowledge bishops as their ecclesiastical superiors. The Acts were submitted to by the nobility, barons, and gentry, but opposed by the ministers. The instincts of the Scottish people very properly designated these Acts, whereby the crown was taken from the head of Christ and put upon one of the meanest of His creatures, the Black Acts. 54 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. These Acts were called by the people the Black Acts — a name they well merited, whether we consider the base character of the aciministration that decreed them, the malicious hostility to the liberties of the Church which they betrayed, or the melancholy consequences to which they led. — Dr. M'Crie. These Acts breathed the spirit of pure despotism and tyranny. To decline the judgment of the King or the Privy Council in any matter was, according to them, treason. . . . At this crisis Scotland owed such vindication of her rights as she could have by protest, to her ministers. The Black Acts were basely submitted to by the nobility, barons, and gentry. . . . Adamson and Montgomery acted in their day the part which in modern times the notorious ' Forty ' (a well-known renegade party in the Disruption conflict) did. Nevertheless the ministers generally remained faithful, and proved the Thermopylae champions of the day. — Dr. Beith, '■'Scot. Reformers^" p. 67. These enactments struck at the root of the most cherished principles of Presbytery. Some of the ministers left the country ; the most of them sullenly submitted ; for what else could they do ? For eight years from this time there was ecclesiastical chaos in Scotland — Episcopacy and Presbytery jumbled confusedly together. — Dr. Cunningham. " It was then that those Acts were passed, famous in the history of Scot- land, and known by the name of the Black Acts, which "annihilated the Church, and left her neither libertj^ nor independence." These Acts decreed that all judgment, spiritual or temporal, which had not been approved by the king and his Parliament, should be of no force ; and that the bishops and ecclesiastical commissioners, appointed by the king, might rule in all that concerns the Church. The Black Acts set up the State to rule over the Church, and under the State set up the bishops, who were merely its servile agents. . . . But a remedy was produced even by the excess of the evil. The Papist princes of the Continent were then taking measures to re-establish the authority of the Pope in Scotland. Philip of Spain sent his famous Armada. , . . The Protestant spirit awoke with fresh energy. . . . The period was for Presbyterianism the most happy of the sixteenth century ; and in 1592 the Parliament passed a bill abolishing all ** Acts contrary to the true religion." — D' Aubigne, " Scotland," £61. Act for Abolishing of the Actis Contrair the Trew Religion. 1592. This Act on the one hand ratifies and approves of General Assemblies, Synods, and Presbyteries — in short, of the eccle- siastical system established in the Book of Discipline. On the other hand, it declares the Black Acts to be " expired, null, and of none avail." The Act has very properly ever since been regarded as the Great Charter of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. It is as follows : — Our Soveraue Lord and Estatis of this present Parliament, following the lovable and gude example of their predecessours, Hes ratifiet and apprevit, and be the tenour of this present Act ratifies and apprevis, all liberties, privileges, immunities, and freedomes, quatsumever, gevin and grantit be his Hienes, his Regentis in his name, or ony of his prede- cessouris, to the trew and haly Kirk, presentlie establishit within this realme : and declarit in the first Act of his Hienes Parliament, the twentie day of October, the zier of God ane thousand, five hundredth, three-scoir nineteen zieres ; and all and whatsumevir Actis of Parliament, and statutes HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 55 maid of befoir, be his Hienes and his Regentis, anent the libertie and freedome of the said Kirk : and special ie the first Act of the Parliament halden at Edinburgh, the twentie-foure day of October, the zier of God ane thousand, five hundredth, and foir-scoir ane zieres, with the haill particu- lare Actis thairin meutionat, quhilk sail be als sufficient as gif the samyn wer herin exprest. And all uther Actis of Parliament maid sensyne, in favouris of the trew Kirk ; and siklyke, ratifies and apprevis the General! Assemblies appointed be the said Kirk : And declaris, that it sail be lauchfuU to the Kirk and Ministrie everilk zeir at the leist, and ofter pro re nata, as occasion and necessitie sail require, to hald and keip General! Assemblies : Providing that the Kingis Majestie or his Commissioner with thame, to be appoyntit be his Hienes, be present at ilk General! Assemblie, befoir the dissolving thairof nominat and appoint tyme and place quhen and quhair the nixt General! Assemblie sal! be haldin : and in caise nather his Majestie nor his said Commissioner beis present for the tyme in that toun. quhair the General! Assemblie beis halden, Then, and in that caise, it sail be lessum to the said General! Assemblie, be themselffis, to nominat and appoynt time and place quhair the nixt General! Assemblie of the Kirk sal! be keipit and haldin, as they haif bene in use to do thir tymes bypast. And als ratifies and aj^previs the Sinodall and Provincial! Assemblies, to be haldin be the said ICirk and Ministrie, twyis ilk zier, as tliey haif bene, and are presentlie in use to do, within every Province of this roalme ; And ratifeis and apprevis the Presbiteries, and particulars Sessionis appoyntit be the said liirk, with the haill jurisdictioun and discipline of the same Kirk, aggreit upon be liis Majestie, in conference, had be his Hienes, with certane of the Ministrie convenit to that effect : of the quhilkis Articles the tenour foUowis. Matekis to be entreated in Provincial Assemblies : Thir Assemblies ar constitute for wechtie materis, necessar to be entreatit be mutual! consent, and assistance of brethrene, within the Province, as neid reqvyris. This Assemblie lies power to handle, ordour, and redres?e, all things omittit or done amisse in the particulare Assemblies. It hes power to depose the office-beareris of that province, for gude and just causes, deserving deprivatioun : And generallie, thir Assemblies hes the haill power of the partictulare Elderschippis, quhairof they are coUectit. Materis to be entreated in the Presbyteries. The power of the Presbyteries is to give diligent lauboris in the boundis committed to their chairge : That the Kirkis be kepit in yude ordour : To enquire diligentlie of naughtie and uugodlie personis : And to travel! to bring them in the way agane be admonitiouu, or threatning of Goddis jugementis, or be correctioun. It appertenis to the Elderschip, to tak held that the Word of God be puirlie preachit within thair boundis, the Sacramentis richtlie miuistrat, the Discipline enterteynit, And Eccle- siastical! guidis uncorrupthe distributit. It belangis to this kynd of Assemblies, to caus the ordinances maid be the Assembleis, Proviaciallis, Nationallis, and Generallis, to be kepit and put in execution, to mak constitutionis, quhilkis concernis to irpeirov in the Kirk, for decent ordour, in the particulare kirk quhair they governe ; pro vy ding that they alter na rewlis maid be the Provincial! or General! Assemblies ; And that they make the Provincial! Assemblies foirsaidis, privie of the rewlis that they sal! mak, and to abolishe constitutionis tending to the hurte of the same. It has power to excommunicat the obstinat, formale proces being led, and dew interval! of tymes observit. Anent particulare kirkis, Gif they be lauchfuUy rewlit be sufficient ministeris and sessioun, They haif power and jurisdictioun in their awin congregation, in materis Ecclesiastical!, And decernis and declaris the said Assembleis, Presbiteries, and Sessiouiies, Jurisdictioun and Discipline thairof foirsaid, to be in all tymes cuming maist just, gude, and godlie in theselfF, Notwithstanding of quhatsumevir Statutis, Actis, Cannon, Civile, or municipal! Lawes, maid in the contrair : To the quhilkis and every ane of thame, thir presentis sal! mak expres 56 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. derogatioun. And becaus thair ar divers Actis of Parliament, maid in favour of the Papistical Kirk, tending to the prejudice of the libertie of the trew Kirk of God, presentlie professit within this realme, jurisdictioun, and discipline thairof, Quhilk stands zit in the buikis of the Actis of Parliament, not abrogat nor annullit : Thairfoir his Hienes and Estaittis foirsaidis hes abrogat, cassit, and annullit, and be the tennor heirof, abrogatis, cassis, and annullis, all Actis of Parliament maid be ony of his Hienes predecessoris, for mantenance of superstitioun and idolatrie, with all and quhatsumevir Acts, Lawes, and Statutes, maid at ony tyme, befoir the day and dait heirof, aganis the libertie of the trew Kirk, jurisdictioun, and discipline thairof, as the samyn is usit and exerceisit within this realme. And in speciall, that pairt of the sevint Act of Parliament halden at Streviling, the fourt day of November^ ane thousand four hundredth, fourty-three zeiris, commanding obedience to be gevin to Eugin, the Pape for the tyme : the 109 Act maid be King James the thrid, in his Parliament halden at Edinburgh, the twenty-fourth day of Februar, the zeir of God ane thousand, four hundredth, four scor thrie zeires. And all utheris actis quhairby the Papis authoritie is establishit. The fourty-seven Act of King James the third, in his Parliament halden at Edinburgh, the twenty day of November, ane thousand, four hundredth, three score nine zeires, aaent the Satterday and uther vigilis to be hally dayes from Evin sang to Evin sang. Item, that pairt of the thirty-one Act maid be the Queene Regent, in the Parliament halden at Edinburgh, the first day of Februar ane thousand, five hundredth, fifty-ane zeirs, Geving speciall licence for haldin of Pashe and Zule. Item, the Kingis Majestic and Estatis foresaidis declaris, that the secund Act of the Parliament halden at Edinburgh, the xxij day of Maij, the zeir of God ane thousand, five hundredth, four scoir, four zeires, sail naways be prejudiciall, nor derogat any thing to the privilege that God hes givin to the spirituall office-beareris in the Kirk, concerning heads of religioun, materis of heresie, excommuni- catiouu, collation or deprivation of ministeris, or ony sik essential censours, speciall groundit, and havand warrand of the Word of God. Item, Our said Soverane Lord, and Estaittis of Parliament forsadis, abrogatis, cassis, and annulis the XX Act of the same Parliament, halden at Edinburgh, the said zeir, ane thousand, five hundredth, fourscoir, four zeires, granting commission to bischoppis and utheris jugis, constitute in ecclesiasticall causes, to ressaue his Hienes presentatioun to benefices, to gif collatioun thairupon, and to put ordour in all causes ecclesiasticall : quhilk his Majesty and Estaitis foresaidis d claris to be expyrit in the self, and to be null in tyme cuming, and of nane availl, force, nor effect. And thairfoir ordanis all presentationis to benefices, to be direct to the particular presbyteries, in all tyme cuming : with full power to thame to gifF collationis thereupon ; and to put ordour to all materis and causes ecclesiasticall, within thair boundis, according to the discipline of the Kirk : Providing the foirsaidis presbyteries be bund and astrictit to ressaue and admitt quhatsumeuir qualifiet minister presentit be his Majestic, or uther laic patrounes. The signal overthrow of the Spanish Armada, the invasion of which discovered the hostile intention of the Popish princes of the Continent, the prudent counsels of Chancellor Maitland, who supplanted the King's unworthy favourites, and the blessing of God on the faithful warnings and contendings of the ministers, led to the happiest results. James was persuaded to desist from imposing upon the nation a hierarchy which none desired but liimself ; nay, he professed to have become a convert to Presby- terianism. At a meeting of the General Assembly in 1590, he HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 57 pronounced a high panegyric on the Church of Scotland. Shortly after this, in June 1592, the Parliament formally restored Presbytery.— J/'C7We, ''Scottish Church" 81. This important Act was tantamount to the entire subversion of the Episcopal polity and the re-establishment of the National Church upoQ a Presbyterian basis. It is frequently spoken of as the Magna Chaita of the Church. It legalised the most important parts of the Second Book of Discipline. For nearly twenty years the Presbyter had done battle with the Bishop, and at this period in the contest he stood victorious. — Dr. J. Cunninyham. Robert Bruce was instrumental, more than any other man, in bringing about the passing of the Act, which is to this day the great charter of the constitutional privileges of the Church of Scotland. — Prin. W. Cunningham, D.D. This celebrated statute of 1592 was accepted and regarded at the time as ratifying that claim to an exclusive spiritual juris- diction for which the Church had contended during the thirty preceding years — a statute like that of 1567, still in force, but which, in 1839, was strangely quoted and founded on as destruc- tive of such a claim. . . . The first thirty years, however, are a type of all that followed. The right to a free and uncon- trolled self-government — the liberty to order all her doings according to her own conscience and in obedience to the will of Christ, the Church of Scotland still resolutely asserted and main- tained. For a brief season or two she ingloriously succumbed, and suffered the invader's inroads. But from these temporary disgraces she nobly redeemed herself. — W. Ilanna, LL.D., ''Memoirs of Chalmers,'' IV. 180. Act of Parliament, 1594. The constitution of Scotland, as it existed at the beginning of the seventeenth century, however excellent in theory, was under the influence of King James VI. and his advisers practically so administered as to be hardly consistent with any amount of either political or personal liberty. The King's love of arbitrary power and extravagant notions of tbe prerogative, combined with his undoubted ability and learning, and a disposition to use these advantages seltishly and unscrupulously for the promotion of his personal objects, reduced both the Parliament and people of Scotland to a condition of almost helpless dependency on his will; and it was no idle boast that James made to the English Parliament in his celebrated speech at Whitehall in 1G07 : ''This I must say for Scotland, and I may trewly vaunt it : here I sit and govern e it with my pen : I write, and it is done : and by a clearke of the counsell I governe Scotland now, which others could not doe by the sword. " The agency by means of which the independence of the Scottish Parliament was at t bat time more immediately held in check was an abuse of an institution, or form of procedure peculiar to Scotland. The committee of Parliament, called "The Lords of the Articles," may be traced back to an early period. ... If the King could ever secure a preponderating influence in the committee of the Articles, his control over the proceedings of Parliament would be almost unlimited. The Act 1594, c. 218, was the result of a characteristic 58 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. stratagem of James to place the appointment of the Lords of the Articles entirely in the Kicg's hands. The best authority for this statement is the King himself : "Only such as I allow of are put into the chancellor's hands to be propounded to the Parliament, and none others. And if any man in Parliament speak of any other matter than is in this form first allowed by me, the chancellor tells him there is no such bill allowed by the King." This overwhelming influence of the King in Parliament continued unabated, not only during the reign of James YI. but also in Charles I.'s time, until that King's second Parliament, which met ia 1640, reflecting faithfully the feelings of the whole educated and thinking portion of the people of Scotland, refused to surrender its constitutional power into the hands of the King, and passed an Act providing for the choosing of articles by the estates of Parliament themselves, each estate choosing its own representatives ; and another Act repealing the Act 1594, and appoint- ing "all grievances and other matters that are to be handled and treated of in Parliament hereafter to be given in and presented in open and plain Pa.rliament in all time coming." These Acts were rescinded at the Restor- ation ; the former modes of appointing the Lords of the Articles was again resorted to, wdth the same effect of course, in promoting and rendering paramount the influence of the King; and it was not till the Revolution that this intolerable grievance— which indeed stood first in the list of grievances submitted to King William by the Convention of Estates in 1689 — was for ever swept away as utterly inconsistent with parliamentary government.— Lorc^ Justice-clerk Inglis, " Historical Study of Law." Renewal of the National Covenant, 1596. This yeere is a remarkable yeere to the Kirk of Scotland, both for the beginning and for the end of it. The Kirk of iScotland was now come to her perfectioun, and the greatest puritie that ever she attained unto, both in doctrine and discipline, so that her beau tie was admirable to forraine kirks. The assemblies of the sancts were never so glorious, nor profitable to everie one of the true members thereof, than in the l;eginning of this yeere. There was good appearance of further reform atioun of abuses and cor- ruptiouns, which were espied when the Covenant with God was renewed first in the General! Assemblie, then in particular synods and presbyteries. — C alder wood, V. 388. The honour of giving a new impulse to the i-eligious feelings of the nation is due to that zealous minister John Davidson of Prestonpans. Lamenting the evils which abounded, and the inefficiency of all the means hitherto used to correct them, he proposed, in an overture to the General Assembly, that, after a solemn confession of the corruptions and offences of ministers and persons of all estates, not excepting the courts of justice and the King's household, they should renew the National Covenant, "making promise before the majesty of God to amend their conduct." The proposal was cordially agreed to, and the Assembly was held in the Little Church of Ediiiburgh, on Tuesday, 30tli March, 1596. On this solemn occasion Davidson, who was chosen to preside, preached so much to the conviction of his hearers, and in their name offered up a confession of their sins to Heaven with such fervent emotion, that the whole assembled ministers melted into tears ; and rising from their seats at his desire, and lifting up their right hands, they renewed their covenant with God, "protesting to walk more warily in their ways, and to be more diligent in their charges." The scene, which continued three hours, was deeply affecting beyond any- thing that the oldest person present had ever witnessed. The sacred HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 5^ action extended to congregations, and the ordinance was obej-ed with au alacrity and fervour which spread from parish to parish till all Scotland, like Judah of old, "rejoiced at the oath." But the satisfaction was of short duration. It was remarked by many that the Church never had another Assembly like this during the reigu of James ; and Calderwood, after detailing its proceedings, closes his account with these emphatic words : Here end the sincere General Assemblies of the Kirk of Scotland. — Dr. M'Crie, ^^ Scottish Church," abridged. In " Melville's Diary" we have an interesting account of the renewal of the Covenant, as it was carried out in the Synod of Fife, 12th May, 159G, and also in the Presbytery of St. Andrews, John Davidson was present at the Synod, and "spak verie movinglie and profitablie." Andrew Melville likewise " mightelie exhorted all the breithring to tak heid to tham selves, and fixt the doctrin quhilk they haid hard that day, and this present actioun and covenant in their memories, and till use fructfullie this guid occasioun of rest and libertie that God sa gi-atiuslie geves to be inarmit and preparit against the day of tryall, quhilk was nocht far of." Melville has preserved also a covenanting literary relic, entitled: "A soum of the doctrine of the Covenant reuewit in the Kirk of Scotland, and namlie, within the province of Fyfe, and in the congregation of Kilrunny, the fyft of Sep. , 1596 : Set down in maner of conference for the use of the peiple." It is a highly spiritual symbol, and calculated to prove highly stimulating to a luke-warm witness-bearer or drooping church in any age. For au account of the solemnity at Dunfermline, and the part taken in it by David Ferguson, the oldest minister of the Church, see M'Crie's ''Life of Melville," p. 178. Dundee Assembly, 1598: "Woefull Commissioux." By craft the King obtained the consent of an Assembly, which met at Dundee in 1598, to an arrangement which it was feared by some at the time, and was afterwards proved, to lead to a com- plete institution of a hierarchy in the Church. This was the appointment of a certain number of commissioners to consult with the King. They were to sit and vote in Parliament, as the bishops had done before the Reformation. The King in this way gained an important point, and next year he had it conceded to him to nominate the number and the names of the commission. Ultimately it was decided that they should have the episcopal title to confer dignity upon the power already possessed. The Parliament declared that the prelates formed the third estate of the kingdom. It was now necessary to persuade the Assembly to accept this apparent favour. Everything was set to work for that purpose. The ecclesiastical committee wrote a circular to all the ministers, in which they were told that this representation of the Church in Parliament was the only means of obtaining from the State, permanent stipends for the ministry. A share in the budget was the bait presented to the Church to induce her to sacrifice her independence. Another Assembly was convened. The " Northern Legion," that of Aberdeen, was airain recrnited, and every means was adopted to brini; in, as elders, the nobles Avho had already voted in Parliament for the measure. . . . The most pious and able ministers rejected those expectations of wealth, honour, and power, which were coveted by the worldly. Nevertheless, the motion was adopted in a general form by a majority of ten, but the execution of it was referred to at' other Assembly. On 20th March, 160U, a General Assembly met at Montrose. James redoubled his endeavours, and succeeded. It was, however, decided 60 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. that the representatives of the Assembly should not be called bishops, but commissioners of the Church. But all this was only king-craft. That same year the King nominated three bishops to the sees of Ross, Caithness, and Aberdeen. — D'Auhigne, *' Scotland,'' 270. Of course it was something for a parish minister to sit in Parliament, and become a member of the Privy Council and a Lord of Session. It was scarcely in flesh and blood to resist these honours when they were thrust upon them. How many of us would resist them now ? — St. Giles' Lect, I. 171. The first step to our Prelats' Grandeur : Ministers vote in Parliament. — Scott's ^^ Narration," p. 96. General Assembly at Aberdeen, 1605. King James appointed the Assembly to meet at Aberdeen in July, 1605, and many of the old true blue Presbyterians felt that now was the time to decide whether the Church was to stand firm or yield her liberties into the hands of the King. The court took alarm, and in the month of June, after several presbyteries had elected their representatives, issued a circular-letter proroguing the meeting indefinitely. Notwithstanding, nineteen ministers met at Aberdeen on the 2nd July. Mr. John Forbes of Alford was chosen moderator. The Assembly had been constituted, and was proceeding to read the King's letter, when a messenger-at-arms arrived, and ordered the ministers to dissolve on pain of rebellion. The Assembly agreed, provided the Commissioner would fix a day for the next meeting. This he refused, whereupon the brethren appointed the next meeting to be held, at the same place, on the last Tuesday of September. For this act sixteen of the ministers were committed to prison, and six (whose names first follow) were convicted of treason : — John Forbes, Alford. John Welsh, Ayr. Andrew Duncan, Crail. Robert Dury, Anstruther. John Sharp, Kilmany. Alexander Strachan, Creich. John Munro, Tain. William Forbes, Kinbethock. Robert Youngson, Clatt. James Irving, Tough. Charles Fairholm, Fraserburgh. Archibald Blackburn, Aberdeen. James Ross, Aberdeen. David Rait. Alexander Strogie. James Mylne. David Robertson, Rugley. William Davidson, Rathen. Robert Reid, Banchory-Trinity. John Rough, Nigg. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 61 The six convicted of treason were ordained to be banished from the King's dominions. The rest, " who were wairded in Stirline, Doune, Dumbartane, were to be confyned in barbarous parts — as the Lewis, the Isles, Kintyre, Ireland, Cathnesse." Their conduct on this occasion was marked equally by respect to the royal authority and fidelity to the Great Head of the Church ; and it deserves the warmest approbation of every friend of religion and civil Uherty. —Thos. M'Crie, LL.D. Andrew Melville; James Melville — These ministers were not present at the Aberdeen Assembly. How was the King to get rid of them ? On pretext of holding a consultation with them, and likely with the hope of alluring them by the glitter of courtly and Episcopal splendour, he invited them in 1606 to Hampton Court. Five bishops were likewise in attendance. The King asked whether or not they justified the Conventicle at Aberdeen, as he termed it. The bishops condemned it, but Andrew Melville argued that it had sufficient authority in the Word of God and the laws of the realm. Reference having been made to the six ministers condemned for treason, Melville accused the advocate of favouring Papists, and persecuting the ministers of Christ. The King, failing to convert the sturdy Presbyterians, thereafter sought and speedily found occasion against them. Andrew Melville, after suffering imprisonment in the Tower for three years, was allowed to accept an invitation to become Pro- fessor of Divinity at Sedan, in France. His nephew, James, was ordered to take up his residence at Newcastle, from which he afterwards removed to Berwick, where he died. Protestation Offered to the Estates Convened in Parlia- ment, AT Perth, July 1, 1606. Ten bishops were in the cavalcade on the first day of this Parliament, taking their places betwixt the earls and the lords. The principal business was to set up the Estate of Bishops. The proceedings were not allowed to pass without the Church's protest. Patrick Simpson penned the Protestation, and gave it to the Earl of Dunbar, out of his own hand ; " whilk protestation," writes How, " subscryvet by forty-two honest men, I will here insert, and the names of the subscry vers, because it is an excellent piece, as I judge." The document is here given with the signatories: — The earnest desire of our hearts is to be faithful, and in case we would have been silent and unfaithful at this time, when the undermined estate of Christ's kirk craveth a duty at our hands, we should have locked up our hearts with patience, and our mouths with taciturnity, rather than to have impeached any with our admonition. But for that which Christ c<'m- mandeth, necessity urgeth, and duty wringeth out of us, to be faithful office-bearers in the kirk of God, no man can justly blame us, providing we hold ourselves within the bounds of that Christian moderation which foUoweth God, without injury done to any man, especially these whom God 62 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. hath lapped up within the skirts of his own honourable styles and names, calling them gods upon earth. Now, therefore, my lords, convened in this present parliament, under the most high and excellent Majesty of our dread Sovereign, to your Honours is our exhortation, that ye would endeavour, with all singleness of heart, love and zeal, to advance the building of the house of God. reserving always unto the Lord's own hand, that glory which He will communicate neither with men nor angels, viz. , to prescribe from His holy mountain, a lively pattern, according to which __His own tabernacle should be formed. Remembering always, that there is no absolute and undoubted authority in this world, excepting the sovereign authority of Christ the King, to whom it belongeth as properly to rule the kirk, according to the good pleasure of His own will, as it belongeth to Him to save His kirk, by the mtnt of His own sufferiugs. All other authority is so entrenched within the marches of divine commandment, that the least overpassing of the bouuds set by God Himself, bringeth men under the fearful expectation of temporal and eternal judgments. For this cause, my lords, let that authority of your meeting in this present parliament, be like the ocean, which, as it is the greatest of all other waters, so it contaiueth itself better within the coasts and limits appointed by God, than any rivers of fresh running waters have done. Next, remember that God hath sent you to be nursing-fathers to the kirk, craving of your hands, that ye would maintain and advance by your authority, that kiik which tlie Lord hath fashioned, by the uncounterfeited work of his own new creation, as the prophet speaketh, He hath made, us, and not ice ourselves; not that ye should presume to fashion and shape a new portraiture of a kirk, and a new form of divine service, which God in His word hath not before allowed ; because, that were you to extend your authority farther than the calling ye have of God doth permit, as namely, if ye should (as God forbid) autborize the authority of bishops, and their pre-eminence above their brethren, ye should bring into the kirk of God the oi'dinance of man, and that thing which the experience of preceding ages hath testified to be the ground of great idleness, palpable ignorance, insufferable pride, pitiless tyranny, and shameless ambition, in the kirk of God ; and, finally to have been the ground of that Antichristian hierarchy, which mounted up on the steps of pre-eminence of bishops, until that Man of Sin came forth, as the ripe fruit of man's wisdom, whom God shall con- simie with the breath of His own mouth. Let the sword of God pierce that belly which brought forth such a monster ; and let the staff of God crush that egg which hath hatched such a cockatrice : and let not only that Roman Antichrist be thrown down from the high bench of his usurped authority ; but also let all the steps, whereby he mounted up to that un- lawful pre-eminence, be cut down, and utterly abolished in this laud. Above all things, my lords, beware to strive against God with an open and displayed banner, by building up again the walls of Jericho, which the Lord hath not only cast down, but hath also laid them under a horrible interdiction and execration : so that the building of them again must needs stand to greater charges to the builders, than the re-edifying of Jericho to Hiel the Bethelite, in the days of Ahab. For he had nothing but the interdiction of Joshua, and the curse pi'onounced by him, to stay him from the building again of Jericho ; but the noblemen and States of this realm have the reverence of the oath of God, made by themselves, and subscribed with their own hands, in the Confession of Faith, called the King's Majesty's, published oftener than once or twice, subscribed by his most excellent Majesty, and by his Highness, the Nobility, Estates, and whole subjects of this realm, to hold them back from setting up the dominion of bishops: because it is of verity, that they subscribed and swore the said Confession, containing, not only the maintenance of the true doctrine, but also of the discipline professed within the realm of Scotland. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 63 Consider also, that this work cannot be set forward, without the great slander of the gospel, defamation of many preachers, and evideat hurt and loss of the people's souls committed to our charge. For the people are brought almost to the like case, as they were in Syria, Arabia, and Egypt, about the six hundredth year of our Lord, when the people were so shaken and brangled with contrary doctrines ; some affirming, and others denying the opinion of Eutychus, that in the end they lost all assured persuasion of true religion ; and within a short time thereafter, did cast the gates of their hearts open to the peril, to receive that vile and blasphemous doctrine of Mahomet ; even so the people in this land are cast into such admiration, to hear the preachers, who damned so openly this stately pre-eminence of bishops, and then, within a few years after, accept the same dignity, pomp, and superiority, in their own persons, which they before had damned in others, that the people know not what way to incline, and in the end will become so doubtful, in matters of religion and doctrine, that their hearts will be like an open tavern, patent to every guest that chooses to come in. We beseech your Honours to ponder this in the balance of a godly and prudent mind, and suffer not the gospel to be slandered by the behaviour of a few preachers, of whom we are bold to affirm, that, if they go forward in this defection, not only abusing and appropriating the name of bishops to themselves, which is common to all the pastors of God's kirk ; but also taking upon themselves such offices, that carry with them the ordinary charge of governing the civil affairs of the country, neglecting their flocks, and seeking to subordinate their brethren to their jurisdiction ; if any of them, we say, be found to step forward in this cause of defection, they are more worthy as rotten members to be cut off from the body of Christ, than to have superiority and dominion over their brethren within the kirk of God. This pre-eminence of bishops is that Dagon which once already fell before the ark of God in this land, and no band of iron shall be able to hold him up again. This is that pattern of that altar brought from Damascus, but not showed to Moses in the mountain ; and therefore it shall fare with it as it did with that altar of Damascus ; it ciime last into the temple, and went first out. Likewise the institution of Christ was anterior to this pre- eminence of bishops, and shall consist and stand within the house of God, when this new fashion of the altar shall go to the door. ■ Eemember, my lords, that in times past, your authority was for Christ and not against Him. Ye followed the light of God, and strived not against it ; and like a child in the mother's hand, ye said to Christ, Draxo us after Thee. God forbid that ye should now leave off, and fall away from your former reverence borne to Christ, in presuming to lead Him whom the Father hath appointed to be leader of you. And far less to trail the holy ordinances of Christ by the cords of your authority, at the heels of the ordinances of men. And albeit your Honours have no such intention to do anything which may impair the honour of Christ's kingdom ; yet remember, that spiritual darkness, flowing from a very small beginning, doth so insinuate and thrust itself into the house of God, as men can hardly discern by what secret means the light was dimmed, and darkness creeping in, got the upper hand ; and in the end, at unawares, all was involved in a misty cloud of horrible apostacy. And lest any should think this our admonition out of time, in so far it is statute and ordained already by his majesty, with advice of his estates in parliament, that all ministers, provided to prelacies, should have vote in parliament ; as likewise, the General Assembly (his majesty being present thereat) hath found the same lawful and expedient, we would humbly and earnestly beseech all such to consider, First, That the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the office bearers and laws 64 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. thereof, neither should nor can suffer any derogation, addition, diminution, or alteration, beside the prescript of His holy word, by any inventions or doings of men, civil or ecclesiastical. And we are able, by the grace of God, and will offer ourselves to prove that this bishopric to be erected, is against the word of God, the ancient fathers, and canons of the kirk, the modern most learned and godly divines, the doctrine and constitution of the kirk of Scotland since the First Reformation of religion within the same country, the laws of the realm, ratifying the government of the kirk by the general and provincial assemblies, presbyteries, and sessions ; also against the weal and honour of the king's most excellent majesty, the weal and honour of the realm, and quietness thereof ; the established estate and weal of the kirk, in the doctrine, discipline, and patrimony thereof; the weal and honour of your lordships, the most ancient estate of this realm ; and finally, against the weal of all, and every one, the good subjects thereof, in soul, body, and substance. Ivext, That the act of parliament, granting vote in parliament to ministers, is with a special provision, that nothing thereby be derogatory or prejudicial to the present established discipline of the kirk, and jurisdiction thereof, in General and Synodical Assemblies, presbyteries, and sessions. Thirdly and lastly, The General Assembly (his majesty sitting, voting, and consenting therein), fearing the corruption of that office, hath circum- scribed and bounded the same with a number of cautions ; all which, together with such others as shall be concluded upon by the Assembly, were thought expedient to be inserted in the body of the act of parliament, as most necessary and substantial parts of the same. And the said Assembly hath not agreed to give thereunto the name of bishops, for fear of importing the old corruption, pomp, and tyranny of papal bishops, but ordained them to be called commissioners for the kirk to vote in parliament. And it is of verity, that according to these cautions, neither have these men, now called bishops, entered to that office of commissionary to vote in parliament ; neither since their ingyring have they behaved themselves therein. And therefore, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall hold the great court of parliament to judge both the quick and the dead, at His glorious manifestation ; and in name of His kirk in general, so happily and wxll established within this realm, and whereof the said realm hath reaped the comfortable peace and unity, free from heresy, schism, and dissension, these forty-six years, by-past : also in name of our presbyteries, from which we have our commission ; and in our names, office-bearers and pastors within the same, for discharging of our necessary duty, and disburdening of our consciences in particular, we except and protest against the said bishopric, and bishops, and the erection or confirmation, or ratification thereof at this present parliament ; most humbly craving that this our Protestation may be admitted by your Honours, and registered among the statutes and acts of the same, in case (as God forbid) these bishoprics be erected, ratified, or confirmed therein. Subscribed by the following Ministers : — Messrs. Andrew Melvill, James Melvill, William Scott, James Koss, John Carmichael, John Gillespie, William Erskine, Colin Campbell, James Muirhead, John Mitchell, John Davidson, John Colden, John Abernethy, James Davidson, Adam Bannatyne, John Kow, William Buchanan, John Kennedy, John Ogilvie, John Scrimgeour, John Malcolm, James Burden, Isaac Blackfoord, Isaac Strachan, James Row, William Row, Robert Mercer, Edmund Myles, John French, Patrick Simpson, John Dykes, William Young, William Cooper, William Keith, Hugh Duncan, James Mercer, Robert ColviU, William Hogg, Robert Wallace, David Barclay, John Weemes, William Cranston. historic documents. 65 Perpetual Moderators, 1607. The King having got rid of several of the best and ablest men of the land, added insult to injury by recommending "as a means of promoting order," that every Presbytery should have a constant moderator. The Convention went a step farther, and made the bishops moderators of such Presbyteries as met at Episcopal seats. This new aggression on the liberties of the Church met with fresh opposition from the Church Courts, and gave rise to many un- seemly scenes. — See M^Crie's " Scottish Church,'' p. 00. The Synod of Perth, the Synod of Fife, and the Presbyteries of Lothian and the Merse distinguished themselves by their efforts to shake off these moderators who had been fastened on their shoulders, like the old man of the sea ; and it was not till they found their struggles both desperate and dangerous, that they sullenly succumbed to necessity. — Dr. Cunningham. CoDET OF High Commission, 1609. In 1609 there were two such Courts erected, one in St. Andrews the other in Glasgow, to enable the bishops to enforce the powers conferred upon them. The two Courts were afterwards merged in one. " The Court differed little," says Bishop Burnet, " from the Inquisition." The ministers continued to preach, to rule and to administer ordinances, as if no such persons as bishops existed. The King found it necessary, therefore, in the absence of all respect for their Episcopal powers, to arm them with civil authority. For this purpose he erected the Court of High Commission, a sort of English Inquisition, composed of prelates, noblemen, knights, and ministers, and possessing the combined power of a civil and ecclesiastical tribunal. — T. M'Crie, LL.D. They were subject to no appeal — their sentence was final. Such Courts, possessing unlimited jurisdiction over the goods and liberties and con- sciences of men, rested upon no act of Parliament — they were called into existence by a royal proclamation. [See copy in Calderwood, VII. 57.] They associated with the name of bishop everything that was odious in despotism, and slowly accumulated against the house of Stuart the lamentation and woes which befell it in the ages to come. — Cunninghamy ''Ch. Hist.," II. 21. The Angelical Assembly, 1610. Presbyterianism had been established in Scotland, and the King had sworn to maintain it, yet every artifice that kingcraft could devise was used to deprive the Church of her liberty. By means of bribery and intimidation the General Assembly of 1610 was won over to the King's side. Orders were given whom to send from the Presbyteries, and when the Assembly convened, the Earl of Dunbar distributed sums of money in coins which went by the name of "angels." Hence the name of the Assembly. The pretext under which the money was given was to defray the travelling expenses of the ministers, some of whom had come from a distance. But Row tells us that "some neare Glasgow, who voted the King's e €6 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. way, got the wages of Balaam ; while some gracious ministers in the North, who voted negatively, got no gold at all." A blot on the escutcheon of the Church of Scotland. It is true that it was neither legal in its constitution nor free in its deliberations, and on this account it was, with other Assemblies held at this period, declared null and void by the famous Assembly of 1638 ; it is true also that many of the faithful ministers protested against it at the time. But still it is lamentable to think that so many ministers could be collected out of the parishes of Scotland weak enough to yield to the threats, or base enough to take the bribes of a despotic and domineering Government, bent on over- turning the liberties of the Church. — T. M'Crie, LL.D. Had Andrew Melville been in the country they had never been able to get that turn accomplished. — Archbishop Gladstanes. It was only, however, the external framework of the Church that became Prelatic and Erastian. The change was utterly abhorrent to the great body of the Scottish people. Beneath the Prelatic forms the heart of Scotland still beat true to Reformation principles and to Presby- terianism. Nothing but the fact that the whole country from end to end was sound and steady in its attachment to the original constitution of the Church, can accoimt for the suddenness and completeness with which, in ] 638, the whole fabric which it had cost so much craft and cruelty to raise, was thrown to the ground. — Evan. Succ.^ II. 93. Perhaps no General Assembly has such infamy connected with its enact- ments as that of 1610.— W. Ross, LL.D. The Church was entirely subverted and annihilated at the Eeformation, not a vestige of it remaining, till 1610, when King James attempted to introduce the Church into Scotland. — Dr. Hook. [Doctors differ; this Hook was blind, and would have been the better of an eye.] Katification of the Acts and Conclusions set down and agreed upon in the general assembly of the kirk KEEPiT IN Glasgow in June, 1610; at Edinburgh, October 16, 1612. A servile Assembly held at Glasgow in 1610 delivered up the Church to the King and the bishops ; and the Parliament in 1612, when ratifying its Acts, declared that the King was the only lawful supreme governor of the realm, as well in matters spiritual and ecclesiastical, as in things temporal. — D' Auhigne. The Forme and Maner of Ordaining Ministers and Con- secrating OF Archbishops and Bishops, etc. By the preceding Act full legal status was given to the Episcopal order in Scotland. More, however, was needed — namely, the genuine apostolical succession. Up to this time both Parliament and Assembly had been able — not without the help of the King — to make and unmake bishops. But the King had been taught the error of his way since he went to London. Accordingly he sent for Spottiswood, Lamb, and Hamilton, the ministers designate to the Episcopate in Scotland, that they might receive the true Promethean fire. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 67 The consecration of the Scottish prelates took place without any warrant, and without the previous knowledge of the General Assembly. . . . After their return to Scotland, these newly-consecrated bishops lost no time, by a repetition of the same ceremonies, in conveying such spiritual gifts as they themselves had received to the rest of their brethren nominated to similar dignities. But, according to the doctrine which has been maintained in later times by those who arrogate claims of superiority to apostolic institution or authority, such persons, not having been canoni- cally admitted to holy orders, rendered these ceremonies of no intrinsic importance for the due transmission of Divine gifts to their successors. — Dr. Laing, ''Mis. Wod. Soc," p. 596. Protestation of Fifty-Six Ministers, 1617. Thirteen years had elapsed since the King had gone to take possession of his new crown. He now wrote to the Council in Scotland, assuring them he was coming. A proclamation was issued by the Council commanding that cattle should everywhere be fed, that there might be enough of beef in the country. On the 16th of May, 1617, James re-entered his ancient capital, and " was received as Scotland has ever received her kings, even when they hardly deserved her welcome. He repaid their loyalty by insulting their religion." He made no secret of his design to supersede the General Assemblies. A large number of ministers happening to be in Edinburgh at the time, a respectful Protest was drawn up against the proposed measure. This received 56 signatures, among which were Hewat of Ci'ossraguel, Simson of Dalkeith, and David Calderwood, the celebrated church historian. Calderwood, for publicly declining the Council's authority, was banished the country ; not, however, before he had addressed these memorable words to the King : " Sire, — My body is in your Majesty's hands to do with it as it pleaseth your Majesty ; but, as long as my body is free, I will not cease to teach." For the document and names of the signatories, see Cald. Hist., VII. 253. The Five Articles of Perth, 1618. At an Assembly held at St. Andrews, in November, 1617, the bishops failed to bring about that conformity on which the King had set his heart. Whereupon, in a letter addressed to Spottis- wood, dated 6th December, 1617, James told them that he was now come to an age when he would not be content to be fed with broth; and added, that as the Scottish ministers had so far contemned his clemency, they would now know what it was to draw down the anger of a king upon them. This was followed by another letter to the Council, prohibiting the payment of stipends to rebellious ministers — "a mean, most unjustifiable, and most arbitrary expedient to extort compliance from poverty." The next attempt to bring about conformity was made at Perth, 25th August, 1618. At that Assembly Spottiswood took the 68 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. chair, claiming it as the Archbishop's right. In the meantime, by the application of the stipend-screw, he had made sure his point. The Articles were carried by a majority of 86 to 41 votes. The Deed of Assembly was ratified by Parliament in 1621, after which the King wrote the prelates saying, that the sword was now put into their hands, and that they ought not to let it rust. Ministers were ordered meanwhile to read the Articles from the pulpit; but few complied. The following are the famous Articles : — Our sovereign Lord, with advice and consent of the Estates of Parlia- ment, presently convened, ratifieth the Acts of the General Assembly of the Kirk, holden at Perth, the 25th August, 1618, and concluded the 27th of the same month, session secmida, whereof the tenor followeth : — I. Seeing we are commanded by God Himself that when we come to worship Him we fall down and kneel before the Lord our Maker, and con- sidering withal that there is no part of Divine worship more heavenly and spiritual than is the holy receiving of the blessed body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ : like as the most humble and reverent gesture of the body, in our meditations, and lifting up of our hearts, best becometh so divine and sacred an action ; Therefore, notwithstanding that our Kirk hath used since the Reformation of Religion to celebrate the holy Communion to the people sitting, by reason of the great abuse of kneeling used in the idolatrous worship oi the sacrament of Papists ; yet now seeing al memory of bypast superstition is past, in reverence of God and due regard of so divine a mystery, and in remembrance of so mystical an union we are made partakers of, the Assembly thinketh good that that blessed Sacrament be celebrated hereafter, meekly and reverently, upon their knees. II. Item, if any good Christian, visited with long sickness, and known to the pastor, by reason of his present infirmity, unable to resort to the Kirk for receiving of the holy Communion ; or being sick shall declare to the pastor upon his conscience, that he thinks his sickness to be deadly, and shall earnestly desire to receive the same in his house, the minister shall not deny to him so great a comfort, lawful warning being given to him the night before, and that there be three or four of good Religion and Conver- sation, free of lawful impediments, present with the sick person to com- municate with him ; who must also provide a convenient place in his house and all things necessary for the Reverent administration thereof, according to the order Prescribed in the Kirk. III. Item, the Minister shall often admonish the people, that they deferre not the Baptizing of infants, any longer than the next Lord's Day after the child be born, unless upon a great and reasonable cause, declared to the minister, and by him approved. As also they shall warn them, that without great cause, they procure not their Children to be baptized at home in their houses. But when great need shall compel them to baptize in private houses (in which case the minister shall not refuse to do it, upon knowledge of the great need, and being timely required thereto), the baptism shall be ministered after the same form, as it should have been in the congregation : and the Minister shall the next Lord's Day after any such private Baptism, declare in the Kirk, that the infant was so baptized and therefore ought to be received as one of the true flock of Christ's fold. IV. Item, forasmuch as one of the most special means for staying the increase of Popery, and settling of true Religion in the hearts of the people, is that a tptcial care be taken of trial of young Children, their education, and how they are catechized ; which in time of the primitive Kirk was most carefully atttnded, as being most profitable to cause young children, in their tender years, drink in the knowledge of God and His religion ; but HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 69 is now altogether neglected, in respect of the great abuse and errours, which crept into the Popish Kirk, by making thereof a sacrament of Contirmation. Therefore that all superstitions built thereupon may be rescinded, and that the matter itself, being most necessarie for tlie education of the youth, may be reduced to the primitive integritie, it is thought good, that the Minister in every Parish shall catechize ail young children of eight years of age and see that they have knowledge, and be able to make rehearsal of the Lord's Prayer, the Belief and ten Commandments, with answers to the questions of the small Catechism, used in our Kirk ; and that every Bishop in his Visitation shall censure the Minister who shall be found remiss therein ; and the said Bishops shall cause the said children to be presented before them, and bless them with prayer for encrease of their knowledge and continuance of God's heavenly graces with every one of them. V. As we abhorre the Superstitious Observation of Festival days by the Papists, and detest all licentious and profane abuse thereof, by the common sort of professors ; so we think that the inestimable benefits, received from God by our Lord Jesus Christ's Birth, Passion, Resurrection, Ascension, and sending down of the Holy Ghost, were commendably and Godly remem- bered at certain peculiar dayes and times, by the whole Kirk of the world, and may be also now. Therefore the Assembly ordaineth, that every Minister shall upon these dayes have the commemoration of the foresaid inestimable benefits, and make choise of several, and pertinent texts of Scripture, and frame their doctrine and exhortation thereto, and rebuke all superstitious observation, and licentious profanation thereof. Of all the Articles there was none that proved more obnoxious than that of being compelled to kneel at the sacrament. This ceremony was so identified in the minds of the people with the idolatry of Rome — so clearly derived from worshipping the body of Christ in the host — that they shrunk from it with horror. — [See Calderwood's story of Deacon Mein in M'Crie's "Scottish Church," p. 118.] In private baptism the congregation is neglected. The Church hath interest in the baptism of the child as well as the minister, for the child is received into the congregation to be a member thereof. And, therefore, the confession of the parents should be given publicly before that the child receive the seal of the Covenant. — Calderwood, "Altar of Damascus." They were directed to show their conformity in an active and con- spicuous shape by attending the Church services on the holidays. Some of tiem were believed to be tainted with scrupulosity about these observances, and the King took a slightly malicious satisfaction in hunting them through all their excuses for absence arising out of health, business, or whatever other cause. The " Youl vacance," equivalent to the Christmas holidays in England, was that which raised the strongest opposition. The name Yule, it was said, was the Jol of the old Scandinavians before their con- version. . . . The " Yule vacance " remained a great test of orthodoxy, and an object of contest far down into the eighteenth century. — Burton, VI. SSI. Presbytery will never agree with Prelacy ; l>ecause they have invented some holy days nowhere warranted in all the Scripture, such as the 25th of December, which they call Yule-day or Christmas, on which day they say Christ was born ; therefore, in testimony of their thankfulness, they will eat the best meat and drink the best drink that can be had, and in so doing they think they put respect on Christ's birthday. . . . The Presbyterians will never agree with this; and because they know not Christ's particular day, they will every day remember it with thankfulness, it being the blessedest news that ever came to this world ; therefore they will not be bound up to a yearly but a daily remembrance. — Elizabeth West. 70 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. I studied the matter as I should answer to God, yet for two years' time I held myself quiet, till being overtaken with sickness, and dying in my own apprehension, I resolved to give my testimony to the truths which were oppressed. This I did in as modest terms as I could, purely for my own exoneration. The result of this investigation was a resolution to suflfer rather than comply with the Articles of Perth. — Do.vid Dickson. [The Five Articles of Perth received the sanction of Parliament, 4th August, 1621. The day was a Saturday, unusually stormy for the season, and the " Black Saturday" became a proverb ever after. — See Defoe ; Murray's "Songs, etc.," p. 165.] Tithe Question: Act of Parliament, 1633. For some time after the Reformation no proper provision was made for the ministers. Knox tells us that " the most part of them lived on the benevolence of men." By and bye stipends were "modified" out of the thirds of benefices, but the arrange- ment was contravened by the conduct of the nobles and the king. It was not till 1617, when a Commission was appointed for the plantation of kirks, that a regular legal provision was made out of the teinds of each particular parish. Up to this time the teinds might be drawn in kind by the clergy or the titulars, by separating them from the stock, as the remainder of the produce was denominated. But as the practice was attended with griev- ance, attempts were made by the legislature to remove the same by leases from the titulars in favour of the owners of the land, whereby they got right to the teinds of their own lands for pay- ment of a fixed tack duty in money, or of a certain number of bolls of victual yearly. Several other changes were effected by four " decreets-arbitral " issued by the king in 1629; and these were embodied in an Act of Parliament in 1633. This Act fixed the minimum stipend at 8 chalders of victual, or 800 merks Scots (£4:4: 8s. stg.). One effect of many of the stipends being wholly or in part given in so many measures of victual has been, that, as the price is settled by the average price in the county, when there is a bad harvest, and grain is dear, the stipend is the higher, — the better the harvest the worse the stipend, and the worse the harvest the better the stipend. By later legislation the sum of £150, with £8 6s. 8d. for communion elements, was fixed as the minimum ; and when the teinds do not yield this amount, which is the case in about 200 parishes, the sum is made up by a grant from the Exchequer. In Scotland, teinds were granted to the clergy before the lands were parcelled out amongst the subjects. They have thus held a place for religious purposes since the very commencement of civilisation; and they obtained a hold upon the fruits of the soil which they have now maintained for many centuries. The lands have thus come to be granted out, and are enjoyed by the present possessors of the soil, under the burden of teinds. At first there were only the Parsonage teinds, which belonged to the parson or rector of the parish, which consisted of the teinds of grain. When, however, the Church was served by a substitute or vicar, a new kind of HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 71 teinds, of minor produce [hay, hemp, flax, calves, lambs, geese, eggs, etc.], was introduced for his remuneration, which were called Vicarage teinds. We have thus two kinds of teinds, the parsonage and the vicarage; and from these the SSO parishes referred to derive their stipends, in whole or in part,' at the present day. The Parsonage teinds have long ceased from being uplifted on the fields, and have been much restricted in amount through early valuations, to which allusion will afterwards be made. The Vicarage teinds, to a great extent, have been lost from not having been insisted on, and the amount now received as their conversion into money is quite inconsiderable. Before the Reformation either the teinds or an agi'eed on sum of money or quantity of victual were uplifted by the clergy, or those appointed by them for the purpose. But from and after the Reformation the Reformed Church has never possessed the full property and teinds enjoyed by the old Church. In point of fact, the Crown assumed the right of disposing of these, and made large grants of them to the nobles and other subjects, and only a small part of the revenue reached the ministers of the Reformed Church. Stipends were, it is true, granted out of teinds ; but these were of small amount, and were ill paid. Great dissatisfaction prevailed with this state of matters, but no redress was given till the reign of Charles. — "The Teinds," Publication of Church Interests Committee. The Kirk has a very considerable amount of property which has been derived from private sources. Numerous churches and manses have been built and endowed by private subscriptions. The ownership of the property thus created we do not discuss. It is over the property derived from national sources that the controversy is now waged. That property is made up of teinds, glebe lands, manses, and Exchequer grants ; and the annual income from these sources is £338,035. This is exclusive of unex- hausted teinds, which can be drawn on for augmentation of stipends, and which are valued at £136,954; and it does not include the sums raised for erectioi and repairs of churches and manses, and which have averaged annually, for the past ten years, £42,082. With regard to the owiiership of the Exchequer grant, which is a little over £22,000, there is hardly need for any argument. It comes directly from the national treasury, and is therefore just as much public money as the sums voted for the support of the army and navy. The legislature, therefore, which gives this annual grant, has a perfect right to withdraw it, respect of course being had to vested interests. But it is to the teinds, glebes, manses, and church edifices that the Kirk claims a right of possession in perpetuity. Now, we deny that the Kirk has any such right, and affirm that these belong to the nation, and that their destination can, and should be, altered by the legislature. The teinds, glebes, and manses were not gifted to the Kirk by private indi- viduals out of their own resources. They were originally in the possession of the Roman Catholic Church; and if the old editices which the priests used have disappeared, those which have come in their room have been erected by the heritors under the direction of the legislature. The teinds, which are an annual tax on the land, were imposed by custom and law, and were paid exclusively to the Popish priests for centuries before the Reformation. The lands, churches, and manses were, in these dark ages, the donations of the wealthy, who imagined that by such donations they could procure for themselves or their relatives some important spiritual advantages. Their donors looked upon the Romish Church as the true Church ; and it was for the support of that church, in all time coming, that teinds were imposed and paid, and their gifts of land bestowed. At the Reformation, the Scottish Legislature confiscated the whole property of the Romish Church ; and not unrighteously, for it had been mostly ill-gotten, and was ill-used. Of this Popish ecclesiastical property, the 72 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. legislature, as representing the nation, then became the owner, and set apart a portion of it for the Crown, left the nobles in possession of what they had seized or otherwise acquired, and out of the remainder assigned stipends, etc., to the ministers of the Kirk. The ministers of the Kirk are therefore merely persons whom the State was pleased to appoint in the room of the Romish priests, and to pay out of the property from which these priests had been paid. They are thus mere stipendiaries of the State, with a servant's wages and dependence, and have no more right to the ownership of the teinds than he has to the ownership of his master's house.— i?ev. A. Oliver, ''The Kirk's Endowments National Property." Nothing that I have read changes my opinion that the teinds are national property, and, in case of Disestablishment, to be dealt with for behoof of all. Some of the property may have been in the possession of the Culdees. It certainly belonged to the Roman Catholics; it has been Presbyterian, and Episcopalian, in various shapes, and under different con- ditions, and in all these changes the State has taken the place of master. The Church which enjoyed it for the time had no more right to dispose of it than, to use Lord Brougham's comparison, "the officers and men on board one of Her Majesty's ships had power to use it for their own benefit." As to any divine right in teinds, this can scarcely be pretended by the present Established Church, and any such claim has been as effec- tually broken by the Reformation as the divine right of kings was by the Revolution. The only divine right of the Church of Christ is to the privileges given her by her Head, and teinds is not one of them. There- fore, I hold that the teinds revert to the State, which, in our views of religious equality before the law, and the rights of conscience, means the common good. This is justice, and to do justly is the first precept of Christianity. The golden rule, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them," is a large part of religion. — Bev. John Ker, D.D. We are told that our town ministers ought all to have from £500 to £800 a year. I earnestly desire to see it. And I am quite sure of one thing, that it never will come out of the teinds, which, in any large town, would give a truly ridiculous dividend to the town ministers. It never will come from any source but from the free-will offerings of the people. I know it may seem a tempting thing, these projects of reconstruction, because you seem to save money. You must look in this direction, we are told, for that is the way to secure all these funds for religious purposes, and to secure a share for yourselves. My lord, I don't despise money. I know well that we must attend not only to principles, but to money, too, ia its own place ; although, on the whole, I think it is better to discuss money in the light of principles, than to discuss principles in the light of money. We may get money and pay too dear for it. We may pay too dear for it in money — I repeat, in money. In connection with this supposed enrichment, we might lose money on the side of the free-will offerings — lose very precious money — money the giving of which has been itself a means of grace — money that has come from the living faith and with the prayers of the people. We may pay too dear for it in principle. We may pay too dear for it in character. We may pay too dear for it by its becoming a fresh occasion of those practical divisions which Disestab- lishment, on the other band, is so much fitted to assuage. But what is to be done with the money when Disestablishment comes to pass ? . . . All that I think we should regard as fixed is, that this money when set free, which is not going to happen quite immediately, should be destined to objects manifestly worthy in themselves, tending to the common good of the people, and to their higher interests, and such as may be the subjects of general consent or general acquiescence. I quite agree that we should HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 73 take care of the money ; and, my lord, I am quite satisfied that we should not make a present of any of it to the lairds. — Principal Rainy at Jedburgh, 1875. Petition to the King from the Clergy of Scotland. May 29, 1633. On his accession to the throne in 1625, Charles not only enforced the Perth Articles, but sought to introduce other corrup- tions into public worship. The above " Grievances and Petitions concerning the disordered estate of the Reformed Kirk" were presented by the Rev. T. Hog, of Dysart, in his own name and that of other Nonconformists. The king read the petition, but failed to see any grievance to redress. Given a Divine law of the Bible on the one hand, and a Stuart King, Charles I. or Charles II. , on the other ; alas ! did history ever present a more irreducible case of equations in this world t—Carlyle. Canons and Constitutions Ecclesiastical for the Government OF THE Church of Scotland. 1636. Ratified and approved by his Majesty's royal warrant, and ordained to be observed by the clergy and all concerned. By means of this book, it was intended to introduce into Scotland not the evangelical Episcopacy of Latimer and Cranmer, but the semi-Popish Prelacy of Laud. A font was to be placed near the door as in Papal times; the consecrated elements were to be carefully handled ; private religious meetings were forbidden ; no minister was to be allowed to use exteuiporary prayer in public, etc. Every clergyman was asked to subscribe the canons, and by so doing he bound himself to accept the Service-book to follow. A complete code of laws for the government of a church, issued by a sovereign without official consultation with the responsible representatives of that church, is unexampled in European history. . . . Surely it may safely be said that the history of Christianity cannot show another instance of a laook of devotion announced in such a fashion to its devotees. By all calculation founded on historj^ and the springs of human action, the results that did come were so likely that those who expected anything else must be supposed to have looked to other than natural cause and effect, and to have got into the irresponsible condition of those who are acquitted by a jury on the ground of insanity. — Burton, VI., 439. Act anent the Service-Book. December 20, 1636. The lords of his maiesties Privie Counsell, according to his maiesties speciall warrand and direction, ordains letters to be direct, to command and charge all his maiesties subjects, both ecclesiasticall and civill by open proclamation at the Mercat Groses of the heid burrowes of this kingdome and other places needfull to conforme themselffs to the said publict forme, whilk is the onlie forme whilk his maiestie having takin the counsell of his cleargie, thinkes fitt to be used in God's publict worship heir : Commanding heirby all archbishops and bishops, and others presbyters and churchmen to take a speciall care that the said publict forme of worship be dewlie 74 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. obserued and obeyed and the contraveaners condignlie censured and punished, and to have a speciall care that euerie parish betwixt and pasche next procure unto themselfifs twa at the least of the said bookes of Common Prayer for the use of the parish. The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and other Parts of Divine Service for THE Use of the Church of Scotland. Edin., 1637. The famous liturgy. It was prepared by Maxwell, Bishop of Ross, and Wedderbiirn, Bishop of Dunblane, before being sub- mitted to Laud. The book was a folio, and got up in the finest style of art. The original edition is now very rare. The book never made a martyr, ^o Episcopalian ever stood prepared to die for it, and it never survived the tumult of 1637. As regards the Komanistic tendencies of the new movement, there was more foundation for thesuspicions which prev^ailedthan was perhaps generally known. The truth now appears to be tliat the design was, through a new Service-book for Scotland, to further what was indisputably Laud's life- long design — namely, to bring the Church in both kingdoms nearer to Romanism than even in England the Reformation had left it. . . . It may suffice to state generally that, with one or two trifling exceptions, as the substitution of "presbyter" for "priest" in the rubric — a sop to Cerberus, which did not propitiate anyone — the tendency is throughout towards a nearer approach not only to the Roman Breviary, but also to the Roman Missal than had been ventured upon by the compilers of the English liturgy. — Pi'of. W. Lee, D.D., Glasgoic. The word " table" in the English book was changed to "altar " in this of Laud's. The following was also regarded as a sad departure from the English rubric: "Then the priest, standing up, shall say the prayer of consecration as followeth, . . . but then, during the time of consecra- tion, the presbyter which consecrateth shall stand in the midst before the altar while he celebrates, with his back to the people." — See Burton, VL, 4^3. The insertion of the word "corporal" was highly objectionable: "When all have communicated, he that celebrates shall go to the Lord's table and cover with a fair linen cloth that which remaineth of tiie consecrated elements." "Corporal" was the name given to the cloth in which a corpse was wrapped for burial, and in the traditions of the church the laying of it on the elements was typical of the act of Joseph, who, when he had taken the body of the Saviour, "wrapped it in a clean linen cloth." In keeping with this, the "table" of the English Prayer-book was "holy table" in the Service-book, while in Laud's manuscript it was rendered " altar "—a term always offensive to Scots Presbyterians and Independents. Another cause of offence was contained in the king's direction to insert among the lessons ordinarily to be read passages from the Book of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus, which books had by this time been cast out of the canon as apocryphal. The calendar of the Service-book, too, was rich in the commemoration days of saints of the middle ages ; "such as you insert that be most approved," the king instructed, "and to have regard to those of the blood-royal, and such holy bishops of every see most renowned, but in no case to omit St. George and Patrick." — JRushivorih, jr., 343. The Scottish people had no blind prejudice against read prayers. They were accustomed to hear the prayers prepared by Knox HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 75 regularly read in their churches, though not by the ministers. But they objected to the English liturgy, both because it ex- cluded extempore prayer, and because there was much in it that they judged unsound or of dangerous tendency. Still more objectionable was this liturgy. It was a semi-Popish book, and it was being imposed under the heaviest penalties upon them and their children without even the pretence of obtaining their consent or that of their Church. Here in its worst form was the absolutism that had so long threatened the utter extinction of their liberties ; here was the heel of despotism openly planted on the neck of their Church, and the crown openly torn from the brow of Christ, her only King. — Evang. Succ, II., 102. Presbytery and Prelacy will never agree. . . . Prayer does not consist in words. The Spirit helpeth our infirmities. Great Mr. Samuel Rutherford says they cannot print sighs and groans which cannot be uttered ; so then printed prayers are but toothless and pithless. . . Where got Jacob his prayer-book when he wrestled all night and prevailed ? What, if a man going to a physician with a distressed and distempered body, one meets him and says, I will give you a book that will teach you how to make your distemper known to the doctor ? Oh ! says the man, I know my trouble better than all the books in the world can tell me. They need not want a prayer-book that have an ill heart. — Elizabeth West. My Lords, — The subject of our complaint and controversy is religion and laws of the kingdom, upon which dependeth both the welfare of the Church and Commonwealth, our condition of life, our liberty and fortune in this transitory world, and our eternal happiness in the life to come ; our duty to Almighty God, the Supreme King of kings, with our allegiance and duty to our sovereign lord and master, the King's Majesty. The matter of our regret and grievance is the alteration of religion in public form of God's worship, etc. — Lord Loudon, Speech to Privy Coimcil, Dec. 21, 1637. The simplicity of Scottish worship was shocked, and the national sense of independence wounded by the successive introduction, year by year, of innovations, chiefly ceremonial, but which were looked upon as approximations to Popery, and the enforcement of which by the king's sole authority, exercised through the court of High Commission, was distinctly in violation of the liberties of Scotland. The coping-stone was laid on the ecclesiastical edifice by the imposition in 1637 of the famous "Service-Book." . . . It was thus through an aggression, for such it was, upon their religious liberties that the Scots were induced to rise in arms against Charles. — Lord Lindsay. Tablet to Jenny Geddes. — A tablet has just been placed in St. Giles' Cathedral recalling the incident of Jenny Geddes, who, when Dean Hannay, on the 23rd July, 1637, attempted to carry out the commands of the King (Charles I.) to read Laud's Liturgy in the church, flung her stool at his head, and occasioned a tumult which had most important consequences, 76 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. civil and religious. The tablet is of copper, weighing 31 pounds, and the inscription, enclosed within an ornamental border, is graven on the plate in old-fashioned lettering. It was written by the Lord Justice-General Inglis, and is as follows : — CONSTANT ORAL TRADITION AFFIRMS THAT NEAR THIS SPOT A BRAVE SCOTCHWOMAN, JANET GEDDES, ON THE 23d of JULY, 1637, STRUCK THE FIRST BLOW IN THE GREAT STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE, WHICH, AFTER A CONFLICT OF HALF A CENTURY, ENDED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. The tablet is affixed to the raised stone flooring of the Moray Aisle, in that part which projects into the nave outside the light railing separating the aisle from the rest of the Cathedral, and just immediately to the left of the doorway. On the day when the incident commemorated occurred, the congregation had met in the South Aisle (the High Kirk being under repair to fit it for the new worship, which, however, never was held in it), so that the position of the tablet, as near as may be judged, may mark the spot where the redoubtable Jenny sat. It will be well seen, while at the same time it is protected from the feet. The expense of placing this tablet has been borne by Dr. R. H. Gunning, of Rio Janeiro. Some time ago there was placed on one of the pillars, at the intersection of the nave and south transept a memorial tablet to Dean Hannay, with the following inscrip- tion :— " To James Hannay, D.D., Dean of the Cathedral, 1634-1639. He was the first and the last who read the service book in this church. This memorial is erected in happier times by his descendant." Some thought that the other side ought to be heard also, and the "Jenny Geddes " tablet is possibly the outcome of that feeling. — Scotsman, 24th Aprils 1886. Act Anent Service Books, June 13, 1637. It having been found that ' ' some of the ministry, out of curiosity and singularity, refused to receive and embrace the said book," the Lords by this Act charged all presbyters and ministers to furnish themselves with two copies within fifteen days on pain of rebellion, and being put to the horn. Shortly after this Spottiswood selected Alexander Henderson, and two other ministers, that he might try conclusions with them. These ministers he charged to purchase each two copies for the use of their parishes under pain of rebellion. A Bill of Suspension was granted for Henderson and others, but it was found that the horning extended no farther than the buying of the book. Letter from the Privy Council to the King, August 25, 1637. The same day that the Council decided that it was compulsory to buy the Service Book (though not to use it) they wrote the King, stating that matters had come to such a pass that they were unwilling to do anything without his express command. Letter from the King to the Privy Council, Sept. 10, 1637. Charles replied in a severe letter. Acting on the advice of his evil genius, Laud, he rebuked the Council for suspending the use of the Service HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 77 Book for a single day and ordered them to resume it at once. On hearing of the royal resolution Presbyterians flocked to Edinburgh from all parts, and the nation awoke from the slumber of forty years. The few who had hitherto borne the brunt of the fight were now joined by twenty-four noblemen, quite a multitude of gentry, sixty-six commissioners from the provinces, and about one hundred clergymen, who, on the 20th September, marched in a body to the Council to petition against the Liturgy. Acts of Council, October 17, 1637. On the 17th October an answer came to the Supplicants in the shape of three exasperating proclamations, made at the " Mercate Crosse " of Edinburgh, by the Council in the King's name. The object of the first was to drive the strangers out of the city, on pain of rebellion. The second professed to remove the Council and supreme Courts. The third denounced a book which had become offensively popular, Gillespie's " Dispute against the English-Popish Ceremonies." The populace was greatly incensed by these proclamations, and what is known as the Liturgy tumults was the consequence. Regarding this movement Burton observes : " Its powerful significance was in its testimony to a great indignation filling the country, and spontaneously breaking forth in the conduct of those classes who are the most susceptible to exciting causes." Petition of the Men, Women, Children, and Servants of Edinburgh, to the Lord Chancellor, against the Service Book. This bears date October 18, 1637. The petitioners say that they have been urged with this Book of Service, — that they have considered the same, and find many things therein far different from the form of God's public worship universally received and professed within the kingdom. Petition of the Noblemen, Gentrie, Ministers, Burgesses, AND Commons to the Council, against the Service Book and Book of Canons. October 18, 1637. The Covenanters stood no longer simply on the defensive. They resolved to draw up a formal complaint. Of two forms proposed, that by Loudon and David Dickson was accepted. The petitioners complain of the arbitrary nature of a proclamation commanding them to leave Edinburgh, while they are peaceably waiting for an answer to their Supplication. They point out the pernicious characteristics of the two books, and pray that their wrongs maybe redressed, and that they may have " the happinesse to enjoy religion as it hath beene reformed in this land." The complaint was subscribed by thirty-eight noblemen, hundreds of ministers, gentlemen without number, and by every town except 78 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Aberdeen. Three proclamations were afterwards issued by tbe Council, but these were not considered satisfactory, and .the petitioners resolved to abide by their unequivocal complaint. The Four Tables, 1637. • It was under these exciting conditions that an affair occurred, which, taken by itself, was a mere simple arrangement for the peaceable transaction of the busmess on hand, but in its effects was one of the most momentous events in the history of that eventful period. Professedly to obviate the dangers and mischiefs inseparable from the political action of great crowds, it was agreed on both sides that the several classes into which the Suppli- cants were politically and socially divided should act by committees or representatives. They were for this purpose divided into Nobles, Lesser Barons, Burgesses, and Clergy. Each of these classes was to elect four representatives, and so was created the celebrated and formidable body known in history as "The Tables." . . . Here was a body of men all on one side — a parliament without an opposition. The Council could not have done a better deed ia the cause of the Supplicants. It was a permanent institution until it was superseded by the meeting of the Estates. The Supplicants were fortunate in their successive delegates. When once fairly installed in office their constituents left them to their work in complete confidence. — Burton, VI. lf/1. Proclamation by the Council of State at Stirling. Fehruary 19, 1638. In this the King declared that the bishops were unjustly accused of being the authors of the Service Book and Canons. He further expressed approbation of these innocent books ; con- demned all meetings and subscriptions against them ; prohibited all such proceedings under pain of rebellion, and ordained that no supplicant should appear in any town where the Council was sitting under pain of treason. This proclamation was met with great promptitude by a Protest. When the members of Council appeared in Stirling they were met by Lords Home and Lindsay, who read their protest and affixed a copy of it to the market Cross, beside that of the proclamation. The same thing occurred at Edinburgh, and wherever the proclamation was made. The protestation made at the Cross of Edinburgh, February 22, 1638, was printed for the Bannatyne Club in 1830. The National Covenant or Confession of Faith of the Kirk OF Scotland. February 28, 1638. The Confession of Faith, subscribed at first by the King's Majesty and his household in the yeere of God 1580; thereafter by persons of all rankes, in the year 1581, by ordinance of the Lords of the Secret Councell, and Acts of the Generall Assembly; subscribed againe by all sorts of persons in the yeere 1590 by a new ordinance of Conncell, at the desire of the General Assembly, with a generall band for maintenance of the true religion and the King's person; and now subscribed in the yeere 1638 by us HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 79 noblemen, barons, gentlemen, burgesses, ministers, and commons, under subscribing, together with our resolution and promises, for the causes after specified, to maintaine the said true religion, and the King's Majestic, according to the Confession foresaid and Acts of Parliament. [The first part of the document is a faithful transcript of the Confession of 1580, already given — page 4^. The supplementary matter, prepared by Johnston of Warriston, and Henderson, and consisting of a summary of Acts of Parliament condemning popery, and ratifying the liberties of the Kirk, as also of the Covenant suited to the occasion, was in the following terms :] — Likeas many Acts of Parliament, not only in general do abrogate, annul and rescind all laws, statutes, acts, constitutions, canons civil or municipal, with all other ordinances, and practique penalties whatsoever, made in prejudice of the true religion, and professors thereof ; or of the true kirk, discipline, jurisdiction, and freedom thereof ; or in favours of idolatry and superstition, or of the Papistical kirk : As Act 3. Act 31. Pari. 1. Act 23. Pari. 11, Act 114. Pari. 12. of King James VI. That Papistry and superstition may be utterly suppressed, according to the intention of the Acts of Parliament, repeated in the 5th Act, Pari. 20. King James VI. And to that end they ordain all Papists and Priests to be punished with manifold civil and ecclesiastical pains, as adversaries to God's true religion, preached, and by law established, within this realm, Act 24. Pari. 11. King James VI. ; as common enemies to all Christian government, Act 18. Pari. 16. King James VI.; as i-ebellers and gainstanders of our sovereign Lord's authority. Act 47. Pari. 3. King James VI. ; and as idolaters. Act 104. Pari. 7. King James VI. But also in particular, by and attour the Confession of Faith, do abolish and condemn the Pope's authority and jurisdiction out of this laud, and ordains the maintainers thereof to be punished. Act 2. Pari. 1. Act 51. Pari. 3. Act 106. Pari. 7. Act 114. Pari. 12. King James VI. do condemn the Pope's erroneous doctrine, or any other erroneous doctrine repugnant to any of the articles of the true and Christian religion, publicly preached, and by Jaw established in this realm ; and ordains the spreaders and makers of books or libels, or letters or writs of that nature to be punished. Act 46. Pari. 3. Act 106. Pari. 7. Act 24. Pari. 11. King James VI. do condemn all baptism conform to the Pope's kirk, and the idolatry of the mass ; and ordains all sayers, wilful hearers, and concealers of the mass, the maintainers and resetters of the priests, Jesuits, trafficking Papists, to be punished without any exception or restriction, Act 5. Pari. 1. Act 120. Pari. 12. Act 164. Pari. 13. Act 193. Pari. 14. Act 1. Pari. 19. Act 5. Pari. 20. King James VI. do condemn all erroneous books and writs containing erroneous doctrine against the religion presently professed, or containing superstitious rites and ceremonies Papistical, whereby the people are greatly abused, and ordains the home- bringers of them to be punished, Act 25. Pari. 11. King James VI. do condemn the monuments and dregs of bygone idolatry, as going to crosses, observing the festival days of saints, and such other superstitious and Papistical rites, to the dishonour of God, contempt of true religion, and fostering of great error among the people ; and ordains the users of them to be punished for the second fault, as idolaters, Act 104. Pari. 7. King James VI. Likeas many Acts of Parliament are conceived for maintenance of God's true and Christian religion, and the purity thereof, in doctrine and sacraments of the true Church of God, the liberty and freedom thereof, and her national, synodal assemblies, presbyteries, sessions, policy, 80 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. discipline, and jurisdiction thereof ; as that purity of religion, and liberty of the Church was used, professed, exercised, preached, and confessed, according to the reformation of religion in this realm ; As for instance, the 99th Act, Pari. 7. Act 25. Pari. 11. Act 114. Pari. 12. Act 160. Pari. 13. of King James VI. ratified by the 4th Act of King Charles. So that the 6th Act, Pari. 1. and 68th Act, Pari. 6. of King James VI. in the year of God 1579, declare the ministers of the blessed evangel, whom God of his mercy had raised up, or hereafter should raise, agreeing with them that then lived, in doctrine and administration of the sacraments ; and the people that professed Christ, as he was then offered in the evangel, and doth communicate with the holy sacraments (as in the reformed Kirks of this realm they were presently administrate) according to the Confession of Faith, to be the true and holy Kirk of Christ Jesus within this realm. And decerns and declares all and sundry, who either gainsay the word of the evangel received and approved as the heads of the Confession of Faith, professed in Parliament in the year of God 1560, specified also in the first Parliament of King James VI. and ratified in this present Parliament, more particularly do express ; or that refuse the administration of the holy sacraments, as they were then ministrated, to be no members of the said Kirk within this realm, and true religion presently professed, so long as they keep themselves so divided from the society of Christ's body. And the subsequent Act 69. Pari. 6. of King James VI. declares, that there is no other face of Kirk, nor other face of religion, than was presently at that time, by the favour of God, established within this realm : ' ' Which there- fore is ever styled God's true religion, Christ's true religion, thetrue and Christian religion, and a perfect religion ;" which by manifold Acts of Parliament, all within this realm are bound to profess, to subscribe the articles thereof, the Confession of Faith, to recant all doctrine and errors repugnant to any of the said articles, Act 4. and 9. Pari. 1. Acts 45, 46, 47. Pari. 3. Act 71. Pari. 6. Act 106. Pari. 7. Act 24. Pari. 11. Act 123. Pari. 12. Act 194. and 197. Pari. 14. of King James VI. And all magis- trates, sheriffs, etc., on the one part, are ordained to search, apprehend, and punish all contraveners : For instance. Act 5. Pari. 1. Act 104. Pari. 7. Act 25. Pari. 11. King James VI.; and that notwithstanding of the King's Majesty's licences on the contrary, which are discharged, and declared to be of no force, in so far as they tend in any wise to the prejudice and hinder of the execution of the Acts of Parliament against Papists and adversaries of true religion. Act 106. Pari. 7- King James VI. On the other part, in the 47th Act, Pari. 3. King James \ I. it is declared and ordained, Seeing the cause of God's true religion and his Highness's authority are so joined, as the hurt of the one is common to both ; that none shall be reputed as loyal and faithful subjects to our sovereign Lord, or bis authority, but be punishable as rebellers and gainstanders of the same, who shall not give their confession, and make their profession of the said true religion : and that they who, after defection, shall give the confession of their faith of new, they shall promise to continue therein in time coming, to maintain our sovereign Lord's authority, and at the uttermost of their power to fortify, assist, and maintain the true preachers and professors of Christ's religion, against whatsoever enemies and gain- standers of the same ; and namely, against all such, of whatsoever nation, estate, or degree they be of, that have joined and bound themselves, or have assisted, or assist, to set forward and execute the cruel decrees of the council of Trent, contrary to the true preachers and professors of the Word of God ; which is repeated, word by word, in the articles of pacification at Perth, the 2;kl of February, 1572, approved by Parliament the last of April 1573, ratified in Parliament 1587, and related Act 123. Pari. 12. of King James VI.; with this addition, "That they are bound to resist all treason- able uproars and hostilities raised against the true religion, the King's Majesty, and the true professors." HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 81 Likeas, all lieges are bound to maintain the King's Majesty's royal person and authority, the authority of Parliaments, without the which neither any laws or lawful judicatories can be established, Act 130 and 131. Pari. 8. King James VI. and the subjects' liberties, who ought only to live and be governed by the King's laws, the common laws of this realm 'lUenarly, Act 48, Pari. 3. King James I. Act 79. Pari. 6. King James IV.; repeated in the Act 131. Pari. 8. King James VI.; which if they be inno- vated and prejudged, "the commission anent the union of the two king- doms of Scotland and England, which is the sole act of the 17th Pari, of King James VI. declares," such confusion would ensue as this realm could be no more a free monarchy ; because, by the fundamental laws, ancient privileges, offices, and liberties of this kingdom, not only the princely authority of his Majesty's royal descent hath been these many ages main- tained, but also the people's security of their lands, livings, rights, offices, liberties, and dignities preserved. And therefore, for the preservation of the said true religion, laws, and liberties of this kingdom, it is statute by the 8th Act, Pari. I. repeated in the 99th Act, Pari. 7. ratified in the 23d Act, Pari. II. and lUth Act, Pari. 12. of King James VI. and 4th Act, Pari. 1. of King Charles I. " That all Kings and Princes at their corona- tion, and reception of their princely authority, shall make their faithful promise by their solemn oath, in the presence of the eternal God, that, enduring the whole time of their lives, they shall serve the same eternal God, to the uttermost of their power, according as He hath required in His most holy word, contained in the Old and New Testament : and according to the same word, shall maintain the true religion of Christ Jesus, the preaching of His holy word, the due and right ministration of the sacra- ments now received and preached within this realm, (according to the Confession of Faith immediately preceding,) and shall abolish and gainstand all false religion, contrary to the same; and shall rule the people committed to their charge, according to the will and command of God revealed in His foresaid word, and according to the laudable laws and constitutions received in this realm, nowise repugnant to the said will of the eternal God ; and shall procure to the uttermost of their power, to the Kirk of God, and whole Christian people, true and perfect peace in all time coming : and that they shall be careful to root out of their empire all hereticks and enemies to the true worship of God, who shall be convicted by the true Kirk of God of the foresaid crimes." Which was also observed by his Majesty, at his coronation in Edinburgh 1633, as may be seen in the order of the coronation. In obedience to the commandment of God, conform to the practice of the godly in former times, and according to the laudable example of our worthy and religious progenitors, and of many yet living amongst us, which was warranted also by act of Council, commanding a general band to be made and subscribed by his Majesty's subjects of all ranks ; for two causes : one was, For defending the true religion, as it was then reformed, and is expressed in the Confession of Faith above written, and a former large Confession established by sundry acts of lawful General Assemblies and of Parliaments, unto which it hath relation, set down in publick Catechisms ; and which hath been for many years, with a blessing from Heaven, preached and professed in this Kirk and kingdom, as God's undoubted truth, grounded only upon His written word. The other cause was. For maintaining the King's Majesty, his person and estate ; the true worship of God and the King's authority being so straitly joined, as that they had the same friends and common enemies, and did stand and fall together. And finally, being convinced in our minds, and confessing with our mouths, that the present and succeeding generations in this land are bound to keep the foresaid national oath and subscription inviolable. We Noblemen, Barons, Gentlemen, Burgesses, Ministers, and Commons under-subscribing, considering divers times before, and especially at this time, the danger of the true reformed religion, of the King's honour, and F 82 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. of the publick peace of the kingdom, by the manifold innovations and evils generally contained, and particularly mentioned in our late supplications, complaints, and protestations ; do hereby profess, and before God, His angels, and the world, solemnly declare, That with our whole heart we agree, and resolve all the days of our life constantly to adhere unto and to defend the foresaid true religion, and (forbearing the practice of all nova- tions already introduced in the matters of the worship of God, or approba- tion of the corruptions of the publick government of the Kirk, or civil places and power of kirkmen, till they be tried and allowed in free Assem- blies and in Parliaments) to labour, by all means lawful, to recover the purity and liberty of the Gospel, as it was established and professed before the foresaid novations. And because, after due examination, we plainly perceive, and undoubtedly believe, that the innovations and evils contained in our supplications, complaints, and protestations, have no warrant of the word of God, are contrary to the articles of the foresaid Confession, to the intention and meaning of the blessed reformers of religion in this land, to the above-written Acts of Parliament ; and do sensibly tend to the re-establishing of the Popish religion and tyranny, and to the subversion and ruin of the true reformed religion, and of our liberties, laws, and estates ; we also declare. That the foresaid Confessions are to be interpreted, and ought to be understood of the foresaid novations and evils, no less than if ever}^ one of them had been expressed in the foresaid Confessions ; and that we are obliged to detest and abhor them, amongst other particular heads of Papistry abjured therein. And therefore, from the knowledge and conscience of our duty to God, to our King and country, without any worldly respect or inducement, so far as human infirmity will suffer, wishing a further measure of the grace of God for this effect : we promise and swear, by the GREAT NAME OF THE LORD OUR GOD, to continue in the profession and obedience of the foresaid religion ; and that we shall defend the same, and resist all these contrary errors and corrup- tions, according to our vocation, and to the uttermost of that power that God hath put in our hands, all the days of our life. And in like manner, with the same heart, we declare before God and men, That we have no intention nor desire to attempt any thing that may turn to the dishonour of God, or to the diminution of the King's greatness and authority ; but, on the contrary, we promise and swear. That we shall to the uttermost of our power, with our means and lives, stand to the defence of our dread Sovereign the King's Majesty, his person and authority, in the defence and preservation of the foresaid true religion, liberties, and laws of the kingdom ; as also to the mutual defence and assistance every one of us of another, in the same cause of maintaining the true religion, and his Majesty's authority, with our best counsel, our bodies, means, and whole power, against all sorts of persons whatsoever ; so that whatsoever shall be done to the least of us for that cause, shall be taken as done to us all in general, and to every one of us in particular. And that we shall neither directly nor indirectly suffer ourselves to be divided or withdrawn, by whatsoever suggestion, combination, allurement, or terror, from this blessed and loyal conjunction ; nor shall cast in any let or impediment that may stay or hinder any such resolution as by common conseut shall be found to conduce for so good ends ; but, on the contrary, shall by all lawful means labour to further and promote the same : and if any such dangerous and divisive motion be made to us by word or writ, we and every one of us shall either suppress it, or, if need be, shall incontinent make the same known, that it may be timeously obviated. Neither do we fear the foul aspersions of rebellion, combination, or what else our adversaries, from their craft and malice, would put upon us ; seeing what we do is so well warranted, and ariseth from an unfeigned desire to maintain the true worship of God, the majesty of our King, and the peace of the kingdom, for the common happiness of ourselves and our posterity. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 83 And because we cannot look for a blessing from God upon our proceed- ings, except with our profession and subscription, we join such a life and conversation as beseemeth Christians who have renewed their covenant with God ; we therefore faithfully promise for ourselves, our followers, and all others under us, both in publick, and in our particular families, and personal carriage, to endeavour to keep ourselves within the bounds of Christian liberty, and to be good examples to others of all godliness, soberness, and righteousness, and of every duty we owe to God and man. And, that this our union and conjunction may be observed without viola- tion, we call the LIVING GOD, THE SEARCHER OF OUR HEARTS, to witness, who knoweth this to be our sincere desire and unfeigned resolution, as we shall answer to JESUS CHRIST in the great day, and under the pain of God's everlasting wrath, and of infamy and loss of all honour and respect in this world : most humbly beseeching the LORD to strengthen us by His HOLY SPIRIT for this end, and to bless our desires and proceedings with a happy success ; that religion and righteousness may flourish in the land, to the glory of GOD, the honour of our King, and peace and comfort of us all. In witneas whereof, we have subscribed with our hands all the premises. The article of this Covenant, which was at the first subscription referred to the determination of the General Assembly, being now determined ; and thereby the five articles of Perth, the government of the Kirk by bishops, and the civil places and power of kirkmen, upon the reasons and grounds contained in the Acts of the General Assembly, declared to be unlawful within this Kirk, we subscribe according to the determination aforesaid. The subscription was renewed in 1638, and the subscribers engaged by oath to maintain religion in the same state in which it existed in 1580, and to reject all innovations introduced since that time. This oath, annexed to the Confession of Faith of 1581, received the name of the National Covenant. — Unci/. Brit. And finallie, anno 1638, when it pleased our gracious God that the Covenant, with a Bond, was renewed, it was printed ; and for the excellence thereof, it was translated into other languages ; and so many other good things were printed and publictlie sold, that I need not severallie to name and express them : Glorie to God, therefore, for ever, Amen ! The Lord of his mercie keep us in his awin hand unto the end, and in the end. Amen. — John Bow. It was a grand spectacle — a nation, first in its representatives, and afterwards in the masses of its people, banded together in such a spirit and for such an end. . . . The great body of the Scottish people, in imitation of their leaders, who met in the Greyfriars, stood, sword in hand, sublimely defiant, trusting to the strength of their own right arm, and to the succour of the Lord of Hosts, ready to hurl back the encroachments of despotic power, and at the sacrifice of life, if necessary, to guard the land, the liberties, and the religion which they loved. Noble spectacle! And such in the main was Covenanting Scotland in 1638. One feels a glow of honest pride at the thought of belonging to a country which has, for once, assumed such an attitude, especially when he can believe, as we do, that, did occasion call for it, she 84 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. would assume such an attitude again- Such times are epochs in a nation's history, when, through the pangs and throes of travail, she emerges into nobler life. By one stride she exceeds the progress she would have made during a century of sluggish uneventful existence. By one mighty effort she is lifted into a higher region, and henceforth moves on a more elevated plain. By some of her sons there may be an open abandonment of the standard she has raised, secret defection on the part of others ; but withal she is higher for that one effort throughout all coming time. ... It will not be supposed that all who signed the Covenant either breathed its spirit or valued its principles. As always happens under similar circumstances, there were some who took advantage of, some who were borne along with, the popular current. Among the leaders there were politicians who cared little for the religious element of the question. Among the people there were some of that unthinking class always found on the side which for the time is uppermost — men who, without any fixed principle or definite object, accepted the Covenant only because the current was flowing in that direction — the waifs and straws swept up by the torrent in its resistless course. But besides these, there were the men who formed the torrent — the centre and sou] of the movement — who gave to it its vitality and strength — the high-souled men who loved their Bibles and believed in God — who recognised the existence of the Invisible and Eternal — and therefore felt that there was something better for a man than to cower and cringe at a despot's nod, or to sacrifice his soul for the favour of a fellow-worm who wore a crown and was yclept a king. With them the signing of the Covenant was no idle vapouring, no meaningless ceremony; it was an act solemn and significant. It was done in grim earnest — in the sight of God ; and by His help they stood prepared to defend with the sword, or, if unsuccessful in the field, to bear on the scaffold or at the stake the consequences of the deed they had done. And when politicians trimmed and compromised, and self- seeking men betrayed the Covenant and persecuted its adherents, and the unthinking rabble changed sides, these men, under all changes, continued faithful to their pledge, and not a few ulti- mately became martyrs to the cause. — Dr. Landels. And then gathering into one document the old Covenant of 1581, which King James himself, the father of the reigning monarch, had signed, and all the Acts condemnatory of Poperj', with an addition applying them to the present circumstances, the Scotch laid hold of these legitimate charters of their nation and presented them before Heaven. . . . Johnston unrolled the parchment on which these Scottish charters were inscribed, and read them in a clear, calm voice. When he had finished, there was a deep and solemn silence : a few explanations were demanded and given ; then again all was still as the grave. But the silence was soon broken. An aged man of noble air was seen advancing. ... He came forward slowly, and deep emotion was visible in his venerable features. He took HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 85 up the pen with a trembling hand and si^ed the document. A general movement now took place. All the Presbyterians within the church pressed forward to the Covenant and subscribed their names. But this was not enough ; a whole nation was waiting : the immense parchment was carried into the churchyard, and spread out on a large tombstone to receive on this expressive table the signature of the Church. Scotland had never beheld a day like that. . . . Such was the commencement of that important affair of the Covenant, which a celebrated novelist has represented in so false a light. Such was the Grutli of Scotland. — D'Aubigne, S9L And such was the zeal of many subscribers that for a while many subscribed with tears on their cheeks ; and it is constantly reported that some did draw their own blood, and used it in place of ink to underwrite their names. Such ministers as spoke most of it were heard so passionately and with such frequency that churches could not contain their hearers in cities, some of the devouter sex, as if they had keeped vigils, keeping their seats from Friday to Sunday to get the communion given them sitting ; some sitting always before such sermons in the churches for fear of losing a room or place of hearing, or, at least, some of their handmaids sitting constantly there all night till their mistresses came to take up their place, and to relieve them. These things will scarce be believed ; but I relate them upon the credit of such as knew this to be the truth. — Gordon's *' Scots Affairs," I., 46. The stage on which this scene was enacted was the Grey friars' church- yard. The selection showed a sound taste for the picturesque. The graveyard in which their ancestors have been laid from time immemorial stirs the hearts of men, the more so if it be that final home to which they are themselves hastening. The old Gothic church of the Friary was then existing; and landscape-art in Edinburgh has by repeated efforts established the opinion that from that spot we have the grandest view of the precipices of the castle and the national fortress crowning them. It seemed a homage to that elevating influence of grand external conditions which the actors in the scene were so vehementl}' repudiating. Steps were taken to propagate adherence over the rest of the country. ... At this time the persons heretofore spoken of as "Supplicants" received the far more renowned name of " Covenanters." — Burton^ VI. , 4^9. Its spirit spread far and wide over the land, like fire over its heath-clad hills, penetrating the shadows which brooded in the firmament ; and, as the fiery cross was wout to be the signal for array in feudal strife, it summoned the sons of the hill and the dale to prepare their swords, should these be needed, for combat in a holier cause — subduing, with unexampled power, the hereditary feuds of hostile clans, and combining the whole nation into one mighty phalanx of incalculable energy. — Peterkin, ^'Intro- duction to Becords," p. I4. The Covenants ! the Covenants ! shall yet be Scotland's reviving.— James Guthrie. Till doomsday shall come, they shall never see the Kirk of Scotland and our Covenant burnt to ashes ; or, if it should be thrown in the fire, yet it cannot be so burnt or buried as not to have a resurrection. — S. Rutherford. God hath laid engagements upon Scotland ; we are tied by Covenants to religion and reformation. Those that were then unborn are yet engaged ; and it passeth the power of all the magistrates under heaven to absolve from the oath of God. — Marquis of Argyll. It may well be said of this day, ''Great was the day of JezreeL" It was a day wherein the arm of the Lord was revealed — a day wherein the 86 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. princes of the people were assembled to swear fealty and allegiance to that Great King whose name is the Lord of Hosts. — W. Wilson, " Defence Eef. Principles. " This was the day of the Lord's power, in which multitudes offered themselves most willingly, like the dewdrops of the morning; this was, indeed, the great day of Israel wherein the arm of the Lord was revealed — the day of the Kedeemer's strength, on which the princes of the people assembled to swear their allegiance to the King of kings. — Henderson. Oh ! Arthur Seat gave back the shout of that assembled crowd, As one bare forth the mighty bond, and many wept aloud ; They spread it on a tombstone-head (a martyr slept beneath). And some subscribed it with their blood, and added, " Until death ! " — Mrs. Menteath. Letter by the Covenanters to each of the Lords of Privy Council. March 27, 1638. As Christians, as patriots, as councillors, having a great trust committed to them, they are here appealed to. The eyes of men and angels, and of Jesus Christ, are beholding their carriage at such a time, and the record shall be to posterity. Articles for the present Peace of the Kirk and Kingdom OF Scotland, Signed by Rothes, Cassils, and Montrose. April 28, 1638. If the question were about such matters as did come within the compass of our own power we would be ashamed to be impor- tunate; but they are the matters of God's honour, of the kingdom of Christ, and the peace of our souls against the mystery of iniquity, etc. The Articles are eight in number : the discharging of the Service Book, the judicatory of the High Commission, the Articles of Perth, etc. Instructions by the King to Hamilton. May 16, 1638. Twenty-eight in number, and closing thus: "If you cannot by the means prescribed by us bring back the refractory and seditious to due obedience, we do not only give you authority, but command all hostile acts whatsoever to be used against them ... for the doing whereof we will not only save you harmless, but account it as acceptable service done us." We see that the King's letters of indulgence ahnost exceed those of the Pope. — D'Aubigne. Letter from the King to Hamilton. Jime 11, 1638. I will rather die than yield to those impertinent and damnable demands (as you rightly call them), for it is all one as to yield to be no king in a very short time. Postscript, — As the aflfairs are now, I do not expect that you should declare the adherers to the HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 87 Covenant traitors, until you have heard from me that my fleet hath set sail for Scotland, though your six weeks should be elapsed. In a word, gain time, by all the honest means you can, without forsaking your grounds. Letter by the King to Hamilton. June 13, 1638. One of the chief things you are to labour now, is to get a considerable number of Sessioners and Advocates to give their opinion that the Covenant is at least against law, if not treasonable. Thus you have my approbation in several shapes. Royal Proclamation. Jicne 28, 1638. We well hoped that the two Proclamations of 11th December and 19th February had been abundantly suflficient. . . . For farther clearing of scruples we do hereby assure all men that we will neither now nor here- after press the practice of the Canons and Service Book, but in such a fair and legal way as shall satisfy all our loving subjects. The Covenanters met this ensnaring proclamation by a united Protestation, as follows : — The Protestation of the Nobles, Barrons, Gentlemen, BuRROWES, Ministers, and Commons, Subscribers of the Confession of Faith and Covenant, lately renewed within the Kingdome of Scotland, made at the Mercat Crosse of Edinburgh, the 4 of Julij, immediately after the reading of the Proclamation DATED June 28, 1638. As soon as it came to be known that the royal proclamation was to be made at Edinburgh, the Covenanters erected a scaffold, side by side with the market Cross, and after the heralds had read the proclamation the citizens compelled them to remain upon the Cross until Johnston of Warriston, in name of the people of Scotland, read this " most critical and serious of the Scots' papers of its time " (Burton) from the rival platform. Proclamation, September 9, 1638 : The Surrender. And now there comes a new act in the drama as we see it in the face of the external history of the times. It is all a surprise, as if the curtain rose on novelties brought to perfection in secret behind the scenes. There is now to be an entire surrender. A free General Assembly is to be held, and then a free Parliament. The Service Book, the Book of Canons, the Court of High Commission, the Five Articles of Perth, all are to go. The bishops are to be handed over for trial by the Assembly. The King and his Court are virtually to become Covenanters, and all their opponents are to be pardoned and embraced in amity. The "ample instructions" for this sweeping resolution were addressed to Hamilton, with the date of 10th September.— ^wr^o 72, VI. 508. The Lord High Commissioner, after much hesitation, decided upon trying a free Assembly. He hoped to influence the elections, as James I. had done, to sow dissension in the Assembly, and thus to maintain the royal supremacy in the Church. Chaides began like his father by kingcraft, reserving the sword for a future occasion. — D'Aubigne. sb treasury of the scottish covenant. The Protestation of the Noblemen, Barons, Gentlemen, BuRROWES, Ministers, and Commons. September 22, 1638. In this lengthy and masterly document exception is taken to certain "limitations and prejudices of the liberty of the Assembly in the very points which have wrought woe and disturbance in the Kirk and kingdome," contained in the proclamation. The subscribers give fifteen reasons why the proclamation can neither satisfy their grievances nor rem_ove their fears, and they utter seven protests. The document was read publicly at the " Mercate Crosse " of Edinburgh, by Archibald Johnston, who took instru- ments in the hands of three "Notars" present, before many hundred witnesses, and craved the extract thereof. The docu- ment occupies six pages in Peterkin's " Records." Letter from the King to Hamilton. October 20, 1638. I see by yours of the 27th September, that the malignity of the Covenanters is greater than ever. This I will say confidently that until at least the adherers to this last Protestation be declared traitors nothing •wUl go as it ought in that kingdom. As for the danger that Episcopal government is in, I do not hold it so much as you do. The Bill, or the Complaint of the Noblemen, Barons, Burgesses, Ministers, and Commons, Covenanters (which were not Commissionaries to the Assembly), AGAINST the PRETENDED ARCHBISHOPS AND BiSHOPS, WITHIN THIS Kingdom, as it was presented to the Presbytery of Edinburgh, Etc. October 24, 1638. Presented to the Presbytery, in name of the Covenanters, by the laird of Buchanan, the laird of Drury, the younger, the laird of Carlourie, John Smith, late bailife of Edinburgh, John Hamilton, and Bichard Maxwell. THE GLASGOW ASSEMBLY. November 21, 1638. The famous Assembly at Glasgow, of which Alexander Henderson was moderator, was the tide-mark of the second Reformation — a bright morning that was soon obscured by clouds and storm, but it opened a day which is still advancing. — Frof. Ker, D.D. This was the first General Assembly that had been held for thirty-six years, for although there had been six nominal Assemblies in the interval (1606, 1608, 1610, 1616, 1617, 1618,) these were so overborne by kingly interference that they were essentially illegal, and afterwards declared null. The following were the ministers, to the number of 140, who were sent as Commissioners : — Aberdeen - - David Lindsay, Belhelvie. William Guild, Aberdeen. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 89 Al/ord, - - John Young, Keig. John Redford, Kinbettock. Andrew Strachan, Tillineshill (Tullynessle). Argyll, - - Donald M'llvoiy, Inveraray. Nicol Makcalman, Kilmun. James Campbell, Kilfinnan. Auchterarder, - George Miishet, Dunning. James Row, Muthil. John Grahame, Auchterarder. Ayr, - - James Bonar, May bole. John Fergushill, Ochiltree. Robert Blair, Ayr. Chirnside, - George Roul, Mordington. Thomas Ramsay, Foldoun. Walter Swinton, S win ton. Cupar, - - David Dalgleish, Cupar. John MoncriefF, Collessie. Walter Buchanan, Ceres. Dalkeith, - - James Porteous, Lasswade. James Robertson, Cranston. Oliver Colt, Inveresk. Deer, - - Andrew Cant, Pitsligo. James Martin, Peterhead. Alexander Martin, Deer. Dingwall, - David Munro, Kiltearn. Murdoch Mackenzie, Contains. Dornoch, - - Alexander Munro, Golspie. William Gray, Clyne. Dumbarton, - David Elphinston, Dumbarton. Robert Watson, Cardross. John Stirling, Baldernock. Dumfries, - James Hamilton, Dumfries. William Mac] ore, Carlaverock. Alexander Tran, Lochroyton. Dunbar, - - Patrick Hamilton, Innerwick. John Lauder, Tuningham. John Dalziel, Prestonkirk. Dunblane, - Harry Livingstone, Kippen. Andrew Rind, Tillicoultry. William Edmonston, Kilmadock. Dundee, - - Andrew Wood, Monifieth. John Robertson, Auchterhouse. Dunfermline, - John Row, Carnock. John Duncan, Culross. James Sibbald, Torry. Dunkeld, - - William Menzies, Kenmure. John Anderson, Cargill. 90 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Dunse, - - Alexander Carse, Polwarth. John Hume, Eccles. Thomas Swinton, St. Bathanes. Farhton, - - John Mai tl and, Glenkirk. Harry Cockburn, Gingelkirk. Edinhurgh, - Andrew Kamsay, Edinburgh. Harry Bollock, Edinburgh. William Colvin, Cramond. Forfar, - - John Lindsay, Aberlemno. Sylvester Lambie, Glammis. Alexander Kininmont, Kirriemuir. Forres^ - • William Falconer, Dyke. John Hay, B afford. David Dunbar, Edenkillie. Garioch, - - William Wedderburn, Bethelnie. Glasgow, - - John Bell, Glasgow. Zachary Boyd, Barony Kirk. James Sharp, Govan. Haddington, - John Ker, Salt-Preston. James Fleming, Bathans (Yester). John Oswald, Pencaitland. Hamilton, - Patrick Hamilton, Cambuslang. James Johnston, Stenhouse. John Heriot, Blantyre. Inverness, - John Howieson, Wardlaw (Kirkhill). Patrick Dunbar, Durris. Irvine, - - David Dickson, Irvine. William Bussel, Kilbirnie. Bobert Baillie, Kilwinning. Jedburgh, - Bobert Brownlee, Kirkton. James Wilkie, Crailing. Bobert Cunningham, Hawick. Kelso, - - Bichard Simpson, Sprouston. William Penman, Morebattle. Kincairney, - Alexander Bobertson, Clunie. Kirkcaldy, - Bobert Douglas, Kirkcaldy. Frederick Carmichael, Kennoway. Bobert Cranston, Scoonie. Kirkcvdhright, - Samuel Butherford, Anwoth. William Dalgleish, Kirkmabreck. John M'Lellan, Kirkcudbright. Kirkwall, - David Watson, Westray. Walter Stewart, S. Bonaldshay. Lanark, - - William Livingston, Lanark. Alex. Somerville, Dolphinton. Bichard Inglis, Weston. Linlithgow, - Bichard Dickson, Kinneil. HISTORIC DOGUMEXT.'S. 01 Linlithgow, Lochmahen, Mearns, - Meigle, Melrose, - Middlehy, Paisley, - Peebles, - Perth, St. Andrews, Stirling, - Stranraer, Tain, Thurso, - Turriff, - Wigton, - Andrew Keir, Carriden. James Simpson, Bathgate. Kobert Henderson, Lochmaben. David Roger, Tindergarth. James Sibbald, Benholm. Andrew Mill, Fetteresso. Alexander Simpson, Conveth. George Symmers, Meigle. George Halyburton, Glenisla. William Jameson, Longnewton. Robert Martin, Ettrick. John Knox, Bowden. Simeon Johnston, Aonan. John Hamilton, Westerkirk. William Brisbane, Erskine. John Hamilton, Inverkip. Matthew Brisbane, Killellan. John Bennet, Kirkurd. Robert Livingstone, Skirling. Hugh Ker, Traquair. George Cleland, Durrisdeer. Samuel Austin, Penpont. Robert Murray, Methven. John Robertson, Perth. Alexander Petrie, Rhind. Alexander Henderson, Leuchars. Andrew Auchinleck, Largo. James Bruce, Kingsbarns. James Edmonston, St, Ninians. William Justice, Gargunnock. Edward Wright, Clackmannan. John Livingstone, Stranraer. James Blair, Portmontgomerj. Alexander Turnbull, Kirk maiden. Gilbert Murray, Tain. William Mackenzie, Tarbet. Hector Monro, Xether Tain. George Leslie, Bower. John Smart. Thomas Mitchell, Turriff. William Douglas, Forgue. George Sharpe, Fyvie. Andrew Anderson, Kirkinner. Andrew Lauder, Whithorn. There were also 95 ruling elders. Of these, 17 were noblemen of high rank, 9 knights, 25 landed proprietors or lesser barons. 92 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT, 2 professors (John Adamson, Edinburgh, and John Lundie, Aberdeen), and 42 burgesses, — generally holding the principal offices of authority in their respective towns. The following were the noblemen and knights, with the Presbyteries which they represented : — James, Earl of Home, ----- Chirnside. John, Lord Cranston, ----- Earlston. John, Lord Hay of Yester, . - - - Haddington. William, Earl of Lothian, . . . - Dalkeith. John, Lord of Balmerino, . . . . Edinburgh. James, Lord Johnston, ----- Middlehy. John, Earl of Cassillis, ----- Ayr. John, Lord Loudoun, ----- Irvine. The Earl of Eglinton, - . . . . Glasgoio. John, Lord Sinclair, - - - - -St. Andrews. John, Lord Lindsay, ----- Cupar. John, Earl of Eothes, _ - . - - Kirkcaldy. Robert, Lord Burley, ----- Dunfermline. James, Earl of Montrose, _ - _ - Auchterarder. John, Earl of Wemyss, ----- Perth. James, Lord Cowper, _ _ - - Meigle. \ George Gordon, brother to the Earl of Sutherland, Dornoch, Sir David Hume of Wedderburn, Knight, - Dunse. Sir William Douglas of Cavers, - - - Jedburgh. Sir John Ker of Cavers, ----- Melrose. Sir Patrick Hepburn of Waughton, Knight, - Dunbar. Sir William Murray of Touchadam, - - Stirling. Sir William Baillie of Lamington, - - - Lanark. Sir George Stirling of Keir, Knight, - - Dunblane. Sir Gilbert Ramsay of Balmain, - - - Mearns. Sir John Mackenzie of Tarbet. - - - Tain. The Declinator and Protestation of the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of Scotland and Others their Adherents, agaynst the pretended Generall Assem- BLiE at Glasgow, 1638. The prelates, foreseeing the issue of their debates, sent in their declina- ture of the jurisdiction of the Assembly. Esteeming " this meeting most unlawful and disorderly," they declined to attend. They granted "full power and express mandate" to Dr. Robert Hamilton, minister at Glass- ford, to present the Protestation, which was signed by John Spottiswood, Patrick Lindsay, David Lindsay, Thomas Sydserf, John Maxwell, and Walter Whitford. The document was a formidable one (it occupies seven pages in Peterkin's closely printed "Hecords"), but the Assembly ruled that the prelates, in sending a representative in their name, had by that yery act acknowledged the court, and thereupon proceeded to accuse them of having lorded supremacy over the Church, and of immorality. When the Moderator proceeded to ask the Assembly whether they found them- HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 93 selves competent to sit in judgment on the case, the Royal Commissioner forbade further proceedings and ordered the Assembly to dissolve. This they refused to do. Letter from Hamilton to the King, November 27, 1638. A week after the Assembly commenced to sit, the Commissioner wrote his Majesty, telling him how matters proceeded. He stated his conviction that nothing but an appeal to arms would restore order, and chalked out a plan of campaign. What a commentary on Psalm ii. 2, the following extracts furnish ! — The Earl of Argyll is the only man now called up as a true patriot, a loyal subject, a faithful counsellor, and above all, rightly set for the pre- servation of the purity of religion. And truly, sir, he takes it upon him. He must be well looked to, for it fears me he will prove the dangerousest man in this State. He is so far from favouring episcopal government, that with all his soul he wishes it totally abohshed. What course to advise you to take with him for the present I cannot say ; but remit to your Majesty's serious consideration. Now, for the Covenanters, I shall only say this in general, they may all be placed in one roll as they now stand. But certainly, sir, those that have both broached the business and still hold it aloft are Rothes, Balmerino, Lindsay, Lothian, Loudoun, Yester, Cranstoun. There are many others as forward in show, amongst whom none more vainly foolish than Montrose. But the above mentioned are the main contrivers. Their greatest strength consists in the boroughs ; and their being is by trade; whereof a few ships of your Majesty's well disposed will easily bar them. . . Those ships that lie in the Irish seas will be sufficient to bar all trade from the west of Scotland. The fittingest places are between Arran and the coast of Galloway. When the weather is foul there is an excellent road in Galloway called Loch Ryan, and another in Arran called Lamlash or the Holy Island, where they may ride m safety. This is all I shall say concerning the barring them of trade. Speech op Hamilton at Dissolving the Assembly, November 29, 1638. The competency of the Assembly to sit in judgment on the prelates became the crucial question. The Commissioner refused to allow the Assembly to persevere in a course of procedure con- trary to the express intentions of the King. Henderson, Rothes, and Loudon reasoned and protested against the conduct of the Commissioner; but Hamilton put an end to the discussion by saying: "I stand to the King's prerogative, as supreme judge over all causes civil and ecclesiastical : to him the Lords of the Clergy have appealed, and therefore I will not suffer their cause to be further reasoned here." The Marquis, in name of the King, as head of the Church, called on the Moderator to dissolve the meeting by prayer, which Henderson refused to do; upon which the Commissioner protested in his Majesty's name against whatever might be done by the Assembly, declared it dissolved, and prohibited further proceedings. 94 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. This was a solemn moment for the Church. It was to know whether the authority of an earthly prince was to prevail within her over the authority of her Eternal King. The royal power had withdrawn. The representative of Charles I., his knight?, his councillors, his pages had left. But was there not present the King of kings, the Lord of lords, who had said, "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world"? — D'Aubigne. Undismayed by the absence of royalty and a proclamation at the market cross that all who should henceforth join in its sittings would be regarded as guilty of treason, the Assembly proceeded to business. It felt that the withdrawal of Hamilton was fully compensated by the presence of Argyll, who now openly threw in his lot with the Covenanters ; and gave them the weight of his great name, his wide possessions, and his diplomatic mind. — Dr. Cunningham, ''History," IL, 102. Royal Proclamation anent the Assembly, November 29, 1638. This document styled the Assembly a "pretended Assembly," its members " pretended commissioners," and ordered them to depart " forth of this city of Glasgow within the space of twenty- four hours." The Assembly, however, had its Protest in readi- ness.—Pei. Rec, p. 119. The Protestation of the Generall Assemblie of the Church OF Scotland, and of the Noblemen, Barons, Gentlemen, Borrowes, Ministers, and Commons : Subscribers of the Covenant lately renewed, made in the High Kirk and AT THE MeRCATE CrOSSE OF GLASGOW THE 28 AND 29 OF Novemher, 1638. Printed at Glasgow by George Anderson in the Yeare of Grace 1638. A copy of this Protestation, believed to be the earliest piece of printing executed in Glasgow, was secured for the Mitchell Library. It is a tract of 16 pages. (See Mason's " Public and Private Libraries of Glasgow.") 4th January, 164-0. — Ordaines the thesaurare to pay to George Anderson, printer, ane hundredthe pundis in satisfactioun to him of the superplus he debursit in transporting of his geir to this burghe.— i?ecortZs of the Burgh of Glasgoic. The Principall Acts of the Solemne Generall Assembly OF the Kirk of Scotland, Indicted by the King's Majestie, and Conveened at Glasgow, 1638. These will be found in detail in " Peterkin's Records." In brief they were these : The Assembly declared that the so-called Assemblies of 1606, 1608, 1616, 1617, and 1618 had been vitiated by kingly interference, and were therefore null. It passed an act condemning the Service Book, the Book of Canons, the Book of Ordination, and the Court of High Commission. Episcopacy was abjured, and along with it the Five Articles of Perth. The bishops were found guilty and excommunicated. Presbytery was restored. Second Centenary. — The second centenary of the Assembly of 1638 has been celebrated at Glasgow and Edinburgh (on 20th December, 1838,) as well as in other considerable towns of Scotland ; and this commemora- tion has been conducted with a degree of eclat unexampled perhaps within the memory of man, in reference to any ecclesiastical concerns. — Peterkin, *'Becords," p. 111. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 95 It has indeed been alleged that a large proportion of the elders consisted of illiterate men. There is no authority for this insinuation except the random assertion of Bishop Burnet . . . There was not a peasant, as has been insinuated, or even a farmer or yeoman in the number. About the least considerable persons present were Mr, Alexander Hume, bailie of Lauder, and Mr. Patrick Hume, burgess of North Berwick. Both of these were masters of arts. From documents which I have seen and now possess I could undertake to prove that not one was illiterate. . . . The study of the Scriptures was a college exercise. The young were trained to habits of devotion. The catechisms and manuals of religious instruction were translated into Latin, and carefully taught ; and by such provisions as these the influence of piety was diffused over the paths of solid learning. — Robert Lee, D.D., Speech at Edinburgh. There were great Church gatherings here and at Glasgow on the 20th December, 1838, in commemoratiou of the famous General Assembly of 1638, which abolished Episcopacy and set up Presbytery, as we have it this day. It was a striking occasion, but thrown away. Instead of making it the celebration of a triumph over oppression, and joining in rejoicing over the things in which all the friends of Presbytery agree, it was made a scene for the display of everything in which they differ. In Edinburgh it was an anti-ministerial and anti-patriotic meetiag, so ardent for church endowments, and so illiberal towards even their Presbyterian brethren of the Secession that I believe there was only one Dissenting clergyman present. — Lord Cockburn, ''Journal." Act containing the Causes and Remedie of the Bygone Evils of this Kirk, August 17, 1639. The Assembly of 1639 met at Edinburgh, the Earl of Traquair acting as Commissioner. David Dickson, of Irvine, was chosen Moderator. Great care was taken to give no oflfence to the King. In confirming the work done by the last Assembly, it was agreed to say nothing abusive of Episcopacy or Prelacy, but simply declare them contrary to the constitution of the Church of Scot- land. In this spirit the above Act was passed. It enumerates six " Causes : " — the pressing of the Service Book ; the Articles of Perth ; changing the government of the Kirk from Assemblies to Kirk-men ; the civil places and power of Kirk-men ; corrupt Assemblies ; and the absence of free and rightly-constituted Assemblies. The Assembly passed this Act unanimously, and his Majesty's Commissioner promised to give in to the clerk his consent in writing. The proceedings of 1638 having, as was believed, received the royal sanction, there was much joy manifested : — It is alse joyful a day as ever I was ^vitnesse unto, and I hope we shall fede upon the sweit fruites heirafter. — Henderson. These that knowes the difficulties that this poore Church hes laboured under may justlie in this respect thinke this day a beginning of joyful! dayes, and I am confident that all that hes ane tender eye to the good of this Church are wakened with a sweet sunschyne day above the darke cludy dayes that past before. — Rollock. I blesse, I glorifie, I magnitie the God of heaven and earth that hes pittied this poore Church, and given us such matter of joy and consolation, 96 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. and the Lord make us thankful first to our graceous and loving God, and next obedient subjects to his Majesty, and to thank his Majesty's Commis- sioner for his owne part. — John Bow. John Weems, being called, could scarce get a word spoken for teares trickling doune along his gray haires, like droppes of rain or dew upon the toppe of the tender grasse, and yet withall smylling for joy, said : I doe remember when the Kirk of Scotland had a beautifull face. My eyes did see a f earfull defection after procured by our sinnes ; and no more did I wishe before my eyes were closed, but to have scene such a beautiful day, and that under the conduct and favour of our Kings Majestie. The Moderator, David Dickson, said : I believe the Kings Majestie made never the heart of any so blythe in giving them a bishoprick as he has made the heart of that reverend man joyfull in putting them away; and I am persuaded if his Majestie saw you shedding teares for blythnes, he should have more pleasure in yow nor in some of these that he hes given great thinges unto. Short Declaration, 1639. As the King marched towards Scotland, in 1639, this document was circulated in his name, vindicating his resort to arms. It appealed ta the spirit of divine right supposed to be all-powerful in England, and it referred in bitter terms to the Covenanters and their National Covenant : "Which Covenant of theirs they have treacherously induced many of our people to swear to a band against us ; which band and Covenant, or rather conspiracy of theirs, could not be with God, being against us, the Lord's anointed over them. But it was and is a band and Covenant pretended to be with God, that they may with the better countenance do the work of the devil, such as all treasons and rebellions are." This was followed the same year by "A Large Declaration," a still more calumnious document, penned by the King's chaplain, and published by royal authority. Act of General Assembly, August 1, 1640. That such as have subscribed the Covenant, and speak against the same, if he be a minister, shall be deprived ; and if he con- tinue so, being deprived, shall be excommunicated; and if he be a layman, shall be dealt with as perjured, and shall satisfy publicly for his perjury. — Gillan's ^'Abridgment," p. 97. Scottish Parliament, 1641. The serious difficulties Charles had to meet, in connection with his southern Parliament, rendered him more compliant with his northern subjects, whom he visited in 1641. It was ordained that none should sit in Parliament till they first took the Cove- nant ; and several noblemen were kept in an outer room till they did so (Balfour, III., p. 44). Acts were afterwards passed ratify- ing the abolition of Episcopacy by the Assembly, approving of the Covenant, and restoring the Act of 1592 — the Magna Charta of Presbytery — to its place of honour in the statute book. The Parliament of 1640 had assembled and transacted business without the royal sanction : the thirty-nine Acts of that Parliament were ratified by this. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 97 General Assembly, August 8, 1643. The advice of the Commissioners of the Assembly, 1642, recommending to Presbyteries to have copies of the Covenant to be subscribed by every minister at his admission is approven, and the Covenant appointed to be printed with the said ordinance prefixed thereto ; and that every Synod, Presbytery, and parish have one of them bound in quarto, with some blank paper whereupon every person may be obliged to subscribe. . . . And all ministers are ordained to make intimation of the Act of Assembly at Edinburgh, August 30, 1639 ("Confession of Faith," 4) enjoining all persons to subscribe the Covenant. Ten days later the form of the Solemn League and Covenant, to be entered into by both nations, was condescended on. This Covenant was unanimously approven, and embraced by the Assembly, as the most powerful mean by the blessing of God for settling and preserving the true Protestant religion and the peace of his Majesty's dominions, and propagating the same to other nations. It was recommended to be sent with all speed to England, that with all religious and answerable solemnity it might be sworn and subscribed by all true professors of the Reformed religion. and all good subjects. The Solemn League and Covenant, 1643. The Solemn League and Covenant was a bond between Scotland and England for the preservation of the Reformed religion in the Church °of Scotland, the reformation of religion in England and Ireland according to the Word of God, and the extirpation of Popery and Prelacy. It was established in 1643. That year, in the darkest hour of the Parliament's cause, commissioners headed by Sir H. Vane came from London to Edinburgh, and repre- sented to the Estates and Assembly that because the prelatical faction was still pursuing the design of altering the religion of Great Britain, it was necessary to unite the three Kingdoms, particularly England and Scotland, for their mutual defence. It was agreed that the best method of accomplishing this purpose was to enter into a Solemn League and Covenant. The deed was immediately drawn up by Alexander Henderson. It was sanctioned by the Assembly and the Estates, and sent to London by four of the commissioners to Westminster. It was approved both by the Westminster Assembly and the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament; subscribed by 228 members of the House of Commons ; thereafter in almost all parts of England, — an Act of Parliament being passed giving instructions for the manner of taking it ; and sworn to and subscribed by all ranks in Scotland. Charles I. disapproved of it when he surrendered himself to the Scottish army in 1646; but in 1650 Charles IT., by G 98 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. a solemn oath, declared his approbation of this, and the National Covenant as well, — which was renewed on the occasion of his coronation at Scone, 1651. Charles's sincerity in taking the oath has never been maintained. He had been invited to Scotland by the Covenanters, and the taking of the Covenant was a mere political artifice, which signally failed to serve its purpose. After the Covenant was ratified by Parliament, subscription to it was required of every member, it being declared that without such subscription the constitution of the Parliament was null and void. The National Covenant, and the Solemn League and Covenant are usually published along with the Westminster standards, although they are not now included among the authoritative symbols of the Presbyterian Churches. The following are the terms of the Solemn League and Covenant : — The Solemn League and Covenant for Reformation and Defence of Religion, the Honour and Happiness of the King, and the Peace and Safety of the Three Kingdoms of Scotland, England, and Ireland; agreed upon by Commissioners from the Parliament and Assembly of Divines in England, with Commissioners of the Con- vention of Estates, and General Assembly in Scotland; approved by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and by both Houses of Parliament and the Assembly of Divines in England, and taken and subscribed by them Anno 1643; and thereafter, by the said authority, taken and subscribed by all ranks in Scotland and England the same Year; and ratified by Act of the Parliament of Scotland, anno 1644 : And again renewed in Scotland, with an Acknowledgment of Sins, and Engagement to Duties, by all ranks, anno 1648, and by Parliament 1649 ; and taken and subscribed by King Charles II. at Spey, June 23, 1650; and at Scone, January 1, 1651. We Noblemen, Barons, Knights, Gentlemen, Citizens, Burgesses, Ministers of the Gospel, and Commons of all sorts, in the kingdoms of Scotland, England, and Ireland, by the providence of GOD, living under one King, and being of one reformed religion, having before our eyes the glory of God and the advancement of the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the honour and happiness of the King's Majesty and his posterity, and the true publick liberty, safety, and peace of the kingdoms, wherein every one's private condition is included : And calling to mind the treacherous and bloody plots, conspiracies, attempts, and practices of the enemies of GOD against the true religion and professors thereof in all places, especially in these three kingdoms, ever since the reformation of religion; and how much their rage, power, and presump- tion are of late, and at this time, increased and exercised, whereof the deplorable state of the church and kingdom of Ireland, the distressed estate of the church and kingdom of England, and the dangerous estate of the church and kingdom of Scotland, are present and publick testimonies ; we have now at last (after other means of supplication, remonstrance, pro- testation, and suflfering), for the preservation of ourselves and our religion from utter ruin and destruction, according to the commendable practice of these kingdoms in former times, and the example of GOD's people in other nations, after mature deliberation, resolved and determined to enter into a mutual and Solemn Leigue and Covenant, wherein we all subscribe, and each one of us for himself, with our hands lifted up to the most High GOD, do swear, — HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 99 I. That we shall sincerely, really, and constantly, through the grace of GOD, endeavour, in our several places and callings, the preservation of the reformed religion in the Church of Scotland, in doctrine, worship, discipline, and government, against our common enemies; the reformation of religion in the kingdoms of England and Ireland, in doctrine, worship, discipline, and government, according to the Word of GOD, and the example of the best reformed Churches; and shall endeavour to bring the Churches of GOD in the three kingdoms to the nearest conjunction and uniformity in religion, confession of faith, form of church government, directory for worship and catechising ; that we, and our posterity after us, may, as brethren, live in faith and love, and the Lord may delight to dwell in the midst of us. II. That we shall in like manner, without respect of persons, endeavour the extirpation of Popery, Prelacy, (that is, church government by Arch- bishops, Bishops, their Chancellors, and Commissaries, Deans, Deans and Chapters, Archdeacons, and all other ecclesiastical officers depending on that hierarchy,) superstition, heresy, schism, profaneness, and whatsoever shall be found to be contrary to sound doctrine and the power of godliness ; lest we partake in other men's sins, and thereby be in danger to receive of their plagues ; and that the Lord may be one, and His name one, in the three kingdoms. III. We shall, with the same sincerity, reality, and constancy, in our several vocations, endeavour, with our estates and lives, mutually to preserve the rights and privileges of the Parliaments, and the liberties of the kingdoms; and to preserve and defend the King's Majesty's person and authority, in the preservation and defence of the true religion and liberties of the kingdoms; that the world may bear witness with our consciences of our loyalty, and that we have no thoughts or intentions to diminish his Majesty's just power and greatness. IV. We shall also, with all faithfulness, endeavour the discovery of all such as have been or shall be incendiaries, malignants, or evil instruments, by hindering the reformation of religion, dividing the King from his people, or one of the kingdoms from another, or making any faction or parties amongst the people, contrary to this League and Covenant; that they may be brought to publick trial, and receive condign punishment, as the degree of their offences shall require or deserve, or the supreme judi- catories of both kingdoms respectively, or others having power from them for that effect, shall judge convenient. V. And whereas the happiness of a blessed peace between these king- doms, denied in former times to our progenitors, is, by the good providence of GO D, granted unto us, and hath been lately concluded and settled by both Parliaments ; we shall each one of us, according to our place and interest, endeavour that they may remain conjoined in a firm peace and union to all posterity ; and that justice may be done upon the wilful opposers thereof, in manner expressed in the precedent article. V^I. We shall also, according to our places and callings, in this common cause of religion, liberty, and peace of the kingdoms, assist and defend all those that enter into this League and Covenant, in the maintaining and pursuing thereof; and shall not suffer ourselves, directly or indirectly, by whatsoever combination, persuasion, or terror, to be divided or with- drawn from this blessed union and conjunction, whether to make defection to the contrary part, or to give ourselves to a detestable indifferency or neutrality in this cause which so much concerneth the glory of GOD, the good of the kingdom, and honour of the King; but shall, all the days of our lives, zealously and constantly continue therein against all opposition, and promote the same, according to our power, against all lets and impedi- ments whatsoever; and, what we are not able ourselves to suppress or overcome, we shall reveal and make known, that it may be timely pre- vented or removed : All which we shall do as in the sight of God. 100 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. And, because these kingdoms are guilty of many sins and provocations against GOD, and His Son Jesus Christ, as is too manifest by our present distresses and dangers, the fruits thereof ; we profess and declare before GOD and the world, our unfeigned desire to be humbled for our own sins, and for the sins of these kingdoms : especially, that we have not as we ought valued the inestimable benefit of the gospel; that we have not laboured for the purity and power thereof ; and that we have not endea- voured to receive Christ in our hearts, nor to walk worthy of Him in our lives ; which are the causes of other sins and transgressions so much abounding amongst us; and our true and unfeigned purpose, desire, and endeavour for ourselves, and all others under our power and charge, both in publick and in private, in all duties we owe to GOD and man, to amend our lives, and each one to go befoi'e another in the example of a real refor- mation; that the Lord may turn away His wrath and heavy indignation, and establish these churches and kingdoms in truth and peace. And this Covenant we make in the presence of ALMIGHTY GOD, the Searcher of all hearts, with a true intention to perform the same, as we shall answer at that great day when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed ; most humbly beseeching the Lord to strengthen us by His Holy Spirit for this end, and to bless our desires and proceedings with such success, as may be deliverance and safety to His people, and encouragement to other Christian churches groaning under, or in danger of, the yoke of antichristian tyranny, to join in the same or like association and Covenant, to the glory of GOD, the enlargement of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and the peace and tran- quillity of Christian kingdoms and commonwealths. In giving one of his Monday Lectures, Mr. Joseph Cook, of Boston, produced a copy of the " Solemn League and Covenant," which he bought in Edinburgh. "I read it," he said, "not far from John Knox's grave, at the midnight service in St. Giles' Cathedral, on the last day of the year 1880. The very touch of that book is electric. That scene, when three kingdoms adopted the League and Covenant for the guidance of their affairs, when Cromwell and Milton and the great Presbyters of Scotland were ready to lock hands in the reformation of the foremost country of the present time, then just rising to its greatness, appears to me to be altogether too dignified and glorious an historic picture to be sneered at by any shrivelled successors of the Puritans and the Pilgrims." The spiritual fervour and patriotic heroism of the Greyfriars', Edinburgh, seemed to renew themselves in St. Margaret's, London. The oath infused new strength into the movement. Henceforward the two nations fought side by side for a common faith and a common liberty. The accession of the Scots, holding as they did the poise between the two nearly equal parties into which the quarrel had parted England, was decisive of the issue, and that issue determined that the Protestant faith and constitutional government should continue to exist in Great Britain. Among the subordinate fruits of this great conflict — which, like all great conflicts, had its factions, its battle-fields, its crimes, but which stirred with its healthful and invigorating air the atmosphere of Great Britain and the world — was the system of truth which HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 101 issued from the Assembly, which, while battles were being fought and scaffolds erected around them, sat quietly deliberating m Henry VII.'s Chapel. We refer, of course, to the "Westminster Standards." These are worth an hundred victories on the battle- field. We do not fear to say of them that they are the finest transfusion into uninspired language of the sublime, awful, blessed truths of the Word of God which the Church has as yet been honoured to make. Though this " Confession" had contained but this one compendious and glorious axiom — the corner-stone of all liberty " God alone is Lord of the conscience," there is no true friend of his species but would venerate it. Never can the Covenanters be robbed of the immortal honour of having,^ while at the summit of their power, published this great principle to the world. — J. A. Wylie, LL.D. To the Scottish Covenanters the calling of this Assembly and the adoption of the Solemn League and Covenant, as revised by it, were rapidly bringing on the consummation of that great scheme of Divine Providence destined to establish the Presby- terian polity over all mankind. The government of the Church by a General Assem])ly, Synods, Presbyteries, and Kirk-sessions, was the Divine form of church government, and all others must dissolve before it. Here had been completed a great step — England and Ireland had been cleansed of the Popish and Pre- latic rubbish left at the Reformation, and were immediately to be united to Scotland in one Presbyterian community. The English Presbyterians, a large body with many learned ministers among them, indulged themselves in the same conclusion. The Parlia- ment had other views, and skilfully prepared for the consumma- tion. ... A more august national compliment could not have been paid : it was the two great nations humbly and duti- fully following the small community of chosen people in the path of righteousness. — Burton, VII., 171, 210. To prove this [that the struggle for religious life and liberty was an imperial— a universal battle] nothing more is needed than to give the mam designs of the Covenant in the words of the document of 1643 itselt. However narrowed in details, as the conflict went on, mto contendmg for a covenanted king and government, and agamst the tyranny of King Charles or James, still its very life and continuance lay in its essential unchanging' objects. These were :— To endeavour the preservation of the Reformed religion in the Church of Scotland ; the reformation of religion in England and Ireland; and the bringing of the three Churches to the nearest possible conjunction and uniformity in rehgion, etc. . . . More Christian, more statesmanlike ends could not be sought than these,— some of them achieved in our present civil and religious liberties; others, yet to be acquired, are ever haunting the hearts of wise and generous men; such as a greater compacting of our Christian Churches all over the world, and a higher standard of individual Christian life in all directions, t or these objects the Covenanters fought and died, single-handed ; and in defeat they kept the old blue flag, with its true and tender colour waving in the free breeze, when other hands dropped it in the mire, or furled it in 102 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. garrets. And to them of the forlorn hope — the advanced pickets in Scot- land, then the Thermopylse of Europe — we owe, under God, the preserva- tion and extension of all that makes us, and in the final victory will make the world, greatest. — Prof. W. Graham^ D.D. The National Covenant and the Solemn League embodied an error which our fathers could scarcely have been expected to detect. Nor is there any reason to suppose that we would have detected it, had we lived in their times or been brought up under their training. Looking back to Moses, and in so far forgetting Christ, our earlier reformers resorted not merely to ecclesiastical but to national confederacy, as the likeliest means of securing the good which the Commonwealth had attained and averting the danger which was still impending. They were the godliest in the land who adopted this expedient \ its enemies were with few exceptions the carn'il and the careless ; defection from the Covenant and defection from godliness were, not only supposed, but positively seen to go hand in hand ; and it was quite a matter of course that the Four Brethren with those who suc- cessfully adhered to them, honest as they were and earnest for God, would recur to the Covenant as in their judgment a Scriptural means at once of excitement and concentration. They did so, and we honour them in the deed ; for, if we now know of a more excellent way, it becomes us never to forget that they were the men who, under God, pointed our way to the mountain top, from whence we have descried it; and as they were true to their light in the midst of obloquy and privation, so from their tombs there comes a voice calling upon us to be true to ours. — David Young, D.D., Perth. I have nothing to say in defence of the non-toleration, which our fore- fathers so skilfully vindicated, save that it was the all but universal theory of the time, and that till the conflict and strife of the Reformation, and the ground-swell of alarming sects, which were so triumphantly pointed to by the adversaries of Protestantism to its disadvantage, had quietly settled down into a calm, it was very natural there should be timidity in the direction of freedom of thought. — James Walker, D.D. When a man imposes a religion on me by force it matters little what that religion may be ; although it were the purest, my duty is the same. The religion thus imposed is not mine. The man, by its attempted imposition, seeks to rob me of the liberty which is my dearest birthright ; and does me most grievous WTong by obtruding himself — where no man has a right to come — between my conscience and its Lord. — Dr. Landels. We are no blind eulogists of the Solemn League and Covenant, as if it were a document almost too sacred to be touched or handled; and yet while alive to its imperfections, and especially to the intolerance which sounds as a jarring note in some of its phrases, we concur with those who, looking at it in connection with the time and circumstances in which it was produced, regard it as one of the grandest documents that ever emanated from the representatives of the people. The framers aimed at a measure of uniformity in religion then impracticable, and which many would now regard as a fond dream. It should be remembered, however, uniformity was valued by them as the outward expression of union, and that the desire for this had grown into a passion, when they saw everywhere around the weakening effects of division and distraction. — Dr. Thomson, ^^ Samuel Rutherford.''' These objects, it must now be confessed, were too lofty, too severe, and too despotic— founded on ideas of religion itself, and of human nature, too narrow to be ever practically realised. No king, church, or nation, could long be expected to conform to them ; but the backsliding, and the HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 103 covenant-breaking, and then the persecution, and the bloodshed, and the atrocious cruelties which followed were Jirst and wholly on the royal side. — P. H. Waddell, LL.D., Notes to ''Old Mortality." It was a simple thing for the Church to become free, and to refuse to be governed by civil proclamation or by statute. But what if it wished to be free, and at the same time to coerce others by civil statute and proclama- tion ? How were those whom the bishops had oppressed as sectaries in Galloway to subjugate the sectaries of Aberdeen ? The Scottish Covenant was a noble confession, but the imposition of it on all holders of office was very like a forcing of conscience ; and all this difficulty became aggravated fourfold when England came in. Even to have a common sovereign was no easy problem for two nations, one of whom held it its duty to defend, and the other to decapitate him. But the Church problem was more compli- cated still. Both peoples belonged to the catholic visible Church, in which Rutherford earnestly believed. The Church in both lands ought to stand on one platform, and they set about constructing it. But some men refused to stand on that platform, and insisted on their Christian right to stand separately. Was this to be tolerated ? Of course it broke up the whole fair fabric of uniformity ; and that fabric, to Rutherford, seemed very fair. He went to England with a glowing sense of the unity of the Christian Church on the one hand, and with all his Scottish ideas of national oneness on the other. His imagination caught flame : year after year he gave himself and every faculty to that magnificent undertaking ; and in volume after volume we may trace the eager anticipation that breaks forth in the motto to his Due Bight of Presbyteries — " Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners ! " And he failed. For once in our history Scotland had an opportunity of establishing its own polity and its own ideas on the other side of the border, and it failed. We did our best —or, at least, we did our utmost— and did not succeed. The authoritative erection of the Presbyterian polity, with Assemblies to govern it, was too much for England, joined to us though it was, not only in a " civil league," but also in a "religious covenant." And soon that noble League and Covenant, binding together the stronger and weaker nations, became a danger for Presbyterianism in Scotland. — Innes, "Evajig. Succ.," II. 157. The Covenanters had now the power in their own hands, and proceeded to work out the theory of a Covenanting nation, and the question arose, " What did they make of it ?" They were good men, learned men, filled with the fear of God, moralists rather than statesmen, full of the spirit of their age, but full of the spirit of an age which does not belong to any age, but was properly eternal. What, then, were the results of their rule ? One hears a good deal of their foolish doings, long sermons, and fanatic conduct, all of which might be set down to a plentiful ignorance. He had read more of their sermons than he liked to reckon up, and, looking to the length and spirit of them, he would venture to say that popular opinion was wide of the mark. The people, indeed, had a great hunger for preaching m these days, there being no other current literature at the time. As a young lady of the present day would sit up half the night at a novel, so would the people of those times continue day after day hearing sermons, often spending half the night in prayer and conversation about them, in a way not a little wonderful to us now, but it showed a deep concern for spiritual things. The sermons of those times, judging from many which had come down to us, were in nowise long-winded, but might be examples to the clergy of the present day. Being such men — honest, true, and brave — what were the results of their teaching now that the power was in theu' hands ? The Covenanting clergy were diligent in restraining profanity, advancing education, and enforcing the various duties of religion, and their diligence 104 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. bore fruit. long after in the decent speech, pious habit, and religion of the Scottish people. After quoting from various writers to show the state of the country under the rule of the Covenanters, Dr. Smith said that the truth was, there was a great profession of religious observance, and side by side great laxities of moral conduct. That there was a great amount of real piety was beyond all question, but there was also an enforced hypocrisy which indemnified itself for the restraint by base chicanery and vicious indulgence. Upon the whole, he apprehended that their system of governing nations was a failure, creating a hypocritical conformity which, in the long run, was the agent of deepest demoralisation. ... In those years these good, brave, and God-fearing men, eager to reform the moral character of the country, but not trusting to the slow process of enlightened conviction, fearlessly and faithfully worked out a system of repression, and close continuous supervision, every man in the nation being a kind of spy upon his neighbour, and nothing being left in foro conscientice, but all being removed, or removable, in forum ecclesice. The result was that side by side with much vital religion, there grew up an almost incredible hypocrisy which, fretting at its enforced good behaviour, indemnified itself by many a base deed, which compromised godly men, until at last that restraint was taken away, and in the revival of a licentious immorality all piety, reverence, truth, and Christianity were lumped together as hypocrisy and fanaticism. He would speak on this head as frankly as he had done on others. Lovingly he had studied these Covenanters for many years, and just because he loved them, and believed in the noble service which they had done us, he had not been blind to their mistakes, nor shrunk from blaming them. Honest, brave, and true-hearted men, they could bear to hear their errors frankly commented on ; but at the same time, in this place and in any other place wheresoever God gave him opportunity and utterance, this he would say, and by this he would abide, gainsay it whoso listed, that these Covenanters, whatever their blemishes, were God's true servants in that age — unselfish, patriotic, honest ; and of the two parties, also by far the most enlightened ; while those who accused them had been hypocrites while their power lasted, and now discovered themselves to be the base and impious creatures which at heart they were. — Dr. W. C. Smith. Had the King been honestly desirous of the success of any plan save that of the mutual extirpation of Presbyterians and Indei^endents, an arrangement might probably have been made. It would not have been a bad arrangement. Whatever might have been the Parliamentary edicts for the enforcement of the Covenant and the establishment of Presbytery, a National Church of England on the Presbyterian model would practically have been tolerant, lax, and comprehensive. Looked at from without, the Presbyterian Church wears a formidable appearance — battle- mented and grim, with palisado formularies and great guns of dogma. But within it has always been easy-going and popular, governed by the sentiment of its members, and issuing its censures at long intervals. It was a fixed idea with almost all religionists in the seventeenth century that the State ought to sanction and establish some one pattern of ecclesiastical uniformity. This was, in fact, the after-glow in the atmosphere from the setting of the great idea of the unity of Christendom, which had illuminated the mediaeval Church. Laud's scheme for giving eflfect to this HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 105 inherited instinct of Christian unity had hopelessly broken down. The main body of laymen, and a large proportion of clergymen, in the Church of England, were doctrinally Presbyterian ; as, in fact, they have continued to this day. When the excitement had subsided, and the Scots were well beyond the Tweed, and a sprinkling of moderate Episcopalians had been sent by the con- stituencies to temper the Presbyterian majority in the House, room might easily have been found in England, as the right and left wings of a central Presbyterian Church, for congrega- tions retaining the old service, and for congregations preferring the Independent model. This would have contented Argyll, Henderson, and, when the Covenanting fervour cooled a little, all rational Scotchmen. This would have contented Pym and the earlier race of Puritans. It would have contented Milton. We know from Cromwell's own words, written when Presbyterians and Independents were far more exasperated than they yet were, that it would have contented him. Had such an arrangement succeeded, the historical results might have been, first, an antici- pation by two hundred years of those relations of perfect amity and social coalescence which in our own days reign between England and Scotland; and secondly, a constitution of society in England more simple, homely, less exclusive, a culture more widely diffused and popular, than we have had under the auspices of "the church of the upper classes." — Feter Bayne, LL.D. Act of Gexeral Assembly, June 3, 1644. That all ministers take notice when any person, disaffected to the National Covenant of this Kirk or to the Solemn League and Covenant of the three kingdoms shall come within their parishes; that ministers and elders delate to Presbyteries, or Commissioners of Assembly " every such disaffected person," etc. WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY OF DIVINES, 1643-48. The attempt was now to be made to secure doctrinal uniformity among the various Protestant Churches of Great Britain and Ireland. This was the main design of the Westminster Assembly. It came into existence June 12, 1643, by an ordinance of the Lords and Commons, for the calling of an Assembly of learned and godly divines and others, to be consulted with by Parliament, for the settling of the government and liturgy of the Church of England, and for vindicating and clearing of the doctrine of the said Church from false aspersions and interpretations. The ordinance, as also list of members selected by Parliament, will be found in Hetherington's " History of the Westminster Assembly." 106 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The Assembly met in the Abbey Church, July 1st, 1643, The total number of English divines was 121, with 30 lay assessors, 10 of whom were lords and 20 commoners. Five Scottish divines were deputed as commissioners from the Church of Scotland. The Assembly sat in the Jerusalem Chamber for five years, six months, and twenty-two days, in which time it held 1163 sessions. It still lives in the docu- ments which it drew up, and in the power which these are exercising over the world. The chief documents immediately follow. To these when the Solemn League and Covenant was entered into there were added the very elite of the Scottish ministers and elders : Alexander Henderson, whose statesmanlike abilities, sagacity and culture even royalists admit ; Samuel Rutherford^ one of their most impressive preachers, who was twice invited to a theological chair in Holland ; George Gillespie, the prince of disputants, who "with the fire of youth had the wisdom of age ; " and the consequential but much-esteemed Robert Baillie, who has embalmed in graphic narrative both their serious debates and their lighter gossip; together with Johnston of Warriston and the great Marquis of Argyll, who afterwards suflfered on account of their principles ; Loudon, the chancellor of the kingdom and chancellor of its principal university; and the soldierly Meldrum, afterwards the confidant both of Sharp and Leighton. Robert Douglas, the silent, sagacious, masterful man, who was joined with them in commission could not be spared from the duties of leadership at home, but he assisted and cheered them by his letters, maintained good understanding between them and the Church in Scotland, and in their absence came to occupy a place among his brethren almost as unique as that of Calvin among the Presbyterians of Geneva. — Prof. A. F. Mitchell, D.D. There can be no doubt that the organising of this Assembly was a wise act. It may be questioned if ever a large deliberative body acted with the sagacity that predominated on this and other occasions in the Long Parlia- ment. The country was all on fire with religious fervour. The Parliament had grave and momentous work before it, and it was well, if possible, that this work should be done without risk of intrusion by the elements of religious contention. — Bu7'ton, VII., 20 Jf. The Form of Presbyterial Church Government, and of Ordination of Ministers; agreed upon by the Assem- bly OF Divines at Westminster, with the assistance OF Commissioners from the Church of Scotland, as A PART OF the COVENANTED UNIFORMITY IN EeLIGION BETWIXT THE ChURCHES OF ChRIST IN THE KINGDOMS OF Scotland, England, and Ireland ; with an Act of the General Assembly, 1645, approving the same. The names here given to the various Courts of the Church are : the Congregational Assembly, which we now call the Kirk-session; the Classical Assembly, that is the Presbytery; the Synodical Assembly, or Provincial Synod ; and the National Assembly, or General Assembly. historic documents. 107 The Directory for the Public Worship of God; agreed upon by the assembly of divixes at westminster, with the assistance of commissioners from the cllurcii OF Scotland, as a part of the Covenanted Uniformity IN Religion, etc., 1645. The Directory occupied the attention of the divines from May to December, 1644. It was brought down to Scotland by Baillie and Gillespie, and laid before the General Assembly at Edin- burgh in 1045. On 3rd February it was solemnly sanctioned, and ordained to be observed by all ministers in the kingdom; and from that day to this it has remained, and remains the only Directory for the public worship of the house of God. On February 6, it was ratified " without a contrary voice " by the Estates of Parliament. The Directory does not contain a liturgy, but simply the tenor of prayers before and after sermon, etc. Neither the Act of Assembly nor the Act of Parliament refers to the " Book of Common Order," which had hitherto been the authorised form of worship, but it was understood that the Westminster Directory was intended to supersede the Genevan order. Sabbath, March 39, 1646.— I began this day to practise the ordour sett doun in the Directory e for publict worshipe ; for my sone, Mr. Robert Row, had practised it in this Kirk the Sabbath before, and besoght me to assey it, because many thocht that I had bein against that gud ordour. So I began and opined up the 1 cap. of Genesis, and mynd to hold on as God sail give me strenthe. — Johji How, of CarnocTc. Dr. W. Ross tells us, however, that the effort was far from successful, although the valorous old man did his best. He was in his 78th year, and felt himself like an old bottle into which new wine had been poured. A work bearing that title [Directory] was drawn up by the Assembly of Divines in 1644, and in the following year enjoined by two ordinances authoritatively on the nation, in substitution to the Book of Common Prayer, by the Parliament that supplanted the monarchy. This appoint- ment was made under the disapprobation of the true Dissenters, the Independents, and the substitution was enforced in a spirit very little befitting the vindicators of liberty. — John Foster. The Parliament, intending to abolish the liturgy, and loth to leave the land altogether at a loss, or deformity in public service, employed the Assembly in drawing up a model of Divine worship. Herein no direct form of prayer, verbis conceptis, was prescribed, no outward or bodily worship enjoined, nor the people required in the Responsals (more than in Amen) to bear a part in the service ; but all was left to the discretion of the minister, not enjoined what, but directed to ivhat purpose he ought to order his devotions in public prayer and administering sacraments. —Fuller. The Westminster Confession op Faith, agreed upon by THE Assembly of Divines, with the assistance of Commissioners from the Church of Scotland, as a part of the Covenanted Uniformity in Religion, etc. *' Articles of Religion " was the title carried by the Westminster Divines against "Confession of Faith," by 81 votes to 41, The Confession was the only one ever imposed by Parliament upon 108 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. the whole of the United Kingdom. It reigned with undisputed authority from Cape Wrath to Land's End for ten or twelve years. The Confession was not accepted in Scotland simply on the authority of the Westminster Assembly. It was examined and afterwards approved by an Act of the General Assembly in 1647. In the following year the Catechisms were sanctioned, and in 1649 the whole was ratified by Parliament. At the Revolution the Westminster Confession was once more legally recognised as the standard of the Scottish national faith, and at the present time the Westminster standards, with or without qualifications, contain the public and avowed doctrines of Presby- terians everywhere. More eminently than either in the Directory or the Psalm-book have the achievements of the Westminster Assembly been renowned in connection with religious life in Scotland. The fruit of a long process of intellectual toil and eager debate was their announcement of the Presbyterian faith of the British Islands in three forms, — The Confession of Faith, the Larger Catechism, and the Shorter Catechism. — Burton, VII., 227. As regards the system of doctrine set forth, that was a revised version of the common teaching of the Reformed Churches. The main question, which by the nature of the case must always arise about the doctrinal standards of the Assembly, turns upon their Calvinism. The idea that a <;ouncil in sympathy with Reformed Protestantism, and undertaking to represent it in the years from 1640 onwards, could set forth anything else than a Calvinistic theology is sheer historical nonsense. Dr. Mitchell [Westminster Assembly, Baird Lecture, 1882] has done extremely useful service in the manner in which he has vindicated the good sense and right feeling of the Assembly in the prosecution of this part of their work. — Principal Rainy, D.D., ''Cath. Pres." X., 189. The doctrines of absolute spiritual independence which are so strenu- ously upheld by the Free Church, and also implied in the Solemn League and Covenant, are almost wholly absent from the 31st and 23rd chapters of the Confession. The 23rd chapter expressly states in the strongest manner that the civil magistrate "hath authority, and it is his duty to take order that unity and peace be preserved in the Church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be sup- pressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administered, and observed. For the better effecting whereof he hath power to call synods, to be present at them, and to provide that whatsoever is transacted in them be according to the mind of God. " This, probably, is amongst those passages which called forth the modification in the subscription of the United Presbyterians ; but it would be curious to know how any member of the Free Church, who received the Confession without such modification, would receive this solemn and sweeping assertion of the right of the Court of Session, or the Prime Minister, or the Queen, or the Lord High Commis- sioner to be present in their General Assemblies, and "to provide that whatever was transacted in them" should be "according to the mind of Ood." — Dean Stanley, '' Macmillan" 1881. Any human infallibility, whether of Church or Pope, that should authoritatively formulate for us God's truth, so as to absolve us from exercises of our own reason and religious feeling, were not only of all things most emasculating to our manhood, HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 109 it were to depose from His special office and work the indwelling Spirit of Truth. Whence it follows that the living guidance ot* the Spirit of Truth is not exhausted in the formation of church creeds, whether of the fourth century or of the sixteenth. — Dr. Allan, Islington. The demand for a return to Scripture is virtually a plea for individualism, and is inconsistent with Church organization. This has been a favourite resort of those who wished to introduce novelties of belief without sacrifice of position. The Remonstrants at the Synod of Dort, in the endeavour to render plausible their Arminian doctrine, were wont to disparage the authority of Covenants and Confessions, under pretence of accepting Scripture as their only rule. To a similar pretext of the Erastian Coleman, we find George Gillespie making a very pointed rejoinder in his controversial tract, "Male Audis." "It is in vain for them," says he, " to palliate or shelter their Covenant-breaking with appeal- ing from the Covenant to the Scripture, for subordinata non pugnant. The Covenant is norwu recta, a right rule, though the Scripture alone be norma recti, the rule of right." — Rev. J. Mac- pherson, '•^ The Confession of Faith. ''^ It is still adhered to by all Presbyterians in this country, notwithstand- ing the objections which some of our Dissenting brethren entertain in regard to the terms employed in chap, xxiii., "Of the Civil Magistrate." — Dr. Laing. The Presbyterian Churches of our race and language throughout the world have given a general approval to the documents which it prepared for its master, the Parliament. This approval has always been given with important reservations, modifications, and qualifications. The General Assembly at Edinburgh, 27th August, 1647, did not approve certain parts of the second article of chapter xxxi. The Act of the Free Church Assembly, Edinburgh, 1st June, 1846, anent questions and formula, makes further important qualifications in explaining the meaning in which the Confession of Faith is now accepted, which was not the meaning of its framers. The qualifying formula of the United Presbyterian Church is even better. The Presbyterian Churches of America have done best by changing, instead of merely qualifying, the objectionable language of the Confession, about the Civil Magistrate proceeding against those who publish certain opinions concerning faith or worship, and that it is his duty to suppress heresies, and abuses in worship, etc., etc. — F. C. Elder. The Established Church and the Confession. — And that the Assembly understands some parts of Art. 2, cap. xxxi., only of kirks not settled or constituted in point of government, and that although in such kirks a synod of ministers and other fit persons may be called by the magistrates' authority and nomination, without any other call, to consult and advise with about matters of religion ; and although likewise the ministers of Christ, without delegation from their churches, may of themselves, by virtue of their otiSces, meet together synodically in such kirks not yet constituted ; yet neither of these ought to be done in kirks / 110 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. constituted and settled ; it being always free to the magistrate to advise with synods of ministers and ruling elders, meeting upon delegation from their churches, either ordinarily, or being indicted by his authority occasionally and pro re nata : It being also free to assemble together synodically, as well pro re nata, as at ordinary times, upon delegation from the churches, by the intrinsical power received from Christ, as often as it is necessary for the good of the church so to assemble, in case the magistrate, to the detriment of the church, withhold or deny his consent; the necessity of occasional assemblies being first remonstrated to him by humble supplication. — Act Sess. SS, Aug. 27, Ass. 16Jf7. The Free Church and the Confession. — The Free Church Assembly (1846) declares that while the church firmly maintained the same Scriptural principles as to duties of nations and rulers, she disclaims intolerant or persecuting principles, and does not regard her Confession, when fairly interpreted, as favouring intolerance or persecution, or consider that her office-bearers by subscribing it profess any principles inconsistent with liberty of conscience and the right of private judgment. Declaratory Act Adopted hy the United Presbyterian Church, May, 1879. — Whereas the formula in which the Subordinate Standards of this Church are accepted requires assent to them as an exhibition of the sense in which the Scriptures are understood : Whereas these Standards, being of human com- position, are necessarily imperfect, and the Church has already allowed exception to be taken to their teaching or supposed teaching on one important subject : And whereas there are other subjects in regard to which it has been found desirable to set forth more fully and clearly the view which the Synod takes of the teaching of Holy Scripture : Therefore, the Synod hereby declares as follows : — 1. That in regard to the doctrine of redemption as taught in the Standards, and in consistency therewith, the love of God to all mankind. His gift of His Son to be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, and the free ofier of salvation to men without distinction on the ground of Christ's perfect sacrifice, are matters which have been and continue to be regarded by this Church as vital in the system of Gospel truth, and to which due prominence ought ever to be given. 2. That the doctrine of the divine decrees, including the doc- trine of election to eternal life, is held in connection and harmony with the truth that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, and that He has provided a salvation sufficient for all, adapted to all, and ofiered to all in the Gospel ; and also with the responsibility of every man for his dealing with the free and unrestricted ofier of eternal life. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. Ill 3. That the doctrine of man's total depravity, and of his loss of "all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation," is not held as implying such a condition of man's nature as would affect his responsibility under the law of God and the Gospel of Christ, or that he does not experience the strivings and restrain- ing influences of the Spirit of God, or that he cannot perform actions in any sense good ; although actions which do not spring from a renewed heart are not spiritually good or holy — such as accompany salvation. 4. That while none are saved except through the mediation of Christ, and by the grace of His Holy Spirit, who worketh when, knd where, and how it pleaseth Him ; while the duty of sending the Gospel to the heathen, who are sunk in ignorance, sin, and misery, is clear and imperative; and while the outward and ordinary means of salvation for those capable of being called by the Word are the ordinances of the Gospel : in accepting the Standards, it is not required to be held that any who die in infancy are lost, or that God may not extend His grace to any who are without the pale of ordinary means, as it may seem good in His sight. 5. That in regard to the doctrine of the Civil Magistrate, and his authority and duty in the sphere of religion, as taught in the Standards, this Church holds that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only King and Head of the Church, and " Head over all things to the Church which is His body;" disapproves of all compulsory or persecuting and intolerant principles in religion; and declares, as hitherto, that she does not require approval of anything in her Standards that teaches, or may be supposed to teach, such principles. 6. That Christ has laid it as a permanent and universal obliga- tion upon His Church, at once to maintain her own ordinances, and to "preach the Gospel to every creature;" and has ordained that His people pro\-ide by their free-will offerings for the fulfil- ment of this obligation. 7. That, in accordance with the practice hitherto observed in this Church, liberty of opinion is allowed on such points in the Standards, not entering into the substance of the faith, as the interpretation of the "six days" in the Mosaic account of the creation : the Church guarding against the abuse of this liberty to the injury of its unity and peace. The Declaratory Statement anent the Subordinate Standards was adopted and passed into a Declaratory Act by the unanimous voice of Synod. It is of some importance to remember what action led to the Declaratory Statement being prepared, and how this unanimity in passing it into a Declaratory Act has been reached. Two years ago, in disposing of certain overtures anent the revisal of the Subordinate Standards, the Synod agreed to declare its steadfast adherence to the Westminster Con- fession of Faith and Catechisms as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures, — strongly disapproved and condemned the 112 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. conduct of those persons who, having solemnly professed to give their assent to these Standards, did notwithstanding indulge in denouncing them as erroneous and unscriptural, and in impeaching their brethren of the eldership and the ministry with not believing and not preaching the doctrine of them; and, in particular, declared that it cannot tolerate the denial or disparagement of these doctrines commonly called the doctrines of grace, which it has been the glory of this Church in every period of her history to maintain and to preach. In respect, however, of the great importance of the question raised by the overture from the Presbytery of Glasgow, and difficulties attending it requiring grave deliberation, the Synod agreed to appoint a committee to consider the whole subject brought up by it, and report to Synod in the following year. In terms of this decision, the Committee on the Subordinate Standards was appointed, which, at next meeting of Synod, last year, laid on the table, as the chief matter of its report, a proposed Declaratory Statement respecting the Standards. The Synod of last year considered the proposed Declaratory Statement, paragraph by paragraph, and unanimously agreed that the said statement, as adjusted, be approved and sent to Presbyteries and Sessions for their consideration, instructing them to send any sugges- tions they might wish to make to the committee. It was after careful regard of all the returns from Presbyteries and Sessions that the committee, at this meeting of Synod, laid on the table the Declaratory Statement, which again, after having been considered paragraph by paragraph, has. been unanimously adopted by the Synod, and passed into a Declaratory Act. It is thus only after lengthened and careful consideration by the committee — after scrupulous regard of the forms whereby the mind of the whole Church, through its Presbyteries and Sessions, can be fully ascer- tained, and after full discussion and deliberate consideration by the Synod itself — that this Declaratory Statement has been passed into a Declaratory Act. It sets forth more fully and clearly the view which the Synod takes of the teaching of Holy Scripture in regard to these subjects on which it has been found desirable to give explanations, and is given forth as the Church's authorised explanations respecting them. It is a matter of special thanksgiving to the Lord, and reason for the Church's unfeigned gratitude, that the unanimous passing of this Declaratory Act has set forth so clearly that our Church as a denomination is loyal, as were our fathers, to the doctrines of divine grace which ever have been distinctive of her testi- mony, and which form the grand subject of all evangelical preaching. When any Church becomes faithless to these doctrines you may write upon her, "Ichabod, the glory hath departed." She may present the semblance of a living Church in all her external organisations, but the life has gone out of her. The candlestick may be there, but the light of the Sun of Pvighteousness which lighted the candle has left it, and it has na light of salvation to diffuse on the dark world around. Ever may our Church, through divine grace and by evangelical preaching, be a light unto the world, holding forth the doctrines of the Word of life. — Bev^ George Jeffrey, D.D., Moderator of Synod. Act of Assembly Approving of the Confession of Faith, August 27, 1647. The Assembly doth, after mature deliberation, agree unto and approve the said Confession as to the truth of the matter, and also as to the point of uniformity, agreeing for our part that it be a common Confession of Faith for the three kingdoms. The Assembly doth also bless the Lord, and thankfully acknowledge His great mercy in that so excellent a Confession of Faith is HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 11^ prepared and thus far agreed upon in both kingdoms ; which we look upon as a great strengthening of the true Reformed religion against the common enemies thereof. But, lest our intention and meaning be in some particulars misunderstood, it is hereby expressly declared and provided that the not mentioning in this Confession the several sorts of ecclesiastical officers and assemblies shall be no prejudice to the truth of Christ in these particulars, to be expressed fully in the Directory for government. It was noticed by the keen eyes of the Scottish Presbyterians that the Confession of Faith contained not one word of those doctrines which are the very marrow of the Solemn League and Covenant, and the very essence of Scottish Presbyterianism in the seventeenth century. The English statesmen had been too much even for the canny Scotsmen. It is curious that whilst Baillie and the Scottish Commissioners were intently set on having their forms of presbytery recognised in England they omitted to obtain that guarantee for the Confession which alone could have made it of perpetual obligation. ... In the 25th Chapter there is not one word to indicate that Episcopacy is unlawful, — to signify that government by Presbytery, or lay elders, is the only lawful or desirable government of the Church. This is the very essence of Christian toleration and philosophy. — Dean Stanley. The Directory for Family Worship, Approved by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, for Piety and Uniformity in Secret and Private Worship,. AND Mutual Edification. With an Act of the General Assembly, 1647, for Observing the Same. Section 9 says : So many as can conceive prayer ought to make use of that gift of God ; albeit those who are rude and weaker may begin at a set form of prayer, but so as they be not sluggish in stirring up in themselves (according to their daily necessities) the spirit of prayer which is given to all the children of God in some measure ; to which effect they ought to be more fervent and frequent in secret prayer to God, for enabling of their hearts to conceive, and their tongues to express convenient desires to God for their family, etc. The Larger Catechism Agreed Upon by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, and Approved 1648 by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, to be a Directory for Catechising such as have made some Proficiency in the Knowledge of the Grounds of Religion. In 1649 the Assembly ordained " every minister, with assistance of the elders of their several kirk-sessions, to take heed that in every house where there is any that can read, there be at least one copie of the Shorter and Larger Catechism, Confession of Faith, and Directorie for Family Worship." It also renewed the Act of 1639, appointing a day for weekly catechising to be regularly observed in every congregation. " The manifest aim of the Church in this legislation," writes Dr. Eoss, "was that the whole people H i 114 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. in the land, from the highest to the lowest, should have their minds brought to bear closely on Bible doctrine in its great leading features, and should have something like a systematic view of Divine truth placed before them." The Shorter Catechism, Agreed upon by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, and Approved 1648, by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, to be A Directory for Catechising such as are of Weaker Capacity. The Catechism is purely doctrinal, and was the first attempt made in Britain and Ireland to unite different denominations in one manual of truth for the young. The Committee of Divines, according to a beautiful Scottish tradition, was non-plussed by the question — "What is God?" Thereupon George Gillespie was asked to pray for heavenly guidance and direction. He began his prayer by addressing God as "a. 8pirit — Infinite, Eternal, and Unchangeable in His Being," etc. All were struck by the terms of the address, and felt that the answer to the question had already been found. Dr. Alex. Whyte remarks that the tradition is now discredited, but he does not say upon what authority. Dean Stanley holds by the tradi- tion.— See " Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey," and Macmillan for August 188 1. Dr. Hodge observes, with respect to this question, that the answer is "probably the best definition ever penned by man." Few men had done a better service for the intellect and morale of the country than those composing the Westminster Assembly. If they had done nothing else, they would still have been worthy of the highest honour among us for having bequeathed to the youth of our nation the first question and answer of the Shorter Catechism, which teaches them that they have an object to look for out of and above themselves. Their Catechism, with an almost epic dignity, starts with the noble thought that " Man's chief end is to glorify God." No man could tell how much that one work had done towards the formation of a grave and earnest national character. — Dr W. O. Smith. The older I grow, and I am now [1876] upon the brink of eternity, the more comes back to me the first sentence of the Catechism, which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper its meaning becomes, "What is the chief end of man? — To glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever." — Carlyle. I think the Bible is God's Word, and the Catechism is the Bible's word. — Enielia Geddie, Falkland, set. 5. The Sum of Saving Knowledge, or a Brief Sum of Chris- tian Doctrine, contained in the Holy Scriptures, and HOLDEN forth IN THE FORESAID CONFESSION OF FaITH, AND Catechisms; together with the Practical Use THEREOF. March 11, 1834- — Read in the "Sum of Saving Knowledge," the work which I think first of all wrought a saving change in me. How gladly would I renew the reading of ic, if that change might be carried on to perfection ! — R. M'Cheyne. Those who are acquainted with its admirable statements of truth will see how well fitted it was to direct an inquiring soul. — Dr. A. Bonar. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS, 115 The Holy Spirit no doubt is sovereign in the use of the means which He blesses for conversion ; but it is difficult to imagine anything more unlike the style of M'Cheyne's preaching than the cold and stiff dialectics of that summa theolog ice.— Brit, and For. Ev. Rev., XVII., 262. The efforts of Laud to introduce along with Romanism a species of Pelagianism into the Church of England tended still more to intensify the opposition of our Scottish divines to everything that savoured of Arminianiam. The Westminster Confession bears sufficient evidence to the prevalence of this spirit, but in the eyes of some of our Scottish theologians it does not seem to have gone far enough in that direction. To this feeling, perhaps, we owe the "Sum of Saving Knowledge," a docu- ment which, though not recognised as part of our standards, was no doubt intended to pronounce the mind of the Church of Scotland upon the Arminian points more decisively than the Confession had done. The treatise brings out very clearly the contrast between the Scoto-Calvinistic and the Anglo-Puritan schools of theology. It proceeds on the assumption there are two covenants connected with salvation ; the covenant of redemption between God the Father and the Son, from all eternity ; and the covenant of grace, made between God and the believer in time, etc. — Brit, and For. Evang. Rev., XVII., 258. A Solemn Acknowledgment of Publick Sins, and Breaches OF THE Covenant; and a Solemn Engagement to all THE Duties contained therein ; namely, those which DO IN A more special WAY RELATE UNTO THE DANGERS OF THESE Times : together with the Act of Commission OF the General Assembly, 1648, and Act of Parlia- ment, 1649, FOR RENEWING THE LeAGUE AND COVENANT. The times looked very threatening to the cause of the Covenant, hence the passing of the above Act by the General Assembly. Throughout the land there was a general renewing of the Solemn League and Covenant in 1648. The He v. Dr. Hoss, in ''Pastoral Work in Covenanting Times," gives us a most interesting " glimpse " of the way in which the worthy pastor of Dalgety set about the work : — Dalgety, December 17, 1648. — The Covenant this day renewed and swome by the whole Congregatione, according to the order prescribed, yranent, and subscribed by the Minister and Kirk-sessione, some heretors and others, in face of the Congregatione. The rest appoynted to meit the nixt Friday, at the lecture for subscribing off it. Its seriouslie recomended to the elders to try if there be any that have absented themselves, or refuise to renew the Solemn League and Covenant. — Dr. Ross, " Pastoral Work.'^ Among those who were found not to have subscribed were Lord Doune and his brother, two sons of the Earl of Murray, and the minister was appointed to inquire into the reason of this. The following is his report: — January IJi, 1649. — The Minister reports that he hes spoken wt. my Lord Doune and his brother, and with the Earl of Murray, and my ladie, and that they did declare that the reasone why they did not suffer their children to take the Covenant wes their yongness, and that quhen they 116 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. were more rype they suld most gladlie doe it. The Sessione leaves the further consideratione of this for a time, till they be more clear what to do in such a caise. General Assembly, August 7, 1648. That all young students take the Covenant at their first entry to Colleges, and that all persons whatsoever take the Covenant at their first receiving the sacrament of the Lord's Supper ; and that all provincial Assenablies, Presbyteries, and TJniversities be careful that this Act be observed, and that account thereof be taken in the visitation of universities and particular kirks, and in the trial of presbyteries. Act of Parliament Abolishing the Patronage op Kirks, at Edinburgh^ March 9, 1649. The opinion of the Reformers was clearly contained in the First Book of Discipline, yet an opposite practice crept in. In the Second Book of Discipline, among certain special heads of reformation craved, the abolition of patronage is mentioned. The Assembly of 1638 ratified the Second Book of Discipline, and at length, in compliance with the urgent desires of the Church, Parliament completely abolished it, leaving it to the General Assembly to fix upon such a plan of admission to the sacred office of the ministry as in its wisdom it should deem fit. The following are the terms of the Act : — The Estates of Parliament, being sensible of the great obligation that lies upon them by the National Covenant, and by the Solemn League and Covenant, and by many deliverances and mercies from God, and by the late Solemn Engagement unto duties, to preserve the doctrine and maintain and vindicate the liberties of the Kirk of Scotland, and to advance the work of reformation therein to the utmost of their power ; and, considering that patronages and presentations of kirks is an evil and bondage, under which the Lord's people and ministers of this land have long groaned ; and that it hath no warrant in God's Word, but is founded only on the canon law, and is a custom popish, and brought into the Kirk in time of ignorance and superstition ; and that the same is contrary to the Second Book of Discipline, in which, upon solid and good ground, it is reckoned amongst abuses that are desired to be reformed, and unto several acts of General Assemblies ; and that it is prejudicial to the liberty of the people and planting of kirks, and unto the free calling and entry of ministers unto their charge ; and the said Estates, being willing and desirous to promote and advance the Reformation foresaid, that everything in the house of God may be ordered according to His word and commandment, do therefore, from the sense of the former obligations, and upon the former grounds and reasons, discharge for ever hereafter all patronages and presentations of kirks, whether belonging to the King, or to any laick patron. Presbyteries, or others within this kingdom, as being unlawful and unwarrantable by God's Word, and contrary to the doctrine and liberties of the Kirk ; and do repeal, rescind, make void, and annul all gifts and rights granted thereanent, and all former acts made in Parliament, or in any inferior judicatory, in favours of any patron or patrons whatsoever, so far as the same doth or may relate unto the presentation of kirks ; and do statute HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 117 and ordain, that no person or persons whatsomever shall, at any time hereafter, take upon them, under pretext of any title, infeftment, Act of Parliament, possession or warrant whatsoever, which are hereby repealed, to give, subscribe, or seal any presentation to any kirk within this kingdom ; and discharges the passing of any infeftment hereafter, bearing a right to patronages, to be granted in favours of those for whom the infeftments are presented ; and that no person or persons shall, either in the behalf of themselves or others, procure, receive, or make use of any presentation to any kirk within this kingdom. And it is further declared and ordained, that if any presentation shall hereafter be given, procured, or received, that the same is null, and of none efifect ; and that it is lawful for Presbyteries to reject the same, and to refuse to admit any to trials thereupon ; and, notwithstanding thereof, to proceed to the planting of the kirk, upon the suit and calling, or with the consent of the congregation, on whom none is to he obtruded against their will. And it is decerned, statuted, and ordained, that whosoever hereafter shall, upon the suit and calling of the congregation, after due examination of their literature and conversation, be admitted by the Presbytery unto the exercise and function of the ministry, in any parish within this kingdom, that the said person or per- sons, without a presentation, by virtue of their admission, hath sufficient right and title to possess and enjoy the manse and glebe, and the whole rents, profits, and stipends, which the ministers of that parish had formerl}' possesst and enjoyed, or that hereafter shall be modified by the commission for plantation of kirks. . . . And because it is needful, that the just and proper interest of congregations and Presbyteries, in providing of kirks and ministers be clearly determined by the General Assembly, and what is to be accounted the congregation having that interest ; therefore, it is hereby seriously recommended unto the next General Assembly, clearly to determine the same, and to condescend upon a certain standing way for being a settled rule therein for all times coming. (See Years 1712, 1874.) The Engagement, 1648. The first schism among the Covenanters is to be traced to 1647. when Charles I. was detained a prisoner in England. His captivity awakened relentings in many hearts, and a party, headed by the Duke of Hamilton, and supported by several nobles, formed the design of effecting his liberation. The captive of Carisbrook, humbler because of his reverses, was somewhat lavish in his promises. He would give the Solemn League aud Covenant the sanction of Parliament ; he agreed to set up Presbytery in England for three years, and at the end of that period he would establish permanently such a polity as the Westminster divines, along with twenty commissioners of his own nomination, should determine to be most in harmony with Scripture. The conditions were embodied in a treaty, which was known as the Engagement, — Hamilton, the nobles, and other royalists who had entered into the compact being styled the Engagers. From these the thorough-going Covenanters, headed by Argyll aud Johnston of Warriston, stood aloof. The Engagement, they said, was entered into in secret, and it would naturally be interpreted in England as an act of treachery. They said the Covenant was introduced as a pretence, and that Hamilton himself had proved unfaithful to the Covenant. The Engagers, backed up by the Estates, undertook the project. But the scheme proved abortive. Hamilton was wofuUy routed at Preston by the invincible battalions of Cromwell. This was the beginning of division between the Engagers and Non-Engagers. The breach was widened when the strict Covenanters, on their return to power, passed the Act of Classes, thereby declaring Engagers to be malignants, and incapable of holding public office. 118 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. This expedition, well known in the history of our Church by the name of the Engagement, was the source of the greatest dissensions which had yet been kno\^Ti in the country. The purpose was to oppose the Independents of England, headed by Oliver Cromwell, a party whom the Scottish nation viewed with peculiar abhorrence, but when it was discovered that the ruin of this party would be the exaltation of the Royalists and Episcopalians, or, as they now began to be named, the malignants^ the undertaking was regarded by a great proportion of the Church as a presumptuous violation of the Covenant, and all who engaged in it were excommunicated. To distinguish the well affected from the malignants, it was thought necessary to renew the Covenant in the year 1648, after which period the Church was torn asunder by various factions till its constitution was utterly overthrown. — Principal Lee, D.D. The rash Engagement, projected by the Duke of Hamilton to save the King out of the hands of Cromwell — an engagement which, as projected by malignants, was approved of by the Church, and which met with a disastrous issue at Preston, where the Scotch fled like sheep before the General's sword. It was the last effort in behalf of Charles. — Oilfillan. The Engagement not only proved injurious to the interests of the King, but it was the cause of incalculable misery to Scotland. — Rev. W. Ross, LL.D. The Commonwealth and Protectorate, 1649-1660: Cromwell AND THE Covenant. After the victory at Dunbar, Cromwell advanced to Edin- burgh, and found that the city ministers and others had shut themselves within the fortress of the Castle. He accordingly wrote the governor, 12th September, 1650, as follows : — When ministers pretend to a glorious Eeformation, and lay the foundations thereof in getting to themselves worldly power, they may know that the Sion promised will not be built with such untempered mortar. . . . You say you regret that men of civil employments should usurp the calling and employment of the ministry to the scandal of the Keformed Kirks? Are you troubled that Christ is preached ? Is preaching so exclusively your function? Doth it scandalise the Reformed Kirks and Scotland in particular? Is it against their Covenant? Away with the Covenant if this be so ! I thought the Covenant and these professors of it could have been willing that any should speak good of the name of Christ : if not, it is no Covenant of God's approving, nor are these Kirks you mention in so much the spouse of Christ. "The Scotch clergy," remarks Carlyle, "never got such a reprimand since they first took ordination." It was then that Scotland reaped the benefits of the Covenant. Piety and freedom reigned throughout the kingdom. The Scots, who anticipated still more fearful struggles, renewed their strength in communion with the Lord, and took courage in His Almighty power. Then followed ten of those years which God grants to His people when He is about to call them to greater conflicts. During the rule of the Protector Scotland enjoyed a profound peace. All the vitality of the kingdom seemed to flow into the Church. — D'Aubigne. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 119 I verily believe there were more souls converted to Christ in that short period of time than in any other season since the Reformation, though of triple its duration. — Kirkton. The Scotch clergy, persisting in their own most hide-bound formula of a Covenanted Charles Stuart, bear clear testimony that at no time did Christ's Gospel so flourish in Scotland as now, under Cromwell the usurper. — Carlyle. During Cromwell's Protectorate the party of the Protesters, which though not the most numerous was accounted the most zealous, had the favour of the Government. They had consequently increased in numbers and activity. — Dr. Story. We crowned our young King at Scone, with the Covenant in one hand, and in the other his claim to the Crown, which his father had just laid down with his life at Whitehall. England and its Lord-General were forced in self-defence to attack us, and field after field, " with blood of Scots embrued," were but the beginning of our discomfiture. . . . " I beseech you in the bowels of Christ," said Cromwell, " think it possible you may be mistaken." We sincerely thought otherwise, and the Commonwealth shut up our Assembly and Parliament. It suspended our national inde- pendence. Not only had we failed in that we attempted in England, we now lost also that which we had possessed in Scotland. And Rutherford accepted it as absolute failure. . . . And yet that time was prosperity compared with what followed. Rutherford, like many religious men who have no gift of understanding their age, was apt to speak peremptorily and even prophetically about it ; and he made many bad shots in consequence. But it needed, as he himself said, when he lay down to die, no gift of prophecy to see that dark days were then [coming. They came, and they deepened into the "killing time," and it was all the result, direct or indirect, of our failure in the days of the Commonwealth. England then needed our considerate sympathy, if ever a nation did, and we did not give it ; and we needed the support and strength of England, though we knew it not. So the time passed unredeemed, and when the Restoration came it was our act as truly as the act of our southern neighbours, and the results fell most heavily on us. . . . Was it a necessary failure ? Was it a mere misfortune and fatality ? Or was it a grave blunder and mistake, such as a later age, an age which is yet to come might avoid ? I cannot help thinking that if Scotland and England in that age had simply brokA the yoke of arbitrary power in Church and State, and got rid of the royal supremacy in ecclesiastical matters, and of Prelacy as founded upon it, there was no insuperable obstacle thereafter. — Innes, " Ev. Succ." IL, 159. With Oliver Cromwell born a Scotsman, with a hero king, and a unanimous hero nation at his back, it might have been far otherwise. With Oliver born Scotch, one sees not but the whole world might have become Puritan. — Carlyle. Act of Classes, 16-19. This Act, passed under Argyll's Government, excluded from power and public trust all the Engagers and other malignants, these being divided into four classes, according to the extent of their iniquities. Men will term this Act one of bigotry and intolerance : it evidently aimed at the construction of what the world has never yet seen— a Christian Government, composed of men whose ruling principle should be to " fear God and honour the King." — Dr. Hetherington, " Historyi" 120 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. It was resolved that the army of sectaries should be opposed by an army of samts. The Scottish musters were drawn out on Leith Links, and purged of every one who was suspected of malignancy, or had taken part in the Engagement. The purgation went on day after day, and upwards of eighty officers and several thousand men were struck from the strength of the army. Every one from the Commander-in-Chief to the drummer-boy behoved to be a Covenanter, without the least spot or blemish of malig- nancy.— Dr. Cunningham* The Resolutions, 1650. After the check received at Dunbar, the Estates consulted the Commission of Assembly regarding the Act of Classes, and this was its decision : "In this case of so great and ardent necessity, we cannot be against the raising of all fencible persons in the land, and permitting them to fight against this enemy for defence of the kingdom ; excepting such as are excommunicated, forfeited, pi-ofane, flagitious, etc." Resolutions were passed accordingly. Those who approved of these Resolutions were called Resolu- tioners ; those who opposed them were called Anti-Resolutioners, or Protesters, from their Protestation against the lawfulness of the Assembly (held July 1651 at St. Andrews, and adjourned to Dundee) by which the Resolutions were ratified. The schism divided the compact ranks of the Covenanters, and the Church, shorn of much of her strength, became an easy prey to the enemy at the period of the Restoration. Leighton took the side of the Resolutionists. Dickson wrote in support of their views, and James Guthrie wrote in reply. Patrick Gillespie opposed the Resolutions, and Ferguson of Kilwinning stood up for them. Durham's last treatise had reference to the "scandalous divisions" thus created, and what is particularly noticeable is the circum- stance that David Dickson's last hours were embittered by the recollection of his short-sightedness in adopting these Resolu- tions. To a lady who visited him on his death-bed he said, " Madam, I must confess, the Protesters have been truer prophets than we were." Future events showed the impolicy of these Resolutions. The men who were admitted by them into places of power and trust in the army and state, became, as the Protesters always predicted, the persecutors of the Church. Had the counsels of the Protesters prevailed, the twenty-eight years' persecution might not have existed. — Rev. J. Anderson, " The Bass Bock," p. 181. Last fatal sign that the ancient spirit and the freedom of Scotland were about to disappear under a total eclipse, the Kirk hitherto impregnable, unyielding Kirk, stooped down from her old height and emitted Resolutions in favour of those proceedings of the royalists. Against these Resolutions, a large, bold, fierce minority headed by James Guthrie of Stirling pro- tested that the principles of the Covenant should be maintained. — James Dodds. historic documents. 121 The Humble Remonstrance op the Gentlemen Commanders AND the Ministers attending the Forces in the West, October 17, 1650. A considerable number both in the camp and in the state had never been ■satisfied with Charles II, He had done all he had been requested to do, but they said it was all hypocrisy. ** There was truth in what they said," remarks Cunningham, "but it was not easy to answer them." Their sentiments, however, became the watchword of a party headed by Gillespie and Strachan, who presented a Remonstrance (hence called Remonstrants) to the Estates in which they complained of the " sinfull way of aggreement with the King, for wich wee and maney of the Lord's people in the land have mournid," — urging that the Lord had a controversy with the land because of this treaty, and because malignant and profane persons were allowed to remain at court, in the judicatories, and in the army. The document occupies four pages in Peterkin's " Records." Protestation and Testimony given to General Monk, October, 1658. We do profess our dissatisfaction that the civil powers should take upon them to prescribe public humiliation and thanksgiving, with the causes, and diets thereof, to all ministers and members of the church, as being contrary to the well-warranted privileges and constant practice of the church itself, and in its own nature introductory to greater encroachments, and putting into the hands of the civil powers, the modelling of the public worship of God, a thing most properly ecclesiastic, etc. The document was drawn up and signed by Alexander Moncrieff, Samuel Rutherford, James Guthrie and others. MoncriefF was pitched upon to present it, which he did with courage and fidelity. Restoration of Charles II., May 29, 1660. This brief and noble triumph, however, was followed by a long but nobler defeat. Charles II. came back in 1660, and with him all manner of evil. The standard of the Covenant, formerly raised on high, was thrown aside. But, deserted by the majority in England and Scotland, it was borne aloft by the last and most heroic race of Covenanters; and from 1660 to 1688 — the period emphatically of the Covenant — gathered round it a homage and a glory, amidst persecution greater than ever it had before, and which in all coming times it will never lose. Those twenty-eight years can never be forgotten. What they fought, suffered, and died for, was gained in 1688. The glorious Revolution rose above their graves, and the breath of their spirits passed into it. The principles of resistance held by the persecuted remnant became the principles of the empire. Presbytery was restored to Scotland, and liberty to the three kingdoms. — Prof. Graham^ D.D. A day memorable in the annals of national infatuation and royal perjury. It was a period of mad intoxication. Could men have lifted the veil which concealed the secret history of the period, they would have ascertained 122 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. what would have abated their ardour. . . . The monarchy was hastening to its extinction. At length jaded, sated, disgraced, contemned, Charles II. died in the arms of his mistress, comforted in his last moments by the thought that he should reach "heaven's gates" by means of the rites of the Koman Catholic Church, — leaving a name characterised by no good quality, but easy address, and careless facility; a saimterer, a reveller, a lampooner, a liar, a profligate ; reckless of the nation's honour, and indifferent to his own. . . . Such was the penalty paid by a nation for its undiscerning enthusiasm, by a religious party, for its tenacity after uniformity, and its struggles for the Covenant ; by an establishment for its moat religious and gracious King. — Miall, '^Footsteps of our Forefathers.'" Charles arrived in London in 1660, not one whit improved by ten years of exile and adversity. Perhaps he was not capable of improvement. Certainly it would have been difficult to find in the three kingdoms— I do not say a worse, but a more worthless man. We cannot call him a tyrant — the designation would be too flattering ; tyranny involves a certain grandeur, a degree of earnestness and strength of which he knew nothing. We cannot even say that he was a bigot like his father. Of the small modicum of merit which that charge would imply he was entirely destitute. He had not sincerity enough to be a bigot. He was a mere heartless voluptuary, whose highest object, whether as a monarch or a man, was his own sensual gratification. Utterly void of all religious conviction, his preference of one form to another was determined solely by the extent to which it left him free to pamper his baser desires. He became a Presby- terian, when by that means he might obtain the Crown. At the Restoration he was ostensibly an Episcopalian. All the while he was a Papist at heart, and a Papist he died. Not, indeed, that he had any secret conviction of the divine origin of Popery ; but only that he secretly thought it the most convenient, and preferred it because its easy morality, and its system of absolution and indulgences rendered it possible, as he thought, to couple the debaucheries of a harem in this world with the delights of a heaven in the next. ... To think of such a profligate reigning over this fair realm of England, after Cromwell's glorious Protectorate ! — Dr. Landels. Burning of the Covenant, 1661-62. Charles II. signed the Covenant in 1650, but after his Kestoration one of the earliest demonstrations that occurred was the burning of the Covenant by the hands of the common hangmen at London, May 22, 1661. The proceedings were repeated with fearful profanity at Linlithgow, May 29, 1662. Middleton's "Drinking Parliament," 1661. This coarse and haughty man, formerly a soldier — who had served under both Covenanting and Royalist banners — Charles appointed Commissioner. He called a Parliament, composed mainly of malignants, which met January 1, 1661. It proved obsequious, cringed before the royal prerogative, framed an oath of allegiance to ensnare those for whom it was intended, forbade the Covenant, appointed a national holiday to commemorate the Restoration, and passed the infamous Rescissory Act. It was a mad roaring time, full of extravagance ; and no wonder it was so, when the men of afl'airs were almost perpetually drunk. — Burnet. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 12a Act Rescissory, 1661. The great achievement of the Parliament of 1661 was this Act, which rescinded, or cut off from the statute-book all the Acts of the last twenty years, thereby annihilating with a single blow the liberties of the people, civil and religious. The effect was that the Presbyterian polity ceased to be the polity of the EstabHshed Church, and the old laws in favour of Episcopacy came into force. This was seen and designed. But his Majesty, "sensible of the mercies of Ahiiighty God toward him, and desirous to improve these mercies to the glory of God," passed an Act declaring that he would make it his care "to settle the government of the Church in such a frame as should be most agreeable to the Word of God, etc." . . . The Presbyterian clergy saw the Act passed into a law with alarm ; but most of them were afraid to speak out, for the palmy days of plain speaking were gone.— Dr. Cunningham, II., 17S. Act for the Restitution and Re-establishment of the Ancient Government of the Church by Archbishops AND Bishops, May 8, 1662. By this Act, the Great Charter of Presbyterian polity of 1592 was rescinded, and bishops were re-instated in all the rights and privileges enjoyed by them prior to 1638. Burton quotes from a letter of Sharp, preserved in the British Museum, to show the treacherous part he played at the present time. The Abjuration Act, 1662. The design of this was, by abjuring and condemning the old practice, to force adherence to the new system. The Covenant, and Solemn League and Covenant were to be abjured as unlawful oaths. The oath of abjuration was to be taken by all persons having public charge or office in the kingdom. An Act concerning such Benefices and Stipends as have been possessed without Presentations from the Law- ful Patrons, 1662. In 1649 Parliament abolished patronage. All the ministers ordained from that time were chosen under the new system ; and it was now declared that such had no right to their livings, and must consequently go and receive presentation from the patron and collation from the bishop. In those two years, from 1660 to 1662, what an immense stride has been made in the downward path of despotism ! Little more remains for after years, but to carry out and aggravate the system which has thus been organised. . . . But Middleton'was soon to receive a check — a check which, in its consequences, helped to throw him down from his seat of power and pride. The first sign was about to be given that the people, although weakened for the moment— taken off their guard, and bound in fetters, when they had no present means of defence — were silently recovering strength, and watching their opportunity.— X>oc?c?s, ''Fifty Years' Struggle.' 124 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT, Act of Privy Council, October, 1662. [The Disruption of THE Seventeenth Century.] The Council met on the 1st October, and passed an Act declaring all who had not complied with the law to have forfeited their livings, inter- dicting them from preaching, and charging them to remove with their families from their parishes before 1st November. Burnet says that all the members of Council, except Sir James Lockhart, were so drunk that day that they were not capable of considering anything that was laid before them. A great event now took place ; one of the most heroic acts in our annals, where so much of heroism is recorded. It startled Middleton in the midst of his revels and oppressions — like the " Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin " on the wall of Belshazzar's palace — ominous of judgment and wrath. — James Dodds. The archbishop maintained that there would not be ten in all his diocese who would refuse to comply. To his utter amazement, and to the unspeakable mortification of the bishops, nearly four hundred ministers chose to be ejected from their charges rather than comply. Turned out of their homes in the depth of winter, and deprived of all maintenance, they exhibited to their congre- gations a firmness of principle, which elevated and endeared them more than ever; while the sudden and simultaneous shutting up of four hundred churches in one day, by which almost the whole of the west and a great part of the south of Scotland were deprived of their pastors, and a third of the ministers of the Church silenced, ,y revive, ratifie, and perpetually confirm, all Laws, Statutes, and Acts of Parliament made against Popery and Papists, and for the maintenance and preservation of the true reformed Protestant religion, and for the true Church of Christ within this kingdom, in so far as they confirm the same, or are made in favours thereof. Likeas, they, by these presents, ratifie and establish the Confession of Faith, now read in their presence ; and voted and approved by them, as the publick and avowed Confession of this Church, containing the sum and substance of the doctrine of the Reformed Churches (which Confession of Faith is subjoined to this present Act). As also they do establish, ratifie, and confirm the Presby- terian Church government and discipline ; that is to say, the government of the Church by Kirk- Sessions, Presbyteries, Provincial Synods, and General Assemblies, ratified and established by the 114 Act, Ja. 6. Par. 12, anno 1592, entituled, Ratification of the Liberty of the true Kirk, etc., and thereafter received by the general consent of this Nation, to be the only Government of Christ's Church within this Kingdom : reviving, renewing, and confirming the foresaid Act of Parliament, in the whole heads thereof, except that part of it relating to Patronages, which is hereafter to be taken into consideration : and rescinding, annulling, and making void the Acts of Parliament following, viz., Act anent Restitution of Bishops, Ja. 6, Par. 18 Cap. 2. Act Katifying the Acts of the Assembly, 1610, Ja. 6. Par. 21. Cap. 1. Act anent the Election of Archbishops and Bishops, Ja. 6, Par. 22, Cap. 1. Act entituled. Ratifica- tion of the five articles of the General Assembly at Perth, Ja. 6. Par. 23. Cap. L Act entitled. For the Restitution and Re-establishment of the Antient Government of the Church, by Archbishops and Bishops, Cha. 2. Par. 1. Sess. 2. Act 1st, Act anent the constitution of a National Synod, Ch. 2. Par. 1, Sess. 3. Act 5. Act against such as refuse to Depone against delinquents, Ch. 2, Par. 2. Sess. 2. Act 2. Act entit'iled. Act acknow- ledging and asserting the Right of Succession to the Imperial Crown of Scotland, Ch. 2. Par. 3. Act 2. Act entituled, Act anent Religion and the Test, Ch. 2. Par. 3. Act 6, with all other Acts, Laws, Statutes, Ordinances and Proclamations, and that in so far allenarly as the said Acts and others generally and particularly above-mentioned are contrary, or prejudicial to, inconsistent with, or derogatory from, the Protestant Religion, and Presbyterian Government now Established ; and allowing and declaring that the Church Gov^ernment be established in the hands of, and exercised by, these Presbyterian Ministers, who were Outed since the first of January, 1661, for non-conformity to Prelacy, or not complying with the courses of the times, and are now restored by the late Act of Parliament, and such Ministers and Elders only as they have admitted, or received, or shall hereafter admit, or receive : And also, that all the said Presbyterian ministers have, and shall have right to the maintenance, rights, and other privileges, by law provided, to the Ministers of Christ's Church within this Kingdom, as they are, or shall be, legally admitted to particular Chiirches. Likeas in pursuance of the premises, their Majesties do hereby appoint the first meeting of the General Assembly of this Church, 154 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. as above established, to be at Edinburgh, the third Thursday of October next to come, in this instant year, 1690. And because many conform Ministers either have deserted, or were removed from preaching; in their Churches, preceding the thirteenth day of April, 1689, and others were deprived for not giving obedience to the Act of the Estates, made the said 13 of April, 1689, entituled Proclamation against the OM^iing of the late King James, and appointing public prayers for King William and Queen Mary : Therefore their Majesties, with advice and consent foreseid, do hereby declare all the Churches, either deserted, or from which the conform Ministers were removed, or deprived, as said is, to be vacant, and that the Presbyterian Ministers exercising their ministry, within any of these Paroches (or where the last incumbent is dead), by the desire or consent of the Paroch, shall continue their possession, and have right to the benefices and stipends, according to their entry in the year, 1689, and in time coming, ay and while the Church, as now Established, take further course therewith. And to the efifect, the disorders that have happened in this Church may be redressed, their Majesties, with advice and consent foresaid, do hereby allow the general meeting, and representatives of the foresaid Presbyterian Ministers and Elders, in whose hands the exercise of the Church Government is established, either by themselves, or by such Ministers and Elders as shall be appointed and authorized visitors by them, according to the custom and practice of Presbyterian Government throughout the whole Kingdom, and several parts thereof, to try and purge out all insufficient, negligent, scandalor.s, and erroneous Ministers, by due course of ecclesiastical process and censures ; and likewise for redressing all other Church disorders. And further, it is hereby provided, that whatsoever Minister, being convened before the said general meeting, and Pvepresentatives of the Presbyterian Ministers and Elders, or the visitors to be appointed by them, shall either prove contumacious in not appearing, or be found guilty, and shall be therefore censured, whether by suspension, or deposition, they shall ipso facto be suspended from, or deprived of, their stipends and benefices. Hereby, the Act of 1592 was revived and confirmed, and " the sole and only power and jurisdiction within the Church " was declared to stand in the Church and in her courts, as separate from, and not subject to, the supreme civil power. This Act completed what is known in history by the name of the Revolution Settlement. Act concerning Patronages, July 19, 1690. Our Sovereign Lord and Lady, the King and Queen's Majesties, considering that the power of presenting ministers to vacant Churches, of late exercised by patrons, hath been greatly abused, and is inconvenient to be continued in this realm, do therefore, with the advice and consent of the Estates of Parliament, hereby discharge, cass, annul, and make void the foresaid power, heretofore exercised by any patron, of presenting ministers to any Kirk now vacant, or that shall hereafter happen to vaik, within this kingdom, with all exercise of the said power: and also all rights, gifts, and infeftments, acts, statutes, and customs, in so far as they may be extended, or understood, to establish the said right of presentation; but prejudice always, of such ministers as are duly entei-ed by the foresaid presentations (while in use), their right to the manse, glebe, benefice, stipend, and other profits of their respective Churches, as accords : and but prejudice to the patrons of their right to employ the vacant stipends on pious uses, within the respective paroches, except where the patron is popish, in which case he is to employ the same on pious uses, by the advice HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. ^^^ and appointment of the Presbytery ; and m case the P^^^^^i^f ^^^^^^Vk applying the vacant stipend for the uses foresaid that he shall lose his right of administration of the vacant stipend for that and the ^^^^Yl^^'^^^l and the same shall be disposed on by the Presbytery to the u^es foresaid excepting always the vacant stipends within the bounds^ of the ^ynocl oi Argyll : and to the effect, the calling and enterin? ministers, in all W coming, may be orderly and regularly performed, their ^I^l^sties, with consent of the Estates of Parliament, do statute and declare, -Lhat m case of the vacancy of any particular Church, and for supplying the same with a minister, the heritors of the said parish (being Protestants) and the elders are to name and propose the person to the whole congregation, to oe either approven or disapproven by them ; and if they disapprove, that the disapprovers aive in their reasons, to the efifect the affair may be cognosced upon by the Presbytery of the bounds, at whose judgment, and by whose determination the calling and entry of a particular minister is to be ordered and concluded. And it is hereby enacted, that if application be not made by the eldership, and heritors of the paroch, to the Pi'^s^ytery, for the call and choice of a minister, within the space of six months after the vacancy, that then the Presbytery may proceed to provide the said parish, and plant a minister in the Church tanquam jure devoluto It i^ always hereby declared, that this Act shall be but prejudice of the caUmg of ministers to royal burghs by the Magistrates, Town Council and Kirk Session of the burgh, where there is no landward parish as they have been in use before the year 1660. And where there is a considerable part of the paroch in landward, that the call shall be by Magistrates, Town Council Kirk Session, and the heritors of the landward paroch. And in Heu ana recompense of the said right of presentation, hereby taken away, t he r majesties, with advice and consent aforesaid, statute and ordain the heri- tors and liferenters of each paroch, and the Town Councils for the burgh to pay the said patrons, betwixt and Martinmas next, the sum ot six hundred merks, etc. Patronage remained abolished for twenty-one years. First Meeting of the General Assembly of the Church OF Scotland after the Kevolution, Edinburgh, October 16, 1690. Various legislative enactments for re-establishing presbytery having been passed, the government of the Church was committed into the hands of the survivors of the old Presbyterian ministers, with such others as they might admit into connection with them. Twenty-eight years had elapsed since this annual convocation ot the Church had met, and only ninety of the ministers survived the tooth of time and the fierce ordeal of persecution.^ Of these there remained but sixty, who had been ejected m 1662. Among them were -.—Gabriel Semple, of Jedburgh, who assisted in the renovation of the Covenants at Pentland, Henry Erskme, father of Ebenezer and Pvalph, and Thomas Hos:, of Kiltearn. Carstares had drawn up the Constitution of the Church to be submitted to the Assemblv. Lord Carmichael appeared as Lord-Comraissioner, and Mr. Hu^h Kennedy was elected Moderator. The King recom- mended moderation, and so all occasions of offence were avoided. No reference was made to the Solemn League and Covenant; no allusion to the infamous Rescissory Act. John Hepburn, of 156 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Urr, attempted to get a hearing on these points, but his voice was hushed. The Assembly, while receiving into its communion Alexander Shields, Linning, and Boyd, refused to listen to the story of their contendings. Owing to Jacobite plottings no Assembly was held for the next three years. Act for Settling the Quiet and Peace of the Church, 1693: Anent Uniformity of Worship. Our Sovereign Lord and Lady, the King and Queen's Majesties, with advice and consent of the Estates of Parliament, ratifie, approve, and per- petually confirm the fifth Act of the second session of this current Parhament, entituled, Act ratifying the Confession of Faith, and settling Presbyterian Church-government in the whole heads, articles, and clauses thereof. And do further statiite and ordain, that no person be admitted, or continued for hereafter, to be a minister or preacher vv^ithin this Church, unless that he . . . subscribe the Confession of Faith ratified in the foresaid fifth Act of the second session of this Parhament, declaring the same to be the confession of his faith, and that he owns the doctrine therein contained to be the true doctrine which he will constantly adhere to : As likewise that he owns and acknowledges Presbyterian Church government, as settled by the foresaid fifth Act of the second session of this Parliament, to be the only government of this Church, and that he will submit thereto, and concur therewith, and never endeavour, directly or indirectly, the prejudice or subversion thereof. And their Majesties, with advice and consent foresaid, statute and ordain. That uniformity of worship, and of the administration of all publick ordinances within this Church, be observed by all the said ministers and preachers, as the same are at present performed and allowed therein, or shall hereafter be declared by the authority of the same ; and that no minister or preacher he admitted or continued for hereafter, unless he subscribe to observe and do actually observe the foresaid uniformity, etc. Barrier Act, General Assembly, 1697. That before any General Assembly of this Church shall pass any acts which are to be binding rules and constitutions to the Church, the same acts be first proposed as overtures to the Assembly, and being by them passed as such, be remitted to the consideration of the several Presbyteries of this Church, and their opinions and consent reported by their commissioners to the next General Assembly following, who may then pass the same in acts, if the more general opinion of the Church thus had agreed thereto. A perfect safeguard against hasty change or any sudden innovation — hazards to which bodies popularly constituted are more or less exposed. — Dr. Eadie. Act for Securing the Protestant Religion and Presby- terian Church Government, which was the basis of THE Treaty of Union, at Edinburgh, January 16, 1707. Our Sovereign Lady, and the Estates of Parliament, considering. That by the late Act of Parliament for a treaty with England, for an union of HISTORIC DOCUMEXTS. 157 both kingdoms, it is provided, that the commissioners for that treaty should not treat of or concerning any alteration of the worship, discipline, and government of the Church in this kingdom as now by law established, which treaty being now reported to the Parliament, and it being reasonable and necessary, that the true Protestant religion, as presently professed within this kingdom, with the worship, discipline, and government of this Church, shoidd he effectually and unalterably secured, therefore, her Majesty, with advice and consent of the said Estates of Parliament, do hereby establish and confirm the said true Protestant religion, and the worship, discipline, and government of this Church, to continue without any alteration to the people of this land in all succeeding generations : and more especially, her Majesty, with advice and consent aforesaid, ratifies, approves, and for ever confirms the fifth Act of the first Parliament of King William and Queen Mary, entitled, " An Act ratifying the Confession of Faith, and settling Presbyterian Church Government, with the hail other Acts of Parliament relating thereto, in prosecution of the Declaration of the Estates of this kingdom, containing the Claim of Right, bearing date the 11th of April, 16S9." And her Majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, expressly provides and declares, that the foresaid true Protestant religion, contained in the above mentioned Confession of Faith, with the form and purity of worship presently in use within this Church, and its Presbyterian Church government and discipline ; that is to say, the government of the Church by Kirk-Sessions, Presbyteries, Provincial Synods, and General Assembly, all established by the foresaid Acts of Parliament, pursuant to the Claim of Right, shall remain and continue unalterable; and that the said Presby- terian government shall be the only government of the Church within the kingdom of Scotland. And further, for the greater security of the foresaid Protestant religion, and of the worship, discipline, and government of this Church, as above established, her Majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, statutes and ordains, That the universities and colleges of St. Andrews. Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, as now established bylaw, shall continue within this kingdom for ever: and that in all time coming, no professors, principals, regents, masters, or others, bearing ofiice in any university, college, or school, within this kingdom, be capable, or be admitted, or allowed to continue iu the exercise of their said functions, but such as shall own and acknowledge the civil government in manner prescribed, or to be prescribed by the Acts of Parliament : as also, that before or at their admissions, they do and shall acknowledge, and profess, and shall subscribe to the foresaid Confession of Faith, as the confession of their faith ; and that they will practise and conform themselves to the worship presently in use in this Church, and submit themselves to the government and discipline thereof ; and never endeavour, directly or indirectly, the prejudice or subversion of the same ; and that before the respective Presbyteries of their bounds, by whatsomever gift, presentation, or provision they maybe thereto provided. And further, her Majesty, with advice foresaid, expressly declares and statutes, that none of the subjects of this kingdom shall be liable to, but all and every one of them, for ever free of, any oath, test, or subscription within this kingdom, contrary to or inconsistent with the foresaid true Protestant religion, and Presbyterian Church government, worship, and discipline, as above established : and that the same within the bounds of this Church and kingdom, shall never be imposed upon or required of them in any sort. And lastly, that after the decease of her present Majesty (whom God long preserve), the Sovereign succeeding to her in the royal government of the kingdom of Great Britain, shall in all time coming, at his or her accession to the Crown, swear and subscribe, that they shall inviolably maintain and preserve the foresaid settlement of the true Protestant religion, with the government, worship, discipline, rights and privileges of y 158 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. this Church, as above established by the laws of this kingdom, in prosecu- tion of the Claim of Right : aJid it is hereby statute and ordained, that this Act of Parliament, with the establishment therein contained, shall be held and observed in all time coming, as a fundamental and essential condition of any treaty or union to be concluded betwixt the two kingdoms, without any altera- tion thereof, or derogation thereto, in any sort for ever: as also, that this Act of Parliament, and settlement therein contained, shall be insert and repeated in any Act of Parliament that shall pass for agreeing and concluding the foresaid treaty or union betwixt the two kingdoms ; and that the same shall be therein expressly declared to be a fundamental and essential condition of the said treaty or union in all time coming. Act Ratifying and Approving the Treaty of Union of the TWO Kingdoms of Scotland and England, January 16, 1707, founded on the foresaid Act of Security. The foregoing Act of Security, passed at the union of the two kingdoms, was embodied in the Act ratifying the Treaty of Union, and was declared to be a fundamental and essential condition of that treaty in all time coming : " Which Articles of Union, and Act of Security, her Majesty statutes, enacts, and ordains to be and continue in all time coming the sure and perpetual foundation of a complete and entire union of the two kingdoms, etc." Scotland, with all the blessings she has derived from the Union, has suffered much in respect of spiritual things from her more powerful neighbour — enough to show the wisdom of her foresight in providing the Act of Security; although it has proved too weak, through treacherous dealing, to defend her from the encroachment of a bloody Prelacy, and from the Popish device, as it is generally understood, of re-imposing the always galling and detestable yoke of patronage. — Rev. N. Pater son, D.D. "When the Revolution Settlement took place the Church was in alliance with the State of Scotland, and when the question of Union with England came to be agitated, one of the greatest objections and difficulties was, how could the Church of Scotland be kept safe in an alliance with the State in which England would be such a preponderating force ? The Act of Security was then passed — a kind of Mr. Finlay's Bill — but within five years a coach and four was driven through it in the shape of the Patronage Bill. — Principal Rainy, D.D. The Abjuration Oath, 1711. The person taking this oath disowned and disclaimed the Pretender, and promised to support the succession to the Crown as settled by an Act of Parliament, one condition of which was that the Sovereign should belong to the Church of England. Many stumbled at the oath as being wholly inconsistent with the Cove- nant. These were styled Nonjurants. Principal Carstares and HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 159 others took it along with a declaration and protest. — See Br. Story's " William Carstares," p. 333; Dr. Cunningham's " Ch. Hist.," p. S6o. The Toleration Act, 1712. Episcopalians were allowed by this to worship according to their own forms, provided that their pastors were ordained by Protestant bishops, and that they took the oaths of allegiance and abjuration. An Act to Restore the Patrons to their Ancient Rights OF Presenting Ministers to the Churches vacant in THAT part of GrEAT BrITAIN CALLED SCOTLAND, 1712. Queen Anne's Jacobite Ministry passed this Act in the teeth of the Act of Security and the Revolution Settlement : — I. Whereas, by the ancient laws and constitutions of that part of Great Britain called Scotland, the presenting of ministers to vacant churches did of right belona to the patrons, until, by the 23 Act of the second session of the first Parliament of the late Kins; William and Queen Mary, held m the year 1690, intituled "Act concerning Patronages," the presentation was taken from the patrons, and given to the heritors and elders of the respec- tive parishes ; and in place of the right of presentation the heritors and liferenters of every parish were to pay to the respective patrons a small and inconsiderable sum of money, for which the patrons were to renounce their ric^ht of presentation in all times thereafter : And whereas by the 15 Act of the fifth session, and by the 13 Act of the sixth session, of the first Parliament of the said King William, the one intituled ''An Act for encouraging of Preachers at vacant churches benorth Forth," and the other intituled "Act in favour of Preachers benorth Forth," there are several burdens imposed upon vacant stipends to the prejudice of the patron's right of disposing thereof: And whereas that way of calling ministers has proved inconvenient, and has not only occasioned great heats and divisions among those who, by the aforesaid Act, were entitled and authorised to call ministers, but likewise has been a great hardship upon the patrons whose predecessors had founded and endowed those churches ; and who had not received payment or satisfaction for their right of patron- ace from the aforesaid heritors or liferenters of the respective parishes, nor have granted renunciations of their said rights on that account : Be it therefore enacted, by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, m this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that the aforesaid Act, made in the year one thousand six hundred and ninety, intituled, "Act concerning Patronages," insofar as the same relates to the presentation of ministers by heritors and others therein mentioned, be, and is hereby repealed and made void; and that the aforesaid fifteenth \ct of the fifth session, and thirteenth Act of the sixth session, of the first Parliament of King William, be, and are hereby likewise repealed and made void : and that in all time coming, the right of all and every patron or patrons to the presentation of ministers to churches and benefices, and the disposing of the vacant stipends for pious uses within the parish, be restored, settled, and confirmed to them, the aforesaid acts, or any other act statute, or custom to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding ; and that from and after the first day of May, one thousand seven hundred and twelve it shall and may be lawful for her Majesty, her heirs and successors, 160 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. and for every other person or persons who have right to any patronage or patronages of any church or churches whatsoever, in that part of Great Britain called Scotland (and who have not made and subscribed a formal renunciation thereof under their hands), to present a qualified minister or ministers to any church or churches whereof they are patrons, which shall after the first day of May happen to be vacant ; and the Presbytery of the respective bounds shall, and is hereby obliged to receive and admit, in the same manner, such qualified person or persons, minister or ministers, as shall be presented by the respective patrons, as the persons or ministers presented before the making of this Act ought to have been admitted. II. Provided always, that in case any patron or patrons have accepted of and received any sum or sums of money from the heritors or liferenters of any parish, or from the magistrates or town council of any borough, in satisfaction of their right of presentation, and have discharged or renounced the same under their hand, that nothing herein shall be construed to restore such patron or patrons to their right of presentation ; any thing in this present Act to the contrary notwithstanding. III. Provided also, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that in case the patron of any church aforesaid shall neglect or refuse to present any qualified minister to such church that shall be vacant the said first day of May, or shall happen to be vacant at any time thereafter, for the space of six months after the said first day of May, or after such vacancy shall happen, that the right of presentation shall accrue and belong for that time to the Presbytery of the bounds where such church is, who are to present a qualified person for that vacancy, tanquam jure devoluto. IV. And be it further enacted and declared by the authority aforesaid, that the patronage and right of presentations of ministers to all churches \\hich belonged to archbishops, bishops, or other dignified persons, in the year one thousand six hundred and eighty- nine, before Episcopacy was abolished, as well as those which formerly belonged to the Crown, shall and do of right belong to her Majesty, her heirs and successors, who may present qualified ministers to such church or churches, and dispose of the vacant stipends thereof for pious uses, in the same way and manner as her Majesty, her heirs and successors, may do in the case of other patronages belonging to the Crown. V. Declaring always, that nothing in this present Act contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to repeal and make void the aforesaid twenty -third Act of the second session of the first Parliament of the late King William and Queen Mary, excepting so far as relates to the calling and presenting of ministers, and to the disposing of vacant stipends, in prejudice of the patrons only. The British Parliament, regardless of the wishes of the nation and the earnest remonstrances of the ministers of the Church, once more imposed on her the yoke of patronage, which for a century and a half was to prove such a grievance and stumbling-block — a cause of triumph to her enemies, of weakness and division among her friends. The Act was not long in yielding its bitter fruits. — Frof. Mitcltell, D.D. In 1712, only five years after the Treaty of Union had been consummated, the British Parliament rudely traversed the engage- ments which had been entered into. On the 13th March, one of the Scottish members suddenly rose in his place in the House of Commons and asked leave to bring in a Bill for the restoration of patronage. The proposal, for political reasons, was received HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 161 with the greatest favour. It was pushed through the lower House with such haste that it was in the Lords before the Church whose interests it chiefly afiected could offer any formal opposition. The report of the passing of the Act was received in the north with indignation. Protests against it poured in. But it is now clearly seen that the Church ought to have done more than all this. The Act was manifestly illegal. If the Treaty of Union was not a mere piece of waste i)aper, it was no more in the power of the British Parliament to alter, in the way and at the time it did, the terms of the Church Settlement, than it was in its power to diminish by a stroke of the pen the number of Scottish representative peers in the House of Lords. . . . But, unfortunately. Principal Carstares, the leading ecclesiastic of the day, was not of the stamp of the old Reformers. — Oi^r Church Heritage, p. 28. There does not appear during the whole interval from 1690 to 1712 the least vestige of a doctrine so much contended for at a later period, which asserts a divine right in the people, individually or collectively, to elect the parish ministers. [Cf. "The Free Church Principle," p. 182.]— 5i> H. Moncrtiff, ''Life of Er shine;' -p. 434. Sir H. Moncreiff seems to have been as inattentive to the theological literature of that period as Dr. Cook, else he could never have uttered this assertion. Dr. M'Crie says " the principle of popular election was main- tained and inculcated by Park, Paile, Hog, Forrester, Lander, Jameson, and all the writers in defence of the Church of Scotland between the Revolution and the Union ; " and all who have read the works of the.se eminent men must know that they did so upon Scriptural grounds ; or, in other words, held the principle to be binding jure divino.—Rev. W. Cunninrjham, D.D. THE REFOBMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. This was the only section of the Christian community of Scot- land that openly expressed dissatisfaction at the time with the Revolution Settlement. The very name, which was continued for years, was itself an emphatic testimony : — Anti-popish, anti- prelatic, anti-erastian, anti-sectarian, true Presbyterian Church of Christ in Scotland. Notwithstanding the formal repeal of the Act of Supremacy it soon became evident that the State reserved to itself a control over the pro- ceedings of the Church in Scotland also, altogether incompatible with complete spiritual freedom or independence. Into an establishment thus constituted the legitimate successors of the Scottish Covenanters— the followers of Cameron, Cargill, and Renwick— could not enter without renouncing their consistency and contradicting their solemn vows. Nor did they deem it their duty to decline the fellowship of the Church only ; they felt constrained to lift up their protest also against the State, to whose unhallowed interference the evils of the ecclesiastical settlement were in a great measure to be ascribed. They had a strong conviction that the Reformation in Church and State between the years 1638 and 1649 was in L 162 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. a high degree conformable to the Scriptures and conducive to the interests of true religion ; that the Covenants by which this reformation had been publicly and solemnly ratified were moral in their nature and of standing obligation; and that it was unwarrantable for these nations to erect con- stitutions completely subversive of those which they had sworn to preserve. They conceived it, therefore, to be a matter of imperative obligation upon them to dissent from the constitution of the ^^tate as well as of the Church, and to protest against it as immoral in itself and founded on a breach of Covenant. . . . Being convinced that the authority usurped over the Church was anti-Christian and impious, and that these covenanted lands were guilty of grievous sin in conferring power upon their rulers on such immoral terms, they resolved to abstain as much as possible from every act which might imply their concurrence in the usurpation of the ruler or in the sinful grant of power by the people. — Testimony of the R.P. Church in Scotland, p. 100. Some of the Presbyterians refused to acquiesce in the arrangements of the Revolution Settlement as to ecclesiastical affairs, and protested against what they considered the defectiveness of the civil constitution adopted by the Parliament. They formed themselves into societies in several parts of the country. Lord Macaulay somewhat unfairly represents their position as if the more extravagant among them might be taken as samples of their class. But the really influential objectors and protesters were sober- minded students of Scripture, and conscientiously concerned for the cause of truth. Their objections and protests formed the foundation upon which the Testimony of what became afterwards known as the Eeformed Presbyterian Church was based, and derived their chief force from the specially strong view which their maintainors took of the spiritual inde- pendence claimed and asserted by their forefathers. The General Assembly had, in 1647, passed an Act, in which they had qualified their acceptance of the Westminster Standards by the understandmg that the admission of the right of the civil magistrate to call Synods applied only to times when it was requisite to reconstitute the relations of Churi;h and State after a season of disorder. An Act of Charles II. had rescinded the parliamentary enactment contirming this qualification, along with other beneficial and scriptural portions of the Second Reformation. The Acts of the Revolution had, it was represented, left untouched this piece of rescissory legislation. Thus the spiritual independence of the Church in the calling of assemblies and otherwise did not appear to be thoroughly vindicated, and the only recognised statute asserting the Church's claims was that of 1592, including the ratification of what had been done in 1567. The objectors declined to take part in what they counted so defective a settlement. — Sir H. W. Moncreif, Bart., D.D., " The F.C. Principle," p. 184. The Reformed Presbyterian Church has never pretended to be anything else than little among the thousands of Judah. An unwise and, as I think, an indefensible position w-as taken up early by the fathers of the Reformed Presbyterian Church as to terms of Christian communion. These terms represented the protesting and witnessing position of the Church ; and when viewed in this light they were legitimate, and did good service ; but when their adoption was demanded by all applicants for a^imission to the membership of the Christian Church, they were put out of their place, and became to many a stone of stumbling. They tended, as I think, to keep our numbers small, and to prevent acceding to our ecclesiastical fellowship many most intelligent and excellent Christian people who heartily approved of our leading object as a Church. But although our tribe has been but a small one among the hosts of Israel, it has not, on the who'e, consisted of small men; of men with small, limited, narrow aims. Not to speak of the ancestry common to us with others, the men of the first and second HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 163 Reformation; not to go farther back than the Revolution, the MacMillans, the Fairleys, the Thorburns, the Hendersons, the Masons, the Rowatts, the Symingtons, the Goolds, were not little men. Most of them were men of stature, men of presence, even corporeally, and all preachers of the Gospel and witnesses of the truth, they were men who would have adorned and enriched any church in the world, — Hev. J. M'Bermid, 1S76. Renovation of the Covenant at Borland Hill, March 3, 1689. This took place near Lesmahagow, the officiating rainisters being Alexander Shields and Messrs. Linning and Eoyd. Shields stood up, and "before a vast concourse of people declared his unfeigned sorrow for his former sin of compliances, etc., to the aflfecting of all the multitude and the abundant satisfaction of the godly there present." These three brethren presented a paper of proposals to the first General Assembly after the RevolutioD, craving redress of their grievances ; but the Assembly, deeming it calculated " rather to kindle contention than compose divisions," rejected it. Renewal of the Public Covenants at Auchensaugh, Douglas, July 23, 1712. At the Union the Cameronians repaired to their "Canterbury" of Sanquhar, and uttered their testimony against a measure which they regarded as little short of sinful, since it involved a sanction to "that English prelatical system which the Solemn League and Covenant had bound the Scottish nation to extirpate." While still brooding over this "land-ruining, God-provoking, soul-destroving, and posterity-ensnaring and enslaving Union," the Act of Tolera- tion came like a bellows to blow the fire. The result was the renewal, by " the anti-popish, anti-prelatic, anti-erastian, anti- sectarian, true Presbyterian Church of Scotland," of the Solemn League and Covenant. The transaction occupied several days. The first was a day of preparation. This was followed by preaching, and acknowledgment of sins— oaths to the State, neglect of the Covenant, general compliances with the spirit of the times, etc. Thereafter the Solemn League was sworn to, article by article, with uplifted hands. Act, Declaration, and Testimony for the whole op our Covenanted Reformation, as attained to, and Estab- lished IN Britain and Ireland; particularly betwixt the Years 1638 and 1649 inclusive. 1761. The first Reformed Presbytery was constituted in 1743, and consisted of the Rev. Joha Macmillan of Balmaghie, and the Rev. Thomas Nairn, with their ruling elders. The above was the first Testimony by the Presbytery. The doctrinal part was wriit-n by the Rev. John Thorburn, and the historical by the Rev. John Courtas. Subsequent editions, with various 164 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. changes and modifications, appeared in 176*2, 1777, 1797, and 1818. In 1777 the Presbytery testified against Seceders for "renewing our Cove- nants in a Bond accommodated to present circumstances." The New Testimony appeared in 1837, the doctrinal part by Prof. Andrew Symington. The historical was added, in 1839, by Dr. Stewart Bates. Disruption op the Reformed Presbyterian Synod, 1863. A disruption of the Reformed Presbyterian Synod took place in 1863 on the occasion of the passing of the following motion: "The Synod, having read the reports from Presbyteries and Sessions anent taking the oath of allegiance and exercising the elective franchise, find that all the Presbyteries and a majority of Sessions, confining themselves to the con- sideration of the point of exercise of discipline for the acts therein specified, have adopted said overture only to this extent. The Synod, therefore, in accordance with these reports enacts that, while recommending the members of the Church to abstain from the use of the franchise and from taking the oath of allegiance, discipline to the efifect of suspension and expulsion from the privileges of the Church shall cease, and earnestly enjoin upon all under their charge to have respect to this decision, and to follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." Three ministers and four elders tabled a protest, and in July, 1864, hoisted their true-blue standard to the world in the shape of the first number of The Reformed Presbyterian Wit7iesfi. The majority of the Reformed Presbyterians have since united with the Free Church (vide year 1876), but the minority have nailed their colours to the mast-head, and found a place for their Protest beside their fathers' Testimony. Protest of the Rev. W. Anderson and Others, May 7, 1863. — We, the undersigned ministers and elders, members of the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland, in our own name, and in the name of all adhering to us, do hereby protest against the decision now adopted as the law of the Church by the majority of this court, as opposed to the Word of God, and to the testimony of the Church, and unconstitu- tionally adopted; and seeing that they have thereby abandoned, in regard to the matters referred to in that decision, the principles of the Reformed Presbyterian Church clearly set forth in her Testimony, to which we are all solemnly pledged, and have thereby departed from the scriptural posi- tion which the Church has occupied for more than 170 years ; we do hereby protest and claim for ourselves, and for those adhering to us, to be consti- tutionally the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland, etc. — P. P. Testimony, p. 276. The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland — since the union of the majority with the Free Church composed of the representa- tives of these Protesters — numbers some thirteen congregations. It is in full communion also with the R. P. Churches of America (121 congregations) and Ireland (38 congregations). The Scottish section is represented in literature by The Reformed Presbyterian Witness, Rev. R. Dunlop, Paisley, editor ; the Irish section by The Covenanter, edited by the Rev. R. Niven, Derry; and the American churches by The Reformed Presbyterian and Covenanter, conducted by Prof. Wilson of Alleghany; and Our Banner, con- ducted by the Rev. J. C. K. Milligan of Philadelphia. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. -> -^ 165 ^ • The Secession Church; From 1820 to 1847, United Secession ; Since 1847, UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. It might have been thought that after the heavy hand of persecution was removed in 168S there would have been a long and happy period of religious progress. But it was not so, and there were causes for it. At the Restoration of Charles IE, 400 of the most devoted ministers were expelled from their charges, and their places supplied by a time-serving, ignorant, and often immoral class of clergy. This character is given to them by men who were not their opponents. Worthy men remained among "the indulged," but they were compromised by their posftion, and unable or afraid to take a decided stand. For twenty -eight long years the withering curse of an inefficient clergy lay on a great part of Scotland, and a whole generation grew up under it; for, though the Gospel was faithfully preached on the hills and the scaffolds, it only reached a limited number. When the Revolution came, only sixty of the ejected ministers remained, and those who had filled the vacant charges were most of them willing to retain place and pay by compliance. It is a question whether some parts of Scotland ever recovered fully the blight of that time, and it has been felt most where the faithfulness of the Covenant men left the greatest number of empty pulpits. In consequence of this, the old struggle of the seven- teenth century had to be renewed in the eighteenth, with this favourable difference, that the Revolution had brought religious liberty, and that any persecution was more social than political. There were two questions that rose as the testing ones of the day, and that touched the old principles which are debated in every age under different forms — truth and freedom. These two questions gave the public life of the Erskines and their friends that meaning which they have for us. The question of truth was raised in the case of one Professor Simson of Glasgow in 1714, whose teaching, as far as it can be understood through his dim language, was of an Arian kind, and who claimed to have the sym- pathy of "the enlightened members of the Assembly." With him there was Professor Campbell of St. Andrews, w^ho, in defending the Apostles from what was beginning to be esteemed the odious charge of enthusiasm, denounced such expressions as " consulting the throne of grace," "laying their matters before the Lord, and imploring His light and direction," as " terms of art much used by enthusiasts." Views entertained by him, that were admitted to strike at the root of revealed religion, were condoned after some loose explanations. Protests against this laxity form part of the struggle of the time. But it took another shape, which had more lasting effects. One day Thomas Boston, when visiting in the house of one of his people at Simprin, found a little old book above the window head, which he took down and began to read. It was a book that has become famous in Scotland, "The Marrow of Modern Divinity." . . , The object of the book was to clear away the barriers which are so often raised between the sinner and Christ, in the shape of certain conditions, such as repent- ance, or some degree of outward or inward reformation, and t^ present him immediately with the words, "Whosoever will, let him come,"' assured that in heartily receiving Christ full repentance and a new life will follow. The system of Neonomianism, as it was called, which changed the Gospel into a modified and easier kind of law, had grown up in Scotland, as elsewhere, and this little book became the instrument of a revival of clearer and fuller Gospel preaching. It did what the discovery of Luther on the Galatians, in the house of a country schoolmaster, has done for Sweden of late years. . . . Boston tells us that he "rejoiced in his 166 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. book as a light which the Lord had seasonably struck up to him in the darkness, that he digested its doctrine and began to preach it." Through him it found its way into the hands of James Hog of Camock, who republished it with a recommendation in 1717. It attracted the attention of a number in the Assembly, and especially of Principal Haddow of St. Andrews, who instituted a prosecution against its friends as guilty of Anti- nomian errors. After much controversy, twelve ministers who held to the views so stigmatised were condemned to be rebuked and admonished at the bar, and narrowly escaped deposition. . . . Looked at from our time the anti-evangelical growth within the Scottish Church was part of that wide movement which produced the latitudinarianism of the Church of England, weakened the spirit of Nonconformity, brought down the old Presbyterianism of the Puritans first to Pelagianism and then to Socinianism, and in Germany led to the long reign of Rationalism, which Pietism retarded but did not prevent. The importance of this survey will be seen in the fact that Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine were prominent supporters of the "Marrow" theology, that Elaenezer drew up the representation of its principles, which was condemned by the Assembly, and that the view of the Gospel contained in it was the basis of the Secession preaching, as it had been of the clear and unfettered offer of Christ in great seasons of quickening ever since. After the question of truth we come to that of freedom, which has a closer connection with it than may be at first apparent. Ceitainly in Scotland it is the friends of evangelical doctrine who have always shown themselves the friends of the freedom of the Christian people. At the Revolution the choice of the minister was granted to the congregation, though, it must be confessed, in an imperfect way. In 1712 lay patronage was introduced in a bill hurriedly carried through the British Parliament by the intrigues of the High Church and Jacobite party. It was in direct opposition to the Treaty of Union, and the whole procedure was treacher- ous in motive and manner. At first there was a yearly remonstrance by the Assembly against it, but it ceased as doctrinal defection set in ; and ministers began to be forced, under various pretexts, upon unwilling churches. At last in 1731 an enactment was passed by which, in cases where the patron declined to present, the choice of the minister was given to a majority of the heritors and elders being Protestants, without regard to the will of the congregation in any way. In many cases this put the choice of the minister in the hands of the Jacobites and High Church Episcopalians ; yet the Assembly passed it summarily, in violation of the Barrier Act, and refused to hear or heed the protests lodged against it. During all this time the evangelical party had been maintaining a weary battle for popular rights in the face of an increasing majority, and now the door was closed against remonstrance. It is always a dangerous act to shut a safety valve, but a change was coming over the spirit of the times. Old Wodrow describes, in a melancholy tone, the flippancy of habits and superficial religious training of the ministry of his time, and predicts the evil that is impending from a new quarter. Thomas Boston finishes his memoirs in sadness and yet in hope. . . . Boston died on the 20th of May, 1732, and in that same year it fell to Ebenezer Erskine, as moderator, to preach the opening sermon of the Synod of Perth and Stirling. It is another illustration of a living witness being always ready to take the place of the dead. The text he chose was Psalm cxviii. 22. He sets forth the defections of the time, claims for Christ that Headship in the Church which belongs to Him, and for the people that liberty which is their birthright under His rule. The outspoken honesty of the seimon gave great offence to a number in the Synod, and he was sentenced to be rebuked and admonished. He appealed to the Assembly, and at its meeting in May, 1733, the conduct of the Synod was sustained, and rebuke and admonition again imposed on him. — John Ker, D.D., " The £h'skines." historic documents. 167 Protest against Act of 1720 and 1722 condemning "The Marrow." This Protest was subscribed by the twelve Representers or Marrow- men, as followa : — James Hog, Carnock. Thomas Boston, Ettrick. James Kid, Queensferry. JoHxV Bonar, Torphichen. John Williamsojj, Inveresk. Gabriel Wilso.v, Maxton. Ebenezer Erskine, Portmoak. Ralph. Erskine, Dunfermline. James Wardlaw, Dunfermline. Henry Davidson, Galashiels. James Bathgate, Orwell. James Hunter, Lilliesleaf. The persecution which now began was inaugurated by an attack upon the doctrine of the minority. — See Walker's Scot. Ch., p. 106. In 1720-22 "The Marrow of Modern Divinity" was formally con- demned, and the ministers of the Church were strictly enjoined to warn their people against it ; an act which remains uncancelled in the records of the Assembly to the present day. Against this Act twelve ministers gave in a solemn representation, among the signatures to which were the names of Thomas Boston, Ebenezer and lialph Erskine and other fathers of the Secession. To these good men this act appeared as a surrender of some of the most precious truths of the Gospel; and the spirit of defection which it indicated led more, perhaps, than anything else to the Secession which followed.— 5. cC- For. Ev. Rev., XVII., 261. See also Frof. Mitchell's sketch in "Year Book of the Church of Jjcotland, 1S86," p. 20. The beginning of the century was marked by a deep decline. The last lights of the Puritans in England and of the Covenanters in Scotland burned out one by one. The spirit of the Restoration, unchecked to any extent by the Revolution, held on its downward way, infecting morals and then corrupting faith. The avowed infidelity that existed without the Church in the upper and cultivated classes, lowered by its neighbourhood, as an iceberg does the thermometer, the tone of religious feeling within the Church, and chnnged evangelical truth first into cold orthodoxy, and then through the various descending grades of Arianism and Pelagianism, into a system of mere natural religion. We can never acknowledge with gratitude sufficiently the manifest hand of God in His interposition at this period. . . . The wing of this great movement was headed in Scotland by the Erskines, Gillespie, Boston, and their coadjutors, the fathers and founders of the United Presbyterian Church. The advancing corruption of doctrine tolerated in the Establishment formed one of the grounds, we might say, the broadest of them on which the Secession of the Erskiues first took its stand ; and, though it did not enter openly into the protest of Gillespie, yet it can scarcely be doubted that President Edwards took the true view of the case, when in a letter of sympathy to him he attributed his deposition to a radical dislike on the part of the majority to evangelical doctrine and pious ministers. — U.P. Magazine, 1S4S. Protestation of the Secession Fathers : Act of Secession, November 16, 1733. We do hereby adhere to the Protestations formerly entered before this Court both at their last meeting in August, and when 168 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. we appeared first before this meeting : And further, we do protest in our own name, and in the name of all and every one in our respective congregations adhering to us, that notwithstanding of this sentence passed against us, our pastoral relation shall be held and repute firm and valid : And likewise we do protest that, notwithstanding of our being cast out from ministerial communion with the Established Church of Scotland, we still hold communion with all, and every one, who desire with us to adhere to the prin- ciples of the true Presbyterian Covenanted Church of Scotland, in her doctrine, worship, government, and discipline; and particularly with every one who is groaning under the evils, and [with all] who are afflicted with the grievances we have been complaining of; who are, in their several spheres, wrestling with the same. But in regard the prevailing party in this Established Church, who have now cast us out from ministerial communion with them, are carrying on a course of defection from our reformed and covenanted principles, and particularly are suppressing minis- terial freedom and faithfulness in testifying against the present backslidings of the Church, and inflicting censures upon ministers for witnessing, by protestations and otherwise, against the same : Therefore we do, for these and many other weighty reasons, to be laid open in due time, protest that we are obliged to make a SECESSION from them, and that we can have no ministerial com- munion with them till they see their sins and mistakes, and amend them : And in like manner we do protest, that it shall be lawful and warrantable for us to exercise the keys of doctrine, discipline, and government, according to the Word of God, and Confession of Faith, and the principles and constitution of the Covenanted Church of Scotland, as if no such censure had been passed upon us. Upon all which we take instruments ; and we hereby appeal to the first free, faithful, and reforming General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Ebenezer Erskine, Stirling. William Wilson, Perth. Alexr. Moncrieff, Abernethy. James Fisher, Kinclaven. The sentence of the Commission, against which the above protest was given in, would not have disgraced the records of the Secret Council, or Court of High Commission. It was in the following terms : — The Commission of the General Assembly did, and hereby do, loose the relation of Mr. Ebenezer Erskine, minister at Stirling, Mr. William Wilson, minister at Perth, Mr. Alexander Moncrieff, minister at Abernethy, and Mr. James Fisher, minister at Kinclaven, to their said respective charges ; and do declare them no longer ministers of this Church ; and do hereby prohibit all ministers of this Church to emploj'^ them or any of them in any ministerial function. And the Commission do declare the churches of the said Mr. Ertkine, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Moncrieff, and Mr. Fisher, vacant, from and after the date of this sentence ; and appoint that letters from the Moderator, and extracts of this sentence be sent to the several Presbyteries HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 169 within whose bounds the said ministers have had their charges, appointing them, as they are hereby appointed, to cause intimate this sentence in the foresaid several churches, now declared vacant, any time betwixt and the 1st of January next. And also that notice of this sentence be sent by letters, from the Moderator of this Commission to the Magistrates of Perth and Stirling, to the Sheriff- Principal of Perth, and Bailie of the regality of Abernethy. The Assembly [of 1733] found that the language used by him [Ebenezer Erskine] " was offensive and tended to disturb the peace and good order of the Church," and they appointed him to be rebuked at their bar. To this he submitted; but before retiring be laid on the table a Protest, to which his three friends adhered, justifying what he had done, and claiming the right to testify against the obnoxious Act. The Assembly referred the case to their Commission, with instructions that if the four brethren did not withdraw their protest, and express their sorrow for their conduct, they should be first suspended, and ultimately deposed from the office of the ministry. These instructions were carried out, and in August they were suspended and in November deposed. The act was no sooner done than we may say it was repented of, and every effort was made on the part of the Church to remedy the blunder and avert the threatened secession. But all was unavailing. Her erring [?] sons would not return, and the breach then made is still unhealed. — Fro/. Mitchell, D D., " Year Book, 1886:' From this sketch it will be very clearly seen that this section of Nonconformists have no cause to blush for their origin. They are where they are, not as the result of a freak of some scrupulous conscience, but as the fruit of movements with which all liberal and earnest men now sympathise. And although they have now in the main adopted views of the relation between Church and State, which have seriously altered their position, the shrewd remark made by Mr. Hill Burton is one which they may still remember with pride. "The great Establishment of England," says he, " kept to its principles, while the Dissenters struck out innovations ! On the other hand Scottish Dissent always tended to preserve the old principles of the Church, whence the Estab- lishment, by the progress of enlightenment, as some said — by deterioration, according to others — was lapsing. — Our Church Heritage, p. oJf. Far from the Secession of the Erskines retarding the return of evangelical life in Scotland, we believe it was this, above all, which helped to preserve it in the National Church, and which stimulated its revival. Had they gone back it might have pre- vented the Disruption, but it might have done it at the hazard of something like decay and death. No one can suppose that the forecast of these issues was in the minds of the men who had to 170 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. make their choice ; but there are inward impulses which in God's hand are in the place of eyes, and there is a breath of freedom on the face which tells the way from prison-houses in the dark. It is one thing to keep men in, even with a good conscience, and another to bring them back. The early spring may hold the buds in bonds, folded and reconciled to their constraint; but, when they have broken into flower, they cannot be. charmed into their old places, for they know that summer is nigh. And when God breathes on His garden, there are spring-times of expansion which lead into the future by a way which men know not. At such seasons witnesses like Luther, and Knox, and Whitefield, and Chalmers hear the cry, *' O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain : lift up thy voice with strength : lift it up, be not afraid." But to answer it, they must hear that other word, " Shake thyself from the dust : loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion !" That the Erskines heard that voice, we, for our part, cannot doubt.— i^ro/ John Ker, D.D., ''The Erskines:' Testimony to the Doctrine, "Worship, Government, and Discipline of the Church of Scotland ; or. Reasons BY the Four Brethren for their Protestation, etc., 1734. Prepared by a Committee, and approved by " The Associate Presby- tery." The volume was the first or extra-judicial Testimony. Along with three more technical Testimonies which had preceded — "The True State of the Process," "The Representation," and "The Peview of the Narrative of Procedure " — the above Testimony set forth more fully than had been done in the protest the evils existing in the Church. These seem to have multiplied, or to have unfolded themselves after the separation, so that when the General Assembly, at their meeting in May, 1734, not only rescinded, inter alia, the Act of 1732, but passed an Act empowering the Synod of Perth and Stirling to restore the brethren to their respective ministerial charges without farther inquiry; and when the said Synod had, in pursuance of that authority, in the following July, "taken off the sentences pronounced by the Commission of 1733 against the four brethren, and restored them to ministerial communion with the Church," yet for reasons which they published in 1735, they refused to accede to the judicatories of the Church, submitting at the same time certain preliminaries of reform, which they deemed essential to their harmony with the Church. The seceding brethren met with a large popular sympathy. They were proud and confident of the position which they had taken up on behalf of what they believed to be the true principles of the Church of Scotland. ... If the Church was precipitate and high-handed to begin with, in dealing with the scruples of their brethren, it certainly showed a real wish to welcome their return. But ruptures which are easily made are not easily healed, and especially as in this case, where there are not merely ostensible causes of opposition, but alien principles in movement. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 171 The leaders of the first Secession from the Church of Scotland were really the representatives of principles, partly popular and partly traditionary, which the Church of the Revolution embodied. —Frin. Tidloch, "*b/5. Giles' Lect.," /., 272. That Secession I always thought had very much to justify it. I do not wonder that the Erskines, once extruded, shrank from venturincr back into that stronsr current of rationalism and defec- tion in the National Church ; and their complex statement ot reasons for Secession — for they were always careful to show that it was not one or two corruptions which led them to their final severance — their complex statement of reasons, I say, is truly weighty. — James Walker, D.D., ^'Scottish Theology" Judicial Testimony, March, 1737. This gives a historical account of what the Seceders reckoned the defections of the Church, of existing evils against which they testified, and of the doctrines and principles which they held and upon which they acted. The formula of questions to be put to candidates for license contains the folio wing : " Do you own the binding obligation of the National Covenant, particularly as explained in 1638, to abjure prelacy and the five articles of Perth ; and of the Solemn League of the three kingdoms, particularly as renewed in Scotland in 1648, with an acknow- ledgment of sins; and will you study to prosecute the ends thereof?" Pursuant to an Act of 1738, the Commission of the Assembly issued a libel against the members of the Associate Presbytery, now eight in number (having been joined by Ralph Erskine, Thomas Mair, Thomas Nairn, and James Thomson), charging their Secession and the Judicial Testimony as censurable offences, and citing them to appear before the Assembly of 1739. This was met by an Act of Declinature, 16th May, 1739, disowning the jurisdiction of the Court. This Act the Assembly asked the brethren to retract, and, on their refusal to do so, " deposed them from the office of the holy ministry ; and prohibited and discharged them to exercise the same or any part thereof within the Church in all time coming." Dr. Cunningham devotes two pages of his history to a consideration of this "Testimony," the language of which is "exactly the language of Cameron and Cargill." The historian's sympathies are by no means with the "narrow notions of the Covenanting period," or with those who "inherited the bigotry and fanaticism of the preceding century." He hails rather " the dawning of that day which was to be illumined by the classic eloquence of Robertson, etc." To Drs. Cunningham, Story, and their followers, the following weighty words by the late Lord Ardmillan are worthy of being perused and pondered: "Be not afraid of what the world calls enthusiasm. I remember w^hen I was a boy one of the copies set us at the writing school \vas ' Enthusiasm injures religion.' I believe that to be a great mistake. There is always peril in power, and misdirected enthusiasm, like all misdirected power, may be dangerous. But there is no safety in feebleness, nor is there safety in lukewarmness and indifference. Enthusiasm is not fanaticism, and riyhtly understood and wisely directed, it is a noble and valuable quality. Few really good men, few really great men have been without enthusiasm, and I may even say the same of the noblest type of women. I believe that there is no true love, no true friendship, no true patriotism, and no true religion without somewhat of the intensity and earnestness which men call enthusiasm. 1 think it was 172 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. David Hume who said that one of the advantages of State connection and endowment is to keep the Church quiet and protect her from the excite- ment of enthusiasm. I do not venture now to say whether that may be the effect or not, but I am satisfied that the danger of any Church is in the opposite direction. It is from coldness and worldlmess and carelessness, and not from enthusiasm a Church may decay; it may lose power, energy, and vitality, but not from enthusiasm. Churches do not expire in con- vulsions; there is no agony in their passing hour. Slowly and silently the end of a decaying Church ' creeps on by petty pace from day to day ' — as, with props sustaining and fetters binding, she finds her faith clouded and her walk unsteadfast and her voice uncertain; and when the eye becomes dim and the hand feeble and the heart cold and dull, the state of spiritual death is scarcely distinguishable from the deep sleep which preceded it." The Seceders were now [1740] dislodged from their churches and deprived of their stipends, and cast upon the stream to sink or swim as they best could. It must be said they have gallantly kept their heads above the water. The truth is the Secession Church had a popular element in its constitution, which has ])roved to be its breath of life. When the offset was separated from the parent stock, and no longer received its nourishment, it soon struck its roots into the soil ; and now, after more than a century, it flourishes as a mighty tree under the broad shadows of which hundreds of thousands find shelter. — Br. Cunningharn, ''Ch. Hist.;' IL, 1^56. [The popular element which proved "its breath of life" was the i'vangelical. Cf. Dr. Cunningham's " Ch. Hist.," II., 448 (note); and Principal Tulloch— " St. Giles' Lect.," I., 272.] The Secession Church and the Covenant. Almost all the early fathers of the Secession sprang from covenanting ancestors, many of whom had suffered the loss of all things during the years of persecution. Henry Erskine, the father of Ebenezer and Ralph, was outed in 1662. Boston was the son of a Covenanter, and throughout life he remembered sleeping on his father's bosom, when that worthy was incarcerated for his principles in the Canongate Tolbooth. Culfargie's grand- father was the Rev. Alexander Moncrieff, of Scoonie, the com- panion of the martyred Guthrie ; and his father was one of the Scottish exiles. Wilson's father had to hide a whole winter on Mearns Moor. He himself was called after King William. The following is the passage in their " Judicial Testimony " bearing upon the Covenant : — In like manner they do hereby own and assert the perpetual obligation of the National Covenant of Scotland, frequently subscribed by persons of all ranks in this kingdom ; and particularly as approven of and explained by the General Assembly, 1638, and sworn by all ranks of persons, anno ]b'39, and ratified by Act of Parliament, 1640. As also they own and assert the perpetual obligation of the Solemn League and Covenant, particularly as renewed in Scotland, with an acknowledgment of sins, and engagement to duties by all ranks, anno 1648. . . . Likewise they hereby declare their adherence to the several Testimonies, Declarations, HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 173 and Warnings emitted in behalf of the Covenanted Reformation of this Church from the year 1650 to the year 1688; particularly to the con- tendings and wrestlings during that period, whereby a great cloud of witnesses resisted even unto blood in testifying for the supremacy and Headship of the Lord Jesus over His own House, and other branches of our Covenanted Reformation in opposition to abjured Prelacy. And they hereby condemn all ecclesiastical censures whatsoever, passed or inflicted upon any, whether ministers, elders, or others from the year 1650 to this time for their adherence unto, or witnessing for any branch of our Cove- nanted Reformation, etc. An Act for renewing the Covenants was afterwards passed, and in 1743 the Bond of the Covenant was sworn at Stirling. When the Pres- bytery met at Edinburgh, February 14, 1744, an overture was adopted by which it was enacted : That the renovation of the National Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant shall be the term of ministerial comm,union with the Presbytery ; and likewise of Christian commimion in admission to sealing ordinances — secluding therefrom all opposers, contemners, and slighters of the said renovation of our Covenants. — See Gib's "Display" I., 258; Dr. M'Kerrow's "History," p. 191. In the Erskines one sees under changed circumstances the successors of the Covenanters, and their struggle, though not against Prelacy enforced by the sabres of dragoons, was just as truly for Presbytery, and Liberty, and Evangelism. — iV. L. Walker, ''Scottish Church," p. 105. The original Seceders identified themselves with the Church of Scotland, as she existed in her purer days, particularly during the period of the Second Reformation, between 1638 and 1650. On this era, distinguished as that of the Solemn League and Covenant, they took up their ground, and planted the banner of their testimony. They not only espoused the principles of the Covenanters during that period, and of the great body of them during the bloody persecution which followed, but were themselves Covenanters, being the only religious body in the country who renewed the National Covenants in a Bond suited to their circumstances, and thus practically recognised their obligation as national deeds on posterity. — Life of Dr. Al'Crie. The Seceders, on separating from the national Church, regarded the principles of the Second Reformation with an almost idolatrous admiration. — James Walker, D.D. Neither the Established nor Free Churches have, so far as we know, by any ecclesiastical deed, declared formally their approbation of the con- tendings of the reformers and the martyrs of the seventeenth century, or testified against the grave errors in doctrine and the high-handed exercise of patronage which prevailed in the first half of the eighteenth century. Our forefathers did both. . . . We greatly value the traditional feelings which exist in the hearts of pious Scottish Christians — a legacy left to them by the Reformers and the martyrs of other days ; they link us with the great and good of former times, and go to form that religious patriotism on which the stable character of a people depends ; and we are not prepared to yield the right which we have to this "goodly heritage." — Andrew Somerville, D.D. The Erskines and their coadjutors stood fast by the traditions of the Solemn League and Covenant, and groaned over the defections of the Scottish Church. . . . Their rigid Calvinism and fervent piety were attractions for Whitefield, but he firmly refused to acknowledge that Presbyterianism was the only lawful form of church organization, and he could not be got to take a due interest in the Covenant. — Literary World. 174 treasury of the scottish covenant. Act of the Associate Presbytery for Renewing the National Covenant of Scotland, and the Solemn League and Covenant of the Three Nations, in a WAY and manner AGREEABLE TO OUR PRPISENT SITUATION AND CIRCUMSTANCES IN THIS PERIOD. 1743. This was conformable to the example of the Reformers, who in 1638 renewed the National Covenant by a new Bond, in place of that Bond wherewith it had been renewed and sworn in 1590. It did not, however, satisfy the Rev. Thomas Nairn, who was of opinion that the mode adopted for renewing the Covenants should be the same as that which was pursued by the Covenanters at Auchensaugh in 1 7 1 2. Mr. Nairn afterwards j oined the Reformed Presbyterians. — {Vide p. 163.) Bond of the Covenant sworn by the Ministers of the Associate Presbytery at Stirling, December 28, 1743. The services of the day were commenced by Ebenezer Erskine preaching a sermon from Isaiah xxii. 24. James Fisher then oflfered up prayer, and gave out a psalm, after which the National Covenant, the Solemn League and Covenant, the acknowledgment of sins, and the engagement to duties, or Bond, which the Presby- tery had prepared were read. Thomas Mair next prayed for the Divine blessing to rest upon them in the solemn work in which they were engaged. The Bond was then read by Ebenezer 'Erskine, while all the ministers stood, and with hands uplifted to heaven publicly entered into covenant with the Lord God of their fathers. Prayer was again offered by Alexander Moncrieff, after which the services of the day were concluded by Ralph Erskine preaching a sermon on " Covenanted grace for covenanting work" from Deut.xxvi. 17,18. The following was the tenor of the Bond: — We all and every one of us, though sensible of the deceitfulness and unbelief of our own hearts, and however frequently perplexed with doubts and fears anent our actual believing, yet desiring to essay in the Lord's strength, and in obedience to His comnoand to glorify God by believing His word of grace contained in His covenant of promise, and in the faith of His promise do devote ourselves unto the Lord in a covenant of duty : We do, with our hands lifted up to the most high God, hereby profess, and before God, angels, and men solemnly declare that, through the grace of God and according to the measure of His grace given unto us, we do with our whole hearts take hold of the Lord Jesus Christ as the only propitiation for our sins ; His righteousness as the only foundation of our access to and accept- ance with God ; His covenant of free and rich promises as our only charter for the heavenly inheritance ; His Word for our perfect and only rule of faith and practice ; His Spirit for our alone guide to lead us unto all truth revealed in His holy Word, unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit or traditions of men. We avouch the Lord to be our God. And in the strength of His promised grace we promise and swear by the great name of the Lord our God that we shall walk in His way, keep His judgments and commandments, and hearken to His voice : And particularly that we shall, by the Lord's grace, HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 175 continue and abide in the profession, faith, and obedience of the foresaid true and reformed religion, in doctrine, worship, presbyterial church government and disciplme, and that we shall, according to our several stations, places, and callings, contend and testify against all contrary evils, errors, and corruptions, particularly Popery, Prelacy, Deism, Arianism, Arminianism, and every error subversive of the doctrine of grace ; as also Independency, latitudinarian tenets, and the other evils named in the above confession of sins. In like manner we promise and swear that by all means which are lawful and warrantable for us according to the Word of God, the approven and received standards of this Church, and our known principles, we shall, in our several stations and callings, endeavour the reformation of religion in England and Ireland, in doctrine, worship, discipline, and government according to the Word of God : And to promote and advance our cove- nanted conjunction and uniformity in religion, Confession of Faith and Catechisms, Form of Church Government, and Directory for Worship, as these were received by this Church. And in regard we are taught by the Word of God, and bound by our Covenants, National and Solemn League, to live together in the fear of God and in love to one another, and to encourage one another in the work and cause of the Lord ; and that denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world : There- fore, in a dependence on the Lord's grace and strength, we in the same manner do promise and swear — That we shall, in our several places and callings, encourage and strengthen one another's hands in pursuing the end and design of this our solemn oath and covenant; and that we shall endeavour a life and conversation becoming the Gospel of Christ: And that in our personal callings and particular families we shall study to be good examples to one another of godliness and righteousness, and of every duty that we owe to God and man : And that we shall not give up ourselves to a detestable indifferency and neutrality in the cause of God ; but, denying ourselves and our own things, we shall above all things seek the honour of God and the good of His cause and people : And that through grace, forsaking the counsels of flesh and blood, and not leaning upon carnal confidences, we shall endeavour to depend upon the Lord, to walk by the rule of His Word, and to hearken to His voice by His servants. In all which, pro- fessing our own weakness, we earnestly pray to God, who is the Father of mercies, through His Son Jesus Christ, to be merciful unto us, and to enable us by the power of His Holy Spirit that we may do our duty unto the praise of His grace in the churches. Amen. We, undersubscribing ministers, members of the Associate Presbytery, do subscribe the above Bond with our hands at Stirling this twentieth- and-eighth day of December, one thousand seven hundred and forty-three years : The said Bond having been this day first solemnly sworn by us : — Ebenezkr Erskine, minister at Stirling. Ralph Ekskixe, minister at Dunfermline. James Thomson, minister at Burntisland. Alexr. Moncrieff, minister at Abernethie. Thomas Mair, minister at Orwell. James Fisher, minister at Glasgow. David Smyton, minister at Kilmaurs. William Hutton, minister at Stow. Adam Gib, minister at Edinburgh. And. Clakkson, minister at Craigmailen. John Cleland, minister at Balfruu. George Brown, minister at Perth. William Campbell, minister at Ceres. Thomas Ballantyne, minister at Sanquhar. David Horn, minister at Cambusnethan. 176 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. We, undersubscribing ministers, members of the Associate Presbytery, do subscribe the above Bond with our hands at Falkirk, the fourteenth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and forty-four years : The said Bond having been this day first solemnly sworn by us :— James Mair, minister at Linton. Patrick Matthew, minister at Midholm. James Scot, minister at Gateshaw. John Whyte, minister at Dunse. Henry Erskine, minister at Falkirk. Burgess Oath, 1745-47 [Burghers and Anti-Burghers]. Here I protest before God and your Lordships, that I profess, and allow with my heart the true religion presently professed within this realm, and authorised by the laws thereof : I shall abide thereat, and defend the same to my life's end, renouncing the Roman religion called Papistry. The oath was bad in every sense, for it made citizenship depend upon saintship, and associated the bribe of civil right with religious profession. After long and unhallowed WTangling and not a little ecclesiastical thunder, the sharp contention ended in a separation in 1747. — Prof. John Eadie, D.D., LL.D. A controversy arose in the Associate Synod in 1745, respecting the meaning of a clause in this Act, required of burgesses on their election to office in the chief towns of Scotland, and the consequent lawfulness of members taking the oath. Some held that swearing such an oath was a virtual approval of the Established Church, with all its corruptions ; for to the men who framed the oath the religion presently professed "was the religion by law established. " Others maintained that the oath only referred to the true religion as professed, but did not imply any approval of the mode of its settlement. The question was keenly debated ; the difference was found to be irreconcilable, and terminated in a separation. The Synod which accepted the oath retained the original name of the body (the Associate) popularly called the "Burgher" Synod; the other which con- demned the oath, somewhat larger in the number of ministers and members, assumed the title of "General Associate" commonly called the "Anti- Burgher" Synod. Old and New Light Controversy. — Towards the end of last century the Burgher Synod was violently agitated by a controversy respecting the continued obligation of the Public Covenants, and the nature of that obligation ; also respecting the power assigned to the civil magistrate in matters of religion. The Synod neither re-modelled its testimony, nor abjured the power of the magistrate in religious matters, nor expressed disapproval of the National Covenants, but deemed it necessary to prefix to the formula of questions an explanatory statement in which they declared that they did not require any preacher or minister to approve of compulsory measures in religion ; also that while they admitted the obligation of the Coveuants on posterity, they did not interfere with disputes concerning the nature and kind of obligation required. This preamble was considered by a minority as implying a departure from the principles of the Secession, and in 1799 the dissatisfied withdrew and formed the Original, or Old Light Burgher Synod. The General Associate or Anti-Burgher Synod was also agitated by the controversy as to the power of the civil magistrate. In their case the Testimony was re-modelled : by refusing to give to the magistrate any power to interfere in religious matters, they asserted spiritual independence; HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 177 they also affirmed that the Solemn League and Covenant enjoined under civil penalties matters that were purely religious, and in so far as it did so they pronounced it to be unwarrantable. This led to a division in 1806. Whatever was the rationale of it, the new epoch appears to have impelled many of them (the Seceders) in the direction of those views of the spirituality of Christ's Kingdom, which ultimately developed into Voluutaryism. The drift of these novelties was not acceptable to all in either Synod. The Burghers and Anti-Burghers alike threw off fragments which claimed to retain the old light, and the new century began with this state of things. — ^^alker, " Scot. Ch.," p. 121. Synod op United Original Seceders. — Has about 30 charges under its inspection, including two mission stations. The Synod lifts up a testimony for Christ's Crown and Covenant in the following terms : — That Covenants entered into by a people with God which are at once lawful and laudable in their matter and permanent in their object lay the societies, civil or ecclesiastical, who enter into these Bonds, under con- tinued obligation to discbarge the duties engaged in from generation to generation. That, in accordance with this principle, they hold that the National Covenant of Scotland and the Solemn League and Covenant are, in so far as their objects or ends have not yet been gained, binding on us as they were binding on our fathers who entered into them ; that the obliga- tion descends in the same manner as the National Debt contracted by our forefathers falls to be paid by us. In short, the United Original Secession Church claims to be regarded as a branch of the Reformed and Covenanted Church of Scotland, witnessing in a state of secession for her Reformation principles — as strictly adhering to the Confession of Faith and other Westminster Standards, as suitable subordinate standards of doctrine, worship, and government, and as parts of the Covenanted uniformity for the Churches in the three kingdoms — as lifting up the banner of a judicial testimony on behalf of the perpetual and continued obligation of the National, and of the Solemn League and Covenant, and as testifying for the Reformation itself as a great work of God. Moreover, it is a well- established historical fact, that all the principles for which Original Seceders are contending, were sealed by the blood of our noble band of martyrs — that the distinctive principles which they are endeavouring to hold fast were parts of the Scriptural attainments, first of the Covenanted Church of Scotland, and afterwards of the Secession. This Synod renews the Covenants from time to time, and in view of the renewal prepares an addition to the Acknowledgment of sins, suited to the period. The following is the document which was adopted by the Synod which met in 1866, under the moderatorship of a fine old Covenanter, the Rev. John Barr of Coupar-Angus : — Since 1853 matters have not improved in the Scottish Establishment. No measures have yet been adopted by its own judicatories or by the State for the removal of any of those evils which constrained so many of its office-bearers and members, at the period of the Disruption, to withdraw from its pale. On the contrary, while all the grounds on which the Original Seceders separated from the Establishment still remain, new and in some respect?, grosser evils are springing up within the latter. We allude to certain changes in the old P»esbyterian forms of worship which have of late been introduced, more particularly to the use of instrumental music in M 178 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. celebrating the praises of God— a mode of conducting the service which was observed under the former ceremonial dispensation, but for which there is no warrant under the New Testament economy, and which the Church of Scotland has always condemned. This, along with the introduction of Liturgies, Popish symbols, and other innovations in the public worship of Ood, which are now taking place within the pale of the Established Church of Scotland, we must regard as serious steps of defection from her Reforma- tion attainments, and as deeply aflFecting her character and prospects. Indeed, the tendency to ritualism which has for some time been manifesting itself among Protestants generally forms a marked characteristic and one of the most ominous signs of the present age. We have also to lament the alarming increase of infidelity both within and without the Churches, as appears from the open attacks made upon the inspiration of the Scriptures, the avowed disregard of creeds and Confessions of Faith, even by many who have subscribed them, and the countenance given to the promulgation of sceptical opinions. The loose and unprincipled sentiments of a large portion of the public press is likewise to be deeply deplored. We have further to lament the new and daring encroachments made on the Sabbath by railway companies and various other parties, whereby numbers of persons in their employment are deprived both of the temporal and spiritual privileges connected with the day of sacred rest, and multitudes of all classes statedly furnished with the means of openly profaning it. We have specially to lament the loose and dangerous opinions respecting the Sabbath itself which have of late been broached in this part of the kingdom, even by ministers of religion — opinions amounting to a denial of its authority and claims as a moral and permanent institution, common to Jews and Gentiles, and, by necessary consequence, of the continued obligation of the Fourth Commandment, which enjoins its observance, and of the whole Decalogue of which it forms a part. The open avowal and advocacy of such opinions at a time when Sabbath profanation so fearfully abounds is deeply to be deplored, tending, as it must do, not only to unsettle the mind and pervert the views of many with respect to the Sabbath, but to strengthen the hands and further the designs of its adversaries. With the grosser forms of impiety and vice must be connected the sinful amusements and practices of the age, as furnishing additional matter of lamentation. Several of these have been already noticed in the acknowledgment of sins. We would here especially refer to oratorios and other musical performances in which the name of God and the most sacred mysteries of our religion are prostituted for the purpose of entertainment, to the use of lotteries even in connection with the raising of money for religious purposes, and to the prevalence of games of chance among professing Christians. [During the Union negotiations (1863-73) a communication was received from the Original Secession Church, which, while it expressed a cordial interest in the cause of Union among the Presbyterian Churches, intimated that the Synod felt themselves precluded by their primary obligations as Covenanters, from taking part in any negotiations for union which do not proceed upon the judicial recognition of these obligations.] The Constitutioxal Associate Presbytery. — The re-model- ling of the Anti-Burgher Testimony was procured in 1806, at a great sacrifice. Dr. M'Crie, Edinburgh, Archibald Bruce, Whitburn, James Aitken, Kirriemuir, and James Hog, Kelso, formed themselves into a new Presbytery. They objected to the qualification of adherence to the standards on the points of the Magistrate's power circa sacra, and National Covenanting. The separatists gave the name to a new community till 1827, when they united with the Protesters against the Union of 1820, HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 179 and formed the Associate Synod of Original Seceders. The body, headed by a worthy son of Dr. M'Crie, joined the Free Church in 1852.— ASee Walkers ''Scot. Ch. Hist.;' p. 132. The Church of Relief, 1752. The founder of the Relief Church was the Rev. Thomas Gillespie of Carnock. He was one of six ministers who refused to carry into effect the will of the patron, in the settlement of a Mr. Richardson at Inverkeithing, and who were cited before the Assembly of 1752 to answer for their disobedience. The first vote was : Shall one of the six be deposed % It was carried to depose, by 93 to 65. Then it was decided that the sentence should fall on Mr. Gillespie. Mr. Home of Athelstaneford, author of the tragedy of " Douglas," moved, and Mr. Robertson of Gladsmuir seconded. On being summoned to the bar to receive his sentence, Mr. Gillespie meekly replied — " Moderator, I humbly submit to the will of Providence, but rejoice that to me it is given in Christ's behalf not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." A Presbytery for the relief of Christians oppressed in their Christian privileges was formed at Colinsburgh, Fife, Oct. 22, 1761, consisting of the Rev. T. Gillespie, Dunferm- line ; Rev. Thos. Boston, Jedburgh (son of the famous theologian); and the Rev. T. Colier, Colinsburgh, with their representative elders. It grew into a Svnod, and so continued till the Union in 1847.— ^'ee Dr. MacKelvie's ''Annals," p. 174; Walker's "Scottish Church" p. 109. Returning home, Gillespie would not enter the Church from which he had heen ejected, nor even suffer the bell to be rung, but preached to the people under the open canopy of heaven, taking as his text, " Necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel." This Act of church power gave occasion to a second secession from the Establishment which in an incredibly short period sprung up in various parts of the country, and grew into a large and prosperous Church, under the name of the Synod of Relief.— i/'Crie, "Scottish Church," p. 494- The Relief separatists, who arose twenty years after the Erskines, being connected by their founder Gillespie with Doddridge and the English Independents, arrived at this conviction [that the whole system of estab- lishments wanted a just foundation] sooner than any parties in the Secession. In the earlier public documents of the Secession some remark- able passages occur, as to the limitation of the Magistrate's power, which contain the germ of later developments ; but these are neutralized by equally strong assertions of his authority in spiritual matters, and by an unqualified approval of the transactions of the Covenanting period. It was not till the close of the 18th century that the impulse given by the American and French Revolutions, and the impression made by the constant discussion of the claims of the Roman Catholics in the British Parliament began to produce a wide and conscious divergence amongst the Seceders from the ground practically occupied by their fathers. The attempt to adjust the formularies of both branches of the Secession to these altered views produced in both what was called the New Light controversy, leading in each to a partial disruption. But while a relaxation of the strictness of subscription on this head was effected, the Burgher 180 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. branch of the Secession stopped short with a disclaimer of "compulsory- persecuting and intolerant principles in religion," and the Anti-Burgher with a testimony "against all such conjunctions of Church and State as subjects the State to the Church in civil matters, or the Church to the State in those that are religious." — John Cairns, D.D., LL.D. Gillespie Tablet. — In 1876 a tablet was erected in the Ante-Chapel of the Abbey of Dunfermline to mark Gillespie's tomb. The inscription, disallowed for a time, is as follows : — IN MEMORY OF THE REV. THOMAS GILLESPIE, Born at Clearburn, Duddingston, 1708. Ordained by Dr. Doddridge at Northampton, and Inducted as Parish Minister of Carnock, 1741. Deposed by the General Assembly for refusing to take part in the forced settlement of a Minister at Inverkeithing, 1752. Formed a Congregation in Dunfermline same year. He was the founder of the Relief Church. Died 19th January, 1774. Religious Bond of the United Secession Church, 1820. On the union of the two portions of the Secession Church in 1820, the following Bond was read and agreed to unanimously. It is the latest form of Public Religious Vowing or Covenanting on the part of the United Presbyterian Church, and it is a pity the practice has been allowed to fall into desuetude. Every Scriptural facility was to be afiForded to those who had " clearness to proceed in it," but its observance was not to be required in order to Church communion : — We all and every one of us, though sensible of the deceitfulness and unbelief of our own hearts, and many of us perplexed with doubts and fears about our actual believing ; yet desiring, in the strength of God, to glorify Him, by believing His Word of grace, and, in the faith of His promise, to devote ourselves to Him as His people, — we do, with our hands lifted up to the Most High, profess, and before God, angels and men, solemnly declare, That, through His grace, we desire to embrace with our whole heart the Lord Jesus Christ as our only Redeemer; His righteousness as the only foundation of our access to God, and acceptance with Him ; the Covenant of Grace as our only charter for the heavenly inheritance ; His Word as our perfect and only rule of faith and manners ; and to depend on His Spirit to lead us into all truth, and strengthen us for all duty. We avouch the Lord to be our God ; and we promise and swear by His Great Name, that, in the strength of His grace, we shall walk in His way, keep His commandments, and hearken to His voice ; and particularly, that, according to the measure of our light, we shall abide in the profession of the true religion and doctrine, worship, Presbyterian church government and discipline, as received by our Church, and exhibited in her subordinate standards, and, in our several stations, contend against all contrary errors and evils. In like manner, we promise and swear, that, in adherence to, and in prosecution of, the Scriptural Reformation carried on by our Ancestors, we shall, by all Scriptural means, in our day, accord- HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 181 ing to our opportunities, endeavour the reformation of religion in Britain and Ireland, as well as the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ throughout the world. And in regard we are bound by the Word of God, to live together in the fear of God, and love one to another, and to encourage one another in the cause and work of God ; therefore, depending upon Divine grace, we in the same manner engage, in our several places, to strengthen one another's hands in prosecuting the design of this our solemn oath and covenant, and to study a conversation in all respects becoming the Gospel of Christ, and not to give ourselves up to indifference and neutrality in the cause of God, but, through grace, renouncing the counsels of flesh and blood, to depend upon the Lord in our whole conduct : In all which, confesssing our own weakness, we earnestly supplicate the Father of Mercies, that He would enable us, by the power of His Holy Spirit, to fulfil our duty, to the praise of His grace in the Churches, through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, Amen. The following is a statement of the manner in which public Covenanting was gone about, as recorded in the " Life of Hugh Heugh, D.D,," by Dr. Macgill. It occurred at Edinburgh, May 2, 1805 : — On the present occasion the usual procedure was observed. The Rev. Mr. Robertson of Kilmarnock opened the service by a discourse from the words, "I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written on their foreheads." As was common at such seasons, various ministers were occupied in reading lengthened documents extending over about 40 pages. These documents consisted of "The National Covenant," "The Solemn League and Covenant," "The Synod's Declaration on the Obligation of the Public Vows of Ancestors," "The Acknowledgment of Sins," and "The Bond, or Profession of Faith and Engagement to Duties." By far the largest of these papers was "The Acknowledgment of Sins," which was all read over by several ministers, one after another, with a short prayer in the intervals. Then a solemn confession of these and such like evils was made by one of the brethren in a direct address to the Throne of Grace. At this stage the act of Covenanting took place. The Covenanters, occupying a part of the church by themselves, stood up, and while the officiating minister impressively read The Bond, they held up their hands in token of their solemn oath and covenant. Those who, on former occasions, had joined in the Bond "in testimony of their union as one body in the same cove- nanted cause," signified at the administrator's desire their adherence to their former deed by lifting up their right hands at the close of the solemn action. The Covenanters then subscribed the Bond to which they had sworn, several ministers being employed during the course of the subscrip- tion in addressing the subscribers. The work of the forenoon was then concluded with prayer. In the afternoon the solemnity was followed by the ordinary services of public worship, when the Rev, Dr. Pringle of Perth preaclied on the words, "I have sworn and I will perform it, that I will keep Thy righteous judgments." [The whole service was a most impressive one. The compiler has heard from his father — the son of a Covenanter — as also from that Covenanter himself (the late Isaac Johnston, Alyth, who, for acquaintance with Bible truth, and the theology of Calvin, Boston, and the Erskines, had not his 182 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. marrow in the parish) how signally the Lord blessed such acts, and how the faithful experienced seasons of covenant engagement at Perth and other centres, to be times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and as the days of heaven upon earth.] In 1820 the two chief nonconforming bodies had coalesced,- under the name of the United Secession Church, and they now constituted an organization which was formidable in many ways. It had notably grown in numbers and in self-confidence; its leadino- men (some of them men of remarkable ability) were taking conspicuous places on public platforms ; and the lie of its sympathies being Liberal, in contradistinction to the Church, which was Tory, it acquired an influence with one of the great political parties in the State, which made it impossible for any government to ignore its opinions or opposition. We may think as we like of Voluntaryism as a principle, but no man with any observation, can fail to see that here at least was the Nemesis of Moderatism. It had driven multitudes out of the Church, and had looked on contemptuously or indifferently while outlying Presbyterian sects were rising up around it in the wilderness. And now came its reward. The new atmosphere developed new ideas. And the separatists, who were formerly either despised as powerless, or patronized as possible humble helps, grew into open and formidable adversaries, whose reconciliation to the Establish- ment had become impossible. — Walker, "Scot. Ch. Hist." p, IJpl. The Voluntary Controversy, 1829-1843. Besides to know Both spiritual power and civil, what each means, What severs each, thou hast learned, which few have done ; The bounds of either sword to thee we owe ; Therefore on thy firm hand Religion leans In peace, and reckons thee her eldest son. — Milton. This controversy commenced with a sermon of the Eev. Dr. Marshall of Kirkintilloch, preached in Glasgow in April, 1829. The great ability of this discourse, the reputation of the preacher who then stood among the highest names in the Secession, and the earnest manner in which the disendowment of all religions was urged as the only safeguard against the endowment of Popery — which was dreaded by many at that time as a sequel to Catholic emancipation— produced a wide impression, which the subsequent controversial publications of its author only deepened. In the year 1832, Voluntary Associations began to be formed all over Scotland, whereby the question was transferred to the political arena, and the separation of Church and State for the first time set forth as a practical measure. Almost all sections of Scottish Nonconformists united in this struggle. . . . The Voluntary Controversy was connected by more than a chronological sequence with the ultimate Disruption of the Scottish Establishment. It was all along a great source of strength to the Voluntary party that the institution which they assailed was divided against itself, and that the Evangelical clergy admitted the untenahleness of tfie Establish- ment principle on any other construction than their own. For them to make the Established Church in point of fact square with theory, by a complete redress of the evils of Moderate administration was not only to gain an internal victory, but to fortify the Church against its outward assailants. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 183 A motive of this kind must be held to have co-operated in the enactment of the Veto Law, and in the refusal to repeal it, or to set it aside at the bidding of the civil courts ; and, though it would be unfair to represent this as the sole or even chief reason that led the Evangelical party to a step otherwise entirely in the line of their natural policy, yet the development of that policy was probably hastened by the Voluntary Controversy, and a recoil from it was unquestionably rendered more hazardous and difficult. It is certain that Dr. Brown and the other leading dissenters regarded the series of contests in which the Establish- ment was involved with the civil powers, from 1837 onwards in order to vindicate the principles of Non-intrusion and Spiritual Independence as the result, in part at least of the Voluntary impulse. They accord- ingly suspended their own exertions to diffuse Voluntary principles, believing that the reforming party in the Establishment were doing their work ; and they looked upon it as the strongest practical testimony to the truth of their views when the only historical structure in which, according to the ablest of their opponents, the rival theory had ever been embodied, gave way by the very efforts to perfect it, and fell in pieces. — Principal Cairns, *' Memoir of Dr. Brown," p. 196. Yet another conflict. It was the Voluntary Controversy, in which the unexpected spectacle was exhibited of the descendants of the Erskines contending with their natural allies, the Evan- gelicals, over the question of the relations of Church and State. . . The controversy did good in various respects, and the bitterness of it is long since forgotten. What was specially brought out in connection with it was the radical chansfe which bad taken place in the attitude of the Seceders toward the Established Church. They were, in fact, no longer Seceders looking forward to a possible return. They had become Dissenters, and looked on all State endowments of religion as per se unscriptural. It was no light matter for Scotland when this new position was taken up. — Eev. N. L. Walker, " Scot. Ch. Hist." Union of the United Secession and Relief Churches, 1847. [United Presbyterian Church of Scotland.] The Synods together represented about 500 congregations. The following articles formed the Basis of Union : — 1. That the Word of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule of Faith and Practice. 2. That the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms are the confession and catechisms of this Church, and contain the authorised exhibition of the sense in which we understand the Holy Scriptures ; it being always understood that we do not approve of anything, in these documents, which teaches, or may be supposed to teach, compulsory or persecuting and intolerant principles in religion. 3. That Presbyterian Government, without any superiority of office to that of a teaching presbyter, and in a due subordmation of church courts, which is founded on, and agreeable to, the Word of God, is the government of this Church. 4. That the Ordinances of Worship shall be administered in the United Church as they have been in both bodies of which it is formed ; and that the Westminster Directory of Worship continue to be regarded as a compilation of excellent rules. 184 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. 5. That the term of membership is a credible profession of the Faith of Christ as held by this Church — a professioa made with intelligence, and justified by a corresponding character and deportment. 6. That with regard to those Ministers and Sessions who may think that the 2ad section of the 26th chapter of the Confession of Faith authorises free communion — that is, not loose or indiscriminate communion, but the occasional admission to fellowship in the Lord's Supper of persons respecting whose Christian character satisfactory evidence has been obtained, though belonging to other religious denominations — they shall enjoy in the united body what they enjoyed in their separate communions the right of acting on their conscientious convictions. 7. That the election of Office-bearers of this Church, in its several congregations, belongs, by the authority of Christ, exclusively to the members in full communion. 8. That this Church solemnly recognises the obligation to hold forth, as well as to hold fast, the doctrine and laws of Christ, and to make exertions for the universal difi'usion of the blessings of His Gospel at home and abroad. 9. That as the Lord hath ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel — that they who are taught in the Word should communicate to him that teachetli in all good things — that they who are strong should help the weak — and, that having freely received, thus they should freely give the Gospel to those who are destitute of it — this Church asserts the obligation and the privilege of its members, influenced by regard to the authority of Christ, to support and extend, by voluntary contribution, the ordinances of the Gospel. 10. That the respective bodies of which this Church is composed, with- out requiring from each other an approval of the steps of procedure by their fathers, or interfering with the right of private judgment in reference to these, unite in regarding as still valid the reasons on which they have hitherto maintained their state of secession and separation from the Judicatories of the Established Church, as expressed in the authorised documents of the respective bodies ; and in maintaining the lawfulness and obligation of separation from ecclesiastical bodies in which dangerous error is tolerated ; or the discipline of the Church, or the rights of her ministers or members are disregarded. 18th May, 184?.— On Thursday last, the 14th May, after much coquetting and many years' negotiation about the terms of the contract, a marriage was at last effected between the United Secession and Belief Churches. The first of those communities, consisting now of about 400 congregations, was the result of the folly of our rulers in driving Ebenezer Erskine out of the Estab- lishment in 1736. The second, consisting of about 100 congrega- tions, is the result of another folly of precisely the same kind perpetrated by the deposition of Thomas Gillespie in 1752. Each of these, suffering from his hostility to patronage and to the interference of the civil power in matters sj)iritual, had a rich and deeply-sown soil of Scotch feeling to stand upon. A forest of 500 Voluntary trees is one consequence, but another of far greater consequence, though not so obvious, is the effect which the exist- ence of such harbours of refuge have had in enabling the people to defeat the Establishment's disregard of them and to aggravate the contrast between the Calvinistic devotion of the one party HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 185 and the merely political power of the other. . . . The opinion of one great body has more influence than the separate opinions of that body's parts. The obvious question that must occur to every dispassionate person is, Why do not these people belong to the Establishment? Why unions and disruptions of Presby- terians in Scotland 1 What the true answer to these questions is admits of no doubt. One-half of Scotland has been driven out of the Establishment solely in order to maintain patronage and the right of the civil power to control spiritual jurisdiction. Whether these objects be worth the sacrifice must be judged of with reference to two circumstances. One of these is that, independ- ently of the State's right and duty to regulate patronage as partly a public trust, the patrons are a handful of individuals whose interests could have been purchased for a trifle ; the other, that the Church of Scotland is so utterly without one particle of patrimonial or political power that except for the purpose of obstructing it spiritually the civil magistrate has rarely had, and can rarely have, any occasion to interfere with it. — Lord Cockhurn, " Journal^ YOLUNTARYISM IN THE LiGHT OF ITS EXPOUXDERS. The peculiarity of the Voluntary principle (so called) lies in giving these and such texts an exclusive interpretation, so as not to take in anything beyond the free-will offerings of the Church itself. This does not forbid co-operation in supporting Christian ordinances, as by an Augmentation or Sustentation Fund. But this is looked on as different from money levied by public tax- ation or provided from State funds ; and it is against this that the Voluntary principle stands in opposition and protest. Now, the reasons which believers in the Voluntary principle have for this exclusion, they adduce from Scripture. They argue that the duty of maintainins: the ministers of religion is laid on those instructed by them, and on no others, as in Gal. vi. 6, " Let him that is taught in the Word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things." They contend that as Paul in 1 Cor. ix. 12-14, founds a claim to temporal support on spiritual service, no State authority can enforce a claim so sacred ; and they plead further, that no room is left for the co-incident working of the gratitude and love of a voluntary offering such as the apostle describes, and the ordained necessity of legal obligation. Such are the con- siderations which have made the United Presbyterian Church so widely accept the Voluntary principle and so steadily act on it. . . . It is not meant that the Voluntary principle is always worked as well as it ought to be. It is possible to defeat it by entrusting the working of it to those who are not Christians, which is certain to be the case when no pains are taken to main- tain purity of Christian communion. It is possible even for Christians sinfully to fail in Christian liberality. — Principal Cairns J LL.D.^ " The Sufficiency of the Voluntary Principle.'* 186 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. [For an exposition of Voluntaryism, — in the light of Divine precept, in the light of Scripture principles, and in the light of apostolic practice, — see "Synod Hall Lectures," by Dr. A. Thomson, Dr. Hutton, and others,] This bill involved the continued existence of a State Church, such as they had in Scotland or England, and involved great injustice to the nation, and to the several Christian Churches. The chairman had alluded to the unjust aspect of it in superseding the Divine law of Christ for the mainten- ance and extension of the Christian Church. That law had been superseded by all Established Churches. It was impossible that they should exist — it was impossible if they had anything in the shape of State endowment, that that law of constant, liberal, voluntary giving on the part of members of the State Church should not be superseded. The essence of the Established Church lay in the superseding of that law of Christ ; and was it not a great injustice to them that such a system should exist? They were part of the nation, though they belonged to different Churches ; and here was the nation called on to sanction and maintain and propagate in so far as it could a false system of Christian finance and Christian teaching in regard to the maintenance and extension of the Christian Church. They had that taught all over the country, in every parish, and so long as the Establishment existed that error would be taught. He held that that was an injustice to them as citizens, and was quite the same as if there were taught in the Universities under State sanction, by State patronage and influence, a false system of astronomy, — as if they were to teach .the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, or the Newtonian theory of light, instead of the undulating theory ; and he rejoiced, in connection with that, to cite what he would call the noble testimony of his revered friend. Dr. Buchanan, in the Assembly the other day, when he said it was his distinct and clear conviction that this law alone was the normal law of Christ in regard to the maintenance of His ordinances : — " Let him that is taught in the Word communicate unto him that teacheth." If the State taught exactly the opposite — if it said to the members and parishioners in any parish, "Let him that is taught in the Word communicate to the people" — communicate in every other way, but never communicate to his own minister, save only when he was called upon to supplement his stipend; if that was not super- seding Christ's ordinances, there was no force in argument ; and the State Church was not able at this moment, and never had been able, to repel that argument. He felt, therefore, in calling upon State Church supporters and advocates to abandon that system and adopt a system of voluntary liberality, he was not doing them an injury, but the greatest possible service ; and, as after thirty-one years, they had come to see that they were not in the most advanced position in regard to patronage, he hoped they would come to see in a briefer period than thirty-one years, that they had not been in the most enlightened or favourable position in regard to the maintenance of the ordinances of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. — Prin. Cairns, LL.D., 1874. It may be said that these principles are too ideal and unworldly, but it was by acting on them that the Church of Christ made the greatest con- quests recorded in her history, until she became so strong that it was a politic thing for civil Government to give her State support and privileges. This did not begin internal corruption, but it rapidly increased it, as history shows ; and her alliance with the State was one main element in her darkened and degraded condition in the Middle Ages. Without this the Romish Church could not have carried on its long, persistent efforts to repress Reformation, and to put to death the friends of Gospel truth. It was this which dug the dungeons of the Inquisition, and kindled auto da HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 187 fes. ^ When Protestantism, by the grace of God, broke the fetters of pontifiFs and kings, this was the greatest element of disturbance which it carried with it. It gave Calvin power to bring the dark blot of the death of Servetus on a noble name, and it made the chief Churches of the Refor- mation persecutors in their turn, not with such malignity as Rome, but suflBciently to tarnish their character and check their progress. Its action has attached to the Church of Rome millions in Ireland who might have been our brethren in a free living faith. It has erected in England a dominant Church, which engrosses and embitters debates in courts of law, and which has divided the community into two nations, separated socially as well as religiously. In Scotland it has broken our national Presby- terianism into three great fragments, with its smaller splinters, and its legacy of disputes within and %vithout the Establishment is the great obstacle in the way of union. For these reasons, in the rights of con- science, the principles of the New Testament, and the lessons of history, the United Presbyterians hold that the Civil Magistrate should attend to his proper work, which has also its Divine sanction and law, and that he should allow the Church of Christ to do her proper work without the help of his force or his funds. Equal impartial treatment for all who do their duty to the State is the principle which will save the State itself from endless embarrassment, which will put an end to constant jealousies among the Churches, and do full homage to conscience as responsible in religion only to God. There is, indeed, another way thought of by some at present — that of paying all parties alike, either in one broad Church, with shades of colour from black to white, or in a number of separate Churches who should be fed by one magisterial hand. The hand would need to be very broad and strong that would undertake to satisfy them all on this plan, for the horse-leech's daughters would be very many and very hungry. And even then there would be plenty outside to maintain the battle against such an intolerable burden to the State revenue, such a danger to liberty, such a treachery to truth. The United Presbyterians, we feel sure, would be among this number, and they would have many worthy allies. The free Churches of the land, whether opposed to the principle of a State Church or not, could never enter such a Government fold ; and those who expect to quiet the complaint of religious inequality in this way are indulging the vainest of dreams. — Joh7i Ker, D.D. These men left their churches and their manses, and renounced therewith their incomes, and had nothing to look forward to but what Providence and the Voluntary principle should aflford them. . . . Their people, so far from having been educated in giving, had been under the blighting influence of the State pay system, and therefore no very cheering prospect presented itself to those who were in future to depend upon the freewill offerings of their congregations. All turned out well. The people followed their brave pastors, and aroused themselves to a noble effort of liberality. We need not tell how the Lord poured on His people the spirit of liberality, how manses and churches were built, and how that grand Sustentation Fund was instituted, by which the most obscure minister of the Free Church is provided for in comfort. God bless the Church whose early history was so heroic. — C. H. Spurgeon. It is the object of this Lecture ("Secessions from the Church of Scotland" — Dr. James Mitchell) to show that so far from Voluntaryism being a principle held by the first fathers of the different Secession Churches, it was a principle which they repudiated, and which, therefore, ought not to be held by any who claim to be their legitimate descendants. This is quite delightful in its ingenuity, for it seems to leave us of the United Presby- terian Church a chance of establishing our claim to be regarded as descend- ants if only we drop our Voluntaryism ; but if we are stubborn on the 188 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. point Dr. Mitchell can disinherit us, and he has " legal jurisdiction." A thought crossed our mind as we read this opening sentence as to the difficulty of tracing descent in Church history. The present ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland would not now cast out the Erskines and Moncrieffs if they had them protesting against unfaithfulness and inter- ference with the rights of the people. They do not hold the same views as those who acted in the high-handed, tyrannical style of the early half of last century, and so are not their legitimate descendants ! This is a fine perplexity. All our forefathers are without descendants ! But there is another thought may help us in our extremity. There is evolution of thought, and we can say for our side that the Protest against oppression and interference with religious freedom, so nobly maintained by the Fathers of the Secession, has led on by natural development to the full-formed scheme of religious liberty which their descendants now accept as a birthright. — United Presbyterian Magazine, 1886. The fathers of the Secession Church, although not themselves Volun- taries, laid down principles and took up positions which, in their successors, properly developed into Voluntaryism. The United Secession Church, early formed, testified against "compulsion in things religious." The United Presbyterian Church, composed of the United Secession and Relief Churches, condemns " compulsory or persecuting and intolerant principles in religion ;" while it has for a long series of years, by resolutions and petitions, witnessed against civil establishments of religion. Similar witness against establishments has been steadfastly borne by Congre- gationalists. Baptists, and other Dissenters. The members of the United Presbyterian Church, therefore, and of other bodies of Dissent, in voting for the disestablishment and disendowment of the State Church in Scotland are only carrying out to a practical conclusion the principles of their history, now so widely adopted in their powerful Church of the Disruption. — Dr. Hutton. Voluntaryism in the Light of Free Churchism. — I object to calling up the ghost of the old Voluntary controversy, when the aspect and bear- ings of the question are entirely changed. There is one phase or aspect of Voluntaryism in which, long ago, a few injudicious Voluntaries sometimes presented it, to which I am decidedly opposed — as strongly opposed now as I was before the Disruption — and that is just the aspect in which our objectors to uuion insist (as I think unreasonably) on still presenting it. When it is said, or suggested, that the Civil Magistrate in this country has nothing whatever to do with religion, and that civil government is so entirely and exclusively a secular institution for secular purposes— that within the sphere of government the laws of God and the obligations of religion do not apply, I protest against such a doctrine, or against union with a Church holding such doctrine, as cordially as any of the objectors. But that is not the true nature or character of the Voluntary principle as I understand it, and as it is held and explained by the excellent men who are negotiating with us for union. They hold that "Civil government is an ordinance of God for His own glory and the public good " — they hold that " Magistrates as well as other men are under obligation to submit themselves to Christ, and in every capacity to be guided by Christ's law." This displaces the aspect of Voluntaryism to which I have adverted. These are not admissions made to gain a point. They are acknowledgments of the real faith of our nonconforming brethren. But these Nonconformists also, and most especially, hold that Christ's kingdom is not of this world; that the Christian Church is not an ordinance of the State, though the State is an ordinance of God ; that Civil Magistrates have no jurisdiction except in matters civil, but that "God alone is Lord of the conscience ;" and that the best and most scriptural support of the Church is by freewill offerings. In these principles I entirely concur. — Lord Ardmillan, 1868. HISTORIC DOCUMENTS, 189 Fresh from the defence of Church Establishments, Chalmers found himself charged with the institution of a Voluntary Church. Like an able general his first care was for the commissariat ; and, in the provision for the Sustentation Fund, he solved with marvellous success the crucial difficulty which has beset all Voluntary churches. Forty years have in no degree impaired the confidence which he taught the Free Church to place in the liberality of the people. — Ht. Hon. Lord Moncre'iff. I do not disparage what the Free Church has accomplished ; I wonder at it, and praise Uod. Though practical Voluntaryism was new to her, she raised, within twenty-one years, the astonishing sum of six millions Jive hundred and ffty-eight thousand pounds. Yet it is due to the United Presbyterians to say that, while our richer congregations give more for ministerial support than theirs, their poorer congregatious give more than ours. For example, in congregations where the stipend is at and under £150, the rate of contribution per member for ministerial support is nearly forty per cent, greater in the United Presbyterian Church than in ours ; in other words, wlide we give 7s. lid. they give lis. per member. Then, in the gross amount of contributions for all purposes, the rate per member in such congregations is about one-third greater in the United Presbyterian than in the Free Church ; in other words, where we give 15s. 5d. they give 20s. 6d. These statistics show how unjust to the United Presbyterians, and to the cause I plead for, are they who insinuate that our ministers and the interests of religion are likely to suflfer injury by the Union. — Rev. T. Guthrie, D.D., 1S67. What is meant by "Voluntaryism?" This is spoken of all over the land as a sort of bugbear — as partaking of tlie character of infidelity, atheism, and I do not know all— as being the otfspring of the French Revolution — and something of a most horrifying character. I may be permitted to say, without introducing old dissensions to the House, that when, about seven years ago, I was induced to enter into the Union Committee, of which I had not previously been a member — and I frankly confess that I went into the commiteee with a good deal of prejudice upon my mind with regard to this very point of Voluntaryism — I think I conscientiously, as in the sight of God, tried to ascertain the views and principles of the leading avowed Voluntaries with whom we were brought into contact, and I am here to declare that I have never been able, since I came into contact with these men, wiio represented Voluntaryism and gloried in their Voluntaryism, to think it just or right to ascribe to them any principles such as those which are commonl)'- ascribed to them. I found them quits willing to acknowledge the duty of rulers not only as individuals, but acting in their official capacity, to recognise the truth of God, and to promote the cause of Christ in every way consistent with its spirit and enactment. I have found just one point — one practical point — on which I cannot agree with them, namely, the duty in certain circum- stances, when the cause of Christ might require it, of giving from the national resources to the material support of the Church. I do not agree with their views on that point. But I think, in common justice to our brethren we are bound to remember that they do not base their view on that point upon any disregard of national religion, or the acknowledgment by rulers and their subjects of Christ and His supreme authority. They hold it on two distinct and explicit grounds — one, that there'is. as we acknowledge, a distinct and manifest law laid down by the Great Head of the Church, that all members of His Church should give of their means — and that it is their primary duty to give of their means — for the support and propagation of His cause ; and the other distinct ground on which they put it is that you cannot bring the ruler into the support of religion in this way without bringing him in with the sword — without introducing the 190 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. element of compulsion, because his resources, as national resources, are raised on the principle of compulsion, or by civil authority. I think it is not fair to use this word " Voluntaryism" in the general and offensive sense in which we have it continually brought forward in the literature which is scattered through the country, and in which we may perhaps hear it alluded to to-day. It is not fair to us who come forward with this motion, nor to our brethren whose views I have referred to. Dr. Begg's motion in its first clause says, that it is the duty of the Church to maintain the whole principles contended for at the time of the Disruption rejecting Erastianism on the one hand, and Voluntaryism on the other. Now, we had no controversy with Voluntaryism at the time of the Dis- ruption.—Z>r. Elder, 1875. But even if we were quite satisfied that our birthright of freedom were safe in State alliance, ought we to enter into it again ? Our hardships are all over. Yes, sir, when I read of the separation of the Fathers of your church from the Church which they loved dear, and of the latest and largest disruption in 1843, I feel that their martyrdom was indeed real : that their self-sacrifice was indeed heroic : worthy of Scotland and of Christianity, and that we who had no share in their noble contendings should be bold to venerate and defend their memory. But w^e, their successors, don't need to talk of privation and sufferings. Our incomes are almost equal to those of Established Church ministers. Dr. Begg is always talking about kings being nursing fathers and queens nursing mothers to the Church. Well, I say our Churches are not sucking babes, don't need to be fed, can feed and provide for themselves. Our people feel it a privilege to support their own ministry. They have discovered it to be a precious means of grace. They believe that in giving to God they get more in return for their own souls. Kor do I scruple for a moment to say, that, when the people support ordinances for themselves, experience shows that the tendency is to greater interest in the Church and higher spiritual life. I sometimes pity my Established brethren because of the lack of sympathy their people show, and their lack of interest in the affairs of the congregation and denomi- nation. State-connection seems like throwing a wet blanket round them. — Rev. M. P. Johnstone, Greenock. Voluntaryism in the Light of State- Churchism. — Voluntaryism is as difficult to define as spiritual independence. I have never seen an intelligible definition which was also consistent with itself. In its bare and logical consistency it is supposed to mean that the State, or, as the reformers put it, the civil magistrate, has nothing to do with religion — that the sphere of the national ruler is purely secular. ... It is, that a nation, as a nation acting through its civil ruler, shall take no account of religion ; that civil legislation shall be confined to outward and secular affairs of communities ; that for the nation, as a nation, there shall be no God and no Saviour ; that it is not righteousness that exalteth a nation ; that the civil magistrate is not God's minister for good ; but that to ignore God is the highest civil freedom. I think we understand that not only does it proscribe any natural recognition for the religious education of the young, or for religious ministrations to the poor and perishing — it means much more. It means that the legislator does wrong if he secures to the toiling millions their right to rest on the day God has made ; if he maintains the divine purity of the marriage law ; if he hallows the administration of justice by oaths wherein the appeal is unto Him who sitteth upon the Throne. It means that wrong is done if on any public and national occasion God is acknowledged as King of kings and Lord of lords, whether by prayer in Parliament, or by a national thanksgiving, or by humiliation under the burden of mercies or of chastisements. We ask ourselves if it is to the adoption of such principles as these men are leading the Church of HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 191 Chalmers. Ah, sirs, I know no historical precedent for such national degradation as this would bring us to, save when the maddened populace of Paris, who had banished God with clamour from their ways, worshipped a strumpet as the Goddess of Reason. Is there, then, an)'^ modified Volun- taryism to which the Free Church and other Presbyterian Churches may betake themselves ? There is. But it is barely intelligible, and it is certainly inconsistent with itself. We find it in articles of agreement among the Dissenting Churches of Scotland as printed in 1869. . . . Stripped of all verbiage and driven from its vague-sounding phrases, this emasculated Voluntaryism comes to mean a strong de?ire and longing that the present Established Churches shall be deprived of their endowments. It rests on no broad principle of polity, and the moment they come with actual struggle and combat, its advocates will be compelled to take broader ground and to fall back on the atrocious Voluntaryism which at present they denounce. They cannot stir the country with intimations that they would like to deliver us of the Church of Scotland from our endowments ; they cannot persuade a godly land that they have a good case when they seek to confiscate the national endowments of religion to provide for the education of Scottish children in everything but religion. If we were seeking a victory at the expense of our brethren's honour we should bid them persevere in their suicidal folly. — Pro/. Ckarteris, D.D., ^'Lecture from Chair of Biblical Criticism," 1874- I shall not quote the more offensive sentences, because there are signs that the professor who uttered them is becoming half ashamed of them. But I will say this : that when men seek to represent the views of a Church, and especially when that Church has through its supreme court stated and explained its views, common fairness demands that we should turn for information to its own authoritative utterances. Now, there are the well-known "Articles of Agreement" united with the "Articles of DiflFerence," which have more of synodical authority and sanction upon them than anything else recently emitted by our Church, and I defy any man of common understanding and candour to read these and to adhere to that most obnoxious charge. The fact is that this is an old slander raised from its grave, in which we were charged with holding that religion had nothing to do with the civil magistrate, and that the civil magistrate had nothing to do with religion. Both limbs of this sentence were repudiated then by the champions of our Church; explanations followed; one great historian, who had been temporarily misled by these misrepresentations, acknowledged his mistake, and I hope the professor to whom I refer will show the same magnanimity and justice now as Dr. Merle d'Aubigne did then. Why, it is in the very name of religion, and on the ground of Christ's authority that we tell the civil magistrate that he has no right to prescribe anything to a Church or to interfere in its internal administration. — Rev. Andrew Thomson, D.D. Every effort is being put forth to uphold the State Church. Let us understand that. The very studies of the Universities are directed to this result nowadays. It is worth considering whether this is the use of a national University education. The Theological Faculty has been exerting itself. In Edinburgh two Chairs have spoken, and one has pro- duced a pamphlet. The Patronage Bill has actually affected the course of Biblical criticism. Once the Chair of that name was nothing if not critical in this University. More lately it has been known as amiable ; and just at present it is not too much of either. Early in the session painful sounds were heard issuing from the seat of the oracle, followed by the cheers of ingenuous youth. The result, shorn of the more convulsive sentences, may be had for a shilling, and in a newspaper form for a penny. Its author is distressed by the state of the masses ; and he may very well be. He is particularly distressed by the state of this Church. What with its mani- 192 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. festoes, and its Articles, its Committees and its Synods, it is in a very bad way. Let its principles be carried out, and religion will expire, chaos will come again, and — piling up the agony after the manner of debating society orators— the French Revolution ! We shall have back the Convention, and the guillotme, and the apotheosis of Eeason ! And all through the dreadful proposition of United Presbyterian Voluntaryism, that, like every other functionary under heaven, the Magistrate should fear God and mintl his own business ! Surely a better proposition, after all, than the maxim, that whether he fear God or not, he must at least affect to do so; that, whether he fear God or not, he must establish the Church ; that, Papist or Protestant, he must make the laws of the Church ; that, infidel or Jew, he must jjo-se as Defender of the Faith ; that, belief or no belief, he may equally do homage to Christ. If the excellent author — I am sorry to take up the time of the Synod with him — will look to some simple book of history — say the work of Sheriff Alison, which he may likely have on his shelves — he will find that he has made a mistake, probably by departing from the safe track of Biblical study. The men who abolished the old altars of France were his friends, not ours. Does not the learned Professor see that these were the deeds of the civil authorities, such as they were — the Convention and the Municipality of the day, the de facto Government, carrying out — not the principle of Voluntaryism, which abjures the employment of force in religion, but the principle of the State regulation of religion? This was the public authority putting down one form of religion and substituting another. It was the Magistrate, in the favourite role assigned him by the defenders of Establishments, judging in religion for the nation, and employing the guillotine to further the interests of the new worship. No, to us belong the weapons of the rack and the guillotine, the Bastile and the Calton Jail, but to Popery, to Despotism, to the Inquisition, to the Red Republic, to the Church of Scotland. The infamy of the Reign of Terror belongs to the system of political religion, and the Goddess of Reason was simply the new divinity of the Establishment. Catholicism, Atheism, Deism, the Virtues, we may say the Mathematics — these were in succession the State worship of France, at whose successive shrines the foremost worshippers and ministers, hastening to save their necks, were the State clergy of the hour; while religion survived, as it ever does, in the hearts of lowly men. Our warfare is not of this kind, and our friends and brethren should know it. The weapons we choose are not carnal, but mighty through God. Politics must be purified ; but we do not wait, for all that, for party politicians, who may know as little of times and seasons as their neighbours. But it is interesting to look at them just now. They are everywhere clearing their feet, and getting rid of old entanglements. They may be seen now going before the country every day, pattmg Disestablish- ment on the head. They say that is the winning horse. They believe in its future, only just at present they would rather not mount. Some of these gentlemen — and I would have you watch them narrowly — believe in the course of events, but they believe that events arise out of themselves. These are not the hardy mariners who bring home to us the precious freights of legislation, but the tide-waiters, who first wait to see the good ship safe across the bar, and then go out in their paltry little skiffs to huzza at the discharge. From such we expect little. . . . But this is my point. Whether with or without the one or the other, the cause is assured. Providence will raise up the Moses or the Joshua of the war. The battle is the Lord's. Let us not trust in princes, nor in man's sons. The kingdom, which is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost — the mountain of the Lord's house, as we surely believe, shall be established in the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow into it. Free Christianity shall yet cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Yes, kings shall be the nursing fathers and their queens the nursing mothers of the Church, in a HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 193 fashion better than that of centuries— by the right exercise of every function, by the judging of righteous judgment — the nursing of personal service and consecrated lives. — Dr. Hutlon, Paisley, 1874. THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH OF SCOTLAND AND THE COVENANT. It is natural, perhaps, that the Established Church of Scotland should claim the martyrs and confessors of Covenant times as her peculiar treasure. But it has to be borne in mind that the best ministers of the Church were outside the parish churches of the land from 1662 to 1688; they were driven into the wilderness, whither they were followed by the best of their parishioners. These were, in fact, the Dissenters of an earlier age, who refused in many cases to go back even when tempting "indulgences" were offered them. These ministers and members constituted the Free Protesting Church of the disruption of the seventeenth century. It is an open question which section of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland at the present time cherishes the truest appreciation of the blessings, civil and religious, bequeathed by the struggles of the Covenanters, — which com- munity of Christians holds their memory in deepest veneration. Ttie late Dr. Andrew Thomson, from within the Establishment, recognised "the succession" of the ancient Church rather in the Seceder Dr. Thomas M'Crie, than in the Moderate parish minister, Dr. Cook of Laurencekirk. "Those who afterwards became the Free Church," said Mr. Gladstone in 1874, " were the heirs of those theological and religious traditions which were connected with the Scottish Reformation." The Secession Church of last century and the Free Church of the present are thus the only legitimate representatives now of the spirit of the Covenant. — Lord Lindsay, " Memoir of Lady Mackenzie" p. 109. There has been one interval since their [Covenanters'] day in which scant justice was rendered to their memory by many of their descendants. The dreary reign of Moderatism chilled the affectionate regard with which they were formerly remembered ; and it became the fashion either to ignore the most glorious chapter in the national annals or to speak of its heroes with contempt. With the Evangelical revival which brought about the Disruption of the Kirk in 1843, this cynical mood passed away ; a new interest was awakened in the story of the Covenanting struggle, which was now rewritten by many able pens; and the old sneers of the Moderate epoch were only to be heard from the lips of the insignificant fraction of Scottish society that is repre- sented in our day by such writers as the ballad collector, Mr. Maidraent, and the passionate vindicator of the bloody Claver- house, Sheriff Mark Napier. The prevailing tone of the national sentiment at the present hour is one of deepening respect and gratitude towards the Covenanters. Scotland clearly perceives that if she enjoys a blessed immunity from the dangers besetting so many nations through the haughty claims of the Ultramontane priesthood, it is the faithful fathers who fought and died for the N X94: TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. work of Keformation who must be thanked for the happy position in which their children stand to-d&j.— Literary World. I am not a Dissenter from the old standards of the Scottish Church, nor are our friends the United Presbyterians. We are Nonconformists, and I prefer that word, for, I say frankly, that I rejoice especially to be a humble member of that great body of Evangelical Nonconformists, to whom pertain such glorious traditions and such precious memories, and who, both in England and in Scotland, have done so much for the cause of Gospel truth, maintaining^ the light of vital godliness when it had sunk down in the Established Churches of both countries. These two Presbyterian Churches both occupying a position of great influ- ence and usefulness in Scotland, springing from the same sources, severed from the State by the same causes, holding, with no important variation, the same principles and standards, and doing the same good work, are, to use a fine figure of Mr. Canning, like two parallel streams flowing in the same direction, but divided by artificial embankments, which are beginning to give way, so that the streams now see each other, and fain would meet — say, shall we rebuild the crumbling barriers, or sweep them all away, and float upon the mingling wave the ark of our common Christianity ? How many earnest and large-hearted men in both Churches are now longing for this consummation ! At the foot of the beautiful river on whose banks we now meet, there is a reverend gentleman whose name and fame would of themselves be sufficient to make this Union welcome to me — a man of dis- tinguished ability, and yet more distinguished character — a man of genius and a man of worth — a ripe and rare scholar — a profound theologian — a formidable, yet a generous controversialist, and one of the greatest of pulpit orators, combining that intellectual power and that devotional fervour, in the union of which consists the true potency of preaching. You will at once perceive that I refer to Dr. John Cairns, of Berwick. Therefore, whether we look to the present position and present perils of non-Presbyterian Churches, or to the present relations and future prospects of Presbyterian Churches, we cannot fail to see this demonstration in laying the foundation-stone of a new Presbyterian place of worship, has a peculiar interest, as a renewed testimony for that good old cause, in defence of which, on the hill side, and on the scafi*old, our forefathers freely shed their blood. — Lord Ardmillan. We have the Free Church departing from the Established Church in circumstances entitling it to peculiar consideration ; and we have the United Presbyterian Church, whose deeds we might have forgotten, because they date from a century earlier, and are not so conspicuous because the number was smaller, but they were deeds just as conscientious and praiseworthy, and just HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 195 as conformable, or even more conformable, to the original principles of the Reformed Establishment of Scotland. — Gladstone, 1874. The gospel of the Scottish Reformers is as dear to other churches as to the Established Church. The martyrdom of the Covenanters was not due to the principles of Voluntaryism, but to State-Churchism with its persecuting and intolerant principles, against which Voluntaryism protests. The history of the Secession and the Relief Churches has its roots in earlier patriotic and Reformation contendings against the encroachments and tyranny of the civil poAver. The best traditions of the Scottish Church are to be found not in the present Establishment, but in the Non-Estab- lished Churches, which, in days of darkness, witnessed for Gospel truth and liberty, and in the Free Church, with its new chapter of Scottish ecclesiastical life. The truest love of country is not that which looks chiefly to the pecuniary interest of a sect, but to the permanent good of the whole community. — Bev. G. C. Button, D.D., Paisley. You will hear unthinking people say that there is little difference between the Free Church and the Establishment. If that be true the martyrs died for a small matter and shed their blood in mistake. That for which they died was precisely the difference between the Free and the Established Church. They died rather than give up what the Established Church haa given up. They died rather than dishonour Christ, by admitting another power to be above His in His o^\ix House. — Mackenzie, " Our Banner and its Battles,^' p. 55. Is the Established Church, then, worthy to be described as the Church of the Covenant of the people of Scotland ? Does she hold the people's Covenants in high esteem ? This question is easily answered. The Cove- nants of the Scottish people are not in force in the Establishment ; they never were received by that communion. . . . The Act Rescissory remains still on the British Statute Book unrepealed, and the Revolution Settlement, instead of raising the Covenants of the Second Reformation to the lofty eminence on which they were then placed, allowed them to lie in the grave to which the drunken Parliament of Middleton and the Royalists had consigned them. In the Assembly of 1723, when a minister was speaking in favour of the Covenanted Reformation, the minister of Cramond, from the Moderator's chair, declared that the Church was not now on the ''footing of the Covenants;" and to that sentiment no member of Assembly took exception. In 1838, negotiations with a view to union were opened up with the Associate Synod. When the proposal was under consideration, Dr. Cook said : — "As to the views of the Associate Synod of the Covenant and the renewing of it as they propose, if that subject be introduced into the General Assembly, he would have to take his leave of the Church of Scotland, and ten thousand beside him would do so. He was quite ready to make great allowance for our forefathers, but we were now a io^erani Church. " Not a single voice was raised in the Assembly against this slander upon the Covenants and the memory of the Covenanters. In the progress of the negotiations, the Associate Synod's Committee urged the question, "Whether the Assembly's Committee would insert, in the proposed preamble to an overture on the subject, a clause more distinctly approving, in their general matter and ends, the Covenants actually sworn in Scotland in the seventeenth century." To this the answer of the P^stab- lished Committee was: — "The Committee were unanimously of opinion that they cannot recommend to the Assembly any more explicit approval of the Covenants and the duty of Covenanting than what is already con- tained in the preamble;" and this was that they acknowdedged "the great obligations under which we lie to our forefathers in the year 163S, and several years of that century immediately following ! " . . . Certain I 196 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. am, were M'Kail and Henderson, and Cargill and Cameron, and Peden and Renwick here to-day, it is not in the Established Church you would find them.—Bev. J. Kerr, Glasgow, " The Church Question." "Where is the True "Church of Scotland ?" — The historical position of the Scottish Church is altogether peculiar. More than any other nation Scotland has identified herself with her Church. The battle for civil and religious liberty was fought here not in the civil but in the ecclesiastical sphere; and the place which is filled in English history with the great names of Hampden and Cromwell and Miltou, is occupied in Scottish history with the no less great names of Knox and Melville and Henderson. The stress and strain of all public questions were borne by the Church. The foremost in devotion to principle were the ministers ; and all down the stream the course is marked by loyal devotion, even at the cost of sufi"ering and death, to great and abiding principles. In listening to the various speeches in the Free Assembly, we were surprised to find that while the legal claim that the Free Church is the true Church of Scotland was ably urged, and while the identity of principle was abundantly manifested, the great moral claim of identity of spirit, as shown in the readiness to sacrifice all for the sake of principle, received no adequate expression. This is, however, after all, the most telling part of the great argument. It takes some considerable power of thought to apprehend a legal and constitutional argument, even when the expounder is so clear and lucid as Sir Henry Moncreifi", nor is the theo- logical side of the question much more adapted to popular exposition. On the other hand, it is a question easily answered — Which of the Churches is the true heir to the Church of the First and Second Reformation ? Which of them has manifested most of the spirit which animated those who fought and bled and died on the moors and mosses of our land? No one can hesitate in saying that the true tradition of Scottish Church life is at present outside of the Establishment ? What is your religion worth ? It is worth what it costs is a plain and intelligible answer, and one easily under- stood. We ask, then, with what great deeds of self-sacrifice has the ecclesiastical party which at present forms the Established Church fed the high tradition of our Scottish life? What legacy of high thought and noble daring has it handed down to us who live in these latter days ? They have no part or inheritance in the fame of Henderson or the daring of the Covenanters. They must trace their origin to a different ancestry — not to the men who suffered and died for what they believed to be true, and left to their country the gift of a heroic life and a glorious memory, but to those shameless curates who were Episcopalians with the persecutors, and when power passed into other hands, transferred themselves, along with their stipends, into the ranks of Presbyterianism — the first instance in Scottish history of such a wholesale base subservience. Such was the first beginning of Moderatism in the Scottish Church, and the subsequent history of the thing has been consistent. All along through the Robert- sonian period downwards to the Disruption, it has illustrated the doctrine, at once scientific and theological, that the children are like their fathers. The time of the Disruption we all know. We know the haste with which the men of the Establishment hurried to expunge from their records the decisions of the Ten Years' Conflict. That conflict is written down blank in the history of the Established Church. There is no trace there of the Veto law — the remanent Assembly of 1843 declared it null and void. The decisions of the Assembly during that time are struck out because it was so ordered by the Court of Session. The thing stands in their stained records side by side with the records of the acts of the curates in the time of the Revolution. The men were again tried and were found wanting, and a place of power again proved more attractive than principle and self- sacrifice. But the time came when the astute minds which led that party saw, HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 197 or thought they saw, that devotion to principle did pay in the long run. With an utter and amazing misconception of the ordinary ethical condi- tions of human life, they thought that they might win the results without the cost, and reap what they had not sown. I'hey desired the crov/n without the cross. The stars in their courses are fighting against them ; for if there is one thing more patent than another in history and in human life it is this, that actions doue for the sake of payment never do pay in the long run. Confessedly the Patronage Act was passed not in deference to principle, but to catch those outside by a faint simulacrum of the true thing. The descendants of the curates have no share in the true and great tradition of our Scottish life. We must seek that outside the Establish- ment; and we shall find it in the other Presbyterian Churches. The Pteformed Presbyterian Church, which will to-day unite with the Free Church, has had a long and glorious history. If the greatest gift a hero can leave his race is to have been a hero, then the gift which the Church of the Symingtons and the Goolds has conferred on our country is one the magnitude or value of which is not to be easily measured. After long years they have found the true Church of Scotland in the Free Church ; and the Free Church is enriched to-day with the added memories of a Church which, for true and steadfast and loyal adherence to principle, has never been excelled by any Church in Christendom. Nor is any Scot to be hindered from claiming his own share in the common inheritance of the disestablished Churches. Why should not a United Presbyterian rejoice in the grand and glorious deed of the Disruption, or a Free Churchman rejoice in the tradition of the Church of the Erskines and Gillespie ? It is the Establish- ment alone that have no share in these memories. They have chosen their part ; and verily they have their reward. The Free Church should remember that she is now a wider Church than she was at the Disruption. Already she has had two unions, and she numbers among her ministers and people many of the Church of M'Crie as well as the Reformed Presby- terians. They do not feel that their historic continuity has been broken by being merged into the larger life of the Free Church. They feel that they can glory in the Disruption though they have had no personal share therein, while they feel also that they have brought to the Free Church, elements of additional life and history which deserve to be cherished. Through them the Free Church shares the memories of the evangelical life that grew up outside the Establishment, and she has thus gathered into one, many of the brightest and highest traditions in our Scottish etory. We venture to look forward to a larger union yet. We hope to live to see the day when all the separate streams of Scottish evangelical life shall be gathered into one — when there shall be no wasted strength, but all shall be united in the face of a common foe — when evangelistic work at home and mission work abroad shall be undertaken on a scale more commensurate with the magnitude of the object— when the reproach of theological barrenness in all departments of theology can no more be made with justice against our land— when Scotland shall again take her rightful place among the nations, as a devout student and defender of a scientitic theology. We believe that this will come sooner than many anticipate ; and we look to the unestablished Churches of Scotland, not merely for the overtaking of the masses of home and foreign heathenism, but also for the culture of exegetical and apologetic and dogmatic theology. Surely this is not hopeless when among our Professors we can already number a Cairns and an Eadie, a Rainy and a Davidson, a Bruce, and others who may be confidently relied upon to fulfil the promise they give ; and when we see the spirit of scientific and reverent inquiry which is making itself manifest among the younger ministers of the Churches.— X>ai72/ Kevieic, May, 1S7G. State Churchism. — Her connection with the State as the expression of national religion is the very thing which, next to her doctrine and her 198 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. polity and to her allegiance to her spiritual Head and King, is her glory, her strength, and her joy. To sever that long-continued connection, so fruitful in blessing to Church and State alike, is to lay her in ruins. She would still be a Church of Christ, but she would no longer be the Church of Scotland. Our country would have one sect more, but no longer a national religion nor a national Church. — Dr. Macgregor, "St. Giles' Lectures," I., 373. The true idea of national religion is that the people of the nation be imbued with religious principles, so that naturally they fulfil God's will in the sphere of civil life and national acts. National atheism can only arise from the denial of God by the individuals of the nation, and national religion from the acceptance of Christ and His revelation by the members of the nation. The fiction of a national faith, requiring no homage of the heart and life, has been the fruitful source of nominal Christianity and persecution for conscience' sake. The establishment of a church cannot make a nation of unbelievers religious, and the disestablishment of the Church cannot make a nation of believers infidel or atheistic. The Pro- testant succession, the Christian Sabbath, and the marriage law do not rest on the security of a church established by human law, but on the will of the people enlightened by the Divine law. — Dr. Hution. They were told also that it was more blessed to give than to receive, and he would just ask them to look back to the history of Scotland or any other country where church establishments had existed to see the immense harm that had been done to Christ's ordinances by the existence of Church establishments, and the mighty influence they must have had in preventing the operation of God's law upon the minds and hearts of Christ's people in supporting the Gospel. Their tendency was to repress liberality, and prevent that being done by Christ's people which they would have done but for that institution being in existence. They did not know how much their various churches throughout the land had been injured by this fact of the existence of an Established Church alongside of them ; they did not know how much the fact of certain people getting their religion for nothing, being entitled to go to church and get a seat and pay nothing, year after year, for the privilege of hearing the Gospel preached ; they did not know what a mighty influence that had had in preventing the development of Voluntaryism, and in keeping down the freewill offerings of the people. But, in spite of that great harm which, he thought, the Church of Scotland had done them, it was very striking what had been done by voluntary liberality — very striking what had been done by the United Presbyterian Church, by the Congregational Church, and various other Churches, but more particularly by the Free Church. Was it not, he asked, to the great honour of the Free Church that they had preached the Gospel so extensively in the Highlands, and other sparsely popu- lated districts of Scotland 1 He knew nothing more honourable to the Free Church than the extent to which they had performed that duty, and they had shown by what they had done in that part of the country that the statement that used to be made HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 199 " that Voluntaryism was a very good thing for the towns and populous places, but a very bad thing for the thinly peopled districts," was a libel on Voluntaryism. " — James Morton, J. P., Greenock. I hold that when circumstances are such that the establishment or endowment of true religion will promote the Redeemer's cause, it is the duty of nations to do so. But, on the other hand, I never looked on the establishment of religion as being an inherent duty of Government in all circumstances, or as necessarily resulting from the principles which I maintain. Just in the same way when I see things brought to that condition in this country, that in order to the endowment of truth at all, we must endow it jointly with error, and that in so far as truth is to be endowed, it must be placed in fetters inconsistent with the Word of God, I say that things are brought to the alternative when we must have endow- ments on this footing, or no endowments or Establishment at all. I cannot hesitate a moment in my choice, and I, therefore, at once say, let there be no Establishment, let there be no endowments. I have no hesitation in saying so, because my principle does not require me — it actually forbids me to make common cause with error. Even to support the Establish- ment I have no difficulty then in taking up frankly the same ground as a determined Voluntary. We differ in our principles, and we take different roads, but we arrive at the same result. JS'ow, I do not say this contingently to circumstances which may happen in the future. The time, in my opinion, has already come. I therefore make my election now. Neither I, nor any consistent Free Churchman can hesitate for a moment in adopting the latter alternative, and fighting as fiercely in opposition to Establishment as those who hold in the abstract that in no circumstances should there be an Establishment at all. — A. Murray Dunlop, I845. But some asked, what was to become of our national religion ? He thought some allowed their minds to be harassed by mere words and phrases. He had simply to say that since 1843 the Free Church had done more to instil Christian life into the national mind than the Established Church, and all the more that it was independent of the State. The way to keep their national action religious was to get Christian men to agree upon each matter separately as it came up, and to carry it through. What was the Established Church in England at present but an institution within Avhich Popery was being actively propagated ? Men were there placed in official positions and received State pay to insinuate Popish ideas and practices into English national life. It was the business of the Church to Christianize the principles and action of the Government, and that they must evermore seek to do. But their position was like what they had often seen that of a young lady to be, who saw something attractive in an unprincipled young man, who hoped to do him good by getting married to him. She might do him good as long as she maintained her independence, but when she got married to him, her influence was gone. — Principal Bainy, D.D., 18SG. The doctrine of spiritual independence, when taken along with the moral precept called the golden rule, leads inevitably to the religion.'^ equality of all men, and of all creeds, before the law. But does not this destroy national religion? Not at all. National religion does not consist in Acts of Parliament, but in the religious life and work of the people who make the nation. National homage to Christ is not rendered by Acts of Parliament, but by the spontaneous Christianity of the people. These are not the days when anything is helped much by making it privileged — not the days for a privileged caste, or for a privileged Church doing the work which class or Church is meant to do. There is a great battle before the 200 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Church of Christ — with unbelief and sin, and what sin breeds. Under what banner are we to fight — that of privilege or that of brotherhood ? Is State-Churchism, or religious equality to guide us in the future ? I think brotherhood, religious equality, will win the day ; and, if it does, I can foresee the uprising of a great tide of evangelical religion in our land. For my own part, the doctrine of the Headship of Christ rises spontaneously out of revival of spiritual life. The Headship of Christ, and State control have been proved to be incompatible with each other. Spiritual inde- pendence means religious equality, and religious equality, when it becomes a sentiment to be felt, and not a phrase to be uttered, gives us the brother- hood of all free evangelical Churches. — Prof. T. M. Lindsay, D.D., 1886. State-Churchism had an unworthy parentage. It sprang from the rather hazy conversion of Constantino the Great, about 300 years after Christ's crucifixion. Constantino perceived the strength of Christianity rather than its truth, and consequently thought it would be a better religion for Rome than the outworn creed of Paganism. With despotic power therefoi-e, being a despot, he banished Paganism, and established Christianity in its place. Now under the old system he had been not only emperor, but high prieU as well. Under the new system he imagined he would also combine the civil and the spiritual authority. This then was the parentage of Christian State-Churchism — a bad parentage, and one of woful consequences to Christianity. From this sprang the whole system of the Romish supremacy and alliance with civil power. Instead of now having the sword against her, Christianity began straightway to raise the sword against others. Wherever she went, having the imperial power behind her, she carried the proud spirit of religious intolerance and per- secution. Formerly she had yielded her sons in martyrdom for religious liberty, now she herself martyred the sons of many nations. The vile system of the Inquisition, the bloody persecution of the Waldenses, the massacre of the Huguenots, the stakes of Smithfield, the hunting and butchering of the Covenanters upon their native hills ; these and such like crimes that stain the page of modern history the system of State-Churchism is chargeable with. — Bev. B. D. Shaw, " True Meaning of Disestablishment." General Assembly of 1796 : Missions Condemned. The Assembly of 1796 condemned missionary societies, Dr. Hill, the leader of his party, declaring that they were "highly dangerous in their tendency to the good order of society at large. Hugh Miller had two pictures on his wall, one of which he called "The Church Asleep," and the other "The Church Awake." The first represented this General Assembly of 1796, which repudiated missions. An atmosphere of drowsy-head seemed to fill the whole place. The bewigged members were few and sparse, and the audience was nowhere. The other picture was an engraving representing the crowded, eager, animated Assembly at Canonmills in 1843. Miller's review of the " infidel " debate will be found in " The Headship." Society for Propagating the Gospel at Home [Congre- gationalism].— For Another Exodus, resiolting in Congregation- alism, see "Our Church Heritage," p. 35. Robert Haldane, of Airthrey, went forth, at his conversion, from the Establishment. He sold his estate, intending to carry the Gospel to India, but found the door closed against him. Providence then directed his HISTORIC DOCUMENTS, 201 attention to the "almost as necessitous fields" at home — hence the formation in 1797 of the above unsectarian Society, with its staff of itinerants and evangelists. The interesting records of this Society, as contained in the " Lives of Robert and James Haldane," may be read alongside of the Acts of the Apostles. General Assembly of 1799 : Lay Preaching Condemned. The Act pointed at the Haldanes and Rowland Hill, who were characterised as "vagrant teachers." For an account of this period see " Lives of the Haldanes" p. 121. I look upon this Act of 1799 as one of the blackest Acts the Church of Scotland ever passed. I hold it was passed, not to exclude heresy from our pulpits, but to exclude truth. — Dr. T. GiUhrie, Sjoeech, 18Jf2. [This Act was repealed by the evangelical majority in 1842, but after the Disruption took place the old law was re-enacted by the residuary Establishment.] The Era of Moderatism, 1750-1833. The first of the Moderate leaders was Principal Haddow. He was followed by Dr. Cuming, and Cuming by Dr. Robertson. To Ptobertson succeeded Dr. M'Gill of Ayr, who in a work on the death of Christ virtually avowed himself an Arian. That period which has been called "the midnight of the Church of Scotland." Here and there might be seen a burning and a shining light, as in Stirling and its neighbourhood, yet it served only to make the gloom more visible. It was a darkness that might be felt. — Lives of Robert and James Haldane^ p. 121. Dr. Story not only praises with justice the principle of moderaiion enforced by Carstares in 1690 and afterwards, but writes as if it could be reasonably identified with the ModeratUm of a later period. Whatever have been the merits or demerits of the Moderate party in the Established Church of Scotland since 1750, the word moderation used by King William's Goverrmient, or by Principal Carstares, cannot be proved to have a true relation to the history or principles of that party. There is no good reason to be gathered from an accurate survey of the historical facts for the supposition that the predominating control of a great Moderate party, consolidated and led by Carstare?, was established in his time so as to last for more than a century. The assertion is certainly one of very doubtful accuracy, that the party led by Principal Robertson would have been recognised by Principal Carstares as a party which he had formed. — Sir W. H. Moncreif, Bart., D. D. It is not the prudent virtue of moderation, but Moderatism, and that in its full historical realisation and development, which is set up in the present day as the refuge and the ideal of Presbyterianism in Scotland. A. T. Lines, ''Caih. Presb." II., 212. There was a lack of open vision in the Church of Scotland during the eighteenth century. She failed to realise the greatness of her mission as a National Church. She failed to witness as she ought to have done to the living love of a Divine Saviour. But her spiritual coldness was a feature of the age to which she belonged ; no Church was quite exempt from it. 202 tre'asury of the Scottish covenant. And with all her deficiencies, she has claims upon our gratitude and respect. If wanting in zeal, she grew in toleration. If disliking enthusiasms, she cultivated literature. If she had little Church life, she prized freedom and good sense, and wrought no new bonds for the Christian conscience. If her clergy were not adequately inspired by self-denying devotion in dealing with the human soul and reclaiming spiritual wastes, they presented examples of moderation and thoughtfulness and Christian charity.— Prmc/paZ Tulloch, D.D., LL.D., ''St. Giles's Lect.," /., 288. In a certain quarter, where we know not that there were martyrs, a ministerial frieud of the writer being on a journey, asked a fellow- traveller in the coach, " What church is this ?" and being told, made farther inquiry as to the character of the minister. "He's a very guid man," was the reply, "tho' he's nae great preacher. The truth is, if we have guid lairds, we dinna care muckle about the ministers." "You surprise me," said the other, " as you were just speaking of getting your child baptised, and surely you have need to care about the person that is to dispense so sacred an ordinance." The answer to this rebiike was, "I'm thinking ye'll be a Seceder ; there's nae minister hereabout wad hae spoken in that way." There is a volume in the incident. It unfolds, not the individual's sentiment, but the state of the country, both as to ministers and people, and goes far to explain the cause of the spiritual deadness that prevailed. It shows how religious ordinances may be kept up, with an utter negation of their use and end. And from all that we have seen of Moderatism, we are strongly impressed with the dreadful conviction that, whilst it ignores the work of the Spirit, and neither aims at conversions nor inculcates the necessity of faith and holiness of heart and life, it yet does wonderfully succeed in soothing the natural conscience and satisfying its votaries with a name to live, and with a form of godliness denying the power. — Bev. N. Pater son, D.D. The Moderates, or dead-and-alive men in the Church, did not believe in the sincerity of their evangelical brethren in uttering threats of separa- tion : they declared with a smile that it was a mere tiff, a gale which would soon subside. That great prophet, Dr. John Cumming, with his usual skill in prognostication, said, " I venture to assert that less than one hundred will cover the whole secession. But I am not satisfied that any will secede." He measured the corn of other men with his own bushel : his courtly soul knew how to behave in the presence of the powers that be. Another equally sagacious person wrote oracularly, "Mark my words; not forty of them will go out." Little did the Moderates know the power of Divine grace, and the loyalty of the true servants of King Jesus, or perhaps they would not have pushed matters so far. — (7. H. Spurgeon. The time may come when the reader of Scotch history may ask what a Moderate was. My answer is that, speaking generally, he was a Tory in politics, and in religion not in the Scotch sense religious. But his Toryism had very little purely political in it. It began (speaking only of clergymen) by an early obsequiousness to an expectant patron, probably as a tutor in his family, or in that of some of his friends. After obtaining his living, in which the people were seldom thought of and never consulted, he naturally subsided into an admiration of the system to which he owed his bread, and into a general sympathy with the opinions and objects of the lairds, and into a fixed horror of Dissenters and of the Wild, and of all who by jjopular zeal disturbed the HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 203 slumber, called his life. He might be, and often was, a truly pious man, but he had nothing of the Solemn League and Covenant about him, and his clay was perfectly impervious to the deep and fervid spirit which is the soul of modern religion. — Lord Cockhurn, 185 3. Chapels of Ease Act, 1834. The General Assembly this year admitted the congregations in Chapels of Ease to the full privileges of Presbyterian govern- ment, allowing their ministers, and one ruling elder from each, to sit as members in the Presbyteries. Dr. Cook denied the power of the Assembly to do so without an Act of Parliament. Mr. Murray Dunlop declared this idea to be Erastian. The Assembly asserted its right, and acted upon it. What was truly felt and privately avowed [by the Moderates in the Assembly] was that they would much rather have a Roman Catholic Chapel than a Chapel of Ease in their parishes. The Koman Catholic priest suggested no competition with them ; their humble and devoted brother did. The consequence was, that while the century prior to 1834 had produced above 600 Dissenting chapels, it had only produced about 63 chapels in connection with the Establishment. The fact of the Dissenters having 600 chapels is of itself evidence that the Church ought to have had a great number. It is a proof that the people required them, and that therefore the Church ought to have supplied them. — Lord Cockburn, ^'Journal." The Veto Act, 1834. [Non-Intrusion.] Passed on the motion of Lord Moncrieff, in the General Assembly, by a vote of 184 to 138. The evangelical party had begun to gain ground in the Assembly, under such leaders as Drs. Erskine, Moncreift; Thomson, and Chalmers, and in this Act it asserted its supremacy: "The General Assembly do declare that it is a fundamental law of this Church that no pastor shall be intruded on any congregation contrary to the will of the people, etc." The Act, which put the right to veto in the hands of a majority of the male heads of families, was designed to prevent the settle- ment of unacceptable ministers and render impossible those intrusions which under the law of patronage had disgraced the Church. The passing of the measure brought the Church into collision with the law courts of the land. Some held that the Act was an unwarrantable interference with the rights of patrons and presentees, and on this ground a case was submitted to the Court of Session. The Earl of Kinnoul presented Mr. Robert Young to Auchterarder, but the parishioners vetoed the appointment. The call was signed by but two parishioners, while 287 male heads of families dis- sented from the settlement. In the circumstances the Presbytery refused to settle the intruder. The patron and presentee carried their case to the Court of Session. They had two alternatives. Since the Presbytery had refused to confer on Mr. Young the spiritual office for want of the people's call, they may claim for him the stipend, or they may ask the Court of Session to compel the Presbytery to confer the spiritual office, with a view- to obtaining the emoluments. In the first instance they confined their 20i TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. demand to the temporalities. The process was long. The report of it occupies two large volumes. After very elaborate arguments by counsel, each of the judges delivered his opinion at length, eight against five deciding in favour of the presentee. The minority consisted of Lords GlenleeT Fullerton, Moncrieff, JeflFrey and Cockburn. The Church appealed to the House of Lords, explaining in doing so, that she did not acknowledge the right of civil tribunals to judge in spiritual matters. That right she had exercised in connection with the care of souls in Auch- terarder. It was the question of the temporalities she wished settled. It was again decided by Lords Cottenham. and Brougham, in favour of the presentee. Such was the end of the first Auchterarder Case. So the Presbytery renounced all claims on the stipend of Auchterarder. But the patron and presentee knew of no way by which Mr. Young could get the stipend save through ordination by the Presbytery. This the Presbytery refused, and the second Auchterarder Case commenced. Meanwhile the struggle was transferred to Strathbogie, where a Mr. Edwards had been appoiuted minister of the parish, although only ore communicant had signed his call. The Presbytery in the circumstances, actiug under the advice of the Assembly, appointed another minister, upon which Mr. Edwards obtained an interdict from the Court of Session. Reduced to the dilemma of disobeying either the civil or spiritual powers, the Presbytery of Strath- bogie chose to obey the State, and disobey the Church. The seven ministers were thereupon summoned to the bar of the Assembly, and on the motion of Dr. Chalmers deposed, and their parishes declared vacant. The deposed ministers thereupon obtained an interdict from the Court of Session against the ministers appointed in their stead. Ultimately in the Auchterarder Case, Kinnoul and Mr. Young obtained heavy damages against the members of presbytery for refusing ordination. They say they have muzzled the monster ! No, they have only mufifled the monster, and muzzled the people. — Dr. M'Crie, If it had pleased the Church to ask, and the Parliament to grant, the abolition of patronage, root and branch, the cure would have been complete and easy. But here was the Church obliged to deal with the monster living, though chained, and most formidable did he prove, in spite of the bonds of the veto that were laid around him. It would have been better had the Church, at an earlier period, listened to her own more courageous ministers, and aimed to knock it on the head, instead of merely trying to limit its range of action. What is to be done now? If patrons and presentees, with rights acknowledged, are willing to allow these rights to he limited within the bounds of modesty and common-sense, all will be well. The patron will present another, and the presentee will submit with a good grace to the disappointment. But what are modesty and sense, and public spirit, before the craving of selfishness and the lust of power ? Lord Brougham, in delivering his judgment, ridiculed the idea of any right to object on the part of the people. He intimated that their refusal to concur in the call no more affected the right of the presentee, than the kicking of the champion's horse in the pageant of a coronation could invalidate the sovereign's title to the throne. Not to speak of what is due to judicial dignity, it is obvious that the great advocate of popular rights does not see very clearly when the matter concerns the King and the kingdom of heaven among men. In the atmosphere of England, and with the analogy of the Episcopal Church possessing men's minds, it was from the first fore- seen that the peculiar principles of Scottish Presbytery would run a fearful risk. Few people, however, anticipated so complete an overthrow as befell these principles in the House of Lords. It was held there that the General Assembly should take its orders from the Court of Session, precisely as any HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 205 inferior court obeys its constituted and acknowledged superior. AH the statutes about the spiritual independence of the Church were treated as so much waste paper.— i?eu. W. Arnot. General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 1842. A motion for the abolition of patronage was carried in the Assembly this year. Thereupon, the next step naturally would have been to petition the Legislature for the repeal of the Act of Queen Anne. But more vital work was m hand. Ihe civi courts, by their decisions, had been encroaching on the sacred prerogatives of the Church, and it became necessary to know if the State homologated the acts of the civil courts. A C aim of Rights was accordingly drawn up by Mr. Dunlop ; its adoption was moved by Dr. Chalmers; it was carried by a majority ot 241 to 110 votes," and a copy forwarded to the Crown. Claim, Declaration, and Protest, anent the Encroachments OF the Court of Session: General Assembly, 1842. Edinburgh, May 30. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, taking into considera- tion tL so enmcrcumstances in which, in the inscrutable providence of nod this aiurch is now placed; and that, notwithstandmg the securities ?or the eovemment thereof by General Assemblies, Synods, Presbyteries, and KkkTess^ns and for the liberties, government, jurisdiction, discipline. riVhts anfpSges of the same, provided by the statutes of the realm bv the consStut^of of this country, as unalterably settled by the Treaty of Union and by the oath, "inviolably to mamtain and preserve the same, union, ana uy uic , Covereit^n at access on, as a condicion pre- oXntlo t'he exer^c s"e of^he royarauthority ;-which'securities might well eti^ VnVhaVro^rbeen thougl^t to place t^e said liberties gov^^^^^^^^ STurt to whTh the Church ^as authorized to look for assistance and pro- tect on t^an extent that threatens their entire subversvon, with all the tection, to an exL church and nation which would inevitably flow fh^rXr^ -d^^^^^^^^^^ -^ in reliance on the grace and power oT the Most High, resolve and agree on the following Olaim, ^nlTeil:;' ^^^:r:^^^of^ Chu-h. and a fundamental no other Head of the Church but the Lord ^^^"^..^^"f ^i/^,^-/^Y,M hath glory, and the public good, and to ^^is eno^ na^ ^^ ^^^^ other dues, to ^^^^^J'"? , „ ..fro^ which ecclesiastical persons are not authority or conscience sake.^ and while the magistrate hath authority exempted (ch. XX u. sec. 4) an ^b^^^^ ^^^^^^ .^ committed and It IS his '\'^^ll}?^J'll^^^'T:^^ sword," or civil rule, as distinct from to him, ^^^■^^Y^^^^^J^'',^^'^^ expressly denied to hun, S UkroXtft&er;^^^^^^^^ purity, pe Joe, a'nd unity in the Church, 206 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. yet "The Lord Jesus, as King and Head of His Church, hath therein appointed a government in the hand of Church officers distinct from the civil magistrate" (eh. xxx, sec. 1) ; which government is ministerial, not lordly, and to be exercised in consonance with the laws of Christ, and with the liberties of His people : And whereas, according to the said Confession, and to the other standards of the Church, and agreeably to the Word of God, this govern- ment of the Church, thus appointed by the Lord Jesus, in the hand of Church officers, distinct from the civil magistrate or supreme power of the State, and flowing directly from the Head of the Church, to the office- bearers thereof, to the exclusion of the civil magistrate, comprehends, as the object of it, the preaching of the Word, administration of the Sacra- ments, correction of manners, the admission of the office-bearers of the Church to their offices, their suspension and deprivation therefrom, the infliction and removal of Church censures, and, generally, the whole "power of the keys," which, by the said Confession, is declared, in conformity with Scripture, to have been "committed" (ch. xxx. sec 2) to Church officers, and which, as well as the preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments, it is likewise thereby declared, that "the civil magistrate may not assume to himself" (ch. xxiii. sec. 3): And whereas this jurisdiction and government, since it regards only spiritual condition, rights, and privileges, doth not interfere with the jurisdiction of secular tribunals, whose determinations as to all temporalities conferred by the State upon the Church, and as to all civil consequences attached by law to the decisions of Church Courts in matters spiritual, this Church hath ever admitted, and doth admit, to be exclusive and ultimate, as she hath ever given and inculcated implicit obedience thereto : And whereas the above mentioned essential doctrine and fundamental principle in the constitution of the Church, and the government and exclusive jurisdiction flowing therefrom, founded on God's Word, and set ■ forth in the Confession of Faith and other standards of this Church, have been, by diverse and repeated Acts of Parliament, recognized, ratified, and confirmed : [The historical part follows, for which see Free Church Standards.] And whereas farther encroachments are threatened on the government and discipline of the Church as by law established, in actions now depending before the said court, in which it is sought to have sentences of deposition from the office of the holy ministry reduced and set aside, and minorities of inferior judicatories authorised to take on trial and admit to the office of the holy ministry in disregard of, and in opposition to, the authority of the judicatories of which they are members, and of the superior judicatories to which they are subordinate and subject : And whereas the government and discipline of Christ's Church cannot be carried on according to His laws and the constitution of His Church, subject to the exercise by any secular tribunal, of such powers as have been assumed by the said Court of Session : And whereas this Church, highly valuing, as she has ever done, her connection, on the terms contained in the statutes herein before recited, with the State, and her possession of the temporal benefits thereby secured to her for the advantage of the people, must, nevertheless, even at the risk and hazard of the loss of that connection and of these public benefits — deeply as she would deplore and deprecate such a result for herself and the nation — persevere in maintaining her liberties as a Church of Christ, and in carrying on the government thereof on her own constitutional principles, and must refuse to intrude ministers on her congregations, to obey the unlawful coercion attempted to be enforced against her in the exercise of her spiritual functions and jurisdiction, or to consent that her people be deprived of their rightful liberties : HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 207 Therefore, the General Assembly, while, as above set forth, they fully recognise the absolute jurisdiction of the civil courts in relation to all matters whatsoever of a civil nature, and especially in relation to all the temporalities conferred by the State upon the Church, and the civil con- sequences attached by law to the decisions in matters spiritual of the Church courts, do, in name and on behalf of this Church, and of the nation and people of Scotland, and under the sanction of the several statutes and the Treaty of Union herein before recited, claim as of right, that she shall freely possess and enjoy her liberties, government, discij)line, rights, and privileges according to law, especially for the defence of the spiritual liberties of her people, and that she shall be protected therein from the foresaid unconstitutional and illegal encroachments of the said Court of Session, and her people secured in their Christian and constitutional rights and liberties. And they declare that they cannot, in accordance with the Word of God, the authorised and ratified standards of this Church, and the dictates of their consciences, intrude ministers on reclaiming congregations, or carry on the government of Christ's Church, subject to the coercion attempted by the Court of Session as above set forth ; and that, at the risk and hazard of sufiering the loss of the secular benefits conferred by the State and the public advantages of an Establishment, they must, as by God's grace they will, refuse so to do ; for, highly as they estimate these, they cannot put them in competition with the inalienable liberties of a Church of Christ, which, alike by their duty and allegiance to their Head and King, and by their ordination vows, they are bound to maintain, "notwithstanding of whatsoever trouble or persecution may arise." And they protest, that all and whatsoever Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain passed without the consent of this Church and nation in alteration of, or derogation to, the aforesaid government, discipline, right, and privileges of this Church (which were not allowed to be treated of by the Commissioners for settling the terms of the union between the two kingdoms, but were secured by antecedent stipulation, provided to be inserted, and inserted in the Treaty of Union, as an unalterable and funda- mental condition thereof, and so reserved from the cognisance and power of the federal Legislature created by the said Treaty), as also all and what- soever sentences of courts in contravention of the same government, disci- pline, right, and privileges are, and shall be, in themselves void and null, and of no legal force or effect ; and that, while they will accord full sub- mission to all such acts and sentences in so far — though in so far only — as these may regard civil rights and privileges, whatever may be their opinion of the justice or legality of the same, their said submission shall not be deemed an acquiescence therein, but that it shall be free to the members of this Church, or their successors at any time hereafter, when there shall be a prospect of obtaining justice, to claim the restitution of all such civil rights and privileges and temporal benefits and endowments, as for the present they may be compelled to yield up, in order to preserve to their ofl&ce-bearers the free exercise of their spiritual government and discipline and to their people the liberties of which respectively it has been attempted, so contrary to law and justice, to deprive them. And, finally, the General Assembly call the Christian people of this kingdom, and all the Churches of the Reformation throughout the world who hold the great doctrine of the sole Headship of the Lord Jesus over His Church to witness, that it is for their adherence to that doctrine as set forth in their Confession of Faith, and ratified by the laws of this kingdom, and for the maintenance by them of the jurisdiction of the office-bearers, and the freedom and privileges of the members of the Church from that doctrine flowing, that this Church is subjected to hardship, and that the rights so sacredly pledged and secured to her are put in peril ; and they especially invite all the office-bearers and members of this Church who are willing to 208 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. suffer for their allegiance to their adorable King and Head, to stand by the Church, and by each other, in defence of the doctrine aforesaid, and of the liberties and privileges, whether of office-bearers or people, which rest upon it; and to unite in supplication to Almighty God that He would be pleased to turn the hearts of the rulers of this kingdom to keep unbroken the faith pledged to this Church in former days by statutes and solemn treaty, and the obligations come under to God Himself, to preserve and maintain the government and discipline of this Church in accordance with His Word ; or otherwise, that He would give strength to this Church — office-bearers and people — to endure resignedly the loss of the temporal benefits of an Establishment, and the personal sufferings and sacrifices to which they may be called, and would also inspire them with zeal and energy to promote the advancement of His Son's kingdom, in whatever condition it may be His will to place them, and that in His own good time He would restore to them these benefits, the fruits of the struggles and sufferings of their fathers in times past in the same cause, and thereafter give them grace to employ them more effectually than hitherto they have done for the mani- festation of His glory. This memorable document, which has been called " The Modern Solemn League and Covenant of the Church of Scotland," and which is, in fact, a final appeal of the Scottish Church to the Legislature against the encroachments of the Civil Courts, had been intrusted to Mr. Alexander Dunlop, the jurist of the Free Church.— 3PCrie, ''Scot. Ch.," p. 555. The Rev. C. G. M'Crie, of Ayr, has (1886) published "The Claim" in pamphlet form, with historical introduction, annotations, and appendix. He thus concludes: "The Establishment principle is neither deeply imbedded nor articulately embodied in the Claim of Right." They had been told that the Established Church principle had been clearly laid down in the Claim of Eight, and that every minister and elder was pledged by his ordination vows to that document. If that were the true state of the case, there was no more to be said about it ; they could not play fast and loose with such solemn obligations. But the one thing that was binding upon them by that Claim of Right was simply the principle of spiritual independence, and he held by that with all his heart. It was also said that the Established Church principle was in the Confession of Faith, and that they were bound by it ; but all the principle of Church Establishment which could be found in the Confession of Faith amounted to this, that the Civil Magistrate should see that the purity of the Church's worship should be maintained, that blasphemies and heresies should be put down, that order should be observed, and that the various ordinances of the Church should be settled and established. If their friends wished to be the only Church in the country in which the Civil Magistrate could settle these things, he would not for worlds interfere with them. The one necessary preliminary step to a remedy for the present state of matters was only to be found in Disestablishment, and they asked Parliament to take it out of their hands and settle it on broad principles of righteousness and fairplay. That was with him no matter of ecclesiastical jealousy or rivalry, but purely of righteousness and fairplay. They could suffer long, but with God's help they would not do wrong. They could not consent to share on any terms the privilegea of the Established Church, for that would simply be perpetuating what they regarded as an injustice to all other Churches. They took their stand upon principle, and if Mr. Finlay's bill even gave all, or more than all, asked before the Disruption, it would not budge him from his position by HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 209 SO much as a single hair's breadth. With all his heart he longed for union amongst the Presbyterian Churches, but he could not believe that a union would last, or that it deserved to last, if it was founded on unrighteousness. — Dr. W. C. Smith. Yes, I call tlie Claim of Right the epitaph of State Churchism. Read its weighty parai^raphs. Note how it states with severe precision the Acts of Parliament which were vainly supposed, full and free as they were, to secure the liberty of conscience to the Church of Scotland. Add up the years from 1567 to 1843 in which a living Church was free to enjoy these rights thus secured. Deduct the periods of conflict, persecution, and spiritual deadness, and you will find that with all its " charters of the Clnirch," and "acts of security" scarcely 50 years remain out of nearly 300, in which the Church was able to obey its Lord according to its conscience, until weary with the endless struggle, the Church severed the connection between Church and State, buried State connection, wrote, in the Claim of Right, requiescat in imce over its grave, and went forth to do its work alone and free. — Prof. T. M. Lindsay, D.D. THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND, 1843. As the crisis drew near, the whole body of the evangelical ministers, by whom the contest was waged, met in convocation in November, 1842, and, after sermon by Dr. Chalmers, continued in deliberation and supplication for several days, separating not till they resolved with one heart and mind to maintain uncomi)romised the spiritual liberty and jurisdiction of the Church. This they resolved to do, not by prolonged resistance to the civil courts, should the Crown and Parliament refuse the redress craved in their Claim of Rights, but by publicly renouncing the benefits of the National Establishment, under protest that it is her being FREE, and not her being Established, that constitutes the real historical and hereditary identity of the Reformed National Church of Scotland. On January 4th, 1843, a reply was received from the Crown, signed by Sir James Graham, pronouncing the Church's claim to be " unreasonable." Nothing remained after this but to obtain a judgment from Parliament. I now doubt whether in the present ungodly state of this world a union betwixt Church and State is an expedient thing. I say here, our fathers have all along been compelled to contend for their religious liberties. John Knox fought for them, when he cradled our Church of Scotland. The history of the Church of Scotland has been a history of aggression on the part of the State, of suffering and resistance on the part of the Church ; and if tliis night in Parliament they refuse to hear our claims— if they turn a deaf ear to our remonstrances— it this nit:ht in Parliament they say you must sell your birthright for a mess of pottage, then I say I am done for my lifetime with the Establishment.— Dr. Guthrie, Speech, 7th March, 1S43. O 210 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Eventful night this [7th March, 1843, when the Free Church's Claim of Rights was finally brought before the House of Commons by the Hon, Foxe Maule] in the British Parliament ! Once more King Jesus stands at an earthly tribunal, and they know Him not. — M'Cheyne. [Mr. Maule's motion for a Com- mittee of Inquiry was lost upon a division, by 211 votes to 76. Of 36 Scotch m.embers present, 25 voted with Mr. Maule.] Protest by those Commissioners to the General Assembly APPOINTED TO MEET ON 18tH MaY, 1843, BY WHOM THIS Assembly was constituted; General Assembly, 1843. At Edinburgh, and within a large Hall at Canonmills, the 18th day of May, ISJfS years. The Commissioners to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, appointed to have been hoklen this day, having met in St. Andrew's church, the ministers and elders, Commissioners thereto, whose names are appended to the Protest then and there made, and hereinafter inserted, having with- drawn from that place, and having convened in a large Hall at Canonmills, in presence ot a great concourse of ministers, elders, and people, and having duly constituted themselves in the name of the Head of the Church, and appointed the Rev. Dr. Chalmers to be their moderator, the Protest above mentioned was produced and read, and thereafter ordered to be recorded as follows : — We, the undersigned ministers and elders, chosen as Commissioners to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, indicted to meet this day, but precluded from holding the said Assembly by reason of the circum- stances hereinafter set forth, in consequence of which a Free Assembly of the Church of Scotland, in accordance with the laws and constitution of the said Church, cannot at this time be holden — Considering that the Legislature, by their rejection of the Claim of Right adopted by the last General Assembly of the said Church, and their refusal to give redress and protection against the jurisdiction assumed, and the coercion of late repeatedly attempted to be exercised over the Courts of the Church in matters spiritual by the Civil Courts, have recognised and fixed the conditions of the Church Establishment, as henceforward to sub- sist in Scotland, to be such as these have been pronounced and declared by the said Civil Courts in their several recent decisions, in regard to matters spiritual and ecclesiastical, whereby it has been held inter alia, — First, That the Courts of the Church by law established, and members thereof, are liable to be coerced by the Civil Courts in the exercise of their spiritual functions ; and in particular in the admission to the office of the holy ministry, and the constitution of the pastoral relation, and that they are subject to be compelled to intrude ministers on reclaiming congregations in oppo-iition to the fundamental principles of the Church, and their views of the Word of God, and to the liberties of Christ's people. Second, That the said Civil Courts have power to interfere with and interdict the preaching of the gospel and administration of ordinances as authorised and enjoined by the Church Courts of the Establishment. Third, That the said Civil Courts have power to suspend spiritual censures pronounced by the Church Courts of the Establishment against ministers and probationers of the Church, and to interdict their execution as to spiritual efi'ects, functions, and privileges. Fourth, That the said Civil Courts have power to reduce and set aside the sentences of the Church Courts of the Estabhshment deposing ministers HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 211 from the office of the holy ministry, and depriving probationers of their license to preach the gospel, with reference to the spiritual status, functions, and privileges of such ministers an I probationers — restoring them to the spiritual office and status of which the Church Courts had deprived them. Fifth, That the said Civil Courts have power to determine on the right to sit as members of the supreme and other judicatories of the Church by law established, and to issue interdicts against sitting and voting therein, irrespective of the judgment and determination of the said judicatories. Sixth, That the said Civil Courts have power to supersede the majority of a Church Court of the Establishment, in regard to the exercise of its spiritual functions as a Church Court, and to authorise the minority to exercise the said functions, in opposition to the Court itself, and to the superior judicatories of the Estabbshment. Seventh, That the said Civil Courts have power to stay processes of dis- cipline pending before Courts of the Church by law established, and to interdict such Courts from proceeding therein. Eighth, That no pastor of a congregation can be admitted into the Church Courts of the Establishment, and allowed to rule, as well as to teach, agreeably to the institution of the office by the Head of the Church, nor to sft in any of the judicatories of the Church, inferior or supreme — and that no additional provision can be made for the exercise of spiritual discipline among the members of the Church, though not afifecting any patrimonial interests, and no alteration introduced in the state of pastoral superintendence and spiritual discipline in any parish, without the sanction of a Civil Court. All which jurisdiction and power on the part of the said Civil Courts severally above specified, whatever procee:ling may have given occasion to its exercise, is, in our opinion, in itself inconsistent with Christian liberty, and with the authority which the head of the Church hath conferred on the Church alone. And farther considering that a General Assembly composed, in accord- ance with the laws and fundamental principles of the Church, in part of commissioners themselves admitted without the sanction of the Civil Court, or chosen by Presbyteries composed in part of members not having that sanction, cannot be constituted as an Assembly of the Establishment without disregarding the law and the legal conditions of the same as now fixed and declared ; And farther, considering that such commissioners as aforesaid would, as members of an Assemldy of the Establishment, be liable to be interdicted from exercising their functions, and to be subjected to civil coercion at the instance of any individual having interest who might apply to the Civil Courts for that purpose ; • i- And considering farther, that civil coercion has already been ni divers instances applied for and used, whereby certain commissioners returned to the Assembly this day appointed to have been holden, have been inter- dicted from claiming their seats, and from sitting and voting therem ; and certain Presbyteries have been, by interdicts directed against their members, prevented from freely choosing commissioners to the said Assembly, whereby the freedom of such Ass^nbly, antl the liberty of election thereto, has been forcibly obstructed and taken away ; And farther considering, that, in these circumstances, a Free Assembly of the Church of Scotland, by law established, cannot at this time be holden, and that an Assembly, in accordance with the fundamental principles of the Church, cannot be constituted in connection with the State without violating the conditions which must now, since the rejection by the Legislature of the Church's Claim of Right, be held to be the conditions of the Establishment ; And considering that, while heretofore, as members of Church judicat- ories ratified by law and recognised by the constitution of the kingdom. 212 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. we held ourselves entitled and bound to exercise and maintain the jurisdiction vested in these judicatories with the sanction of the Constitu- tion notwithstanding the decrees as to matters spiritual and ecclesiastical of the Civil Courts, because we could not see that the State had required submission thereto as a condition of the Establishment, but, on the contrary, were satisfied that the State, by the Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, for ever and unalterably secured to this nation by the Treaty of Union, had repudiated any power in the Civil Courts to pronounce such decrees, we are now constrained to acknowledge it to be the mind and will of the State, as recently declared, that such submission should and does form a condition of the Establishment, and of the possession of the benefits thereof ; and that as we cannot, without committing what we believe to be sin in opposition to God's law — in disregard of the honour and authority of Christ's Crown, and in violation of our own solemn vows,— comply with this condition, we cannot in conscience continue connected with it, and retain the benefits of an Establishment to which such condition is attached. We, therefore, the Ministers and Elders foresaid, on this the first occasion, since the rejection by the Legislature of the Church's Claim of Right, when the Commissioners chosen from throughout the bounds of the Church to the General Assembly appointed to have been this day holdeu are convened together do protest, that the conditions foresaid, while we deem them contrary to and subversive of the settlement of church govern- ment effected at the Revolution, and solemnly guaranteed by the Act of Security and Treaty of Union, are also at variance with God's Word, in opposition to the doctrines and fundamental principles of the Church of Scotland, inconsistent with the freedom essential to the right constitution of a Church of Christ, and incompatible with the government which He. as the Head of His Church, hath therein appointed distinct from the civil magistrate. And we farther protest, that any Assembly constituted in submission to the conditions now declared to be law, and under the civil coercion which has been brought to bear on the election of commissioners to the Assembly this day appointed to have been holden, and on the commissioners chosen thereto, is not, and shall not be deemed, a lawful and free Assembly of the Church of Scotland, according to the original and fundamental principles thereof ; and that the Claim, Declaration, and Protest, of the General Assembly which convened at Edinburgh in May, 1842, as the act of a free and lawful Assembly of the said Church, shall be holden as setting forth the true constitution of the said Church ; and that the said Claim, along with the laws of the Church now subsisting, shall in nowise be affected by whatsoever acts and proceedings of any Assembly constituted under the conditions now declared to be the law, and in submission to the coercion now imposed on the Establishment. And finally, while firmly asserting the right and duty of the civil magistrate to maintain and support an establishment of religion in accordance with God's Word, and reserving to ourselves and our successors to strive by all lawful means, as opportunity shall in God's good providence be oflfered, to secure the performance of this duty agreeably to the Scriptures, and in implement of the statutes of the kingdom of Scotland, and the obligations of the Treaty of Union as understood by us and our ancestors, but acknowledging that we do not hold ourselves at liberty to retain the benefits of the Establishment while we cannot comply with the conditions now to be deemed thereto attached — we protest, that in the circumstances in which we are placed, it is and shall be lawful for us, and such other commissioners chosen to the Assembly appointed to have been this day holden as may concur with us, to withdraw to a separate place of meeting, for the purpose of taking steps for ourselves and all who adhere to us— maintaining with us the Confession of Faith and standards of the Church of Scotland, as heretofore understood — for separating in an orderly HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 213 way from the Establishment; and thereupon adopting such measures as may be competent to us, in humble dependence on God's grace and the aid of the Holy Spirit, for the advancement of His glory, the extension of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour, and the administration of the affairs of Christ's house, according to His holy Word ; and we do now, for the purpose foresaid, withdraw accordingly, humbly and solemnly acknow- ledging the hand of the Lord in the things which have come upon us, because of our manifold sins, and the sins of this Church and nation : but, at the same time, with an assured conviction, that we are not responsible for any consequences that may follow from this our enforced separation from an Establishment which we loved and prized— through interference with conscience, the dishonour done to Christ's crown, and the rejection of His sole and supreme authority as King in His Church. (Signed by) David Welsh, Thomas Chalmers, Henry Grey, 'Patrick Clasou, Walter Fairlie, Robert Gordon, Wm. Cunningham, Robert S. Candlish, James Fairbairn, Robert Elder, etc. This was followed by the Act of Separation and Deed of Demission, registered in the books of Council and Session, of date 8th June, 1843. You know the result. Men gave up churches, manses, stipends, and privileges. They removed the old Bibles from the pews, and found places of worship away from the old graveyards where the dust of their dear ones lay, because they dared not disobey the promptings of this revival life which thrilled the inmost chords of their being. We are told, and we can see it, that the endur- ance of trial for God's sake deepens the spiritual life of man or woman ; it has the same effect on the Church. The Disruption not only rose out of a revival, it deepened the spirit of disciple service, and men were glad to be called on to do so much for Christ. When the crisis came, and it was found that the Church had to take its choice between Christ's work in the way He had com- manded, or severing all connection with the State, it made up its mind with all swiftness. It did what the Erskines had done, what Gillespie and his followers had done in darker days and amidst greater difficulties — it came out from State privileges and from State bondage, and became the Free Church of Scotland. It went to its greatest ecclesiastical lawyer, and got him to write down in swift, pregnant sentences the history of its past contend- ings and bargainings with the State, and issued its Claim of Eight, the epitaph of State Churchism in Scotland.— Pro/! T. M. Lindsay, D.D. Sth June, ife of Jeffrey." Let it be clearly uirderstood that Mr. Guthrie did not regard the abolition of patronage as the main question about which the Ten Years' Conflict was fought. He felt that a higher issue was involved. . . . The battle began with the rights of the people, but it " came steadily on," till, extending itself, it embraced within the din and dust of the fight that grand, central, and most sacred of all positions — the right of Jesus Christ as King to reign within His own Church. — ** Memoir of Dr. Guthrie," II., 35. While the inquiry, however, was proceeding upon this perfectly legiti- mate line [the legality of the Veto Act] claims began to be put forward on behalf of the State which startled the Church from its dream of security. One after another of the civil judges declared that the contract was a fiction — that the Church as such had no original or independent jurisdic- tion, and that in all causes, civil and ecclesiastical, the Court of Session and the House of Lords were supreme. "That our Saviour." said the HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 21& Lord President, "is the Head of the Kirk of Scotland, in any temporal, or legislative, or judicial sense, is a position which I can dignify by no other name than absurdity. The Parliament is the temporal head of the Church, from whose acts, and from whose acts alone, it exists as the National Church, amd from which alone it derives all its powers.''' — Walker^ ''Scot. Oh.," p. 146. He had heard it said that, on the famous day of the Disruption of 1843, when the news flew over Edinburgh that 400 ministers had left the Estab- lished Church, a well-known judge (Lord Jeffrey) exclaimed with national pride, " There is not another country in the world iu which such a spectacle could be seen." The judge was right. There was no other country where so noble a testimony could have been borne to the sacredness and tender- ness of scrupulous consciences; but it was no less true that there was no country in the world where the consciences of so many able and excellent men could have been wounded to such a degree by the intricacies of a legal suit in which the point at issue could hardly be made intelligible to any one out of Scotland. — Denn Stanley. William Arnot, when reminded of Sydney Smith's remark as to a surgical operation being required to put a joke into the head of a Scotch- man, made the extremely happy retort that a miraculous operation seemed absolutely necessary to convey a true conception of spiritual independence to the mind of an Englishman. Surely it is vain to write pamphlets, and circulate them far and wide through the land, telling us what spiritual independence is. We know it, and know it right well, and we can be satisfied with nothing short of spiritual independence. That is to say, we make account of the growth of spiritual life within the soul, and thereafter of the expansion of it within the Church. Such spiritual life must not be checked by Government control, does not wait to be aided by Government arrange- ments, but lives and flourishes under spiritual influences, asking only that the State should not here interpose, for between God and the conscience we can acknowledge no authority. Certainly the reply to such demands, when it came from men holding places of responsibility in the nation — themselves greatly honoured by the nation — would be, — " Political Govern- ment never can provide for your claim." We never expect Government to acknowledge it, and never ask such a thing. We acknowledge exactly what the Duke of Argyll said, sending back from their Church the statement precisely as he uttered it in the House of Lords, " You cannot give it, and know we shall never ask it. It is not within the range of your power to grant it, and it is not within the range of your capacity to withhold it." If the civil Government of this land would venture to step into the Church for exercise of civil power, we should say, Our spiritual independence is too sacred and well established in the souls of Christ's people for any Government to control it, to touch it, or even to come within reach of it ? And if it be true that spiritual life is advancing in our nation, if it be true that spiritual life is expanding on all sides, spiritual independence is about to thaw the icy dominion that had been once over the nation; and if we now hear creaking on every side, and witness an upheaving, it is because the thawing power is extending, mani- festing the power of vital godliness, which would not, could not, be kept in control by civil authority. — Prof. H. Calderwood, LL.D. There is an evident connection between the headship of Christ and the spiritual life of the Church. Apart, however, from what we might expect from a mere comparison between what these phrases suggest, history shows their inseparable connection. It has always happened that the doctrine of the headship of Christ has been maintained most strongly in revival periods, and that the obligation to maintain spiritual independence has 216 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. been but weakly felt when the religious life has been at its dullest. I do not mean to fatigue you with a resume of Scottish Church history, but I should like to remind you that the familiar dates of 1567, 1592, 1638, and so ou are dates of revival movements in Scotland as well as of ecclesiastical declarations about the spiritual independence of the Church. And in those dark ages of Moderatism — of which we are all, no matter what Church we belong to, now so thoroughly ashamed — this great doctrine slept the sleep of death. No sooner, however, did the Evangelical religion of the country revive again than there grew anew the sense of the right and obligation to render homage to the headship of Christ. The doctrine, like the Church of Christ, was born in a revival, and has taken new life and new forms of living from revival time to revival time. When the Church of Scotland awoke again to renew its struggle for the crown rights of Christ over the conscience of men and of the Church it did so in the days of a great spiritual movement. — Prof. T. M. Lindsay, D.D. [For a full discussion of the question see " The Free (Church Principle," by the late Sir H. W. Moncreilf, Eart., D.D. Sir Henry very properly shows from a historical point of view that the foundations of spiritual independence w^ere laid under the auspices of Knox, in connection with the first religious bond or covenant in 1556. Knox, Melville, Henderson, Ebenezer Erskine, Dr. A. Thomson, Dr. Chalmers, and others, were all champions of spiritual independence. For the character of this independ- ence, as contrasted with the Romish view, see article by Mr. A. T. Innes in the Contemporary, Julv, 1874; also (^hurch and State by A. T. Innes, and The Church by Prof. W. Binnie, D.D.] The Free Church of Scotland and the Covenant. From the beginning these principles [the Government of the Church by Presbyters alone, and the subjection of the Church, in all things spiritual, to Christ as her only Head, and to His Word as her only rule] have been held as fundamental by the Reformed Church of Scotland; and as such they were recognised in her earliest standards — the First and Second Books of Discipline, — adopted by her own independent authority, before the full sanction either of the Crown or of the Parliament was given to the Reformation which God had accomplished on her behalf. For these principles, the ministers and members of this Church, as well as the nobles, gentlemen, and burgesses of the land, from the first united in contending ; and on more than one occasion, in the course of these early struggles, — as in 1580 when the National Covenant was signed, — our reforming ancestors bound themselves one to another, as in the sight of God, to maintain and defend them against all adversaries. . . . But before a generation had elapsed, a sad change for the worse took place. Through defection in the Church, and tyrannical invasion of her independ- ence by the civil power, the Presbyterian polity and government were overturned, and manifold abuses and corruptions in discipline and worship, were insidiously introduced. A second Reformation accordingly became necessary, ... In seeking this noble end, our fathers were again led, for their mutual security, as well as for the commending of so righteous a cause to Him by whom it was committed to them, to have recourse to the solemnity of a holy confederation. The National Covenant was renewed at the beginning of the contendings for this second Reformation, with an extension cf its weighty protests and censures, to meet whatever new fruit the old stock of Prelatic and Erastian usurpation had been bearing. And the Solemn League and Covenant was afterwards entered into, in concert with England and Ireland, "for the reformation and defence of religion, the honour and happiness of the king, and the peace and safety of the three kingdoms;" and, in particular, for "endeavouring to bring HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 217 the Churches of God in the three kingdoms to the nearest conjunction and uniformity in religion, confession of faith, form of Church government, directory for worship, and catecliising." Thus religiously bound and pledged to God and to one another, our fathers were enabled to eflFect the reformation of this Church from Prelacy, even as their fathers in like manner effected its reformation from I'opery. In the ever-memorable Assembly held at Glasgow in 1G3S, as well as in subsequent Assemblies, it was declared that "all Episcopacy different from that of a pastor over a particular flock was abjured in this Kirk ;" and provision w^as made, accordingly, for its complete removal, and for the settlement of Church government and order upon the former Presbyterian footing. In all this work of pulling down and building up, the independent spiritual jurisdic- tion of the Church, flowing immediately from Christ her only Head, was not only earnestly asserted, but practically exercised. For the whole work was begun and carried on without warrant of the civil power. And it was only after much contending, and with not a little hesitation, that the civil power began to interpose its authority in the years 1G39 and 1641, to support and sanction what the Church had, by the exercise of her own inherent jurisdiction, already done. — Act and Declaration, F.C., 1S51. Union of Synod of United Original Seceders with the Free Church, 1852. The Free Church received nob a little Covenanting blood into its constitution this year when it added to its roll the names of Dr. Thomas M'Crie, Dr. Shaw of Whitburn, Mr. Paxton of Glasgow, Mr. White of Haddington, and others of the stock of the Covenant. We frankly concede to our brethren full liberty to maintain their own opinions upon the subject of the descending obligations of the Covenants, but the document also has been framed upon the principle of carefully excluding any committal of this Church to any particular theory our brethren may hold — or, indeed, to any opinions maintained either within or without our Church, upon the delicate and difficult subject of the bearing of these solemn transactions on the genei'ations in Church and State that came after. — Dr. Candlish. 12th June, lS52.—The only material and striking fact in the late General Assembly, was a union between the Original Seceders and the Free Church. These Originals were small in number, but they were the pure stock of Ebenezer Erskiue, having never been crossed by Burgherism or Anti- Burgherism, They stuck to the old creed in favour of an E^^tiblishmeut ; and only seceded because our Establishment had ceased to be what they held to be the Church of Scotland. They now, after a separation of about 115 years, returned to this Church, which they find in the Free. They were warmly welcomed, but the motion for unity was only carried among themselves by a majority of one. What the minority mean to do I don't know. The junction is received as a striking homage to the principles which the Establishment once ovfucd..— Journal of Henry Cockhurn. Report of the Joint-Committee on Union of Presbyterian Churches, May, 1873. A full account of the union negotiations entered into in 1863 and broken off in 1873. It is signed by the conveners of the respective Churches, Drs. Harper, Cairns (U.P.) ; Buchanan (F.C.), Goold (R.P.), and Anderson (E.P.). The following 218 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. important document represented the views of the four negotiating Churches and of the full committee when as yet no breach had been made in its original members on the question of the relation of the civil magistrate to religion and the Church : — I. Articles or Agreement. (The extent to which the Churches agree as to the province of the Civil Magis- trate in relation to Religion and the Christiaji Church.) I. That Civil Government is an ordinance of God for His own glory and the public good; that to the Lord Jesus Christ is given all power in heaven and on earth, and that all men in their several places and relations, and therefore Civil Magistrates in theirs, are under obligation to submit them- selves to Christ, and to regulate their conduct by His Word. II. That the Civil Magistrate ought himself to embrace and profess the religion of Christ ; and though his office is civil, not spiritual, yet, like other Christians in their places and relations, he ought, acting in his public capacity as a Magistrate, to further the interests of the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ among his subjects in every way consistent with its spirit and enactments, and that he ought to be ruled by it in the making of laws, the administration of justice, the swearing of oaths, and other matters of civil jurisdiction. III. That while the Civil Magistrate, in legislating as to matters within his own province, may and ought, for his own guidance, to judge what is agreeable to the Word of God ; yet, inasmuch as he has no authority in spiritual thiugs, and as in these the employment of force is opposed to the spirit and precepts of Christianity, which disclaim and prohibit all persecution, it is not within his province authoritatively to prescribe to his subjects, or to impose upon them, a creed or form of w^orship, or to inter- fere with that government which the Lord Jesus Christ has appointed in His Church, in the hands of Church officers, or to evade any of the rights and liberties which Christ has conferred on His Church, and which all powers on earth ought to hold sacred — it being the exclusive prerogative of the Lord Jesus to rule in matters of faith and worship. IV. That Marriage, the Sabbath, and the appointment of Days of National Humiliation and Thanksgiving, are practical instances to which those principles apply. (1.) In regard to Marriage, the Civil Magistrate may, and ought to frame his marriage laws according to the rule of the Divine Word. (2.) In regard to the Sabbath, the Civil Magistrate, recognising its perpetual obligation according to the rule of the Divine Word, especially as contained in the origiual institution of the Sabbath, in the Fourth Commandment, and in the teaching and example of our Lord and His Apostles, and its inestimable value in many wajs to human society, may and ought, in his administration, to respect its sacred character, to legislate in the matter of its outward observance, and to protect the people in the enjoyment of the privilege of resting from their week-day occupatioDS, and devoting the day to the public and private exercises of Divine Worship, (3.) The Civil Magistrate may and, on suitable occasions, ought to appoint days on which his subjects shall be invited to engage in acts of Humiliation or of Thanksgiving ; but without authoritatively prescribing or enforcing any special form of religious service, or otherwise interposing his authority beyond securing to them the oppor- tunity of exercising their free discretion for these purposes. V. That the Church and the State, being ordinances of God distinct from each other, they are capable of existing without either of them intruding into the proper province of the other, and ought not so to intrude. Erastian supremacy of the State over the Church, and Anti-christian domination of the Church over the State, ought to be condemned; and all HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 219 schemes of connection involving or tending to either are, therefore, to Ije avoided. The Church has a spiritual authority over such of the subjects and rulers of earthly kingdoms as are iu her commuuiou, and the civil powers have the same secular authority over the members and office- bearers of the Church as over the rest of their subjects. The Church has no power over earthly kingdoms in their collective and civil capacity, nor have they any power over her as a Church. But, though thus distinct, the Church aud the State owe mutual duties to each other, and acting within their respective spheres, may be signally subservient to each other's welfare. VI. That the Church cannot lawfully surrender or compromise her spiritual independence for any worldly consideration or advantage what- soever. And further, the (Uiurcli must ever maintain the essential and perpetual obligation which Christ has laid on all His people, to support and extend His Church by free-will offerings. II. Distinctive Articles. By the Free Church and English Preshyterian Church Committees. — As an act of homage to Christ, the Civil Magistrate, as the organ of the national will, ought, if necessary and expedient, to afford aid from the national resources to the cause of Christ, provided always that, in doing so, while reserving full control over his own gift, he abstain from all authoritative interference in the internal government of the C'hurcli. But it must always be a question to be judged of accord iug to times and circumstances, whether or not such aid ought to be given by the Civil Magistrate, as well as whether or not it ought to be accepted; and the question must, in every instance, be decided by each of the two parties judging for itself, on its own responsibility. By the United Preshyterian Church Committee. — That it is not competent to the Civil Magistrate to give legislative sanction to any creed, in the way of setting up a civil establishment of religion; nor is it within his province to provide for the expense of the ministrations of the Church out of the national resources : That Jesus Christ, as sole King and Head of His Church, has eujoined upon His people to provide for maintaining and extending it by free-will offerings ; that this being the ordinance of Christ, it excludes State aid for these purposes ; and that adherence to it is the true safeguard of the Church's independence. Moreover, though uniformity of opinion with respect to civil establishments of religion is not a term of communion in the United Presbyterian Church, yet the views on this sub- ject held, and universally acted on, are opposed to these institutions. By the Reformed Presbyterian Committee. — 1. That while friendly alliance ought always to be kept in view as the normal relation of the Church and the State, the question whether, or to what extent, the realization of it in any given case ought to be attempted, cannot lawfully or safely be determined without taking into account the circumstances, character, and attainments of both; particularly the degree of unity which the Church has attained, and the extent to which the State has become Christian. 2. That while the Church is bound to uphold Civil Government, founded on right principles, and directed to its appropriate ends, nevertheless, as a public witness for the truth and claims of Christ, it ought to testify against whatever is immoral in the civil constitution, or iniquitous in public policy. 3. That when the Civil Magistrate sets himself in habitual opposition to, and abuses his power for the overturning of religion and the national liberties, he thereby forfeits his right to conscientious allegiance, especially in coun- tries where religion and liberty have been placed under the protection of a righteous constitution. 4. That while it is not lawful for the Magistrate to grant aid to the Church from the national resources, merely from motives of political expediency, it is competent to the Church to accept aid from 220 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. those resources, provided that the terms in which it is given do not involve the Church in approbation of what may be evil in the constitution of the State ; hut the national resources cannot lawfully be employed for the support of truth and error indiscriminately. Dr. Goold referred to an accusation directed against the Church of which he was a member. It was a specific charge which he would require to meet, for it had evidently been made with the intention to damage the effect of their testimony on behalf of union. The charge was that the Church to which he belonged had deserted their principles. He would not stop to refute the charge, but fling down the gauntlet and ask any man to take it up by so much as naming one scriptural principle they had deserted. His Church was as faithful to the crown rights and the royal prerogative of Jesus as in the days of darkness and blood, when the sword of Claver- house gleamed athwart the moors of Scotland, and made the red heather redder still by the blood of many martyrs. With all its faithfulness to principle — just because of its faithfulness to principle — they would tread in the footsteps of one not the least, but in some respects the greatest, the best of all the Scotch martyrs. They would embody the sentiments and spirit as they re-echoed the language of Mr. Renwick, when he exclaimed, " Oh, when shall those be agreed on earth that shall be agreed in Heaven. Methinks, if my blood could be the means of procuring that end, I could willingly offer it." — Dr. Goold. It is not altogether unnoticeable here that the Reformed Presbyterian Synod's Committee, though the representatives of those who so long claimed to be Covenanters, par excellence, has entirely ignored the Covenants, and the doctrine of covenant obligation, in their statement of principles given in to the Joint-Committee. In acting thus they have the credit of adopting a wise and consistent policy. For, to human view (though with God all things are possible) they might about as soon expect to remove the Alps from their present basis by any lever power which they could employ, as raise the United Presbyterian Church and the Free to the platform of the Second Reformation, and an advocacy and avouchment of the Covenants ; and to lift up a testimony for their continued obligation and against the perjury of the Church and kingdom in the manifold viola- tion of these. solemn deeds, and virtual repudiation of their obligation. — Original Secession 2Iaga~ine. Even with the aid of a powerful microscope I see no difference between the Free Church and the United Presbyterian. I am a Southern, not versed in the minutiae of your statutes and rules, but standing at that distance I do not know the one from the other. Your standards, your worship, your preaching, are they not the same 1 Therefore, it seems to me that it is not the case of a Goldsmiths' Company and a Cloth workers' Company, but it is the case of two Goldsmiths' Companies who, if they find it for their mutual benefit to amalgamate, had better do so as soon as they can conveniently. The only difference I have heard of between you seems, to my unenlightened English intellect, of this kind. The children of Israel, if they had come out of Egypt in tw^o bands instead of all at once, might have been in the same difficulty, and have had in the wilderness to solve the Union question. Suppose that those who came out of Egypt first, having been longer in freedom, had become fully convinced that it was altogether intolerable for God's Israel to be under the yoke of HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 221 Pharaoh, and therefore declared that on no consideration would they ever return, no, not even if the Egyptians should pile leeks and onions all round their tents, and allow them to choose their own taskmasters, and allot them thousands of bricks from the royal kilns to build manses withal. No, they would never go back to Pharaoh at any price. Now, the second band that came out of Egypt some time after, and came out bravely too, were fully agreed that the yoke of the lute Pharaoh, and even of his successor, could not be endured ; but they did not know whether, in the dispensation of Providence, it might not, under certain circum- stances, be right to obey Pharaoh and enjoy the land of Goshen, with its ])asture lands, and especially with its garlic and onions. Did not Jacob go down into Egypt and all his household ? These last emancipated ones therefore held, as a theory, and nothing more, that if Joseph, or some one like him, should ever become King of Egypt — although they had no hope or belief that such a case for a moment ever would happen, and they dared not expect the youngest Israelite would ever live to see that — but if Joseph ever did become King of Egypt, they held that it might be right, in some kind of modified way or other, under certain conditions, arrangements, and regulations, for the whole of the tribes to go back to Goshen. Now, these two different companies were of one race, they spoke one tongue, they had the same great leader and served the same God, but they could not journey together because of this most important difficulty. I believe the cases are exactly parallel. My recommendation is that the two companies join together till Joseph comes, and then separate, but not till then. Having said this much, I again apologise for intruding any opinions of mine upon a case which the shrewd sense and deep piety of Scotland will surely be able erelong to bring to a happy end. — Spurgeon^ ^^ Address at U.P. 2IissionaTy Meeting. ^^ Mutual Eligibility of Ministers, 1873. The following deliverance was unanimously agreed to by the joint committee, and afterwards passed in Assembly and Synod : — The Committee find that the orderly calling and translating of ministers of charges in any one of the negotiating Churches, on the footing of their signing the formulas of the Churches into which they are thus received, would create an important bond of sympathy and fellowship among those Churches, would tend powerfully to interest them in each other's spiritual welfare, and would promote their co-operation and further their usefulness in advancing the cause and kingdom of their common Head and Lord ; and therefore the joint-committee consider it to be desirable that such relations should be established among the Churches which they represent, and they accordingly recommend that this matter should be brought respectfully under the notice of the supreme courts of these Churches at their next meeting. 222 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. In connection with the passing of this Act, and the suspension of negotiations for union, the following Declaratory Statement was recorded by the Free Assembly in their minutes. It was sioned by 296 ministers and 281 elders, the first names being Rev. Alexander Duff, D.D., and Lord Dalhousie (elder) : — We, the undersigned ministers and elders, respectfully tender the fol- lowing Explanatory Statement, which we crave the Assembly ex gratia to insert in their Record, along with our names subscribed thereto, and the names of those who may adhere to it, for the exoneration of our consciences, and for the information of posterity : We have all along recognised, and do still recognise the hand of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord in the origin of this Union movement — in its happy and hopeful progress from the beginning hitherto. ... In the view of the result reached in the negotiations there is no bar in principle to Union on the basis of the Westminster Confession, as held in common by all the churches. In the necessity which we find to be laid upon us of deferring to the scruples of beloved fathers and brethren, — consenting on that account to the interrup- tion of negotiations for Union, and accepting for the present the Act now passed into a Standing Law, — we desire to own the interposition of Him who rules over all, and sees and judges all; while at the same time we acknowledge in this dispensation the evidence of much sin and sho:tcoming on the part of the human agents concerned, — the guilt of which we take largely to ourselves, — earnestly hoping for the concurrence of our brethren with us in the prayer, thab the Lord may search us and try us all, that He may see what wicke i way is in us, and lead us in the way everlasting — the only way in which real Union can be sought and found. An Act to Alter and Amend the Laws relating to the Appointment of Ministers to Parishes in Scotland, August 7, 1874. Whereas an Act was passed in the tenth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Anne, chapter twelve, intituled "An Act to restore the Patrons to their Ancient Rights of Presenting Ministers to the Churches vacant in that part of Great Britain called Scotland," and another Act was passed in the sixth and seventh years of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, chapter sixty-one, intituled "An Act to remove doubts respecting the Admission of Ministers to Benefices in that part of the United Kingdom called Scotland," and it is expedient to repeal the same, and to provide otherwise for the appointment of ministers of the Church of Scotland as by law established : And whereas Her Majesty has been graciously jjleased to signify that she has placed at the disposal of Parliament her interest in the several rights of advocation, donation, and patronage of churches and parishes in Scotland belonging to her : Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and cousect of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : — 1. Extent of Act. — This Act shall apply to Scotland only. 2. Commencement of Act. — Except in so far as otherwise expressly pro- vided, this Act shall come into operation on the first day of January one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, which date is hereinafter referred to as the commencement of this Act. 3. Repeal of Acts 10 Anne c. 12, and 6 and 7 Vict. c. 61. Appointment of Ministers in future. — From and after the commencement of this Act, the said Acts of the tenth year of the reign of her Majesty Queen Anne, HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 223 chapter twelve, and the sixth and seventh years of the reign of her present Majesty, chapter sixty-one, shall be repealed, and the right of ejecting and appointing ministers to vacant churches and parishes in Scotland is hereby declared to be vested in the congregations of such vacant churches and parishes respectively, subject to such regulations in regard to the mode of naming and proposing such ministers by means of a committee chosen by the cougregation, and of conducting the election and of making the appointment by the congregation as may from time to time be framed by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, or which after the passing of this Act, but before the next meeting of the said General Assembly, may be framed by the Commission of the last General Assembly duly con- vened for the purpose of making interim regulations thereanent : Provided always, that, with respect to the admission and settlement of ministers appointed in terms of this Act, nothing herein contained shall affect or prejudice the right of the said Church, in the exercise of its undoubted powers, to try the qualifications of persons appointed to vacant parishes; and the courts of the said Church are hereby declared to have the ri^ht to decide finally and conclusively upon the appointment, admission, and settlement in any church aud parish of any person as minister thereof. The ministers appointed, admitted, and settled in terms of this Act are hereby declared to have in all respects the same rights, privileges, and duties which now belong to or are incumbent on the ministers of the said Church. 4. Compemation to Private Patrons. — In all cases in which the patronage of a parish is held either solely or jointly by a private patron, or any guardian or trustee on his behalf, it shall be lawful for him, or for such guardian or trustee, at any time within six months after the passing of this Act, to present a petition to the Sheriff of the county (and when the parish is partly in two or more counties, the petition may be presented to the Sheriff of any one of such counties), praying him to determine the com- pensation to be paid to such patron in respect of the operation of this Act; but it shall not be incumbent on any such patron, or upon any guardian or trustee for such patron, whether the patronage is held upon a fee simple title or under a deed of entail or other limited title, to present such a petition; and if no such petition shall be presented within the said period, it shall be held and taken that the claim for such compensation has been renounced, and no claim therefor shall afterwards be competent in any manner of way. No compensation in respect of the operation of this Act shall be paid to Her Majesty, or to any patron other than a private patron. 5. Procedure he/ore Sheriff. — Upon any petition for the determination of the compensation payable under this Act being presented, the Sheriff shall order it to be intimated to the minister of the parish to which the petition relates, and to the clerk of the Presbytery of the bounds, and, after the expiry of the induciae of twenty-one days, whether with or with- out answers, shall first inquire as to the title of the petitioner, and, if he shall be satisfied thereof, he shall proceed to determine the amount of such compensation, which shall be equal to one j-ear's stipend of the parish to which the petition relates when the petitioner is sole patron, and such proportion thereof as to the Sheriff shall seem just when the petitioner is a joint-patron; and the Sheriff shall pronounce an interlocutor finding and declaring that, on tbe occurrence of a vacancy in the parish, the petitioner, or those in his right, shall be entitled, unless the sum shall be otherwise provided, to receive from the heritors payment of the amount of compen- sation found due, by four equal yearly instabnents out of the first four years' stipend, which, but for the passing of this Act, would have been wholly payable by them to the minister to be appointed on the occurrence of said vacancy, or his successor in such parish, or in the case of the appointment of an assistant and successor out of the first four years' stipend, which, but for the passing of this Act, would have been wholly 224 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. payable after the date of sucli appointment to the minister of such parish ; and the petitioner, or those in his right, shall have the same or the like remedies for recovery of said compensation which a minister has for the recovery of his stipend : Provided that where the patron is himself an heritor of the parish he shall be entitled to retain and appropriate the sum or sums of stipend which, had he not been himself the patron, would under the oj)eration of this Act have been payable by him to the patron of the parish. 6. Sheriffs Judgments Final. — The interlocutors or judgments of the Sheriff pronounced under this Act shall not be subject to review by any superior court, but where they have been pronounced by the Sheriff- Substitute or Steward- Substitute, they shall be subject to review by the Sheriff or Steward : Provided always, that it shall be competent for the Court of Session by act of sederunt to regulate the proceedings before the Sheriff under this Act. 7. (1) Appointment by Preshytery tanquam jure devoluto. — If on occasion of a vacany in any parish, no appointment of a minister shall be made by the congregation within the space of six months after the vacancy has occurred, the right of appointment shall accrue and belong for that time to the Presbytery of the bounds where such parish is, who may proceed to appoint a minister to the said parish tanquam jure devoluto. (2) Provision for case of small Congregations. — If at any time after the passing of this Act, and prior to the first day of July one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, it shall appear to the Presbytery of the bounds that the number of the communicants of any vacant church and parish to which no presentation had been issued before the passing hereof is less than twenty-five, it shall not be lawful to take any proceedings for the appointment, admission, and settlement of a minister until after the said first day of July one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, the jus devolutum in the case of any such vacancy shall not come into operation until after the first day of September one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, although more than six months may have elapsed from the occurrence of such vacancy. 8. Repeal of Inconsistent Statutes. — All laws, statutes, and usages incon- sistent with this Act are hereby repealed ; but nothing in this Act contained shall affect or interfere with the appointment of the minister first appointed as the minister of any new parish quoad sacra, or the right to teind now possessed by or competent to any patron or titular, or the right of ann, or the laws now in force in regard to the disposal of vacant stipends ; nor shall anything contained in this Act, except the provisions of the second sub- section of section seven, affect or interfere with any proceedings following upon or arising out of a presentation issued before the commencement of this Act. 9. Interpretation Clause. — The word "minister" shall include assistant and successor; the word "guardian" shall include tutors and curators of pupils or minors or of persons labouring under incapacity or disability, and factors loco tutoris and factors loco cibsentis; the word "sheriff" shall include steward, sheriff-substitute, and steward-substitute ; the words "one year's stij^end " shall be construed to mean the sum which, on an average of the three preceding years, the minister has received in name of stipend out of the teinds of the parish; the words "private patron" shall mean and include all patrons of churches and parishes, whether single or joint, other than Her Majesty and her royal successors, and burgh corporations, universities, or trustees constituted commissioners, officers, or persons acting in a public capacity; the word "parish" shall include united parishes, and also parishes quoad sacra as well as parishes quoad omnia, and where in any church and parish there is more than one benefice, each benefice shall be dealt with and regarded as if it were a separate parish; the words "vacancy" and "vacant" shall include and HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 225 refer to the occasion of the appointment of an assistant and successor, as well as the occasion of an ordinary vacancy; the word "congregation" shall mean and include communicants and sucli other arlherents of the church as the kirk-session under regulations to be framed by the General Assembly or Commission thereof, as provided in the third section hereof, may determine to be members of the congregation for the purposes of this Act ; "heritors " shall mean heritors liable in payment of stipend. [For Regulations framed and enacted by the General Assembly to be observed in the Election and Appointment of Ministers, see Scottish Church and Univ. Almanac, 1SS6, p. 74-] The following was the motion adopted at the Free Assembly Commission, November 18, 1874: — Whereas the recent Act of Parliament on the subject of Church Patronage in Scotland has been represented as fitted to facilitate a reunion of Scottish Presbyterians, and in particular as sufficient to remove the main grounds of dissatisfaction with the constitution of the Establish- ment on the part of members of the Free Church, the Commission think it right to declare : — 1. That the Free Church of Scotland adheres to the principles of her Claim of Kight adopted in 1842, and of her Protest in 1843, and maintains steadfastly the duty of a national recognition and promotion of scriptural truth. 2. That the Free Church of Scotland continues to protest against the principle of law established by the House of Lords and by the Legislature during the proceedings which led to the Disruption, according to which the Church, in the discharge of her peculiar and incumbent duties, is held bound to give obedience to any directions which the civil courts may judge themselves entitled to issue (on the plea of securing or enforcing what those courts consider to be civil rights of parties or statutory duties of the Church), even when those directions apply to matters confessedly spiritual, as is set forth at large in this Church's unanswered Protest ; and that by this principle the scriptural liberty of the Church to obey the will of Christ has been encroached upon, and the spiritual independence of the Church, as far as concerns the Scottish Establishment, has been overthrown. 3. That the recent Act regarding Patronage does not profess to change this principle of law, but tends rather to confirm it, and' that there is no prospect of its being reversed. 4. That, moreover, the Free Church of Scotland, under the good provi- dence of God, and through the liberality of her people, secured from the first and has during the last thirty years attained increasingly a position which she is not prepared to abandon for the sake of any advantage which her re-establishment could offer to her; and, Finally, That the existing connection between Church and State in Scotland is upheld on an unscriptural and inequitable basis, and that con- sequently its termination is an essential preliminary towards a beneficial readjustment of Scottish ecclesiastical arrangements, which readjustment is the common interest of all Presbyterian bodies holding the Westminster Confession of Faith. The following Resolutions were unanimously adopted by the United Presbyterian Synod, December IG, 1874 : — That this Synod recognises the responsibility which the passing of the recent Patronage Act and subsequent events have devolved on this Church, and feels called upon, in justice to the great principles and vitally impor- tant interests which it has hitherto, as a separate Church, in reliance on God, endeavoured to defend and conserve, hereby to declare : P 226 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. 1. That the election of ministers, and of all spiritual office-bearers in a Christian congregation, belongs, by the law of Christ, to the members in full communion, to them alone, and to all of them without distinction. Equality of privilege is a distinguishing characteristic of that fellowship into which they have entered as Christian brethren, which is to be sacredly guarded from desecration and invasion by extension to any who have not the required status. The principle of this right and privilege, the founders of our Church vindicated in opposition to patronage in every form ; and since our origioal secession, upwards of 140 years ago, it has been maintained by us as a fundamental principle. It is a right which this Church was the first in Scotland to exemplify practically, as well as to assert, in its whole extent, in the election of elders and of deacons as of ministers, and in the enjoyment and exercise of it equally by female as by male members. As a right, spiritual in its nature, and derived from Christ, no civil power can confer it, nor from such a source can any faithful Church accept it. The civil power which presumes to bestow it usurps a divine prerogative, and the Church which professes to have received it in such a way only sub- stitutes a human counterfeit in its stead, and sets at nought the doctrine that "Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only King and Head of the Church, and hath appointed therein a government distinct from, and not subordi- nate to civil government." This divine right, which belongs essentially and inherently to every free and faithful Church, is one of the strongest securities for its liberty, purity, vigour^ and prosperity, and therefore should, by every congregation, be highly prized, jealously guarded, and zealously exercised, that it may ' ' stand fast in the liberty with which Christ hath made it free." 2. That the procedure of the Established Church and of the Legislature, in connection with the Patronage Act, presents, in a conspicuous light, the Erastian nature of the relation which subsists between that Church and the State. No right can be conceived as belonging more essentially and inherently to a Christian Church than that of electing its ministers, and determining all arrangements pertaining thereto. But this right the Church of Scotland, since it became dependent on the State, has never possessed, and the State has always asserted and disposed of according to its pleasure. In the late procedure, the Church approached the State, as its master, with a petition to change the mode of appointing its ministers, and prayed that the appointment should be vested partly in the Heritors — a civil body — and partly in the Elders and Communicants— two religious bodies ; and the State in its supreme and sovereign authority, complied with the object of the petition in making a great change, but in a manner different altogether from that prayed for by the Church, excluding the civil body, to which the Church gave the first place, and displacing the two religious bodies, to which the Church assigned the second and third places, and in lieu of that tripartite constituency (with apparently three equal shares in the election), substitutiug one not before known in Acts of Parliament — the ' Congregation ' — a body in one respect definite, as it must consist of those who are communicants in the State Church, and in another respect indefinite, as consisting of adherents, being parishioners of full age, to be selected by the Kirk Session in virtue of authority derived from the Act. What the State has conferred, and what the Church has received, is a civil right transferred from the former patrons to the congregations, — for such alone the appointment of ministers has ever been held by the State, and acknowledged by the Church to be, a right of property, hitherto marketable and transferable as any other property, and a right, the tenure of which is wholly subject to the control of tbe State, to be altered, transferred, or revoked at its will. So that the spiritual franchise, which a simply or purely Christian Church accounts inherent and vital to it, the Established Church does not assume to possess and does not profess to derive from Christ, but asks and obtains from the civil power Avhat is only HISTORIC DOCUMENTS, 227 an outward semblance and substitute for it — a civil right created by Act of Parliament. 3. That in the present religious condition of Scotland, when so large a proportion of Presbyterians, agreeing in doctrine, worship, and government, have seceded from the Established Church, because opposed on grounds of conscience to its administration and constitution, and along with the other denominations constitute a great preponderance of the population, it would have been recognised by all as a manifest injustice and wrong to all the bodies composing this large majority, for the Legislature, had there been no Established Church, to have created one consisting of the Presbyterian minority, investing it with invidious privileges and enriching it with national endowments. But legislation of this unjust and offensive character marks the Church Patronage Act of last Session, which was framed avowedly to "strengthen and increase" the Established Church of the minority, and for that end pushed through Parliament, alike regardless of the principles on which State Churches hare hitherto been maintained, and of the claims, sentiments, and interests of the Churches of the majority, which, without any cost or trouble to the State, supply spontaneously, from their own resources, the means of Christian instruction and worship to all who desire or will accept them. In the words of the Duke of Argyll, — its ablest and most strenuous supporter — in the House of Lords, "this Bill has not been recommended to the House as a means of reunion with other churches. It has been prepared for the benefit of the people of the Established Church, with which alone it deals." In the words of the Premier in the House of Commons, " those who were within had everything to do with it, and those who were without had nothing." And that such legislation loudly calls for protest by this Church against its civil injustice and arrogant bearing to all the free Churches in Scotland, and for the vindication of Christian rights, and the religious liberty which it ignores or denies. 4. That this Church has ever contended for the independence of the Church of Christ in her legislation and government, and has, under her Divine and sole Head, as a non-established Church, enjoyed immunity from State control and regulation. That ttiis Church, following in the steps of her founders, whose whole actings, and not a few of whose utterances, tended to strike at the principles of State connection in this land, has been led by the deeper study of God's word on this subject, and by the lessons of experience, wholly to deny the right and duty of the Civil Magistrate, acting as ever for the glory of God, to set up or maintain a civil establish- ment of religion ; and has, without making uniformity of opinion on this subject a term of communion, repeatedly emitted testimonies against such institutions as contrary to civil justice and religious liberty, and to the great scriptural principle, that Jesus Christ, as the sole King and Head of His Church, has enjomed upon His people to provide for maintaining and extending it by free-will offerings : that this being the ordinance of Christ, it excludes State aid for these purposes, and that adherence to it is the true safe-guard of the Church's independence. And through the constraint of these convictions of Christian truth and duty as to civil establishments of religion, this Synod has once and again petitioned the Leoislature for their abolition. But the Church of Scotland, in procuring the Patronage Act for the defence of the Establishment, and in its Comuiission virtually appealing to this Church to be reunited with her, without any distinct reference to this radical diversity of view and action, can only contemplate the continued existence of the system which this Church has so earnestly condemned and refused to participate in ; and, therefore, it is the duty of this Synod once more emphatically to declare, that, while ever ready seriously to consider proposals for Union with other Churches on a scriptural basis, and to unite with every branch of the Church of Christ in all Christian work and service, this Church must continue to testify and labour in all suitable ways fur 228 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. the Disestablishment and the Disendowinent of the Established Churches of this land, and to look and pray for reunion only in connection with this issue. But the noble devotion of that band of ministers, most of whom on that May morning [1843] surrendered all they possessed of worldly prosperity at the bidding of conscience, is not forgotten, and never will be, while Scotland has a heart to beat. I could not help being surprised a few years ago [1874], that anyone should have thought that the tardy surrender of lay patronage would have the slightest effect in obliterating from the minds of the people the reverential gratitude and admiration which that grand spectacle inspired, or the memory of the causes which led to it. — Bight Hon. Lord Moncreiff, preface to " The F. C. Principle." But we must remember that there are 800,000 members of the Free Church in Scotland, and 400,000 or 500,000 United Presbyterians ; and if they had been desirous of promoting petitions they could have sent up a few from among those 1,200,000. What I contend is, that this community of Nonconforming bodies in Scotland are entitled to be considered in this House. The learned Lord has framed the Bill from the Church point of view, and so far I do not find fault with him, but I do find fault with him because he has framed it from that point of view exclusively. He says his intention is to strengthen the Church. How? By weakening the other bodies : not by an honest and straightforward ofi'er to them, accompanied with frank confession of wrong, to reunite that which in former years was unhappily torn asunder, but by investing the present Established Church with such a wealth of popular privilege and such an unheard of amount of exemption. You propose to give an unwarranted amount of liberty to the Church Courts, and to take away the privileges of civil courts, while you leave the Free Church and the United Presbyterians as a body to profit as they can ; and individuals of these bodies will be tempted, it is hoped, to come back into the Established Church. Now, sir, is that a wise and prudent line to proceed upon ? What has been the state of things in Scot- land since 184.3? Avast secession took place. What was its effect? In the first place, it was to raise for Scotland throughout the Christian world a degree of notice, a degree of celebrity, and a degree of honour which no such limited country ever enjoyed before — distinction, not of those who resisted the movement of 1843, not of those who continued members of the Established Church, but of those who went from their homes and churches and flung themselves on the bounty of the popular party. This drew a burst of universal applause from all parts of Christendom. Noble and great was the country which could produce such men in this nineteenth century — who could endure such sacrifices to their country and their God ! . . . The question really is, are we to consider this as a bill for the Establishment only, or have the Presbyterian bodies a title to be considered as I may say they have? The only matter which the learned Lord thinks is entitled to consideration is the strengthening of the Established Church by weakening the other bodies, and offering inducements to their adherents to come over man by man. I ask is that a fair and generous course, for they might feel a delicacy in asking it themselves openly and J)ublicly ? Whose fault is it that they became Dissenters ? Is it the fault of those who are now represented by the Established Church ? The learned lord says it was patronage that made them Dissenters. This bill is a cry of peccavi on the part of the Church of Scotland ; and if that is so, it is a confession of wrong, and a declaration of penitence. But there is something beyond penitence which is absolutely indispensable to its sincerity and that is resiiiution.— Bight Bo7i. W. E. Glachtone, 1S74. . . . The Established Church of Scotland is in a decided minority of the population. It claims 42 per cent., a little over two-fifths of the whole. It is allowed to have 36 per cent., somewhat beyond one-third. Let us take it nearly at its own HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 229 estimate, and suppose it has a full two-fifths. Is it, then so easy to iustify in argument the position of an establishment of rehgion for a minority of the population, as to make it prudent for such a body to assume, a'-ainst a clear nonconforming majority, what has to them the aspect ot an aggressive attitude ? In the view of that majority, the Patronage Act ot 1874 which gave the appointment of Established ministers to the people of their communion, was an attempt to bid and buy back piecemeal within the walls, those who had been ejected wholesale. It was resented accordingly, and by means of that Act the controversy of Disestablishment which had been almost wholly asleep beyond the Tweed, had been roused to an activity, and forced into a prominence which may make it the leading Scottish question at the next general election, and which is not without possible moment or meaning to a limited extent, even for England.— Gladstone, ''Gleanings^'" 11. , p. 361. I should like to touch, in passing here, the title— not the interior— of the Duke of Argyll's pamphlet, " The Patronage Act of 1874 all that was asked in 1843." His Grace means what we who became the i^ree Churcti asked, for the other side asked nothing at that time. The Duke held at the time, and holds to-day, that what we asked was just and reasonable,— that it should have been granted, and that we were wronged when it was refused. Now, the proposition of his Grace's title-page, that the demand has been conceded, is either true or not true. If it is not true, redress tor a confessed wrong has not been given ; if it is true, restitution has been made to the %vrong party— to the party who was in collusion with the wroncr-doer, and received the proceeds. To Mr. Gladstone's grand appeal, in the debate upon the bill, that justice, and even decency, demanded that we should have been consulted, no defence has been offered, except the remark that it was known beforehand that we would not accept a share of the endowment. That is true, but it is not a defence. By the very defence which they set up, they acknowledge that we had the right to a share, it we had been willing to take it ; otherwise the defence is not straight- forward. Therefore, even if we did not see meet to accept it for ourselves, we had acquired the right to be consulted as to its destination. If we had been consulted, we were ready to tender an advice, but not to advise the course which has been adopted. I desire to tread in apostolic footsteps. I am not content to be dismissed by the magistrates privily after we have been wronged. Thev did not beat us, indeed— we do not live in such a vulgar age ; but they summoned venerated ministers to their bar, and rebuked them as if they had been common criminals. It is not necessary to prove that they deeply injured us, for by word and act they confess it publicly to-day. And now they send us a message at second-hand, that we may sneak out one by one, and share the benetit of their Erastian Estab- lishment. Nay, but let them come themselves and fetch us out. We stand as Paul stood before us— on our honour and our rights. Let them come to us, and redress our wrongs. — Rev. IF. Arnot, 1874- The Free Church did not go out because of patronage, and could not go back because of its abolition. Patronage was at the very most the occasion of the alleged settlement of the future relation of Church and State in 1843. And it was by no means the exclusive occasion of it. Ibe right of the Church to expand itself by admitting into its Courts, not only ministers called without lay presentation, but ministers received from other Churches, came to have perhaps a more conclusive influence on the result latterly than patronage had. But patronage, as the Duke of Argyll brings out, has, in its own nature, simply nothing to do with the great question then settled. Suppose even that the Veto measure of 1834 were tran- scribed into an Act of Parliament in 1874, it would not aftect the general law, as to the duty of the Church and the rights of the State, which has been between these dates laid down by the Courts. Neither would it 230 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. aflfect the settlement of that duty, and those rights, alleged by the Free Church to have been made by the Legislature also, at the crisis of 1843. And after all, the settlement of pastors is only one point in the large circle of Church duty, whose circumference is at every point touched upon by the State, The moment that the Church again asserts its freedom to legislate for itself (not for the State), at any one point of that circle, the same "occasion" will arise. There will be the same incompetency, both to legislate and to refrain in the meantime from what the Church may have come to think wrong and immoral — with, in addition, the permanent in- ability to separate from the State thus supreme. And precisely the same would be the result in the event of the State legislating for the Church, no matter how abhorrent the legislation might be ; the Church would be bound to submit. How futile the proposal is to change this practical sub- ordination (the only thing on account of which the Free Church went out) by "abolition of patronage" need not again be said. But indeed, it does not need a,rgument. Because a man throws away a particular stick, that does not prove that he has no right to beat you — especially if he has first beaten you black and blue, and has then insisted on keeping the stick for thirty years, until you shall have not only withdrawn your denial of his right to beat you, but approached him by way of petition. On the contrary, his throwing it away in these circumstances rather indicates that he has the right which you acknowledged thirty years ago, and which is the basis on which you are allowed to present your petition. — Lines, '* The Church of Scotland Crisis.'' Union of United Presbyterians in England with the English Presbyterian Church, 1876. The following was agreed upon as the basis of Union for the Church in England : — 1. That the Word of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is the only rule of faith and duty. 2. That the Westminster Confession of Faith is the subordinate standard of this Church. 3. That in subscribing the said subordinate standard, the oflBce-bearers of this Church, while holding the subjection of civil rulers, in their own province, to the authority of the Lord .Tesus Christ, are not required to accept anything in that document which favours or may be regarded as favouring intolerance or persecution. 4. That the Westminster Directory of Worship exhibits generally the order of public worship and of the administration of the sacraments in this Church. 5. That the name of the Church in England shall be "The Presbyterian Church of England," and the supreme court of the Church shall be "The Synod (or Assembly) of the Presbyterian Church of England." Union of the E-eformed Presbyterian Church and Free Church, 1876. This took place at Edinburgh on Thursday, May 25, 1876, when seventy ministers and eldei'S, constituting the Reformed Presbyterian Synod, entered into union with the Free Church. Those P.P.'s, however, who in 1863 refused to accept certain modifications of the Testimony did not unite. See p. 164. Those seventy men who went up, honoured by the crowds that lined the street, were the representatives of men who used to go lIISTOniC DOCUMENTS. 231 up the same street under the shadow of the same tall picturesque houses, but who paused on their course towards the Castle, and then passed down the Netherbow and into the Grassmarket, and up the ladder of the scaffold, to be beheaded or hanged as martyrs. How changed the scene ! This union with the Free Church marks a new chapter in Scottish history. — Fro/. W. Graham, D.D. Sheriflf Campbell rose and said — Fathers and brethren, I have the high honour of moving the first resolution in our united Church, and it gives me much pleasure; for Richard Cameron was one of those heroes whose memory haunted me in my boyish days, and still haunts me and moves me as I pass by his solitary grave on Airdsmoss, which I am accustomed not unfrequently to do. That solitary grave is the grave of one of the bravest defenders of our civil rights and our common faith. I shall not occupy your time further. We have no Moderator at present, and, therefore, I have to move that Dr. M'Lauchlan, who so worthily occupies the chair of the Moderator, and who was elected before the union was consummated, be elected as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the united Church. Dr. M'Lauchlan — At the Revolution your forefathers did not join with ours. It remained for 1876 to see what was denied to 1688. The men whom you represent were ready to acknowledge the duty of nations to the Church of Christ ; they did not hold that it was sin in the Church to enter into union with the State, and to receive support from it. But they held that no such union could be lawful unless Church and State were both truly Christian. The union they sought was the union of a Christian Church with a Christian State. And as a proof of the Christianity of the State, they sought that all rulers and magistrates should come under the bonds and obligations of the great National Covenant. How far that is the true theory of the proper relation to each other of Church and State I shall not here inquire, but I have the conviction that there are not a few in this Church who hold with the Covenanters in theory, although they might perhaps differ with them as to the mode of giving practical expression to their belief now. We can testify very emphatically that it would have been well for us and our forefathers if in many of its dealings with us the State had acted more upon Christian principles than it did ; and that the bringing of mere worldly considerations into its dealings with the Church, to the almost exclusion of any others, has brought upon us many and sore calami- ties, so much so that there are not a few of us who dread in practice what is usually called State connection, on account of such disastrous consequences being possible. And in connection with this view we cannot hide from ourselves the position taken up by our forefathers at the period of the Revolution Settlement. They feared that there was in that settlement a leaven of Erastianism which would one day show itself and work for evil. Whether such an element existed in the settlement approved and accepted by our forefathers, I do not mean here to inquire. All I mean to say, in justice to them, is that they did not think so, and that if they did they never would have acquiesced in it. They were thoroughly resolved on maintaining the old Scottish testimony for the crown rights of the Lord Jesus Christ as the sole Head of His body the Church— the one Ruler to whom in all spiritual questions she was bound to submit. But we cannot but see that practically means were found by our civil courts to bring in, under that settlement, principles the very opposite of those which you and our forefathers so earnestly maintained. Under that settlement it has been virtually declared that the Church is the mere creation of the State, and is entitled to exercise her Christian liberty only within such limits as the State may prescribe. Our position here to-night is evidence of this. You never entered the State Church of 1688, we have been driven out of it, and 232 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. that mainly for the sake of the very principle which in a large measure prevented your fathers from entering it. We occupy their common ground, so far as the great principle of the spiritual independence of the Church of Christ is concerned. And it is most refreshing and encouraging to find you, dear brethren, alongside of us in connection with so noble a testimony, a testimony so dear to the men who in bygone days won for themselves and for our land, amidst sore trials and sufferings, undying glory. There are none whom we would sooner choose to join us in this our testimony than yourselves, the worthy successors of the old Scottish Cameronians, true representatives of the noble Covenanters, men to whom the nation owes a debt which it can never pay. I doubt not, dear brethren, that you will find yourselves quite at home among us, and that the longer you are with us the more you will find that it is so. You cherish supreme regard for the Church of the first and second Reformation. So do we. In this we are cordially one. You cherish in your hearts the memories of the times of the Covenants, and of the men who witnessed then for truth, many of them unto death. So do we. We may differ from you on some minor points with regard to the obligations under which the Covenants place us, but with regard to the principles which lay at the bottom of the whole testimony of the Covenanters we hold by them as firmly as you. We love to look back to those times, with all that is sad and sorrowful about them, and to hold ourselves as successors of the men who bore aloft the banner of truth in those days of trial, and as the resolute defenders and promoters of the same cause. This Free Church of ours claims to be of the seed of the Scottish Covenant, and sees no cause to be ashamed of the relationship. Nay, we glory in it, and we love you the more because of our common ancestry. And then you and we hold with equal firmness by the truth as set forth in the Westminster Confession and in the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. To be a true union this must be a union in the truth. It would be a serious matter, indeed, and promise ill for the future, if there had been doctrinal difterences between us, if we interpreted Scripture differently on the great questions of sin and salvation. We hold with you by that great system of doctrine usually called Calvinistic and Augustinian, but which may be more accurately described as the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures. We believe in the eternal sovereignty of God, King of kings and Lord of lords. We believe in the surpassing evil of sin as committed against that sovereignty. We believe in God's great purpose of peace as exhibited towards undeserving sinners. We believe in the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ as the substitute of His people. We believe in His triumphant resurrection and ascension. We believe in the work of the Divine Spirit, the gracious Comforter; and we believe in the final and eternal glory of all God's saints. Here you and we meet as one on the great platform of Bible truth, and here I trust the united Church will ever continue to abide, holding forth faithfully the word of life to perishing sinners. We feel that it is no small gain to get united with us a body of men so thoroughly sound in the faith as you are, and so thoroughly in sympathy with everything that is distinctive in the old Scottish theology. And I do not know but you may find among us of the Free Church some of those peculiarities which you may have thought, characteristic of your- selves. I observed a brother of your body urging, as an objection to this union, that this Churcli admitted as the subject matter of public praise other compositions than the Fsalms of David. So did the Church of Scot- land during her whole history, if I am not mistaken. But that brother was not aware of the variety of opinions and practice existing in this Church in connection with such questions. If he visits a large mass of our congregations, especially in the north, he will find as firm an adherence to the Psalms of David as any successor of the old Hillmen could desire, and as great a readiness to maintain that no other matter of praise is so glorify- ing to God or so edifying to man. So that you will find among us much HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 233 that is characteristic of you. You will find a large amount of the spirit of the Covenanters still alive in this Free Church. But on one other question, and I shall refer only to one, you will find us occupying the same ground with you, and with equal firmness. You will find among us a resolute determination to maintain the Presbyterian government of the Church of Christ. Your fathers and ours contende I both with Popery and Prelacy for Presbytery. They did so because they believed that Presbytery was that form of government in the Church which had the warrant of Scrip- ture. We disown mere sectarian animosity towards men holding diflferent views. We desire so far as in us lies to live at peace with all men. But we are the no less Presbyterians from conviction, believing both as Christians and as patriots that Scotland owes much to its Presbyterianism, that it has fostered the intelligence of the nation, and that it has trained up a people distinguished by their religion and their loyalty, and who have, by their love of order, their enterprise, and their success, vindicated the national character in all parts of the world. We are resolved to adhere to our Presbyterianism, and we rejoice at the accession of such a body as you are, as tending to strengthen the Presbyterian cause, and to maintain and extend it in the land. And now, dear brethren, let me in the name of the Free Church of Scotland welcome you heartily among us. We give you our hands and our hearts. Would that some who had helped forward the cause of union had been spared to see this night. They have sown, and we are reaping the produce. But they are better than if they had been with us. They are in eternal union with Jesus Christ and with His glori- fied saints. We enjoy the present privilege of mingling in this solemn, interesting, and instructive scene. May God bless the union formed this night. May He with whom are the issues of all events establish the work of our hands. May He enable us by His grace to go on as a united band to the great work before us in the world. May we be more faithful, more devoted, and more successful in winning souls to Christ than ever, and may this union be the forerunner of many similar unions, until all the Lord's faithful people are one, even as God and Christ are one. Dr. GoOLD— The movement which has found a happy consummation this day is not without its historical interest and importance. It may serve to remind us of the connection which the united body possesses with the past —with the Old aud the Reformed Church of Scotland, the Church of Knox and Melville, of Henderson and Guthrie, of Cameron and Cargill — legitimate connection with the Church of past ages — I say legitimate connection, for the principle oftentimes appears in a spurious form and is perverted to an erroneous application. It would invalidate, at least it would greatly weaken, the claim of any system of truth to be a revelation from God if it were the mere ofifspring of yesterday — if the gospel we preach to-day were not the substance identical with the promise vouchsafed to Adam when he fell. . . . Just in proportion as we cherish a wise and discriminating reverence for the past attainments of the Church, are we likely to make progress for the future. It is no paradox I am uttering ; it is more of a simple truism. For to move is not necessarily to advance — all novelty is not improvement — there may be change when there is no progress. It is not progress when a vessel drifts from her moorings, and threatens to become a wreck on some rock-bound coast. It is real progress when the structure rises upon the solid foundation, each tier of stones resting square and plumb upon the tier beneath it, till the copestone crowns the whole buildmg. Even as regards the unity of the Church of Christ, the wise adherence to recognised and established principles is not to be overlooked. It is when the Church of God " raises up the foundations of many genera- ations " that she proves herself, and shall be called, according to the divine promise, not merely " the restorer of paths to dwell in," but " the repairer of the breach." And so the union of this day, accomplished on the old Standards of the Reformed Church of vScotland, as it honours the past, 234 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. affords a precious augury for the future. We accept them, not as articles of peace resulting in nothing better than a hollow truce or armed neutrality. We accept them not as a barren creed, but a brotherly covenant in which we pledge ourselves to each other, to the world, and to God, to spread the glorious gospel they embody till all the nations of the earth rejoice in its light. We count it no small honour to be associated with you in such a work of faith and labour of love. Many interesting events have occurred in this hall. The events of this day will not be the least interesting — when here as in some sweet vale of Avoca, kindred streams have met and mingled, never to depart, but to roll on together till they meet and mingle with the eternal ocean of love and unity in heaven. The broad and deep stream of Free Church zeal and principle and liberality, with a tiny moorland rill that derives its chief interest in coming from scenes which, in the beautiful language of Renwick, are " flowered with the graves of martyrs." What- ever honour we derive from the union, I trust you will be no losers when you add another link, not your only link, I am happy to concede, still another and a genuine link connecting you with all that is venerable and sacred in the past history of Scotch Presbyterianism, w^hen on your tower of David, gleaming with the shields of the mighty, and covered with banners signalising past victories of the faith, all men henceforth, especially Christian strangers from distant lands, acquainted with our common history, and appreciating our common principles, shall recognise and discern an old blue flag, of which no ridicule will ever make us ashamed, as no perse- cution ever made us relax our grasp of it. Eiddled with the shot of Claver- house and Dalziel, consecrated with the blood of martyrdom, and inscribed with the imperishable legend, dear in a sense to every leal-hearted Scotsman, to every lover of civil and religious liberty — "for Christ's Crown and Cove- nant. " But, above all things, all human documents and earthly badges, let us on both sides, or rather as now one Church, turn and labour in a spirit of supreme and abiding loyalty to Him who condescends to reveal and offer Himself as Jehovah-Nissi, "The Lord our Banner." Reconstruction of Scottish Presbyterianism. The constitution of the Church, with which I heartily concur, gives freedom to differ on the question, but there is an unvarying opinion expressed in the action and testimony of the Church in Synods and Presby- teries, and other forms of public utterance, year after year, so uniform and so decided that it may be said to be the overwhelmingly prevalent one ; and, from a pretty extensive acquaintance with members of all classes throughout the country, I can say that these deliverances fairly represent the mind of the Church. In such a case, it will be apparent that Mr. Finlay's bill does not in the slightest degree alter the position of the United Presbyterians, or open a gate of return to the Establishment. They hold that endowments, or special privileges, granted to one Church above another by the State are in their very nature unjust, and certain to be a cause of constant discord. If citizens perform their duties equally well to the State, it has no right, and acts very unwisely, to make distinctions among them on the ground of their religion. These are our deep fixed convictions, intelligible, I hope, to men who will take the trouble of looking at them, and wrought into our nature by the struggles and activities of generations ! Is it to be expected that, in the crisis of the battle, we are to wheel round and desert our principles and the friends with whose help we have wrung from the Establishment the liberties we enjoy, and that, after having suffered the wrong, we are to join in inflicting it on others ? It would be an ignominy unheard of since the days of the apostate Sharp, and a reversal on our part, to our lasting disgrace, of the noble deed of 1843, which I feel persuaded the Free Church has not yet come to look upon as a mistake. It seems to be thought, moreover, that it HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. 235 will be an cadditional inducement if some other bill shall follow to partition the unexhausted funds among the Presbyterian Churches, ours included ! We have surely said, often and plainly enough, that we look on these funds, with the other national endowments, as belonging neither to one nor all the Presbyterian Churches, but to the nation, to be devoted to unsectarian purposes ! Our view of Church finance is that giving to the cause of Christ should be free, and that, when one man's conscience is allowed to impose a forced burden on another, a wrong is done to both. This law of free giving we believe to be the fundamental rule laid down in the New Testament, not only righteous, but wise and beneficent, blessing, like mercy, "him that gives and him that takes." It is a man's duty to give to the cause of God as much as it is his duty to pray for it, aud, generally, the giving enlarges his heart more than the praying ; it prepares him to give not less but more, and, in the end, is a quicker way of doing the real work of the Church than depending, either in whole or in part, on State support. We have our diflSculties, no doubt, and are quite prepared for having the finger of reproach pointed at them, but we shall ask nothing from our critics nor their paymaster, believing that the appeals we make to our people's hearts are the divinely-appointed way of educating them for greater things. Our belief, moreover, is that it is the Church which is self-supporting that alone can be truly independent, all Government enactments about liberty notwithstanding. What the State gives it can take away, and what it declares it can annul. We do not want these Emancipation Acts ; we are freeborn. But more than this, we believe that it is only the Church which supports itself that has a right to be independent. To give unfettered li])erty to a Church which draws the greater part of its revenue from the State is an injustice to all the citizens, and an injury to the members of the Church. In every other department of State expenditure — army, navy, education — there is strict supervision, and why not here ? An Established Church, so far as its revenue is con- cerned, is a department of State finance, and justice to all tlie citizens requires superintendence of its administration. If the State selects the Established Church because it holds some special truth, is it not bound to see that this truth is faithfully upheld? Common-sense and common honesty demand that it should not continue to pay without looking after the compact on the side of the Church. It is quite possible that those who have sworn to a Confession may let it repose on a dusty shelf, and may come to preach doctrines not only dififerent from, but the very reverse of what they were chosen to defend. In a Free Church this can be cured by the withdrawal of the members with their contributions ; but here the endowments remain though the pulpit is emptied of the creed and the pews of the people. It is quite true that the State retains power over the endowments — let us be thankful for this miTch in the bill ; but where, or when, or how is it to withdraw them? It has shut itself out of court in each particular case, and if it waits till the evil has become general and clamant, the mischief is in all probability incurable. This is one of the most serious aspects of the bill. The framers of the Confession, who knew what they were about, have provided for such cases in the famous 23rd chapter. They say that "while the Civil Magistrate may not assume to himself the administration of the Word and Sacraments, or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, yet he hath authority, and it is his duty to take order, that unity and peace be preserved in the Church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administered, and observed." Whether this be called circa sacra or in sacris, it seems to be from the side of the State, a necessity, if its funds are to be properly expended and the purpose it professes, in establishing a Church, to be faithfully carried out. Those who made the Confession evidently thought 236 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. SO. Does Mr. Finlay's bill abolish this part of the Confession, and what does he give us in its place ? Nothing that I can see but a right for the Established Church to claim the endowments, and then, safe in its own enclosure, to do as it likes, l-ut consider this, that if possession of the endowments and complete independence be settled by statute on the Established Church of Scotland, the like demand will be put in by the Church of England — is, indeed, already being put in — and, with such a precedent, cannot be long denied. When the reins are let loose, what developments of Eitualism and Rationalism may we not expect? All this with the money of the nation ; and, therefore, we say that Church alone has a right to do what it will with its funds which furnishes them from its own resources. Xor is this all. We shall very soon have local government in some form for Ireland, and they are very blind who do not see that one of the first questions there will be reconstruction of the Church system. The majority will claim a Church Establish- ment with the same rights as in Scotland, and we know what Church it will be, and m hat Ulster Presbyterians and Anglican Episcopalians may look for. On this line of Established Church reconstruction, concurrent endowment is at the door, with the clergy of three conflicting Churches in State pay, agreeing only iu their demand on the national treasury, with a growing load to the public finance, an imminent danger to civil liberty and corru]3tion to the conscience of the people. These are not crotchets, nor are they the offspring of any small jealousies of our dissenting position. May we not hope that our Established Church friends, before they commit themselves to such hazards, will look beyond the limits of their own denomination, and even of Scotland ? As for the Free Church, though they may not approve of all our reasons, and though I have no means of knowing their mind, except such as are open to all, I have the firm con- viction that they will not permit the epoch-making event of the Disruption so fruitful in past blessings to Scotland and the world, to be covered over and sealed up by this thin and narrow piece of j^archment ; but that they will give the country and the Christian Church still more for which to thank them. As for the United Presbyterian Church, I feel I may confidently affirm that with, it may be, some few feeble exceptions, which all Churches have had in great moments of their history, she will stand firm on the right of conscience to demand that neither force nor favour shall come between it and God, and on the unassailable principle of religious equality before the law ; and she Avill not give way until, with allies in other Churches on whom she can fully count, we reach peace, as it can alone be reached, through even-handed justice to all. , . . If I agreed to or joined a Church constituted by the State on the Presbyterian basis, would I not be taking part in an act against which all Letters to Robert Campbell of Kinyeancleugh, Ayrshire 1564-1574. In The Miscellany Wad. Sac, three in number. One by John Carswell is dated Dunnvn [Dunoon], 29th May, 1564. The second is subscribed by Eiskine of Dun, Knox, and others. Dr. Laing has inserted a fac-simile of this. The third is from the Regent Morton. A Memorial of the Life and Death of two worthye Christians, Robert Campbell of the Kinyeancleugh, AND HIS wife Elizabeth Campbell. In English Meter. Written by John Davidson, of Prestonpans, in 1574. Only one copy of the original tract is known to exist. See extracts in M'Crie's '' Life of Melville," p. 465. EEV. JOHN WILLOCK, -1574. A native of Ayrshire. Relinquished Popery, and retired into England about 1539. Became preacher in St. Catherine's, London. Afterwards chaplain to the Duke of SujSfolk, father of Lady Jane Grey. He revisited Scotland in 1558, his purpose being " to essay what God would work by him in his native country." His sermons, preached on the Mass at Ayr, in 1559, occasioned a challenge by Kennedy of Crossraguel to a public disputation. He officiated for Knox in Edinburgh for a year from July, 1559, and was afterwards appointed Superintendent of the West See Wod. Coll., L, 199. Somewhat of the working of the Reformation and of the duties which fell to Willock as superintendent, we learn from the Burgh Records of the town of Peebles. That town stuck to the old faith till the Lords of the Congregation became powerful enouf^h to induce municipalities with not much religion of any kind to try the new. At first they refused, but on Nov. 20, 1560, " the baillies and communitie ordained the baillies till gang till Edinburgh to the Lords of the Congregation to provide ane minister and preacher." John Dickson was then inducted by ^' Johne Willock, superattendant in Glasgow." The new minister, or rather " exhortare and redare of the commoun prayeres," set about a reformation greatly needed, and shortly after addressed the following representation to the bailies and the community : Schirris, baillies counsale and communite of the burgh of Pehlis, humlie menis to your maisterschippis your seruitour Jchne Dikesone, exhortare in our said kirk of Pebhs, desyring your maisterschippis now present convenit to appoyut elderis to wache our your said kirk quha has the feir of God afore e, quhairthrow that vice may be pvnissit agreeable wdih the will of God as is revelic in his Evangell, and our reformit kirk ordourit as vtheris kirkkis is, that your maisterschippis obbeying the word of God may haif His bhssing and also your knawlege oppynnit be the instructioun of his -254 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. eternal Sprite, and in speciall that punishment may be put to their persones quha will nocht compleit the band of matrimony quhilk in the presens of God is wickkitnes, and sua that na correctioun be your tovne salbe ane verray Sodome and Gomor, and all becaus na correctioun is put thairto be your maisterschippis, and sua gif ye omit this vndone God will pynis yow quha is hinderaris of the said purpos. And this present is to exoner me in the presens of God quha hes oft reprovit the samiu by my writting, requiring your maisterschippis ansuer, alwayis ye havand the feir of God afore e, and for na partialite of ony persone stay this quhilk ye knaw is aggreable with the will of the Eternale Juge quha hes set yow in authorite. Willock's Correspondence. In The Miscellany of the Wodroio Society. It has reference to Kennedy's challenge, declined by Willock, because Crossraguel would not admit the Bible to be the only standard of appeal. Foxe, in his " Book of Martyrs," thus refers to Willock : " A Scottish friar, prisoned in the Fleet, for preaching against con- fession, holy water, praying to saints and for souls departed, against purgatory, and holding priests might have wives, etc." REV. JAMES LAWSON, Edinburgh, -1584. Born near Perth before 1540. Invited to become colleague and successor to Knox in 1572. He left several works in manuscript. Archbishop Adamson forged a testament in his name. See Calderwood, IV., 201. An Account of the Death and Funeral of Mr. James Lawson, at London, 12th October, 1584. See Misc. Wod. Soc, p. 449. JOHN ERSKINE, Laird of Dun, 1511-1591. Born at the family seat, between Brechin and Montrose. Of the old Castle of Dun little now remains. While abroad, Erskine came into contact with several of the Reformers, found the light of truth, and hastened to carry it to his countrymen. He also brought M. Marsilliers to teach Greek, established him at Montrose, and maintained him at his own expense. Marsilliers was succeeded by Wishart. For a time Erskine thought of purifying the Romish Church from error, Protestantism (following on Luther's famous Protest at Spires) being as yet unknown in Scotland; and we find him in 1537, applying to James V., for license to " pass in pilgrimage " to France and other places. Permission was granted under the royal mandate and signet. At Stirling in 1556, he and others signed a "call" to Knox to return to Scotland. He subscribed the first Covenant (vide p. 24) ; became warmly attached to Knox, and proved himself a true patriot and champion of the reformed doctrine. He was after wards chosen " superintendent " of Angus, and frequently THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 255 preached in his own parish. He was four times president or moderator of the General Assembly. He was "delyuerit fra the bondage of corruptione" in the 8 1st year of his age. A baron he was of good rank, wise, learned, liberal, and of singular courage ; who for divers resemblances may be said to have been another Ambrose. He left behind him a numerous posterity, and of himself and of his virtues, a memory that shall never be ior gotten.— Spottiswood. He [David Stratoun] frtquented much the company of the Laird of Dun, whom God in those days had marvellously illuminated.— A' 7iox's History. Letter to James VI. Among the papers at Dun House there is a copy of letter addressed by Erskine to James VI., complaining that he had not received his dues [the thirds of the revenues of the abbeys of Arbroath and Cupar, and of the bishopric of Brechin], and beseeching his Majesty's assistance. It is as follows: — Pleis your Maiest'e to considder that I am your grace's subiect and a barrone of your grace's reahxie, and that ane of the maist ancient of yeiris. I neuer spairit my bovde nor guidis in seruing of my Prince and for the commoune welth. Of sum thinges thairof I will putt your Grace in rememberance. In the weirss we had with England quhen the Inglismen possessit Dundie, Buchtie Craiir, and the forth thair, 1 defendit the cuntre at my power fra thair invasione?, at the desyr of the Queinis grace regent, and Duck of Chatdroy thane governor. A biggit aue forth in Montrois, tuik vp ane grec number of men of weir for a lang time and furnisit all of my awin guidis, sua that the sowmes debursic be me exceidit twentie thousand merkis as the comptis buir, and yet may be seiii. Eftir this at the queinis grace regent desire, and estaittis of parliament, I passit to France in commisdoune with the Lordis that wes directit for the maryage of the quenis grace your maiesties mother. My expenss's thair wes gret, as thay that wes in company dois knawe. Efter this, knawing how ueces- sar it wes a brig to be vpone the Noir watter, at the desyr of thame that had gouernment and recompena promisit me, I bygit that brige, and warit gret sowmes thairvpone, as thay that luikis on the wark may consider. The queinis grace regent and the counsell wildng to recompance my gret costis referrit t) myself qtiat accideut or vther thing I wald desyr for recompence, I beand leth to pres thame dreffe tyme. 'I'han at the last in the queinis grace tyme your maiesties mother, wes as3ignit to me (whill farther mycht be had) this pe-sioune that I haif nowe of the Kirk, quik wes na recompance to me. for the same haif I spendit yeirlie in the causs of the Kirk and now preseutlie in v-sing and fulfilling tne office that I haif of your grace and the Kirk. I haif posse.-sit it tnir mouy yeiris past, and now to tak it fra me cane nocht be without my gret disp'esour to sie niy guid seruice sua iogratlie recompansic. Heirfor I maist humble beseik your grace that I may bruik my pos^essioune byt for a yeir, holpiug or that tyme be passit I sal be delyuent fra the bondage of corruptione. Your Maiesties guid answer I desyr. Your m. humbill and obedient subject, Jhone Erskyn. The monarch not only granted the prayer of the petitioner, but did so in the following glowing t. rms:— Wit ye ws. Considering the lang, ernest, and fructfull travellis tane and bestowit be oure louit Johne Erskyn of Dwn superintendent of Ankus and Mernis, in the suppressing of superstitioun, papistrie, ami idolatrie, and avancement ami propagation of the evangel! of Jesus Chnst the tvme of the Reformatioun of ihe religioun, and in his ydent, and faithfull persever..nce in the samin conteuuallie sensyne to the grit giorie of God, and singular conforte of all oure subjectis within the 256 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. boundis of Angus and Mernis now flurisheing aboundantlie in the preiching of the treu word of God and rycht administratioun of the sacramentis be the grace of God and Industrie of the said Laird of Dwn, &c. Life of John Erskine, of Dun, 1508-1591. By Scoto- Britannico, 1879. See also " The Martyrs of Angus and Mearns," by the Kev. J. M. Scott, Arbroath, and Wod. Collections, I., 3. EEV. JOHN CRAIG, Edinburgh, 1512-1600. A commemorative tablet in St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, the gift of Mr. James Gibson Craig, W.S., bears the follow- ing inscription : — In memory of John Craig, for many years a Dominican friar, who in Italy embraced the reformed faith, and was by the inquisition at Rome condemned to be burnt. Escaping to his native country he became assistant of John Knox at St. Giles', and minister to the King's household. He was author of the King's Confession or the National Covenant of 1581. He died in Edinburgh, in his 89th year. — The inscription is sur- mounted by a representation of a dog carrying a purse in its mouth, with the words, "My all." For the story, see Preface to Catechism; also M'Crie's "Life of Knox," p. 190. John Craig was a man of eminence; brave, noble, and well educated, like so many of his brethren of that age. He was born about 1512, and lost his father the next year at Flodden. After an eventful, romantic, and devoted life he died in 1600. — Bev. H. Bonar, D.D. A Shorte Summe of the whole Catechisme wherein the Question is proponed and answered in few wordes FOR THE GREATER EASE OF THE COMMOUNE PeOPLE AND Children. Gathered by M. Iohne Craig, Minister OF God's Worde to the King's M. Henrie Charteris. 1581. Occupies about a hundred pages in Bonar's " Catechisms," the reprint there being from the London edition of 1597. It was thought too long by the General Assembly in 1591, and the author " contractit it in some shorter bounds." In its abbreviated form it was used in the Church of Scotland till superseded by the Westminister Catechism. A reprint, with introductory memoir of the author by Thomas Graves Law, appeared in 1883. The Shorter Catechism of Craig, after a few historical questions, discusses the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer, and concludes with the means of grace and the way of salvation. Young people brought up on it soon became acquainted with their Bibles ; and Catechisms became so popular in Scotland that James VL at Hampton Court Conference said, "Every son of a good won)an in Scotland thinks he can write a catechism."— Dr. iSteel^ *' The Shorter Catechum." the literature of the covenant. 257 Ane Forme of Examination before the Communion, approved BY the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland ; AND appointed TO BE USED IN FAMILIES AND SCHOOLES. With the Short Latin Catechism, commonly taught IN Schooles. It having been thought meet (1590) for the common profit of the whole people that ane uniforrae order be keepit in examination, and that ane schort forme of examination be set down be their brother, Messrs. John Craig, Robert Pont, Thomas Buchanan and Andrew M^^lvine, to be presentit to the next Assembly, the forme peunit be their brother, Mr. Craige, the Assembly thought meet to be imprintit. In 1592 every pastor was asked to travel with his flock that they may buy the satnen bulk, and read it in their families, whereby they may be better instructit. The same was also enjoined to be read and learnit in Lectors Schools, in place of the little Catechism (i.e., "The Maner," at the end of Calvin's Catechism). See M'Crie's "Life of Melville," p. 224; Wod. Misc., p. 455. The Forme of Prayers, etc. 1564. Like Pont, Craig was a contributor to the old Scottish Psalter, and produced fifteen versions. The following is the way he begins the 145th Psalm : — 0 Lord, thou art my God and King, Vndoubtedly I will thee praise ; 1 will extoll, and blessings sing Vnto tbyne holy name alwayes. From day to day I wil thee blesse. And laude thy name worlde without end ; For great is God, most worthy praise, Whose greatnes none may comprehend. The King's Confession or Covenant will be found — pp. 48, 49. GEOEGE BUCHANAN, Preceptor to James VI., 1506-1582. Born at Killearn — third son of Thomas Buchanan of Moss. Studied at Paris and St. Andrews. He threw off the trammels of Romanism and became a steady friend to the Reformation. As indicating the intelligence of some of the Scottish ecclesiastics of his day, Buchanan relates that some of them were so deplorably ignorant as to suppose Martin Luther to be the author of a dangerous book called the J^^ew Testament. Buchanan was the greatest scholar of his country and of his age. His Latin poems and his History secured a place for him in the literature of Europe. Although a layman, he was chosen Moderator of the Assembly of 1567. It was that year that the title — borrowed from the French Huguenots — was first applied to the president of the General Assembly : thus it came to pass that George Buchanan was the first Moderator of the Church of Scotland (but cf. p. 255). He died in Edinbuigh, and was buried in Greyfriars. See Memoir of his Life and Writings by David Irving, LL.D., 1807. For Johnson's estimate of him, see " Journey, etc.," p. 3. R 258 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The edition of his works by Ruddiman is a literary monument as honour- able as the edition of Erasmus by Le Clerc. Something was done for his biography by George Chalmers ; and it was written by Dr. Irving with much good sense, and much solid research. His Latin version of the Psalms was long used in our schools. Nevertheless, what Father Prout said is very true : we are more apt to glory in his reputation than to read his works. And, perhaps, we hardly appreciate the immense importance of that reputation to our literary dignity in Europe. When all is said and done, we Scots have at best produced three writers of European influence and celebrity : George Buchanan in the sixteenth, David Hume in the eighteenth, and Walter Scott in the nineteenth century. Of the three — the three who keep the citadel of our fame for us, Buchanan was the earliest. The Scottish genius had brairded before his day, but had never ripened into grain to be eaten as bread. From many passages in Erasmus, it is clear that we were only beginners in letters before Buchanan's time. He it was who made us famous from the Vistula to the Tagus, and gave us a national name in literature by his pen, as Bruce had given us a national name in politics by his sword. Of such a man, every Scot ought to have something like a familiar image in his mind ; and every Scot ought to know by what labours, and kind of labours, his fame was achieved. — North British Review. Franciscanus, et alia Pcemata. 1564. A powerful and bitter satire against the Franciscan friars. The follow- ing is the style : — But seldom underneath the dusky com'I, That shades the shaven head and m.onkish scowl, I picture a St. Paul : the priestly stole Oft covers the remorseless tyrant's soul, The glutton's and the adulterer's grovelling lust, Like soulless brute each wallowing in the dust. And the smooth hypocrite's still smiling brow. That tells not of the villany below. This production may without hazard be pronounced the most skilful and pungent satire which any nation or language can exhibit. — D. Irving, LL.D. [It v/as followed by the "Baptistes," etc.] De Jure Kegni apud Scotos, or Dialogue concerning the TRUE Privilege of Government in the Kingdom of Scotland. Buchanan maintains that all power is derived from the people ; that it is more safe to intrust our liberties to the definite protection of the laws than to the precarious discretion of the King; that the King is bound by conditions ; that it is lawful to resist and even punish tyrants. . . . All the tutor's pains [Buchanan was tutor to King James], though they may have forced into him some " glancings and nibblings of knowledge," did not however succeed in imparting any love for his principles of government. — W. Anderson, Scottish Nation. Paraphrasis Psalmorum Davidis Poetica, etc. 1567. While on the Continent, Buchanan and two of his friends were thrown into the dungeons of the Inquisition. After being confined a year and a half he was sent to a monastery. Here he found the monks by no means destitute of humanity, but totally unacquainted with religion. He employed his leisure in writing a part of his magnificent Latin version of the Psalms. the literatupie of the covenant. 259 Rerum Scoticarum Historia. [History of Scotland.] 1582. This work occupied the last twelve years of his life ; he survived the publication scarcely a month. King James regarded Buchanan's History as an invective, and aiimonishei the heir apparent to punish such of his future subjects as should be guilty of possessing it. Besides the History (translated and continued by W. Bond and John Watkins, LL. D., also by Aikmau and Struthers), Buchanan wrote " Ane Detection of the duinges of Marie Queue of Scottes, touchand the murder of hir Husband," etc. For his other writings, see *' Irving's Memoirs." REV. ROBERT ROLLOCK, Edinburgh, 1555-1599. Son of David RoUock, laird of Powis, near Stirling. In 1582 the magistrates of Edinburgh appointed him rector of the University lately founded in the city. He was moderator of the Dundee Assembly in 1597. "It is Rollock's greatest glory," writes Mr. Gunn, " that he introduced into Scotland the ex- pository system, which had so much benefited religion on the Continent." His life was written by George Robertson, one of the ministers of Edinburgh ; afterwards by Henry Charteris, his successor. Both lives were printed for the Bannatyne Club in 1826. The latter appears in "Select Works," Wod. Soc. During the twenty-three years of his professional labours in Edinburgh he developed a great theological activity, and from his training came many of the best ministers of the day. He is our first commentator of any note. Besides the lectures published by the Wodrow Society he published works in Latin on several of the Epistles of Paul, which .are still worthy of being consulted. He wrote also on the Psalms and the book of Daniel. RoUock was no less a theologian than an expositor ; and though not certainly of the scholastic type, he has proved himself sufficiently familiar with the intricate questions which the schoolmen almost claim as their peculiar profession. Neither a brilliant nor a powerful man, he was sensible and capable. Calderwood says he was mild and timorous, and perhaps it was well for him that he died before the days of trial came. — Dr. James Walker, *' Scottish Theology,^' p. 3. Select Works of Robert Rollock, Principal of the Univer- sity OF Edinburgh. Reprinted from the Original Editions. ^o^i^eo? 6?/ William M. Gunn, Esq. 2 Vols. Wod. Soc. 1849. A complete list of Rollock's writings, thirteen treatises in all, will be found in the first volume, p. xc. A Treatise of God's Effectual Calling, etc. 1603. Written in Latin. Translated " for the benefit of the un- learned," by Henry Holland, preacher, London. See Vol. I., "Select Works," Wod. Soc. Certaine Sermons vpon severall places of the Epistles of Pavl. 1599. In Vol. I., "Select Works," Wod. Soc. 260 treasury of the scottish covenant. Certaine Sermons vpon severall Texts of Scripture. Edinburgh: Printed hy Andro Hart. 1616. In Vol. I., "Select Works," Wod. Soc. The dedication is to Master Scot of Elie. Lectures vpon the History of the Passion, Resvrrection, AND Ascension of ovr Lord Jesvs Christ, etc. 1616. These lectures constitute volume IL, "Select Works," Wod. Soc. An Exposition of part of the Fift and Sixt Chapters of S. Pavle's Epistle to the Ephesians. Lond.^ 1630. This renowned Scotchman's writings generally come to us as translations from the Latin, and have been made preternaturally dull in the process of interpretation. It is practical to a high degree. Dr. M'Crie styles Pollock's works "succinct and judicious." — Spur g eon. For why should not I esteem as a treasure, and that the most precious, the Commentaries of my honourable brother upon the Epistle to the Pomans and Ephesians, both of them being of special note among the writings apostolical % — Theo. Beza. REV. EGBERT PONT, Edinburgh, 1524-1606. Born at Culross. Called Kynpont in his earlier years {vide p. 32). Deeply skilled in canon and civil law. In 1566, the Assembly approved of his translation and interpretation of the Helvetian Confession, and ordered it to be printed. In 1578, Pobert Pont, James Lawson, and David Lindsay, were appointed "to review and oversie the Buke of Disciplein, ane copy to be presentit be them unto his Hieness [Regent Morton]." In 1601, the Assembly appointed Pont to revise the Psalms. His tomb is in St. Cuthbert's, the scene of his ministry. His son, Zachary, was married to Margaret, a daughter of John Knox. The following is a specimen of Eobert Pout's versification : — Be mercifull to me, 0 Ood, be mercifull to me ; For why ? my soule in all assaults shall ever trust in thee. And till these wicked stormes be past, Tvhich rise on euerie syde ; Vnder the shaddowe of thy wings, my hope shall alwayes byde. RoBERTi Pontani Parvus Catechismus. 1573. [Pont's Latin Metrical Catechism.] This child's Catechism will be found in the Misc. Wod. Soc. ; also in Bonar's Catechisms, p. 359. the literature of the covenant. 261 Sermons against Sacrilege. 1591. Undertaken at the desire of the Assembly. See Extracts in M*Crie's " Life of Knox," p. 373. REV. JOHN DAVIDSON, Prestonpans, -1608. One of the most eminent ministers of his day. Ordained min- ister of Liberton, whence he was removed in 1596 to Salt-Preston. Appointed by the Edinburgh Presbytery in 1582 to excommunicate Montgomery, whom Lennox had nominated to the see of Glasgow. The court stormed, but the " intrepid young minister at the risk of his life" executed his commission. *' Mr. Johne Davidson," writes Calderwood (III. 622) "taught in Liberton Kirk the same day, nothing affrayed." The Duke called him, " Un petit diable." The honour of giving a new impulse to the religious life of the nation in connection with the renewal of the Covenant in 1596 was due greatly to John Davidson. See " Melville's Diary," p. 229. For Poem on Knox, see M'Crie's " Life," p. 448. De Hostibus EccLEsiiE Ohristi. Wherein he affirms that the erecting of bishops in this Kirk is the most subtle thing to destroy religion that ever could be devised. — Row's History, p. 293 ; Johnston's ^^ The Cross, etc.'^ p. 130. Ane Dialog or Mutual Talking betwix a Clerk and ane CouRTEouR concerning foure parishe Kirks till ane Minister. 1574. A poetical dialogue in which the policy of Morton, whereby he sought to unite two or three parishes under one minister that he might direct the revenues into his own coffers is severely censured. This is the style of the poem : — Had gude John Knox not yet been deid, It had not cum unto this heid : Had they myndit till sic ane steir, He had made heaven and eirth to hear. Morton threatened the author with prosecution, and had a copy pre- sented to the Assembly for that purpose. It was on this occasion that worthy Robert Campbell of Kinyeancleugh turning to Mr. Davidson said, " Brother, look for no answer here ; God hath taken away the hearts from men that they dare not justify the truth, lest they displease the world. So come with me, seeing ye may lawfully flee seeing ye are persecuted." Davidson, finding that Morton was intent on persecuting him, set off under the laird's protection to Kinyeancleugh. On the way Campbell could not restrain his emotion. "A pack of traitors," he exclaimed, referring to some of the ministers, "have sold Christ to the Regent as manifestly as ever Judas did ! What leal heart can contain itself unbursting ? " — Cald. MS. Hist. Advor. Lib.; M'Crie's ''Life of Melville." 262 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT, D. Bancroft's rashnes in Rayling against the Church of Scotland, etc. By I. D., a brother of the sayd Church of Scotland. 1590. Davidson's reply to Dr. Bancroft, primate of England, who in a sermon before Parliament in 1588, attacked the Puritans of England and the Presbyterians of Scotland. Extracts from the sermon, from an anonymous tract on the subject, as also a re- print of the above vindication by Davidson, will be found in the Misc. Wod. Soc. Some helpes for young Schollers in Christianity as they ARE in use and TAUGHT, ETC. Edin., 1602. Reprinted in 1708, with a curious preface by Professor William Jameson of Glasgow, in which he exposed the forgery of Robert Calder, who by a pretended quotation, tried to persuade the public that Davidson had recanted his Presbyterianism on his death-bed. This Catechism of David- son will be found in Bonar's Collection. Graces before and after meat. Before meat. — Bless us, good Lord, and these thy creatures, which Thou preparest for our nourishment, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. After meat. — Blessed be Thou, O Lord, for this nourishment of our bodies at this time, and much more (meikle mair) for the continual nourishment of our souls by Christ crucified. To Whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be praise and glory for ever. God save the Kirk and country, King, Queen, and Prince. Amen. — Dr. Laing, Misc. Wod. Soc. [Not an uncommon way of giving thanks before meat was to repeat a psalm or part of a psalm. John Smith, minister in Teviotdale, had all the psalms by heart and frequently repeated them or sung them in this way.] The Poetical Remains of Mr. John Davidson, Regent in St. Leonard's College, and afterwards Minister of Salt-Preston. 1829. EEV. DAVID BLACK, St. Andrews, 1603. The friend of Andrew Melville. When compelled to remove from St. Andrews, he was allowed admission to the parish of Arbirlot. See " Calderwood," V. 376-531. Most indefatigable in the discharge of his pastoral functions. He pro- duced, during the short period of his incumbency, a striking reformation on his people, by checking vice, promoting religious knowledge, and diminishing pauperism. — M'Crie. Declinature of the King and Council's Judicature in Matters Spiritual, etc. November 18, 1596. Black was assisted in his defence before the Privy Council by Pont and Bruce, but the Council rejected the Declinature and sentenced him to be confined beyond the North Water. See Record of P.C., November 18, 1596. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 26^ REV. ALEXANDER HUME, Logie, 1560-1609. Second son of Patrick Hume of Polwarth, whose lineal descendant became Baron Polwarth and Earl of Marchmont. Ane Afold Ajdmonitioun to the Ministerie of Scotland. By a Deing Brother. 1609. In the admonition he aflfirms that the Bishops " fast ryseing up " had forsaken their brethren in the ministry with whom they had taken the Covenant, which " would be registrat afterward to their eternall shame." See Coronis to Row's History, and Misc. Wod. Soc. Hymnes and Sacred Songs. 1599. Dedicated to Elizabeth Melville, wife of John Colville of Cul- ross. Hume's poetry, which had fallen, as Dr. Laing remarks, " into unmerited neglect," was brought into notice recently by Dr. Leyden and Thomas Campbell. REV. CHARLES FERME (Fairholm), Fraserburgh, -1617. Born in Edinburgh. Studied under Bollock. Appointed to the Kirk and College of Fraserburgh, about 1600. He was a member of the Aberdeen Assembly in 1605, and for his share in its proceedings was imprisoned in Doune for three years. There- after he was banished to the Highlands, at that time the Siberia of Scotland. He left behind him " various monuments of his genius" — Prelections on Esther, Logical Analysis, etc. A damson intended publishing the Prelections as well as the Analysis, but this he did not live to accomplish. The Bishops he denounced as plants which God had not planted, and as therefore to be extirpated ; he accused them of violating the Covenant, and held them guilty of perjury. . . . With what zeal he taught at Fraser- burgh, both publicly and privately from house to house, is known to the whole north. Through his industry, and by the divine blessing, such a light blazed forth, that even children could render an admirable account of their faith, and that not without some feeling of piety. A Tydeus in body, he was a Hercules in spirit. — John Adamson, Principal, Edin. The sword, however, proved too sharp for its scabbard, bruised and battered as the latter had been by ill-usage on the part of others. Worn out with study, broken by incessant toil and frequent sufferings, he expired on the 24:th Sept., 1617. His remains were buried in the old church of Philorth.— )K. L. Alexander, D.D. A Logical Analysis of the Epistle to the Romans ; Trans- lated FROM THE Latin by William Skae, A.M. Edited with a Life of Ferme, hy William Lindsay Alexander, D.D. Wod. Soc. 1850. The first edition, in the original Latin, was edited by Principal Adamson, Edinburgh, and published in 1651. The following explains Dr. Alexander's connection with the work : — Several years ago I happened, in looking ovtr 264 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. the contents of an old book-stall at Newcastle, to lay my hands on a little ill-conditioned volume, the title-page of which bore, as the author's, a name with which at the time I was not acquainted. That title-page, however, promised attractively for the book, intimating that it professed to furnish a Logical Analysis of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans, a profession which no man who had ever endeavoured to master the train of reasoning pursued by the Apostle, in that most logical of all his writings, could peruse with indifference. I perceived also that the work was of Scottish author- ship, that it belonged to the age immediately succeeding the era of the Reformation, and that it had been issued under the high sanction of John Adamson, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, the friend of Andrew Melville, and one of a noble band of theologians, to whose love of litera- ture, liberty, and evangelical truth Scotland owes so much. I accordingly secured the work, and having as soon as I could commenced the perusal of it, I speedily discovered that I had secured a prize indeed. So sagacious, exact, and perspicuous a commentary on the Epistle to the Romans I had not before had the good fortune to peruse. ANDREW MELVILLE, Principal, Glasgow, 1545-1622. Melville arrived in Scotland from Geneva in 1574, two years after the death of Knox, and at once took up the mantle which the Scottish Elijah had dropped. He put himself at the head of the Presbyterian movement, and withstood the pertinacity of the Regent and the nobility in their attempts to introduce Episcopacy. So well did he fulfil this task that he got the name of "the slinger out of bishops." He was one of the first scholars of his day, and taught with eclat in foreign universities when he was driven out of Scotland. He died at Sedan. For a comjDlete list of his writings, see M'Crie's " Life," pp. 447-450. His learning and painfulness was mickle admired, so that the name of the college [Glasgow] within two years was noble throughout all the land, and in other countries also. Such as had passed their course in St. Andrews came in numbers there, and entered scholars again under order and discipline, so that the college was so frequented that the rooms were nocht able to receive them. — Diary of James Melville. Master of a great wit, a wit full of knots and clenches ; a wit sharp and satirical, exceeded I think by none of that nation but their Buchanan. — Izaak Walton^ ^^ Life of Herbert." The career of such a man was in itself a noble addition to any nation's history ; but if he were asked what claim besides that of his marked heroic character Melville had to be remembered, he should say — first, that he revived the flickering flame of learning in Scotland, renewed the nation's intellectual life, and implanted in its mind a high educational ideal ; second, that he perfected the incomplete framework of the Reformed Church, gave it the character which, under all vicissitudes, it had ever since retained, and successfully vindicated its spiritual independence ; third, that in an age when society was but emerging from feudal anarchy, he taught it the principles of liberty and order, checked the violence of the nobles and the tyranny of the Crown, and asserted the civil and reli- gious rights of the people. Melville died in exile, but his cause triumphed in the end. The liberties for which he contended were ultimately gained, and the system which he opposed was overthrown. The real battle which he waged was between autocracy and freedom. James' sagacity, such as it THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 265 was, was proved by the event. He was right in believing that his theory of government and that of the Scottish Reformers were iocompatible. The price that the inevitable Nemesis exacted for Melville's defeat and exile was not yet paid in full whea James' son and successor laid his head upon the block at Whitehall. —Z)r. Story. Carmen Mosis, etc. 1574. Melville's first publication consisted of a poetical paraphrase of the song of Moses, and of a part of the Book of Job, with several poems — all in Latin. This was followed by several other poetical compositions, and it was for an epigram in caustic Latin, pro- voked by the ritualistic display which he witnessed in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court (p. 61), that he was thrown into the Tower. Melville was a man of many accomplishments. Among their fruit his poems hold a respectable place in the " Deliciae Poetarum Scotorum^'^ and that collection ranked well among the Deliciae of other nations. The accepted writers of the Latin period of European literature appealed to a splendid audience — the whole learned world of Europe. — J. H. Burton, LL.D. Interview between King James and Andrew Melville, at Falkland. 1596. A Popish plot having been discovered, the Assembly took alarm and sent a deputation to Falkland to the King. James Melville was appointed spokesman, but hardly had he begun his address, when his Majesty accused the Presbyterian ministers of sedition. He was about to reply calmly, when his uncle Andrew, seeing that it was now or never, stepped forward, and taking the King by the sleeve, compelled him to listen to these memorable words : — " Sir, there are two kings and two kingdoms in Scotland: there is King James the head of this commonwealth, and there is Christ Jesus, the King of the Church, whose subject James the Sixth is, and of whose kingdom he is not a king, nor a lord, nor a head, but a member. We will yield to you your place, and give you all due obedience ; but again I say you are not the head of the Church ; you cannot give us that eternal life, which we seek for even in this world, and you cannot deprive us of it. Permit us then freely to meet in the name of Christ, and to attend to the interests of that Church of which you are a chief member." Commentarius in Divinam Pauli Epistolam ad Romanos, Auctore Andrea Melvino, Scoto : curis Guilhelmi Lindsay Alexander, S.T.D. 1849. The MS. of Melville's Commentary on the Romans came into the possession of Dr. David Laing, and was printed in the original Latin for the Wodrow Society in 1850, under the editor- ship of the Rev. W. L. Alexander, D.D., Edinburgh. *266 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. It will be welcomed by the members of tbe Wodrow Society, not only as a valuable relic of an illustrious and venerable man, but for its intrinsic merits, as expository of the words of the Apostle. — IF. L. Alexander, D.D. Andrew Melville, second to none in learning, and hardly second to Knox in power and influence, has left us only one theological treatise, a short commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. We have his hand, however, as is well known, in the Second Book of Discipline, probably, too, in the papers belonging to the contention between the State and Church in 1596, which Calderwood has preserved, and which, brief though they are, bear the unmistakable indications of a clear and powerful intellect; and we can only regret that we have so little from him. — Br. James Walker. Historical Study of Law: Inaugural Address by the Right Hon. John Inglis, LL.D. March 22, 1866. At the era of the Reformation, or rather in the preceding storms and troubles, this noble foundation fell into a state of decay, which threatened to end in its total extinction. But better days were at hand, and the University was destined to a great and permanent revival under the able and energetic government of Andrew Melville as its Principal. That Andrew Melville was a man of great ability and indomitable energy and courage, and that he was at the same time a profound and accomplished scholar, no person of competent knowledge and ordinary candour will now deny. But the prominent part which he played in the ecclesiasti- cal conflicts of his time, and, above all, his prevailing influence in the introduction of the Presbyterian form of government into the national Church of Scotland, have naturally enough made him the mark of malevolent calumny on the one hand and of indiscrimi- nate eulogy on the other. I^on nostrum est tantas componere lites. Let us look back on him only as one of our academic worthies — one who probably did more for the University, and that in her time of greatest need, than any other man in any age. Before he became Principal in 1574, the doors of the University were literally closed. The few remaining persons who represented the corporate body held occasional meetings in the chapter-house of the Cathedral. But, as a place of education or study, the institution w^as to all appearance extinct. . . . The history of this University from the days of Melville to the present time — its constant and increasing prosperity, even through the period of the civil war and troubles of the succeeding reigns — when contrasted with its decadence and prostration at the time of the Reformation, carry us back with admiring gratitude to the great work of revival accomplished by Principal Melville, etc. [The resolution to erect a theological THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 267 seminary at St. Andrews led to the removal of Principal Melville — " with infinite tears on both sides."] Life of Andrew Melville ; containing Illustrations of THE Ecclesiastical and Literary History of Scot- land DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE SIXTEENTH AND BEGINNING OF THE SEVENTEENTH CeNTURY. With an Appendix by Thomas M'Crie, D.D. Edited by his Son. 1856. The "Life of Knox" was followed in 1819 by the "Life of Melville," which may be regarded as a continuation of the account of ecclesiastical aflfairs in Scotland. " If the love of pure religion, rational liberty and polite letters," writes the biographer, "forms the basis of national virtue and happiness, I know no individual, after her Reformer, from whom Scotland has received greater benefits, and to whom she owes a deeper debt of gratitude and respect, than Andrew Melville." The two memoirs form, the one the "Iliad," and the other the "Odyssey" of the Church of the Scottish Keformation. JAMES MELVILLE, Professor, St. Andrews, 155646U. Son of Richard Melville of Baldovy, minister of Maryton, Forfarshire ; nephew of Andrew Melville. Accompanied his uncle to Glasgow University in 1574. He was the first regent, or professor in Scotland, who read to his class the Greek authors in the original. Translated to St. Andrews, 1580. In 1584 he had to flee to Newcastle. Resumed his duties in 1586. Went with his uncle to London, 1606. After trying in vain to secure his uncle's release, he retired to Newcastle — not being allowed to go to Scotland. He died at Berwick. For a list of his works see Pitcairn's Preface to "Diary," p. xliv; also "Life of Andrew Melville," p. 444. The whole passage, Psalm Ixxxi. 8-16, forms the beginning of the appeal of the Scottish exiles in Newcastle, August 10, 1584. They had been compelled to quit Scotland. At the head of the party were Andrew Melville and his nephew James, and here was drawn up the system of discipline for the Church of Scotland, which fought its way to a definite triumph in the Covenants, and the Glasgow Assembly of 1638. Andrew Melville had taken up the standard which fell from the dying hand of Knox, and instead of Frankfort and Geneva, the shelter of the refugees was in Berwick and Newcastle. The common interest of the Reformation was now drawing Scotland and England more closely together, especially on the side of the Puritans. —Prof. Ker, ' ' Echoes of the Psalms in the Experiences of Life and Death.'^ What more graphic than the description of his flight from St. Andrews to Berwick "in an opin bote?" — rejoicing that "God gave the heart to leave native country, house, and sweet, loving, new-maried wyff, and all for the love of Him and His Christ " — his troubles with the drunken skipper, . . . ending with his own heroic exertions: — "Yea, I rowit -6DO TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. myself till the hyd cam af my fingers, mair acquented with the pen than working on an oar ! " Honest James ! thy life, like thy midnight voyage, was full of change and chastisement, and the clouds that rolled over thy beloved Church threw their dark shadows over thy declining years ! — F. CM. A Spirituall Propyne op a Pastour to his People. Edin., 1598. Melville in his Diary styles this his " Catechisme." It is dated from Anstruther. The first part is in prose. The second part is in verse, and contains among other devotional and moral pieces a singular composition set to music, entitled " Celeusma Navticvm : The Seaman's Shovte, or Mutuall Exhortation to ga forward in the Spirituall Yoyage." The book is extremely rare. An imper- fect copy may be seen in the Advocates' Library. An Apologie for the Prisoners of the Lord Jesus PRESENTLiE IN THE Castell OF Blackness. September, 1605. Written in reply to certain letters by the Council charging the imprisoned ministers for having "conveened factiouslie and sedi- tiouslie at Aberdeene to the oflfence of his majestie." An able document, occupying twenty-five pages in Calderwood. — Hist., VL, 297S22. The Black Bastill; or, A Lamentation of the Kirk of Scotland. Composed in 1611 while Melville was confined at Berwick. An abridged copy appeared in 1634. This was reprinted, and included in a curious collection, entitled "Various Pieces of Fugitive Scottish Poetry, principally of the Seventeenth Century," edited by Dr. Laing. Another of Melville's poems bears the title, "Thrie may keip counsell, give twa be away." In 1822 a Collection of Poems, etc. (Melville's MSS.), was presented to the Advocates' Library by the Rev. W. Blackie, Yetholm. Another remark- able collection, the " D. Andrere Melvini, etc.," largely quoted by Dr. M'Crie in his " Life of Andrew Melville," is preserved in the library of the University of Edinburgh. Apology for the Church of Scotland. 1645. This celebrated work was written at Berwick, and published after Melville's death under the title of ^' Ecclesice Scoticance lihellus supplex Apologeticics." The Autobiography and Diary of Mr. James Melville, Minister of Kilrenny, in Fife, and Professor of Theology in the University of St. Andrews. Wod. Soc. 1842. Edited from MSS. in the libraries of the Faculty of Advocates and University of Edinburgh by Robert Pitcairn, Esq. The work had previously been published by the Bannatyne Club. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 269 '' His Diary presents us," says Dr. Cunningham, " with some graphic pictures of the men of his time, and in his pages there is no more prominent or pleasing portrait than his own. In almost every word, the good, kind, conscientious man stands revealed." A rich treat ! Not to speak of the curious information it gives, relative to the ecclesiastical and literary history of the age, the notices it contains of the immortal Andrew Melville are invaluable. In fact it is rather the biography of the uncle than of the nephew. Hardly a page without some mention of "my uncle, Mr. Andro." The character of the man comes out in every page, simple as a child, but " pawky " withal, afifectionate and soft-hearted, et vultu et ingtnio mansuetin^, as Calderwood says of him? "as mild in his temper as in his features, and yet when conscience was touched, upright and unbending." — F. C. M. A True Narratioune of the Declyneing Aige of the Kirk OF Scotland. 1596-1610. Appears in the Wodrow Society series, along with the Diary, of which work it is a continuation. See appendix to M'Crie's " Life of Andrew Melville," p. 489. JOHN JOHNSTON, Professor, St. Andrews, 1570-1612. The intimate friend and associate of Andrew Melville. " In all the ecclesiastical disputes of that period," writes Anderson in "The Scottish Nation," "he proved himself to be a zealous and useful coadjutor of that illustrious reformer." A life of Johnston will be found in Wodrow's MSS., vol. II., Bibl. Coll., Glasgow. See also Analecta. The Latin poems of Johnston, taken from a manuscript in the Advocates' Library (says M'Ciie the younger), "exhibit traits in the characters of the principal Scottish Martyrs and Reformers, with allusions to several events in their lives, which I have not met with elsewhere." Johnston's Poems on Scottish Martyrs : Excerpta e poematis JOHANNIS JONSTONI, ETC. See supplement to M'Crie's " Life of Knox," p. 461. — Verses in Latin on Patrick Hamilton, Wishart, the Wedderburns, Knox, Willock, Winram (supposed to have been the author of the Cate- chism commonly called Abp. Hamilton's — Life of Knox, p. 345), Erskine, Row, and others. He also published '• Heroes ex omni Historia Scotica," and " Inscriptiones, etc.," both of which were reprinted in " Delicia? Poetarum Scotorum;" " The Con.volation of the Christian under the Cross," etc. See "The Scottish Nation," IL, 576. EEV. ANDREW SIMSON, Dunbar, -1583. Master of the Grammar School, Dundee, and subsequently at Perth, where he bad sometimes 300 boys under his charge, including sons of the nobility. Afterwards minister at Dunning, 270 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Cargill, and Dunbar. Besides the work undemoted, he wrote the Latin Rudiments, which continued to be taught in Scotland till they were superseded by Ruddiman's. He had four sons in the ministry. See Row's " History " p. 8. RUDIMENTA PlETATIS. QuiBUS ACCESSIT SUMMULA CaTECHISMI, ETC. 1653. This is the little catechism [Summula] which has always been taught in the grammar schools of Scotland. It is said to be composed by Mr. Andrew Simson, the author of the Latin Rudiments, who was master of the Grammar School at Perth before and in the time of the Reformation ; and afterward was the first Protestant minister of Dunbar. — Dunlop, quoted in Bonar's Catechisms. REV. PATRICK SIMSON, Stirling, 1556-1618. Son of the Rev. Andrew Simson ; born in Perth ; ordained minister of Cramond ; afterwai'ds translated to Stirling. He was a man of great learning ; opposed the encroachments of the bishops; like Knox and Douglas refused a bishopric, and died almost broken-hearted, when the Articles of Perth were agreed upon. He was the contemporary of Robert Bruce, who often consulted him, and also of Rollock who was his brother-in-law. His grandson, Patrick Simpson, was minister of Renfrew, 1628-1715. — Wod. Anal, III., 115. Though less known than Welsh, the character of Simson is scarcely less admirable than his ; and whether for his learning, his judiciousness in counsel or his boldness in opposing what he reckoned error few of his contemporaries snrpassed Patrick Simson. — W. K. Tweedie, D.D. From him I received first the communion. He wrote the History of the Church in centuries, in English ; a man well versed in the Fathers and Church History, yea in all learning. — Livingstone, *'Sel. Biog.," I., SOS. A TRUE Record of the Life and Death of Master Patrick Simson. Written by his Brother, Archibald Simson. Wod. Sel. Biog., Vol. 1. About the end of August, 1598, Mr. Patrick Simson, minister at Stirling, exhorted the King to bewar he drew not upon himself a secreit wrath in setting up manifest and professed idolaters. Immediately after sermoun, before the last prayer, the King stood up and forbade him to medle with these maters. — Cald., F., 727. The Historie of the Church, since the dates of our Saviour Jesus Christ, untill this present age, etc. Third Edition, 1634. Collected out of sundry authors, both ancient and modern, by the famous and worthy preacher of God's Word, Master Patrick Simson, late minister at Striveling in Scotland. The author's " epistle to the reader " closes thus : — " If my farthing candle give THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 271 light in the lowest cellar of the house of God, my heart is fully content." He wrote also, " A short Compend of the Historie of the First Ten Persecutions moved against Christians." See Livingstone's " Charact.; " Wodrow's " Analecta." REV. ARCHIBALD SIMSON, Dalkeith. Son of Andrew Simson, minister at Dunbar. Besides the fore- going record of his brother's life, and the works specified below, he wrote " Of the Creation," " Christ's Seven Words on the Cross," " Samson's Locks of Hair," etc. He displayed great boldness, and shared the trials of his brother, being put in ward at Aberdeen See Row, p. 310. Annales Ecclesi^ Scotorum. Written in a "noble style of Latin." The period embraced is from the Reformation to the death of James VI. in 1625. Quoted as against Spottiswood by M'Crie, in " Life of Melville," p. 333. A Sermon on John, cap. v., verse 35. Preached anno 1618. /n Memoriam. Preached in private because the author was prohibited by the bishops from publicly exercising his ministry. It is dedicated to the provost, bailies, and council of Stirling, and also to the Right Honourable D. Mary Erskine, Lady of the Orchard. See Life in Wod. Sel. Biog., L, 115. A Sacred Septenarie; or, a Godly and Fruitfull Exposition on the Seven Psalmes of Repentance. 1638. The following references to extracts from Simson's work, to be found in the '' Treasury of David," will show the estimate in which the greatest evangelical preacher of the age holds the once "Dalkeeth" pastor :— Vol. L, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 74, 449, 468 : Vol. IL, 94, 97, 100, 107, 111, 114, 237, 458, 460, 464, 467, 476. REV. WILLIAM SIMSON, Dumbarton. Son of Andrew Simson, and brother to Patrick, Ai-chibald, and Alexander. De Accentibus Hebraicis. He undertook to explain one of the abstrusest parts of Hebrew philology in the first work on Hebrew Literature which appeared in Scotland. — Dr. M^Crie. REV. ALEXANDER SIMSON, Dryburgh. For his free preaching in the time of the parliament of 1621, that ratified the Five Ceremonies of Perth he was prisoned in the castle of Dumbarton, where the Lord blessed his prayer and 272 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. preaching with the conversion of the Lady of Sir John Stewart, the captain of the castle. He was threafter liberated, and continued till his death preaching in Dryburgh and Merton. See " Memorable Characteristics," Sel. Biog., I., 304. The Destruction of Inbred Corruption, or the Christian's Warfare against the bosome enemy. 1644. REV. JOHN WELSH, Ayr, 1569-1622. Born in Dunscore, Dumfriesshire. Kirkton (followed by Dr. Laing) erroneously says Irongray. Ordained minister of Selkirk in his twentieth year. Translated to Kirkcudbright in 1595; thence to Ayr in 1602. Married to Elizabeth, daughter of John Knox. Imprisoned in Blackness in 1605, and afterwards con- demned for treason, — the treason amounting to the holding of an Assembly without the King's permission. An exile in France for sixteen years. Died in London. Jo^ias Welsh of Templepatrick was his son, and John Welsh of Irongray his grandson. See "John AVelsh, a hero of the Scottish Reformation," /Sword and Trowel, 1866. That heavenly, prophetical, and apostolic man of God. — Rutherford. Yea, sometimes he would have been much of the night alone in the church of Ayr on that account. One time especially, his wife finding him overcharged with grief, he told her that he had that to press him which she had not — the souls of three thousand to answer for, whilst he knew not how it was with many of them. — Fleming's ^^ Fulfilling, etc." Among other Presbyterian divines whose writings are limited to their own vernacular, were men with eminent intellectual qualities; such was the great John Welsh who married Knox's daughter. Though he wrote in his own language, he threw himself into the midst of the fundamental contests between the old Church and the new ; and he must have been an accomplished linguist since he ministered for some time as a Huguenot pastor in France. — Burton, Vfl., 237 i Popery Anatomized : or, a learned, pious, and elaborat Treatise, wherein many of the greatest and mightiest POINTS OF CoNTROVERSIE BETWEEN US AND PaPISTS ARE handled, and the truth of our doctrine clearly proved, and the falsehood of their religion and Doctrine anatomized and laid open, and most evidently CONVICTED and CONFUTED BY ScRIPTURE, PaTHERS, AND also by some OF THEIR OWN PoPES, DoCTORS, CaRDINALS, AND OF THEIR OWN WRITERS, In answer to Mr. Gilbert Brown, priest. By that learned, singulaily pious, and eminently faithful servant of Jesus Christ, Mr. John Welsch, minister of the Gospel, first at Kirkcudbright, next at Air in Scotland, and last at St. John d'Angely in France. The second edition, revised, corrected, and divided into sections ; THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 273 to which is annexed a discovery of the bloody, rebellious, and treasonable principles and practises of Papists in dissolving oaths, committing treason, raising wars and commotions, and using unparalleled cruelties toward Protestants. By Matthew Craford, Glasgow. By Robert Sanders, Printer to the City and Univer- sity. 1672. This is the famous dispute that Welsh had with Abbot Brown. The occasion of the Reply is stated by Welsh in the preface. One of his hearers at Kirkcudbright had been in conference with a Romanist, who pledged himself to renounce Popery if any could be found who had professed Protestant views before Luther. Welsh was desired to meet the challenge "in write." "The which I diii," says Welsh, and set it down in this form. The Treatise was dedicated to James VI., "who did exceedingly encourage me to let it go forth unto the light." The first edition was dated, "From Air, the ISth of November, 1602." Matthew Crawford, who edited the second edition, was minister of Eastwood. The work was republished in 1878 under the title of "The Morning Star," edited by Dr. J. Moir Porteous. The work indicates both Welsh's acuteness as a controversialist, and his learning as a theologian. The amount of Welsh's learning, as indicated by this frequently subtle and elaborate treatise, is matter of surprise, when we consider that his was signally an age and a life of action. — D7\ Tweedie. A Few Sermons ; being part of the Labours of that GREAT man of God, Mr. John Welsh. 1744. Forty-eight select sermons. One of them was the last sermon preached at "Air," 23rd July, 1605, before proceeding to Edin- burgh to be tried, condemned, and cast into Blackness piison. At the end of the volume is an excellent poem on Mr. Welsh, by the editor, William Gray, bookbinder, in the Grassmarket of Edinburgh. About the same time appeared "Miscellany Sermons,'^ Part I., being thirty-five sermons by Welsh. L'Armegddon de la Babylon Apocalyptique. 1612. Printed in Jon sac in the province of Angoumois where Welsh laboured for six years — not the most happy of his life. See Misc. Wod. Soc, p. 544. Wherein he gives his meditation upon the enemies of the Church and their destruction. It is now rarely to be found. — ^^ Scots Worthies^'' Car slaw, p. 139. Letters of Mr. John Welsh. While in Blackness, Welsh wrote his famous letter to the Right Honourable Lilias Grahame, Countess of Wigton — a devout and pious lady. It is given at length in Kirkton's Life. The Letters of Welsh to Boyd of Trochrig, ten in number, appear in Misc. Wod. Soc, edited by Dr. Laing. One of these, number 7, called forth the admiration of Carlyle. 274 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Interesting as literary reliques of a celebrated person, and as throwing some light on a portion of his history. They bear testi- mony to his earnest desire to be employed in his Master's service, and show what steps were taken to have him translated to different churches in that country. — Dr. Laing. The Maner of thair Parting from Scotland. For this interesting account of the banishment of six of Scot- land's godly ministers, see Melville's Autobiography, pp. 668-670. They sailed from Leith on 7th November, 1606, at 2 o'clock a.m. John Forbes went to Middleburgh, Robert Dury to Leyden, John Sharj) to Die, and John Welsh to Jonsac. Andrew Duncan and John Strachan were afterwards permitted to return. Thus it fared with the six " attainit." The rest Avere sentenced to be " confynit in the most barbarrous pairtis of the real me." At midnight on the 7th of November, 1606, the dungeons in which Welsh and his five colleagues were confined were thrown open, guards with lighted torches surrounded them, and led them quickly from their prison to the seaside. It was two o'clock in the morning, and the scene then pre- sented on the shore of Leith was still more overpowering than that which is recorded in the 21st chapter of the Acts, when Paul, repairing to Jerusalem, was accompanied to the ship by the Christians of Tyre, with their wives and children, and all were kneeling on the ground. Notwith- standing the hour of the night which had been purposely chosen for the prisoners to embark, a great multitude had suddenly gathered on the shore to bid them a last farewell. Welsh uttered an affecting prayer, and the whole assembly, lighted by a few flickering torches on the seaside, sang the 23rd Psalm. The exiles then left the soil of Scotland accompanied by the tears and the prayers of their brethren. — D'Aubigne. The History of Mr. John Welsh : Select Biographies. Edited for the Wodrow Society. By the Rev. W. K. Tweedie, D.D. This memoir is a reprint of the Life first published at Edinburgh by George Mosman in 1703, and universally ascribed to the Rev. James Kirkton, who was related to Welsh by marriage. To com- pensate for the meagreness of the sketch. Dr. Tweedie has introduced notes and an appendix, but the life of the goodly John Welsh of Ayr — of whose work David Dickson was frequently heard say that the grape gleanings in Ayr in Mr. Welsh's time, were far above the vintage of Irvine in his own — has yet to be written. Life of John Welsh, including illustrations of the Con- temporary Ecclesiastical History of Scotland and France. By the Rev. James Ygung. 1866. By a Presbyterian who worshipped the memory of our Scottish worthies. All these worthies he admired, but none so much as THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 275 John Welsh. Mr. Young also edited the Countess of Mar's Arcadia, etc. EEV. JOHN SHARP, Kilmany. One of the ministers who figured at Aberdeen in 1605, who was condemned for high treason, and thrust into Blackness. He was one of six banished to the Continent, and was appointed Professor of Divinity in the University of Die in Dauphine. See M'Crie's " Life of Melville," p. 326 ; Forbes's " Records," Wod. Soc, p. xlix. Harmony of the Prophets and the Apostles. A very interesting work of its kind, in which verses or passages which seem to disagree are placed side by side, and their seeming disagreement explained ; containing also a number of short essays or discussions on diffi- cult moral and theological questions. It has a place of its own in our theological literature. — Dr. James Walker. EEV. ROBERT DURY, Anstruther, -1616. Minister of Anstruther from 1592 till his banishment in 1606. M'Crie says he was a "relation" of John Dury of Edinburgh ("Life of Melville," p. 151); others make him out his son. He preached in Lewis in 1601, when a colony was planted there as part of a scheme for civilisiog the inhabitants of the Western Isles, then " in a state of complete barbarism." He settled at Leyden, where he became the minister of a small congregation of Scotch and English refugees. Letters from Melville to Robert Dury. The MS. is in Bibl. Jurid., Edin. The letters are written in English. See M'Crie's " Life of Melville," p. 487. Of all his friends, next to his nephew, Melville felt most attached to Dury. His letters abound with touches of familiar pleasantry, as for example : " Faill not to send Arminius against Perkins, whatever it cost, with the contra poison done by Gomarus. When our dame bakes, you shall have a sconne [cake.] . . . Let the bisho^DS be mowdewarps [moles] ; we will lay up our treasures in heaven." REV. JOHN DURY, Cassel, 1595-1680. Son of Robert Dury of Anstruther and Leyden. He became well-known over the Continent for his earnest and persevering endeavours to accomplish a union between the Lutheran and Reformed Churches. — Whom Benzelius, or rather Mosheira, the renowned theologian of Gottingen, in his commentary on Dury's proceedings, characterises under the honourable name of " the most celebrated peacemaker.'' 276 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. John Dury and his Work for Germany. jBy F. H. Brandes, D.T)., Gottingen, Hanover. See Cath. Presb., YIII., 22. " A Scotchman well worthy of being kept in remembrance, not only by his own countrymen, but also by the German nation, and especially by the Protestant Church in Germany." REV. JOHN FORBES, Alford, 1570-1634. One of the ministers imprisoned for holding the Assembly at Aberdeen (p. 60) ; afterwards banished to Holland, where he spent a life eminently useful. See Forbes's Records (Wod. Soc), where a sketch of his life appears by the Rev. James Anderson. His son was John Forbes of Middleburgh, " an able and zealous preacher, who after every sermon behoved to change his shirt — he spoke with such vehemency and sweating " (Sel. Biog. Wod. S.). His brother was Patrick Forbes, Bishop of Aberdeen, 1618-1635. Certaine Records touching the Estate of the Church op Scotland, since the Reformation of Religion therein, TILL THE Parliament holden at Perth, anno 1606. Written he that Faithful Servant and Witness of Christ, Mr. John Forbes. Wod. Soc. An account in detail, by one of the principal sufferers, of the whole iniquitous proceedings against those ministers who were present at the Assembly of Aberdeen in 1605. The official report — that from which Spottiswood compiled his History — was far from reliable, though entitled "Declaration of the Just Causes of His Maj. Proceedings against the Ministers who are now lying in prison, 1605." In reply to this, the ministers themselves pub- lished at the time a counter-statement, entitled "Faithful Report of the Proceedings anent the Assembly of Ministers at Aberdeen, 1606." Four Sermons on 1 Tim. vi. 13-16. Published by S. O., anno 1635. Forbes distinguished himself in the field of theology, as well as in the department of history. Besides the above, he wrote : — " The Saint's Hope and Infallibleness thereof," 1608 ; "A Treatise tending to the clearing of Justification," 1616 ; "A Treatise how God's Spirit may be decerned from Man's own spirit," 1617. REV. JAMES CARMICHAEL, Haddington, 1543-1628. Admitted to Haddington, 1571. Forced to seek shelter in England along with the Melvilles and others. Andrew Melville called him "the profound dreamer." Wodrow says that "a THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 277 great strain of both piety and strong learning runs through his letters and papers." Dr. Laing says there is every probability that " The Booke of the Universall Kirk " was compiled by Carmichael. Letters and Papers of Mr. James Carmichael, Minister op Haddington, 1584-1586. In Wodrow Miscellany. The first letter, addressed to Archibald, eighth Earl of Angus (according to M'Crie, the most patriotic, pious, and intelligent of the Scottish nobility), is thus headed — He wishit the assistance of God's Holie Spirit, to confort and strengthen zour Lordship, in zour Christiane warfair unto the end and in the end. Ane Forme of Sindrie Materis to be lsit in the Elder- scHip. 1589-1592. A series of forms connected with ecclesiastical procedure in connection with the presbytery of Haddington. It also contains some forms of prayer and graces. See Misc. Wod. Soc. PRINCIPAL HENRY CHARTERIS, Edinburgh, 1566-1628. Son of Henry Charteris, an eminent printer in Edinburgh, who proved an able defender of the new faith. The father was one of thirteen commissioners appointed in 1589, by a convention of noblemen, ministers, burgesses, and others to meet weekly to con- sult as to the defence of the reformed religion. His name appears in 1604 among those members of the Edinburgh Presbytery who subscribed the Confession anew. The son was educated for the Church, and succeeded Principal Pollock in the University in 1599. ViT^ ET obitus D. Poberti Polloci, Scoti, narratio ab Henrico Charterisio Conscripta. Narrative of the Life and Death of Mr. Pobert Pollock of Scotland, written by Henry Charteris. See this both in Latin and English in Pollock's Works, Yol. I. PRINCIPAL ROBERT BOYD, of Trochrig, 1578-1627. James I., having heard the fame of his learning, sent to Samur for him, and appointed him Principal of the University of Glasgow and minister of Govan. Although anything but extreme in his Presbyterianism, he was found less tractable than was expected. He refused to comply with the Five Articles of Perth, resigned his situation, and retired in 1621 to his estate. He was afterwards elected Principal of the University of Edinburgh, but the King challenged the appointment. The town council tried to 278 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. influence the King but this was his reply:— "We think his biding there will doe much evill, and, therefore, as ye will answeir to us on your obedience we command you to put him, not onlie from his office, but out of your toun, at the sight heirof, unlesse he conform totallie. And when ye have done, thinke not this sufficient to satisfy our wrathe for disobedience to our former letter.'' On learning this Mr. Boyd retired once more to Carrick. He was cousin to Zachary Boyd. " Sel. Biog.," Wod. Soc, I., 309 ; Wodrow's " Collections." Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians. Land. 1652. This was written in elegant Latin and published under the title of '^ Boberti Bodii Scoti Prcelectiones in Ejnstolam ad Ephesios." Prefixed is a memoir by Dr. Rivet. Certain mistakes in it have been pointed out by Wodrow. A work of stupendous size and stupendous learning. Its apparatus criticus is something enormous. The Greek and Latin Fathers, the writers of the dark ages, the Protestant and Romish theologians of his own time ; Justin and Irenteus ; Tertullian and Cyprian ; Clement and Origen ; Augustine and Jerome ; Gregory Nyssen and Gregory Nazianzen ; Anselm, and Bonaventure, and Bernard ; Calvin and Kollock ; Bellarmine and Pighius, — are all at hand to render aid or to receive replies.— Dr. James Walker, " Scot. TheoL," p. 4- Ad Christum Servatorem Hecatombe. A song embracing almost the whole of the Christian religion, or placing before the eyes of the reader in a hundred Sapphic stanzas, the marrow or rather a compend of evangelical doctrine, in the most polished and melli- fluent verses, and in language taken from that of the Augustan age. It was dedicated to his cousin, Andrew Boyd, bishop of Argyll. — Poet. Scot. Musce Sacrce, p., 198. REV. JOHN CAMERON, Samur, 1579-1625. Born in Glasgow. Appointed regent of the college of Bergerac in France, from which he was translated to a chair of philosophy in Sedan. In 1618 he was chosen professor of divinity in the university of Samur. In 1620 he engaged in a formal disputation with Daniel Tilenus, on the doctrines of grace and free-will. In 1622, James appointed him principal of the university of Glasgow, in room of Robert Boyd, removed in consequence of his firm adher- ence to Presbyterianism. Not finding himself at home among the students whom Boyd had trained, and where the current was strong against Prelacy, he returned to Samur. See Wod. "Analecta," Maitland Club. Opera. Being his collected Theological Works. With a sketch of the Author's Life and Character, written by Cafpel. Geneva, 1642. We can hardly reckon him among our Scotch divines ; and perhaps it is no loss. His repute in other countries was very great. Yet his doctrine THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 279 of the three covenants, and his attempted mediation between Calvin and Arminius have had little success, and do not indicate a mind of high order. — Dr. James Walker. One of the most learned and famous doctors whom Scotland has sent forth to adorn the schools and churches of the foreign Protestants. The scheme of syncretism, which Cameron devised, and which often went by his name, long kept its ground among the followers of the reformed faith in France, and could number in the list of its supporters men of such dis- tinction as Amyraut, Daille, Bochart, and Blondel. — Wodrow's CollectionSy Preface to Vol. II. REV. ROBERT BRUCE, Edinburgh, 1559-1631. Son of Alexander Bruce of Airth, from whom he inherited the estate of Kinnaird. By descent, a collateral relation of Robert the Bruce. Studied under Andrew Melville, and imbibed much of his spirit. He had a great conflict of mind, which led him to say to James Melville : " Before I throAv myself again into such a torment of conscience as I have had in resisting the call to the ministry, I would rather choose to walk through a fire of brim- stone, though it were a mile in length." Succeeded James Lawson in Edinburgh, and rose to be one of Scotland's most eminent ministers. Next to Melville, his influence told upon the Church ; thousands acknowledged him their spiritual father, among whom was Alexander Henderson. The manner of his death was beautiful : " Hold, daughter," he said, " my Master calls me ; " and having asked for the family Bible, he said, " Cast me up the 8th chapter of Bomans, and place my finger on these words, 'I am persuaded, etc.,'" he took his departure, — Sel. Biog. Wod. Sac, /., 307. James Bruce the Abyssinian traveller was a descendant of Robert Bruce, of the sixth generation, and Lady Thurlow, wife of Lord Thurlow, High Commissioner to the General Assembly (1886), is also a direct descendant of the Scottish divine. A hero adorned with every virtue, a constant confessor and almost martyr of the Lord Jesus. — Andrew Melville. Robert Bruce, one of the most commanding figures in our religious history, about whose words there was a certain kingly power, as though they came direct out of the sanctuary. — Dr. James Walker. Robert Bruce, a man as noble by nature as he was by birth, with a majesty of countenance so truly venerable and commanding, who won so many thousand souls to Christ, and of whose own soul it may be said, if it can be said of any mortal man (pardon the expression), that it sits in heavenly places, — he has been driven from his church in Edinburgh for twenty-three years, and is tossed about on sea and land to this very day 1 Were one allowed to depend on the faith of another, may my soul be with your soul, 0 Bruce ! — Calderu'ood. One of the foremost men of his day, both for parts and piety, and one of the most faithful and efficient ministers the Church of Scotland has ever 280 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. had. . . . Robert Bruce, if ever any man in Scotland was, was in the Evangelical Succession, and the link in the chain next to him is Alexander Henderson. — Evan. Succ, II., 95. We select Robert Bruce as an illustrious instance of a man in public life laden with its cares, harassed with business, set over a flock also, for whose souls he had to watch, who, nevertheless lived in fellowship with Ood, and was enabled through the strength of that fellowship to do deeds of faith that made his name dear to the Church of God. Born of high parentage, much occupied with State affairs, diligent in his Master's vineyard, he maintained a calm and collected soul in the midst of all allurements and harassments ; and his own standing with God formed at all times his first object of attention. — Presh. Rev., 1843. Robert Bruce, the heroic champion of truth, one of nature's noblemen, — the spiritual father of Alexander Henderson, — the favourite, at one time, of his prince, — the victim, at another, of his unrelenting hate, because of too large a soul to chime in with the court, either when it chose to brand a guiltless nobleman with treason, as in the case of Gowrie, or when it would impose the shackles of despotism and superstition on a free people. No man ever stood so high in the eyes of his countrymen; they almost worshipped him as a superior being, he lived so far above other men, and held such near and marvellous converse with heaven ! — F. C. M. Robert Bruce, before whose searching eye the most intricate and subtle natures felt themselves revealed ; and beneath whose voice gnarled cedars bent like willows, for the Spirit of God spake by him ; of whose prayers it is said each sentence was a bolt shot into heaven, as of his sermons each sentence was a bolt shot from heaven into the heart. — Dr. James Hamilton. Sermons by the Rev. Robert Bruce, Minister of Edinburgh. Reprinted from the Original Edition of 1590 and 1591. With Collections for his Life by the Rev. Robert Wodrow, Minister of Eastwood. Edited by the Rev. W. Cunning- ham, D.D., Edinburgh. Wod. Soc. 1843. Curious as specimens of composition in the Scottish language, just before that language was laid aside by writers and preachers. Facsimiles of the original titles appear in the volume. " The Way to Trve Peace, etc ," is made up of sermons on the Lord's Supper, Hezekiah's sickness, etc. Two sermons on the 76th Psalm were preached in Edinburgh " as ane thanksgiving to God for deliverie trom the tyrannic of the Spaniards " — quoted from by Spurgeon in ^'Treasury of David," III., 40-4. We have also a sei-mon on the 40th Psalm, preached on a public fast — quoted by Spurgeon, II., 269. The majority of his sermons were "Englished'^ for the benefit of readers unacquainted with the beauties of the Scottish dialect. See " The Hidden Life of the Ministry " in Presbyterian Pevieiu, July, 1843. It is true of Bruce, as well as of Melville and Henderson, that his reputation and his claim to the respect and gratitude of his countrymen, rest rather upoii what he effected during his life than upon the writings he left behind him. Still his sermons are very interesting and valuable. — Prin. W. Cunningham, D.D. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 281 A Sermon upon the Second Chapter of Second Timothy, BEGINNING AT THE TWENTY-SECOND VERSE. Preached the 9th November, 1589, at the quhilk iim,e the Earl of Bothwell made his public Repentance in the Kirk of Ediriburgh, This sermon, as also " Ane Exhortation to the Provinciall Assemblie of tlie Presbyteries of Lothiane," will be found in the Wod. Soc. volume. Upon the Sabbath-day, the 9th of November, he humbled himself on his knees in the East Kirk, before noon ; and in the Great Kirk afternoon, he confessed with tears his dissolute and licentious life, and promised to prove another man in time to come. But soon after he broke forth in gross enormities. — Caklerwood. Narrative by Mr. Robert Bruce of his Troubles. Ban. Misc. 1600. The author refused to "stain the glory of his ministry" by hypocritically acknowledging Imuself })ersuaded of the guilt of Gowrie. "Because he would not joyn in giving thanks for the delyverie of Gowrie's conspiracie the King removed him to Inverness." REV. WILLIAM SCOT, Cupar, 1558-1642. Settled first at Kennoway, afterwards at Cupar. One of the eminent ministers, who in 1606 resisted the attempt of the King to introduce Episcopacy. Scot had a letter sent him from the imprisoned brethren in Blackness. He accompanied the Melvilles to London. See " Life," by Dr. Laing, in Wod. Soc. volume. An Apologetical Narration of the State and Government OF the Kirk of Scotland since the Keformation. Wod. Soc. 1846. The period embraced is from 1560, till the meeting of Parlia- ment after the arrival of Charles I. in Scotland, in 1633 — a period more fully detailed and illustrated by Calderwood. It is one of the clearest and most judicious accounts of this Church from the Reformation, but especially from the introduction of Prelacy to the end of James VI.'s reign, and downward to the year 1G33, that we have now remaining. — Wodrow. The Course of Conformitie; as it hath proceeded; is con- cluded; SHOULD be refused. Psalm xUv. 20. 1622. The treatise consists of an historical review of the various steps taken for the introduction and settlement of Episcopacy in Scotland. M'Crie the younger attributes the work to Calderwood and James Melville. Dr. Laing writes, " I have endeavoured to claim for him [Scot], after an interval of two centuries, the authorship of this well-known book which was pub- lished anonymously." 282 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. REV. THOMAS HOG, Djsart. One of the ministers who stubbornly set himself against the Perth Articles. Preaching from 2 Tim. i. 13, " Keepe the true paterne of the wholesome words, etc.," he impugned the Articles as "swerving altogether from the true paterne." See Cald. vii. 365. For this he was deposed in 1620. In 1638 he was appointed minister of Kenno way. (Vide ip. 73.) A SuMMARE Declaration of the Proceedings of Mr. Johne Spottiswoode, in the Hie Commission, against Mr. Thomas Hogge, minister of Christ's Evangell, at Dysert, the yeir of God, 1619. REV. JOHN ROW, Carnock, 1568-1646. Son of Dr. John Pow, the eminent reformer, one of the six compilers of the First Book of Discipline, and the first Protestant minister of Perth (1526-1580). Ordained minister of Carnock, 1592. In 1619 he was summoned before the Court of High Commission for nonconformity, but escaped with the censure of being confined to his own parish. He had two brothers who were ministers — James, minister of Kilspindy, and William, according to Livingstone (Sel. Biog., I., 297), minister of Strathmiglo, but this is contradicted by Anderson in " The Scottish Nation." The History of the Kirk of Scotland from 1558 to August, 1637, by John Row, minister of Carnock; WITH a continuation TO JuLY, 1639, BY HIS SON, JOHN Pow. Principal of King's College, Aberdeen. Edited hy David Laing, Esq. Wod. Sac. 1842. An important work. An edition of the History had previously been printed for the Maitland Club in two volumes, edited by the Rev. Dr. Fleming, but owing to a misapprehension as to the authorship of some parts of the history — which were ascribed to William Row of Ceres, instead of John Row of Carnock — the work was arranged in a manner calculated to confuse. In the Wodrow edition, the history appears for the first time as revised and amplified by the author during the latter period of his life. Row in his history gives a list of various books written against Prelacy, and adds : — " All quhilk books are printed and come forth to the view of all who earnestlie seek after them. And considering what difficultie it is to get such books printed, when they are discharged to be printed under pain of death, and what danger it is to any to be found haveing any such books, it is a gracious providence that they are extant. Where also see what hight of apostasie we are come unto that lies agains the Covenant may be printed, but trueths for the Covenant dares not be printed, except the printer, haver, and reader run the hazard of death or some little less. " THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 283> EEV. DAVID CALDERWOOD, Crailing, 1575-1650. A native of Dalkeith, although descended from a family which possessed the estate of Calderwood in Lanarkshire. Settled in 1604 at Crailing, near Jedburgh, he proved a sturdy Presbyterian. He and George Johnston of Ancrum declined a visitation in 1608 by James Law, bishop of Orkney. For this the ecclesiastio ordered them to be "put to the horn." He was afterwards banished for his nonconformity, and sailed for Holland, where in 1623 he wrote his great work ^^ AUare Daniascenum." After the re-establishment of presbytery in 1638, he was appointed minister of Pencaitland, where he laboured till the gathering storm drove him to Jedburgh. A writer well remarks that Calderwood gave more annoyance to the bishops than almost all his brethren put together. He was perpetually pelting them with tracts and treatises, written no one knew by whom, printed no one knew where, exposing their trickeries and sophistries. For an account of his Kfe and writing.^, — in all twenty- two separate treatises — see "Lives of Scottish Writers," by David Irving, LL.D. I am angry now at myself that in my younger years I did not value nor respect Mr. Calderwood, as I now clearly see I should have done. He was always striking at us that were young ministers, and reproving us ; but M'e were ready too much to despise him on that accouut. — Ferguson of Kilioinning. Perth Assembly : Containing, L, The Proceedings thereof ; IL, The Proofe of the Nullitie thereof, etc. 1619. The object of this was to prove the nullity of the packed meeting of Assembly held at Perth in 1618, and to give proofs of the unlawfulness of the Five Articles of Perth. In 1620 appeared an abridgment of the same, in Latin, bearing the title "Parasynagma Perthense." In 1 636 appeared "A Re-Examination of the Articles." James Cathkin, an Edinburgh bookseller, was apprehended in London in 1619, on a charge of having circulated Calderwood's treatise. See interview between Cathkin and the King, in M'Crie's "Scot. Ch.," p. 119. A Solution of Dr. Resolutus his Resolutions for Kneeling. 1619. This was written in answer to a work by David Lindsay of Dundee, afterwards Bishop of Edinburgh, entitled " Reasons of a pastor's Resolution touching the reverend receiving of the holy Communion." Calderwood afterwards wrote, "A defence of our arguments against Kneeling in the act of receiving the sacramental elements of bread and wine, impugned by John Michelsone, preacher at Burnt Island." Another antagonist who felt the argumentative grip of Calderwood, was Bishop Morton. Calderwood wrote "A reply to Dr. Morton's generall defence of three nocent Cere- monies, viz., the surplice, crosse in baptism, and kneeling at the receiving 2S4: , TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. of the sacramental elements," He returned to the charge in "A reply to Dr. Morton's Particular Defence." It sometimes happened that when a minister asked the congregation to kneel they flocked out of the church, leaving him alone at the table. This happened at Ayr. "Brereton's Travels." See Dr. Gardiner's "History," VIII. , 306. An Epistle of a Christian Brother exhorting another to KEEPE himself UNDEFILED FROM THE PRESENT CORRUPTIONS brought IN TO THE MINISTRATION OF THE LoRD's SuPPER. 1624. The counsell of a faitlifull friend to a brother, doubting what to do in tliir difficult tymes. — John Bow. The Pastor and the Prelate; or, Reformation and Con- formity SHORTLY compared BY THE WORD OF GOD, BY Antiquity, and the Proceedings of the Ancient Kirk. 1628. The characteristics of a faithful pastor and of an ambitious prelate are here placed in antithetic contrast, and in concise and convincing form. The writer drew his delineations of prelacy from actual life. Altare Damascenum ceu Politia Ecclesi^ Anglicans OBTRUSA EcCLESI^ ScOTICANiE, ETC 1708. The " Altare," or Altar of Damascus (a title founded on 2 Kings xvi. 10, 11), is Calderwood's masterpiece, and contains an elaborate examination of the constitution and ceremonies of the Church of England. The original of the Latin work was a tract in English, published in 1621. It is" said that King James, on reading this looked melancholy, and being asked the cause pointed to the formidable treatise. " Let not that trouble your majesty," said the courtier, " I shall soon answer it." " Answer what man?" replied the King, "there is nothing there but Scripture, reason, and the fathers." Be the story true or mythical, the book remains unanswered. His great work. It is the most serious attack on diocesan, or rather Anglican Episcopacy, which I suppose has ever been made in this country. Patiently and perseveringly Calderwood goes over the whole system, tearing it to pieces, as it were, bit by bit. The Bible, the Fathers, the Canonists are equally at his command. It does our Church no credit that the "Altare," has never been translated. — Dr. James Walker. The "Altare Damascenum" is beyond comparison the most learned and elaborate work ever written on the subject, embracing the whole con- troversy between the English and Scottish divines as to government, discipline, and worship. — 2\ M'Crie, LL.D. The reader who reaches the end of this quarto volume of 950 pages, will probably feel satisfied that he has seen enough of that side of the con- troversy. Calderwood's book is valuable, however, as it is the amplest display of the testimony of his party while there was yet room for peaceful discussion and before controversy had passed into war. — Burton, VI., 437. the literature of the covenant, 285 The History of the Kirk of Scotland, from the beginning OF the Reformation unto the end of the reign of James YI. Edited from the original manuscript preserved in the British Museum hy the Rev. Thomas Thomson. 8 Yds. Wod. Soc. 1843. The labour of years. In 1648 the Assembly voted the author a yearly pension of eight hundred pounds Scots to complete the design. The MS. was presented to the British Museum by the author's grand-nephew, Lord Polton. For Calderwood's account of his denial of the competency of the sentence of the court of " Hie Commission," see Yol. YIL, 265. Here, to give him the first place, stands old Calderwood, hewn out of his native rock. No chicken of the modern school was "Mr. David Calderwood." The very abridgment of his History is a folio, large enough to frighten a modern reader out of his propriety. . . . Calderwood was banished to Holland, and when good Lord Cranston interceded with James that the poor man might not be sent beyond seas during winter, the monarch replied, giving his lordship a dig with his elbow, "If he be drowned in the seas, he might thank God he hath escaped a worse death." But Calderwood lived to see the bishops and their ceremonies laid in the dust. — Dr. Hetherington. A Dialogue betwixt Cosmophilus and Theophilus anent the urging of New Ceremonies upon the Kirke of Scotland. 1620. Dr. Irving ascribes this treatise to Calderwood, but Drs. Laing and M'Crie the younger say the author was John Murray, minister at Leith and Dunfermline. See sketch of Murray's life in the Christian Magazine, July, 1803. ALEXANDER LEIGHTON, D.D., St. Andrews, 1568-1644. Father of Robert Leighton, archbishop of Dunblane. Born at Edinburgh ; studied at St. Andrews ; graduated at Ley den ; ordained minister of the Scotch Church, Utrecht; afterwards appointed Professor of Divinity in St. Andrews. Repairing to London, he wrote certain works against Episcopacy, one of them, "The Looking-Glass of the Holy War." Few men suffered so much from Prelacy, yet his father's son, the "saintly Leighton," accompanied Sharp, Fairfoul, and Hamilton to London in 1661, to receive Episcopal consecration, thereby virtually approving of the horrible sufierings his father had endured. Livingstone was one morning at the house of the Rev. Robert Bruce, when he came out of his closet. His face was swollen with weeping, and one might easily have guessed what work he had been taken up with. He had been praying for Dr. Leighton, who was pilloried in London. His distress was in part for himself, because he had not been counted worthy to suffer. See Preshy. Rev., July, 1843. 286 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. An Appeal to the Parliament ; or, Zion's Plea against the Prelacie. The Summe whereof is delivered in a Decade of Positions, etc. The author presented this work, in 1630, to the Members of the House of Commons. He was sentenced to a fine of .£10,000, and to imprisonment for life; transferred to the High Court of Commission to be degraded from his ministerial office ; returned to the Star Chamber where he was sentenced to be pilloried and whipt ; after whipping, to have one of his ears cut off, his nose slit, his forehead branded with S.S., i.e., Seditious Slanderer, etc. His imprisonment lasted ten years, until released by the Long Parliament in 1640. He was afterwards made keeper of Lambeth Palace. See Neal's " Puritans," II. 383. Wad. Hist., I. 237. A book written in the bitter style of controversy that we so often meet with, steeped in a scornful spirit, and in other ways irritating and offensive. But had it been a hundred times worse, it would not have justified the brutal and infamous treatment inflicted on its author in 1630, by the Star Chamber, at the instigation of Laud. — Prof. Blaikie, D.D. JAMES VI. of Scotland, 1566-1625. Son of Queen Mary and Darnley ; born in Edinburgh Castle ; crowmed King at Stirling when little more than a year old. He was filled with extreme notions regarding the divine right of kinf^s, of which the following from his " Basilicon Boron " may be taken as an example : — " Parity among ministers is irrecon- cilable with monarchy, and the mother of confusion. Episcopacy should be set up and the principal Presbyterian ministers banished from the country." His " True Lawe of Monarchies " is also an unvarnished defence of despotic doctrine. When asked why he had made James a pedant, George Buchanan answered, "I was happy to be able to accomplish even that ! " — D' Israeli, " Curiosities of Literature.'' He saw plainly enough wherein lay the true contest of church govern- ment ; he could not brook the principles of freedom which were inherent in the Presbyterian dogmas. Apart from the question of supremacy of the Crown, which is not a matter to be entered on here, Presbyterian church government was essentially representative. The Presbyterian Church Courts, composed of laity as well as clergy, spoke the voice of the people and gave them a direct control in judicatories which in those days were pre-eminently powerful. This was not to the taste of the King, and he spent the whole of his reign— a period of three-and-twenty years— in a resolute, and down to the day of his death, ahnost unchecked preparation for the subversion of the liberties of both ends of the Island. All this, however, was done with a quiet and stealthy hand ; and, in the meantime, the country, which had been deprived of the beams of the royal counten- ance, was, I rather think, much benefited by his withdrawal. There was no longer a Court in which the Scotch nobility might jostle each other ; the occupation of the time-server and the place-hunter was gone; needy adventurers no longer flocked to the precincts of Holyrood ; and corruption and venality had no objects on which to thrive. Justice, which had been more blind than usual in the years immediately preceding, came to be THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 287 strictly, if not sternly, administered ; and we find, not unaccountably, but naturally enough, that when from a narrow and poor country was withdrawn the somewhat tinsel show of an impoverished Court, the true spirit of the nation began to revive; and for the three -and twenty years during which James ruled over the United Kingdom, however the ashes might smoulder, there was peace at home and peace abroad. Trade and commerce began to show themselves in a country up to that time distracted with civil war and personal contention ; and the foundations began to be laid of prosperity and progress, which were only fully developed a century afterwards. — Lord Moncreiff, 1869. The Summe and Substance of the Conferences at Hampton Court, January 14, 1604. The High Church party was represented by King James and 17 prelates, the Puritans by 4 ministers. The account was drawn up by W. Barlow, D. D. , Bishop of Rochester. It was at the second day's meeting James uttered the memorable saying, " No bishop, no king ! " The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments according to the authorised version. 1611. This was the outcome of the famous Conference convened by- James YI. to hear a formal complaint by the Puritans, and examine " thino;s pretended to be amiss in the Church." On the third day Dr. Kainolds made objections to various renderings in the existing versions of the Bible, and requested the King to authorise a new translation. The King wisely supported the great Puritan, and selected 54 learned men, 47 of whom were ultimately- employed, Dr. Rainolds being one of the number. The author- ised version never had the sanction of ecclesiastical authority in Scotland. It seems to have been intended by the Westminster Assembly of Divines to isvsue a version of the Scriptures, which might bear their imprimatur, but nothing came of it. The Book of Canons issued by Laud in 1636 provided that each parish should have a Bible, the translation of King James. The Canons were abjured, but the authorised version gradually made way on its merits. Henderson, in preaching before the Assembly in 1639, read from the Geneva Bible. Hugh Binning seems to have used the authorised version. Alexander Peden's Bible, still pre- served, was not King James's, but a copy of the translation of Beza's version published in London in 1599. Declaration to encoukage Eecreations and Sports on the Lord's Day : The Book of Sports. 1618. It was King James who first brought the charge of Puritanic strictness against some of the best of his subjects. In this he has had many imitators, whose most offensive weapons have been obtained from the caricature of Puritanism contained in his writings. In this Book of Sports it is declared to be His Majesty's pleasure that after divine service his people should not be hindered from such recreations as dancing, leaping, vaulting, archery, etc. See Row's "History," p. 279. The Sabbath was held peculiarly sacred by the sufferers of these times. They kept it holy, and opposed by their sentiments and practice the viola- tion of it by civil employments or amusements. The abuses of the Sabbath 288 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. that had prevailed in England, and under authority, from the time of the publication of the Book of Sports they testified against. The puritanical Scottish Sabbath is made the jest of the profane, and has been held up to ridicule by legislators in recent discussions in Parliament, but it has been the honour of our country. Would to God we saw it back again !— A. Symington, D.D., 1S34. The Psalms of David, Translated by King James. 1631. After the Hampton Court conference the idea occurred to James that he might win some distinction by producing a new Psalm-book. The transla- tion, however, was not the work of King James, but of Sir William Alexander, Earl of Stirling. After being published in the King's name, an edict went forth that the book should be used in public worship throughout Scotland. When Charles and Laud visited Scotland, an injunction was passed "that no other Psalmes, of any edition whatever, be printed here- after within that our kingdom, or be imported thither either bound by themselffs, or otherways, from any forrayne port." Reasons against the Reception of King James's Metaphrase. James's Psalms— dull and cold, harsh and tuneless — met with stout opposition in Scotland. This pamphlet, supposed to have been the work of Calderwood, deepened the hostility. The writer objected to "harsh and thrawen phrases, new coined and court terms, poetical conceats, and heathenish liberty, which occurred in the new meeter, and served to mak people glaik." John Row wrote as follows :—" There were some expressions so far from the language of Canaan that all who had any religion did dislike them ; such as calling the sun the lord of light, and the moon the pale lady of the night." See also "Ban. Misc.," p. 231. The Psalmes of David in Prose and Meeter, with their whole tunes in foure or mo parts, and some psalmes IN Reports. Wherunto is added many godly Prayers, ETC. 1635. The title of the old Scottish Psalter of the Kirk of Scotland, which in this edition "reached its climax by the increase of the common tunes and the addition of harmony to the entire musical materials." For an account of the editions that preceded, see Macmeeken's "Hist. Scot. Met. Psalms," p. 13. A reprint of the " Scottish Metrical Psalter," illustrated by dissertations, notes and facsimiles, edited by the Rev. Neil Livingstone, appeared in 1864. The Psalms of David in Meeter; newly translated and DILIGENTLY COMPARED WITH THE OrTGINAL TeXT AND FORMER Translations, etc., allowed by the authority OF the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland. 1650. The Assembly of 1649, unable to overtake the review and examination of the new paraphrase of the Psalms, appointed the following brethren to travel in the matter, and to report to the Commission, which was authorised to publish the new version : — James Hamilton, John Smith, Hew Mackail, Robert Trail, George Hutcheson, Robert Lowrie. For some years previous, Sir W. Mure of Rowallan, Francis Rous of Cornwall, William Barton of London, and Zachary Boyd of Glasgow had each been trying his skill on a metrical version, and the General Assembly had decided to revise Rous's Psalter already (1643) printed by authority of the House of Commons. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 289 WILLIAM COWPEE, Bishop of Galloway, 1566-1619. One of James's bishops, not a few of whom were worthy men and faith- ful ministers. They were quite diflferent from the ambitious hirelings who succeeded them twenty years afterwards. Cowper was minister of Perth, 1592-1611. He was sent to deal with Andrew Melville when a prisoner in the Tower, but failed to make any impression on him. He was the Leighton of his day, notwithstanding Cald. " Hist.," VII., 349. WoRKEs, WITH Life, and his Resolution touching the Articles of Perth. 1623. These include Commentaries on Romans viii.. Psalm li. and cxix., Revelation, besides other treatises. Extracts from his Psalms will be found in Spurgeon's "Treasury of David," II., 471, etc. Later editions of his works appeared, 1629, 1726. JOHN SPOTTISWOOD, Abp., St. Andrews, 1565-1639. Son of John Spottiswood, Superintendent of Lothian. One of the four prelates summoned to London in 1606. Translated to St. Andrews, 1615. He was the means of carrying the obnoxious Perth Articles. He was present at St. Giles', Edinburgh, in 1637, when the tumult ensued on reading the Liturgy, and retired for safety to Xewcastle. The Covenanters charged him with "profaning the Sabbath, carding and diceing, riding through the country the whole day, tippling and drinking in taverns till midnight, falsifying the Acts of Aberdeen Assembly, slandering the Covenant in his wicked book," etc. History of the Church and State of Scotland. Loyid., 1655. Written at the command of King James, with whom he stood high in favour. An edition, with biography and notes by Dr. Russell, appeared in 1851. Spottiswood alleged that Knox's History "was not his work, but his name supponed to gain it credit." The allegation he supported by two arguments, the one founded on "the scurril discourses," and the other on quotations from "The Acts and Monuments of Martyrs set forth by Mr. Foxe, which came not to light till after Knox's death." See reply by Dr. Laing— "Knox," L, 14. History, which, as has been well observed, might properly be called Calumnies against the Church of Scotland. This historian was engaged in all the Jesuitical plots of the government for overturning Presbytery, which. he had sworn to support. — M'Crie, ''Scot. Ch.," p. J 07. CHARLES I. Reign, 1625-1649. In an evil hour for Charles I. Laud became his trusted friend and adviser, and was ready to uphold on all occasions the King's most royal notions of arbitrary power. Nor could it well be otherwise. He who had aided James in his rash attempt to impose the_ English liturgy on the Scotch people, who had promoted sports and pastimes on the Lord's-day, who had termed James our British Solomon in the pulpit, might always be found on the side of the King against Parliament and people. Nothing but a miracle could have saved Charles, with a Popish Queen on one side of him and a High Church bishop on the other. — Literary World. The Life and Reigne of King Charles I., or the Pseudo-Martyr Discovered. 1651. Written in reply to "Works of that Great Monarch and Glorious Martyr, Charles I." It is not beheading, or blood-shedding that makes the martyr, but the cause. A copy in a Glasgow library has : — "Auto, of Robert Mylne, with a few MS. notes by him. The vol. seems also to have T 290 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. been in the possession of the Rev. Robert Calder, the author of ' Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence Displayed.' One of Mylne's notes suggests that Milton was the author of this work." Second Declaration of Sports. 1633. This was a republication by Charles I. of his father's book which appeared in 1618. The Declaration struck the sober part of the nation with a kind of horror, and 800 ministers refused to read it from their pulpits (p. 287). Nothing, perhaps, contributed more to overturn the throne of iniquity than its framing of mischief against the holy Sabbath by a law. — Dr. Gilfillan, '' The Sabbath.'' The Book of Common Prayer. 1637. See p. 74. The book was never heard of after the blow dealt it by Janet Geddes. A copy in the library of the University of Glasgow bears the following note inscribed by a former owner : — " This is the book called the Service Book that was pressed upon the Kirk of Scotland by the prelates of that tyme ; a book full of errors, and may be called 'the masse in English.' The reason I kept it undestroyed is that all generations following may take heed of novacions in the Kirk, and praise God for our preservation." " Let us read the collect of the day," said the pretended bishop, from amid his tippets, when Jenny Geddes' stool, aimed at the reverend head and accompanied by the now famous wish that the devil might give him the stomach-ache, led to a commotion, in the midst of which ominous threats of stoning reached the bishop's ears, who, not caring to be made a martyr of in that fashion, for his faith in frills and surplices, was fain to close the service abruptly. For that decision he is not much to be censured. It would not have been pleasant to die for such a cause, and in such ignominious circumstances. It may be questioned if with all his stubbornness, even Bryan King's faith and courage would have been equal to the occasion. . . . I need not tell you how Jenny Geddes by that one act became a heroine, — how, to this day her name throughout Scotland is as familiar as a household word. Nor can we wonder that it is so. The very ludicrous- ness of the scene adds to its impressiveness, and strengthens its hold on the popular mind. Even now one can scarcely keep one's gravity in trying to picture it. The Bishop dressed in clerical millinery, performing the service in his best manner, with intonation and gesture immaculately correct; his surprise and fright when his mock solemnities are so rudely interrupted, the woman's ingenuity in finding an offensive weapon; the mingled wit and coarseness of her speech, — all go to form a scene which, for the ludicrous, has seldom been equalled. "Deil colic the wame o' thee ! " Was ever poor bishop greeted with such a response? His taste must have been as much shocked as his nerves were flurried. But seriously, was not this after all the best way under the circumstances, of meeting the mummeries which he was trying to introduce ? It was very unceremonious no doubt. It was much more plain than polite. But withal it was bravely done ; and what was still more important as regards its results it was done in the proper nick of time. That stool, hurled with such fierce aim, was the symbol of the spirit which then agitated the Scottish people. One could almost call it the banner of the Covenant. — Dr. Landels. But both [the name and services of Jenny Geddes] are intimately associated with events which may be said to have directly led the way to the overthrow for a time not in Scotland only, but also in England, at ■once of the episcopal church and of the monarchy.— Pro/. W. Lee^ D.D. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 291 Jenny Geddes. Bi/ Professor W. Lee, D.D., Glasgow. Catholic Presbyterian. 1882. Dr. Burton is not satisfied with the evidence in favour of this heroine, and on the authority of Wodrow brings forward the name of Barbara Hamilton or Mein. Dr. Gardiner (History of England, VIII., 316) following Burton, also abandons the tradition, which, however, is too deeply imbedded in the nation's annals to be set aside in this way. Of the narrative we have two contemporary accounts — the royal, contained in the Large Declaration, and the Puritan, contained in the appendix to Rothes' Proceedings. Even with reference to the identity of Jenny Geddes herself there is not by any means unanimity, either among early narrators or modern critics. Her name is not to be found at all in most of the accounts, nor any other name. . . . The general tradition, however, is in favour of Janet Oeddes as the true heroine ; and in addition to such incidental corrobora- tion as is found in ballad poetry of early but uncertain date, e.g. : — Jenny Geddes was the gossip Put the gown upon the bishop, we have for the fact direct evidence of some value. The author of a con- tinuation of Sir Richard Baker's well-known "Chronicles of the Kings of England "—the continuation being published in 1G60— gives a long account of the Eiinburgh riot, and he not only expressly names Janet Geddes as having taken a prominent part in the unseemly proceedings which then took place in the High Church, but speaks of her as still alive at the time be wrote. — Prof. Lee. On the 23rd of July, 16.37, Jenny Geddes threw her stool at the Dean of Edinburgh's head, a proceeding for which, at the distance of two hundred and seven years (1844), she is still respected. — Lord Cockburn. The famous stool which was on that occasion flung at the head of the Dean of Edinburgh extinguished the English liturgy entirely in Scotland for the ITlIi century, and to a great extent even to the 19th, and gave to the civil wars of England an impulse which only ended with the overthrow of the Church and monarchy. — Dean Stanley. A Relation of Proceedings concerning the Affairs of the Kirk of Scotland, from August, 1637, to July, 1638. The writer was John Leslie, fifth Earl of Rothes, one of the few noble- men who had the courage to oppose the confirmation of the Five Articles of Perth, When the Marquis of Hamilton attempted to dissolve the Glasgow Assembly, it was he who presented the protest against the dissolution, as also against the proclamation thereanent. The Relation was printed for the Baunatyne Club in 1830. The Epistle Congratulatorie of Lysimachus Nicanor to the Covenanters of Scotland. Salute the sisters with a holy kisse ; to whom ye doe but your duty, when you acknowledge your cause much obliged to them, and that in those your Esi hers and Judiths your work had but a small beginning : and when men durst not resist the beginnings it's wisely observed by you that God moved the spirit of those holy women to scourge the buyers and sellers out of a^ Lee, D.D., LL.D., '' Lectures Hist. Ch. Scot., 1860. Poor, after all, it may be said is all this literary spray you have been able to collect from the ocean of the Scottish persecution. But let us remember that it is not during persecutions or revolutions that literature is either read or written. It is not amid the hot passions of angry nations that the richest dews of genius descend. The true literature of such periods must be sought for afterwards.— G'iZ^itow. REV. JAMES GUTHRIE, Stirling, 1616-1661. Son of the laird of Guthrie, and cousin to William Guthrie of Fenwick. Ordained minister of Lauder, 1638. Sent along with Henderson, Douglas, and Cant to Newcastle in 1646. Trandated to Stirling, 1649. He warmly espoused the cause of the Pro- testers, and became a leader of the party. Both he and his colleague denounced the lukewarm policy of the Resolutioners, and protested that the principles of the Covenant should be maintained ; that malignants should not be admitted to places of trust ; and that the King's authority should be limited by a free X 322 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Parliament and a free Assembly. Burnet declared his language *' indecent and intolerable," and Guthrie and Bennet were cited before the King at Perth in 1651. They appeared, but only to give in a Protestation declining the King's judgment in matters of doctrine. For this they were imprisoned, the one in Perth, the other in Dundee. After the Restoration Guthrie headed a band of twelve Protesters, who drew up an address of congratula- tion to the King, reminding him of his covenant obligation, and asking him to ''fill all places of trust, not only in Scotland, but in England and Ireland, with those who had taken the Covenant and were of know^n affection to the cause of God." The Protesters were seized and carried off to prison. When Guthrie quitted it, it was for the scaffold, June 1, 1661. — Sel Biog., Wad. Sac, SSJf. Mr. Pollock of Perth said to Guthrie one day : " We have a Scotch proverb, ' Jouk that the wave may go o'er you.' Will ye jouk a little, Mr. Guthrie % " " Mr. Pollock," replied Mr. Guthrie gravely, "there is no jouking in the cause of Christ." For Western Remonstrance^ see p. 121. Causes of the Lord's Wrath against Scotland, manifested IN His sad late Dispensations. 1651. This was the pamphlet which furnished the main pretext for James Guthrie's condemnation and execution. After the battle of Dunbar the Assembly decreed a day of fasting and humiliatiou to be held on September 15, 1650. At the same time an edict was issued, called " Causes of solemn public humiliation upon the defeat of our army, to be kept through all the congregations of Scotland." This paper, written by James Guthrie, contained fourteen Causes, which for the most part resolved themselves into insufficiency of purgation. Many had gone to fight for the Covenant, he reasoned, who had been unworthy of the Covenant. The worldly-policy party had carried the day with Charles and his counsellors, and even the Commission of Assembly, in adopting the Besolutious, had set its seal to the obliquity characteristic of the time. The publication had the honour of being condemned by proclamation along with Kutherford's " Lex Bex." (P. 305.) Some Considerations contributing unto the Discoverie op THE Dangers that threatened Eeligion and the Work of Reformation in the Church of Scotland. By James Guthrie, Minister of the Gospel at Stirling. 1660. It was determined to have another representative victim, and to take him from the Church. James Guthrie was the selected victim and martyr. He was the most vehement, active, aud implacable of all the Remonstrants, and uttered his testimony in the strongest language, in multitudinous shapes, and on countless occasions. The indictment against him in its very formalities carries an impression of his restless energy ; " He did contrive. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 323 complot, counsel, consult, draw up, frame, invent, spread abroad or disperse — speak, preach, declaim or utter — divers and sundry vile seditious and treasonable remonstrances, declarations, petitions, instructions, letters, speeches, preachings, declamations, and other expressions tending to the vilifying and contemning, slander and reproach of his ^lajesty, his pro- genitors, his person, majesty, dignity, authority, prerogative royal, and government. — Burton, VIL, 4^7. The Consid<'raiions will be found at the close of Howie's "Faithful Contendings," and in "The Two Guthries." Speech in Parliament immediately after the reading of HIS Process, AjjtU 11, 1661. Guthrie's speech in his own defence was a most eloquent and triumphant vindication ; but neither the acknowledged piety of the man, the innocence of his character, nor the eloquence of his address, had any weight on his judges, who were determined that he should suffer in order to strike terror into the rest, and pave the way for the innovations which they contem- plated.—T. M'Crie, LL.D. See also " Memoirs of Chalmers," iV., 181. Last Speech upon the Scaffold, June 1, 1601. Guthrie maintained the character of the name of Sicker-Foot, applied to him by his enemies, to the last. For the Speech see *'Naphtali;" or, "The Two Guthries," by Miss Watson. Nothing on earth could frighten James Guthrie. He died despising death ; speaking for an hour on the ladder as calmly as if he had been preaching in the pulpit ; re-asserting the principles to which he had so often testified, and from which he had never wavered ; and declaring that the Covenants could be loosed or dispensed with by no person or power on earth, but were still binding upon the three Kingdoms, and w^ould be so for ever here- after. His last words were : " The Covenants, the Covenants, shall yet be Scotland's reviving." — Dr. Flint, ^^St. Giles' Lectures.^' A Sermon. Preached at Stirling, August 19, 1660, icpon the 22nd verse of the IJfth chapter of Matthew. He had not occasion to preach any more, being imprisoned the Thursday thereafter. Alexander Hamilton, the successor of Guthrie (he who, when a student. had at the peril of his life taken down the head of the martyr from the Netherbow Fort, Edinburgh), lighted among some papers of Guthrie that had lain in the manse at Stirling, among otiiers upon tlie manuscriut of this sermon. It was published by Ebenezer Erskmp, HamiltDu's successor, under the title of "A Cry from the Dead," \vith a preface by Erskine, For other sermons, consult " Lives of Henderson and Guthrie." Scottish Reformers and Martyrs. By the Eev. Dr. Beith [James Guthrie]. Although the Marquis of Argyll was the first martyr for religion in the era of wild persecution which was inaugurated by the accession of Charles, Guthrie had the honour really of being the tir^t who suffered for Christ's Crown and Covenant — for the great principle of Divine truth which has so manifestly been given in charge to Scottish piety and Scottish faithfulness — the principle that Christ's kingly and sole dominion over His Church 324 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. cannot be submitted to the arrogated supremacy of any earthly court or monarch. — Dr. Beith, p 123. Life of James Guthrie. By the Eev. Thomas Thomson. One of the series issued by the F.C. Publication Committee in 1846. A more readable book, though less valuable historically, is Miss Watson's " Lives and Times of the Two Guthries, 1877." A treatise on ruling elders and deacons, by James Guthrie, is sometimes found prefixed to "The Christian's Great Interest." EEV. WILLIAM GUTHRIE, Fen wick, 1620-1665. Son of the laird of Pitforthy, in Angus, and cousin to the martyr James Guthrie of Stirling. His consecrated life was a fruit of Rutherford's ministry. When " the tout of a horn over the Cross of Edinburgh blew the greater part of the ministers of the Church of Scotland out of their pulpits, Guthrie managed for two years longer, without let or hindrance, to preach the offensive doctrines in Fenwick." "He was the most genial of men," writes Dr. James Walker, "joyous, hearty, full of laughter, and his famous book is calm, wise, and kindly." The Pev. John Ker, D.D., in Reminiscences of the late Dr. Thomas Guthrie, telis an interesting story regarding his illustrious namesake, the old Cove- nanter of Fenwick. See Memoir, XL, p. 351. He died in Angus, and Wodrow (married to Guthrie's granddaughter) affirms it was well ordered, "for his congregation would have idolized his grave had he died among them." — Sel. Biog., Wad. Soc, /., 335 ; Wad. Ancdecta^ III., 66. In his doctrine he was as full and free as any man in Scotland had ever been ; which, together with the excellency of his preaching gift, did so recommend him to the affection of his people that they turned the cornfield of his glebe into a little town, every one building a house for his family on it, that they might live under the drop of his ministry. — Livingstone, William Guthrie, reputed the "greatest preacher in Scotland," has left one little treatise, which deserves perusal as a most searching and vigorous tractate, and which if it does not captivate the heart or the fancy by its beauty, casts very strong grappling-irons upon the conscience of its reader. — Gilfillan, '^Martyrs, etc.," p. 194. The Christian's Great Interest. A^ew Edition, with Pre/ace by Duncan Macfarlan, D.D., of Benfreiv. Has been for two centuries one of the classics of Scottish evangelicalism, and a favourite book with God-fearing families in the land. Its plain, perspicuous, searching manner has had no small share in forming the peculiar style by which Scotch piety used to be distinguished. After the Revolution William Carstares put into the hands of the Queen a copy of the treatise. Some time thereafter he inquired how she was pleased with the little swatch of Scots Presbyterian writings 1 She replied that she admired it THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 325 SO much that she would never part with it while she lived. Arch- bishop Tillotson commended the treatise as one of the best written books in the language. " You have truly men of great spirit in Scotland," remarked John Owen : " For a divine," said he, taking out of his pocket a small gilt copy of Guthrie's work, *' that author I take to have been one of the greatest divines that ever wrote. It is my vade mecum. I carry it and the Sedan New Testament about with me. I have written several folios, but there is more divinity in it than in them all." The book has left its impress on the Scottish mind. Some years ago, the writer was asked to visit a man who was dying. After short converse, the question was asked, "Shall I pray?" "Yes," said the man. "What shall I pray for ? " was again asked. Said the dying man with intensity — " For an interest in Christ." For notices of this work, see Gilfillan's "Martyrs," p. 194; Simpson's "Voice," p. 224; Thomson's "Graves," I., 189; Howie's "Memoirs," p. 29. In prosecuting the business of self-inspection it is of importance that we be guided aright in our inquiries into our spiritual state ; and we know of few works better fitted to assist the honest inquirer in his search than Mr. Guthrie's " Christian's Great Interest." We think it impossible to peruse this valuable treatise witli the candour and sincerity of an honest mind without arriving at a solid conclusion as to our spiritual condition. His experimental acquaintance with the operations and genuine fruits of the .Spirit, and his intimate knowledge of the workings of the human heart fitted him for applying the tests of infallible truth to aid us in ascertaining what spirit we are of. ... Nor is his clear and scriptural exhibition of the dispensation of grace less fitted to guide the humble inquirer into the way of salvation. As a faithful ambassador of Christ he is free and unre- served in his oflfers of pardon and reconciliation through the death and obedience of Christ, to the acceptance of sinners; but he is no less faithful in stating and asserting the claims of the Gospel to an unshrinking and universal obedience, and to an undisputed supremacy over the heart and affections. — Dr. Ch'.dmers, ^' Select Christian A uthor.'i." Sermons Preached at Fknwick, in August, 1662. The most of Guthrie's papers were in 1682 carried off from his widow by a party of soldiers. They fell into the hands of the bishops, who, it is hoped, benefited by them. Seventeen discourses fell into the hands of John Howie, and were pubUshed in 1779. They were re-published, 1880, in *' Sermons delivered in Times of Persecution in Scotland." Three others, from Hosea xiii. 9, were published separately in 1740, under the title of "The Church's Kuine and Eemedy." Memoir and Letters of the Rev. William Guthrie. Fdiii., 1827. By Eev. W. Muu-, Dysart, who informs us that the Letters came under his notice when he was making researches for "History of the House of Rowallan." They are twenty-one in number, and for the most part addressed to Sir W. Mure, younger of Rowallan. 326 treasury of the scottish covenant. Memoirs of the Life and Character of Mr. William Guthrie. By ^^'^ Rev. William Dunlop. With additions by Rev. Robert AVodrow, and Rev. Robert Traill. Wod. Sel. Biog., II., W. The author of the memoirs was professor of divinity and church history in the University of Edinburgh, and died in 1720. Along with the above memoirs there appears " A Sermon on Sympathie," which is printed from the Wodrow MSS. In 1877, Jean L. Watson published " Lives and Times of the Two Guthries." REV. JOHN GUTHRIE, Tarbolton. 16G9. Brother of William Guthrie of Fen wick. Ejected in 1662; cited before the Council in 1663; declared in 1667 to have for- feited his fortune and his life. Alexander Peden in his earlier years acted as sclioolm aster, precentor, and session clerk to Mr. Guthrie.— IToc?. Anal, III, 70. Sermon Preached in the year 1663. See Sermons Delivered in Times of Persecution (Kerr), p. 661. REV. HUGH BINNING, Govan, 1627-1653. Son of John Binning of Dalvennan, Ayrshire — "forefault for being in armes at Bothwell." Elected to the chair of philosophy in Glasgow before he was nineteen years of age — such were his acquirements and genius. Accepted call to Govan in 1650. He took part in the dispute between the Independents and Presby- terians in Glasgow in 1651, on which occasion Cromwell asked the name " of that learned and bold young man." He was told it was Binning, when he replied, " He has hound well," but, putting his hand to his sword, he added, "This will loose all again." His eloquence procured for him the name of the Scots Cicero. His works belong to the classics of the Church of Scotland. They were all posthumous. He died of consumption, in the 26th year of his age, and was interred in Govan. A tablet to his memory, erected by Patrick Gillespie, bears a Latin inscription, which has been thus rendered : — Mr. Hugh Binning is buried here, a man distinguished for his piety, eloquence, and learning ; an eminent philologist, philosopher, and theologian ; in fine, a faithful and acceptable preacher of the gospel, who was removed from this world in the 26th year of his age, and in the year of our Lord 1653. He changed his country, not his company, because when on earth he walked with God. If thou wish to know anything beyond this, I am silent as to anything further, since neither thou nor this marble can receive it. See preface by Dr. Leishman prefixed to Binning's works; Wod. Anal., III., 40. Hugh Binning, who laid his fine philosophy and precocious scholarship and classic taste at the feet of Jesus, and was honoured to deliver those THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 327 discourses to which grey-haired theologians listened and protested there was "no speaking after him;" and which fastidious critics now read, and wonder how writings so pure and elegant could be produced in a rude country, and in a pedantic age. — Dr. James Hamilton. His life was his sermons put in print, by which means they, who did forget what he had said in the pulpit, by seeing what he did in his conversation might remember what they had forgot ; he lived as he spoke, and spoke as he lived. — if' Ward. There is a depth and solidity of thinking about his works. We see in them a delightful union of true genius, with the most exalted pietj' ; of the fervour and flow of youth with the riper judgment and experience of age. We are not conscious of over-rating his power when we say that neither in the richness of his illustrations, nor in the vein of seraphic piety which prevades his writings is he at all inferior to Leighton. — Christian Instructor. The Common Principles of the Christian Religion, clearly PROVED, AND SINGULARLY IMPROVED; OR, A PRACTICAL Catechism, etc. Glasgow, 1659. An exposition of the doctrines of the Westminster Confession as far as the 21st question of the S.C. "The 5 impression" was printed in 1666. The work was translated into Dutch by James Koelman, minister of Sluys, in Flanders, and published at Amster- dam in 1678, with a memoir of the author furnished by Robert M'Ward. Wherein I am bold to say that some fundamentals of the Christian religion and great mysteries of faith are handled with the greatest gospel- simplicity and most dexterous plainness by the author, who, had he lived to have perfected the explication of the grounds of religion in this matter — as he intended, in his opening the catechism unto his particular congre- gation— he had been upon this single account famous in the churches of Christ. — Patrick Gillespie. Some of these lectures are in a high strain of thoughtful eloquence. The author has literary gifts of a remarkable order for his times ; the first fruits of a harvest which, kept back by the sad events of the times, were not reaped for more than a century. — James Walker, D.D. Although Binning held the doctrine of predestination in what the enemies of that Scriptural doctrine consider its most repulsive form, being, like Rutherford, and David Dickson, and many other eminent divines of that time, a Supralapsarian, he was far from exacting in others a rigid con- formity to his particular opinions. — Dr. Leishman. The Sinner's Sanctuary : Forty Sermons on Romans, chap. viii. 1-16. 1670. One of the distinguishing peculiarities of Binning is his rejection of the endless divisions and subdivisions, which, along with their subtle distinctions, were borrowed from the schoolmen, and which disfigured and incumbered the sermons of that age. . . . Binning had the courage and the good taste to adopt, in conjunction with Leighton, a more simple and natural manner of preaching. — Z>r. Leishman. [For his remarks on "right dividing" see Leishman's edition of his AVorks, p. 213.] 328 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Fellowship with God. Being twenty-eight Sermons on the First Epistle of John. Edin., 1671. These discourses extend to the third verse of the second chapter. The Preface bears the initials A. S. Heart-Humiliation, or Miscellany Sermons. Preached upon some choice Texts at several solemn occasions. 1676. The first was preached at a public fast appointed by the Assembly in July, 1650. See " Binning's Works," by Leishman, p. 361. There are 18 sermons on the subject. An Useful Case of Conscience. 1693. Written to expose and counteract the purposes and proceedings of the Resolutioners. Binning was one of a band of Covenanters who deemed they would not be justified in fighting for Charles, without additional security being provided for the maintenance of their religious privileges, and unless some adequate restraint were imposed upon the exercise of the royal authority. His dread of arbitrary power, and his views thereanent, will be found at p. 489 of the above work. On the question as to the authorship of the volume, see Howie's "Faithful Contendings," p. 486. Several Sermons upon the most important Subjects of Practical Religion. To which is subjoined an Essay upon Christian Love. To which is prefixed some account of the Life and Writings of the Author. Glasgow, 1760. Printed and published by William Duncan, Sen. , who contributed the preface and memoir, being ' ' obliged to add a small trifle to the price of his book caused by the dearness and scarcity of leather." The essay was re- published in 1844, with introduction, by the Hon. Augusta M'Kenzie. The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning, M.A. Collected and Edited hy the Rev. M. Leishman, D.D., 7ninister of the Parish of Govan. Third Edition. 1851. This is the best edition of Binning's Works. An edition also appeared in 1839 in "Select Works of Scottish Divines" by the Rev. James Cochrane, of the theological library of Edinburgh. A tiny volume of tit-bits had also been published in 1828. Evangelical Beauties of the late Rev. Hugh Binning, M.A. With an Account of his Life hy the Rev. John Brown, Whitburn. And Recominendations by the Rev. Dr. M'Crie, and the Rev. John Brown, Edinburgh. 1828. I am fond of Binning. I must add that I am not fond of what are all called beauties, neither name nor thing. It is extremely diflBcult to make a proper selection of them. What is a beauty in its proper place is often no beauty when broken off from its connexion. When thick set they pall upon the view, or are apt to create or to minister to a false and sickly taste for what is fine and uncommon, a vice too prevalent in the religious public already. I love to see the beautiful blended with the useful, and surrounded and set off by the familiar and common. — Dr.M'Crie. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 329 REV. ANDREW GRAY, Glasgow, 1634-1656. Son of Sir James Gray ; married to a daughter of Baillie of Jerviston. Contrary to the general belief, the ministers at that time not only included many who were highly esteemed on account of their talents, literature, and piety, but many also who were related to the chief families in the country. See Leishman's " Life of Binning," p. xxi. ; Burnet's '• History," L, 279. Andrew Gray was ordained one of the ministers of the outer High Church, Glasgow, in 1653. He was followed by M'Ward. Baillie disapproved of his style, which was the reverse of his own. George Hutcheson used to speak of Andrew Gray as a spark from heaven. His short ministry was distinguished by extraordinary gifts and graces, and attended with marked success. See Wod. Anal., IV., 185. He has the new guise of preaching, which Mr. Hugh Biuning and Mr. Robert Leighton began, [not] containing the ordinary way of expounding and dividing a text, of raising doctrines and uses ; but runs out on a dis- course on some common head, in a high, romancing, and uuscriptural style, tickling the ear for the present, and moving the afifections in some, but leaving, as he confesses, little or nought to the memory and under- standing. This we must misken for we cannot help it. — Baillie, ''Journals,'' II., 385. Andrew Gray, whom the Lord made ready in such ripe haste for Him- self that ere he reached his twenty second year, believers ripe for glory saw that he was riper still, and whose enraptured anticipations of the heavenly communion are to this day the solace of many an aged pilgrim and dying saint in Scotland. — Dr. James Hamilton. The Rev. John Carstares had a great gift in prayer, and there were two prayers of his much spoken of, — the one after Mr. Andrew Gray's death, which was extremely moving, and the other with the Duke of Rothes that day he died. See " Life and Letters of Carstares." The Works of the Reverend and Pious Mr. Andrew Gray. Printed hy John Robertson, Senior, for Alexander Weir, Paisley. 1762. These include : ''Precious Promises," "The Spiritual Warfare," "Instigations to Prayer," "Communion Sermons," and "An Ele- vated and Comprehensive Lecture from 1 Sam. xxviii. 19." "The Mystery of Faith opened up" was published in 1670. To it Pitcaii'n thus refers in his satire of " Babell" : — And for all that we do say. They'll ne'er read Mr. Andrew Gray, But say his Mystery Opened up Should ne'er be opened, but lie shut. His works, said Dr. Thomas Manton, are " the product of a lively and savoury spirit." 330 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. REV. JAMES WOOD, St. Andrews, -1664. Brother-in-law of Rev. John Carstares. Ordained minister of Denino. Appointed Professor of Divinity and Principal of the Old Colleoje, St. Andrews — one of Rutherford's colleagues. Sent by the Assembly in 1650 to wait upon Charles II. at Breda. Cited before the Council in 1663, and banished from St. Andrews. When Wood was on his deathbed, Sharp, that " bold and impudent calumniator," circulated a slander that he was now indifferent to Presbyterianism. The dying man dictated a Testimony which Carstares witnessed, and for which he was summoned by Sharp before the Commission Court. See Wod. Hist., I., 404; "Life of Blair," 465. One of the brightest lights we had in the Church during this period. Left some very valuable manuscripts, particularly a complete refutation of the Arminian scheme of doctrine. — Wod. Anal, III., 84. A Little Stone pretended to be out of the Mountain, Tried, AND FOUND TO BE A COUNTERFEIT, ETC. Edin., 1654. A reply by Wood to " A Little Stone out of the Mountain, or Church Order briefly opened," by Nicholas Lockyer, an Independ- ent, who accompanied the English army to Scotland in the time of Cromwell. With the invasion of Cromwell's army there was an invasion also of Independency. With the Puritan Euler a minister of the name of Lockyer came north to win Scotland from her errors in Church government. The divine was not so successful as the soldier. However he did his best. Wood was selected to reply, and his reply is of sterling worth. It is admirably clear. Evidently well-read in the great theologians of the past, — knowing his subject thoroughly, and never for a moment letting the point in hand out of his sight or out of his grip, with a certain ring of power in his expressions, — it seems to me that James Wood ranks among our ablest men. — James Walker, D.D. A Review and Examination of a Pamphlet bearing the title OF "Protesters no Subverters, etc." Edin., 1659. So far as I know his [Wood's] only other publication is part of a pamphlet belonging to the sad controversy between the Protesters and the Resolutioners. It discusses with the same clearness and thoroughness the question of church authority, and is in fact perhaps the very best and most satisfactory discussion of that question we possess. — James Walker, D.D. [Partly the work of Hutcheson, see p. 335.] A Vindication of the Freedom and Lawfulness, and so of the Authority of the late General Assembly, etc. 1652. The Assembly was that which met at St. Andrews and Dundee in 1651. See p. 120. It passed Ptcsolutions in favour of the Royalists, and deposed three of the most active of the Protesters, James Guthrie, Patrick Gillespie, and James Simpson (Airth). The Resolutioners justified their action in this vindication by Mr. Wood. The Protesters on the other hand drew up in reply, " The Nullity of the Pretended Assembly, 1652." THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 331 REV. HUGH M'KAIL. 1640-16GG. Supposed to have been a native of Liberton, although Dr. Ross, no mean autliority, thinks it more probable he was born in the old manse of Carmunnock. See " Busby and its Neighbourhood." Licensed 1661. He preached on Sept. 8, 1662, in the High Church, Edinburgh, from Song i. 7, when he uttered the memor- able words which cost him his life: "The Church and people of God had been persecuted by an Ahab on the throne, a Haman in the State, and a Judas in the Church." Sharp never forgave the truthful and harmless utterance, thereby attaching to himself the stiijma of " Judas " for all time coming. For the intercession of Dr. M'Kail and others, as also the base part played by Sharp — as printed from a MS. in the Advocates' Library — see "The Fifty Years' Struggle," by Dodds, p. 172. Hugh M'Kail is the proto- type of Macbriar in " Old Mortality." He is best known by his "Seraphic Song on the Scaffold." And now I leave off to speak any more to creatures, and begin my intercourse with God, which shall never be broken off. Fare- well, father and mother, friends and relations ! farewell, meat and drink ! farewell, sun, moon, and stars ! 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 ! and wel- come death ! It was worth a hundred pnems. An apostle could not have left the stage of time with a firmer assurance, or with loftier language on liis lips. With what true unconscious taste he makes the climax not in glory, but in " death ! " — George Gilfillan. His farewell address is known to all acquainted with Scottish history, and is one of the most rapt and seraphic of that fervid time. Death touched his lips with a live coal from the altar above before it closed them on earth. — John Ker, D.D. Samson's Riddle ; or, A Bunch of Bitter Wormwood bringing FORTH A Bundle of Sweet-smelling Myrrh : The First is made up of the sharp Sufferings of the Lord's Church in Scotland by the hands of barbarous and bloody perse- cutors, evident by the exact copies of the Inditements, Sentences, Executions, and disposing of their Members who were executed, to be sett \\\) in the Publick Places of that Land ; together with the Forfaultries and Gifts of their Estates to others, extracted out of their own Registers and here inserted. The Second of the savorie Testimonies of those sufferers who witnessed a good confession, patiently enduring through the sight of an invisible God signally supporting them, as appeareth both by their Letters 332 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. and written Testimonies directed to and left with their Friends to be published to the World as it is here performed. Contains M'Kail's last speech and testimony, together with other docu- ments respecting him and his fellow-sufferers. Life and Death of the Rev. Hugh M'Kail, who, after Suffering the Torture of the Boot, was executed at Edinburgh, 1666, by the Author of '■'■John Broicn of Priesthilir Glasgow, 1824. One of the Maidment reprints. Another memoir of M'Kail, preserved in M'Oavin's " Scots Worthies,"' written by a lady, was originally published in separate form. REV, JAMES FERGUSON, Kilwinning, 1621-1667. Ejected in 1662, although "yet connived at" in 1665 in his church at Kilwinning. For his intimation of the Fast to be observed in connection with the Dutch War, see Wod, Hist., I,, 421; Wod. Anal., HI., 41. "A most wise, gracious, and able man," writes Dr, Scott, in Fasti, " who scorned to accept a bishopric w^hen it was offered." Besides the works here men- tioned some Sermons were published, Ferguson left behind him also an Essay on Singing of Psalms, which has never seen the light. Expositions of the Epistles to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. Edin., 1659. He who possesses this work is rich. The author handles his matter in the same manner as Hutcheson and Dickson, and he is of their class, a grand, gracious, savoury divine — Spurgeon. Refutation of the Errors of Toleration, Independency, Erastianism, and Separation. 1692, Dr. P. Lee, in his Preface to the Theses of Erastus touching excommunication, takes Ferguson to task for his excessive zeal against Erastianism and toleration. REV. ALEXANDER NISBET, Irvine, 1623-1669. Settled in Irvine in 1650, whence he was ejected in 1662. See Dr. Hew Scott's " Fasti," and Thomson's " Martyr Graves," I., 198. Mr. Spurgeon has the date of his death 1658, but this is a mistake. Exposition of the First and Second Epistles of Peter. Edin., 1658. A judicious and gracious Scotch commentary after the style of Dickson and Hutcheson. — Spurgeon. the literature of the covenant. 333 An Exposition, with Practical Observations, upon the Book of ecclesiastes. 1g94. One of those solid works which learned Scotch divines of the seventeenth century have left us in considerable numbers. In our judgment it is as heavy as it is weighty. — Sjmrgeon, " Com- menting and Commentaries,^^ REV. JOHN LIVINGSTONE, Ancrum, 1603-1672. Son of Rev. W. Livingstone, Lanark. Became the most powerful preacher of his day. For forty years he maintained this reputation among the Covenanters of Scotland and Ireland, as well as among the exiles of Holland. It was under his preaching the remarkable awakening took place at the Kirk of Shotts in 1630— "an event which has not had sufficient import- ance given to it in the history of the Scottish Church." — Dr, Walker's "Scot. Theol.," p. 169. See also N. L. Walker's "Scot! Ch. Hist.," p. 60. He died in exile. Very many will undoubtedly think of him as another M'Briar of the romance. I have found him quoted to illustrate covenanting fanaticism. Livingstone was a scholar. He knew Hebrew and Chaldee, and something of Syriac. He had tried his hand at Arabic. He was acquainted with French and Italian. He could read the Bible too in Spanish. And in his exile he set himself to revise the best Latin text of the O.T. Scriptures Dr. Walker. A Brief Historical Relation of the Life of Mr. John Livingstone, containing several observations of the Divine Goodness manifested to him in the several occurrences thereof. Written by himself during his banishment in Holland. This and other brief productions of Livingstone's pen appear in Sel. Biog., Wod. Soc, edited by Dr. Tweedie. A more recent edition has since appeared, with historical introduction by Dr. Houston, Knockbracken. The book was once to be seen almost in every household in Scotland and Ireland. Memorable Characteristics, and Remarkable Passages op Divine Providence, exemplified in the Livks of some of the most eminent ministers and professors in THE Church of Scotland. Collected by Mr. John Livingstone. In Part first he enumerates 18 eminent ministers of whom he had only heard, and in Part second 67 whom he had known more or less intimately. Some " professors " in the Church, eminent for gifts and graces, are also named and commended. A manu- script copy of the "Characteristics" was presented to Dr. M'Crie by Ann Livingstone, daughter of John Livingstone's eldest son. 334 treasury of the scottish covenant. The Substance of a Discourse had by Mr. John Livingstone, TO his Paroch at Ancrum, foreseeing his Separation. This was taken down from his mouth by the pen of a hearer on 13th October, 1662, being the Monday after a communion. It was Livingstone who originated the Monday service in connection with the Lord's Supper, namely at Shotts, on the memorable 21st June, 1630. In gratitude for such a token of the divine favour as was vouchsafed there and then, the Church of Scotland appointed a thanksgiving service to be held on the Monday. Two sacramental discourses by Livingstone will be found in " Sermons in Times of Persecution." AnE AcCOMPT of WHAT PAST WHEN Mr. JoHN LiVINGSTONE APPEARED BEFORE THE CoUNCIL IN THE LoWER COUNCIL- HousE AT Edinburgh, December 11, 1662, at which time they banished him. Keprinted front the Wodrow MSS. in Sel. Biog., Wod. Soc, p. 215. Sayings and Observations of Mr. John Livingstone. To which are added, Remarks at two Communions, December, 163-i. These are reprinted in Wod. Sel. Biog., L, 277, from the Wodrow MSS. Letters of Mr. John Livingstone. 1. A Letter to his Paroch before his departure forth of the Kingdom, when permission to visit it after his sentence was refused, April 3, 1663. It was read upon "ane Lord's Day out of the pulpit by an honest minister occasionally employed to preach at the time." — Wod. Sel. Biog., I., 225. 2. A Letter to his parishioners of Ancrum — Rotterdam, October 7, 1671. That in Wod. Sel. Biog., I,, 233, was printed from the second edition of 1710. 3. Letters relating to the Public Events of his Life. These are seven in number.— Wod. Sel. Biog., I., 257. 4. Letters from Elizabeth, daughter of Sir James Melvill of Halhill, and wife of John, Lord Colvill of Culross, to Livingstone. — Wod. Sel. Biog., I., 349. Lady Culross, authoress of a poem of considerable merit, "Ane Godlie Dream," is referred to in Livingstone's "Characteristics." We have here eight letters addressed by her ladyship to the minister of Ancrum, usually endorsed ' ' To my werry worthy and louing Brother, Mr. John Leuingstone, minister of the Gospell." EEV. GEORGE HUTCHESON, Edinburgh, 1615-1674. Translated from Colmonell to the Tolbooth Church, Edinburgh, 1649. In 1661 he accompanied Argyll to the scaffold, where he encouraged him with these words, " My lord, hold now your grip [of Christ] sicker." Ejected from Edinburgh, 1662. Indulged at Irvine, 1669. For his Address to the Council when he accepted the indulgence, see Wodrow, II., 133. At Leighton's desire he was asked to attend the conference held in Edinburgh in 1670 in connection with the proposed Accommodation ; and on the Archbishop refusing to give his proposals in writing, that they THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 335 might be submitted to the whole body of Presbyterian ministers, indulged and non-indulged, he rejected the proposal. See p. 130. Wod. Anal., III., 12. When I compare the times before the Restoration with the times since the Revolution, I must own that the young ministers preach accurately and methodically, but there was far more of the power and efficacy of the Spirit and grace of God went along with sermons in those days than now; and for my own part (all the glory be to God) I seldom set my foot in a pulpit in those times, but I had notice of some blessed effects of the Word. — Hutcheson, Gillies Hist. Coll., /., 315. March 1st, 1674- — The Church lost an eminent light. He was a man much weighted with the wofui divisions of our times, and yet had no less measured out to him than others of the worthies of the Church of Scotland that went before him, even reproach and evil speaking, so that I truly think reproach broke his heart. — Law. A Review and Examination of a Pamphlet lately published BEARING the TITLE OF " PROTESTERS NO SUBVERTERS, ETC." 1659. Written in part by Hutcheson. Additions were made by James Wood. Both the Review and the work which called it forth originated in a Declaration emitted by the Public Resolutioners in 1658. Seep. 121. An Exposition upon Job, being the sum of 316 Lectures. Folio. 166-9. Whenever the student sees a commentary by Hutcheson let him buy it, for we know of no other author who is more thoroughly helpful to tt»e minister of the Word. He distils the text, and gives his readers the quint- essence ready for use. — Spurgeon, Commenting and Commentaries. Briefe Exposition of the 12 Small Prophets. 3 vols. Lond 1655; 1 vol./o^*o, 1657. I have perused his work on the Minor Prophets. On a subject con- fessedly difficult he exhibits a richness of thought and a judiciousness of illustration seldom surpassed. The work is a standing proof that our Covenanting ancestors, notwithstanding all the disadvantages under which they laboured, could think and write in a far better style than the readers of the Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence might be led to suppose. — Dr. Robert Burns. Get it. Hutcheson is always rich. He resembles Dickson. — Spurgeon. An Exposition of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according TO John. Reprinted from the Edition of 1657. The volume has a recommendatory letter by Calamy, and is dedicated to Lady Margaret Lesly, Countess of Weems, and Lady Mary Scott, Countess of Buccleuch, her daughter. Lady Weems was daughter of the Earl of Rothes, " of precious memory, whom the Lord raised up to be a prime instrument in the late Reforma- tion, and who spent himself till his last breath in that public service." Excellent ; beyond all praise. It is a full-stored treasury of sound theology, holy thought, and marrowy doctrine. — Spurgeon. 336 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Forty-Five Sermons : Psalm cxxx. Edin.^ 1691. We have already advised the purchase of anything and everything by Hutcheson. Be sure not to confound this with Hutchinson. — Spurgeon. [John Hiitchimcn, an English theological writer, born in Yorkshire in 1674, who devised a system of religion and philosophy, from the original Hebrew characters, and whose followers were called Hutchinsonians. Dr. Story calls 'Q.utcheson Hutchinson. — "Carstares," p. 35.] EEV. PATRICK GILLESPIE, Principal, Glasgow, 1617-1675. Brother to George Gillespie. Succeeded Robert Douglas in Kirkcaldy, 1642. Thence he ^vas translated to the outer High Kirk, Glasgow. He was one of the men who doubted the sincerity of Charles when he subscribed the Covenant ; he opposed the public Resolutions in Church and State; and along with Binning protested against the St. Andrews Assembly of 1651 as an illegal Assembly. For this protest he was deposed along with Guthrie of Stirling and Simpson of Airth. The Synod of Glasgow reversed the sentence. In 1653 he was elected Principal of the University of Glasgow. Dr. Walker properly remarks that " the energetic leader of the Protesters is entitled to a more conspicuous place than is usually assigned him in Scottish theology." No one in Scotland had more influence with Cromwell than Principal Gillespie, who is said to have been the first minister who prayed publicly for him. In 1654 the Protector called him, along with Livingstone of Ancruni, up to London. For an account of Gillespie preaching in the West Kirk, Edin- burgh, see " NicholFs Diary;" M'Crie's " Scottish Church," p. 245. Chalmers (Cal. III., 591), imagined that Patrick Gillespie was the Galasjj ridiculed in Milton's celebrated sonnet. Warton thought George Gillespie was referred to. But Milton made reference (Dr. Leishman affirms), to Allaster Macdonald M acgillespic (Son of Archibald), otherwise known as Colkitto. See Baillie's "Letters" II., 499; Leishman's "Binning," p. xlix. As to what is said by the editor of Kirkton's History, that after the Restoration "Gillespie had made great efforts for a pardon and offered to promote Episcopacy in Scotland," see "The Christian Instructor," XVII., 339. A Brotherly and Christian Exhortation, and Warning FROM MANY MINISTERS, ElDERS, AND PROFESSORS OF THE Gospel in Scotland, unto those of the English Nation who have been authors of, or had accession unto the late and present Actings and Transactions that concern this Land. 1653. In March, 1653, the Protesters had a meeting in Edinburgh, at which Cant, Rutherford, Lord Warriston and others, pressed that a declaration might be emitted against the English ; others, especially Patrick Gillespie, desired a humble address to be made to the Parliament for redress. The above was finally aiireed upon. Among other things it says : Our souls are also grieved with the encroachments that are made by the civil power upon the privileges of the Church in the power of her courts and judica- THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 337 tories, in the admitting and removing of ministers, and by their disposing upon their maintenance and stipends at pleasure. . . . We cannot but take notice of one thing which our ears thought never to have heard nor our eyes to have seen, to wit, that, by the command of these powers there is express inhibition to the colleges and universities of this land, anent the taking of the Covenant, which to us is a demonstration clear enough that is is intended that it should be had no more in remembrance. Rulers' Sins the Causes of National Judgments ; or, a Sermon Preached at the Fast, December 26, 1650. To this is often annexed a Sermon upon the difficulty of Conversion, by Mr. John Wellwood. The Ark of the Covenant Opened. 1677. I do freely declare my judgment that for order, method, per- spicuity in treating, and solidity of argument, the ensuing discourse exceedeth whatsoever single treatise I have seen written with the same design. — John Owen, D.D. Teaching the same doctrine as Rutherford and Dickson, Gillespie unfolds it with a richness and fulness peculiar to himself. There is little doubt his works were a quarry from which succeeding writers on the Covenants drew materials, even though in some points they diverged from Gillespie's views. — James Walke7\ D.D. His works speak for him, and evidence him a person of great learning, solidity, and piety, particularly what remains we have of his excellent treatises upon the Covenants of Grace and Kedemption, and it is a pity we want the three other parts upon those subjects which he wrote and finished for the press. — ifVod., I., 204- The Synod of Glasgow were informed on the 8th of October, 1701, that Mr. Parkhurst, at London, possessed two unpublished parts of Gillespie's Ark of the Covenant. They therefore appointed a committee to communi- cate with him, " conceivmg that the publishing of these pieces may be of use to the Church from the experience they have had of the works of that worthy author already come to light upon the same subject." On 5th April, 1709, Wodrow reported that Mr. Parkhurst continued indisposed. Wherefore the Synod let the matter fall out of their minutes.— Dr. Leishman's *' Binning," p. xlix. REV. ROBERT DOUGLAS, Edinburgh, -1674. Chaplain to the Scots auxiliaries who served under Gustavus- Adolphus. Admitted minister of Kirkcaldy in 1630. Translated to Edinburgh 1641. After Henderson's death, the great leader of the Church. We find Baillie corres])onding with him regarding the present poetical version of the Psalms, which was then being made, and referring to Douglas's forwardness and zeal in connec- tion with that work. He put the crown on the head of Charles in 1651. In 1652 he was chosen jNIoderator for the fifth time. Seized at Alyth in 1652, and carried prisoner to London. Sharp offered him a bishopric, which he refused with the shrewd obser- vation, "James, I see you will engage; I perceive you are clear; you will be Bishop of St. Andrews." Ejected 1662. See his Y 338 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. reflections on "this melancholy ejection" in Wod., I., 299. Indulged at Pencaitland. Passing over other iustances, let them look at the deputation of Scotch ministers who went up to London for the re-arrangement of the Church at the time of the Restoration. Two of them were men of sufficient insight to redeem the character of any school of thought from insignificance or contempt. One of these was Robert Douglas. He had held the highest place in the Scotch Church, had been twice moderator, had preached the coronation sermon of Charles II. at Scone, and was one of the promoters of the Eestoration. He was a staunch Presbyterian, and steadily declined all ofifers of the episcopate at the time when others who had been thought equally staunch gave way. He was, in fact, a statesman as well as a divine. He had served as chaplain in the army of Gustavus Adolphus, and that great King was reported to have said of him when he took leave — "There goes a man who, for wisdom and prudence, might be councillor to any prince in Europe ; he might be a moderator to any general council, and even for military skill, I would very freely entrust my whole army to his conduct." *'He had a singular way of preaching without doctrines," said Wodrow, "which some call scumming the text." Yet in his statesmanship lie never lost his sacred character. He was one of those rare men some- times met with in history, evidently far greater in himself than circum- stances permitted him to be. There was a majesty and authority in his face, said Burnet, that caused those who looked at him to stand in awe of him. — Dean Stanley. Robert Douglas is made to do duty, on no better ground apparently than that he seems to the Dean to have been a man of commanding character, good seuse, and statesmanlike qualities : therefore he was a Moderate. Here the 7'atio decidendi bears very hard on all but Moderates. But the conclusion arrived at is very hard usage of Robert Douglas himself. He was associated with the Resolutioners, certainly, when our Church was divided into Resolutioners and Protesters, each accusing the other of unfaithfulness to the Covenant ; and it fell to his lot to be deceived and outwitted by Sharp in 1660. But neither of these facts nor both will prove him a Moderate. How could a man be a Moderate who was thoroughly evangelical in his teaching, who was a jus divinum Presbyterian, looking on Presbytery as the Lord's ordinance, and Prelacy as man's invention, and who contended zealously for a settlement on pure Covenanting prin- ciples. Really when I find Robert Douglas declaring of Prelacy in terms which are surely rather strong, that "the Lord will pluck up that stinking weed," I think the Dean would have made out a fully better case if he had described him as a highflyer, and as one of those fighting Scotsmen whose zeal so far outran their discretion. — Principal Rainy, D.D., Lectures, Ch. of Scotland. The Form and Order of the Coronation of Charles the Second, King of Scotland, England, France, and Ireland, as it was acted and done at Scone the 1st DAY OF January, 1651. Aberdeen, 1651. Title of sermon delivered by Rev. Robert Douglas. The anointing was omitted from the service, but to compensate, the National Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant were publicly read and signed. The Marquis of Argyll put the crown upon Charles's head. See volume entitled " A Phoenix, etc." The text was 2 Kings xi. 12, 17, the sermon very long and filled with unpalatable and uncourtly truths. The Covenanters, intent on reconcihng THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 339 loyalty with liberty, were the dupes of the frivolous, selfish King; but there was a word of prophetic insight in the close of the sermoa when the preacher quoted Neh. v. 13, which he said had been done before in the East Kirk of Edinburgh at the ratification of the Solemn League and Covenant : " Also I shook my lap and said, So God shake out every man from His house that performeth not this promise." Thirty years of broken pledges and oppression followed, but the threatening was made good. — Pro/. Ker, ''Echoes." A Brief Narrative of the Coming in of Prelacy to this Kirk. Communicated to Wodrow by the son of the Rev. Robert Douglas. See "History," L, 225. Nothing would have delighted Charles and his evil counsellors more than to have had the aid and countenance of such a man as Douglas in their endeavours after the Restoration to subvert Presbytery and establish Prelacy in Scotland. But Douglas had grace given him to be faithful in that time of unsettling. He adhered firmly and unswervingly to his Pres- byterian convictions. — Taylor^ ''Hist. Notices." REV. JOHN BROWN, Wampbray, 1610-1679. Ejected from Wamphray, Annandale, in 1662. Sailed for Holland, 1663, where, during the period of his banishment, he wrote thirteen volumes and treatises. He has been regarded the most important theologian of the second period of Scottish Presbyterianism. He never returned to his native land. Rutherford wrote in 1637 regarding him: "I never could get my love off that man. 1 think Christ has something to do with him." "Mr. John Brown," wrote Dr. Burns in 1828, "was unquestionably one of the most eminent divines Scotland has yet produced, as his numerous writings, still carefully sought after by solid and judicious Christians, fully evince." See Wod., I., 305. Some of these charges [of Burnet against the Presbyterian ministers] are not very consistent, and the accusation of servility or fawning comes with rather a bad grace from one who repeatedly fell into this sin. More than one of them possessed as large a size of capacity, and as great a compass of learning as the bishop; and they would have distinguished themselves, had it not been for the unfavourable circumstances in which they were placed. We have no hesitation in mentioning Mr. John Brown of Wam- phray as one of these. — Dr. M'Crie. An Apologetical Relation of the Particular Sufferings OF the Faithful Ministers and Professors of the Church of Scotland since August, 1660. By a Well- wisher to the Good Old Cause. Apology for, or Vindication of the oppressed, persecuted Ministers and Professors of Presbyterian Reformed Religion in the Church of Scotland; Emitted in the Defence of them, and the Cause for which they suffer, and that for the information of the ignorant, the satisfac- 340 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. tion and establishment of the doubtful, and conviction (if possible) of the malicious, the warning of our rulers, the strengthening and comforting of the said Sufi'erers under their present Pressures and Trials. Being their Testimony to the Covenanted Work of Reformation in the Church, and against the prevailing corruption and courses of defection therefrom. 1677. A historical defence of the Church of Scotland, and an exposi- tion and vindication of its principles. An acquaintance with this work is necessary to a proper understanding of the principles held by the Covenanting martyrs. The book had the honour of being burnt by the common hangman. A copy was found in possession of the wife of James Guthrie of Stirling in 1666, and both she and her daughter were summoned before the Privy Council and sentenced to be imprisoned. It was the reading of this book that convinced Thomas Forrester of the evils of Prelacy. An edition of the work appeared in 1844, having the following extended title : — Wherein several Questions, useful for the Time, are discussed ; the King's Prerogative over Parliament and People soberly enquired into ; the Lawfulness of Defensive \yar cleared ; the Supreme Magistrate's power in Church Matters examined; ^]r. Stillingfleet's Notion concerning the Divine Right of Forms of Church Government considered ; the Author of " The Seasonable Case," answered, and other Particulars, such as the Hearing of the Curates appearing before the High Commission Court*, etc., canvassed, together with the Rise, Reign, and Ruin of the former Prelates in Scotland. He was a man of very great learning, warm zeal, and remarkable piety. I have seen likewise a large Latin MS. history of his of the Church of Scotland, wherein he gives an account of the Acts of our Assemblies, and the state of matters from the Reformation to the Restoration ; to which is subjoined a very large vindication of the grounds whereupon Presbyterians suffered. The " Apologetical Relation " appears to be an abbreviate of this in English. — Wod. /., 305. In this, the civil supremacy with which Charles II. was invested is shown to be no less incompatible with the liberties of the nation than his ecclesiastical supremacy was with the liberties of the Church. ... It was one of the text-books in the hands of the Covenanters, from which they derived that knowledge which astonished Bishop Burnet; and none but a person ignorant of its contents could ingenuously oppose " whiggery " to the "chartered rights of freemen" as the author of the "Tales" has done.— i)r. M'Crie. If you would know what manner of men were these Scottish Covenant- ing ministers, even the more extreme of them, men who would not take the Indulgences, read " The Plea," a work occupying no secondary place in our theology. Brown was, without doubt, the most important theologian of this period. — Dr. James Walker. A performance written in a style of elegance superior to many of the publications of that day, and with a force of argument that defied reply. The facts were too recent to admit of denial, while the cause which the persecuted sufft red for defending continued the same as when it had been pronounced by their persecutors themselves the cause of their King, their country and their God ! An exposure more complete was never perhaps exhibited to the world, and the sting was the more tormenting because it was true. The Council felt it, and answered it in a becoming manner by THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 341 a proclamation ordering it to be burned by the hands of the common hang- man "to vindicate the honour of this kingdom."— ^tX'rna?i, ''Annals of the Persecution," p. 134- The Banders Disbanded. Written by Brown after he learned that a Third Indulgence had been proclaimed in Scotland. Here he "discovers the snare and sin of this bargaining with the enemy." M'Ward supplied the preface. See " Bio- graphia Presbyteriana," 1., 196; M'Ward's " Contendings." An Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans, with large Practical Observations. Delivered in Several Lectures, by the Reverend, Learned, Pious, and Faithful Servant of Jesus Christ, Mr. J. Brown, 1766. By a Calvinist of the old school. Heavy, perhaps, but precious.— Spurgeon. It is perhaps the best exposition of the Epistle yet to be found.—/. W. C. ill Ch. Treasury, 1SG2. The Life of Justification Opened. 1695. By far our niost thorough exposition and discussion of the doctrine it handles ', and all the more to be prized^ because of the particular bearing it has on the new views which Baxter and others had begun to propagate, and which in some shape are ever returning upon ourselves. — Dr. James Walker. De Causa Dei contra Antisabbatarios. The exiled minister of Wamphray was as copious in Latin as in English. This is his magnum opus. It is larger than all the published works of Dr. W. Cunningham put together. With a fulnesa of argument and an amount of learning which belong to no other writer on this subject, he gives himself to the establishment of our Scottish doctrine of the Sabbath. " De Causa " belongs among books to the order of the mightier ; it is great in length, great in learning, great in patient sifting of the subject, and in meeting of assertions and marshalling of arguments.— i)r. talkers boot. Theol," p. 23. The History of the Indulgence, by Mr. John Brown ; Perth AND Fife Ministers' Testimony concerning Toleration, etc. With Preface hy John Howie, Lochgoin. 1783. Brown's History was first printed in 1678. Presbyterians who opposed the Indulgence did so on the ground that it was an assumption of ecclesiastical power, and an encroachment upon the Church's liberties. The very embracing of the Indulgence, reasoned Brown, was a recognition of power in the King to do, in and by his Privy Council, in church matters what he pleased, even though contrary to antecedent Acts of Parliament. In 1 680 there was published in London a " Pveview and Examination of the History of the Indulgence," also " Survey of the Sanquhar Declaration." That he was firmly attached to the true Presbyterian principles of the Church of Scotland his History of the Indulgence abundantly demonstrates. —Dr. Burns, Wod., L, 305. 342 treasury of the scottish covenant. Treatise on Prayer. 1720. The clear and Scriptural ardency of his piety from this well- known treatise is apparent. — Br. Burns, Wad., I., 305. The following were also written by Brown : " Vindication of Fellowship Meetings and of Hearing Suffering Ministers " (see "Faithful Contendings," p. xviii. ); " The Life of Faith ; " "The Mirror, or the Law and Gospel;" "Christ the Way, the Truth, and the Life;" "Christ in Believers the Hope of Glory;" "Enoch's Testimony Opened;" "The Swan Song, or Second Part, etc." For M 'Ward's Letters to Brown, as also Letter to a friend on the death of Brown, see Wod. Hist., IV., 500. Mr. Martin of Wishaw, in his Preface to Henderson's "Sermons," mentions having received from James Lawrie (to whom he was indebted for the Henderson MS.) a small volume of manuscript sermons written by Mr. Brown of Wamphray. They do not appear to have ever been printed. REV. EGBERT M'WARD, Glasgow, 1628-1682. Became minister of the outer High Church, Glasgow, in 1656, He strongly opposed the Resolutions. For a sermon preached at Glasgow from Amos iii. 2, in February, 1661, he was banished to Holland. Became minister of Rotterdam. His style was ornate, and he was very popular. A friend called him a " brave busking preacher." Mr. Rowat, minister of Kilmarnock, said to him : " God forgive you, brother, that darkens the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by your oratory." He collected and arranged the papers of his precejDtor, Samuel Rutherford, and gave to the world his "Letters," the first edition of which was published at Rotter- dam in 1664. See Wod. Anal., IIL, 55. M'Ward was a voluminous writer, and a man after Patrick Walker's own mind. See " Biog. Presby.," L, 20. Among other unpublished w^orks is a " History of the Defections of the Church of Scotland." Among the poems of Cleland we have verses on the death of that "famous Gospel minister who died in Holland after 18 years' banishment from Scotland." Here is a little circle of the exiles in Holland, Brown, Livingstone, M'Ward. How do they occupy themselves in their exile ? Well, they do not forget their friends in Scotland. They are kept well informed of all that is taking place in their native land, and they are ever ready with their counsels and encouragements. M'Ward in particular keeps up a busy tire of letters and pamphlets. "The Banders Disbanded," or, "The Poor Man's Cup of Cold Water," or, "The Testimony against Paying the Cess," vigorously expressed, form a sort of fiery cross among the more resolute of the Scottish sufferers. In fact the good man blew the flame till it scorched himself, and he vainly tried to allay it. . . No man had more to do than M'Ward with the indulgence conflicts and all the casuistry in which the sufiferers became adepts. — Dr. Walker, ^^Scot. Theol.," p. 20. The True Nonconformist, in answer to the Conference BETWIXT A Conformist and Nonconformist about the PRESENT Distempers of Scotland. Glasgow, 1671. The "Conference" was from the pen of Bishop Burnet, and the above was M 'Ward's answer. Burnet again showed fight in "A Vindication of the THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 343 Authority, Constitution, and Laws of the Church and State of Scotland," dedicated to the Duke of Lauderdale " under whose wise and happy conduct we have enjoyed so long a tract of uninterrupted tranquillity." (!) Epagounismoi ; or, Earnest Contendings for the Faith ; Being the Answers written to Mr. Robert Fleming's First and Second Paper of Proposals for Union with the Indulged ; the First Paper printed anno 1681. In which Answers, more sound and solid proposals for a safe and lasting Union are offered, and a solemn Appeal thereanent made. Whereunto some of the Author's Letters relative to the Sins and Duties of the day are annexed. By that faithful servant of Jesus Christ, Mr. Robert M'Ward, some time Minister of the Gospel in Glasgow. 1723. The author's righteous soul was filled with burning indignation, when he was informed of the flattering reception which the Duke of York met with in Scotland in 1679 : — "I cannot hide it from you that I would have been less troubled if I had heard that he had marched with an army, than to have heard that by this very deed we have declared our abominable baseness in the sight of God, angels and men. Alas ! whither have we not caused our shame to go? Alas! where is the Lord God of Elijah? Oh, where is the spirit of our noble ancestors, zealous for the Lord God of Hosts, etc." See M'Crie's Misc. Writ., p. 429. The Movement. Attributed to M'Ward. It is an answer to a Prelatic disputant, and goes over the whole controversy between Presbyterians and Episcopalians. For Letters, seventy in number, see Wod. Hist., IV., 500, and Wod. MSS.; ''Bass Rock," p. 323. The Poor Man's Cup of Cold Water ministered to the Saints and Sufferers for Christ in Scotland, who are amidst the scorching flames of the Fiery Trial. 1676. Title as in Burton's " History of Scotland," VII., 568. See p. 341 for " Banders Disbanded." EEV. JOHN CARSTARES, Glasgow, 1623-1686. A cadet of an ancient family of Fife. Entered as a student of St. Andrews, 1638. Settled in Cathcart ; translated to the High Church, Glasgow, in 1650, Present at battle of Dunbar, and, along with Mr. Waugh of Bo'ness, taken prisoner by Cromwell. Stripped, and left as dead, but came to life again. •Imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle, whence several letters were written. Summoned in 1662 before the Council, and for "preach- ing against the times " imprisoned. In hiding afterwards, — in Kintyre and elsewhere. His wife and her sister (Mrs. Durham) were also imprisoned for attending conventicles. He had a o;reat gift in prayer and a "prophetic rapture" in preaching. When the Duke of Rothes was dying he sent for Carstares to pray. A lady, so violently Episcopal that she would not stay in the room 344 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. with the Presbyterian minister, overhearing him was forced to own that she never knew the dijSerence between Prelacy and Presbytery till then. "A strange thing this," said the Duke of Hamilton, " we are aye hunting and pursuing these men in our time of life and health, but we are, many of us, glad to call for them at our death." — Wad. Anal, III., Jf6. Who has not heard of the eminently learned and pious Mr. John Carstares of the High Church of Glasgow ? A man who ranks with the Durhams, and the Grays, and the Dicksons of his day ! That was the Principal's father. — Dr. A. Thomson, Christian Instructor, 1827. Letters and Correspondence of the E,ev. John Carstaires. Together with the Letters of some of his Contempo- raries. To ivhich is prefixed an Account of his Life by the Rev. William Ferrie, A.M. 1846. Ferrie is the descendant of a sister of Carstares. He dates his preface from James Melville's Watch Tower, East Anstruther, March, 1843. He emigrated to New York. Dr. Story in the " Life of William Carstares," his son, seems to complain that these Letters are so entirely filled with "pious reflections," and with "improvement" of affliction that they throw little light or) passing events. To many it will be the charm of the Letters of the evangelical Carstares that they contain so little of ephemeral interest and so much of enduring value. Besides the Letters, Carstares wrote prefaces to several of Durham's works, — "The Pevelation," "The Unsearchable Piches," etc. He also prefaced the folio volume of Calder wood's "History," in which preface he contended earnestly for the divine right of the Presbyterian form of church government, and held up the simplicity and purity of Scottish practice to the admiration of the world. ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTON, Dunblane, 1611-1684. Son of Alexander Leighton (p. 285). Ordained minister of Newbattle in 1641. Bred a Presbyterian, he took the Covenant himself, and sought to enforce it on others. Consecrated at Westminster, along with Sharp, Fairfoul, and Hamilton in 1661. On his return he chose the see of Dunblane. In 1670, on the resignation of Alexander Burnet, he accepted the archbishopric of Glasgow. Afterwards, seeing matters going from bad to worse in the State, he gave in his resignation and retired into solitude. He died at the Bell Inn, Warwick Lane, London. His works are like honey fiom the rock and as the fine gold of Ophir. For none so lone on earth as he Whose way of life is high and free, Beyond the mist, beyond the cloud, Beyond the clamour of the crowd, Moving, where Jesus trod, In the lone walk with God. — Orwell. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 345 It was a very serious thing for so godly a man to take side with the King's party against those who held that the honour of the Redeemer was invaded, and who were testifying their sin- cerity by suffering the loss of all things and going bravely to the scaffold in His cause. It may be that Leigh ton came to have a profound distrust in the people and in the popular government of the Church. It was certain he was not immaculate. Nebuchad- nezzar's image was not the only structure where gold and clay were together. With respect to his teaching, he held in all its features the theology of the Reformers and Covenanters. His Calvinism was such as to make him unpopular with English high churchmen. Though not a Presbyterian in worship and government, he was essentially a Presbyterian in doctrine ; and his affinities to Rutherford, Dickson, and Gillespie were far stronger and deeper than to Fairfoul, Sydserf, or Sharp. The whole national movements in favour of the Covenants undoubtedly rested on that basis [evangelical truth]. But Leighton did not feel at home with these men. There was some- thing in their tone and ways of work that repelled him. He allowed himself in public life to fall into the hands of a set of men who were the bitter enemies of evangelical religion. But notwithstanding these disturbing forces he remained to his last hour and with his whole heart profoundly attached to the doc- trines of the grace of God. . . . The voice of history now proclaims that he was altogether wrong in his expectation of any good coming either to Church or State from the policy of the King and his advisers. The Covenanters understood better the game which the King was playing. They knew better that if the Church and the country were to be saved the royal policy must be resisted to the death. And it was well both for Church and country that this view prevailed. Some may think that the Presbyterians were unreasonable. . . . Rugged they may have been, far below Leighton in culture and refinement; but their instincts were more true, and their attitude more firm ; and it was their firmness, not Leighton's sweetness, that saved the Church and saved the country. — Dr. Blaikie, " Evang. Succ," 11. , 196. [Prof. Blaikie has nothing but admiration for the writings of Leighton, who has certainly not suffered at the hands of the Presbyterians of the nineteenth century. See D'Aubigne's "Germany, etc.," p. 343; Gilfillan's "Martyrs," p. 76.] It is not the pleasantest reminiscence which we have of Leighton, that his father's son condescended to be the colleague of Sharp. In matters of church government, indeed, he was himself a latitudinarian. He preferred a moderate Episcopacy, but he could tolerate Presbyterianism without a pang. And that very fact renders his concurrence in the attempt to force new forms upon the Scottish people peculiarly gratuitous. The son of a Puritan martyr, therefore, might have h;id, to say the least of it, a greater respect for the proprieties than to throw the shield of his name over a scheme of oppression. — Walker, *' Scot. Ch." p. 86. 346 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Here was a servant of God who found himself strangely ranged on the devil's side in the great conflict of the age, though fully minded all the while to fight the battle of the Lord. That is the problem, settle it as we may. For that the struggle of those days involved constitutional government, liberty of conscience, and true religion in this land, is surely past all question now among men who think, or who have any tolerable capacity for thinking. — Orwell, " Bishop^ s Walk." One of the noblest figures in all Scottish history — one of the fathers of the Church universal ; a great genius, a great saint, a great writer. . . . But the soil was not favourable, and the day was full of storm. Gunpowder is needed to blast rocks ; and there were mountains then crushing the religious life of the laud, and rising in the way of its liberty, and so Cameron, and Peden, and Renwick did the work that the time needed both for Church and country. These men have therefore, and deservedly, a nearer place in the Scottish heart than Leighton, though in the universal Christian heart Leighton among all his contemporaries stands absolutely alone.— Pro/. IV. Graham., D.D. His piety was most eminent, but if, as Burnet says, he disliked Pres- byterianism because of its fury against those who differed from it, his judgment was considerably inferior to his piety, when he joined the most cruelly persecuting Establishment that ever existed. — /. G. Miall. The Expository Works, with other Remains of Robert Leighton, D.D., Archbishop of Glasgow. To ivhich is yreiixed an Account of the Life of the Author by the Rev. Erasmus Middletox. In two volumes. 1804. These volumes contain a Commentary on Peter ; Lectures on Psalm xxxiK. ; on Isaiah vi. ; on Ptomans xii. ; also Charges to the Clergy, the press-copy of which was transcribed from the original by the Rev. Mr. Gilfillan, Burgher minister of Dunblane. Almost all Leighton's works were written while he was a Presby- terian and a Covenanter. Another edition of his writings has Life of the author prefixed by James Aikman, Esq. The uncouth style of most of the Presbyterian writers of the Covenanting period makes their writings well-nigh unreadable. Samuel Rutherford's " Letters" is almost the only Scottish book of the period that has passed the ordeal of time, and it probably owes something to its being in the form of letters. The truth is, the style of the Scottish preachers was formed out of three languages — Latin, Scotch, and English. Latin was the language of the universities, Scotch of conversation, and English of the press. . . . Though Leighton never wrote for the press, he marks au era in the literary history of the Scottish pulpit. — Prof. Blaikie, D.D. EEV. ALEXANDER WEDDERBURN, Kilmarnock, -1678. Minister first at Forgan, then at Kilmarnock. Ejected 1662. One of six indulged in 1670. He had scruples about obeying the Council's order to go to Kilmarnock, but on getting an earnest invitation " he accepted and followed the call of all the elders and heritors and whole parishioners, not regarding the Council's order.''— " Life of Blair," p. 533. It was this Sabbath (1678) Mr. Wedderburn, minister of the place, got the beginning of his sickness of which he died by the barbarity of a High- THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 347 landman pushing him on the breast with the butt-end of his musket when he was interceding to spare the town. — Wodroiv, II., 420. David's Testament Opened Up in Forty Sermons upon 2 Sam. XXIII. 5. 1710. The Covenant of Grace is here clearly unfolded. Sermons 21 and 22 " present," writes Dr. Robert Burns, " one of the simplest and clearest illustrations I have ever seen of a sui)ject much talked of but very imper- fectly understood in the present day — the doctrine of the assurance of faith." A second volume of sermons also appeared after the author's death on *' Our Lord's Transfiguration." Both volumes were dedicated to the Countess of Rothes and the Countess of Wemyss, honourable women who adorned their stations by the graces of personal godliness. No man who reads the sermons of Mr. Wedderburn will say that the preachers of the olden time were exclusively polemical, or that Calvinism is incapable of a most full and powerful application to the "bosoms and the business" of human beings. — £>r. B. Burns. COL. JAMES WALLACE, of Auchans, Ayrshire. -1678. This valiant leader of the Covenanters at Rullion Green was sprung of the stock of Scotland's liberator. He died in exile in 1678. The event was notified by M'Ward to Donald Cargill in these terms : " Great Wallace is gone to glory. I shut his eyes while he went out of my sight, and was carried to see God, enjoy Him and be made perfectly like Him in order to both." See Wod., I., 307. He was of that type of soldier which has been more recently exhibited in our Gardiners and Havelocks, the world's greatest men of whom it knows little or nothing, or only comes to know by some extraordinary heave of events, in which their innate greatness shines forth resplendent. — James Dodds. Narrative of the Rising Suppressed at Pentland. This record, with notices of Wallace the writer, appears in M'Crie's " Memoirs of Yeitch and Brysson." While some were "unclear as to rising in arms," Wallace was "very clear" as to his duty to assist the Covenanters. He was unanimously chosen to take the command, and shewed himself desirous to prevent bloodshed. He approached the government in a letter addressed to the General of the royal forces. The ground which he chose on Rullion Green, and the disposition of his men, were the very best, considering he had to oppose an enemy three times the number of his own troops. And the battle of Pentland Hills was a well-fought field, not a disgraceful rout like that which afterwards occurred at Bothwell ! For another truthful narrative see Blackadder's " Memoirs." Their leader, Colonel Wallace, appears to have been a good soldier, and to have done the best that could be done for his poor followers. Rullion Green is the name given to the southern end of a valley dividing the Pent- land Range, and forming a natural pass through it, conspicuous as a feature of the range. Here Wallace posted his people on a ridge of hill. General 34:8 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Dalziel who drew his troops through the pass found the peasantry so well posted that it was not an affair of a moment to sweep them before his disciplined troops. At the point first approached a cleft lay between them and him. We are told that two attacks by detachments on the post were failures, and that the general required to bring his whole force cautiously to the ridge where the peasantry were posted before he could break aud disperse them. — Burton, VII., 4^1. REV. JOHN KID, Conventicle Preacher, 4679. Kid and King laboured together, and eventually suffered together at the Grassmarket, Edinburgh. Kid traversed the country for about nine years. He and King were taken captive by Claverhouse, but were rescued at Drumclog. Re-captured, they were brought to trial, and though they proved that they had taken no part in the rising, that they had been detained at Bothwell, that they had refused to preach, and had urged the Covenanters to lay down their arms, they were condemned and executed. A Collection of very valuable Sermons preached on SEVERAL Subjects and in divers places in the time of the late Persecution. By these eminent servants of Jesus Christ, Messrs. John Kid, John King, John Welsh, John Blackadder, John Dickson and Gabriel Semple. Collected and transcribed by John Howie, Glasgow, 1780. The volume contains two sermons by Kid from the text Gal. v. 1. REV. JOHN KING, Conventicle Preacher, -1679. Imprisoned in the Tolbooth, Edinburgh, in 1674, for preaching. Afterwards chaplain to Lady Cardross. Intercommuned ; seized by Claverhouse at Hamilton, and carried prisoner to Drumclog, where the victory brought him liberty again. Be-captured at Bothwell, he was condemned, hanged, head and hands cut off and affixed to the Netherbow Port, Edinburgh. Eor interesting notice, see M'Crie's "Memoirs of Veitch, etc.," p. 437. Petition of Messrs. John King and Kid. See Wod., III., 133. For Sermon preached upon a Fast-day in Kilmaronock, August 22, 1678, see Howie's Collection. EEV. EICHARD CAMERON, Conventicle Preacher, -1680. Born in Falkland, Fife. For many years an Episcopalian — acting as schoolmaster and precentor to the curate in Falkland. Was awakened at a field preaching. Went to Holland where he was ordained. Returned in 1680 to become one of the most popular of the field preachers. He traversed most of the dreary wastes of the covenanting districts of Scotland, and caused the THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 349 glens and hills to resound with the thunder of his eloquence. Fell fighting July 20, 1680, at Airsmoss, after thrice repeating the prayer, " Lord, spare the green and take the ripe ! " There was found on him wlien he was slain a paper entitled Bond of Mutual Defence. See appejidix to " Cloud ; " Simpson's " Voice," p. 73. Cameron's head and hands, cut from his body at Airsmoss, were taken to his father, then suffering in prison in Edinburgh for the Covenant. He was asked if he knew them. " His words," says Dr. Ker, "were surely the most touching of all the memories of that cruel time : ' I know, I know them ! they are my son's, my dear son's ! It is the Lord : good is the will of the Lord, who cannot wrong me nor mine, but has made goodness and mercy to follow us all our days.' After which, by order of the Council, his head was fixed upon the Netherbow Port, and his hands beside it, with the fingers upward — a kind of preachino- ' at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors,' that told more for his cause and against the persecutors than all the words he could have spoken." His private converse and exercise in families, but especially his public in the Scots Kirk at Rotterdam were very refreshing to many souls, where he was close upon conversion from that text, "Come unto me all ye that are weary, etc.," and most satisfying and delightsome to Mr. Brown, M'Ward, and others, who were sadly misinformed by the indulged and lukewarm, that he could preach nothing, but babble against the Indulgence and Cess-paying ; but there he touched none of these, except in prayer, lamenting over the lamentable case of Scotland by tyranny and defection. —Biog. Preshy., /., 196. See also Dodds' " Fifty Years' Struggle," p. 264. Take even the field preachers of persecution's hottest days. One would not like to pledge himself to all they said or did. " Oppression makes " even "the wise man mad." Perhaps they spake too readily sometimes — and I think that was no cause of surprise — of God's judgments, though we should not forget that there is an opposite error which is the indication of feebleness of moral conviction ; and we must not hold as gospel all the stories that have come down to us about their prophetic words and such like things. But go and listen, say to Richard Cameron, in some Clydes- dale solitude where hundreds or thousands hang upon his lips. He preaches Christ with a glorious freeness, with a pathetic fervour till under his appeals his hearers and himself are greatly moved. "They fall into a great weeping ; " hearts melted, not shivered by the lightning's stroke — drawn to Jesus as with bands of a man, not driven with scourges of flame. —Dr. J. Walker. Cameron was the Elijah, the lonely, burning prophet of our Scottish Cheriths and Horebs. The poet has caught it when he speaks of "the word by Cameron thundered, and by Renwick poured in gentle strain." . . . Richard Cameron is perhaps taken all in all the main figure in that heroic period of the Scottish Church. The most remarkable thiug is that he died very young, probably not more than thirty, and that the period of his active effort covered only months, not years ; but in that short burning life he transfused his sp'rit into the heart of the people, and had his name borne long after as the watchword of men willing to dare all and lose all for conscience' sake. — Dr. Ker, ''A Day in the Upper Ward of Clydesdale." 350 treasury of the scottish covenant. Lectures and Sermons by Eichard Cameron. Two lectures and six sermons bj Cameron appear in " Sermons in Times of Persecution." One of these is the discourse from Psalm xlvi. 10, preached by the banks of the Kype Water in Avondale, July 18, 1680, two days before he was killed at Airsmoss. Cargill was present, and Cameron and he agreed to meet together the second Sabbath thereafter at Darmead. Ere that day came Cameron had received the martyr's crown ; and Cargill, sadly bereaved, preached from the words, " Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel 1 " Biographia Presbyteriana. Edinburgh, 1827. The following is the special title : Some remarkable passages of the life and death of these three famous worthies, signal for piety and zeal, whom the Lord helped and honour d to be faithful unto death, viz., Mr. John Semple, Mr. .John Wellwood, Mr. Richard Cameron, ministers of the Gospel, according as they were taken off the stage ; who were all shining lights in this land, and gave light to many, in which they rejoiced for a season. Together with a Vindication of Mr. Cameron's name, and other worthy ministers, martyrs and sufferers, from the many malicious Fool- Kicknames and Reproaches cast upon them : With Remarks upon twenty- eight gross Misrepresentations and groundless and scandalous Reflections in Mr. Wodrow's History, and Answers thereto. Collected by, and printed for Patrick Walker, and to be sold at his house within Bristo-Port, Edinburgh, 1727. Life of Richard Cameron. By Jean L. Watson. A brief appreciative sketch of the founder of the Cameronians, with a graphic account of the persecutions he endured. For three Letters addressed by Cameron to Alexander Gordon and Lady Gordon of Earlstoun see M'Millan's Collection, REV. DONALD CARGILL, Glasgow, 1610-168L Son of the singularly pious Cargill of Hatton, parish of Rattray, Perthshire. His baptised name was Daniel. Chosen minister of the Barony, Glasgow, 1650. Banished for nonconformity beyond the Tay. Became a famous Conventicle preacher, decreet being issued against him for holding Conventicles, in 1674, and letters of intercom miming in 1675. Wounded at Both well in 1679; had a narrow escape at Queensferry in 1680. See p. 134. In September 1680 he excommunicated the king in a service con- ducted at Torwood. Apprehended at Covington, near Lanark, through the strategy of Irvine of Bonshaw. Cargill it was who, when pursued, leaped the linn of Ericht above Blairgowrie — a linn never from that side leaped before nor since — and who said, when reminded of his "good loup ! " "Ay, but I took a long race to it — I ran a' the way frae Perth ! " — fifteen miles ! the literature of the covenant, 351 Lectures and Sermons by Donald Cargill. Four lectures and seven sermons appear in Howie's volume. The original MS. bears that the first lecture and first sermon were delivered at Partick-lone, near Glasgow, Novembers, 1678. He had been minister of the Barony Parish but refused to accept collation from the archbishop, or to be indulged at Eaglesham, or to celebrate the king's birthday. Some Remarkable Passages in the Life and Death of that SINGULAR exemplary HOLY IN LIFE, ZEALOUS AND FAITH- FUL UNTO THE DEATH, Mr. DaNIEL CaRGILL. With the accomplishment of a few of his many sententious sayings through his life and at his death. And with him Mr. Walter Smith, Mr. James Boig, William Cuthil, and William Thomson, who hang all upon one gibbet, July 27th, 1681, at the Cross of Edinburgh, and all their five heads hashed and bagged oflf upon the scaflbld by the common hangman's bloody axe ; the first three heads fixt upon the Netherbow-port, and the last two upon the West-port. Printed for, collected and published by Patrick Walker ; and to be sold at his house within Bristoport, at the Upper-gate of the Gray-friars Church, Edinburgh, 1732. A Relation of Some Remarkable Passages in the life of Mr. Donald Cargill. By Sir Robert Hamilton of Preston. It is given in the appendix to the " Cloud" edited by Thomson. He was affectionate, affable, and tender hearted to all such as he thought had anything of the image of God in them ; sober and temperate in his diet, saying commonly, " It was well won that was won off the flesh;" generous, liberal, and most charitable to the poor, a great hater of covetousness ; a frequent visitor of the sick; much alone, loving to be retired, but when about his Master's public work laying hold of every opportunity to edify. — Sir Robert Hamilton. Torwood Excommunication : Being the Lecture and Dis- course GOING before, and THE AFTERNOON SeRMON FOLLOWING AFTER ; WITH THE ACTION OF EXCOMMUNICA- TION ITSELF PRONOUNCED AT TORWOOD, Sept., 1680. The document begins thus: "I, being a minister of Jesus Christ and having authority and power from Him, do in His name, and by His spirit excommunicate and cast out of the true Church, and deliver up to Satan, Charles II., and that upon the account of these wickednesses, etc." The lecture was from Ezekiel xxi. 25-27, and the sermon from Lam. iii. 31, 32. A sentence of excommunication, which was expressly founded upon the same grounds as was afterwards the renouncing of the King by the Kevolu- tion, and was abundantly justified by the practice of the whole nation in the Kevolution. — Defoe. Torwood is peculiarly rich in its vestiges of the heroic days. On the top of an ordinary hillock, north of the present toll-house, stood the gigantic oak into whose capacious interior Wallace is said to have retreated 352 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. when pursued in 1298 by Edward I ; . . . while at the foot of the old toll brae, near the glen, Donald Cargill in 1680 excommunicated Charles II., the Duke of York, and the ministry. Nor can it be wholly uninteresting to note that it was under the shade of the magnificent old thorn, which may be seen in a green and fruitful maturity marking the spot of the Excommunication, that the Eev. John Bonar, minister of Larbert, preached his first sermon after the memorable Disruption in 1843. — Robert Gillespie, " Round about Falkirk." Life of Donald Oargill. By Jean L. Watson. A reader who perused this little book laid it down exclaiming, "Grand old Donald Cargill ! " Four Letters by Cargill appear alongside of his Testimony. REV. WALTER SMITH, 1655-1681. Bom in St. Ninians, and educated at Utrecht in Holland. He had a great longing to preach Christ crucified. He was the confidant of Cargill, and the only individual whom he made cognizant of the projected Torwood Excommunication. On hearing of the martyrdom of Smith, his old professor of divinity at Utrecht, said, in his broken English, "Oh, Smite, Smite, the great, brave Smite, who exceeded all that ever I taught. He was capable to teach many, but few to instruct him." A Short Account of the Life and Death of that truly PIOUS and worthy Minister, Mr. Walter Smith. "Walker is here very brief, but the twenty-two steps of the defections of the times, drawn up by Smith at the earnest desire of some united Societies in Clydesdale, are set forth at length. For Letter written in reply to Janet Fimerton, afterwards imprisoned in Dunnottar, who feared "lest she had not fled out of herself to Christ for righteousness," see "Biog. Presb.,"II., 89. REV. JOHN WELSH, Irongray, 1633-1681. Son of Josias Welsh of Templepatrick, grandson of Welsh of Ayr, and great-grandson of Knox. Ejected from Irongray in 1662. See M'Crie's "Scot. Ch.," p. 270. Cited before the Council in 1666 for field-preaching. Clydesdale, Fife, and Perth- shire were among the scenes of his labours. In 1672 the laird of Balhousie was fined ,£1000 sterling, for harbouring the " declared traitor." In 1677 he dispensed the communion near the water of Girvan, when a price of 9000 merks was set on his liead. He lived on Tweedside for some time, and when the river was frozen preached " on the midst that the two kingdoms might dispute his crime." He died in London in 1681, and was buried near to his grandfather. Among Welsh's converts at the conventicle of Duraquair in Fife, was the Countess of Crawford, Lady Lindsay. the literature of the covenant. 353 The Great Gospel Sumonds to close with Christ under THE Pain of the Highest Rebellion against the God OF Heaven. The substance of a Preface and Sermon at Hemphbar-Bank in the Parish of Lanrick, Feb. 20, 1676. Two sermons preached in the parish of Cathcart appear in "Faithful Contendings." Other discourses will be found in " Sermons Delivered in Times of Persecution." See also Simpson's " Voice from the Desert." EEV. JOHN WELL WOOD, Tarbolton, 1640-1679. Son of James Well wood who was ejected from Tundergarth, Annandale, in 1662. James Wellwood had three sons all of whom followed in their father's footsteps. "John's sermons," says Dr. Simpson ("Voice from the Desert," p. 109), "breathe a somewhat uncompromising spirit and evidence a zeal bordering on fieriness, but he was a burning and a shining light, and eminently a blessing to many." Intruded upon the Kirk of Tarbolton, 1677. He died at Perth, where he spent the last three months of his life. When the magistrates heard that an intercommuned preacher had died in the town they sent a messenger to arrest the body, and forbade interment within the city. The body was taken to Dron, but the parish minister refused the keys of the churchyard. His friends had to climb over the wall to dig his ofrave. The magistrates of Perth watched those inhabitants who attended the funeral, and afterwards incarcerated them. His memory still savoury, for his holiness, diligence in the labours of the ministry, amidst many perils from bloody persecutors and false brethren, and his undaunted zeal and courage in the cause of Christ. What a life of Faith he lived in these perilous times is evident from several letters of his written to his godly acquaintances and friends, yet extant in manuscript. — Preface to Glimpse of Glory. Some Remarkable Passages in the Life and Death of Mr. John Wellwood, late Minister of the Gospel. In Walker's " Biographia." See also Thomson's "Martyr-Graves," IL, 70. On the morning of the day that he died, Wellwood, seeing the light breaking into his chamber, said, "Now, eternal light; no more night, nor darkness to me ! " Sermons by John Wellwood. Four discourses by Wellwood are printed in Howie's Collection. Letters written from London a little before his Death. Some of these letters are appended to "Glimpse of Glory." They are addressed to his mother, brother, sister, cousin, and others. MR. ANDREW WELLWOOD, London. Son of James Wellwood of Tundergarth, and brother to John Wellwood. He was designed for the ministry, but died early in London of consumption. His book — a lasting monument to the glory of Emmanuel— had long a place in the dwellings of Jacob throughout the length and breadth of the land. Z 354 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Meditations, representing A Glimpse of Glory; or, A Gospel-discovery of Emmanuel's Land, whereunto is SUBJOINED A Spiritual Hymn entitled The Dying Saint's Song, etc. By Mr. Andrew Wellwood, brother to Mr. John Wellwood, late Minister of the Gospel in Scotland. 1763. See interesting notice of author, and Extracts in Gilfillan's "Martyrs and Heroes of the Scottish Covenant," p. 194. [The book was a great favourite with the late Mr. James Miller, Alyth, a man who inherited much of the spirit of the Covenanter, and whose memory will long be fragrant and blessed.] SIR JAMES WELLWOOD, M.D., London. Son of the Rev. James Wellwood of Tundergarth, and brother to Andrew and John. In a "Letter to his brother James," written by Andrew when " stepping into eternity," we find the following : Salvation must be nearer your heart by many degrees than all other concernments, tho' they were ten thousand worlds. You must know the bargain of the new Covenant, and close heartily with it, in all its fulness, without the least reservation. Upon it, I recommend unto you Mr. Guthrie's '"Trial of a Saving Interest in Christ ; " and desire you to read it, till you become such an one as he describes. See " Glimpse of Glory," p. 270. Memoirs of the most material Transactions in England FOR the last Hundred Years preceding the Revolu- tion in 1688. By James Wellwood, M.D. 1744. The writer removed to Holland in 1679, and returned with King William at the Revolution. He wrote also a "Vindication of the Revolution," and " An answer to the late King James' Last Declaration to all his pretended subjects." The late Sir Henry Wellwood Moncreifi*, Bart., was a lineal descendant. EEV. JOHN BLACKADDER, Bart., Troqueer, 1615-1686. Lineal descendant and representative of the Tulliallan family. Ordained at Troqueer 1653 ; ejected 1662. One of those denomi- nated the three first worthies, because along with Welsh and Semple he was among the first to unfurl the banner of the Covenant on the mountains and moors. Imprisoned 1681 in the Bass^, where he died between 17th June and 15th July, 1686. Dr. W. Blackadder, his son, himself a prisoner in the Tolbooth, Edinburgh, obtained liberty on June 17 to visit his father, then in a dying condition. See sketch of Blackadder, with important discovery as to the close of his life by Rev. W. Whitfield in Christian Leader, III., 548. Possessing a cultivated and well-balanced mind, warm-hearted but cool- headed and sagacious, he lamented the excesses into which some of his THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 355 brethren were driven, and used all his efiforts to prevent those divisions and irritations which he foresaw would lead to the most disastrous results. —Dr. M'Crie, ''Scot, Ch.," p. 33S. Memoirs of the Rev. John Blackadder, 1826; Compiled chiefly from unpublished mauuscripts and memoirs of his life and ministry written by himself while prisoner on the Bass, and containing illustrations of the Episcopal persecution from the Restoration to the death of Charles II. With an appen- dix, giving a short account of the history and siege of the Bass, etc. By Andrew Crichton, Preacher of the Gospel, author of the Life of Colonel Blackadder. A most valuable piece of biography, and admirably illustrative of covenanting times. — Dr. R. Burns. There are few things finer than the description given by Blackadder of one of these open-air assemblies in the Merse, in the time of persecution, when 3,200 communicated. — John Ker, D.D. Two Sermons Preached in the Parish of Kilbride, ^e2:>t. 5, 1675. The sermons are printed in Howie's Collection. The text of both is Isaiah liii. 11. See Dr. Simpson's "Voice from the Desert," p. 18. Blackadder never lost sight of the advice of the venerable Mr. Archibald of Dunscore, who, introducing him to his people at Troqueer, exhorted him to make the Christian atonement the prominent theme in his preaching. COL. JOHN BLACKADDER, 1664-1729. The Bev. John Blackadder had live sons — William, who was present at Bothwell and escaped to Holland, returned with Argyle in 1685, and subsequently became physician to King William; Adam, imprisoned in Blackness for hearing his father preach at Bo'ness — author of an account of his father's sufferings transmitted to Wodrow; Robert, who died while studying at Utrecht; Thomas, who went to New England; and John who, early showing a religious disposition, is said to have partaken of the Lord's Supper at the age of twelve. He joined the regiment raised at the Revolution by the Cameronians, and became eminent as a Christian soldier. Select Passages from the Diary and Letters of the late John Blackadder, Esq., formerly Lieutenant- Colonel OF THE 26th or Cameronian Regiment of Foot, 1806. The preface is by the Rev. John Newton. A new edition appeared in 1824, "Life and Diary of Colonel Blackadder," edited by Crichton. An interestiDg account of the fight at Dunkeld in 1689, in which the gallant Cleland lost his life, appears in a letter written by Blackadder on the spot. 356 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Colonel Blackadder, a gentleman of eminent piety, was an officer of the regiment raised under Angus. It afterwards became distinguished in the Protestant wars of the Continent, under Marlborough, and for a long time was marked for the religious character of its origin. — J. O. Lorimcr, D.D. Short Account of the Lord's Providence towards her. Written by a daughter of the Rev. John Blackadder, married to Mr. Young, a writer in Edinburgh. It gives a summary of the events of her life, from 1700 to 1724, and shows her to have been a lady of remarkable piety and superior learning. Her husband was a man of like mind, and author of " Faith Pro- moted and Fears Prevented, from a proper view of Affliction as God's Rod." COL. JOHN NISBET of Hardhill, 1627-1685. Descended from the Lollards of Kyle. His house was in the vicinity of Drumclog, and on the occasion of the memorable battle he came to the assistance of Balfour and Cleland, and helped to gain the victory. See " Scots Worthies ; " " Pictorial History of Scotland," by Dr. Taylor, IL, 712; Thomson's "Martyr Graves," I, 177; Howie's "Memoirs," 135. A True Relation of the Life and Sufferings of John NiSBET in Hardhill, his last Testimony to the Truth. With a short account of his last words on the Scaffold. December 4, 1685. Wod. Sel. Biog., IL, 371. Reprinted from the second edition of 1719. Few, perhaps, would now approve of all the sentiments emitted by John Nisbet ; but there can be as few who do not admire the fortitude with which he endured for what he reckoned the truth, and the patience with which he suffered rather than consent to violate his conscience or compromise his convictions. — Dr. Tweedie. [The iirst edition appeared in 1718, with a preface by James Nisbet his son, then in Edinburgh Castle.] Diary of Serjeant James Nisbet. He was son to John Nisbet of Hardhill, and died in 1726, in Edinburgh Castle. His diary is chiefly religious. For extracts see Appendix to ''Memoirs of Veitch and Brysson." His speaking portrait of Peden will be found in "The Fifty-Years' Struggle," by Dodds, p. 339. KEV. ALEXANDER PEDEN, Glenluce, 1626-1686. Born in Sorn, Ayrshire. Ordained minister of Glenluce, about 1658. Ejected 1662. His farewell sermon lasted till midnight, when he closed the pulpit door and knocked three times on it with his Bible, saying, "I arrest thee in my Master's name, that none ever enter thee but such as come in by the door as I have done." It so happened that neither Episcopalian nor indulged Presbyterian entered the pulpit, which was not again opened till the Revolution. He became a great field-preacher in Ireland as well as in Scotland ; was imprisoned in the Bass, and condemned THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 357 to be transported, but declared that the ship was not yet built that was to convey him and his fellow-prisoners to America. He was riglit, for the captain, on learning that his cargo consisted of pious Christians, backed out of his engagement. Peden died in peace at his brother's residence, Auchencloich. See "The Fifty- Years' Struggle," p. 328; "Voice from the Desert," p. 136. Peden's prayer — when he had been hotly pursued by his foes, and the few friends who accompanied him worn out, and his own strength well nigh exhausted — was a memorable utterance — " Lord, our strength is gone. Twine them about the hill. Lord, and cast the lap o' Thy cloak over Old Sandy and thir poor things, and save us this one time, and we'll keep it in remembrance, and tell to the commendation of Thy goodness, pity and compassion, what Thou didst for us at such a time." See story illustrative, "' God, the Hearer of Prayer," by Rev. F. Whitfield, Hastings, and a finely appreciative biography of thirty four pages by Rev. James Anderson in the "Bass Rock," p. 24. He wandered for years with a life on the edge of death among the moors and mists, and died at last in bed. Men would call it "charmed;" he would have accounted for it by "snow and vapours fulfilling His Word." When hard pressed by the troopers, and brought to a breathless stand, his accustomed prayer was that God would cast the lap of His cloak over him, and more than once he was saved by the mist. He died without violence, but his persecutors took his body and hung it on a gibbet at Cumnock. There he lies buried, and the place has become God's Field.— Prof. Ker, ''Echoes." This was the celebrated Alexander Peden, commonly called " Auld Sandie," who afterwards made a great figure as a preacher and a prophet. —0. K. Sharpe, " Kirkton's Hist," p. 26 J^. He was second to none in steadfastness of principle ; his ministrations were blessed above the usual measure, and his whole character and course have left deeper impressions in the districts where he laboured and suffered than can be traced back to any of his compeers.— i?eu. J. Murray, Cumnock. One of the most eminent and energetic in the great struggle for religious liberty in Scotland, under the Stuarts, was Alexander Peden. His influence upon the mass of the common people became so great through his piety, energy, and talents, that they gave him the name of "The Prophet," and were° accustomed to regard him as almost possessed of something hke the prophetic afflatus.— f/wi^ec? Preshy. Magazine. The Life and Prophecies of Alexander Peden. The Life was first published by James Duncan, Glasgow, in 1725 as a Chapman tract. It was reprinted with additions by Patrick Walker the pedlar, at Edinburgh in 1726, and proved immensely popular with the Scottish peasantry. The latest re-publication in this form was by John Pryde, Glasgow, in 1868. For Lord Grange's correspondence with Wodrow on the prophecies see M'Gavin's " Scots Worthies," p. 504. If Sir Walter derived all his ideas, as he certainly drew all his pictures, of the Covenanters from the writings of such as Russell the assassin, Howie of Lochgoin, Patrick Walker, or Peden's Prophecies we might make some 358 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. allowance for the unfavourable light in which they appeared to him, pre- judiced, as he avowedly was, against the whole body. All these writers belonged to the party known by the name of Society People or Cameronians. — Dr. M^Crie, the Younger. Some Remarkable Passages of the Life and Death op Mr. Alexander Peden ; Singular for piety, zeal, and faithfulness, but especially who exceeded all to be heard of in our late Ages in that Gift of Fore- seeing of Events, and Foretelling what was to befal the Church and Nation of Scotland and Ireland, particularly families and persons ; and of his own life and death : A few Instances amongst many through his Life, take these that follow. A third edition with Amendments and Additions, with thirty New additional Passages, and Answers to some few of the many Reflections upon the Preface, Passages, and Notes. Judg. ii. 10, Psalm Ixxviii. 3-8, Edinburgh, Collected and Published by Patrick Walker, and to be sold at his House within Bristo-port, opposite to the Society- Gate, 1728. Such is the title of Walker's Life of Peden as contained in Biog. Preshy. The first part consists of forty prophetic utterances ; the second part of thirty additional examples authenticated by the Rev. Mr. Murray of Pen- pont and others. Walker condemns the earlier production bearing upon Peden's life and sayings which had been in circulation in Ireland and Scot- land before his own w^ork appeared. The imitation of the Scriptural style produces in some passages of these works an eflFect not unlike what we feel in reading the beautiful book of Ruth. It is taken from the Life of Mr. Alexander Peden printed about 1720. — Whitelaw's ''Book of Scottish Ballads," p. 54-3. The Lord's Trujipet Sounding an Alarm against Scotland AND Warning of a Bloody Sword : Being the substance of a preface and two prophetical sermons preached at Glenluce, 1682, by that great Scottish prophet, Mr. Alexander Pethine. — This work, and along with it a sermon from Luke xxiv. 21, appear in Miss Watson's "Life and Times of Peden." The latter begins thus : — Where is the Kirk of God in Scotland the day ? It is not among the preat clergie folk. Sirs, I'll tell you where the Kirk of Scotland is — wherever there is a praying lad or lass at a dyke-side in Scotland — a pray- ing partie will ruin, will ruin them ; yet, sirs, a praying partie shall go through the storm. But manie of you in this countrie side, ye ken not these things ! The weight of the broken Kirk of God in Scotland never troubles you. With Peden a sermon or discourse was no formal harangue, but an utterance of the oracle within, a reflex of the ebbings and Sowings of his own soul. It was truly the man thinking and feeling aloud. It was a fantasia starting from a certain theme, running away on the impulses of the moment, but returning ever back and back upon the theme with which it commenced. See this and much more of the same lofty and appreciative criticism in Dodds' "Fifty- Years' Struggle," p. 336. the literature of the covenant. 359 Letters of Alexander Peden. One of these was addressed to the prisoners in Dunnottar, July, 1685; another to some fi-iends ; a third issued from the Bass Rock, being addressed to Mr. Patrick Simpson of Kilmal- colm, 11th August, 1677. See Miss Watson's "Life and Times," pp. 73, 105. Life and Times of Rev. Alexander Peden and Rev. James Renwick. Bi/ Jean L. Watson ; with an Introductory Chapter by Rev. John Ker, D.D. We are glad to meet these reprints of the writings of some of the old heroes of the Covenant, and we trust they will assist in turning the hearts of the children to the fathers, and in making us feel how much we owe them for the maintenance of our civil and religious liberties, and for the pui»ity and simplicity of New Testament truth. The narrative that accompanies them is from the pen of Miss J. L. Watson, who has already done much to preserve the features of old Scottish life in her delightful "Sketches of Bygone Days in our Village" and other works. In the present case the story is told by one who is in deepest sympathy with it, but with scrupulous regard to truth, and, for its clearness and feeling, it will be read with interest even by those who are familiar with the original sources. Much care has been bestowed on the revision of those portions of the writings of Peden and Renwick that are given in this volume. These two names were once known to every child in Scotland, and traditions of them are floating all over the south-west; but we doubt whether, in the days of newspapers and magazines, many know more of them than the mere names, or what is to be found in the " Scots Worthies " — a manual of which we would speak with all respect. — John Ker, D.D. Dr. Ker's introductory chapter is characterised by great felicity of style and diction, as well as philosophic insight into the character of the Scottish people and the elements of national and religious pre-eminence. The volume should be in every Sabbath-school library, and the introductory chapter should be studied and its principles expounded to the young by every teacher and Christian patriot in the land. Peden the Prophet : A Tale of the Covenanters. Founded ON Fact. By Rev. A. M. Brown, LL.D. The writer, a native of Newmilns, laboured for nearly forty years in Cheltenham. He was the author of "Evenings with the Prophets." "Peden" has all the fascination of fiction, but it is a story made up of facts, and these facts among the most astounding in the annals of Scotland. Peden the Prophet. — The celebrations at Priesthill and Old Kirk- bride have been followed by a religious service at Peden's stone on the Benhar moors — a memorial marking one of the spots where that gifted spirit, Alexander Peden, often preached when the faithful were compelled to meet under the wide canopy of the sky. A congregation numbering nearly 2,000 assembled on the Sabbath afternoon near the monument, which stands in a hollow on the moor between Shotts and Harthill; and among those who listened to Eev. Messrs. Pvoualdson of Longridge and 360 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Crawford of Fauldhouse were Sir William Baillie and a party of friends. Of all the heroes of the Covenant to whom somewhat scant justice has been done by posterity, Peden is perhaps the most conspicuous. Vague and superstitious stories of the chapbook order have been allowed to com- municate what is the most widely prevalent conception of this man. In reality he was one of the most remarkable figures of his period — a true seer, so profound in his diagnosis of the condition of the nation, and so full of insight as to what must come, that his shrewd and piercing remarks were exaggerated by ignorance until they assumed a supernatural character. A fountain of womanly tenderness existed in Peden along with a humour that was of the richest. — Wylie, Christian Leader, July 23, 1885. EEV. JAMES RENWICK, Conventicle Preacher, 1662-1688. Born in Glencairn, Nithsdale. The occasion of his casting in his lot with the Covenanters was Cargill's martyrdom. After Cargill's death the Cameronians had no minister in Scotland, and instead of themselves ordaining Renwick they sent him to Holland. From the middle of 1681 to the end of 1683 they had neither regular preaching nor sacraments. Renwick proclaimed the Lanark Declaration, p. 144. He commenced his public ministry on Darmead Moss, Cambusnethan, November 25, 168.3. On the accession of James VII. he and two hundred followers went to Sanquhar and published a Protest. In 1687 a large sum was oflfered for his apprehension. He was seized in Edinburgh and executed. We now come to the last of the Covenanting martyrs — James Renwick. He may be called the Alalachi among those modern minor prophets. He is described as a little fair-haired man, with a comely countenance, and great unction and sweetness of address. His letters, which are published, give evidence of learning, ardent piety, and something which verges on genius. In one of them, for instance, he speaks of the muirs and mosses of Scotland hemg Jloioered with martyrs, — Gilfdlan's " Ma7^tyrs," p. 138. There was no preacher in his day so popular as Renwick. He seems to have had a soft and mellifluous voice, which fell with ineffable sweetness on the ear. His eloquence flowed "in gentle streams," and came with a great subduing power upon his audience. . . . The thunder of Cameron's eloquence shook like an earthquake the masses of the people who crowded to the desert ; and the mellifluous flow of the gentle Renwick's delivery bathed in tears the thousands who hearkened to his voice, and charmed their hearts away to heaven. — R. Simpson, D.D., "^4 Voice from the Desert," pp. 211, 219. Many a time and oft have we tried to sketch the delicate form and beautiful character of the holy Ilenwick ; but the portrait that filled our thought was far too lovely for our fairest pencillings, yet the simply beautiful narratives of Howie of Lochgoin and other biographers leave us touching shades of loveliest lineament over which we might linger long, and thence draw many lessons of sad, sweet memory. ... It was the purity of his character, the depth of his sufferings and his fellowship with Jesus in these, which threw around him such a tender interest and holy radiance. There was such a heavenly air about all his words and actions — so much of the Master in the martyr, that wherever we follow him, his name is redolent of holiness, and it is even As if an angel shook his wings. — M. P. Aird, '' Heart Histories," p. 69. the literature of the covenant. 361 An Informatory Vindication of a poor, wasted, misrepre- sented E-EMNANT OF THE SUFFERING, AnTI-POPISH, AnTI- prelatic, Anti-erastian, Anti-sectarian, true Presby- terian Church of Christ in Scotland, united together IN a general correspondence. By way of Reply to various Accusations in Letters, Informations, and Con- ferences given forth against them. 1744. Written at the Leadljills in 1687, by James Renwick, with the assistance of Alexander Shields. It contains a vindication of the attitude of the united societies towards the defections of the time, and will be found appended to the "Hind let Loose," or in " Testimony-Bearing Exemplified." At a meeting of the Societies, March 24, 16S7, at Frierminion, a lonely farm-house half-way between Sanquhar and Muirkirk, at a spot where Dumfriesshire, Ayrshire, and Lanarkshire all meet, the greater part of three days was spent in carefully considering its contents. The document ■was deliberately adopted by the Societies, and may be regarded as an authoritative statement of their opinions. — Rev. J. H. Thomson. The Testimony of some Persecuted Presbyterian Ministers against the Anti-Christian Toleration. Given in to the ministers at Edinburgh by Renwick, January 17, 1688.— Appended to " Cloud." A Choice Collection of very valuable Prefaces, Lectures, AND Sermons, Preached upon the Mountains and Muirs of Scotland, in the hottest time of the late Persecution; To which are added, The Form and Order of the Admission of Ruling Elders; a Reply to Mr. Laglan's Letter to Gavin Wotherspoon, , ''Scot. Ch.," p. 317. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 369 A Sermon preached in the Tolbooth Church of Edinburgh ON Sept. 3, 1699. The last sermon preached by Kirkton. The text is 1 John ii. 25. Speaking of the lack of tenderness on the part of the people of Scotland he says : — The gross liver that fears not God I'll tell you what I have to say of him : he goes to the tavern, and he drinks till he be drunk, and like a beast. No man calls that man a Christian, or a godly man, or a tender man. But then I will tell you of another one that is a member of the Church : he goes to the tavern and sits very long, not till he be drunk, and when he comes out nobody can say he is drunk ; and if anybody ask him, Where have you been ? I have been in the wine-house. How long ? I have been so long and so long. 0 fy, you should not have sitten so long. I am not drunk. I cannot say that, but you have tippled, you have abused the creature, ye are not tender — too little tenderness among the people of Scotland. God knows whether I be speaking true or no. Life of Mr. John Welsh. " The pious, lairned, and curious Kirktoune," writes TVodrow, left several manuscripts from which (he had been told) a life of "Welsh was printed. " There is no reason to suppose," adds Dr. Laing, "he had been misinformed." See p. 274. EEV. JOHN DICKSON, Eutherglen. -1700. Ordained minister of Rutherglen in 1649; ejected 1662. At an early period he attached himself to John Welsh and Gabriel Semple, the first field preachers. In 1667 he assisted at the communion celebrated at East Nisbet in the Merse, and in 1678 at Irongray. See " The Bass Kock," p. 328. Imprisoned in the Bass seven years. Mr. John Dickson minister of the Gospell att Rutherglen was pershewed and put from his kirk in the year 1660, and lay in the Bass betwixt six and seven years for by the time he was a prisoner at Edinburgh. Those who were his parishioners and either had a hand in his accusation or were wittnesses ar now quyt extinct. Some of them who were then Magistrats fell so poor that the Kirk helped them, and Sir James Hamilton of Elistoun who had a hand in the pershewing of the said Mr. J. Dickson, his wholl family is extinct, and his house though not old becam a nest for the owl: the ground stones of it are digged up as Mr. Dickson foretold. — Analecta Scotica. A Sermon Preached at Little Govan, by Mr. John Dickson, January, 1675. The text is 1 Samuel xxx. 6. The sermon will be found in the collection at the end of "Faithful Contendings." The defamatory writer in Presby- terian Eloquence represents him as saying in a sermon preached at Gala- shiels that cess paying to L'harles II, was as bad as sacrificing to devils. After the Revolution, at a meeting of the Synod of Ayr, he preached " a very free and faithful sermon" from Isaiah Ixii. 6. This too was pub- lished, as also some Letters and a Warning to the Indulged in Fife. 2a 370 TREASURY OF TEE SCOTTISH COVENANT. KEV. ROBERT FLEMING, Cambuslang, 16304694. Born at Tester, East Lothian, in which place his father, James Fleming, son-in-law of Knox, was minister. He studied under Kutherford at St. Andrews; was ordained minister of Cambuslang in 1653, and ejected in 1662. Accepted a call to Rotterdam in 1667. Returning for his family, he could not resist the tempta- tion to deliver a farewell address ; for this he was arrested and thrown for several months into the Tolbooth, Edinburgh. Such were his labours in Rotterdam that, in the quaint words of his biographer, "The sun stood still all the time wherein he had no design for God going on." His motto was Fast tenehras spero. lucem. See biography by Dr. Burgess, also Life by the editor of " The Fulfilling." The Fulfilling of the Scripture : or, an Essay, shewing THE Exact Accomplishment of the Word of God, in His Works of Providence performed, and to be per- formed ; FOR Confirming the Believers, and Convincing THE Atheists of the Present Time. Containing, in the end, a few rare Histories of the Works and Servants of God in the Church of Scotland. Rotterdam, 1669. This work the author materially expanded and improved. Sub- sequently it constituted part first of the Essay. As the subject grew in magnitude and importance, a second part was published under the title of " The Faithfulness of God considered and cleared in the Great Event of His Word." This was followed by a third part entitled, "The Great Appearances of God for His Church, etc." So highly was the work accounted of by those best qualified to judge of its merits, that it received an attestation bearing the signature of 21 eminent English divines, among whom were Isaac Watts, and Neal, the historian of the Puritans. It begins thus : — " The late reverend and learned Mr. Robert Fleming is universally known to have been a person of singular worth and piety; and his works declare him a diligent and careful observer of the provi- dences of God towards His Church and people, etc." It is an elaborate treatise upon the fact that the Scriptures are fulfilled and the word of the Lord is true. As such it deserves the high encomiums so freely showered upon it by the eminent divines of Fleming's own time, and it abundantly justifies the issue of so many editions. — Spurgeon. I acknowledge the instances that have been published in Fleming's "Fulfilling" and in other books seem a specious plea that one kind of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit still continues. I think Mr. Gillespie of Carnock has given a satisfying answer. Human sagacity by attending to the operation of natural and moral causes may form shrewd conjectures. — John Ershine, D.D., Preface to Gillespie's Essay. Several such inward testimonies or effusions of the Spirit are related of eminent Christians, especially in the northern part of our kingdom, a list of which is given by the excellent Robert Fleming in his celebrated work. — Dr. Lei/child, '' Christian Experience," p. 161. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 371 [The Rev. Robert Fleming was also the author of the following treatises, now extremely rare: — "The Confirming Work of Religion," "Treatise of Earthquakes," "The One Thing Necessary," "The Truth and Certainty of the Protestant Faith," "The Epistolary Discourse," dedicated to Queen Mary, "Survey of Quakerism," "The Present Aspect of the Times," " The Healing Work" — written on account of divisions in Scotland.] REV. ROBERT FLEMING, London, -1716. Born at Cambuslang, where his father was minister till 1662. He studied at Leyden and Utrecht, and on the death of his father at Rotterdam was asked to fill the vacancy. He was ordained in 1695. In 1698 he accepted an invitation to Lothbury, London, where he laboured till his death, being held in high esteem alike by King and people. Discourses on the Rise and Fall of the Papacy, the Import of God's Dwelling with Men on Earth, etc. 1793. Originally published in 1701. The first of these discourses has been the most celebrated. It arrested the notice, and awakened thfr interest of Europe. After laying down the principles upon which the author conceived the Apocalypse should be interpreted, he explained the pouring out of the Fourth vial with reference to Anti-Christian France, fixing 1794 as the date of the expiration of the vial. When the French Revolution took place it was then remembered that it had been so predicted by a forgotten Scottish pastor. The work was reprinted both in England and America, translated into difi"erent languages, and once more fell out of sight till the revolution of 1848 led to a fresh perusal. Referring to Italy, the author wrote : — " The Fifth vial, which is to be poured out upon the seat of the Beast will probably begin about 1794 and expire about the year 1848. . . . The final period of the papal usurpation must conclude in 1848." The downfall of the Papacy, according to Fleming, is going on ; the Mohammedan Antichrist will follow, and about A.D. 2000, the millennial epoch will begin. In that memorable year (1848) the Pope was compelled to become a fugitive from Rome ; and it was certainly a striking coincidence. — W. M. Taylor, D.D. '' Daniel,'' p. 150. The Mirrour of Divine Love Unvail'd. 1691. A poetical paraphrase of the Song of Solomon. The poetry is after the same manner as that of Quarles, and though not without merit, it is too antiquated to be admired in the present day. This is the Fleming who interpreted the apocalyptic vials, and was fortunate enough to hit upon the date of the French Revolution and other events con- nected with the decline of the papal power. — Spurgeon, " Commenting and Commentaries." Christology: A Discourse Concerning Christ. 3 vols., 1705. An essay towards a revival and re-introduction of primitive Scriptural divinity. 372 treasury of the scottish covenant. The Fiest Resurrection; a Dissertation on the prior and SPECIAL Resurrection of the most eminent Christian Witnesses. Lend., 1708. Fleming also wrote **The Divine Government of Nations considered," "The Divine Eight of the Revolution evinced and applied," and "A Prac- tical Discourse on the death of King William." REV. ALEXANDER SHIELDS, St. Andrews. 1660-1700. Licensed in London, where he had acted as amanuensis to Dr. Owen. Apprehended in Gutter Lane, and sent to the Bass. He consented to abjure the regicide doctrines of Renwick, but his conscience would not permit him to seal his abjuration by an oath. He joined the Church of Scotland after the Revolution. Settled in St. Andrews, where he remained till 1699, when he went out as chaplain to the Scots colony at Darien. His brother Michael and one or two others accompanied him. They were the first Scottish missionaries of modern times sent out to the heathen. Shields died in Jamaica in 1700. See "History of Darien," p. 42 ; Dr. Smith's "History of Missions," p. 133. A minister of extraordinary talents and usefulness. He was well seen in most branches of valuable learning, of a most quick and piercing wit, and full of zeal and a public spirit, and of shining, solid piety. — Wodrow. a true and faithful relation of the sufferings of the Reverend and Learned Mr. Alexander Shields, Minis- ter OF THE Gospel, written with his own Hand ; Containing an Account of his Examinations and Imprisonment at London ; his being sent down to Scotland ; his Examinations before the Privy Council, Justiciary, Lords of the Articles, etc. ; his Disputations with the Bishops and others : with large and pertinent Observations and Reflections upon all the material Passages of these Trials, Examinations and Disputations. Together with a large and elaborate Defence of the Doctrine of Resistance, or defensive Arms, of the Apologetical Declaration and other Heads of Suffering ; as likewise a clear and full confutation of the Oath of Abjuration. 1715. Let all who desire to be truly informed of the beginning, rise, height, and length of the tyranny of that 28 years' persecution read the suffenngs and grievances of Presbyterians, especially those of them nick-named Cameronians, written by famous Mr. Shields. — Pat. Walker, Biog. Fresh., /., 123. A Hind let loose ; or, an Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the interest of Christ ; with the true state thereof in all its Periods : Together with a Vindication of the present Testimony against the popish, prelatical and malignant enemies of that Church, as THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 373 it is now stated, for the Prerogatives of Christ, Privileges of the Church and Liberties of Mankind, and sealed by the sufferings of a reproached Remnant of Presbyterians there witnessing against the corruptions of the Time ; AVherein several Controversies of greatest consequence are enquired into, and in some measure cleared ; concerning hearing of the Curates, owning of the present Tyranny, taking of ensnaring Oaths and Bonds, frequenting of Field-meetings, defensive Resistance of tyrannical violence, with several other subordinate Questions useful for these Times. Edinburgh. 1744. A volume of 864 pages, including the " Informatory Vindica tion." The first edition of the work, published in 1687, did not bear the author's name, but was " By a Lover of true Liberty." See Burton, YIL, 568; M'Crie's "Scot. Ch.," 326; "Babell," p. 94. In what he [Shields] says about removals to the plantations, this author touches an indefinite, but certainly a fruitful source of wrong and misery. Not only were rogues and vagabonds freely exported under authority, but kidnapping was frequently practised in an assurance of the difficulty of redress to the person who had got into the hands of the planters, and was forcibly retained as an 'apprentice.' One redeeming feature there seems to have been in this method of prosecution, that the Puritan settlers of New England offered an asylum to those victims who, like the martyrs of the Covenant, were people after their own heart. — Burton, Vll.y 571. An Informatory Vindication. Written conjunctly by Renwick and Alexander Shields. See p. 361. Life of Jaaies Renwick. [Biog. Presbyteriana.] He wrote the Life of Mr. Renwick, with whose history, in his brief and eventful course, he was well acquainted. — Dr. Simpson^ " Voice from the Desert,^^ p. 189. Sermons Delivered in Times of Persecution in Scotland. A sermon preached by Shields at Barntable in 16S0, and a preface with lecture and sermon following, delivered at the Lowthers in Crawfordmoor in March, 1688, appear in this volume. In this preface he speaks of the "cold and snow we are trysted with for our trial : " he thereupon tells his hearers that love to God will keep their hearts warm, and that "love in vigorous exercise unto Him " will set their hearts on flame. See the dififer- ence between the Covenant of redemption and Covenant of grace, according to Shields and other divines, treated of in note at p. 612 (Kerr's edition). An Enquiry into Church Communion ; Or, a treatise against Separation from the Revolution Settlement of this National Church as it was settled anno 1689 and 1690. This was published by Thomas Lining of Lesmahagowin 1706 from " Shields' own manuscripts without any material alteration." The author holds by the idea of the Church visible^ and vindicates his conduct in uniting with the Church of the Revolution. See Thomson's "Graves," II., 50. Even Mr. Shields, who had been fellow-labourer with Eenwick, and afterwards his biographer, of whose talents and piety the " Hind let Loose " 374 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. will be a lasting memorial, was carried away by the tide of conformity. He lived to repent of this rash step, when it was too late to recover what he had lost — his character and peace of mind, etc. — Testimony of the H.P. Church, p. 101. EEV. HENRY EESKINE, Chirnside, 1624-1696. Born at Dryburgh. Settled at Cornliill, Northumberland. One of the Nonconformists ejected on St. Bartholomew's Day, 1662. Removing to Scotland, he suffered fine, imprisonment, and exile under the Episcopal domination. He was sentenced to be sent to the Bass, but it was changed to banishment, " Bass Rock," p. 379. After the Revolution he was settled at Whitsome, then at Chirnside. It was under his ministry that Thomas Boston received his earliest religious impressions. This occurred in the twelfth year of his age under the preach- ing of Henry Erskine, one of the outed Presbyterian ministers, who, availing himself of a proclamation of indulgence issued by James VII., was conducting a meeting at the village of Revelaw. "After that," says Boston, "I went back to the Kirk no more till the Episcopalians were turned out ; and it was the common observation in those days that whenever one turned serious about his soul's state and case he left them." The first effect of the earnest preaching of the Gospel by this honoured servant of God was that his youthful hearer was "like one amazed with some new and strange thing." — Evang. Succ, III., 75. Henry Erskine, the famous Covenanter. — M^Crie. An Abbreviate oe the Life of Henry Erskine. By his Son. With some Additions hy Mr. William Yeitch. This sketch appears in "Memoirs of Veitch, Hog, etc.," issued by the F.C. publication committee. PRINCIPAL WILLIAM DUNLOP, Glasgow, -1700. Son of the Rev. Alex. Dunlop of Paisley — referred to in Wod. Anal., III., 18. " In early life an active supporter of the moderate Covenanting party." The "Hamilton Declaration" was partly drawn up by him in June, 1679. See Wod., HI., 98. He emigrated to Carolina where he remained till the Revolution. He wrote a descriptive account of Renfrewshire. His wife was a daughter of the Rev. John Carstares, Two sons survived him, Alexander who became professor of Greek in Glasgow University, and William who 61Ied the chair of Divinity and Church History in Edinburgh. Biographical Notice of Principal Dunlop. By Dr. Denniston. See Wod. Hist., IV., 520. the literature of the covenant. 376 Collections of Confessions of Faith, Catechisms, Direct- ories, ETC. 2 Vols. Edin. 1719-22. By Prof. William Dunlop, Edinburgh (1692-1720). He also wrote a preface to Guthrie's "Christian's Great Interest," and an Essay vindicating the use of creeds. SIR JAMES STEWART, of Goodtrees, 1635-1713. Son of James Stuart, provost of Edinburgh. Studied law. Became eminent for his zeal in religion and attachment to Pres- byterian principles. In consequence of his known hostility to despotic measures, a warrant was issued, in 1675, for his appre- hension. He managed to escape for a time into retirement. He took an active part in behalf of the Earl of Argyll and was one of the eight or nine advocates who, in 1681, gave a legal opinion in his favour. He had to make his escape to Holland, but returned at the Revolution to be made Lord Advocate. See sketch in '* Christian Instructor," for 1813 ; and Letter to Principal Carstares, Wod., IV., 523. Naphtali ; OR, A true and short Deduction of the Wrestlings op the Church of Scotland for the KiNGDO'M of Christ, from the beginning of the Reformation of Religion unto the year, 1667. Together with the last speeches and testimonies of some who have died for the Truth since the year 1660. AVhereunto also are subjoined a Relation of the Sufferings and Death of Mr. Hugh M'Kail, and some Instances of the Sufferings of Galloway and Nithsdale, 1667. The product of a joint authorship. The first and logical part of this famous covenanting work was executed by Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees ; it bears the stamp of a mind of great vigour and grasp. The narrative portion was w^ritten by the Rev. James Stirling of Paisley, whose Recollections form an interesting portion of Wodrow's " Analecta." In 1667 the Council issued a proclamation against "Naphtali," ordering it to be burned. (Wod., 11. , 100.) All copies were to be delivered up to the nearest magistrates, and a fine of ten thousand pounds Scots was the penalty inflicted upon any in whose hands the book should afterwards be found. It passed through the flames unscathed only to become dearer than ever to Scottish hearts. Numerous editions have appeared, edited by such honoured names as Dr. Henry Duncan, Ruthwell, Dr. W. Wilson, Carmylie, and others. The edition of 1680 contained additional matter — Papers by James Mitchell, Speech of John Kid, etc. The Book was translated into Dutch in 1668 by Borstius of Rotterdam. See Dr. Simpson's "Voice," p. 189. 376 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. [Gilfillan quotes the testimony of one Thomas Brown, a shoemaker, and then adds : "How far more imposing those fine stammerings of sincerity, those gasps of great dying hearts, than the most elaborate eflforts of culti- vated talent ! " Similarly, Dr. John Ker, in his introductory chapter to "Life and Times of Peden and Renwick," after quoting the dying testi- mony of a humble cottager, John Clyde, moralizes: "One cannot help thinking of the mean and selfish tyrant, who then sat on the throne, with his saying that ' Presbyterianism is not the religion of a gentleman,' when we see the nobility of soul it could bestow on one of the poorest of his subjects."] The literature of the covenanting age must not be tried by a severe aesthetic standard. During the persecution, indeed, it was confined chiefly to protests, declarations, and dying testimonies. In these last as collected in "Xaphtali" and elsewhere, there is a certain severe, purged simplicity, a pathos and grandeur which move you to your depths. There are not many individual expressions that will bear quotation ; the power is in the whole, and you cannot help admiring the manly sense, spirit, calmness, dignity, and piety which distinguish the suflFerers to a degree so equal that you fancy them a band of brothers. — Gilfillan, Jus PopuLi Yindicatum; Or, the People's Kight to defend themselves and their Cove- nanted Religion vindicated. Wherein the Act of Defence and Vindication, which was interprised anno 1666 is particularly justified. The Lawfulness of private Persons defending their Lives, Libertyes, and Eeligion against manifest Oppression, Tyranny, and Violence, exerced by Magistrats Sup ream and Inferiour, contrare to Solemne Vowes, Covenants, Promises, Declarations, Professions, Subscriptions, and Solemne Engadg- ments is demonstrated by many Arguments. Being a full reply to the First Part of the Survey of Naphtaly, etc. By a Priend to true Christian Liberty. 1669. (See Title in Burton.) This was a defence of Naphtali by Sir James Stewart against Honey- man's attack entitled, "A Survey of the Insolent and Infamous Libel entitled Naphtali, etc." Andrew Honeyman, second minister of St. Andrews, was created Bishop of Orkney in 1664. An answer was published by Bishop Honeyman ; but he evidently weakened the cause he undertook to defend, and was taken up, with great strength of reason by Mr. Stewart, as were some other authors of his kidney, in that useful book "Jus, etc. "— JFoc^. , //., 100. REV. ROBEET TRAIL, Edinburgh, 1603-1676. Studied at the Protestant College of Samur. Became minister of Elie in 1639, whence he was translated to Greyfriars, Edin- burgh, in 1649. He joined the Protesters. In 1660 he was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle. Set at liberty, he was appre- hended again by the P.C. for expounding the Scriptures in his own house. Banished to Holland, 1662. He was a laborious pastor and zealous Covenanter, his occupations being varied by frequent appointments to attend the Scotch army as chaplain. — Eev. D. C. Agnew. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 377 A Letter from a Father to His Children. The senior Robert Trail published nothing; but two beautiful letters to his children, written from Holland, have been printed. — Rev. D. C. Agnew^ '* Theology of Consolation." REV. ROBERT TRAIL, London, 1640-17U. Son of Robert Trail, Edinburgh. Accompanied Guthrie to the scaffold in 1661. A proclamation of 1667 having declared him *'a Pentland rebel," he escaped to Holland, where he met his father and other expatriated countrymen. Returning to Scotland in 1669, he was asked to purge himself by oath of having preached at conventicles, and on refusing to do so was imprisoned in the Bass. He had three sons, who became ministers. See Agnew's *' Theology of Consolation," p. 360; "Bass Rock," p. 220. I have transmitted with this excellent young man Mr. Trail, a student of theology, and a partaker of the cross of Christ with his father, that manuscript of your distinguished Rutherford [" Examen" — see p. 309], which, in the judgment of learned men, but especially of yourself, is considered worthy of being brought to light. — J/' Ward to Nethenus. Sermons concerning the Throne of Grace. Trail's first appearance as an author was in a sermon extorted for publication. " But it is a gem of the first water," says Rev. D. C. Agnew, "being a succinct reply to the question — 'By what means may ministers best win souls 1 ' " I have been directed this forenoon to read in Mr. Trail on The Throne of Grace, Heb. iv. last verse ; a text that has sometimes been sweet and pleasant to me, but I think never more sweet than this day. I bless the Lord who directed that honest man to preach and write on this blessed subject; and I bless the Lord that brought his book to my band, and that directed me to read it this day. I read some of it with tears of joy. — E. Erskine, 1721. [Erskine himself afterwards wrote " The Full Assurance of Faith, opened and applied" — from the same text.] The whole Works of the late Mr. Robert Trail. 8 Vols. These include : — Sermons on John xvii.. The Stedfast Adher- ence, Letter on the London Controversy, etc. His works have been deservedly esteemed by Christians of all denominations. " Select Practical Writings " were published by the F. C. Com- mittee in 1845. Vindication of the Protestant Doctrine of Justification AND of its first PrEACHERS AND PrOFESSORS FROM THE UNJUST CHARGE OF Antinomianism. LoTidon, 1692. In 1692 a controversy arose among the dissenting ministers in London somewhat similar to that about the Marrow of Modern Divinity. In that controversy Trail was honoured to defend, along with some other distin- guished ministers, the same important truths for which Boston and the other Marrowmen so zealously contended. See Anderson, "Martyrs of the Bass," p. 228. 378 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. WILLIAM CARSTARES, Principa], Edinburgh, 1649-1715. Son of the Rev. John Carstares, Glasgow. Examined in con- nection with the Rye-House Plot, but refused to give information. He was confined in irons, and twice put to torture, after which he made a judicial declaration. The P. C. published a statement, which he declared to be false and mutilated. In violation, too, of their promise the P. C. produced the evidence in court against Baillie of Jerviswood. Carstares was the father of the Revolution Settlement. After the Revolution he was presented with the "thumbikins" with which he had been tortured. He was chosen chaplain to King William, and on his death in 1703 was appointed Principal of the University of Edinburgh. One of the most remarkable men of that great age. He united great scholastic attainments with great aptitude for civil business, and the firm faith and ardent zeal of a martyr, with the shrewdness and suppleness of a consummate politician. — Macaulay. Carstares' integrity has been unquestioned ; and among the many- dubious and treacherous men of this restless age he remained firm and honest. — Burton. The good and great Mr. William Carstares, high favourite of King William and of his Cabinet Council for Scots' affairs : the Jacobites and ill-afiected lords for this called him the Cardinal. He surely was one of the greatest clergymen ever embellished any church; often Moderator of General Assemblies; full of piety and Christian charity. — Coltness Collections, p. 78. Unfortunately Principal Carstares was at the helm of affairs, and, though few men had a more blameless career and died more lamented, he was not made of the strong resolute stuff of the old Reformers, for he yielded to what he thought was a stern necessity [restoration of patronage, 1712] and sacrificed the liberties of the people. — J. L. Watson, ^'The Erskines," p. 87. The Scottish Toleration Argued. Land., 1712. State Papers and Letters addressed to William Carstares. Published with an account of his life by Principal M'Cormick, St. Andrews, in 1774. For original Letters extracted from the autographs among the Dunlop MSS., see Wod., TV., 516. William Carstares : A Character and Career of the Revolutionary Epoch. 1874. By Rev. R. H. Story, D.D., Rosneath. The writer gives us interesting glimpses of Covenanting worthies, — John Carstares, Robert Baillie, Baillie of Jerviswood, Argyll, as well as the great Presbyterian ''Cardinal" himself. The earliest notice of the Principal is contained in a letter from his father, who was at the time in prison : — " Charge Will from me to make earnest seeking of God, and to be diligent at his books." Dr. Story does injustice to the memory of his hero when he identifies him with the Moderates of later days. They and he had nothing in THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. Zl^ common. These on the contrary were the representatives of the men who persecuted the Principal's worthy father, and who put the thumbkins upon himself. EEV. WILLIAM VEITCH, Dumfries, 1640-1720. He was the youngest son of the Rev. John Yeitch, Lanark. Fled to England after Pentland, and defied every attempt to apprehend him. From a hole on the highest peak of Carter Fell he sallied forth at night to hold religious services. Many a wild adventure he had to tell at the quiet fireside of his manse in Dumfries after 1688. He was seized with his last illness when attending the Commission of Assembly in Edinburgh. Turning to the ministers and friends who were with him he said, '' Passen- gers for glory, how far think you am I from the new Jerusalem ] " " Not far, sir," replied one of them. Memoirs of Mr. William Yeitch, Minister of the Gospel; Containing a short account of his extraction and relations; and of several remarkable Providences, and singular deliverances he was trysted with in Scotland, England, and Holland, where he travelled and preached twenty-two years, being forfeited life and fortune; also the time he preached in Whitton Meeting-house near Kelso three years, in the time of King James his liberty ; after that settled four years in Peebles ; and then more than twenty years at Dumfries : in all above fifty years. In " Memoirs of Veitch and Brysson," edited by Thomas M'Crie, D.D. For Diary of Mrs. Veitch see "Memoirs of Veitch, Hog, etc." Two Sermons preached before his Majestie's High Com- missioner AND the Estates of Parliament. By the appointment of the provincial Synod of Lothian and Tweeddale. Upon Sabbath, the 7th May, 1693. Unto which is subjoined the Sermon preached at the opening of the Synod, May 2, 1693. By Mr. William Veitch, minister of Peebles. From Haggai ii. 4,"and Col. iv. 17. Edin., 1693. GEOKGE BRYSSON, Merchant, Edinburgh, 1649-1721. The MS. containing an account of his life fell into the hands of William Whyte, publisher, Edinburgh, a lineal descendant. Dr. M'Crie edited and published the memoir in 1825. Memoirs of Mr. William Yeitch and George Brysson. Brysson's Memoir is by far the best written of the whole ; and indeed it appears to me to be a masterpiece of the kind for unafi'ected simplicity, and the natural picturesque in historical description. — Dr. M^Crie. 380 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. JOHN SPREULL, M.A., Town-Clerk, Glasgow, 1615-1687. Imprisoned in 1660 for refusing to subscribe the bond contain- ing a condemnation of the Western Remonstrance. Afterwards banished for nonconformity. He returned from Holland to be sent to the Bass in 1683. See "Life of Blair," p. 365 ; "The Bass Rock," p. 369. Some Remarkable Passages of the Lord's Providence TOWARDS Mr. John Spreull, Town-Clerk of Glasgow, 1635-1664, Stevenson, JEdin., 1832. The day after the ministers were seized in Edinburgh (August, 24, 1660) the committee of estates issued a proclamation prohibiting and discharging all unlawful meetings and conventicles, and all seditious petitions and remonstrances. On the 14th of September by order of the committee John Graham, Provost, and John Spreull, town-clerk of Glasgow, who had been reckoned favourers of the Remonstrance, were imprisoned in Edinburgh tolbooth. — Brown's " History of Olasgotv," p. 131. JOHN SPEEULL, Glasgow, "Bass John," 1646-1722. An apothecary in Glasgow, intercommuned and twice tortured. Indicted in 1681 on the charge of treason for alleged accession to the insurrection at Bothwell. A verdict of "not proven" was returned, yet on pretext of being present at conventicles he was fined £500 stg., and imprisoned in the Bass for six years. He was the last prisoner released. From his long continuance in the Bass, he got (says Wodrow) "the compellation of Bass John Spreull, whereof he need not be ashamed." The Duke of '^ork said he was " more dangerous than five hundred common people." He was "a genuine representative of the high-principled, hard- headed Scot of the Revolution times." His brother James was a man like-minded. He was put to the horn, and had to live in hiding in a chamber betwixt two walls in his father's house in Paisley. There he erected a bed ; he had food supplied through a hatch in a chamber above. See Wylie's " Scots Worthies," p. 799. Miscellaneous Writings of John Spreull, (commonly CALLED Bass John) with some papers relating to his History. Edited by John William Burns, Glasgow. Prefixed is Bass John's portrait, from a painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller. One of the pamphlets reprinted is entitled " The Representation of John Spreull in reference to a seat in his parish church." In it he exhibits no mean aptitude for ecclesiastical controversy. More interesting is the pamphlet on the relations of the trade of Scotland with other countries. In this he censures the vanity that depreciates anything that is made at home, and inveighs against the humour that values nothing unless it has come from England or afar. Speaking of trade he has much to say that is worth listening to ; on the matter of the true greatness of a country he says: "I pray you, is it not in the multitude of men and good and grave counsels that the strength and safety of a nation consist ? " THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 381 EEV. GILBERT EULE, Principal, Edinburgh, 1629-1701. Regent in the University of Glasgow ; afterwards minister of Alnwick. Ejected 1662. In 1679 he became indulged minister at Prestonkirk. Imprisoned three months in the Bass for bap- tising the child of a niece at the desire of the parish minister. Dr. Pitcairn, a violent Jacobite, has endeavoured to ridicule his scholarship, introducing him in his " Comedy " as Mr, Salathiel Little-sense, but his published works form the best refutation of the charge. He was a true blue Presbyterian of the old school, maintaining the principle of popular election, and holding it to be binding jure divine — on scriptural grounds. See " Bass Rock," p. 291. Those who wish to understand fully the controversy between the two rival forms of ecclesiastical polity would do well to peruse the pages of such men as Principal Paile at Edinburgh; Professor Jameson at Glasgow; Mr. Anderson at Dumbarton; and Principal Forrester at St. Andrews.— Bev. Robert Burns, D.D. Modest Answer to Dr. Stillingfleet's Irenicum. By a Learned Pen. Land., 1680. This was Rule's answer to Stillingfleet, who urged that no particular form of church government was laid down in the ]Sew Testament. Nine years after this, "A Rational Defence of Nonconformity," in reply to Dr. Stillingfleet's unreasonableness of separation, appeared from Rule's pen. Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland. 1687. He also wrote "Vindication of the Purity of Gospel Worship," which was directed against the English-Popish ceremonies, "Discourse of Sup- pressing Immorality and Promoting Godliness," "Animadversions on Stillingfleet's Irenicum," etc, A Vindication of the Church of Scotland : being an Answer to a Paper entitled, Some Questions con- cerning Episcopal and Presbyterial Government, etc Edin., 1691. The same year Rule, by appointment of the General Assembly, wrote "A Second Vindication of the Church of Scotland" in reply to five pamphlets, and followed this up in 1694 by "A Defence of the Vindication in answer to the Apology of the Clergy of Scotland." A Just and Modest Reproof of a Pamphlet entitled Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence. 1693. The Good Old Way Defended, in support of Presbytery against the attempts of a. M., D.D. Edin.^ 1697. This defence was against the writings of Dr. Munro, Principal of Edinburgh College. " One of the first things the Presbyterian 382 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. theologians had to address themselves to with Presbyterianism again in power," says Dr. James Walker, " was the defence of their Church government against Episcopalian attacks." Gilbert Rule in his " Good Old Way " has answered all the arguments in favour of the contrary view of the subject in "The Fundamental Charter."— J/' Crie, ''Scot. Ch.,'' p. 50. The parity of the clergy is insisted upon at great length by Forrester against Bishop Sage, and with special ability by Principal Rule in " The Good Old Way." — Rev. J. Macpherson. The Cypeianick Bishop Examined and found not to be a Diocesan, nor to have superior power to a Parish Minister or Presbyterian Moderator; Being an answer to John Sage's Principles of the Cyprianick Age ; together with an appendix in answer to a railing preface to a book entitled, The Fundamental Charter of Presbytery. Edin., 1696. — Sage was a man of learning, and a stout defender of Episcopacy, but found in Gilbert Rule a foeman worthy of his steel. There was no theologian alive in Scotland at the era of the Revolution whose writings have been admitted into the current theological literature of the world. Except the comparatively obscure productions of Fraser of Brea, Gilbert Rule, and Alexander Pitcairn, there are no works of that period in divinity written by Presbyterian clergymen, which their theo- logical representatives at the present day would care to read. On the other side, Bishop Sage acquired an indistinct celebrity by his " Cyprianic Age," and other elaborate and tedious arguments in the great controversy of Presbyterianism and Episcopacy, but known more to the collectors of the curious. — Principal Lee, D.D. REV. THOMAS FORRESTER, Principal, St. Andrews. He was curate of Alva, but having become convinced, through reading Brown's Apologetical Narration, of the evil of Prelacy, he quitted his charge about 1674, and became a zealous noncon- formist and conventicle preacher. For the troubles which befel him see Wod., II., 252. After the Revolution he was made Principal of the New College, St. Andrews. He became one of the ablest advocates of Presbyterianism. See Wod. Anal., III., 11; "Babell," p. 65. Rectius Instruendum; or, a Review and Examination of the Doctrine presented by one assuming the name of AN Informer, in Three Dialogues, with a certain Doubter upon the controverted points of Episco- pacy AND the Covenants, etc. 1684. " The monstrous dragon of Erastian Prelacy," Forrester says, " hath charmed the nation into ane amazing stupidity." It is a work of remarkable vigour, and meriting something better than the comparative obscurity into which it has fallen. the literature of the covenant. 383 The Hierarchical Bishop's Claim to a Divine Right Tried at the Scripture Bar. Fdin., 1699. This is Forrester's principal work on the Presbyterian contro- versy. In it he examines at length the reasonings of Dr. Scott in the second part of his "Christian Life," the "Inquiry into the new opinions chiefly propagated by the Presbyterians in Scotland"— a work published by Dr. Alexander Munro, who had been Principal of the college of Edinburgh up to the Pcevolution — and the "Survey of Kaphtali " by Andrew Honeyman. In these men, especially the first two, Mr. Forrester had no ordinary antagonists, and in his reply to each of them in succession he has brought to bear upon the argument a vigour of mind and an extent of learning worthy of the subject. — i)r. Eobert Burns. Review and Consideration of Two Pamphlets. 1st, Queries to the Presbyterians of Scotland ; 2nd, A Querie turned into an Argument in favour of Episcopacie ; with counter- queries and considerations upon Church government, in Answer to Bishop Sages Confutation of Bishop Sage's Vindication of the Pretended Principles of the Cyprian age. 1706. The ruling eldership is defended most successfully also by Forrester against contemporary objectors in his " Review," pp. 173-178, and m his ^^Confutation of Sage's Principles," pp. 2Zl-2SS.—Bev. John Macpherson, ** Presbyter ianism." PEOFESSOR WILLIAM JAMESON, Glasgow. A native of Barochan in Killallan (Houston). He was born blind, but became a prodigy of learning. He was Professor of ecclesiastical history in Glasgow College from 1712 to 1720. One of the acutest and most learned defenders of the Presbyterian system against Bishop Sage and others. Sage was minister in Glasgow, but outed at the Revolution. Nazianzeni Querela et Yotum Justum ; or, The Funda- mentals OF the Hierarchy examined and Disproved. Glasg., 1697. In reply to Dr. Munro. This and that which follows, "learned and able books." See Dr. Walker's " Scottish Theology," p. 25. Cyprianus Isotimus. 1705. A confutation of Sage's Vindication of the Principles of the Cyprianic age. The Sum of the Episcopal Controversy as it is pleaded FROM THE Holy Scriptures. Edin., 1712. The same with additions was republished in Glasgow in 1713. Jameson was also the author of Verus Patrodus, a work on Quakerism ; Eoma Racoviana, in which the subtle connections between Romanism and Ritualism are pointed out, etc. 384 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. EEV. JOHN ANDERSON, M.A., Dumbarton. His son was the Rev. James Anderson, minister of Bosneath) and his grandson Professor John Anderson, the founder of the Andersonian University, Glasgow, who died in 1796. A Defence of the Church-Government, Faith, Worship, AND Spirit of the Presbyterians. Glasgow, 1714. In answer to a late book entitled "An Apology for Mr. Thomas Rhind; or, An Account of the manner how, and the reasons for which he separated from the Presbyterian party and embraced the communion of the Church. — Anderson's magnum opus. In 1710 he wrote "A Dialogue between a Curat and a Countrey-man concerning the English service, or Common Prayer Book of England," in which in opposition to &^age he proved that the liturgy which had been used bj' the lirst Scottish Reformers for at least seven years after the overthrow of Popery was not the English liturgy, but that used by the English Church at Geneva. In 1711 appeared a "Second Dialogue." Previous to this Mr. Anderson had published several smaller pieces. But in this larger work he handles the whole question in a masterly style of wit and learning, which has been seldom equalled and never surpassed. — IPCrie, '^ Scot. Ch.,^^ p. Jf.Jf.8. REV. ALEXANDER HAMILTON, Airth, 1662-1738. Reared amidst the troubles of the Covenanting times. When a student at Edinburgh he climbed the Netherbow Port under cover of the darkness, and took down from a pike the head of James Guthrie the martyr. After labouring in Airth for 26 years he was translated to Stirling. There he lighted upon one of Guthrie's sermons. See p. 323. Ebenezer Erskine became his neighbour in 1731. A Short Catechism concerning the Three Special Divine Covenants, etc. Edin.^ 1714. Principal Hadow having had a friendly correspondence with him, from 1710 to 1712 was aware of his love for the free and full Gospel, and of his disapproval of the orthodoxy of that date, which insisted that the Covenant of Grace is oflfered to hearers of the Gospel on certain terms, and that it is "a mutual covenant containing stipulation and re-stipulation. " The form of the correspondence was an examination of a Catechism by Mr. Hamilton. — Rev. D. C. Agnew. [See Sermons in Times of Persecution (Kerr) p. 612]. The Testimony and Contendings of the Rev. Mr. Alex- ander Hamilton against the violent Settlement of Mr. James Mackie in St. Ninians. 1736. This pamphlet of 108 pages is usually bound up with other Secession documents. After Mackie's utmost efforts to gain the people to join him, and "his shortening the tables as to their usual length, he had only ten tables slackly filled, in place of 20, 23, sometimes 27 in the time of our former minister, who came among us with our own consent." THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 385 REV. THOMAS HALYBURTON, St. Andrews, 1674-1712. His father was minister of Aberdalgy — ejected in 1662. After his father's death in 1682 he went with his mother to Holland. Pressed to enter the ministry — chiefly by "worthy Mr. Shields, who did urge me with that gravity and concern that had more weight on my spirit than all that had been spoken to me." Ordained minister of Ceres in 1700. In 1710 he was appointed Professor of Divinity in St. Andrews. At his own request he was buried beside Rutherford. Dr. Fraser of Kennoway wrote a memoir. The subject of it cannot, in strictness, be called a Covenanter; but he arose immediately after these men; he was cradled and educated amidst the jeopardies which befell them; their struggles and manner of life were fresh in his recollections ; and he was ultimately inspired with a large por- tion of their spirit. — Bev. David Young, D.D., Perth. A man of remarkable ability and fervent piety, uniting a burning heart with a power of metaphysical thought. His deathbed sayings may be put beside those of Baxter or Rutherford, or the pilgrims of Bunyan by the river's brink. One of them is, "0 blessed be God that ever I was born ! I have a father, a* mother, and ten brethren and sisters in heaven, and I shall be the eleventh. 0 blessed be the day that ever I was born ! " — JohnKer, D.D. Memoirs of the Rev. Thomas Halyburton. TI7^/i an Appendix embracing an Account of the Church of Scotland during the times of Halyburton. Dr. Young of Perth contributed a valuable Introductory Essay to the Memoirs as published by Collins, Glasgow. Dr. Burns of Paisley prefixed an Essay on his Life and Writings to a valuable edition of his works published in 1836. Than which a more powerful delineation of intense and valid spiritual experience and consciousness has never been given to the Church. — Brit, and For. Evan. Rev. T could read no books at that time that were not religious; and Halyburton's " Memoirs " (a celebrated Covenanting divine still much esteemed in Scotland), with the account it contains of his triumphant deathbed, became my constant companion. — History of a Man, p. 286. This book has long been a favourite in quiet cottage homes in Scotland, and is often found on shelves beside Boston's works and Brown's Self-interpreting Bible. — Jean L. Watson. Gentlemen, there are three great books in the world — " Augustine's Life," " Halyburton's Memoirs," and Bimyan's " Pilgrim's Progress." — Dr. John Duncan. The Great Concern of Salvation. With a recommendatory Preface by I. Watts, D.D. 1722. Halyburton's most popular work, being a series of practical discourses on conviction of sin, faith in Christ, and Christian duty. 2b 386 treasury of the scottish covenant. Natural Religion Insufficient, and Revealed Necessary TO Man's Happiness. Edin., 1714. Written in confutation of the Deism of Lord Herbert and Mr. Blount — an eminently intellectual and masterly treatise, highly valued at the time, and in all the essentials of the argument incapable of being put out of date. See Dr. Walker's "Scottish Theology," p. 71. Dr. M'Cosh calls it the representative book of the age; see "Scot. Phil.," p. 111. On THE Reason of Faith, to which are added a Modest Inquiry, Whether Regeneration or Justification has the precedency in the order of Nature ; and an Inquiry into the Nature of God's Act in Justifica- tion. 1870. The "Reason of Faith," profoundly attractive and suggestive by its very title, is by far the ablest treatise in existence on the self -evidencing power, or divine self-luminousness of Holy Scripture. It is distinguished by subtilty, breadth, lucidity, brevity, and completeness ; in fact by every characteristic that marks the hand of an immortal master of a science. And the two remarkable essaj^s in relation to justification are mostly to be spoken of in the same terms. — Brit, and For. Ev, Rev. BEV. COLIN CAMPBELL, Ardchattan, 1644-1726. Son of Patrick Campbell, first laird of Barcaldine, and grandson of Sir Duncan Campbell, first baronet of Glenorchj and ancestor of the house of Breadalbane. Entered St. Andrews about the time of the Restoration. Ordained minister of Ardchattan at the age of 23 ; ministered for about 60 years. He corresponded with the Gregories of Aberdeen and Cambridge, Colin Maclaurin of Edinburgh, Bishop Burnet, Sir Isaac Newton, and Leibnitz. He strongly opposed the usurpations of Popery, while he conceded the lawfulness, in certain circumstances, of Episcopacy. There was no manse, but Campbell lived on his own small property at Achnaba on Loch Etive, within two miles of his church at the priory. In the first twenty years of Campbell's ministry he was ruled by the Bishop of Argyll in the Church of Sharp and Leighton; in the last forty by the General Assembly of the Church of Dunlop and Carstares. The revolution from Episcopacy to Presbytery does not seem to have much disturbed his meditations. In his early years at Ardchattan rumours of the Covenanting struggle must have often reached him, and afterwards news of the landing of King William, and the flight of King James, . . . — all while Campbell was ministering in the old church at the priory, corresponding with Newton and Leibnitz, or meditating and arguing about the origin of the world, the destiny of man, and the rational foundation of faith. — Prof. Eraser, LL.D. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 387 A Demonstration of the Existence of God against Atheists. The Trinity of Persons in the Unity of Essence. Edinburgh, 1876. These essays in metaphysical theology were written about two centuries ago by a long-forgotten clerical recluse in the West Highlands of Scotland, round whom a cloud of mythical tradition gathered in the neighbourhood in which he lived. This seems to be a solitary example of a Scotch parish priest, secluded in meta- physical study, whose thoughts buried in manuscript for some two hundred years were destined at last to find their way to the printer. A remarkable argumentative vigour and incisiveness, of the scholastic sort, runs through the performances, relieved here and there by a meditative vein. — Prof. Fraser, LL.D. THE LAIRD OF TORFOOT (Thomas Brownlee). A veteran Coyenanter, who was banished to America, and from whose lips the animated and graphic description of the battles of Drumclog and Bothwell was taken, which appeared some years ago in an American publication, and which has found its way since into recent editions of the "Scots Worthies." Description of the Battles of Drumclog and Bothwell, BY an Officer in the Presbyterian Army. The account will be found in the appendix to M'Gavin's edition of the ** Scots Worthies," pp. 622-632. It is insex'tednot so much "as containing the actual history of the events to which they relate," but "as specimens of historical painting, as a description of facts all of which mighf, and many of which we know, did take place on the occasions." W. C. B. maintains the harmony of the narrative with family tradition, particularly with the statements of a venerable aunt, who died in Pennsylvania, and who was the granddaughter of the Laird's second son. The Laird's desciiption of the manly prowess, the generosity, and cheerful devotion of the Covenanters presents a most striking con- trast to Sir Walter Scott's picture in his tale of " Old Mortality." There appears much more verisimilitude in the tale as told by the Covenanter, than in that of the novelist. The integrity of the American editor seems to be placed beyond all question. — T. M'Crie, LL.D. JAMES TIRE of Shargarton, Kippen, -1716. He Bgured prominently at Bothwell, took a leading part in defending the Bridge, and recommended moderation in the disputes of the time. For interesting biographical notices see M'Crie's "Memoirs of Veitch and Brysson." 388 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Narrative of the Rising at Bothwell Bridge. By James Ure of Shargarton. See Memoirs of Veitch and Brysson, p. 455. In the MS. the title is as follows: "A true relation of the late affairs in the West, given by a person of very good credit, who was eare and eye witnesse and actor in the westland forces. This is Shergetoun's account." DAVID HACKSTON of EatbiUet, Fife, -1680. Converted while attending the field preachings. Became one of the most resolute of the Covenanters. Refused to take part in the assassination of Sharp on Magus Moor. He had the command of the Covenanters at Airsmoss and was taken prisoner. " The lingering and barbarous death inflicted by the orders of the Council upon Hackston cannot now be put into type with proper regard to feeling." For the " programme of his execution," see Dr. Story's " Carstares," p. 59. Account of the Skirmish at Airsmoss, 1680. Inserted in Wodrow (III., 219.), and in appendix to Blackie's edition of the '' Scots Worthies." PATKICK WALKER, Pedlar, Edinburgh. After having been imprisoned in Edinburgh and Dunnottar, examined eighteen times, and subjected to torture in the boots and thumbkins, he opened a small shop at Bristo Place, Edinburgh, about 1727, for the sale of religious and covenanting tracts. It was while here that he published the memoirs which make up the interesting work entitled "Biographia Presbyteriana.' See "Cloud" (Thomson's), p. xvi. Along with this literary growth of persecution and controversy [literature of bewailment, remonstrance and castigation, as shown in the various testimonies of the sufferers, and their declamations against tyranny] is another of a sadder and sweeter character in the histories of those who suffered for the cause of conscience in the long dreary age of persecution. It required no literary merit to give interest to such narratives, and none came to the task. The best of them were written by a pedlar, whose unadorned descriptions of suffering and heroism convey a lesson to the heart which no genius or learning could strengthen. — Burton. Biographia Presbyteriana. Yol. I., containing the Lives of the Rev. Mr. Alexander Peden, the Rev. Mr. John Semple, the Rev. Mr. John Wellwood, and the Rev. Mr. Richard Cameron, by Patrick Walker. Yol. II., containing the Lives of the Rev. Mr. Donald Cargill, and Mr. Walter Smith, by Patrick Walker; and the Rev. Mr. James Renwick, by the Rev. Alex. Shields. Edinburgh : D. Speare and J. Stevenson. 1827. Give us, for our abstractions, solid facts — For our disputes, plain pictures. — Wordsworth. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 389 WILLIAM WILSON, Schoolmaster, Douglas. A native of Ireland ; poet, and historian in a humble way. He is said to have been a good specimen of the David Deans type of Covenanter. He was long an active member of the Societies, but withdrew in 1743, when he published "The Testimony Deserted, or a plain discovery of the defec- tions and self-inconsistencies that Mr. John M'Millan and the people in communion with him are guilty of; with the reasons for which the true Presbyterians of the Covenanted Church of Scotland cannot own Mr. M'Millan for their minister." His Testimony extends to 170 pages in Calderwood's collection. See Thomson's " Martyr Graves," I., 162. Relation of the PasiNG at Bothwell Bridge. Glasgovj, 1797. The narrative is tinged with considerable party prejudice, notwithstand- ing the writer informs us it was compiled from twelve different MSS., written by persons of great integrity, all of them members of the council of war. He throws the blame on John Welsh of Irongray and his friends, whom he nicknames Erastians. The truth is eighteen ministers were pre- sent, but not one of them had approved of the indulgence. Sixteen of them had condemned the Erastianism of the indulgence, but they were not prepared to exclude from the ranks brethren who had accepted it. Some Select Meditations in Spiritual Songs. 1759. Wilson penned the inscription for the tomb of Rutherford. He also wrote " News from Abbotshall." For Letter to Patrick Walker see Biog. Presb., I., 323. A Choice Collection of very valuable Prefaces, Lectures, AND Sermons. J3i/ James Penwick. 2 vols. 1748. Collected by Wilson entirely from notes taken down by hearers. The volume has been often reprinted. See p. 361. A COLLECTION. A Collection of the Dying Testi3ionies of some holy and pious Christians who lived in Scotland before and since the Pevolution. Kilmarnock, 1806. Edited and prefaced by John Calderwood of Clantin, Fenwick, who latterly became a non-hearer. See Thomson's "Martyr Graves," I., 148. The following names are contained in the list : — E. Mel vine, James Howie, Isobel Wright, James Masson, Rachel Black, Jean Irvine, Robert Currie, John Currie, Janet Hanna, John Wilson, Thomas M'Millan, John Clark, John Boyd, Robert Knox, Janet M'Ginnies, Jean Stiel, Sir R. Hamilton, James Carmichael, John Mathison, John Millar, William Short, James Mundel, R. Smith, Hugh Dickie, Robert Wallace, William Smith, James Ferguson, Wm. Wilson, John Hamilton, and a Society of Young Children. An excellent little treasury of this kind of literature, besides Walker's well-know Lives of Worthies is to be found in "A Collection of the Dying Testimonies, etc." This collection, evidently a reprint, is full of quaintnesses and oddities beyond the reach of caricature or even mimicry. I remember the extreme interest taken by Macaulay in this curious book. The copy of it 390 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. here quoted was given to me by a friend and schoolfellow since departed — the Rev. George Roger. As the accepted leader of the synod of United Original Seceders, he was the professed repre- sentative of the old Covenanters, and in learning and honest zeal he was a fitting example of the high and purer elements of their nature. — Burton, IX., 4^9. The Swan Song; or, the Dying Testimony op that old FLOURISHING AND GREAT CHRISTIAN, PRINCELY WrESTLER with HIS Master, and valiant Contender for Christ's Truths and Rights, and Roy^al Prerogatives, — James Mass ON. One of the worthies whose lives are celebrated in the preceding Collection. On the Covenant, Masson thus writes : — When I heard it first mentioned I thought my heart flyhtered within me for joy. Then thereafter several times I took it as at Dumfries, Penpont, Kirkmaho, and Iron Gray, etc., which I never rued to this day, and hopes never to do. 0 what shall I speak to the commendation of these Covenanters ! If they were then glorious and bright I believe that they shall be nine times as bright. And 0 the sweet times of covenanting ! I had likewise communion in those days when the Church was in her purity, and the Lord shined on her ; and in other places at the preaching of His Word which I cannot now tell over, being past my memory. But the back-looking to them now and then does not a little refresh my soul, as at Lockenhilt and Shalloch burn, where, besides the sweet manifesta- tions of Himself to my soul and the souls of many others that were present He was felt to be a wall cf fire round about us, defending us from our enemies. The association with the places where peculiar sentiments crossed their high-wrought imaginations, is a remarkable and interesting peculiarity of the experiences of the early Covenanters. Their wild, perilous life as dwellers out of doors, encountered, as it was, on the grounds of high principle and not in pursuit of some clownish occupation, appears to have made them singularly susceptible to the topical association which is so distinct a feature of meditative minds. They seem to have felt it without expressing its sentiment, and James Masson had evidently a good deal of the Wordsworth in him though he could not pen his inspiration so well, and perhaps would not have desired to do so. Sometimes, however, these meditations assume unconsciously a rich poetical eloquence, as for instance, — O the joyful seasons I have sometimes had sitting under Christ's shadow in His banqueting house of wine, feeding and feasting my soul upon the hidden royal rarities of heaven in such abundance, as evanished all Eense of spiritual want, and satisfied my soul to the full with the hidden manna, the fatness of His house and the rivers of His pleasures, which had such a sweet relish and such a cheering virtue as often caused me, in the midst thereof, to break into heavenly songs of joy and melody. — Quoted in Burtorts History. the literature of the covenant. 391 Christian Life Two Hundred Years ago. The Experiences OF James Waddel of Holhouseburn. With Introductory Note by John Ker, D.D. 1875. Valuable as a record of the man and the times (1660-1729). The Experiences are mainly taken up with a record of the Lord's dealings with his soul. Dr. Ker's introduction is a gem; " while the graceful biographic note prefixed, and dated 'Crofthead House, May 27, 1875,' reveals the source of the careful editing, as they also recall the figure and tone of a descendant not long gone, to whom the name and the spirit of the old Covenanter had come down ; and to whom with all his reverence for antiquity the blood of the Vere de Veres was as nothing compared with that of Old Holhouseburn." The Life of Alexander Reid. Written by his great-grandson, whom Dr. Burns, in his preliminary dissertation to Wodrow, speaks of as the " very intelligent editor of the life of Alexander Reid." Life of James Mitchell of Dykes, Ardrossan. Glasgow, 1759. A most godly youth, son of the factor to the Earl of Egliuton. Born in 1621, he was educated for the ministry, but died in 1643. Honest John Howie, who gives him a niche in his " Scots Worthies," mentions as among the predisposing causes to his illness, "extreme abstinence — drinking of water. " The Believer's Farewell to the AVorld ; Or, an Elegie on the Death of that much honoured, truly worthy and religious gentleman, Sir Robert Hamilton, son to Sir Thomas Hamilton of Preston, who died October 21, 1701. An Account of the Particular Soliloquies and Covenant Engagements, Past betwixt Mrs. Janet Hamilton, the defunct Lady of Alexander Gordon of Earlstoun, ETC., ivhich icere found in her Cabinet among her Papers after her Death at Earlstoun, February 26, 1696. AVod. Sel. Biog., L, 495. This was one of the females of rank who bravely suffered in the times of persecution. She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Hamilton of Preston; born in 1653, and married in 1676 to Sir Alexander Gordon of Earlston — a member of a family that suffered much in the cause of civil and religious liberty. The father of Sir Alexander was slain on his way to Bothwell in 1679. The son's sufferings in the Bass, in Blackness, and on the conti- nent were shared by Lady Earlston. The interesting account of Lady Earlston's suffering ancestors, as well as of the collateral descendants of the Preston family — the oldest cadet branch of the ducal house of Hamilton — well deserves perusal by every lover of the cause of Scotland's "Covenanted Church." It will be found in Anderson's "Memoirs;" and, we have no doubt, was drawn up princi- pally by the present highly respectable representative of the family of Preston and Fingalton. — Christian Instructor, 1830. 392 treasury of the scottish covenant. The Memoirs of Walter Pringle of Greenknow; or, Some FEW of the free MERCIES OF GOD TO HIM, AND HIS WILL TO HIS CHILDREN, LEFT TO THEM UNDER HIS HAND. Wocl Sel. Biog., I., 411. Walter Pringle was married to a daughter of George Pringle of Tor- woodlee, "a gentleman of fine spirit, and singularly religious," tried in 16S5 for his share in the Rye-House Plot, and outlawed. These *' Memoirs" give us an insight into the principles and the spirit which carried many a family, poor as well as distinguished, through the hot trials of persecution in Scotland. A Rare Soul-strengthening and Comforting Cordial for Old and Young Christians : Being an exact account of the author's experience in the following particulars : I. An account of some exercises of soul. II. What strange and remarkable providences he was trysted with. III. Some texts which have been the subject-matter of sweet meditation, etc. By John Stevenson, land-labourer in the Parish of Daily in Carrick, who died in the year 1728. See Wod. Sel. Biog. This Comforting Cordial has been printed in many forms. It was long popular among the peasantry of the west. He was the most eminently pious man I ever knew, adorned with all the Christian graces and virtues. His life was a life of prayer, meditation, and holiness. — Will Cupples, Minister of Kirkoswald, May 20, 1729. Memoir of Mrs. Goodall. Written hy Herself. Wod. Sel. Biog., II., 479. Printed for the first time from a manuscript in the Advocates' Library. It exhibits the steadfastness with which all classes adhered to principle in trying times. The Last Words of the Lady Coltness, who died, or rather ENTERED INTO EtERNAL LiFE AND GlORY, Ju7ie 8, 1675. Wod. Sel. Biog., IL, 494. Lady Stewart of Coltness was the daughter of Mr. John Eliot, a younger brother of Eliot of Stobs. She became the wife of Thomas, eldest son of Sir James Stewart of Kirkfield and Coltness, a zealous friend of the Cove- nant. See "Coltness Collections," Maitland Club. Thomas was created a baronet by William III. in 1698. Never did any end their days with more distinguished marks of a divine work of happy faith and assurance. She had been a saint indeed all her life long, but she finished her course gloriously. — Coltness Collectioiis. A Relation of My Lady Anne Elcho, about her being Burnt, February 17, 1700. By the Rev. Thomas Haly- burton. Wod. Sel. Biog., II., 509. Lady Anne Douglas was the daughter of the Duke of Queensberry, and was married in 1685 to the Earl of Wemyss. *' Pvcligion added a lustre to her highly cultivated mind, and supported her till she finished her earthly to take possession of a heavenly life. " Choice Sentences of Emilia Geddie. Glasgow, 1720. Pious journals were very common among the Presbyterians, and many of them were printed, although in many cases it was never intended by the journalists that their records should come before the critical eye. the literature of the covenant. 393 Memoirs, or Spiritual Exercises of Elizabeth West. Glasgoio, 1757. A pious waiting- woman of Edinburgh and a wonderful follower of the preachers, particularly of James Kirkton. She mentions his disapprobation of a book which M'as a great favourite with the curates, " The Whole Duty of Man." " This eminent servant of Christ showed," she remarks, " that the whole duty of man consisted in receiving Christ." Life and Experiences of Marion Laird, an unmarried woman IN Greenock. Glasgoic, 178L Buckle speaks of her as a tortured victim of the doctrines enunciated by the clergy. — Mason, '■'■Libraries,'' p. I40. Passages in the Lives of Helen Alexander and James Currie. Printed for family use. 1869. By Sir Charles U. Aitchison, Her Majesty's Chief Commissioner in British Burmah, a descendant. Helen Alexander gives the following interesting facts: "Married in the year 1687, November 30th, by the worthy Mr. James Renwick. And when Mr. Renwick was execute I went and saw him in prison; and I said to him : ' Ye will get the white robes;' and he said, 'And palms in my hands.' And when he was execute I went into the Greyfriars' Yard, and I took him in my arms till his clothes were taken off, and I helped to wind him before he was put in the cotiin. ' The Country-Man's idea of a Gospel Minister held forth in the following Preface and Funeral Oration on the Death of that faithful Minister of Christ, Mr. Roderick Mackenzie. March 17, 1700. Roderick Mackenzie was minister of Avoch in Ross. The testimony of the writer is to this effect: "Your bishops were sadly corrupted, and became a hissing and a by-word in the land. And when once they got in how they did hector and domineer over their clergy in their synods and assemblies, and called everything Presbyterian that looked like piety and strictness of living." In further proof of this, refer to sermon preached by Professor Ross, before the Circuit Court of Justiciary at Glasgow in October, 1684. The dedication is to the judges ; the WTiter says the "incomparable zeal and dexterity whereby they managed the Court was incredibly to the advantage of a decayed religion and loyalty in that corner." CLOUD OF WITNESSES. The "Cloud of Witnesses" and the "Soots Worthies " have a thrilling interest, which will not allow them to be overlooked or lightly esteemed in any age. The Scottish Martyrs will ever be remembered with admiration of what they were and endured, and with gratitude for the precious bequest which they left to us, and to all generations of their countrymen ; and those authentic records, that were as closely contemporary with them as any true account could in the circumstances of the times be, and that contain their sufferings and their dying words as reported by eye and ear witnesses, will partake of their immortality. They come to us from the martyrs, scarcely less immediately than if they had been their garments or other scaffold relics ; while — what no such remembrancers can do — they detail to us the lives and deaths of the heroic men. The two books have the spirit and style of the noble Covenanting period ; and we like better to see our martyrs so commemorated, than in a more modern style or spirit. We do not deny that sometimes we meet Mith the assertion of 394 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. questionable principles, and the commendation of mistaken procedure ; but readers have ample precautions against being misled by such errors. The composition is far from elegant ; but students of rhetoric may go elsewhere. We should as soon desire to see the rude rhymes that have been carved on the humble stones erected to the memory of the martyrs in lonely moors, displaced by the finest epitaphs which Poet-Laureate Tennyson could offer, as we would wish to exchange the homely vigour and earnestness of those two memorial volumes for the most exquisite narrative which modern literature could produce. The poor lines on the tombstones have for ages moved the passers by with such emotions as the genius of Tennyson never excited ; and those passers by, who were either single or in small bands, would, if gathered together, form a vast multitude of the best men and women whom Scotland has raised; so, too, the "Scots Worthies " and the " Cloud of Witnesses " have been read by hundreds of thousands with a far deeper and intenser sympathy than the most eloquent historian could awaken. — United Presbyterian Magazine, 1872. A Cloud of Witnesses for the Royal Prerogatives of Jesus Christ ; or, The last speeches and Testimonies OF those who have suffered for the truth in Scotland, since the year 1680. Together with AN Appendix containing the Queen's-Ferry Paper, Torwood Excommunication, A Relation concerning Mr. R. Cameron, Mr. D. Cargil and H. Hall; and an Account of those who were killed without process OF Law and banished to foreign lands : With a Short view of some of the oppressive Exactions. Rev. \ii. 14. Cyj)T. Epist. 9. Erat ante in operibus Fratrum Candida ecclesia ; nunc facta est in Cruore Martyrum 'purpurea: Floribus ejus nee Rosoi desunt, nee Lilia. Printed in the year 17 IJ^. The collecting of the narratives of the sufferings of the Cove- nanters was resolved upon by the society people in 1699. It resulted in the "Cloud," which appeared in 1714, without the name of compiler, printer, or publisher. Copies of this edition are not uncommon — (no copy of the second edition is known to exist). Tiie title-page was in red and black letter. A facsimile appears in the fine edition of the work, published by Johnstone, Hunter, & Co., edited by the Rev. J. H. Thomson of Hightae. The title seems to have been derived directly from Scripture, yet it is noticeable than an earlier work by William Perkin bears a somewhat similar name: — " Cloud of Faithful Witnesses leading to the Heavenly Canaan, 1608." The "Cloud" superseded "Naphtali" (p. 375), and "Samson's Riddle" (p. 331). The second edition was published in 1720, the third in 1730, and the fourth in 1741. This last gives for the first time the Testimonies of John Nisbet, younger, John Nisbet, of Hardhill, Robert Millar, Thomas Harkness, the letters of John Semple and Archibald Stewart, and the epitaph of Rullion Green. The fifth edition was published in Glasgow in 1751; the eighth in Edinburgh in THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 395 1765 ; a tenth at Aberdeen in 1778, and another tenth the same year in Glasgow. The fifteenth edition, enlarged and corrected (Glasgow, 1814), contained the following additional matter to that of 1741 : — Paper fonnd on Cameron at Airsmoss, Testimony of John Finlay, Kilmarnock, and epitaphs upon the gravestones of Rutherford, John Well wood, and others. Minute of the United Societies, April 5th, i^.9c9.— That all the respective Societies send an index of all the late martyrs' testimonies not in "Naphtali," to the next general meeting. [See introduction to " Cloud " (Thomson's), and "Faithful Contendings."] An undue prominence has been given to those who espoused the opinions of Cameron, while others, such as John Welsh, Baillie of Jerviswood, and many besides, who did not embrace these extreme views were passed by and denied a place among the "Scots Worthies" or in the "Cloud of Witnesses." — JSI^Crie, ^'Misc. Works," p. Soo. The Scots Worthies. Volume Second. Glasgoiv, 1839. Containing their Last Words and Dying Testimonies, embracing the whole that is to be found in Naphtali and the Cloud of Witnesses, together with others extracted from memoirs of their lives and other documents, both in old published collections and original manuscripts, the whole accompanied with His,torical Notices and Observations, explanatory and corrective, by a clergyman of the Church of Scotland, and enriched with a preface and notes by William M' Gavin. A Cloud of Witnesses. With Essay by the Rev. Stewart Bates, D.D. Glasgow, 1842. According to our own impression (the author takes leave to speak in the name of a Covenanting Church) we have been long at the forlorn hope, and although not literally alone, yet with very few companions, waving the banner of the Covenant on the hills, when the inhabitants of these lands generally had folded it up and laid it aside as an obsolete and antiquated relic of a byegone age. — Tlte Editor, p. xxxiii. A Cloud of Witnesses. With Explanatory and Historical iVotes by the Rev. John H. Thomson. 1871. A new and noble edition of this ancient Scottish Martyrology, brought out as a companion volume to the " Scots Worthies." No work can better foster the stern adherence to orthodoxy, which has been so long character- istic of our Northern brethren; its extensive circulation is peculiarly desir- able in these days of latitudinarianism. It is well that our children's children should know how cruelties abounded in Scotland in those days — " When Babel's bastard had command, And monstrous tyrants ruled the land." Alas for us who dwell south of the T\veed, the black prelacy still lords it over us, and as swiftly as it can is sweeping the whole population down to the gulf of Popery. The Protestantism of England will never be safe while a denii-semi-reformed Church remains in the ascendancy. — Spurgeon. 396 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Next to the Bible, my father's chief delight was in studying the works of our old divines. These, he was wont to say, con- tained more of the "sap and marrow of the Gospel," and had about them more of the " fragrance and flavour of paradise " than aught more recently produced. Haly burton's " Memoirs " was a prime favourite; but of all merely human productions, no one seemed to stir and animate his whole soul like the " Cloud of Witnesses," And he took special pains to saturate the minds of his children with its contents. His habit was orally to tell us of the manner in which the Papacy corrupted the Word of God, and persecuted God's people. He would show us pictures of the enginery and processes of cruel torture. He would then give some short biographical notice of one or other of the suffering worthies; and last of all, conclude with reading some striking passages in their ''last words and dying testimonies." To this early training do I mainly owe my " heart-hatred " of Popery, with any spiritual insight which I possess into its subtle and malignant genius, its unchanged and unchangeable anti-Christian virulence. And from the deep and ineradicable impressions thus produced in my own mind, I have often longed to see a greatly abbreviated edition of the " Cloud of Witnesses," for the use of the young — an edition containing pictures of the instrumentality of torture, graj^hic sketches of some of the leading martyrs, with extracts from their own heroic answers before persecuting tyrants, and still more heroic utterances in the prospect of an appalling death. To know Popery aright, its awful character ought to be laboriously spelt out of the emphatic signs and symbols of Jeho- vah's holy oracles, and its fearful effects traced, not in cold and sweeping generalities, but in the lives and sufferings of individual saints. It was in this way that my late revered father acquired his own horror of Popery, and so felt it to be a matter of con- science towards the truth of God, to instil a like horror of it into the minds of his children. Oh, that every Christian parent in Scotland would ado2:)t a similar plan, and prosecute it with similar faithfulness and earnestness of prayer ! Then might her candle continue to shine brightly amid the spiritual gloom that is fast thickening over the nations. — Alex. Dv^ff] D.D. SCOTS WORTHIES. The author of the "Scots Biography" was John Howie of Lochgoin, who died in 1793. The first edition was published in 1775; a second edition, enlarged by the author, appeared in 1781. Sir Walter Scott refers to Howie as "the fine old chronicler of the Cameronians." See Carslaw's edition of the " Scots Worthies," p. xii. Howie's book has been for upwards of a century a house- hold word, occupying a place on the shelf beside the Bible and the Pilgrim's Prosfress. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 397 No man was better fitted for the task of embalming the worthies of the Scottish Covenant in the memories of his fellow-men, for he was a staunch Cameronian ; his ancestors had suffered in the interests of the Church of Christ in Scotland, his home was the centre of the district in which many of the most tragic scenes of Scottish martyrology occurred, and besides strict adherence to truth, he had a literary power which awakens surprise and admiration. The book was a household one in the Presbyterian homes iu Scotland in its quaint early garb. We know of no book more calculated to quicken the pulse of modern Protestantism, or to give in an attractively l)iographical form the history of the Church of Scotland through the lives and doings and deaths of her noblest sons. We therefore commend it to all who wish to remember the days of former generations, or to understand the glorious work done for Scotland in his chief book by the old farmer of Lochgoin. — W. Hoioie Wylie. That John who compiled the biographical work so well known and so much esteemed by the pious in Scotland — " The Scots Worthies." He was a man of great natural vigour of mind, extensive information in rec^ard to the struggle for civil and religious freedom in Scotland; ardent, and perhaps over-scrupulous attachment to all the peculiarities of the stricter Cove- nanters, while his private character was not only blameless, but eminently distinguished by the sublime spirit of devotion. He employed a large portion of his life in collecting the relics of former times, and he succeeded in rescuing from oblivion many of the discourses and private memorials of those holy men, who, on the mountains of Caledonia, nobly sustained the sinking cause of their country's faith and freedom. — Christian Instructor 1S3S, p. 12. BlOGRAPHIA SCOTICANA : OR, A BrIEF HISTORICAL AcCOUNT OF THE Lives, Characters, and Memorable Transactions OF THE MOST EMINENT ScOTS WORTHIES; NOBLEMEN, GENTLE- MEN, MINISTERS, AND OTHERS, FROM Mr. PaTRICK HAMILTON, WHO WAS BORN ABOUT 1503, AND SUFFERED MARTYRDOM AT St. Andrews, February, 1527, to Mr. James Renwick WHO WAS executed IN THE GrASS-MaRKET OF EDINBURGH, February, 17, 1688; together with a succinct account OF THE Lives of other seven eminent divines and Sir Robert Hamilton of Preston, who died about, or shortly after, the Revolution. Collected from historical records, biographical accounts, and other authenticated writings by John Howie. Second edition. Psalm Ixxxvii. 5, Glasgow, 1781. There were among the seceders men \vhose writings were at one time to be found in the house of almost every Scottish cottar. Among these were the " Sermons " of Ralph Erskine, and the " Scots Worthies " of Howie of Lochgoin. The first of the many editions through which the latter work has passed was published in 1775, just when Moderatism had culminated ; and that it must have helped to intensify the popular dislike for Robertson's policy will be readily admitted by all who know its character. — Walker " Scot. Ch.;' p. 122. 398 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. BiOGRAPHiA ScoTiCANA. Also an Aj^pendix containing a short Historical Hint of the wicked Lives and miserable deaths of some of the most remarkable ajyostates and bloody persecutors in Scotland from the Reformation to the Revolution. Glasgoio, 1803. I should like that the appendix consisting of an account of the judg- ments executed on persecutors were omitted ; which in my opinion adds neither to the value nor the credibility of the work. — Dr. M^Grie. If Sir Walter Scott derived all his ideas, as he certainly drew all his pictures, from the writings of such as Russell the assassin, Howie of Lochgoin, Patrick Walker, or Peden's Prophecies, we might make some allowances for the unfavourable light in which they appeared to him, prejudiced aa he avowedly was against the whole body. ... It was extremely natural that the followers of this party (vSociety People or Cameronians) should have imdertaken the task of recording the lives and sayings of our Scots Worthies ; but one cannot help regretting that it should have fallen exclusively into such hands. The consequence has been that an undue prominence has been given to those who espoused the opinions of Cameron, while others, such as John Welsh, Baillie of Jerviswood, and many besides, who did not embrace these extreme views, were passed by and denied a place among the Scots Worthies, or in the Cloud of Witnesses. And another result has been that the Covenanters have imiformly availed themselves of these well-meant but ill-judged publications to ridicule the whole body of our suffering ancestors. With all their imperfections, however, these " simple annals " of the Covenanters will be read with deep interest by every pious and well-disposed reader ; and it is only such a person who will know where'and how far to make allowances for the troublous times in which our worthies lived as well as for the peculiar views of their humble but honest admirers. — Dr. M^Crie the Younger. BlOGRAPHIA SCOTICANA. 1813, This edition has a frontispiece containing a print of the various modes of torture and death to which the martyrs were subjected. The volume also contains Lord Warriston's Speech, the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, and the Trials of Argyll and Rumbold. Scots Worthies. Oriyinally compiled by John Howie of Loch- goin^ noio revised, corrected, and enlarged by a Clergyman of the Church of Scotland, and enriched with a Preface and Notes by William M'Gavin. 1816. M'Gavin's " Scots Worthies " contains the following additional names : Henry Forrest, Norman Gourlay, David Straiten, Thomas Forrest, Jerome Russell, Alexander Kennedy, Adam Wallace, John Erskine of Duu, Alex- ander Smith, Thomas Wylie, John Welsh, James Wallace, Robert Baillie of Jerviswood, John Brown, Thomas Archer, John Carstares, and John Blackadder. The memoirs of John Brown and Hugh M'Kail were from the pen of a lady and were originally published in separate form, with notes by MTxaviu. In M'Gavin's sketch of Rev. Robert Bruce mention is made of Letters to the Duke of Parma and others. These, however, were not written by him, but by a trafficking Popish priest of the same name. This is by far the best edition of this remarkable work that has ever seen the light, and with notes and an introduction by the distinguished author of "The Protestant," may be considered as a valuable accession to THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 399 the library of every man interested in the history of the Scottish Reforma- tion. He is not worthy the name of a Scot who can be indiflFerent to the story of these immortal champions. — Evanrjelical Magazine. It is to be regretted that Dr. M 'Gavin should have meddled with the *' Scots Worthies " at all. He has spoiled the simplicity of Howie's style by attempting to modernise it, and done little more than betrayed his sect- arianism by the comments he has made on the text. — M^Crie, '^ Scot. Ch.,'^ p. JS7. [Dr. M'Gavia would have allowed the Covenanters to fight for an object purely civil, but considered that because religion was so mixed up in their case they ought to have suffered meekly. See "Scots Worthies," p. 294. Dr. M'Crie the younger questions whether this is the dictate of nature or common-sense. The sword of persecution, he argues, can only reach religion through the side of our civil freedom. Before the persecutors touched the saci-ed ark of religion they trampled on civil and natural rights.] There was little serious religion among the Scottish Episco- palians of that day, with the exception of one or two, such as Archbishop Leighton of Glasgow, who became so ashamed of his surplice brethren that he left both his charge and his kingdom. The bulk of them were Arminian in doctrine, and in their lives w^ere men of the world ; some of them what even the world now would be ashamed of. Such men as these obtained dominion over Scotland for twenty-eight years. They used their power with unrelenting cruelty ; but true religion suffered no dishonour on this account, as it would have done had the Presbyterians done the same things. These last suffered persecution unparalleled in any other part of our history ; and thus they have the glory and renown of being martyrs, whereas had they obtained the estab- lishment wdiich they desired and laboured so much to obtain they would have been the persecutors, and Episcopalians the martyrs had their faith been such as to enable them to suffer for it. — William M^ Gavin. BlOGRAPHIA SCOTICANA, 2 Yols. 1833. Vol. 1 contains Memoirs of the Lives of the Worthies. Vol. 2 contains the Last Words and Dying Testimonies as found in Naphtali, Cloud of Witnesses, etc. Lives of the Scottish Covenanters. Glasgow, 1863. In this edition of M 'Gavin published by M'Phun the original text is revised and corrected throughout ; such lives as seemed to be curtailed are enlarged ; upwards of twelve sketches to be found in no previous edition are inserted, and notes are added. While in former impressions the treatise "God's Justice Exemplified" was left out, it is here inserted for the benefit of those who considered its omission a want in the book. The Scots Worthies : Their Lives and Testimonies. Blackie & Son. 1866. Revised and corrected with a memoir of the compiler by James Howie, A.M., and an Historical Introduction, explanatory of the great principles for which the Worthies suff"ered, by Robert Buchanan, D.D. Also a supplement containing memoirs and historical sketches of the Ladies of the Covenant by the Rev. James Anderson. Everything valuable in the 400 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. original work is here retained ; many of the lives are written anew ; others are added. The supplement contains the following : Alexander Moncrieff, Angus Macbean, Thomas Hog, Eobert Fleming, Alex. Shields, John Dickson, Sir Eobert Hamilton, W. Veitch, John Balfour, Messrs. Robert Trail, Andrew Simpson, William Scott. The "testimonies" are here wisely re-arranged, and put alongside of the respective "worthies" who uttered them. The Scots Worthies. Revised and Corrected hy the Rev. W. H. Carslaw, M.A., Helensburgh. With numerous Illustrations on Wood. Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson, & Ferrier. 1885. All the later editions of this work have been more or less garbled ; in that by M 'Gavin especially, the old Covenanter of Lochgoin is made to speak in the mealy-mouthed accents of an Independent preacher. We are glad to find that the present publishers propose in this new edition to give a faithful transcript of the original ; not even excepting we hope the con- cluding chapter on "God's judgments upon persecutors," which proved far too strong meat to be served up by former editors, but which, as a record of the times, and as presenting some aspects of Providence, not even yet to be wholly disregarded, is surely worth preservation. We have heard the late Hugh Miller say, that, in his opinion, the "Judgments" were the best part of the book, but in this he may have been singular. — Brit, and For. Evan. Rev. Mr. Carslaw corrects a mistake into which M 'Gavin and the editor of Blackie's edition of the Scots Worthies had fallen, — to the effect that John Howie of Lochgoin was the Old Mortality of the Great Unknown. " The real name of Old Mortality," wrote Sir W^alter, in a letter addressed to the father of Mr. Carslaw, "was Paterson." The sketch of John Howie, by the editor, is pleasant, and the notes are valuable. The book is also enriched with landscapes, etc., engraved under the superintendence of D. W. Williamson, and with historical portraits by H. Chalmers, engraved by Schenck and Macfarlane. The Scots Worthies : Their Lives and Testimonies. Edited hy Rev. J. A. Wylie, LL.D., Assisted by Rev. James Anderson. A splendid edition in large type, beautifully illustrated, and published by W^illiam Mackenzie. The historical introduction by the editor includes a Letter sent from Prince Bismarck to tw^o Edinburgh citizens (D. T. Fair and T. O. Smith, Grassmarket), who had transmitted to the great statesman a copy of the National Covenant. It is dated February 21, 1875, and contains the following passage: "From my earliest reading of history T well remember that one of those events which more particularly affected my feelings used to be the Covenant : the spectacle of a loyal people uniting with their King in a solemn bond to resist the same ambitions of foreign priesthood we have to fight at the present day. I accept with pleasure your gift, which enables me to peruse that document as it was framed in the simple and THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 401 touching speech of your forefathers." The " Additional Memoirs " embrace Ralph Rogers — ejected from Glasgow in 1662 and appointed to Kilwinning in 1669 — and Archibald Riddell, son of Sir Walter, the second baronet of Riddell, a famous con- venticle preacher who was admitted to Wemyss, 1691, translated to Kirkcaldy, 1697, removed to Edinburgh, 1702, and died 1708. The volume of the " Scots Worthies " is not less carefully edited and profusely illustrated by a minister who is related to the Lochgoin family, which he says has lived there for seven centuries, and had often, during the period of the Stuart persecutions, the honour of sheltering the afflicted sons of the Covenant. The editor judiciously omits the chapter in the original work which narrated the startling "judgments," that punished in the present life many of the unrelenting and unrepenting persecutors. Similar events have befallen the godly; and the friends of Job interpreted his crushing calamities as proving his wickedness, and expressing the divine anger. Yet the Stuarts, and the abettors of their bloody policy, were so swiftly and signally overtaken by disaster and ruin, that it must have been difficult for those spectators who believed in God's providence, to avoid explaining the evils as sent to avenge their crimes, and to show that, when human guilt reaches a daring enormity, divine forbearance is suspended, and the first flashes of retribution break forth. It is becoming, however, in short-sighted mortals to receive the lessons which Christ Himself gave about the falling of the tower of Siloam. The editor mentions in his preface that the celebrated Dr. M'Crie had long ago advised the omission in question. — United Presbyterian Magazine, 1872. The Scots Worthies : according to Howie's second edition OF 1781. With Explanatory Notes, Supplementary Matter, a full Index of Persons and Places, and an Apjyendix of Sermons. Edited by the Rev. Andrew A. Bonar, D.D. Glasgow, 1880. This is the centenary edition, published by M'Gready, Thomson, & Niven, of Glasgow, Melbourne, and Dunedin. The orii-inal text has been supple- mented by eighteen memoirs by the editor; numerous explanatory notes have been added, as also a valuable index of persons and places. Martyrs for the Truth; Heroes for the Faith. London, 1885. The "Cloud of Witnesses" and the "Scots Worthies" re-appear in these twin volumes, which have been deprived somewhat of their tartan garb to suit the English taste. We hope that under these attractive titles the Scottish Covenanters may find their way into not a few of "the cottage homes of England." 402 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. ARCHIBALD, FIRST MARQUIS OF ARGYLL, 1598-1661. The Cloud of Witnesses who were hanged in the Grassmarkefc were mostly men of humble birth and calling, including sometimes matrons and maidens. Sometimes, however, men of mark were selected, with the view of striking terror into the hearts of the people. The first victim of this kind was the great and good Marquis of Argyll. The man who was mainly instrumental in beheading him was Sir John Fletcher, King's advocate. Argyll, although Hympathising with the Covenanters, remained neutral till the meeting of Assembly, when seeing no hope of adjusting the quarrel he cast in his lot with them. He was not a member of the Assembly [1638], but remained to countenance its proceedings. — M'Crie. I am assured it will be acceptable to this Assembly [1638] that some of those noblemen who hes bein ane ornament to this Assembly should speake ane word before it dissolve, especiallie my noble Lord Argyll whom we could have wished, if it had pleased his Lordship, to have come in sooner ; but the Lord has reserved him for the fittest tyvue, and I trust the Lord shall honour him with all blessings, both heir and heirefter. — The Moderator (Henderson). See Argyll's reply in Pet. Eec, I., 192. I find from very good hands, that during the sitting of the Assembly at Glasgow, Mr. Henderson, noth withstanding of the vast fatigue he had through the day, yet, with some other ministers he used to spend the night time, at least a great part of it, in meetings for prayer and conference. I find that their meetings were remarkably countenanced of God, and that the Marquis of Argyll, and several others who sometimes joined them, dated their conversion, or the knowledge of it, from these times. — Wodroio. At the head of the Presbyterian party was the Marquis of Argyll, the most illustrious of the Scottish nobles, who in 1650 had taken the ])rincipal part in the young king's coronation. Charles 11. disliked him, not only because he was unalterably faithful to the cause of the Presbyterian Church, but also because he had sometimes rebuked him for his licentious behaviour. . . . Argyll was condemned to death. On hearing his sentence this pious Scotchman arose and said, " I had the honour to set the crown upon the king's head, and now he hastens me to a better crown than his own.'' The love of God filled his soul with heavenly joy. . . . When taking leave of his friends to go to the scaffold, he said to them, " I could die like a Roman, but choose rather to die as a Christian." He said to the multitude, " God hath laid engagements upon Scotland ; we are tied by Covenant to religion and reformation. It is the duty of every THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 403 Christian to be loyal, yet I think the order of things is to be observed. Religion must not be the cock-boat but the ship; God must have what is His, as well as Csesar what is his." — D'Auhigne, ''Hist. Fiec.," Sl^. A Short Yindication of two Aspersions cast upon Scotland UPON MISTAKEN GROUNDS : The first, their joyning in a League and Covenant with the Parliament of England after their own affairs were settled ; the second, their leaving the King in England when their army returned back into Scotland. The Marquis of Argyll in this tract, dedicated to Oliver Cromwell, sought to vindicate the Scots from the odious imputation of selling their king. The Marquis says: The most part of men are too strict judgers of actions l)y the effects only — a very imcertain rule. Leaving the King in England was not selling the King, though open-mouthed malignants might choose to call it so. Speech before Parliament, April 9, 1661. For this, as well as speech after reading of his process, see Wod., L, 143-146. Of the Sufferings and Martyrdom of the Marquis of Argyll. Wodrow's History, I., 130-158. Decapitated by the maiden, May 27, 1661; his head was stuck on the Tolbooth, where it remained until by a warrant of Charles II., dated 8th June, 1664, it was taken down and interred along with his body in the tomb of his ancestors at Kilmun. Were there nothing to recommend Wodrow but his description of the behaviour of the Marquis of Argyll and the Kev. James Guthrie, the work ought to be possessed and read by every true Presbyterian. — Prof. Kidd, D.D. Marquis of Argyll's Speech upon the Scaffold, May 27, 1661. See Wod. I., 155. The following passage occurs in it: But whatever they [Gallios] think God hath laid engagements upon Scotland ; we are tied by Covenant to religion and Reformation. Those that were then unborn are engaged to it, and in our baptism we are engaged to it, and it passes the power of any under heaven to absolve a man from the oath of God ; they deceive themselves, and it may be will deceive others that think otherwise. In November, 1661, George Swinton and James Glen, booksellers in Edinburgh, were charged with having "caused print several seditious and scandalous books, such as 'Archibald Campbell's Speech,' 'Guthrie's Speech,' 'The Covenanters' Plea.'" The lord advocate and provost were asked to seize these books and discharge the printers to print any more till they have warrant from the king, parliament or council. Besides this Robert Mein was asked to publish the Diurnal weekly so as to prevent false news. 404 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Something had been done to intimidate opposers, by the trial and execution of Argyll, whose death was well- deserved by many acts of false- hood and cruelty. — *S'?V Walter Scott. Sir Walter Scott and Aytoun have both disgraced themselves by their treatment of Argyll. It was no "master fiend" who said on his way to the scaffold, "I could die like a Roman, but choose rather to die like a Christian." He had faults, but his greatest fault was his putting the crown on the head of the man who at last wrought his ruin. Argyll, "Gillespie Grumach" — the favourite of Sir Walter Scott's caricaturing power in his Legend of Montrose, and whom Aytoun calls the "master-fiend." — George GUfillan. He met his end with firmness and calm dignity, and the narratives relating it have found a high place in the traditions of Scottish heroism. — Burton, VII., Jf.25. Argyll had played such a part in the history of his country that his trial and condemnation seemed to be the trial and condemna- tion of Covenanting Scotland. There may easily be diflferent opinions as to various parts of his conduct. There can be but one as to the moral grandeur of his death. — Dr. Flint, " St. Giles^ Lectures.^^ Instructions to a Son. By Archibald, Marquis of Argyll. With Portraits. London, 1661. A copy which belonged to the library of the late Mr. John W. Mackenzie, W.S., Edinburgh, sold for £3 7s. Letters of Archibald, Earl of Argyll, to John, Duke of Lauderdale. 1829. Edited by C. K. Sharpe, and printed for the Bannatyne Club. SIR ARCHIBALD JOHNSTON, Lord Warriston, -1663. Admitted advocate in 1633 ; shortly after became active agent, principal adviser, and unflinching supporter of the Presbyterians. Elected clerk to the Glasgow Assembly of 1638. In 1643 he represented Midlothian in the Estates of parliament, when he was appointed speaker to the barons. In 1644 he was sent as a parliamentary commissioner to Westminster. He succeeded Sir Thomas Hope as lord- advocate in 1646. His residence was in Warriston Close, the venerable alley to which he gave a name. One of the most enterprising publishing firms in the land now occupies the site of the old mansion house. Having accepted office under Cromwell, orders were issued at the Restoration for his arrest. He escaped to France, where an emissary of the government discovered his retreat at Rouen, and brought him a prisoner to Edinburgh. See " Life of Blair," p. 434. For the lay elders there was the redoubted Johnston of Warriston, the most able and zealous of a group of lay statesmen who were as thorough warriors in the ecclesiastical department of THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 405 the great struggle as the clergy themselves. . . . He looked at the Covenant as the setting of Christ on His throne, and so was out of measure zealous in it. He afterwards, in old age and physical weakness, sealed it with his blood, his last words being "The Lord has graciously comforted me; O pray, pray; praise, praise." — Dr. Burton. Warriston was a leligious statesman. The standard of his policy was the Word of God ; his great and governing aim, the Divine glory. And on this account his name has suffered obloquy from a quarter where all who would follow his steps may expect similar treatment, so long as society is composed, as it still is to such an alarming extent, of the godless and unbelieving. — Dr. M^Crie. The National Covenant. 1638. (See p. 78). It is to Johnston that the world generally has attributed the project of renewing the Covenant. This was a master-stroke of policy. The Covenant had been drawn under a reign of terror, when the Protestants of Scotland really dreaded the restoration of the old Church, with more than its old powers for avenging itself on insolent heretics. Thus stimulated by terror and hatred, the Covenant was a marvel of bitter eloquence. In now renewing it, the supplicants had all the advantage of its denunciatory rhetoric, while they stood free of all charge of malignant exaggeration. It could not be said they did it — they were but repeating in the hour of their own difficulty and peril, what the nation had uttered in a previous time of peril. Its promoters on this occasion had views of a wider and more popular kind. They determined to attempt at least to draw to it the adherence of the adult male community of Scotland at large. It was signed in a public manner in Edinburgh with tumultuous enthusiasm, and, as we are told, "with such mutual content and joy as those who having long before been outlaws and rebels, are admitted again in covenant with God." — Burton. Speech of Lord Warriston, before the Westminster Assembly, after the delivery of some Queries from THE Parliament. 1644. Mr. Prolocutor, I am a stranger. I will not meddle with the parliament- privileges of another nation, nor the breaches thereof ; but as a Christian, under one common Lord, a ruling elder in another church, and a parliament- man in another kingdom, having commission from both that church and state, and at the desire of this kingdom assisting in their debates, entreat for your favour and patience to express my thoughts of what is before you. . . . Sir, all Christians are bound to give a testimony to every truth when called to it ; but ye are the immediate servants of the Most High, Christ's proctors and heralds, whose proper function it is to proclaim His name, and preserve His offices, and assert His rights. Christ has had many testimonies given to His prophetical and priestly offices by the pleadings and sufferings of His saints, and in these latter days, seems to require the same unto His kingly office. A king loves a testimony to his crown best of any, as that which is tenderest to him ; and confessors and martyrs for Christ's crown are the most royal and most stately of any state-martyrs ; so, although Christ's kingdom be not of this world, and His servants did not fight therefore, when He was to suffer, yet it is in this world, and for this end was He born. To give a testimony to this truth, among others 406 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. were ive born, and must not be ashamed of it nor deny it ; but confess and avouch it, by pleading, doing, and suffering for it, even when what is m agitation seems most to oppose it, and therefore requires a seasonable testimony, etc. See appendix to " Scots Worthies," (M 'Gavin's). The last Discourse of the Right Hon. the Lord Warris- TOUXE, AS he delivered IT UPON THE SCAFFOLD AT THE Mercat Cross of Edinburgh, July 22, 1663, being IMMEDIATELY BEFORE HIS DeATH. Whereunto is added, A Short Narration of his carriage during the time of his Imprisonment, but more especially at his death : All which is very comfortable and refreshing to all those that take pleasure in the Dust of Zion, and favour the stones of our Lord's broken down building amongst us. By a Favourer of the Covenant and ^York of Reformation, 1664. — This was freely circulated in print, whereupon the Privy Council being informed there was a seditious pamphlet being sold by booksellers and boys in the streets, passed an act giving power to Sir R. Murray to examine how the pamphlets came to be sold without warrant. See Wod., L, 418. He doubted not God would visit Scotland with a merciful reformation, which at length came to pass, He left his lady and numerous family in mean estate, tho' afterward the Lord provided better for many of them than if their father had stood in his highest grandeur. — Klrkton. Among the MSS. in the Advocates Library there are extracts from Johnston of Warriston's Journal of his Soul Exercises, etc., " I have before me," writes C. K. Sharpe, " one Journal in manuscript contained in a sort of pocket- book, which seems to have belonged to the laird of Polmont." — Kirktoiiy p. 171, note. In his note to the "Ballad of Montrose," Aytoun has the baseness to allude to the death of Lord Warriston with coarse and savage exultation; although according to Sir George Mackenzie himself, whom he quotes, "it moved all the spectators with a deep melancholy ; and the chancellor, reflecting upon the man's great parts, former esteem, and the great share he had in all the late revolutions, could not deny some tears to the frailty of silly mankind." Yet in this frailty, manifested by asking his judges for mercy in piteous tones, Professor Aytoun chooses to luxuriate. — Gilfillan. In murdering Argyll, the Government struck at the head of a combination it was powerless to annihilate ; but other victims, such as Archibald Johnston of Warriston, also left mournful gaps in the ranks of the Covenanters, which could not easily be filled up. Warriston, as he was commonly called, after his estate, was an erudite lawyer who heartily devoted his great learning and talent to the cause of religion. As the situation became more complicated, so that it became quite possible for a conscientious well-wisher of his country to differ from the more strait- laced Covenanters, Warriston was put down as a trimmer, and was disliked in common both by the orthodox partisans and the Remonstrants. It speaks much for his personal character and general aptness for business that Cromwell contracted a strong liking for him ; but his having served under the government of the Protector contributed to ensure his fall at the Restoration. He was a man who, amid the whirl and excitement of earthly care and business, waited for the coming of Christ, and his habits of devotion might even now excite remark. A hill-side often served him THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 407 for an oratory, and on one occasion he continued in prayer during fourteen hours. His enemies were those in whose eyes Cromwell and his friends were murderers and usurpers, and he was sure to be the victim of their wrath. Although he escaped to the Continent, he was discovei'ed in France, and surrendered by the amialile government of Louis XIV. In England a surgeon employed to attend him reduced his system by drugs and bleeding until there was apparently little left of the acute and fearless lawyer. His tears and incoherent talk before his judges in Edinburgh showed symptoms of mental failure. He made sport for those who loved cruelty for its own sake ; but when in death his former heroism returned the change was ascribed by many to "God's miraculous kindness" to one who had been faithful to the good old cause. — Sword and Trowel, 1SS4- EGBERT BAILLIE OF JERVISWOOD, 1640-1684. Among the landed gentry of Scotland none bore a higher character for piety and accomplishment. His troubles began with the rescue of his brother-in-law, the Hev. Mr. Kirkton in 1676. He was summoned before the Council, over which Sharp, like another Rhadamantbus presided, and fined. The name of Peden appears on the roll of his guests, when the enormous fine of £18,000 was inflicted upon him for reset and converse. Accused unjustly by Mackenzie of being involved in the Rye-House Plot. Found guilty, sentenced, condemned, executed, and quartered all in one day — February 24, 1684. Lest he should die in prison in his weak state, and thus baulk Government of its vengeance he was thus summarily put to death. ''My Lords," he said, "the sentence is sharp, and the time is short, but I thank my God, who hath made me as fit to die as you are to live ! " His sister- in-law. Lady Graden, a daughter of Warriston, accompanied him to the scaffold. The Earl of Haddington, in laying the foundation- stone of the Knox Memorial Institute at Haddington, in 1878, claimed to be a descendant of this " noble martyr who shed his blood for his religion." Jerviswood — one of the brightest jewels in the historic crown of Scot- land.— James Dodds. You have truly men of great spirit among you in Scotland ; there is for a gentleman, Mr. Baillie of Jerviswood a person of the greatest abilities I ever almost met with. — Dr. John Owen. The Tryal and Process of High Treason against Mr. Robert Baillie, etc. By his 3fajestie's special command, as a further lyroof of the late Fanatical Conspiracy. Edinburgh, 1685. Baillie of Jerviswood had long been hated and suspected by the govern- ment of the Restoration. A chivalrous, gifted, and devout champion of freedom could not fail to be obnoxious to a government which dreaded every development of civil, intellectual, and religious liberty. His attach- ment to presbytery incurred for him the enmity of the prelates. His attachment to the political rights of his country incurred for him the enmity of the government. . . . Carstares had been fetched from Stirling and pressed with many arguments, to appear in court, and make ever so brief a declaration as to Jerviswood's connection with the London negotiations. This he had indignantly and absolutely refused to do. He 408 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. was told that if he would do this, it would be so arranged that he should not be confronted with the prisoner. "If it were possible," replied Carstares, "I had rather die a thousand deaths than be a witness against any that have trusted me." — Dr. Sto7'y\s '^Carstares," p. 103. Memoirs of the Lives and Characters of the Eight Hon. George Baillie of Jerviswood, and of Lady Grisell Baillie. By their daughter Lady Murray of Stanhoi^e. Edinburgh, 1824. Edited by Thomas Thomson, advocate, from the original manuscript, carefully preserved by the family of Jerviswood. From that manuscript an extract of some of the more striking passages had been communicated to the Hon. George E-ose, and published by him in the appendix to " Observations on the Historical Work of James Fox," a publication avowedly called forth in defence of certain parts of the political conduct of Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth, and which derives its value from a Letter of Important Passages in 1 685, written by Sir Patrick to his wife during his exile in Holland. This important historical document Mr. Rose entitled — Sir Patrick Hume's Narrative of Occurrences in the Expedition of the Earl of Argyll in 1685. Sir P. Hume of Polwarth was a party to the rising; he accompanied Argyll, and was an eye-witness of what he has related. Gilfillan speaks of Sir John Cochrane and Sir Patrick Hume, as "the drags and ruin of the unhappy rising." After Argyll was taken prisoner. Sir Patrick managed to conceal himself for several weeks in an empty house at Kilwinning, belonging to " that eminent religious lady," Eleonore Dunbar, sister to the Earl of Eglinton. It was in this retreat he composed his interest- ing narrative. See "The Marchmont Papers," III., 2. The great modern dramatist of the Passions has adopted Lady Grisell Baillie as a heroine of the highest order in the scale of female excellence. See "Metrical Legends of Exalted Characters, by Joanna Baillie," preface p. XXV. The interest so powerfully excited by the Legend of Lady Grisell Baillie, to say nothing of the friendly challenge of the distinguished author, has not been without its effect in accelerating the long intended publication of Lady Murray's Memoirs. — Editor. Correspondence of George Baillie of Jerviswood, 1702-1708. With Preface hy the Earl of Minto. 1842. In his last hours Robert Baillie expressed to his son George, then only nineteen years of age, the full assurance he felt that the words would be verified in the case of his family, — "I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." George formed his character greatly on the lines of his father's example, rose to eminence at the Revolution, had his father's estates restored to him, lived in honour, and died in peace. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVEN A^T. 409 ARCHIBALD, NINTH EABL OF ARGYLL, -1685. Sir George Lockhart, Lord Fountainhall (Sir John Lauder), and six others acted as counsel for the Earl of Argyll in 1681, when he was tried for alleged illegal construction of the Test. The eight decided that his explanations of the Test contained nothing treasonable, and for this they were censured and dis- missed by the Duke of York. See " Historical Notices of Scottish Affairs," selected from the manuscripts of Sir John Lauder, 1661-1688, edited by Dr. Laing. A volume of broadsides and proclamations of a most remarkable description has recently been added to Mr. Macdonald's library. It begins with the murder of Archbishop Sharp, and continues to 1696. It contains the latest proclamations of James II. of England, and the earliest issued by William and Mary. A number of them relate to the Covenanters, and one of them printed three days before the event, gives an account of the taking of Argyll at Inchinnan Bridge. — Mason, ^^ Libraries of Glasgow j" p. 2S9. Case of Earl Argtll, etc. For the original narrative, see the Advocates' Library Pamphlets, Vol. cclii. Argyll delayed as long as possible taking the oath, and when he took it, it was with an explanation. He merely explained the sense in which he took an oath, in one clause of which the individual swore to the old Scottish Confession of 1567, and in the next and directly in the teeth of that same Confession, declared the King the supreme head of the Church. The explanation was accepted at the time, but a few days after- wards he was committed to prison, charged with treason, and declared guilty by his judges by a majority of one. Lady Sophia Lindsay, however, cleverly managed his escape, and he fled to Holland. Argyll's Expedition, 1685. — When Argyll was carried prisoner into Kenfrew, at the close of his unfortunate expedi- tion in 1685, he said to Thomas Crawford of Crawfordsburn — " Thomas, it hath pleased Providence to frown on my attempt, but remember, I tell you, ere long one shall take up this quarrel, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry, who will not miscarry in his undertaking." This was a true prophetic utterance. All eyes were being directed to William of Orange. "And nosv commenced, says Macaulay, " the brightest part of Argyll's career. From that moment he became as one inspired with new wisdom and virtue. His intellect seemed to be strengthened and concentrated ; his moral character to be at once elevated and softened." As the preceding article [Memoirs of William Veitch] includes a curious account of the escape of the Earl of Argyll after his condemnation, so the reader will find in this article [Memoirs of George BryssonJ, a no less interesting account of the expedition which issued in the capture and exe- cution of that public-spirited but unfortunate nobleman. — 2\ 3PCrie, D.D 410 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. On this occasion the persecuted Covenanters stood aloof from Argyll and gave no support to his enterprise, not only on account that his declaration made no mention of the Covenants or Presbyterian church government, but that both he and Sir John Cochrane had been themselves implicated in the persecuting measures of the government, Sir John having in 1680 directed Bruce of Earlshall to Airsmoss, where Richard Cameron was killed, and Argyll having voted in 1681 for the death of Cargill. — Scottish Natioiiy II., too. At this time there shone a false anticipation of the real morning that was at hand. We allude to the unfortunate expedition of the Earl of Argyll— the tale of which has been told so lately and so fully by Macaulay. — Giljillan. The state of public feeling in Scotland was not such as the exiles, misled by the infatuation common in all ages to exiles, had supposed it to be. The government was indeed hateful and hated. But the malcontents were divided into parties which were almost as hostile to one another as to their rulers; nor was any of those parties eager to join the invaders. The spirit of many had been effectually broken by long and cruel oppression. There was indeed a class of enthusiasts who Avere little in the habit of calculating chances, and whom oppression had not tamed but maddened. But these men saw little difference between Argyll and James. The manifesto was in view of these fanatics a cow- ardly and worldly performance. A settlement such as Argyll would have made, such as was afterwards made by a mightier and happier deliverer, seemed to them not worth a struggle. They wanted not only freedom for themselves, but absolute dominion over the consciences of others ; not only the Presbyterian doctrine, polity and worship, but the Covenant in its utmost rigour. ... If the divine blessing were withheld little would be effected by crafty politicians, by veteran captains, by cases of arms from Holland, or by regiments of unregenerate Celts from the mountains of Lorn. If on the other hand the Lord's time were indeed come, He could still as of old cause the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and could save alike by many and by few. The broadswords of Athol, and the bayonets of Claverhouse would be put to rout by weapons as insignificant as the sling of David or the pitcher of Gideon. ... If any person is inclined to suspect that I have exaggerated the absurdity and ferocity of these men, I would advise him to read two books which will convince him that I have rather softened than overcharged the portrait, the "Hind Let Loose," and "Faithful Contendings Displayed." — Lord Macaulay. Letter from the Earl of Argyll to his Son on the Day OF HIS Execution, June 30, 1685. Edinburgh Castle 30 June 85. Dears James Learne to feare God, it is the only way to make you bappie beere and heerafter Love and respect my wifFe and hearken to her advice the Lord bless you. I am Your loving Father Argyll. For Mr. James Campbell. [See Letters to the Argyll Family (Maitland Club), p. 51]. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 411 A History of the Early Part of the Reign of James THE Second. With an IntrodiLctori/ Chapter. By the Risht Hon. Charles Fox. To which is added an Appendix. 1808. The most interesting part of the volume is the account of the last (lays and the death of Argyll. It is a picture drawn with the happiest simplicity, though with one slight blemish, of one of the most enchanting examples of heroic virtue that history or poetry ever displayed. — John Foster^ '^Contrihutiom," /., 150. I was much surprised at your making a difficulty and a delicacy as to the character of the review about Fox's book. I was never aware there was the smallest question whether the tenor of the "Eclectic Review" should be most decidedly favourable to the general principles of liberty. The case is bad with us with a vengeance, if we are to be vastly careful, and genteel, and timorous in telling what we are to think of the Charles', James', Lauds, and all the high church of those times, — if we must not applaud in toto, and without any limitation whatever, the very noble spirit of freedom which beyond my expectations exults through this admirable fragment of a history. We have read it twice, and some parts of it a third time ; but I have entirely forgotten all it contains except the death of Argyll, and a tew more such interest- i7ig episodes. Did you notice this passage — the death of Argyll 1 Excepting some Christian martyrs, a nobler exit and character cannot be found in all the history of time. To have one such man rise among us, I would gladly see all the emperors, kings, bishops, and reviewers excejot two carried to the top of Mount Hecla, and . — John Foster to D. Parken, Esq. Observations on the Historical Work of the Right Honourable Charles James Fox. By the Right Honour- able George Rose. With the Narrative of the Events ivhich occurred in the Enterprise of the Earl of Argyll in 1685. By Sir Patrick Hume. 1809. When Fox's interesting posthumous fragment came into the hands of Mr. Rose, it was very natural that the whole resources of his ample knowledge of our political history should be put in requisition ; and that certain feelings respecting Fox and the political principles of which he was the champion, might prompt a renewed and more minute scrutiny into some particular points of the history. Fox's work, besides, in the part which narrates the expedition of Argyll, contains some accusations of Sir Patrick Hume, who was the ancestor of a late Lord Marchmont, who was the particular friend of Mr. Rose, and "deposited with him, as a sacred trust, all the MSS. of his family, with an injunction to make use of them if Mr. Rose should ever find it necessary." Of course it has become absolutely necessary, in consequence of Mr. Fox's imputations, to publish some of these papers, especially Sir Patrick's narrative of the expedition. . . As to Sir Patrick Hume, there can be little doubt that he was a man of ability and virtue, and a zealous friend of liberty. But this is not enough for Mr. Rose. . . . We do not pretend that we are not a good deal 412 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. pleased with Sir Patrick Hume's narrative, or that we do not think it proves some faults in Argyll. When, however, we see a man like the earl represented as wayward and humorsome, and "petting " at the conduct of his associates, we are fully reminded that we are reading only one side of the story. The appendix contains several interesting articles, especially an account of Sir Patrick Hume's concealment in Scotland, previously to his iirst escape to the continent ; a much clearer proof than we are gratified to see, that Burnet, as a historian, is to be trusted with great caution. — e/d/m Foster. [See "Information respecting the concealment of Sir Patrick Hume under the Church of Pohvarth," in Wod. IV., 505. A Vindication of Fox's History, by S. Heywood, appeared in 1811. "The vindicator's task is accomplished," writes John Foster, " with a completeness almost beyond example, and Mr. Fox now takes his rank decidedly among the most accurate of historians."] SCOTS UN-WORTHIES. If we would fairly judge the Church of those days we must do so in the light of another literature than that which is about us at present. I can hardly imagine anything more distressing than that, after two hundred years have passed away, Scotchmen cannot all admire the noble heroism of our martyr dsiys.— Walker, ''Scottish Theology," p, :^. Buckle rakes together from every quarter a miscellaneous collection of extraordinary sayings and anecdotes, and scraps of sermons, with the view of demonstrating how the clergy- destroyed all human happiness, cast a gloom over the national temperament, and subjected the people to their most debasing control. But it is a disgraceful piece of literary dishonesty for him to ignore the fact that nearly all this literature of gloom and austerity belonged to a period of persecution, when the preachers, deeply stirred by the sufferings they had endured, the jeopardy in which their lives stood every hour, and the hair-breadth escapes they had already made, poured forth their burning harangues, not in the strains of scholastic pedantry or artificial rhetoric, but with an all-vital realism which spurns the frippery of art, upon their crowds of listeners standing forth as patriots to defend the injured rights of their country, or as confessors, to plead for the higher prerogatives of their heavenly King. Mr. Buckle sits down in cold blood to anatomise such harangues, delivered while the shots of the bloody soldiery were ringing over the moors, and dying scenes were being enacted in the Grass- market. He drags to light the literary faults of the preachers, which were the mere asides of grave, and high, and noble speech, picks out sentences that seem grotesque in their isolation, and ignores the weight and wisdom, as well as the bright and sunny qualities, which, in spite of all the darkness and apostacy of the times, constituted the genuine characteristics of the men at whom he fliugs his haughty scorn. Rutherford, Binning, Durham, Dickson, and Halyburton are quite unintelligible to a Positivist. —Brit, and For. Ev. Rev., XVII., 79. I THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 413 Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence Displayed ; or, The Folly of their Teaching discovebed from their books, sermons, prayers, ETC. Printed by C. Reid & Co., Glasgoio, 1841. Verbatim from the edition of 1740, which professed to have additions taken from scarce and valuable manuscripts. A scurrilous pasquinade ascribed to Curate Calder, an Episcopalian clergyman and friend of Dr. Pitcairn. For the story of Carstares' gift of a suit of clothes to Calder, see Wod. Cor., I., 475. Truly one would think that a thinking man who reads this piece may wonder first what conscience governs these men, who publish, to amuse the world such stories which they themselves know to be lies, as well as they whom they belie. Next what wisdom is among them, who knew well enough there are thousands of honest people to refute their calumnies ! — Kirkton. Among the ousted curates were many men of genius who wreaked their revenge by ridiculing either the personal defects, — the private character, — the bigotry, or the immorality of the Presbyterian clergymen in satiric and scurrilous anecdotes. Among these were Mr. Robert Calder or Cadell, Mr. Finnie, etc., several of whose lampoons are printed in the Book of Scottish Pasquils. — George JR. Kinloch, Preface to '■^ Bahell." That foul-mouthed calumniator in his Presbyterian Eloquence. — Howie, ^' Scots Worthies." That collection of profanity and obscenity entitled Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence Displayed. No man is more perseveringly held up to ridicule in it than the Rev. James Kirkton, whose character as a man of talent, and possessing a sound judgment has been since sufficiently vindicated by the publication of his Secret and True History. — Dr. Leishman, Preface to " Binning," xx. Another result has been that the enemies of the Covenanters, from the author of Presbyterian Eloquence down to Sir W. Scott, have uniformly availed themselves of these well-meant but ill-judged publications [of cer- tain Cameronians] to ridicule the whole body of our suffering ancestors. — JiPCrie, ^' Misc. Writ.," p. 255. Mr. Buckle is quite unacquainted with the condition of religious society in Scotland if he imagines that the clergy ever were the spiritual tyrants of the country. A Scotch clergyman has remarked that the Scotch are a priest-riding rather than a priest-ridden community. And even the author of that yfYQtched fasiculum of prelatic calumnies — "Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence" — admits that "the people are truly the guides, and their pastors must follow them whom they pretend to conduct." We protest in toto against the fairness of accepting without question the extracts of sermons from such works as "Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence," the author of which denied the Scottish persecutions altogether; for we might just as fairly accept the representations of Julian and Celsus upon the nature of Christianity. — Brit, and For. Evan. Rev., XVII., 72. A Just and Modest Reproof of the Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence. Edinburgh, 1693. By Gilbert Rule. According to Calder, the Presbyterian preachers represented the bishops as cloven-footed, and taught that they cast no shadow as an earnest of the substance — " for their opposing of Covenant work in the land." Rule maintained that no such ideas had been ever propagated. A second edition of Calder's work followed, with remarks on Rule's vindication of the Kirk. 414 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Letter from a Countryman to a Curate. The curate was Calder, and the countryman the Rev. John Anderson of Dumbarton. See p. 384. Calder wrote a Reply, which was followed by a rejoinder. Is a Presbyterian Kirk a Christian Church ? Answer : If a Scripture- less, Lord's -praj'erless, creedless, sacramentless, reasonless, altarless, ordinationless, absolutionless Kirk be a Christian Church it is the most Christian Church in the world. — Mr. Robert Calder's Queries. Curate Calder Whipt. By the Rev. J. Anderson, Dumbarton. The following is the style : — Ev^erybody knows that book to be a forgery out of the curate's shop. But to give the world a true test both of the Presbyterian and the Episcopal eloquence, let us appeal to the printed sermons on both sides. Do thou take the printed sermons of the Presbyterians, and pick out of them all the ridiculous things thou ever canst. And if I don't make a larger collection of more impious and ridiculous things out of the printed sermons of the Episcopalians, citing book and page for them, shall lose the cause. An Answer to Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence. C. Reid & Co. Glasgow, 1841. In three parts. I. Being a catalogue of the cruel and bloody laws made by the Scots Prelatists against the Presbyterians. II. Laying open the self-contradictions, impudent lies, horrible blasphemies, and disloyalty of the obscene, scurrilous pamphlet called the Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence. III. Being a collection of their ridiculous expressions in sermons, etc. See Wod. Hist., III., 308; M'Crie's Miscell. Writings, pp. 351, 394. It was originally published in London in 1693. The author was George Ridpath. Dr. Munro added 24 pages to ' ' An Apology for the Clergy of Scotland," by way of reply. See "History Vindicated," p. 67. Baeell : A Satirical Poem on the Proceedings oe the General Assembly in the year 1692. Mait. Club, 1830. The writer was A. Pitcairn, M.D., Edinburgh, a physician and satirist, who wielded his pen in support of the Jacobite interest. Wodrow saj^s he squandered a fortune on drinking. A small atheistical pamphlet, said to have been written by him, formed the subject of the inaugural lecture by Professor Halyburton, at St. Andrews in 1710. The Assembly : A Comedy. 1722. C. K. Sharpe found Pitcairn's plays to be marrow to his bones. As editor of the " Secret and True History," he informs his readers with zest, that Kirkton figures under the name of Mr. Covenant Plain-dealer. These flagitious pieces are still referred to, not by novelists only, bat even by historians, who are not ashamed to parade among their high authorities, these low and unsavoury missiles, which which were thrown at the heads of such men as Dr. Gilbert Rule and the Rev. David Williamson. —T. M'Crie, LL.D. The discourses of Binning are unquestionably a very favourable specimen of the talents and learning, as well as of the piety, of the clergy of Scotland in his day. At the same time, that class of men have not had justice done to them. Adopting the tone of their persecutors, it was long the practice of court sycophants and others, to ridicule and calumniate them. Their sermons were burlesqued, sometimes through ignorance and sometimes through malice. Many of them were printed from the notes or imperfect recollections of pious but illiterate persons. And if a minister was known THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 415 to possess any portion of eccentricity, absurd sayings were invented, and when at any time a singular statement or an uncouth expression was heard to proceed from him, it was seized upon with avidity, treasured up and repeated as an ilhistration of the kind of preaching that was common among the ministers of his church. It is almost inconceivable, therefore, how many, even among the intelligent classes of society in the present day, have been led most unwarrantably to form their estimate of the literary qualifications of the ministers of Scotland in the seventeenth century, from the grotesque " Pockmanty Sermon," from Hobbes's "Behemoth," from the unpolished, unauthenticated discourses of some of the field-preachers, or from that collection of profanity and obscenity entitled, " Scotch Presby- terian Eloquence Displayed." — D)\ Leishman. Memoirs of the Marquis of Montrose. By Mark Napier. 2 vols. 1836. The reputation of the Marquis has been well looked after by his friends. In 1819 Bishop Wishart wrote "Memoirs of the most renowned James Graham." Napier, Aytoun and others have also chanted his praises. Napier forgives him for all his shortcomings, save that — " he committed a false step in joining at their outset the Covenanting clique in Scotland," and that he carried the " arms of the Covenant against the last hope of true religion in the North." Moved by the enthusiasm of patriotism, or perhaps of religion, but yet more by ambition, the sin of noble minds, Montrose had engaged eagerly and deeply upon the side of the Covenanters. He had been active in pressing the town of Aberdeen to take the Covenant, and his success against the Gordons at the bridge of Dee left that royal burgh no other means of safety from pillage. At the head of his own battalion he waded through the Tweed in 1640, and totally routed the vanguard of the King's Cavalry. But in 1643, moved with resentment against the Covenanters who preferred the caution of the wily and politic Earl of Argyll, Montrose espoused the falling cause of royalty. — Scott's Introduction to Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. Montrose and the Covenanters. By Mark Napier, Advocate. 2 Vols. 1838. The following is a specimen of this advocate's style : * ' But in the progress of events all that was honest and sincere in the anti-papistical party in Scotland was superseded by an insidious democratic clique who, disguised for a time under the mantles of such enthusiasts as Knox and Napier, and pretending to identify Episcopacy with Popery, pressed onwards through their various stages of duplicity and crime until an ephemeral throne, born of their anarchy, was reared upon the prostrate necks of religion and liberty, whose sacred names they had taken in vain." We are almost tempted to say that Montrose's conduct, bad as it was, was not so inexcusable as the spirit which dictated such vindications. — Dr. M'Crie, ''Scot. Ch." p. 212. For the literature devoted to such causes there are many allowances to be made ; and the spirit that pervades it will meet a kindly appreciation by all who peruse the latest tributes heaped on the memory of Montrose by one allied to him in blood, and himself a chivalrous member of a chivalrous house. The secret of the interest we all take in such literature whether it is on our side or not is something akin to that which we take in the warm, unselfish attachments where, right or wrong, the man stands by his friend.— 5Mrfo?i, F"//., 12S. 416 TREASUEY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Letters concerning the War betwixt James, Marquis of Montrose, AND the Covenanters. Glasgow, 1773. After all that had passed it was hopeless to expect that Charles's authority would ever again strike root in the heart of the Scottish nation. One man indeed there was who, in after years, was to believe it possible, and who was destined to dash himself to pieces in the royal cause, against the rocky strength of Covenanting Scotland. That man was still a fiery youth, throwing himself heart and soul into the cause of the Covenant. Before 1637 came to an end, Montrose was in the thick of the opposition. When once he had chosen his side, he was sure to bear himself as a Paladin of old romance. If he made any cause his OAvn, it was not with the reasoned calculation of a statesman, but w^ith the fond enthusiasm of a lover. When he afterwards transferred his affections from the Covenant to the King, it was as Romeo transferred his affections from Rosaline to Juliet. He fought for neither King nor Covenant, but for that ideal of his own which he followed as Covenanter or Royalist. Nature had marked him for a life of meteoric splendour, to confound and astonish a world, and to leave behind him an inspiration and a name which would outlast the ruin of his hopes. — Dr. Gardiner, ''History;' VIII., 357. His death was heroic and manly, although not more so than that of his rival, Argyll, and of many others in the same dreadful period. Yet after all he did nothing — ripened nothing — retarded nothing — wrought no deliverance on the earth ; and it is best to look at him through the medium of the novels and ballads of which he is the hero, for it was never more true of any than of the Great Marquis that " He left a name at which the world grew pale, To point a moral or adorn a tale." —GiJfillan, '' Jlartyrs," p. 52. [Burnet the Archbishop of Glasgow preached his funeral sermon — " The Blessedness of the Dead. Printed at Glasgow by Sanders. 1673."] Life or James Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrews. 1678. First printed in 1678 ; to which was added an account of his death by an eye-witness, — printed by R. Chapman, Glasgow, in 1818. See the *' Miscellanea Scotica." For Sir Walter Scott's latest opinion of Sharp, see "Tales of a Grandfather," II., 295. The Scots Presbyterians were represented in London by a traitor who abandoned all. To the nation at large — including those who did not justify the deed — it was the natural end assigned to the bloody and deceitful man. — Br. J. H. Burton, " History;' VIL, 490. His subsequent doings show him to have been a double-tongued, two- faced schemer, over whose motives the chroniclers of opposite schools would be sure t© wrangle in after days. He appeared before Cromwell in London to represent, and plead for, the Presbyterian cause ; but friendship with the Protector did not prevent his corresponding with Charles in exile. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 417 any more than an apparently ardent attachment to the Scotch Kirk inter- fered with his courting the patronage of influential Anglicans. He was a dangerous friend and a treacherous ally ; and it is thought that his opponents, who denounce his memory, have not gone beyond the truth, or even up to it. He was an ecclesiastical weathercock, whose procedure was a trustworthy indication of the quarter whence the wind was blowing. History supplies few examples of baser treachery and dissimulation than are found in this extraordinary man. Just prior to the Restoration he left Scotland, ostensibly to represent and defend the interests of the Presby- terian cause ; but what he really did would constitute an incredible story, were not the facts well authenticated. He not only sold himself to the Anglican party as to the highest bidder, but, according to Burnet, he did so while sending ncM's to the other party in Scotland concerning the zeal with which "he was soliciting their concerns, not without dreadful imprecations on himself if he was prevaricating with them." Such an adept at duplicity staked all, even property and life, in the game he chose to play ; and he lost all. His murder was a crime unworthy of the Covenanting cause, and not to be identified with it ; but, nevertheless, when the bishop was dragged from his carriage and slain on the 3rd of May, 1679, there were many in Scotland who thought that a Goliath of the Philistine camp had fallen in accordance with the will of the Lord. — Sword and Troicel, ISS4. By a happy coincidence the year in which we are witnessing bicentenary celebrations all over the West of Scotland in honour of the heroes of the Covenant, adds to our library a couple of new volumes in which we find a fresh revelation of the motives of the men — if men they can be called— who were mainly responsible for the sufferings inflicted upon the faithful followers of Christ in the great Scottish conflict of the seventeenth century. The volumes are composed of matter derived from contemporary documents such as the Lauderdale papers in the British museum, and the collection of MSS. formed by Mr. T. Webster, M. P. They have been carefully edited by Mr. Osmond Airy, one of the two writers who have prepared the article on Presbyterianism in the latest volume of the Encydopcedia Britannka, and lor this important contribution to our historical literature we are indebted to the Camden Society. Here we have the terrible story unveiled by the chief actors themselves in the flagrant misgovernment of Scotland during the thirteen sorrow-laden years that followed the Restoration ; and although the tale is necessarily incomplete, it may be questioned if a more revolting exhibition of unprincipled and totally unscrupulous, as well as savage and bloody, wickedness is to be found in the entire range of human history. There are letters of the infamous Sharp in which that mitred ruffian, to whom a marble statue has been erected in the city of St. Andrews, proves under his own hand that he was rightly named "Judas," for he was the betrayer of his own familiar friends. Sharp's life-long course of fraud and hypocrisy has been subjected by Mr. Airy to a protracted scrutiny, and he has brought to light indisputable evidence, supplied by the archbishop himself, that whilst appealmg to his own "uprightness" in proof of his devotion to Presbyterianism he was giving the most active aid in his power to the restoration of Episcopacy over Scotland. While it is a source of deep humiliation to every Scotsman that his country should have produced monsters in human shape like the gang of whom Lauderdale was the chief ; and while the patriot must hang his head in even more profound abasement as he contemplates the facility with which the Scottish revolution of 1661 was accomplished, there is a set-off in the unflinching fidelity of the pious remnant whom no threats and no worldly loss could succeed in coercing. In the letters of the callous oppressors there crop up fresh illustrations of that nobility of character which makes the name of the Covenanters one of moral power to-day despite all the eflForts of reactionaries and unbelievers 418 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. to rob them of their reputation and to make the world believe that they were at the best only a set of ignorant and narrow-minded fanatics. — IF. H. Wylie, The Christian Leader, 1885. It is Gibbon we think who declares he is more shocked and disgusted by reading the accounts of the execution of Servetus at Geneva, and the murder of Archbishop Sharp than by all the tales of persecution heathen or Christian. This frank acknowledgment of the infidel betrays the real truth, and leaves us no room to doubt that hatred to true piety, and not mere disgust at its perverted form, was the real source of the feeling expressed. — M^ Cries ^'Scot. Oh.," p. 321. No pagan of the past times differed more in this respect from the Christians of the present, than the clansmen of the Highland Host did from the poor Covenanters, on whom they were turned loose by the archbishop of St. Andrews. . . . The archbishop suffered the punishment which there was no law to inflict upon him. — Hug It Miller. A Letter from James Sharp to the Earl of Middleton, proving HIS treachery in 1661. See "The Scottish Review" for January 1885. The writer, who disclaims all bias, brings into the light of day a document wliich settles the controversy. It may also be seen in the second volume of the " Archasol. Scotica," where it first appeared without note or comment. The original is said to be preserved in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries. In the " Review " for July, 1884-, the same writer presents materials drawn from original sources to show that Sharp's conduct from 1663 was that of a man destitute of honest principle, and that this was his reputation among statesmen of his day who made his knavery serviceable to themselves. An Accompt of the D. of Lauderdale's Ministrie, humbly tendered TO his Sacred Majesty. Edin., January 27, 1674. Lauderdale's policy was to compel uniformity by political stratagem and force of arms. It failed. The result was increased nonconformity, and the alienation and exasperation of the people. The above pamphlet was assigned to James Steuart, son of Sir James Steuart of Kirkfield and Coltness. William Carstares was supposed to have also had a hand in the authorship. It contained a severe indictment against Lauderdale and its stinging plainness lay in its truthfulness. \Vhen the executioner ia "Old Mortality" asked Lauderdale upon which of Macbriar's limbs he should employ his engine, the Duke replied : "Let him choose for himself, I should like to oblige him in anything that is reasonable." See Donald Cargill's estimate of the Duke, in the " Torwood Excommunication," Afcer the trial Lauderdale talked of granting Mitchell a reprieve, till the King should be consulted ; but Sharp, haunted by the dread of assassination, resisted such clemency: "Then," said the duke, with a brutal jest, and mimicking the cant (?) of the Covenanters, "let him glorify God at the Grassmarket ! " — Ganningham's History, II., 215. The most dishonest man in the whole Cabal. — Macaulay. As if Satan himself had suggested means of oppression, Lauderdale raked up out of oblivion the old and barbarous laws which had been adopted in the fiercest times, and directed them against the Nonconformists especially those who atteuded the field conventicles. — Sir Walter Scott, " Tales of a Grandfather." THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 419 Letters of John Grahame of Claverhouse, Viscount of Dundee, WITH ILLUSTRATIVE DOCUMENTS. Edited by George Smythe, Banatyne Club. Graham's Memoirs, written by an officer, appeared in 1714; they are reprinted in " Miscel. Scotica." In his "Lays of Scottish Cavaliers" Aytoun celebrates the loyalty of his hero, and falls foul of Macaulay. The verdict of the historian, however, will remain as the all but unanimous opinion of the Scottish people in spite of Aytoun, and Mark Napier too, in his " Life and Times of Claverhouse." For an exposure of Aytoun see " North British Review " for May, 1850. Two crushing attacks also upon the "Lays" and "Appendix"— the altars on which Aytoun offers incense at the shrine of the gallant Grahams— will be found in the " Free Ch. Magazine," VIL, 44. The late Mr. W. E. Aytoun lent all the enthusiasm of the poet of the cavaliers, and all the skill of an accomplished lawyer, to the enterprise of pro\nng the Christian carrier to be little else than a mythical personage ; but he fails to shake the narrative of Wodrow, or to explain away the damning facts of the case as admitted by Claverhouse himself.— Z>r. Story. Despatch of Claverhouse to the Earl of Linlithgow, Glaskow, Jun the 1, 1679. A curiosity of spelling and expression. There was only one Covenanter killed on the field of Drumclog ; five others died of their wounds. The loss of the Royalists was about forty. Claverhouse was no warrior, as Drumclog may testify. He only fought one real battle (Killiecrankie), and he fell in the beginning of it. The following is part of the Despatch, which will be found in Thomson's "Martyr Graves," I., 60 : — I thought that we might make a little tour to see if we could fall upon a conventicle ; which we did, little to our advantage. . . . They recaived our fyr and advanced to shok. The first they gave us broght down the Coronet, Mr. Crafibrd, and Captain Bleith, besides that with a pitchfork they made such an opening in my rone horse's belly that his guts hung out half an elle, and yet he caryed me afi" an m}^ ; which so discoraged our men that they sustained not the shok, but fell into disorder. There horse took the occasion of this and purseued us so hotly that we had no tym to rayly. I saved the standarts, but lost on ihe place about aight or ten men, besides wounded ; but the dragoons lost many mor. They ar not com easily af on the other side, for I sawe severall of them fall befor we cam to the shok. I mad the best retraite the confusion of our people would sufi'er. My lord, I am so wearied, and so sleapy that I have wryton this very confusedly. — /. Grahame. The fashion of idolizing Claverhouse and whitewashing Sharp and Dalziel began with Sir W. Scott, whose sense of justice, however, made him confess that the persecutor of the Covenanters was a "savage " and a merciless shedder of blood, and quote Peden's account of the murder of John Brown, and praise it for its Scriptural simplicity.— i?ev. James Taylor, D.D. The castles he stormed were the cottages of a praying people, from the alt irs of whose hearths there rose to heaven daily the morning and evening sacrifice. The trophies he left were ruined homesteads — wives gathering up the mangled remains of their husbands — children weeping round the body of their murdered sire. Call it chivalry if you will, when through the startled night the deep bay of the bloodhound mingling with the yell of his pursuers falls on the ear of the poor fugitive, fleeing through swamp and forest to that land of freedom that lies beneath the northern star — savage beasts in human and inhuman form in hot pursuit of one defenceless man, who is guilty of a skin not coloured like their own. Call it loyalty 420 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. when one who bears the name of Christian and boasts of his freedom delivers that trembling fugitive to his pursuers, because the laws of man thus requires him to contravene the eternal laws of God. Call these things loyal and chivalrous ; and when you thus call evil good and darkness light, I admit that Scotland may never boast a braver chieftain than Dundee. But till then — till the eternal distinction between right and wrong has been obliterated — let this man's memory rot ; let the execrations of an outraged people follow the name of him who was a curse to his country and a disgrace to his kind. — D?'. Landels. Preeminent among the bands which oppressed and wasted these unhappy districts were the dragoons commanded by Graham of Claverhouse. The story ran that these wicked men used in their revels to play at the torments of hell, and to call each other by the names of devils and damned souls. The chief of this Tophet on earth, a soldier of distinguished courage and professional skill, but rapacious and profane, of violent temper and of obdurate heart, has left a name which, wherever the Scottish race is settled on the face of the globe, is mentioned with a peculiar energy of hatred. — Macaulay. The Laird of Lag : A Life Sketch. By Alexander Fergusson, Lieutenant-Colonel, author of ^^ Henry Erskine and his Kinsfolk," " Mi's. Calderivood's Letters," etc, Edinburgh, 1885. After all the whitewashing of his biographer, Lag stands forth as the cruel persecutor of the Covenanters, the associate of Claverhouse and abettor of despotism. When we find him appointed joint-sheriff of Wigtownshire with Claverhouse, in 1685, we may guess what that means. Let Irongray, Anwoth, and Blednoch Bay bear testimony. After the Revolution he resided for the most part at Lag Tower, though occasionally at Rockhall, where part of the plot of Bedgauntlet, in which he forms a prominent figure, is said to have been brought out under his guidance. He died in 1733. His "Elegy" was one of the popular chap books of the day. Carlyle considered it the production of the pen of an old dominie who lived in the parish of Hoddam. Grierson of Lag, a very Herod according to the Covenanting traditions, among the persecutors of the faithful. — Burton. Memoirs of Captan John Creichton, Collected from his oivn materials by Dean Swift. That a soldier of fortune like Creichton, bred up, as it were, to the pursuit of the unfortunate fanatics who were the objects of persecution in the reigns of Charles II. and James II., should have felt no more sympathy for them than the hunter for the game which he destroys, we can conceive perfectly natural ; nor is it to be wondered at that a man of letters, overlooking the cruelty of this booted apostle of Prelacy in the wild interest of his narrations, should have listened to and registered the exploits which he detailed. But what we must consider as shocking, and even disgusting, is the obvious relish with which these acts are handed down to us in Swift's own narrative ! — Sir W. Scott. Creichton was as pronounced a fanatic in his own way as any field preacher among the Covenanters, and had the lurking places of what he conceived to be sacrilegious rebels revealed to him in dreams, after, it might be supposed, a night's hard drinking. — Gunnyon. [Creichton gives sketches of the battles of Drumclog and Bothwell, but to palliate the humiliating defeat at Drumclog he makes '' the rebels eight or nine THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 421 thousand strong " — thousands instead of hundreds. It was Creichton who circulated the caluminous story as to the gallows which stood near Hamilton. He affirmed that "the rebells had set it up in the middle of their camp, and prepared a cartfull of new ropes, in order to hang up the king's soldiers, etc," — Page 435.] Thh Stoic's Address to the Fanatics, By Sir George Mackenzie, the Lord Advocate, whom Dryden designated " that noble wit of Scotland " but whom the Scottish people, possessing a closer acquaintance with the relentless persecutor, have more correctly styled the " bloody Mackenzie." His own words amply justify the epithet — " It fares with heretics as with tops, which, how long they are scourged, keep foot and run jdeasantly, but fall how soon they are neglected and left to themselves." The willing instrument of the most prying and painstaking persecution of insignificant and fanatical offenders [shocking, as coming from the son of the saintly author of " Peace in Believing," a memoir of the humble but eminently pious Isabella Campbell of Fernicarry] that Christendom has ever seen. — Dr. Story. He has still an unpleasant place in the local imagination of the Edin- burgh citizens, and is known to the Scottish people generally as the " Bluidy Mackenzie," the persecutor of the Covenanters. His name was long a species of ogre to boys frequenting Greyfriars churchyard. It was a general belief that his body could not rest peacefully in his tomb ; hence it was deemed a brag for a boy with more courage than ordinary to shout through the keyhole of the door of the vault : — Bluidy Mackenzie come out if ye daur, Lift the sneck and draw the bar. Sir Thomas Dalziel or Binns. General Dalziel has been less fortunate than Claverhouse or Lag in the matter of a biographer. Dean Swift has given him a place in his '■Memoirs of Creichton," Besides the Dean we know not that the Muscovy beast has had another admirer. His memory is still execrated for his fierce persecution of the Covenanters. By bis reiterated proposals " to extirpate " the Covenanters, General Dalziel vindicates the accuracy of the execrations of his name that are to be found on many of the martyrs' tombstones on the Scottish moors, and does indeed write himself down as that Muscovy beafif so graphically portrayed by Sir \Yalter in the pages of "Old Mortality," See "Fresh Light about the Persecutors," The Christian Leader, 18S5. Ex UNO DiscE OMNES. — William Mure of Caldwell fled to Holland, where he died of grief in 1670. His estates were forfeited and bestowed on that unrelenting persecutor Gen. Thomas Dalziel of Binns. Lady Caldwell and her daughters were reduced to poverty, imprisoned for attending conven- ticles, and suffered much for their firm adherence to the cause of truth. — Saint Mirin by David Semple. Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe's Works, Bred for the Church, he never took orders, but became a great literary hack, and curious collector of old scandals which he retails with infinite delight. Besides the works of Kirkton and Law (p. 365), he edited the 422 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. "Life of Lady Margaret Cunninghame," a narrative of the " Conversion of Lady Warristoun," the " Letters of Lady Margaret Kennedy" or Burnet to John, Duke of Lauderdale, etc. Here is a specimen of the way this Tory of the old Cavalier school speaks of the "brood" of Covenanters, and by no means the worst : " It is astonishing to consider how anxious the female zealots at that time were to make their husbands, nay their favourite preachers, obtain the martyr's crown through the medium of a halter." See Wod., L, ix. The malignant effusions of these men — such drivellers as Hickes, Calder, Caddel, Ehind. and others — I had thought were long ago consigned to the "tomb of all the Capulets," when lo ! the editor of Kirkton and of Law, like a true resurrection man, has brought them before an insulted public in the shape of numerous references to such books as " Ravaillac Redivivus," "Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence." — Dr. Robert Burns. Sermon by Dr. A. K. H. Boyd, St. Andrews. Dr. A. K. H. Boyd not only preached but printed a sermon in which, while shedding tears over the marble tomb of Sharp, he sneeringly denied the title of the Covenanters to be regarded as witnesses for Christ, main- taining that they were merely political zealots ; but this shallow view of a dilettante pulpiteer of our own time is rebuked by many an unintended tribute to the religious and moral dignity of their victims that is to be found in the letters of the persecutors. We are told of the " unparalleled obduracy " of the people, who were not in the least terrified by the Bar- badoes or by any mode of punishment which the fiends were able to devise, and how in many a homestead there were brave matrons who upbraided their husbands and sons for not dying on the slopes of the Pentland hills. No mere political motive ever did inspire a passion like this. True, it was for the rights of a king that these witnesses were contending ; but these were the crown rights of the Redeemer. Only the love and fidelity inspired by the Cross could have sustained the hearts of the sufferers in that struggle which has done more than aught else to make the name of Scotland a moral force in the world. — W. H. Wylie, The Glmstian Leader, 1885. The Case eor the Crown in Re the Wigtown Martyrs proved to BK Myths versus Wodrow and Lord Macau lay, Patrick the Pedlar, and Principal Tulloch. By Mark Napier. 1863. Mark Napier has made a deliberate attack on the Covenanting martyr- ology of Scotland. He takes up a single case, proves it mythical to the satisfaction of the sheriff of Dumfriesshire, and then bids us from a single case judge all. Napier was the first to deny the Wigtown martyrdom. He did so in his " Memorials of Dundee," in 1862, more than 170 years after the event. In the above pamphlet of 142 pages he treats the subject at length, constructing his Case for the Crown on a minute of the Privy Council, granting a reprieve, and discharging the magistrates of Edinburgh from executing the sentence. Wodrow had heard of this reprieve, but he knew also that the sentence of drowning was put into execution. " Close research has led me to the conviction," writes Napier in the preface, " that not a single individual was unjustly put to death for rebellion or high treason in Scotland by the governments of the Restoration." One marvels that a " sheriff" could write in such strains — still more, that a gentleman of his position could tarnish his laurels by condescending to characterise Margaret Wilson, as " the prima donna of the water opera," etc. He may rave as he chooses about the Case for the Crown, but few individuals will peruse his pages without feeling that the Case for the Martyrs gains at every step. History in this case has been well vindicated by Dr. Stewart of Glasserton. The lawyer and man of blood has gone down like a shot before the well-directed aim of his antagonist. See Women of the Covenant — III. Miscellanea. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVEN A ST. 423 III. THE LITERATURE OF THE POST-REVOLUTION PERIOD. THE HISTORIANS OF THE COVENANT. Suppose the question were put by some ingenuous youth, or some simple-minded maiden, just beginning to take an interest in history, *' Which is the best history of Scotland?" how sadly puzzled must good papa or dear mamma be to give an answer ! Robertson is good, but he gives but a section of the history; Laing gives another section, but he is dry and tedious; George Buchanan, even with Mr. Aikman's continuation in six volumes, is out of the question; and as to Patrick Fraser Tytler, with his State Paper Office authorities, his High Church bigotry, and his tag-rag and bob-tail slander against Knox and the Reformers, what parent possessed of true Scottish spirit would think of presenting such a dish of mawkish vanity and effete Toryism before his innocent and unsuspecting offspring. The truth must be owned,— our most attractive histories^ have been written either by men of no religion, or by men of a religion alien to that of Scotland. We think Mr. Thomson has succeeded to a very happy degree.— i^. C. JIagazine, VI., S4S. [The reference is to the Rev. Thomas Thomson's History of Scotland for the use of schools. Since then, not to mention Dr. Burton's volumes, we have been furnished with a complete history in a single volume, by a writer who is in thorough sympathy with all that is great, patriotic, and religious in the annals of the country— we refer to the "History of Scotland " by the Rev. James Mackenzie. It is a most fascinating book, and ought to be put into the hands of every son and daughter in the land.] Memoirs of the Church of Scotland; from the Reforma- tion TO the Union. By Daniel De Foe. 1717. De Foe entered the field of ecclesiastical controversy by writing "The Shortest Way with the Dissenters," in reply to a sermon preached by Sacheverell, in which he said " he could not be a true son of the Church of England who did not lift up the banner of the Church against the Dissenters." In cutting irony De Foe exhorted the High Church party to proceed to destroy her enemies. So skilfully was the argument conducted that High Churchmen read the pamphlet with unbounded enthusiasm, hail- ing it as from a friend. When the secret got out De Foe had to pay a fine of 200 merks, stand three times in the pillory, etc. He was afterwards employed to assist in cementing the Union in 1707. From books, and from living witnesses he got to know of the sufferings of the Church of Scotland, and though neither Scotchman nor Presbyterian himself he could not bear to think that the sufierers " should lie buried in theii' own ashes." All the information collected has been worked into his " Memoirs " with a felicity of pen worthy of the author of "Robinson Crusoe." 424 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. He reckons the number of sufferers at 18,000 — see Memoirs (Ogle), p. 96. The following is the testimony he bears to the Church : — When we view the soundness and purity of her doctrine — the strictness and severity of her discipline — the decency and order of her worship — the gravity and majesty of her government : when we see the modesty, humility, and yet steadiness of her assemblies ; the learning, diligence, and painfulness of her ministers; the awful solemnity of her administration; the obedience, seriousness, and frequency of her people in hearing, and universally an air of sobriety and gravity on the whole nation ; we must own her to be at this time the best regulated national Church in the world, without reiiection upon any of the other nations, where the Protestant religion is established and professed. His narrative of the earlier part of the eventful history of the Presby- terian Church may be perused with pleasure, even by those who have lived to see the same period treated of by the greatest historical writer of the present day, Dr. M'Crie; while his representations of the more recent troubles in the times of the Covenanters, his descriptions of the battles of Claverhouse, and the cruelties of the persecution under James II. need scarcely shrink from a comparison with some of the most picturesque passages in the first " Tales of my Landlord." — Preface to CadelVs Edition of Robinson Crusoe. There are, perhaps, few English writers to whom the Church of Scotland owes so many obligations as to De Foe, who watched her interests with fidelity and affection, at a time when she was threatened by powerful enemies, and defended her with a zeal and ability which could only be expected from a warm friend and admirer. — Dr. Laing. Historical Collections of Private Passages of State, Weighty Matters in Law, and Remarkable Pro- ceedings IN Parliament. By John Eushworth. 1721. The author (1607-1690), a native of Northumberland, was a barrister in London. The Restoration of Charles proved fatal to his fortunes. " The work has been violently attacked by royalist and High Church writers as unfair, and even false, but their charges have not been substantiated." The History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scot- land FROM the Restoration to the Revolution. By the Rev. Robert Wodrow. With Memoir, etc., hy the Rev. Robert Burns, D.D., Paisley. 4 Vols. 1828. The Rev. R. Wodrow (1679-1734) was the son of Prof essor James Wodrow of Glasgow, and was ordained minister of Eastwood in 1703. He married a granddaughter of Guthrie of Penwdck. His history was published in 1721. The subscription price was £2 2s. ; there were 650 subscribers. It is the great storehouse of Covenanting literature. Wodrow's father had accepted the indulgence, and the liistorian is perhaps a little severe on those who condemned conformity. In bringing out the above edition the publishers had the assistance of John Struthers (p. 432). The truthfulness of the History is placed beyond all reasonable question. He was rather prejudiced than otherwise against the "Old Dissenters;" THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. -425 and if his narrative is open to censure at all it is in doing scrimp justice to that party of the Covenanters who followed the extreme opinions of Cargill and Renwick, for which he has incurred the suspicion of such writers as Howie of Lochgoin. — T. M'Crie, D.D. The reader who desires to feast himself amply on the spirit and literature of the period will betake himself to tlie work so often cited in these pages — Wodrow's History, etc. It deals solely in the part of Scottish history connected witli religion for a period of twenty-eight years, and it is longer than Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." There were many in his own day, and there still are some, to whom the matter of his discourse can never be tedious. . . . The chief value of his Avork to the historical inquirer is in its multitude of documents — some reprinted from rare works, others taken from manuscript authorities. — Biirton, VII., 570. The editor of Kirkton (Sharpe), and the editor of Leighton (Pearson) unite in terming Wodrow a disingenuous historian, but these two authors coincide in all those politico-ecclesiastical sentiments which necessarily induce a cordial dislike of such a work as that in question. Wodrow and the Covenanters will, when tried in the crucible of a most rigid and not over liberal investigation, "come forth like gold." — Dr. Robert Burns. It is written with a fidelity that has seldom been disputed, and con- firmed at the end of each volume by a large mass of public and private records. — Dr. Chalmers. It has been a fashion among Jacobite and Episcopal writers to decry the historian of the "Sufferings;" but his narrative is in too many instances authenticated by external testimony to be thrown aside as legendary. In every important detail where I have been able to compare his statements with other and original authorities I have found him right. — Dr. Story. ["But what generosity, or even regard for truth could be expected from creatures of the stamp of Wodrow?" writes Professor Aytouu. Behold in these words the bitter spring, whence has issued of late years that poison which has tainted literature, perverted judgment, and corrupted conscience ! Professor Aytoun is facile jrrinceps in the field of ballad and romance, but when he tries to prove an alibi in favour of Claverhouse, with a view to make people believe that he was not even present at the murder of John Brown of Priesthill his estimate of Wodrow will be regarded of little critical or historical importance. "Unfortunately for the success of the Professor's attempt to vindicate the character of his hero the despatch of Claverhouse to the Duke of Queensberry, giving a description of the atrocious deed has since been found and published." See p. 419.] The loads of martyrological tradition collected ]>y Wodrow and other writers require to be far more thoroughly and critically examined and weighed than they have yet been before historians can safely use them. The common estimate of their historical worth appears to me to be far too high.— Pro/. Flint, LL.D., St. Giles' Led., /., ;^^2. Bishop Burnet's History of His Own Time. From the Restoration to the Conclusion of the Treaty of Peace at Utrecht. 6 Vols. Land., 1724-34:. Gilbert Burnet was born at Edinburgh in 1643. His father was one of the Lords of Session after the Restoration. His mother was a sister of Johnston of Warriston. Presented to the parish of Saltoun in 1665. In 1679 he jmblished a "History of the Reformation of the Church of England," for which he obtained 426 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. the thanks of Parliament. It was he who was instrumental in leading the Earl of Rochester to abandon his wicked life. The bishop was one of a deputation sent by Leighton into the west of Scotland to reason with and, if possible, " to win over the ejected ministers and the nonconforming people." He was forced to make this confession : — The people of the country came gener- ally to hear us, though not in great crowds. We were indeed amazed to see a poor commonalty so capable of arguing upon points of government, and on the bounds to be set to the power of princes in matters of religion. Upon all these topics they had texts of Scripture at hand, and were ready with their answers to anything that was said to them. This measure of knowledge was spread even among the meanest of them, their cottagers and their servants. Bishop Burnet published his "History" immediately after our author had given to the world his "History of the Sufferings;" and these two works, however different and even opposite were the sentiments of their authors, confirm each other in all the material transactions of the period. With the bishop's sentiments, indeed, either regarding matters of govern- ment in general, or the character of the Covenanters in particular, we have nothing to do ; but we appeal to his corroborative testimony as to an un- exceptionable witness, — Robert Buruft, D.D., Wod., /., ix. Let any person of unsophisticated taste and true piety read "The Christian's Great Interest," and it will not surprise him that a church, which had many such village pastors, should have fixed itself in the affections of the nation at large, and that instructed by such men, the humblest classes of the community should have had so much religious knowledge, as Bishop Burnet somewhat reluctantly admits they possessed. — Dr. Leishnian, Pref. to Binning' s Works, p. ocxi. A Modest and Free Conference betwixt a Conformist and A Non-Conformist, about the present Distempers of Scotland. 1669. In this Bishop Burnet publicly appeared as an antagonist of the Presby- terians. "He did not treat them with the greatest mildness, and was in turn handled by his opponents without much ceremony." He was answered in 1671 by "The True Non-Conformist," to which he replied in " A Vindication of the Authority, Constitution and Laws of the Church and State of Scotland. Glasgow^, 1673." The dedication of this last was to the Duke of Lauderdale, "under whose wise and happ}'^ conduct we have enjoyed so long a tract of uninterrupted tranquillity." In the same dedication he also speaks depreciatingly of the Covenanters. (See p. 342.) The History of the State and Sufferings of the Church of Scotland from the Restoration to the Revolution. By the Rev. William Crookshank, A.M. 2 Vols. 1749. Wodrow's history being deemed too large for general use. Crook- shank undertook the task of reducing it into narrower compass. He also made use of such other helps as threw light upon the events of the period. He was minister of the Scots Congregation, Swallow Street, Westminster. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 427 History of Scotland. By Principal William Robertson. 1759. Principal Robertson was unquestionably a great man, — but consider in what way ? Great as a leader — not as a *' Father in the Church." It is not to ministers such as the Principal that the excellent among my countrymen look up for spiritual guidance amid the temptations and diflBculties of life, or for comfort at its close. Great in literature — not like Timothy of old, great in his knowledge of the Scriptures ; aged men who sat under his ministry have assured me that in hurrying over the New Testament, he had missed the doctrine of the atonement. Great as an author and a man of genius — great in his enduring labours as a historian — great in the sense in which Hume, and Gibbon, and Voltaire were great. — Hugh Miller, " Letter to Lord Brougham." It has also been a melancholy prognostic of the state to which we are progressive, that many of the most eminent literati of modern times have been professed unbelievers ; and that others of them have discovered such lukewarmness in the cause of Christ as to treat with especial goodwill, and attention, and respect, those men who, by their avowed publications were openly assailing, or insidiously undermining the very foundations of the Christian hope ; considering themselves as more closely united to them by literature than severed from them by the widest religious differences. It is with pain that the author finds himself compelled to place so great a writer as l)r. Kobertson in this class. But, to say nothing of his phlegmatic account of the Reformation (a subject which we should have thought likely to excite, in any one who united the character of a Christian divine with that of a historian, some warmth of pious gratitude for the good providence of God)' his letters to Mr. Gibbon, lately published, cannot but excite emotions of regret and shame in every sincere Christian. — Wilherforce's '■'Practical View," p. 304- A History of the Kencounter at Drumclog and Battle at Bothwell Bridge in the month of June, 1679 : With an account of what is correct and what is ficticious in the Tales of my Landlord, respecting these engagements ; and Reflections on Political Subjects. By William Aiton, Esq., Sherifi"-Substitute, Hamilton. 1821. — The closing chapter of this book is amusing, and contains "An Account of the Commemoration, in June, 1815, of the Skirmish at Drumclog, with reflections thereon ; and on the folly and danger of the lower orders in society becoming politicians or attempting to direct the Government." Tales of My Landlord. Collected and arranged hy Jedediah Cleishbotham, Sclioolmaster and Parish-Clerk of Gander- clevgh. 4 Vols. Fdin., 1816. The author of the Tales has certainly succeeded more than any- other modern writer in prejudicing the minds of many against the Covenanters, and re-awakening the dormant spirit of Jacobitism, especially in the upper classes of society ; while the biographer of Knox by his defence of these worthies against the misrepresenta- tions of the novelist has been almost equally successful, chiefly with another class of readers, in converting what was intended as a caricature of our pious ancestors into the occasion of exalting them more highly than they were before in the esteem and veneration of his countrymen. — Dr. APCrie, the Younger. 428 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The Life of Sir Walter Soott, Bart. By J. G. Lockhart ; With a Prefatory Letter hy James R. Hope Scott, Q.C, to W. E. Gladstone, M.P. From the correspondence here we learn that Southey declined offers of engagement on the " Edinburgh Review," and wrote to Scott expressing his regret that Wordsworth in his magnificent Sonnet on Killiecrankie should have introduced that type of ultra- toryism, Viscount Dundee, without passing any censure upon his character. In reply Scott wrote (15th Dec, 1807) : — As for my good friend Dundee I cannot admit bis culpabihty to the extent you allege, and it is scandalous of the Sunday bard to join in your condemnation, "and yet come of a noble Gra3me !" I admit he was tant soit peu savage, but he was a noble savage ; and the beastly Covenanters against whom he acted hardly had any claim to be called men, unless what was founded on their walking upon their hind feet. You can hardly con- ceive the perfidy, cruelty, and stupidity of these people according to the accounts they have themselves preserved. But I had many Cavalier pre- judices instilled into me, as my ancestor was a Killiecrankie man." Review of '' Tales of my Landlord " — Christian Instructor, 1817. On December 4, 1816, Dr. Andrew Thomson, Edinburgh, editor of the "Christian Instructor," wrote to Dr. M'Crie thus: — I hope you are not forgetting your promise to review Jedediah Cleishbotham. My opinion now is that the author is the author of Guy Mannering, and that he is Walter Scott. I will tell you the ground of my opinion when we meet. Blackwood is not close enough for us cunning dogs. At the same time, don't let your zeal for the Covenanters, and your eagerness to be revenged on their vile calumniators make you neglect the Bishop and Archdeacon of Calcutta. They must have a niche in our January number. And pray do them justice. Dr. agrees with us in thinking that Walter has not done justice to the Covenanters. But don't quote his authority in your review. To which M'Crie replied : — After a slice of the fattest and nicest bit of the flesh of Cleishbotham, Claverhouse, Dalziel and other savage wild animals, I have, I confess, a great longing to be at them and could instantly fall on without waiting for your formal concurrence and directions. But the vexatious circumstance is, that they are live stock and must be killed before they are eaten, and this will be tough not to say dangerous work. Figure apart, are you really in earnest about reviewing Tales of My Landlord *? Is there not an awkwardness in your engaging in such a work 1 Do you mean it to be executed in a serious strain, or in a merry mood, or in a manner made up of both 1 It is always understood that you and your underling are capable of both, etc. To this Dr. Thomson : — Review the Tales and take your own mode of doing it. Begin immediately, and go on with all the rapidity of one who has the pen of a ready writer. Spare not the vile Tory of an author. Praise his Scotch, which is exceeding good, but reprobate his principles with all your might. . . Go on with Cleishbotham. I long to see the Covenanters rescued THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 429 from his paws. I shall send you your "Scots Worthies." I have nob the " Cloud," but I daresay Blackwood has by this time got back his copy from the author of the Tales, and I shall desire him to transmit it to you without delay. [The Keview re-appeared in 1824 in "A Vindication of the Scottish Covenanters," a volume which had a large circulation.] See Section TV. It was felt at the time to be a most powerful attack. Of all men in Scotland M'Crie was the best fitted, from sympathy and knowledge of the subject, for meeting Scott on the battlefield of the Covenant. . . . His reply was a vigorous production, discovered a manly independence of sentiment, and rose here and there into robust eloquence, and an invective reminding you of the anathemas of Cargill and Cameron. He carried too, with triumphant success, the warfare into the enemy's camp, and, by way of counterpoise, quoted from Episcopalian divines of the same period, specimens of bathos profounder still, of a more adventurous nonsense, of silliness and stupidity more unique, and of prejudice, bigotry, and blind- ness far more total and hopeless. — Gilfillan. It must not be forgotten that the tendency of history and opinion had been to the royal side in Scotland, and that where Mary Stuart was the favourite heroine, John Knox was scarcely like to have his full rights as the great patriot and wise statesman he proved himself to be. And no more deadly wound could have been aimed at the national prejudices and pre- possessions, than Sir Walter, the pride of Scotsmen, had aimed at the heroes of the Covenanters. — Mrs. Oliphant, ^'Literary History of England.'' Quarterly Review, 1817. At first Scott refused to read M'Crie's review, and wrote : — " The author of a very good life of Knox has, I understand, made a most energetic attack, upon the score that the old Covenanters are not treated with decorum ; I have not read it, and certainlv never shall." Yet Scott not only read the articles in which the historic foundations of his Tale were called in question, but con- tributed an essay for the " Quarterly " in defence of his position. Lockhart thinks the article was probably written by Scott's bosom friend, William Erskine. Morley, in " Men of Lettei^," adopts this suggestion, but that Scott was a consenting party to the critique and something more, has been pretty generally believed. Even Bishop Cazenove is compelled to write — "As, however, Scott, for the purpose of mystification, transcribed the article with his own hand he must be considered a consenting party to the main drift and purport of this critique." History of Scotland. By Sir Walter Scott, Bart. In the following passage the writer disposes of the alleged sufieriugs endured by the Episcopal ministers rabbled [mobbed] out of the Kirks at the period of the Revolution : — Now since these armed Nonconformists had been, to use their own language, for nearly twenty years proscribed, forfeited, miserably oppressed, given up as sheep to the slaughter, intercommuned, and inter- dicted of harbour or supply, comfort or communion, hunted and slain in the fields, in the cities imprisoned, tortured, executed to the death, or 430 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. banished and sold as slaves, it might have been expected that a bloody retaliation would take place as soon as they had the power in their own hands. Yet it must be owned that these stern Cameronians showed no degree of positive cruelty. They expelled the obnoxious curates with marks of riotous triumph, tore their gownis, and sometimes compelled them to march in mock procession to the boundary of their parish church ; but they evinced no desire of personal vengeance. Nor have I found that the clergy who were expelled in the memorable month of December, 1688, although most of them were treated with rudeness and insult, were in any case killed or wounded in cold blood. Nor did it pass unnoticed that the author of "Waverley, when he had occa- sion in his subsequent novels to touch on the character of the Covenanters, treated them with much more respect and even made some sort of compen- sation, as in the case of Jeanie Deans, though a very inadequate one, for the wholesale outrage committed on those of her persuasion in the tale of Old Mortality. — Dr. M'Crie, the Younger. History of the Church of Scotland from the Establish- ment OF the Reformation to the Revolution. By George Cook, D.D. Bdhi., 1815. The historian of the Moderate party of the Church of Scotland — he regards with complacency the Erastian policy of King James, and glorifies the ecclesiastical policy of Principal Robertson and Dr. Hill. Cf. p. 427. Dr. Cook, who, in his History will persist in constantly styling the members of the Assembly of 1638 "the faction." Abominable ! — Christian Instructor, 1839. History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. By James Seaton Reid, D.D., Carrickfergus. 2 Yols. Bdin., 1834. The civil and religious history of Ulster, from the accession of James I. to 1689, is here told in simple and truthful language. Dr. Reid afterwards \vi'ote "Seven Letters to the Rev. C. R. Elrington, D.D. , occasioned by his animadversions in his Life of Usher on certain passages in the History of the Presbyterian Church." In these he vindicates Robert Blair from certain charges brought against him, etc. History of Scotland. By P. F. Tytler, Esq. When we see Tytler in his Puseyite history of Scotland persevering to misrepresent in the spirit of deadly hostility to the truth the characters and doings of our Presbyterian forefathers, and with mincing effrontery repeating charges against them which have been proved to be false, and which he cannot prove to be true, who can fail to see that the hosts are mustering to the battle on the old battle-field, with the same weapons and in the same spirit 1 — Dr. Hetherington. Tytler's History of Scotland Examined. A Review. 1847. Among other misrepresentations Tytler brought the infamous charge against Knox of being an accomplice in the assassination of Rizzio. The reviewer produces overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and shows Tytler lacking in the power of sound judgment and generalization. the literature of the covenant. 431 Historical Notices of Scottish Affairs selected from the Manuscripts of Sir John Lauder of Fountainhall, 1661-1688. Edited with Preface and Notes hy David Laing. 2 Vols. 1848. Lord Fountainhall was a distinguished lawyer and statesman (1646-1722). He acted as part counsel for Argyll in 16S1. He offered all constitutional resistance to the despotic measures of the government prior to the Revolu- tion, and proved a zealous supporter of the Protestant cause. " Historical Observes of Memorable Occurrents in Church and State from 1680 to 1686" appeared in 1837, and "Chronological Notes," with introduction by Sir Walter Scott, in 1822. On 18th January, 1682, the Privy Council, to manifest their displeasure, caused the Solemn League and Covenant, with the Lanark Declaration, and what was called Cargill's Covenant, to be burnt by the hangman at the Cross of Edinburgh, the magistrates being present in their scarlet robes. Some thought it but a sorry politique to burn the Solemn League, to revive the memory of what was so* long buried iu oblivion. . . . This set people more a work to buy it and read it. — Fountainhall, *' Hist. Observes." The History of England from the Accession of James II. By Thomas Babington Macaulay. Lond., 1849. A work of immense labour, patient investigation, and profound study. Lord Macaulay was not a Claphamite like his father, but he had a great veneration for the sect which circulated the Bible, organized evangelical work at home, and destroyed the slave-trade abroad. The endeavour to thrust the Liturgy upon Scotland in 1637 the historian styles a "senseless freak ;" yet he admits that to this " our country owes her freedom." The story of the martyr- doms that took place in Scotland in 1685 is admirably told. Lord Macaulay admires the moral heroism of the Covenanters, but has comparatively little sympathy with their principles. Moreover, when he represents them as affirming that the broad- swords of Athol and the bayonets of Claverhouse w^ould be put to rout by weapons as insigniticant as the sling of David or the pitcher of Gideon — and more to like purpose — lie simply caricatures. It is unnecessary to refer to Macaulay's History for the detail of all the truly memorable circumstances attendant on the landing of the Prince of Orange in Torbay, only the writer would wish to accept in the full a share (if well deserved) in the imputation of superstitious weakness therein hinted, against such as delight to consider those circumstances providential, and to render all the praise and glory of our great national deliverance to Him whom winds and waves obey, who maketh inquisition for blood, and who is verily the God that judgeth in the earth. — Mrs. Meiiteath, "Lays of the Kirk and Covenant," p. 149. The New Examen ; or, an Inquiry into the Evidence relating TO certain Passages in Lord Macaulay's History. By John Paget, Barrister-at-Law. Edin.^ 1861. Mr. Paget is always rhetorical, always abusive, and always wrong. He tells with equal pomp and prolixity the assassination of Archbishop Sharp in order that we may sympathise with Claverhouse. After this tedious 432 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. account of a murder in Fife, which we are to condemn, we are told of a murder in Lanarkshire which we are to applaud — the story of the Christian carrier. — Scotsman. [See "The Scottish Review," May, 1883, for another vindication of Lord Macaulay's sketch of Claverhouse and the Covenanters of the West in the face of certain recent critics seeking to depreciate the brilliant historian.] History of Scotland. By James Aikman, Esq. Translated from the Latin of George Buchanan, with notes and a continuation to the Union. Brought down to the year 1843 by Struthers. Aikman likewise wrote ' ' An Historical Account of Covenantmg from the First Band in Mearns, 1556, to the signature of the Grand National Covenant, 1638;" and Annals of the Persecution in Scotland from the Restora- tion TO the Revolution. 1842. A most interesting volume, worthy of the historian, and beautifully illustrated. To this much vilified bond [1 638] every true Scotsman ought to look back with as much reverence as Englishmen do to their magna cha^ia. It was what saved the country from absolute despotism. — Aikman' s History, III., Uo. History of the Church of Scotland from the Introduction OF Christianity to the period of the Disruption. By the Rev. W. M. Hetherington, LL.D. 1843. As might have been expected from the pen of one so deeply interested in the destinies of the Free Church, Mr. Hetherington has thoroughly investigated that portion of his country's church history which relates to the subject of patronage. We think he has made out a good case for the views adopted by those who act with him ; though we by no means see, upon his principles, how the Church can maintain her spiritual indepen- dence, and the State continue to exercise control. Indeed, we are frank to confess that Mr. H.'s defence of what he considers to be the original platform of the Scottish Church, only convinces us the more that Church and State cannot be united on the principles of the Gospel. — Evangelical Magazine, XXL, 657. Germany, England, and Scotland ; or, Recollections of a Swiss Minister. By J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, D.D. 1848. Contains a glowing account of our Scottish struggles. The historical facts, however, have not always been mastered by the great Swiss theologian. For example he states that during the century preceding the Veto only 63 churches were erected by voluntary contributions, whereas the Secession and Relief alone had built upwards of 400. As far back even as the year 1765 there were 120 meeting houses of Dissenters with an attendance of 100,000. The Church History of Scotland from the Commencement OF THE Christian Era to the Present Time. By John Cunningham, D.D. 2 Vols. 1882. Dr. Cunningham belongs to the extreme Bread Church party, and is known as one of the authors of the famous " Scotch Sermons." The first edition of his history stopped at the period of the Non-Intrusion controversy; the second brings the narrative down to 1882. The narrator, who finds THE LITERATURE OF THE COVE X A XT. 433 SO much to admire in the latitudinarianism of the latter half of the eighteenth century has but little sympathy with the great evangelical struggles of the nineteenth. While he beholds little worth contending for on the part of the evangelicals, he stands up on the other hand for the site-refusing landlords, "who could not in conscience grant ground for propagating Dissent where all had hitherto been peace and amity." Apart from " Secession " and " Disruption," the history is generally distinguished by great fairness and impartiality. There now live among us a good many wise men who think that Andrew Melville and Alexander Henderson were very narrow-minded persons, and that the Covenanters made much ado about nothing, and w^ere martyrs by mistake. Among those who have themselves attained to so high an elevation that they can afford to review the proceedings of the times of which we have been speaking with a condescending pity is the Rev. Dr. Cunningham of Crieff, who, in his " Church History" says — "It may without much liberality be allo^ved that Christianity would have survived in our country though Presbyterianism had been destroyed. Christianity is not bound up with any form of Church polity. The sternest Presbyterian will at length allow that a bishop may be a Christian man. It was not therefore for Chris- tianity but merely for Presbytery that our forefathers fought, etc." By such good words and fair speeches have the hearts of the simple been deceived in all generations. Language like what we have just quoted was probably precisely that which was used by Archbishop Sharp, and with more sincerity by his associate Leighton. But what are the conclusions which Dr. Cunningham wishes us to draw from these innocent looking premises ? They are such as these : That our forefathers fought for trifles, etc. — Our Church Heritage, j)- •^-^• The Pictorial History of Scotland from the Poman Invasion to the close of the Jacobite Rebellion. By James Taylor, D.D. 2 Vols. 1859. One of the fullest and best accounts we have of the res gestce of the Scottish Church and nation. In his great work, Dr. Taylor had the able assistance of Professor John Eadie, D.D., LL.D., Professor William Lindsay, D.D., Rev. John Anderson, D.D., and others. Dr. Taylor has since written "The Age we Live in." The Rev. Dr. Taylor of Glasgow, whose labours have done so much to elucidate our early Scottish history. — Right Hon.James Moncre>Tf\M.P.,lS59. Lectures on the History of the Church of Scotland from the Reformation to the Revolution Settlement. By the late Very Rev. John Lee, D.D., LL.D., luith Notes and Appeyidices from the author's papers ; edited by his son, Professor William Lee. 2 Vols. 1860. Principal Lee of Edinburgh was the son of a worthy elder, James Lees (he retained the s), in the Secession congregation of 2e 434 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Stow, and began his theological course under Dr. Lawson of Selkirk. He had a warm place in his heart for the Covenanters. Besides these Lectures he wrote "The Increase of Faith." Lord Neaves penned a brief memoir of him in 1862. The History of Scotland. By the Eev. James Mackenzie. 1867. The Eeformation is not done with the vigour of far inferior events. Knox and Melville are not up to their true height, and their greatness does not strike you as it should in that pageant of kings, statesmen, soldiers, ecclesiastics, that passes before you. The great spiritual movement of the times is rather feebly developed. The desifc-iption of the martyr years is not by any means equal, we think, to other parts of the book, Claverhouse and his coadjutors get their due ; but the noble sufferers scarcely get theirs. —The Presbyterian. (Cf. p. 423.) The Story of the Scottish Church from the Reformation TO THE Disruption. By the Rev. Thomas M'Crie, D.D., LL.D. 1875. The first portion of this work was published in 1846, under the title of " Sketches of Scottish Church History," embracing the period from the Reformation to that of the Revolution. This has been revised throughout, and a continuation added. No Church in Christendom afibrds so many incidents of stirring interest as the Scottish Church (including its various branches), and we have here within reasonable compass its varying fortunes described — its rise and progress, — its declensions and revivals, — its struggles and its victories. The History of Scotland from Agricola's Invasion to the Extinction of the last Jacobite Insurrection. By John Hill Burton, LL.D., Historiographer-Royal for Scotland. 8 Vols. 1876. Dr. Burton has gone very carefully over the history of the Covenanting period, particularly the twenty-eight years which followed the Restoration, where every inch of ground has been contended for by High Churchman and Covenanter, and though not a Presbyterian himself, has decided most of the disputed points in their favour. His work is perhaps the best history of the struggle that has yet been written ; it is history and commentary together. Dr, Gardiner finds fault with him for regarding Gordon as an original authority, and quoting him as such. Gordon borrows largely from the Declaration (p. 96). St. Giles' Lectures. First Series — The Scottish Church. Lecture VII. on The Covenant (1660-1690) is by Professor Flint, D.D., LL.D. In this lecture the Covenanters come in for a good deal of eulogy, but the effect is pretty much neutralised by statements of an opposite character. Dr. Flint pays too great deference to writers of a different school from that on which he sheds lustre by his reputation and THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 435 accomplishments. He affirms that proof is wanting that Sharp betrayed the Covenanting cause. This may seem charitable, but it is sacrificing the interests of truth to charity. See "Burton;" also, "Scottish Review" for July, 1884 ; cf. p. 416. Dr. Flint affirms too, as if it were matter of historic fact unquestioned, that the Coveaanters "had a large gibbet erected in the midst of the camp [at Bothwell] with a cartful of new ropes at the foot of it." The statement, first published by Captain Creichton, and now repeated by Professor Flint, is a gross fabrication. Contemporary writers make mention of a gallows, and speak of it as they would do of any post or monument marking a particular spot. Elackadder ("Memoirs," p. 229) states that the piisoners "were all gathered together about a gallows that stood there." It was the ordinary gallows that occupied the accus- tomed place of execution. Creichton must have known this, yet he wrote that it was erected in view of victory, and in order to hang the king's soldiers. C. K. Sharpe is displeased that Wodrow takes no notice of the gallows. For M'Crie's decisive opinion see "Memoirs of Veitch," p. 459. Never did men cling more consistently and tenaciously to their creed, or suflTer more for the sake of conscience than the members of this party — the Hillmen, the Wanderers, the Faithful Remnant, the Wild Whigs, the Cameronians, etc., as they were variously designated. Whatever may have been their faults their fidelity to conviction has been seldom equalled in the history of the world. Nor can there be any reasonable doubt as to the chief source of their steadfastness and strength. It is impossible to read the reports of their sermons, or any of the writings which they penned, without being impressed by the obvious sincerity, thoroughness, and assuredness of their faith in God and Christ — by the directness, self-consciousness, and closeness of their sense of communion and personal relationship to Jehovah. There may be diflferences of opinion as to how far their piety was at various points enlightened, but a denial that their piety was singularly real and operative must be traceable either to ignorance or to religious unsusceptibility. — Professor Flint, B.D., LL.D. The Teaching of History in Board Schools in Scotland. 1884. A deputation from the clergy and laity of the Scottish Episcopal Church waited upon Mr. Mundella, M.P., January 20, 1884, to make representations regarding statements published in the history books used by the Edinburgh School Board. Dr. Cazenove introduced the deputation, and Dr. Dowden read memorial, and submitted a statement, in which he took exception to facts like the following : " Those were dark days for Scotland," — " Clarendon had resolved to uproot Presbyterianism," — "They found an able and unscrupulous instrument in James Shai-p," — " Lauderdale gave place to a bitterer persecutor, James, Duke of York, who often amused his leisure hours by witnessing the infliction of the boot and the thumbscrew, etc." Mr. Mundella said that this was not so simple a matter as some seemed to think. They appealed to him, as representing the Educational Department, to become an arbiter on the burning controversial questions of history. It was impossible that they could interfere with the discretion of School Boards in these 436 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. cases. The very books which the Episcopalians used in their own schools were an offence to the Presbyterians and the Roman Catholics. The majority of the books used in his own Church — for he was a member of the Episcopalian Church of England — were constantly the subject of complaint to him in London. He had had cases brought before him quite recently of a history written by the head of a Church of England training college, in which Cromwell and the Puritans were subjected to very gross imputations, being spoken of as canting hypocrites with the Scripture on their tongues and every kind of bad motive in their hearts. And, he said, they must remember that the Noncon- formists included something like half the population. How could he sit as an expert on these different books'? How could he say to the Poman Catholics, "In your teaching of history there is a suggestio falsi and there is a supjjressio veri ? " They would turn round and say, "It is in your books." How could he say to the Presbyterians that in their description of Claverhouse they had overdone one part or underdone the other? He would set alight a flame of controversy from one end of Her Majesty's dominions to the other. He was thankful that the Privy Council had always refused to interfere in the matter of books. All that they required was that they should be of a certain standard. The books ought to be left to the choice of the School Boards, who were the local authority, and not to be dictated to — as they were here practically dictated to — as to what kind of book was to be used in any particular district. Her Majesty's inspector had no right to give his im27rimatur about books, and he very much objected to any dictation of that kind, and it was contrary to the instructions of the Department. No word but impudent describes aptly the demand of the self-elected representatives of a sect which numbers about 2^ per cent, of the popu- lation that the historical manuals in use in the national schools should be altered to suit their crotchets. The impudence becomes more glaring when we recollect that this sect, along with the Roman CathoHcs, enjoys the privilege, withheld from others by Lord Young's Education Act, of having its own schools recognised by Government and subsidised by Government grants. These schools are avowedly proselytising. Bishop Chinnery Haldane had a predecessor, who without disguise urged the maintenance of the Episcopal schools, on the ground that they were "the seed-plots of the Church ;" and what they are in Argyllshire they are every- where— centres of exclusively Episcopal influence and rigidly sectarian teaching. And it is the promoters and upholders of these "seed-plots" who calmly wait upon Mr. Mundella and invite him to do what he can to change the character of the historical instruction in the national schools. The proposal is certainly a cool one. If we add together the Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, and other religious bodies whose views of the facts and the philosophy of history may be presumed to differ from those of the mass of the nation, we have at the most an aggregate of 12 per cent., or a fraction more. None of these bodies make any plaint, except the Episco- palians ; but supposing them all at one in the matter, is it reasonalale to expect the 88 per cent, to give place to the 12 ? And, after all, what have THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 437 Bishop Cotterill and Mr. Montgomery and their deputation to complain of ? Nothing more deadly, as far as we can make out, than that the children of Scotland are told in their books of history that Charles I. was not a man of his word and was connected with the introduction of Episcopacy into Scotland, that James Sharp was an able and unscrupulous instrument in the hands of Charles II., that Lauderdale was a renegade from the faith whose professors he persecuted, that the English Act of Uniformity turned 2000 clergymen out of their parishes, that a larger proportion of the popu- lation signed the Covenant than seems believable to Mr. James Bruce, W.S. Well might Mr. Mundella, brought face to face with so much narrowness and presumption, say, "I beseech you, let it alone. If I could I would not interfere. Never mind about Lauderdale and Sharp and Charles I. Let them say what they like about them. Pray, forgive me for not feeling myself in accord with you. I feel sure that nothing bat harm, nothing but controversy, nothing but bitter feeling, would result from reviving the dead controversies of the past. " There spoke the enlightened statesman to the bigoted ecclesiastics. But what else could he say ? Even men so little in unison with the mind of Scotland as Dr. Cotterill and Dr. Dowden could hardly flatter themselves that Scotch history would be recommended by the Minister of Education to be re-written to please a few Anglican propagandists and Scotch fanatics. It may suit these to canonise King Cnarles I., and to put Sharp's name foremost in the roll of Scotch bishops; but Scotland at large is not going to reverse the judgment of history which has pronounced the one a wrong-headed and truthless absolutist and the other a shifty and ambitious turncoat. We should like to ask Bishop Cotterill and his friends what they think it probable Scotland would have been at this day had her history run in their groove ; if Charles had kept his head on, and Sharp had transmitted his episcopate in peace, and Lauderdale stamped out the Covenant, and the Revolution of 1688 failed to send the prelates bag and baggage across the Tweed ? Of one thing we are certain — there would have been no public schools and no Ministers of Education to listen with polite forbearance to the outpourings of fussy and self-conceited folly. . . . When men push themselves forward to find fault with methods or manuals of education, they ought to be able to show that their own are better than those which they object to. Unfortunately for their consistency, these critics of Scotch history are egregious violators of the rule of colourless neutrality which they profess to admire. They would emasculate the lessons of Scotch history; but what do they teach in their own schools? If common report be true as to the "seed plots," history, Scripture, Catechism, and everything else are taught from the most rigorously sectarian standpoint. But as regards the schools in Eng- land under control of the church to which Bishop Cotterill belongs, we do not need to trust to mere report. We have what Mr. Brooke in "Middle- march " valued so highly—" documents." There is a " Church Catechism " widely used in these schools, and of which the following is a sample : — "Q. 84— Is not the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, as it is denominated by law, considered by the Church as one of its branches? A.— No; and therefore there is a branch of the true Church of Christ in that country, which, for the sake of distinction, is called the Episcopal Church. Q. 85— We have anKjugst us various sects and denomina- tions who go by the general name of Dissenters. In what Ught are we to consider them ? A.— As heretics. Q. 86— Is then their worship a laudable service ? A.— No ; because they worship God according to their own evil and corrupt imaginations, and not according to His revealed Will, and therefore their worship is idolatrous. Q. 9-2- But do we not find among them many good men ? A.— Many doubtless are unexceptionable characters io a moral point of view, but they are not holy men. Q. 93— Wherein consists the difference? A.— A moral man is one who acts from the impulses of education, position in society, and other worldly principles ; a holy man is one who does good works by the Divine aid of the Holy Ghost, duly using the means of grace. Q. 04— But why have not Dissenters been excommunicated ? A.— Because the law of the land does not allow the wholesome law of the Church to be acted upon ! " — Glasgoio Herald^ January Jly 1884' 438 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. History of the Scottish Nation. By Rev. J. A. Wylie, LL.D. 1886. This promises to be the magnum opus of the venerable author, and it will more than sustain his reputation as a conscientious, painstaking, and popular historian. — United Presbyterian Maga. ESTABLISHED CHURCH LITERATURE. Ubi Christies ibi Ecclesia is the oldest and truest Church mark in the world. We may extend it so far and say : If you want at the present time to find the Church of Scotland — the Church of the Reformation and of the Covenants — the Church of Knox and Melville, and Rutherford, and Boston, and the Erskines — you must seek it not exclusively in any one denomination, but among the membership of the various fragments into which the ancient national institute has been broken. Wherever the marks indi- cated appear, there will be met the life-stream, which we hope and believe will yet cover the whole land. — Rev. N. L. Walker. I do not think that the Church has anything to fear, for I am sure that disestablishment will in the long run bring her gain and not loss. And this much I say, that if I believed with the Earl of Lindsay that disestablishment would cause the country either "to lapse into callous disregard for all religion" or into "settled atheism," I would feel myself constrained to work and pray with all my heart for its speedy accomplishment, in order that the removal of a religion which has such a slender hold upon the people might make way for a religion of a deeper, stronger, and more enduring character. I do not believe, however, that any one sect has a monopoly of the religion of the country, or that if any one sect disappeared religion would disappear with it. The Church of God is not the Established Church, nor the Free Church, nor the United Presbyterian Church, nor any other. The Church of God is made up of all true believers, and never shall the seed of the kingdom cease to be sown by God's true and faithful servants until the day comes when heaven and earth shall join in the joyful harvest home. — Rev. W. Jeffrey, Free St. Paul's, Glasgoiv, 1885. Testimony of the King of Martyrs. By John Glass. 1729. Probably a majority of the Scottish clergy still counted themselves bound by the Covenants their grandfathers had sworn, and a common topic of discourse was the breach of these Covenant engagements. The Seceders especially had pleasure in such themes. This was now to be openly called in question, not upon legal but upon high evangelical grounds. So early as 1725, the Rev. John Glass, minister of Tealing, began to preach against the Covenants as incompatible with the spirit of the gospel dispensation and the sacred rights of conscience. His opinions in fact pointed to In- dependency and Voluntaryism. He was brought before the courts of the Church, and after a lengthened trial he was deposed by the Commission in 1730.— /oA7i Cunningham, D.D. See Wod. Cor., III., 458. Serious Conferences anent Separation between an Adherer to the Church of Scotland and a Secedek. By Rev. John Currie. 1741. Currie of Kinglassie wrote against Separation, and W. Wilson, Perth, wrote in reply. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 439 The very divisions that have takea place in the history of the Church, much as they are to be regretted otherwise, have had the effect of stirring enquiry. Every secession had to justify itself in the forum of the popular conscience from the Word of God. It has set men to discuss, to take up their ground on reasons of convincement, and to be able to defend their position against all comers. It must be admitted that this has not escaped its abuse. It has made numbers of its adherents hard-headed and opiniona- tive, ready to split hairs, and mistake points for principles ; but it has made the people as a whole intelligent, self-reliant, and energetic, fitted to stand their own in fields of enterprise at home or abroad, and ready to make sacrifices for what they believe to be the cause of God's truth and man's freedom, that will compare with those of any Church in the world. —Prof. John Ker, D.D. Every period has its danger. After having had to sustain in the six- teenth century the hateful and perfidious struggle against Popery, and in the seventeenth the violent and cruel one against Prelacy, the Church of Scotland was now to be enfeebled in the eighteenth by the enervating and lethargic vapours of Patronage and Moderatism, The Arian and Arminian doctrines elaborated in Holland and England found in this country a well- prepared soil. In the opinion of many the gospel was no longer a work of expiation and regeneration, accomplished by Jesus Christ ; it was trans- formed into a "milder dispensation," a Neonomianism without either grandeur or strength. The patrons naturally preferred these Arminian clergymen to the evangelical ministers, finding among the former men more compliant. — D^Aubigne, '^Scotland," p. 3S6. Answers to the Reasons of Dissent from the Sentence of THE Reverend Commission of the General Assembly, ON March 11, 1752. In connection with the Inverkeithing case. This is the style of the answers : " Who, before the Dissenters, ever contended that the mild exercise of acknowledged authority in a particular case is destructive of all government, civil and ecclesiastic ? " Memoirs of the Public Life of Mr. James Hog of Carnock. 1789. By Eev. A. Bruce of the Theological Academy, Whitburn. Hog was the son of the minister of Larbert, and nephew of Thomas Hog of Kiltearn. A biographical notice of Hog, from the pen of John Struthers, appeared in the "Christian Instructor;" another by Rev. C. G, M'Crie will be found in "Brit, and For. Evang. Rev.," 1884. See also Wod. Cor., I., 23. Works of the Rev. John Maclaurin, late one of the Ministers of Glasgow. 1830. With introductory Essay by the Rev. John Brown, D.D., Edinburgh. Maclaurin's father was minister in Glendaruel, and one of the translators of the Gaelic version of the Psalms into metre; he died 1698. There were tliree sons — Daniel, who died early ; Colin, who became one of the most celebrated mathema- ticians of the age ; and John, ordained minister of Luss in 1719, and translated to the North West Church, Glasgow, in 1723. He began his ministry in Glasgow by preaching on the necessity of Divine grace to make the word efi'ectual ; he afterwards threw himself heartily into the revival of 1742. The first edition of 440 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Maclaurin's sermons and essays appeared in 1755, under the care of his son-in-law, Dr. John Gillies. The latest is by Dr. Goold, who says of him that " he stood even higher than the estimate we might form of him from his works — magni stat nominis uiiibra." Dr. John Brown has placed on record his deliberate opinion of the merits of this author, whom he had "no hesitation in denominating the most pro- found and eloquent Scottish theologian of the last century. Maclaurin is by no means a dry writer. There is a depth of spiritual feeling corresponding to the extent and clearness of his spiritual discernment. Indeed, he com- bines in an extraordinary degree excellencies which seldom meet, and have sometimes been thought incompatible ; for, while scarcely less intellectual than Butler, he is as spiritual as Leighton. " John M'Laurin whose sermon on Glorying in the Cross is of all printed sermons the one which God has honoured most, and whose appropriate monument may still be found in the city of his sojourn — in prayer meetings which he originated there a hundred years ago. — Dr. James Hamilton. He is beyond all doubt an earnest believer in the doctrines of grace, and substantially one with Rutherford and Brown ; yet he is evidently looking at all things from a changed point of view. There is an underlying element of apologetic in what he writes. Still more striking to me is the literary culture which he displays. The elaboration of the sermon on the Glory of the Cross ["Glorying in the Cross of Christ"] is something quite foreign to the theologians of whom I have spoken, with the single exception, so far, of Binning. In Maclaurin we see Christianity forming an alliance with modern culture, yet in such a way as to promise hopeful results. — Rev. James Walker, D.D., '^Scottish Theology,'' p. 31. Historical Collections relating to Remarkable Periods of the success of the gospel and eminent instruments employed in promoting IT. In 2 Vols. Comjnled hy John Gillies. 1754. A most interesting account of Revivals of religion in various countries, particularly in Scotland. Dr. H. Bonar wrote a Pre- face and Continuation to a new edition of the work in 1845. Dr. Gillies also originated a religious serial, the first number of which was dated — Wednesday, September 26, 1750, and entitled, "An Exhortation to the Inhabitants of the South Parish of Glasgow and the hearers in the College Kirk." Example of Plain Catechising upon the Assembly's Shorter Catechism. 1737. The writer was the Rev. John Willison (1680-1750), one of the eminent evangelical ministers who remained in the establishment, hoping to stem the tide of Moderatism. His efforts proved fruitless. He was also the author of " The Afflicted Man's Companion," "Sacramental Meditations," etc. Ecclesiastical Characteristics; or, the Arcana of Church Policy. 1753. Being an humble attempt to open the mystery of Moderation, wherein is shown a plain and easy way of attaining to the character of a Moderate man, as at present in repute in the Church of Scotland, by Dr. John Witherspoon, Paisley.— Descended from Knox, through the heroic Mrs. Welsh, Witherspoon inherited the spirit of the reformer. He saw clearly THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 441 the advance and reign of Moderatism in the Church, and satirized it in this able work. The satire cut deep, and he was attacked on all hands. He wrote in defence a "Serious Apology." Bishop Warburton spoke of the "Characteristics" with commendation, and wished the Church of England had such a corrective. Witherspoon also wrote an " Essay on the Connec- tion between the Doctrine of Justification by the imputed Righteousness of Christ and Holiness of Life," etc. In 1768 he accepted a call to act as President of Princeton College, New Jersey. He died in 1794. The long reign of what the Scotch call Moderatism had left the Church a desert. It is a system loudly cried up to-day in England, and very ostentatiously do its advocates parade their zeal for honest and upright living, continually declaring against what they call "dogma" in favour of morality; forgetting that, deprived of the mighty motives which secure and sustain it, morality itself cannot survive. — Jiev. C. A. Davis. The Christian Observer. Owed its birth to a discussion at the Eclectic Society in 1799, on the question introduced by Rev. Josiah Pratt, " How far might a periodical be rendered subservient to the interests of religion?" Zachary Macaulay — son of the Rev. John Macaulay, minister successively of Barra, Inveraray, and Cardross, and father of Lord Macaulay — was sole editor from 1803 to 1816. Zachary belonged to the Clapham sect, that noble band whose labours gave the death-blow to slavery in the British Dominions. Born at Cardross in 1768, he found a tomb in 18.38, in Westminster: — "Who during forty successive years, partaking in the counsels and the labours which, guided by favouring Providence, rescued Africa from the woes, and the British Empire from the guilt of slavery and the slave-trade, meekly endured the toil, the privation, and the reproach, resigning to others the praise and the reward." Lord Macaulay 's first literary work was making the index to Vol. XIII. Religious Monitor; or, Scots Presbyterian Magazine. A Scottish periodical publication under the care of evangelical ministers in the Established Church — Drs. Davidson, Campbell, Wright of Stirling, Dickson of St. Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, Scot of Perth, Sievwright of Mark- inch and others. It was commenced about 1803. The Christian Instructor. 1810. This excellent magazine was established by Dr. Andrew Thomson of St. George's, Edinburgh, in 1810. It nobly espoused the cause of the Covenanters, and did for evangelicalism in Scotland what the Tracts for the Times did for the Oxford movement. See Walker's "Scottish Church" p. 130. The great leaders of the evangelical movement in Scotland were Drs. Erskine, Moncreifi", Thomson, and Chalmers. The "Instructor " for November, 1824:, contains the announcement which led to the formation of a society " to secure more generally the appointment of acceptable ministers to parishes." The "Scottish Christian Herald," in^-ended to enforce the "essential principles of Evangelical Grace and Truth," was originated in 1836. It continued down to the Disruption. The newest organ of the Establishment is "The Scottish Church," 1885, "organised by Scottish churchmen who wish, through it, to promote the interests of the [Established] Church." Account of the Life and Writings of John Erskine, D.D. Edin., 1818. By the Rev. Sir Henry Wellwood Moncrieff. While but a stripling of twenty, Erskine wrote a pamphlet in opposition to " Man's Inability," by Professor Camj)bell of Aberdeen, which 442 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. secured for him the admiration and friendship of Bishop Warburton. It was this Erskine who led the Evangelicals in the Assembly of 1796, when foreign missions were condemned (p. 200), and who uttered the memoiable saying on the occasion, which has since become one of the most honoured of Scottish watchwords, " Moderator, rax me that Bible." See Samuel Gilfillan's " Memoir," p. 78. Letter from Sir George Sinclair of XJlbster, on Union WITH the Establishment. 1824. The writer considered this a favourable time for trying the experiment to heal the breach caused by the Secession, and addressed Dr. M'Crie on the subject. Dr. M'Crie replied, — "I am not prepared to say that 'the pure doctrines of the Gospel are more generally preached in the Established Church than when the unfortunate division took place.' I suppose it will be admitted that those who are understood not to preach the Gospel with the greatest purity have uniformly or at least generally the sway in the Church courts ; and I need not state to you that it is the general impression both within and without the Church that it is now an almost hopeless task to procure the conviction in the General Assembly, of a minister who may be chargeable with error in doctrine, or various pieces of immorality in practice." With the passing of the Veto Act in 1834, the tide turned, and the dominant place in the Church passed from the Moderates. A great revival was the consequence, and in 1842 the evangelical ministers in the Church of Scotland, rather than compromise their principles, went forth to form the Free Church, and to enjoy a spiritual freedom outside the Establishment, not to be found within its pale. Sir G. Sinclair came out after '43. See Arnot's "Life of Hamilton," p. 413. Selections from the Registers of the Presbytery of Lanark FROM 1623 TILL 1709. Edin., 1839. The Church then wished to make the Church the State, and the State the Church. The men in those days had no idea of true liberty. Their maxims were : You have liberty to think what is right, but not to think what is wrong. We (the Church) are to judge what is right; ergo, you can think only as we permit you. They were a grossly superstitious set. The above Presbytery frequently incarcerated witches, and sent for a great ally of theirs, a certain " George Catly, pricker," to riddle the old women with j^ins to find out the marks of Satan. And yet to these men we must go for wisdom to guide us in 1841 ! Mercy forbid ! I am thank- ful to have none such Presbyterian inquisitors. — Dr. Norman Macleod. Letter to the Peers, from a Peer's Son, on the Duty and Necessity of Immediate Legislative Interposition in behalf of the Church of Scotland, as determined by considerations of Constitutional Law. 1842. Presbytery Examined: An Essay, critical and historical, ON the Ecclesiastical History of Scotland since the Reformation. Bij the Duke of Argyll. London, 1848. The work called forth "A Vindication of the Church of Scotland, occasioned by the Duke of Argyll's Essay on the Ecclesiastical History of THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 443 Scotland, 1850," by Dr. Patrick Macfarlan; "Correspondence between the Duke of Argyll and the Rev. Andrew Gray of Perth," etc. The Duke of Argyll has published a book of his own composing on the History of the Church of Scotland, being probably the only Scotch duke who ever did so. . . . Now, little duke, become a great man, and justify my predictions by fulfilling them. — Lord Cockhurn. If the Duke can clearly follow the analysis of his own argument which is given in this work he must feel that he has yet to begin the study of the subject on which he has so rashly written; that he neither understands Dr. Arnold's theory on which his own is based, nor his own itself, as appears from the self-contradictory nature of his argument ; that he has wholly misconceived the principles of Knox, Melville, Henderson, and the Free Church, and that he is still unacquainted with the elements of Scrip- ture language and interpretation, etc.— i''. C Magazine, VIL, 154. Ten Years of the Church of Scotland from 1833 to 1843. With Historical Hetrospect from 1560. By Rev. James Bryce, D.D. 2 Vols. 1850. Dr. Bryce is the historian of the Moderates, as Dr. Buchanan is the historian of the Evangelicals, and Dr. Turner of the Middle party — including the famous "forty" — who betrayed the cause of Non-Intrusion and spiritual independence. The principle that guides the writer is that of the Church's entire subjection to the secular power. Erastian principles, so far from being palliated, are openly avowed and gloried in. The Scottish Secession of 1843; being an Examination of THE Principles and Narrative of the Contest which led to that Bemarkable Event. Bij the Bev. Alex. Turner, Jlinister of Port of Menteith. 1859. Dr. Turner is the historian of the Middle party, which consists for the most part of persons who, after defending the principles and co-operating in the measures of the Non-intrusionists, " turned their back on themselves," and, because certain consequences which they might have foreseen from the commencement were unavoidably imminent, became as fierce " for moderation " as the lineal descendants of the heroes of Witherspoon's satire.— T^ev. George Brooks. It was a position exposing those who held it to all the vitiipei'ation and abuse of the Non-intrusionists, hurled even more vehemently at them than at "the old Moderates," because their opponents could not but perceive that in the middle party, and specially among the Forty, there were not a few on whose earnestness, piety, and sincerity they could cast no slur, and who in spirit were far removed from indifference or Erastianism. The old Moderates, such as Dr. Cook, Dr. Mearns, Dr. Bryce, were their long- established foes ; but this new battalion was made up of different men, whose opposition was less expected and less easily flouted with the old reproach of Moderatism.— i>/\ Story, ''Memoir of Robert Story," p. 272. The Late Secession from the Church of Scotland. By the Bev. J. Macfarlane, Dudding stone. 1846. 444 treasury of the scottish covenant. Truth as Revealed; or, Voluntaryism and Free Churchism OPPOSED TO the Word of God. 1847. With an Answer to the Protest left on the table of the General Assembly in jMaj, 1843. By the Rev. George Smith, minister of Birse. *' A book remarkable for its boldness, a boldness arising from ignorance." See "F.C. Magazine," V., 56. Analecta : Collections upon the Lives of the Reformers AND MOST eminent MINISTERS OF THE ChURCH OF SCOT- LAND. Maitland Club. Among the lives selected for publication are : Erskiue of Dun, Boyd, Cameron, Spottiswood, Willock, and Carswell. "The Lives are in most instances only first draughts," writes Dr. Laing, " hastily put togetlier ; the style is remarkably careless and slovenly." See p. 424. Besides his great work and his biographical collections, Wodrow left behind him, though unconsciously, something still more interesting to the curious. This was his note-book of private experiences. It was intended evidently merely for the refreshing of his own memory. The "Analecta," frequently consulted by the curious, in manuscript, in the Advocates' Library, was printed for the Maitland Club in four volumes quarto, of which it may be simply said that they contain some of the most amusing reading in the English language. — Burton^ VII., 571. The Correspondence of the Rev. Robert Wodrow. Edited hij the Rev. Thomas M'Crie, D.D. 3 Vols. 1842. Six hundred and forty-eight selections out of a total of 3880 letters. They contain notices of many of the covenanting worthies, and the notes by M'Crie are invaluable. Memorials of His Time. By Henry [Lord] Cockburn. 1856. A kind of autobiography into which have been interwoven anecdotes, portraits of men and women, ecclesiastical sketches, etc. Cockburn was the companion of Brougham, Horner, Jeffrey, and others " from whom he imbibed liberal opinions greatly to the annoyance of the hereditary Toryism of his family." Journal of Henry [Lord] Cockburn. 1874. In reading any of the ancient proceedings of our Church, I am always struck with wonder how any person can discover in them evidence of an intended subjection by our old ecclesiastics to the civil power in relation to the qualifications, calling, induction, or deprivation of ministers. If the Auchterarder case had occurred in 1638, or at any time for a century afterwards, the patron would have been set in a white sheet at the church door, the presentee deposed, and the court of session excommunicated. — Lord Cockhurn. the literature of the covenant. 445 The Exclusive Claims of Puseyite Episcopalians to the Christian Ministry Indefensible : With an inquiry into the Divine right of Episcopacy, and the Apostolic Succession; in a series of letters to the Rev. Dr. Pusey, by John Brown, D.D., Langton, Berwickshire. The work before us is replete with learning, and may be fairly pro- nounced a thorough investigation of the hollow and fallacious claims of diocesan Episcopacy, in so far as these are attempted to he derived from history. The letters of Dr. Brown, although they do not go quite far enough for us, are amply sufficient to shake the whole fabric of Puseyism '*upon the doci;rine of Apostolic Succession, and can hardly fail to convince every candid reader that the system finds no support either in early antiquity or in Scripture, We thank Dr. Brown for his learned, acute, and most seasonable protest against the exclusive claims of Puseyism and cordially recommend bis letters to our readers. He has rendered an acceptable service to the cause of the Gospel, in defending the right of all to Apostolic Succession who succeed to the doctrine of the apostles ; other succession there can be none. — Eclectic Review. Presbyterianism Defended against the Exclusive Claims OF Prelacy as urged by Eomanists and Tractarians. By the Rev. T. J. Crawford, D.D. This combination of individual parity in those who are called to bear office in the Church of Christ, with full jurisdiction as to all spiritual matters in those ecclesiastical courts of which they are constituent members is the grand distinctive feature of that system of Presbyterian government which is happily established among us. ^Ye have good and sufficient reasons for believing that this system is "founded on, and agreeable to, the Word of God. " We know, from long experience, that it has been fraught with manifold and signal benefits to our Church and country. We prize it as a most precious heritage bequeathed to us by our venerated forefathers, who secured it for us at the cost of many bard struggles, and painful sacri- fices, and noble martyrdoms, of which it would ill become us to be unmindful. And may I not add, that one and all of us are humbly but heartily determined, by the help of God, to assert, maintain, and defend it to the uttermost ?—Pro/e5sor Crawford, D.D. Leaders of the Reformation. By the Rev. John Tulloch, D.D., LL.D. Admirable popular lectures on Luther, Calvin, Latimer, and Knox. By these, as well as by the kindred sketches of Cromwell, Milton, Baxter, and Buuyan contained in "English Puritanism and its Leaders," not to speak of " Theism," and his other writings, Principal Tulloch has made all Scotsmen his debtors. Both in "Macmillan" and "Eraser" Dr. Tulloch has likewise stood up nobly for the Wigtown martyrs against Mark Napier. The Wedderburns and their ^Vork ; or, the Sacred Poetry OF THE Scottish Reformation in its Historical Relation to that of Germany. By Dr. Alexander F. Mitchell, Professor of Hebrew and Ecclesiastical History, St. Andrews, one of the worthies of the 446 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Church of Scotland. Dr. Mitchell has also enriched Scottish theological literature by "The Westminster Assembly," etc. With the commencement of a new century a more earnest spirit began to revive among the ministers and members of the Church. Noble-hearted men like Chalmers, Thomson, and Inglis, were raised up to stimulate and direct their awakening energies in various departments of Christian work. Bible societies were instituted, missionary associations were formed, and at length that Foreign Mission Scheme, devised by the wisdom of Inglis aad developed by the genius and Christian enthusiasm of Duff was stai'ted, and the great Church extension movement for gathering in the lapsed masses in our large cities and mining villages was pressed forward with all the unwearying energy, contagious enthusiasm and commanding eloquence of Chahners. — Prof. Mitchell, D.D., *' Fear Book." The Reconstruction of the Church of Scotland and Re- Union OF THE Presbyterian Churches on the Refor- mation AND Revolution Basis of 1560 and 1690. In "Brit, and For. Ev. Rev.," July 1873. The writer, a parish minister, is not in sympathy with the cry delenda est Carthago. " Let the churches unite," he says, "on the old ground of the Covenanters" — on the Acts above named, — Scotland's Protest against Rome. Five points are stated as affording a basis for private conference and future action. Domestic Annals of Scotland from the Reformation to THE Revolution. By Robert Chambers. 3 Vols.. 1874. The work contains many interesting references to the Covenanters. In one case (Vol. II., 261), the editor speaks of Claverhouse as a "political enthusiast." But the Rev James Murray of Cumnock comes to the rescue of truth and writes : The apologist in this instance is both good-natured and talented ; but it has evidently cost him an effort to make aught of such a subject. Some one has either said or written that the sure result of washing a blackamoor must needs be a considerable loss of pains and soap. The "Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen" a standard work the first of its kind, by R. Chambers, Alexander Whitelaw, John Struthers, and others appeared in 1835. See also "Book of Days," I., 26, 448. Chambers's Miscellany of Instructive and Entertaining Tracts. 1870. We can scarcely comprehend how any men in their senses should have plunged into and maintained such a career of wickedness and folly — the wickedness of attempting to dragoon a whole nation into opinions to which they expressed a settled repugnance ; the folly of expecting to be successful. That they completely failed in their efforts has just been shown, but more than this, they actually damaged the cause which they espoused. Their persecutions impressed a rooted hatred of Episcopacy and an equally intense love of Presbyterianism in Scotland, sentiments to all appearance not likely soon to be weakened. To the present day the Scotch refer with national pride and enthusiasm to the great stand made by their ancestors for con- science' sake in the seventeenth century ; and in their popular tales, the achievements of the Covenanters have eclipsed those of Wallace, Bruce, and other national heroes. May the remembrance of these deeds serve only to cherish mutual forbearance and toleration, with every other Chris- tian virtue.— J/{.sceWa?i?/, Vol. XL, Tract 86. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 447 Monuments and Monumental Inscriptions in Scotland. By the Rev. Charles Rogers, LL.D., F.S.A. Scot. 2 Yols. London: PublisJied for the Graminan Club. What poets, and orators, and artists, and philosophers have come to us from that northern hind ! How greatly have her sons distinguished themselves in the arts of war or peace ! In the many martyrs' memorials we see what strength there was in the faith, which made not merely old uien, with one foot in the gi'ave, not unwilling to ascend to heaven in the martyr's chariot of fire, but which led the youth, to whom life" was oi)ening with all its charms, and the tender-hearted maiden, to accept willingly imprisonment and death, ratlier than to obey man and forget God. On every hillside are planted memorials of them. The world is yet familiar with their names. Theirs may have been a narrow faith, a creed from which, in our degenerate days, many of us shrink ; but it was that which they lived on in life, and which gave lustre to their eye, and eloquence to their tongues, and courage to their hearts when the fierce persecutor had them in his power, and when their last hour had come. This volume gives us, too, an idea of Scotch nobleness and devotion, such as we get in no other way. It is a testimony in favour of the martyred Covenanters, all the more valuable that it comes out accidentally, and not as the main idea for which the book has been composed and printed. Unconsciously, Dr. Rogers has given us a book of more sterling character than he anticipated. — Literary World. [See also "Social Life in Scotland from Early to Eecent Times," and the numerous other writings of Dr. Rogers for friendly notices of the Covenanting struggles.] Fasti EccLESiiE Scotican^e. Being historical and biographical notices of all the ministers of the Church of Scotland from the Reformation to 1870, by Hew Scott, D.D. An invaluable ecclesiastical record. Scotch Sermons. Macmillan tk Co. Lond., 1880. This volume has originated in the wish to gather together a few speci- mens of a style of teaching which increasingly prevails amongst the clergy of the Scottish Church. It does not claim to represent either the full extent of that teaching, or the range of subjects on which in their public ministrations its authors are in the habit of discoursing. It may, however, serve to indicate a growing tendency and to show the direction in which thought is moving. It is the work of tliose whose hope for the future lies, not in alterations of ecclesiastical organisation, but in a profounder appre- hension of the essential ideas of Christianity, and especially in the growth, within the Church, of such a method of presenting them as shall show that they are equally adapted to the needs of humanity, and in harmony with the results of critical and scientific research. — Preface. [Notwithstanding the complacency of the writers of these sermons who have taken upon them to show that "thought is moving" away from the old belief in miracles 448 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. and Divine redemption, we have no reason to doubt tliat the heart of Scotland, including even the great body of the people within the pale of the Established Church, is still true to her Calvinlstic theology.] Life of Norman Macleod, D.D. Norman Macleod's biography is a faithful record of the man and his work, and contains not a few kindly notices of the Covenanters, particularly those in the parish of Loudon, the scene of his early ministry. The population numbered some 4000, of whom a small proportion were farmers and workers, and the rest handloom weavers, residing in Newmilns and Darvel. Not a few of the farmers were Covenanters, and some were on lands which had been tenanted by their families since the twelfth century. The traditions of Drumclog and Bothwell were still freely repeated at their firesides, and swords and pistols that had done service against Claverhouse were their treasured heirlooms. On his first diet of visitation at Darvel an old woman of covenanting celebrity put the doctor through his facings by making him " gang ower the fundamentals." See " Life," p. 75. Donald Macleod must pardon us if we take leave to question not only the propriety but even the accuracy of several of his remarks. He says, for example, that "those who value a national testimony to religion, not as a mere theory, but as exemplified in practical legislation, must regret the perilous issues which have ensued " from the Disruption. They must do nothing of the kind. Legislation will pay a far nobler tribute to religion when it lets it alone than when it enforces upon reluctant and justly indignant thousands the claims of what is only one among many sects. We thoroughly sympathise with Norman Macleod's aversion to Ultra- montane pretensions, no matter by whom they are advanced; but we believe that the presence of these pretensions in the Free Church party is here greatly exaggerated, and we are certain that the hope, still cherished apparently by the biographer, that the Establishment can retain its hold is utterly vain. — Literary World. More Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands. 1884. The Queen's deep and hearty interest in religious truth and service is beautifully indicated by these Leaves. She gives a record of her experience when first present at the Lord's Supper in a Scottish Church. The familiar scene is described in a way which will be highly appreciated in Scotland. It was on Sabbath, November 13, 1871 — "a very bright morning with deep snow. It would, indeed, be impossible to say how deeply we were impressed by the grand simplicity of the service. It was all so truly earnest, and no description can do justice to the perfect devotion of the whole assemblage. It was most touching, and I longed much to join in it. To see all these simple, good people in their nice plain dresses (including an old woman in her mutch), so many of whom I knew, and some of whom had walked far, old as they were, in the deep snow, was very striking. Since 1873 I have regularly partaken of communion at Crathie every autumn." THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 449 [Her Majesty's interesting account of the simple Presbyterian service as conducted by the Rev. Dr. Norman Macleod will be found in the earlier volume, " Leaves from the Journal of our Life in the Highlands from 1S48 to 1861."] Dr. Macleod in his conversation with Her Majesty before dinner, Sunday, October 3, 1869, gave utterance to his concern about the risks of disestablishment of the Scottish Church. . . . The Queen looks at the matter deliberately, and with eyes open to the most favourable possibilities beyond disestablishment. If our esteemed friends in the Established Church will cease to occupy the imagination with representations of pulling down and will fill the mind with forecasts of reconstruction, a transition may be made, not without trial certainly, but without fierce controversy, and with good Christian hope. As the Queen has said, so may we all say, "Thank God, there is no difference of form or doctrine here." The with- drawal of State patronage will leave the three Presbyterian Churches practically one, and only prejudice which is hard to kill, and memories which cannot become nonentities will make visible unity difficult to realise. — U.P. Magazine, ISS4. One thing by which we were much impressed in reading this " Journal." We refer to the wise liberality of spirit unconsciously exhibited by the royal writer towards the different church organisations in her empire. This display of catholicity on the part of the nominal head of two sister churches has aroused the impotent wrath of some journals that we choose to designate as the inconsiderate advocates of exclusive Anglicanism. The idea of the head of the English Church attending a Presbyterian parish church in Scotland — the very idea of this amiable lady so far forgetting her constitutional relation to the Church of England, is held to be a grave ecclesiastical offence. — Brit, and For. Evanj. Rev., XVII., 403. St. Giles' Lectures. For first series see p. 434. The second series embraces " The Faiths of the World." The third series is entitled " Scottish Divines " (1505-1872). Professor Flint lectures on Norman Macleod, Principal TuUoch on Leighton, Dr. D. Macleod on Chalmers, Dr. Cameron Lees on Bishop Ewiug, Dr. Mitchell on Ebenezer Erskine, etc. Dr. Mitchell has little reverence for the last mentioned " Scottish Divine." It is only in " the thorny paths of controversy," indeed, that he regards Ebenezer Erskine as entitled to a place among Scottish Divines at all ; in other words he looks upon him simply as a schismatic. He expresses no sorrow for the Church of Scot- land's defections in Erskine's tnne ; he has no ink to spill, far less tears to shed, over her backslidings. "The great lesson to be learned from his life is not to endanger peace and to wound charity." See in reply : " Origin of the Secession Church in Perth : A Lecture by Colin A. Hunt, delivered to the Young Men's Literary Association of Wilson Church, Perth, 1883." Ebenezer Erskine did not withdraw from the Establishment : he was thrust out, and thrust out for this :— that he broadly and pointedly con- demned the Church for doing what the Court now requires of it to do, and for not doing what, in direct opposition to the Court, it has now done. He took his stand with his three brethren on the broad constitutional ground which had been occupied by all the better men of the Church from the Reformation downwards. The Court by a commission of its members proceeded to cast him out as a disturber of its peace. It loosened his pastoral relation to his charge, declared his parish vacant, pronounced him no longer a minister of the Church of Scotland, etc. Against this unjust sentence Erskine protested and appealed ; and the document is recorded, not in the journals of the Assembly, but in the heart and mind of the country.—//. Miller, •* Wlilggism of the Old School." 2f 450 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. It [Lecture on the Waldensian Church] will be repudiated by all the best men in the communion with which Dr. Boyd is identified, many of whom will probably wonder how it comes about that a man who has lauded Sharp the persecutor, and declared the Covenanters to be in no sense Christian witnesses, but simply political fanatics, should have been chosen to trace the history of the Waldensian Church. A more infelicitous selection it would have been impossible to make. — W. H. Wylie. Disestablishment. By Lord Lorne. Scottish Eeview, July, 1885. Lord Lorne adds a postscript to his paper in which he remarks that "recent speeches and writings show that the disestablishment question must become a prominent plank in the liberal platform." His lordship has another fling at the minister of Rosneath : "The melancholy levity with which such church champions as Dr. Story discuss this grave questiou shows how untenable is their position. He bases his afi'ection for the Establish- ment on its legitimate descent from the Church of Queen Margaret, a queen, who, in the dim and dark ages of our history, endeavoured to Anglicise the church she found in the north. He gravely jokes on such a subject as the death of the Marquis of Argyll, iu saying that this eminent Covenanter would have died for the high commissioner at the market cross to-day." Dr. Story's declaration that union cannot come with disestablishment, Lord Lorne brackets with a similar prophecy of evil by "a far more accomplished man of the world." In 1843 Lord Brougham predicted that the Free Church would break up into sects, and that with the exception of some popular preachers its ministers would experience a difficulty in main- taining themselves and their families. Lord Lorne scorns the idea of Scottish Presbyterianism falling to pieces as the result of the loosening of the State bands. — Christian Leader^ IV., 578. Commemorative Service in the Churchyard of Old Kirk- bride : Sermon hy W. Milroy of Peyipont. See account of this interesting service in Christian Leader, IV., JfJfJf. — Between the " Sermon preached at the opening of the Assembly, March 10, 1702, by the Rev. David Williamson, moderator " — a considerable portion of which w^as occupied with an account of the sufferings of the Covenanters — and the recent productions of Mr. Milroy, we have not a few single Sermons in jjrint, many of them baptised with the spirit of the Covenant. Reminiscences of Yarrow. By James Russell, D.D. 1886. In the British Chronicle, a Kelso newspaper, dated Friday, April 15, 1785, there is the following announcement: — We are informed that there is presently living at Dryhope in the parish of Yarrow, one Marion Ren wick, aged 102, who has all her faculties entire, hearing excepted. She was baptised in the house where she now resides, by the Rev. James Ren wick, a fortnight before he suffered in the Grassmarket of Edinburgh, 1688, on account of his religion. Renwick preached his last sermon on a quiet spot among the hills, still pointed out on Riskenhope, and on that visit baptised a child. In the first Statistical Account, published in 1793, mention is made of a person who had reached the advanced period of 106, and in all probability this was the person. — jop. 189, 190. TEE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 451 REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH LITERATURE. Distinguished above all other churches for its witness-bearing — for holding up a testimony for the truth — for waving aloft the old blue banner inscribed with the imperishable words, "For Christ's Crown and Covenant." "The Testimony— the peculiar word of Scottish patience," says Dr. Walker — " consecrated in its every part by the blood of so many martyrs, has risen up to an overshadowing height." I ask you to go back with me to 1690, when our Church broke away and refused to have any connection with the Established Church, and threw itself on the liberality of our people. There was a most interesting docu- ment submitted to the Assembly on that occasion. The very book from which it is taken has the ring and echo of old Covenanting times about it. It was edited by the celebrated John Howie, the editor of the " Scots Worthies," whose granduephew by virtue of this union is now a member of this Assembly. As you read you will be struck with the character of these men. They were not the vulgar and illiterate persons that Jacobite songs and modern novels have represented them. Look at the language — eloquent and powerful — of the concluding paragraph in that paper pre- sented to the Assembly in 1690, and refused to be read, and mark the yearning for union which I said appears in the utterances of these godly men. They had just escaped from the mountains and moors to which the tiery persecution had driven them, and yet there is nothing exciting, nothing wild, nothing unseemly in the language they use. I venture to submit that that petition which was rejected by the Assembly of 1690 is heard now, and that the movement accomplished this day has done something to repair those breaches in Zion over which these godly men so deeply groaned, to restore the interrupted union, and to staunch the bleeding wounds (alas, that they should be bleeding still ! ) of the old venerable Reformed Church of Scotland, the common mother of us all. — W. H. Goold, D.D., 1876. Faithful Contendings Displayed. 1780. A historical account by Michael Shields — brother to Alexander Shields, and clerk to the United Societies — of the state and actings of the suffering remnant who were united in general correspondence during the hottest time of the persecution, 1681-1691. The Societies of the persecuted Covenanters met at Logan House, in the parish of Lesmahagow, loth December, 1681, and organised themselves on the plan of what was called "a general correspondence." The object of the organisation was to resist the prevailing oppression, to secure for the nation the enjoyment of its rights and liberties, and to arrange for the dispensation of Christian ordinances. The minutes of the Societies, now the property of the Reformed Pres- byterian Synod, detail the steps taken to publish the testimonies of the martyrs, and to erect stones over their graves. Principal Acts and Conclusions of the Society People. Wodrow MSS. The extent of the organisation, and that during a time of great suffering, is remarkable. Gordon of Earlston, when examined by the Privy Council in 1683, with the instruments of torture placed before his eyes, testified that there were SO districts represented, with an aggregate of 7000 associ- ated members. 452 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. A Proper Project for Scotland, to startle Fools and FRIGHTEN KnAVES BUT TO MAKE WiSE MeN HAPPY; With the undoubted causes of God's wrath and of the present national calamities, by a Person neither unreasonably Cameronian nor excessively Laodicean, etc., but a good, honest, sound Presbyterian. 1699. A Protestation and Testimony against the Incorporating Union with England. ^lade by the United Societies of the witnessing remnant of the Anti- popish . . . Church of Christ in Scotland against the sinful incorporating Union with England and their British Parliament, concluded and estab- lished May, 1707. Humble Pleadings for the Good Old Way; or, a Repre- sentation OF Contendings, by Eev. John Hepburn, etc. 1711. See preface to "Faithful Contendings," p. x., and R. P. Testimony. Numerous references to the Eev. J. Hepburn, the Rev. Thomas Linning, and the Rev. John M'Millan, illustrative of events connected with the Revolution Settlement, will be found in " The Correspondence of the Rev. Robert Wodrow,' edited by M'Crie. Protesters Vindicated; or, a Just and Necessary Defence OF Protesting against and Withdrawing from this National Church of Scotland on account of her MANY Gross and Continued Defections. 1716. The Arcanum. Dairy, 1815. Or, a secret and true account both of the Reformation and Deformation of the doctrine, worship, government and discipline of the once famous Covenanted Presbyterian Church of Christ in Scotland till the persecution began and since the unhappy Revolution. — Consists of six tracts written about 1761 : — Dalserf Protestation Declaration ; Observations on Marshall, Boston and Secession, by James Muir, schoolmaster, Beith; Banders Dis- banded exemplified ; Queries for interrogating Intrants into Reformed Presbyterian Societies ; Miscellany Questions answered ; Remembrancer well considered — Six Queries that do all agree To vindicate pure Presbyterie. Scots Biography. 1775. This was the first edition of the " Scots Worthies " (p. 396). No copy is known to exist. John Howie also prepared for the press and issued the nine works which follow. A Collection of Lectures and Sermons. Preached upon several subjects, mostly in time of the late persecution. Wherein a faithful, doctrinal testimony is transmitted to pos- terity for the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government of the Church of Scotland against Popery, Prelacy, Erastianism, etc. By these faithful and eminent servants of Jesus Christ, Messrs. William Guthrie, Micliael Bruce, John Wellwood, Pichard THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 453 Cameron, Donald Cargill, Alexander Peden, and Alexander Shields. To which are added some Sacramental Discourses by Mr. John Livingstone and Mr. John Welch, and a Sermon on the breach of Covenant by Mr. John Guthrie. Carefully collected and transcribed from several manuscripts by J. H., and now published at the desire of the owners of that Cause, which some of the worthy authors sealed with their blood. J. Bryce, Glasgow. 1779. Collected from ten or twelve volumes mostly in an old small cramp hand. Some of them I suppose were wrote by famous Sir Robert Hamilton and worthy Mr. Robert Smith, — Preface. [A reprint was published in 1880 " in modern and more orderly form, but with very slight alterations," edited by the Rev. James Kerr, formerly of Greenock, now of Glasgow.] If only as literary curiosities, every reading person should possess these sermons. Surely no Scotchman will think himself a patriot until he knows how Cariiill and Cameron thundered out the word. To all Christiana it is a joy to know how the Lord spoke by His persecuted ministers, and with what sort of food they fed the flock of slaughter. — Spurgeon. A Collection of very valuable Sermons. Collected and transcribed by John Howie. 1780. Appended to " Faithful Contendings Displayed." The sermons are by Kid, King, Welsh, Blackadder, Dickson, and Gabriel Semple. They were taken down in notes " from the mouths of the authors mostly by unlearned men," and must be "far inferior to what they would have been had they been written and corrected by the authors themselves." Patronage Anatomised. Prepared in connection with the forced settlement of a minister at Fenwick, and published at the request of the parishioners. Clarkson's Plain Reasons for Dissenting. 1787. With preface and notes, and an abstract of ths principles of the Reformed Presbytery regarding civil government. See preface to "Life of John Howie." A Vindication of the mode of handling the elements in THE Lord's Supper before giving thanks. That which cost me most thought and study was the writing upon the Administration of the Lord's Supper when the controversy took place among the Antiburgher side of the Secession about taking the bread before consecration. — Life of John Howie. [The "Lifting" controversy was originated by the Rev. D. Smyton of Kilmaurs, who regarded the lifting of the bread before prayer as essential, and wished to bring about a uniform practice. For note in reply to Dean Stanley, who has in his "Lectures" entirely misrepresented the case, see M'Kelvie's Annals, p. 403.] A Preface to Mr. Brown of Wamphray's Looking-Glass of THE Law and the Gospel. Alarm to a Secure Generation. Faithful Witness-Bearing Exemplified. Kilmarnock, 1783. Brown's History of the Indulgence, etc., see p. 34L 454 treasury of the scottish covenant. Humble Pleadings ; ob, a Eepresentation op Grievances FOR the Consideration of the Keformed Presbytery. 1809. Issued by Calderwood of Clanfin, who claimed Howie as a non-hearer. The evidence is the other way. See Thomson's " Martyr Graves," I., 148. John Howie also issued proposals for an edition of Andrew Stevenson's "History of the Church and State from the Accession of Charles I. to the Restoration of Charles 11.," (p. 240). Memoirs of the Life of John Howie : Who lived in Locligoin, Parish of Fenwick, and died January 5, 1793. Containing a series of Religious exercises, Soul soliloquies, Meditations, and an account of the Lord's goodness to him in general. To which is subjoined A Short Later Will, or Dying Testimony of James Howie who lived in Lochgoin, and died soon after the Pevolution. Glasgow, 1796. — James Howie died November 19, 1691, singing praise to the Lamb that ever He came to save poor sinners, of whom he was the chief. Folly and Falsehood Exposed, etc. 1782. By James Howie of Drumtee, younger brother of the author of the Scots Worthies. See extract in Thomson's "Martyr Graves," L, 163. The Protestation, Declinatur, and Appeal of Mr. John Mackmillan, Minister of the Gosjoel at Balmaghie, and Mr. John Mackneil, Preacher, sent to the Commission of the Kirk at Edinburgh, the 29th September, 1708. After uniting with the Societies in 1708, the Eev. John M'Millan continued to preach to them till a Presbytery was formed in 1743. P. 163. The Faithful and Wise Servant : A Sermon preached at the ordination of Mr. John M'Millan, junior, at Stirling, on the 11th March, 1778. By the Reverend Mr. John M'Millan, Senior, minister of the Gospel at Sandhills, near Glasgow. 1779. Published with a sermon by Mr. Fairley, Newton-Head. M'Millan also prefaced a Protestation against toleration, and issued a Collection of Letters. Christ's Coronation; or. The Covenant Renewed, with the Causes thereof and Manner of going about it; With the Prefaces, Lectures, and Sermons before and after the Solemn Action at Blackhill, 1719, by John Adamson. — The Covenant was again renewed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church at Crawfordjohn, in 1745. To this renewal there is the following allusion in "Hist. Testimony," p. 187 : — As this was the last instance in which the public Covenants were renewed in the Reformed Presbyterian CJiurch, we beg here to ofiFer the following observations : — 1st. That covenanting is an occasional duty, to be performed as the circumstances of the Church or of a nation may seem THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 455 to demand ; and that the permanent obligation of the Covenants of these lands depends on their moral and scriptural character, rather than their being publicly recognized or renewed. 2nd. Yet we believe, that where a Church or people have been brought under the bond of such engagements, it is a duty warranted by reason and Scripture occasionally to renew them, as the aspects of Divine Providence may require. 3rd. We believe that the defection of a great majority of a Church or nation from such Covenants does not cancel their obligation ; and that tlie call upon a minority, who adheres to them, to luring them up to remembrance, becomes the more urgent when the public acts of the majority have a tendency to bury them in oblivion. 4th. We approve of the zeal and faithfulness which prompted our fathers to engage in this work at seas mable times, and admit that we are placed under super-added obligations to adhere to these Covenants in consequence of their deeds of renovation. ViNDici^ Magistratus. Edin., 1773. One of a series issued by the Fathers of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in vindication of the teachings of Scripture upon civil magistracy. The immediate occasion of the work was a pamphlet, to be seen in the Lochgoin library, entitled "• The Presbyterian Covenanter Displayed." See Thomson's " Martyr Graves," I., 159. The writer was the Rev. John Thorburn, who ministered to congregations in Edinburgh and Pentland. He died in 17SS. The Criterion. A Comparison of the Legal Establishment OF Religion in Scotland, from the Revolution to the Present Time. 1749. Commonly forms part of a volume entitled, " A Collection of Laws in favours of the Reformation in Scotland." Testimony-Bearing Exemplified. Paisley, 1791. A collection containing : Gillespie against association with Malignants ; Causes of God's Wrath; Informatory Vindication, etc. The editor, the Rev. Thomas Henderson, Paisley, defends the Reformers agaiust certain charges as to ignorance of tlie nature of Clirisfs kingdom, preferred against them by the Rev. Patrick Hutchison in " A Dissertation on the Nature and Genius of the Kingdom of Christ." Hutchison's answer to the question, Are the Covenants binding upon posterity ? will be found on p. 161 of his able Dissertation. Observations on the Public Covenants, betwixt God and the Church . A Discourse. ^?/ Archibald Mason, D.D., Wishawtoion. 1799. Mason was born in 1753. His parents sat under the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Fisher of Glasgow. As he grew up he felt a strong attachment to the Covenanted Reformation, and joined the Cameronians. He died in 1831. No one can hav^e seen and heard either of the two Dr. Symingtons without knowing what manly forms they had, and what powerful preachers they were. And I remember, as if it were yesterday, hearing Dr. Mason preaching in a powerful way to a large gathering on a hillside on a text which I have never heard preached upon since, and preaching a most powerful sermon on the text — ' ' Or ever 1 was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib." These men did not preach short essays to the people, but good long ample expositions and illustrations of Scrip- ture truths. — Dr. Begg. 456 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Inquiry into the Times to be Fulfilled at Antichrist's Fall, etc. 1818. Highly popular, a second edition being called for in 1821. " I cannot believe," says Dr. Mason, "that His coming will be a personal advent. He will come by His word, His ordinances, His spirit, His grace, and His Providence." A volume of Discourses appeared in 1835, with Memoir by Dr. Andrew Symington. Sermons by the Rey. Thomas Halliday, Airdrie, 1828. A Testimony for an Universal Church. By John Fleming, Airdrie. 620 pp. The Character and Claims of the Scottish Martyrs. A Discourse delivered in St. MichaeVs Churchyard, Dumfries, June 16, 1831. By the Rev. William Symington, D.D. A masterly pleading for the fathers of Scotland's covenanted work by a master in the Reformed Presbyterian Israel of his day. There were giants in those days, and the Symingtons, Andrew and William, were of the number. For the story of Dr. William Symington's life as told by his two sons, Rev. W. Symington and Rev. A. M. Syminojton, see introductory chapter to " Messiah tbe Prince." A second edition of this discourse appeared in 1833. The Souls under the Altar; or, the Opening of the Fifth Seal : A Discourse by William Symington, D.D. Delivered at Wigtown, 24th September, 1848, in aid of a fund for erecting a Monument in honour of the Martyrs whose ashes repose in the Churchyard of that Parish. — A good specimen of the author's critical acumen, and of his fine old covenanting patriotism. Here is his closing appeal : — As Scottish Presbyterians we are the descendants of the martyrs of our country ; but they only can consistently claim the honour of being their real successors who adopt and act out their principles, which were opposed at once to popery, prelacy, and Erastianism. Lift up your eyes then and look. Behold the souls under the altar. Perceive ye not among them the spirits of Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart ; of Argyll, and Guthrie, and WarristoQ ; of Cameron, and Cargill, and Renwick, and other names in Scotland's illustrious army of martyrs. Imbibe their spirit. Espouse their cause. Follow in their worthy footsteps. Lift high their fallen standard. Shake out the folds of their battered and blood-stained banner to the wind, and the gathering breeze of passing events will not suffer it to hang flapping idly against the flagstaff, but stretch it stiffly out so that men on all sides may read its simple but glorious motto. For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus^for Christ's Crown and Covenant. Wait with patience till the little season being past their cause shall be justified before the world by the providential interpositions of the Most High God. Then, instead of prophesying in sackcloth, or weltering in their blood, or crying with a loud voice for retrilmtion, they shall stand forth in presence of their enemies arrayed in the Avhite robes of open acquittal and universal appro- bation, hymning songs of gratitude and raising the shout of victory ! The Lord hasten it in His time. the literature of the covenant, 457 Messiah the Prince ; or, the Mediatorial Dominion of Jesus Christ. By W. Symington, D.D. The mediatorial dominion of Jesus Christ is here sliown in its relation to the Church, to the world, to angels, and to men, in the past, in the present, and the future. The treatment displays much intellectual vigour and great spiritual penetration. Dr. Symington also wrote " Salvation by Grace," "The Mystery of Iniquity," "Life of John Williamson," " Discourses," etc. The Blood of Faithful Martyrs precious in the sight of Christ : A Discourse delivered in the High Church of Paisley on the evening of Friday the 24th October, 1834; on occasion of a collection to erect a monument commemorative of two martyrs, who suffered in Paisley in the persecution that preceded the Revolution. By Andrew Symington, D.D., Paisley. See Thom- son's "Martyrs," II., 195. Lectures on the Principles of the Second Pceformation. By Rev. A. Symington, D.D. The principles enunciated are these : the universal supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ ; the spiritual independence of the Church of Christ ; the supreme and ultimate authority of the Word of God in the Church ; the subjection of nations to God and to Christ ; the duty of covenanting with God, and the obligation of religious covenants ; holding fast past attain- ments, advancing in reformation and extending its blessing to others. Another volume with similar title contains Lectures by the Symingtons, Andrew and William, Messrs. Neilson (Rothesay), Ferguson (Kilbirnie), Graham (Wishaw), Goold, M '11 wain, and Bates. Departed Worth and Greatness Lamented : A Sermon on the Death of the Key. Andrew Symington, D.D. Preached at Paisley, October 2, 1853, by William Symington, D.D. Professor Symington's character presented a rare combination of amiability and power. With much of the masculine vigour of the highest order of intellect he possessed in a remarkable degree the sweetness and the meekness of the heavenly minded believer. — U.P. Magazine, 1853. The best of all the Symingtons was Andrew Symington of Paisley, a thoroughly Christian man, and a most devoted minister of the Gospel of Christ. 1 often heard him at the Shawhead, where with heart and soul he wrestled with sinners to be reconciled to God. — J. /., Glenor.i. The Communion Stones. By the Rev. W. Symington, D.D. See the "Scottish Annual" for 1859, edited by C. R. Brown. In tbis fine prose-poem the writer says : — I sympathise with tlie simple peasantry of Galloway in their reverence for these stones. 1 have stood in the noblest cathedrals of England . . . and I have said in hushed whispers to the friend by my side : This is one of the evidences of Christianity. But when I stood on that mount of communion, and looked down on the grey moss-grown stones at my feet, 458 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. and around on the bleak heathery hills, and up into the clear blue sky; and when imagination was busy peopling the scene with those stalwart men of the olden time who sought out this solitude among the mountains as a place where they might worship their God in peace, 1 bared my head and I said no word, but I felt in my inmost soul that of a truth this was holy ground, — that that rude cairn was an altar more truly consecrated than any that priest ever blessed, — that here was an evidence of the truth and reality of my Christian faith more impressive and irresistible than the stateliest temple ever raised to Deity by the hand of man. [In the same volume we have also "Traditions of Scottish Patriotism: The Solemn League and Covenant," by the Rev. A. Rattray.] The Ordinance of Covenanting. By Rev. John Cunningham. 1843. The theology of Covenanting is here unfolded with a richness of scriptural research and a maturity of intellectual strength which would have made the grey eye of Peden glisten with delight. The treatise is a valuable addition to that solid theological literature of which the Reformed Presby- terian Church has produced repeated and enduring specimens, and stamps Mr. Cunningham as a distinguished disciple of the thoughtful and scriptural school of Mason and the Symingtons.— Pres/j. Bev., 1S44. Come Out and be Separate. Three powerful and seasonable discourses by the Rev. Dr. Stewart Bates, Glasgow. Dr. Bates was also editor of a revised and enlarged edition of the "Cloud;" seep. 395. Friendly Hints to the Projected Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. See the "Scottish Presbyterian," May, 1843. The writer sought to impress upon the freeborn Church the descending obligations of the Covenant. A Tribute to the Memory of our Scottish Martyrs. A Sermon 2jreached on the Battlejield of Drumclog, Sabbath, 2ith June, 1849, by Pev. J. W. Macmeeken, Lesmahagow. Glas., 1849. The following productions of Mr. Macmeeken's pen were also published — "The Martyr's Sepulchre, a Sermon preached at Airsmoss, 1861;" " The Disruption of the Reformed Presbyterian Church : Is it Justifiable ? 1863;" "The Contest for the Faith by the Scottish Martyrs, 1864,"— being the substance of a commemorative service at Darmead, Cambusnethan. History of The Scottish Metrical Psalms; With an Account of the Paraphrases and Hymns, and of the Music of the Old Psalter. By Pev. J. W. Mac- meeken. 1872. A valuable work, illustrated with twelve plates of MS. music of the year 1566. Besides those arising from its intrinsic merits, the present version of the Psalms possesses claims on the veneration and regard of Scottish Christians which no other can possibly have. It has given expression to the patriotism and piety of our ancestors in the dismal days of persecution, when to worship God according to His Word and the dictates of a sanctified and enlightened conscience, was punishable with death. Its "grave THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 450 sweet melody " has awakened the echoes of our glens and mountains, and been swept in plaintive wail on moorland breezes, the worshippers com- pelled to seek such solitudes for safsty to pay their devotions to the God of heaven. Its strains have been poured into the ear of the martyrs' God from the dungeon, the scaffold, and the stake, expressive of the martyrs' heavenward hope, re-invigorating them in every heavenly grace. Thousands and thousands have passed away to that better land with its cheering language on their lips. — Alacmeeken. Outlines of Theology. By the Rev. A. A. Hodge. Edited by \V. H. GooLD, D.D. Edin., 1865. As a handbook of theology, in our judgment it is like Goliath's sword — *' there is none like it." — Spurgeon. The Atonement. By the Rev. A. A. Hodge. Edited hy Dr. GooLD. This work has been written with a view to meet the rationalistic specu- lations of the present day as to the nature of sin, the extent of human depravity and moral ability, the nature of our connection with Adam, the nature and extent of the Atonement, etc. So much has been written that is positively false, or fatally defective, by Maurice, Jowett, Bushnell, and others, that it appeared high time that those who love the truth should rouse themselves to do what they can to defend and exalt it. — Letter^ Dr. Hodrje to Dr. Goold. A Commentary on the Confession of Faith. By the Rev. A. A. Hodge, D.D. Edited hy W. H. Goold, D.D. 1870. With an appendix. What is Presby terianisni ? and What is meant by adopting the Westminster Confession ? by Charles Hodge, D.D.. father of Dr. A. Hodge. The answer to the first question is this: "We do not regard it as a skilful product of liuman wisdom, Init as a Divine institution, founded on the Word of God. and as the genuine product of the inward life of the Church." The Works of John Owen. Edited hy Dr. Goold. This was a Herculean task for au editor, but Dr. Goold entered with spirit into the undertaking, and accomplished it most successfully. The " Life " was written by the Rev. A. Tliomson, D.D., of Broughton Place Church. It is an elegant production, displaying great industry, keen discrimination, classic taste, and a just appreciation of Owen's mind, character, and theology. The Works of the Rev. John Maclaurin. 2 Vols. Edited hy Dr. Goold. Maclaurin has been fortunate in having excellent editors for his writings. See p. 439. The name of Moderate is peculiarly Scotch in its ecclesiastical meaning. When it was first used cannot now be ascertained ; we find John Maclaurin of Glasgow, in a letter written towards the end of his life (he died in 1754), iising "moderate" as applied to temperate men of the popular, or as their opponents called them, the "High-Flying" party. But the name, once started, soon became the distinctive appellation of the pro-Patronage section of the Scottish Chxxxch.—Brit. and For. Ev. Rev., XX., 329. 460 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Which is the Reformed Presbyterian Church ? By the Rev. E. Thomson Martin, Wishaiv. 1864. Mr. Martin was the editor of "Sermons" by Alexander Henderson ; p. 299. They all join in protesting against the conditions of Scottish Establish- ment as set up and enforced ia 1690. Agreeing upon so much they dififered, and in 1863 they split upon the application of this protest. The great majority, the Cameronians who are now united with the F.C., make the special principle of their church to be a refusal to "homologate" or approve the evils of the British Constitution at and since 1690 (especially the alleged evil of the royal supremacy); or otherwise, a refusal to homologate or approve that Constitution itself, because of the evils included in it, or, in so far as evils are included in it. The words italicised introduce a certain ambiguity; and accordingly it is at this point that the question was raised, How are you to avoid becoming personally or morally responsible for a civil consti- tution, against the evil of which you protest (or against which you protest as being partly evil ?) Or, conversely, how does a man incur moral responsi- bility for the State ? The answer of the minority in 1863 was that a man does so by taking the oath of allegiance to the crowm, as upon becoming a member of Parliament, and by voting for a member of Parliament, The majority in 1863 were disposed to the contrary view — that a man by taking the oath of allegiance does not become morally responsible, but that he takes the best way to relieve himself and others of those evils by getting them altered. The majority did not commit themselves to this view. All they did was to make the matter an open question. — A. T. Innes^ ''Oath. Fresby.," /., 379. Claims of the Divine Government upon Nations favoured with the Word of God. 1842. By the Rev. William Anderson, Loanhead ; Showing the guilt of the British nation, and the sin and danger of using the elective franchise in connection with the moral evils of the British Constitution. Mr. Anderson was a vigorous defender of the "faith." He died in 1866. A memorial sermon, by Dr. Thomas Houston, was afterwards published. The Martyr Graves of Scotland : Being the Travels of a Country Minister in his own Country. By the Rev. John H. Thomson, Eaglesham. 1875. A first and second series of these interesting volumes by Mr. Thomson have appeared ; a third is required to complete the work. With the affection and reverence of Old Mortality, Mr. Thomson has used his pen to cut afresh in the national memory the names of those Covenanters of whom the age was not worthy, and who died " for the faith once delivered to the saints." See p. 395, for Mr. Thomson's edition of the "Cloud;" for other writings, "Christian Treasury," 1882. The Cameronians : An Historic Sketch of the Reformed Presbyterian Church with special reference to the Paisley Congregation. By Robert Macfee. A series of articles that appeared in the Paisley and Renfrewshire Gazette. The Paisley congregation was that which was attended in their early years by the brothers Symington. The author thus gathers together the various names given to the Cameronians :— They were called "Covenanters" because of their fond attachment to the Covenants; " Cameronians" from THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 461 Richard Cameron, one of their earliest and most energetic leaders ; and •' Macmillans " or " Macmillanites ',• from John Macmillan, of Stirling. Some of the titles now obsolete are "The Society men," from their meeting in Societies, and "Mountain men" or "Hill folk" from their habit during the persecution of meeting in fields and hill-sides. They were "The Witnessing Remnant of the anti-Popish, anti-Prelatic, anti- Erastian, anti-Sectarian, True Presbyterian Church of Christ in Scotland." "Reformed" was assumed not perhaps because they thought themselves better than other Presbyterians, but as a term of their strong attachment to the Reformation. Historical Sketch of the Reformed Presbyterian Church OF Scotland to its Union with the Free Church in 1876. By the Rev. Robert Natsmith. Mr. Naismith did well to issue this little manual soon after the union of the Free and Reformed Presbyterian Churches in 1876. The book answers well to its title. It conducts the reader over one of the most interesting fields of history. The story of religious struggle, of oppression, persecu- tion, and martyrdom is always fascinating. Our fathers passed through stern experiences to win the liberty we enjoy. Happy is the church that has such a history behind it, and whose members make themselves acquainted with it. — Spurgeon. The Church Question. By the Rev. James Kerr. Glasgow, 1885. An examination of the claims made on behalf of the Established Church of Scotland by the Duke of Argyll in his famous speech of 1885. Homage to the Church or to the State ?— Suppose that some foreigner was to come to this country — a man desirous of understanding the history of the people, seeing the places with which that history was connected, and thoroughly comprehendmg the people. Suppose such a man was to come to me and say, " Carry me to Scotland and show me something which is typical of the national history and of the national character." Not to our mountains nor to our media?val castles would 1 take him, but, beyond all doubt, to that long historic street which stretches from the ancient palace of Holyrood to the Castle hill of Edinburgh, and I should show him the procession of the Royal Commissioner going to open the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. "What is that!" I can conceive him saying. My answer would be this : " That is the visible symbol of the homage paid by the Imperial Crown of these realms to the noblest, the purest popular triumph which was ever gained in any Christ- ian country in the world." I say the noblest and purest triumph, because it was purely a popular triumph against the kings, and against at least many of the nobles of the country — a popular triumph estaljlishing together the liberties of the people and the liberties of the Church. And when we had followed the procession inside the walls of the (lencral Assembly . . . there is the Royal Commissioner sitting paying homage to these great prin- ciples, to these great historical facts, to these great leading ideas in regard to the constitution of the Church of Christ. Now, I appeal to this great meeting, to the people of Scotland. I appeal to them, and beseech them to remember what an absolutely singular and peculiar privilege they have in this great and aui^ust ceremony. There is nothing like it in any other country in the world. I repeat, it is the national flag, if ever there was a national flag raised in this country. — Duke of Aryyll, 1SS5. I rather suspect the intelligent foreigner would doubt a little the inter- pretation of the noble Duke, and would be disposed to conclude that the 462 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Church was paying court to the Crown, not the Crown to the Church. Certainly it would require a very severe surgical operation to cure thousands of the Scottish people of the belief that the May procession from Holyrood, and the attitudes of the parties in the Assembly symbolize the homage which the Establishment pays to the Crown. — Hev. J. Kerr, " The Church Question." The Union with the Fuee Church. May 25, 1876. The most imposing part of the afifair was the reception in solemn silence of the members of the Reformed Presbyterian Synod — a far more impressive welcome than could have been given by the loudest aad most hearty plaudits. The tears stood in the eyes and rolled down the cheeks of not a few of the spectators of this thrilling scene as the representatives of the oldest Presbyteriaa Church in Scotland — the church of Kichard Cameron, Eenwick, and Cargill — headed by their Moderator (Dr. Goold), filed along the passage to the seats reserved for them in the body of the hall. The members, with the exception of the venerable Dr. Symington and one or two others, were all young looking men, very much resembling their Free Church brethren ; but the elders — homely, sunburnt, sturdy, farmer-like men — were fitting representatives of the old indomitable "Westland Whigs." Any man who recollected the history of the Cam- eronians — their stern refusal to acknowledge an uncovenanted monarch, and to take any part in municipal or Parliamentary aifairs so loug as their principles were not recognised by the State — if he had been told twenty years ago that they would unite with the Free Church might well have said, " If the Lord would make windows in heaven might this thing be." But the "whirligig of time brings about strange things," and even the stern Cameronians have not been able to resist the mellowing influence of the age. The union of the pre- Revolution Church with the Free Protesting Church of Scotland is a most noteworthy and gratifying proof of the progress of Christian liberality and toleration. — Correspondent. Dr. Dykes on "A Glorious Ideal." — The Covenanting struggle in Scotland when you really go to the bottom of it, was, after all, a struggle for full freedom for the rights of conscience, for the rights of nations, and for the rights of men, as truly and as really as it was a struggle for gospel truth. It was part of that battle which raged over all Western Europe during the mighty seventeenth century — raged in England, in Scotland, in Switzerland, in Holland eminently, and in Germany. That was a battle of Christian men for self-government in the state against papal despotism on the one hand, as well as for liberty in the Church to serve and obey Christ alone on the other. And in that fight no one could forget that in the days of our forefathers, contending against the Stuart kings, it was Scotland that met and broke the shock of dynastic and priestly power, and served as a bulwark and outwork for the protection of English liberty. But for the iron endurance of these grim and resolute yet tender men, the combat in the South would have been worse to sustain. Their qualities we still need, though in a different fashion. Uncompromising fidelity to truth, to duty, and to God — the courage to endure and wear out as well as to do, with a tender and solemn sense of the awfulness of spiritual facts and THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 463 the judgments of God — these are qualities we cannot yet do without. Nor, if it be thought that more tender and cheerful features are needed, let it be said that these features are unrepresented in the men of the early Covenanting struggle. There was about many of these men, as we very well know, a holy cheerfulness along with their unflinching firmness ; there was an emphatic self-surrender of whatever belonged to themselves, while they were zealous of whatever belonged to the Lord of Hosts ; there was even, I think, a sweet mildness about many of them especially before the later brutality of the Dragonnades turned to some extent at least to gall the milk of human kindness in the children's breasts. There was in the features of the earlier stages of the conflict a gentleness, a Christ-like meekness under Avrong and injury, a high and genuine martyr- like spirit. When I would cast my mind back to what we have earned and reaped from these men, it strikes me perhaps more than anything which I have yet named, that we should thank them for the passionate bequest of a glorious ideal. It is these ideals even though unattainable which lift the character of men and nations. I think that no worthy historian has yet been found to tell, as it ought to be told, how much Scotland owes to this splendid vision which these men sought, — the vision of a consecrated land of saints ruled by a covenanted king, loyal to Christ. It hovered before the rapt eyes of these saints of Scotland until it well nigh turned them into seers ; it elevated tlietn until it made them heroes, and though the picture seemed to fade before the eyes of the children, as though it was painted by the morninfj liijht on the mist of their own moorland, still it has done its work, for it has contributed mightily to mould the hearts of Scotchmen. But has it so faded ? Or is it not simply thrown forward, as the old Jew learned to throw his Messianic hi^pes forward from one false anticipated Christ to another, better and greater yet to come 1 When the King comes, — the true King of the Covenant, — then we may look for the Kingdom ; and we shall have then the Covenant in its essence, and the realm of the Bride and the Lamb, and the glory of the Holy Church in a Holy Land. Principal Cairns on Union. — Moderator, fathers, and brethren, I hail the event of this day as a great step in the right direction. It is the healing of the breaches of our Fresbyterianism towards the recovering of our covenanted uniformity, for although we do not perhaps look back in every point of view, at least all of us in the United Presbyterian Church, with the same eyes on the transactions of the covenanting period, we should he most unworthy of ourselves, we should not be Scotchmen or Presby- terians, if we did not cherish the memories of the heroes and martyrs of the Covenant as warmly and faithfully as any Reformed or Free Churchman in the world. And I may mention this, just 464 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. by the way, that we have one in our United Presbyterian Church who can not only go back in his lineage to covenanting times, but who is a lineal descendant of John Knox himself. I claim for us as close a connection in all deep and vital respects with the cove- nanting period as any other section of the Presbyterian Church in our land, and I trust we shall be able to carry out the spirit of those covenantiDg transactions and efforts in striving to make religion national, and striving to do so in harmony with the great and noble principle of our common confession, the confession made for us by the Covenanters, or those that went before them, " God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free," I am not here to speak lightly of distinctive principles. Some of my friends and brethren in the United Presbyterian Church think there is some defect in my vision in regard to distinctive principles, and perhaps there may be an infirmity, and it may even be increasing with the lapse of years. But I could never for one moment think of speaking lightly of the distinctive principles of Christian Churches. Were you to take away the distinctive principles of Christian Churches, how many glorious passages of Church history would you blot out and destroy ? what testimonies would be removed from the pages of Church history from even a comparatively early period, when the Christian Church was comparatively unknown, on the one hand against the errors of the multitude, and on the other hand against the errors of kings and rulers ; what passages would be removed in connection with some of the greatest names in Church history; how pale the colour, for example, of such names as those so often referred to this day — Ren wick and Cameron ; how pale would be the names of such men as Hender- son and Chalmers were your distinctive jDrinciples to be disregarded and thought lightly of? But it is not for me, attached as I am with profound conviction to the United Presbyterian Church, and to the memory of its founders, Erskine and Gillespie, to speak of distinctive principles as if these w^ere of small and minor imj)ort- ance. Just in the degree in which distinctive principles are important, just in that degree it is the duty of Churches to contend earnestly for them as included in and giving a colour to the faith once delivered to the saints; in the same degree, if possible, in which there is attachment to distinctive principles, to the cause of Christian unity, do distinctive principles receive advantage when they prove compatible with the cause of Christian principle itself. Attachment to Christian principle should be in harmony with attachment to the cause of Christian union w^hich stands in the forefront of Presbyterianism and Christianity, and is expressed in the prayer of the blessed Lord and Saviour "that they all may be one," as He is in the Father and the Father in Him. There is perhaps no denomination of Christians in the world who have been more attached to distinctive principles than THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 465 the Reformed Presbyterian Church on the one liand, and the Free Church on the other ; and it is in the degree of their attachment to these distinctive principles that I see the triumph of Christian union in the events of this day, for which I most profoundly thank God, as having proved the compatibility of the attachment to distinctive principles with attachment to the equally great and glorious cause of Christian union. If it is possible in this case, then I trust I may be trespassing on no susceptibilities in this great audience — whatever allusion of this kind has been made to-day already has been received in so sympathetic, in so considerate and tender a spirit — I may go so far as to say by all in this great Assembly, that I am encouraged to utter wliat I now do : that attachment to distinctive principles has been proved in cases where it might not be thought possible to be reconcilable with attachment to Christian union, for the reconcilableness is here proved and demonstrated. Am I not then warranted in cherish- ing a hope and expressing it, that some day, as distant as you will, provided it be only as soon as you can, the experiment shall go a little farther, another Church shall arise which, with the same tenacity in adherence to distinctive principles, pertinacity in attachment to them, and even pugnacity, if you will, in their assertion of them, may have the same experiment tried upon it, and tried successfully, and which shall, with the consent of all parties, see its name added to this happy roll of brethren dwelling together in unity ? SECESSION CHUECH LITERATURE (United Presbyterian). To that strong unconquerable struggle we owe many of those recent movements in the Church, which although troubling the waters have made them vitalizing. It was in the remaining might of the Covenanting spirit that the Fathers of the Secession came out, like Abi'aham from Haran, not knowing whither they went. From a similar source sprang the Relief body, which has since, like a vigorous tributary, augmented the current of the Secession. To this, too, the Free Church will be proud to acknowledge its filial claims. None can fail to see in its movements, its energy and zeal, the after-growth of the rich field which the Covenanters cultivated. —GiyUlan. The Fathers of the First and Second Secessions. — Scotland has not yet perhaps done full justice to the leaders of that movement ; her people have not even yet fully recognized their own manifold obligations to those purely honest, sound-minded, and religiously patriotic, devoted men, who in that day boldly and bravely vindicated, at the cost of all their temporal rights and possessions, the constitutional religious privileges of Scotland's free-born children ; bearing high the testimony of those rights by the immovable steadfastness of their own practical example. They would not yield their submission to what their own enlightened consciences told them to be contrary to that Truth to which, and to which alone they had pledged their full and unreserved allegiance, and in the love of which they now both obeyed and adorned its faith. And here, while assuredly not excluding from either our view or our remembrance our Scottish martyrs and confessors of old, we point for the present to the historical names of 466 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. the Fathers of the first and second Secessions from the Church of Scotland — our Erskines and Fishers, our Gillespies and Taylors— who bore high at the cost of so many " cruel mockings" testimony to the Scriptural purity of the constitution of our National Church, and the rights and privileges conferred by its provisions upon all the families of our land. Nor is it any difficult ta&k to the impartial eye to trace — whatever may have been some of the after incidents — to that righteous testimony so borne, as if by the "forlorn hope," the salt cast into the waters of bitterness — waters which, humanly speaking, would have overborne and quenched all soundness of faith and evangelical religion in the Church of Scotland, more than a century gone by, had not those faithful confessors stood forward in their day, to go forth without the camp bearing the reproach. These excellent Fathers, those excellent rescuers of our Church's purity and freedom were men of might, of enlarged and cultivated minds, resolute, and of noble bearing. And when we consider their works and their endurings, worldly censurers deeming them weak and misguided, such reproaches and cen- sures rise before us lighter than dust in the balance. And in times more recent [184.3] when the same contest has had to be faced again on a still broader basis of operation, the experience of many mu.st be but imperfectly improved, if they look not up with reverence and affectionate admiration to those devoted pioneers of the same path, who were first summoned, in their own time, to bear the burden and heat of the day. — Eev. M. JIackay, LL.D., " Memoir of James Ewmg, Esq. of Strathleven.'' REV. EBENEZER ERSKINE, Stirling, 1680-1754. Son of Henry Erskine — buried at Dryburgh. The inscription states that Henry was imprisoned in the Bass. But see " Bass Rock," p. 379. On the same record Ebenezer is said to liave been minister of "Potomac" — the word should be Portmoak. "Did you ever hear Ebenezer Erskine preach?" asked Adam Gib of Edinburgh of a friend. Being answered in the negative, he replied, " Then, sir, you never heard the gospel in its majesty.' For Act for renewing the Covenants, Testimonies, Bond, etc., see pp 170-176. All the first five Seceders were theologians and men of learning, — Fisher, Wilson, Moncrieff, Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine, — of which they have all left indubitable proofs. — Dr. James Walker. Ebenezer Erskine was the first of Scottish Free-churchmen, being the Uader of the Secession which separated from the National Church in 1733. —Sivord and Trowel, XVII., 265. The Stone Rejected by the Builders : A Sermon on Psalm cxviii. 22. Preached before the Synod of Perth and Stirling, October 10, 1732. The author's design in pitching and preaching upon that text was what he could to raise the glory of the Blessed Corner-stone, to set up the corruptions of the Jewish builders as so many beacons, that builders of our day might beware of them, and to cast in the small mite of his testimony against what to him appears an injury done, either to Christ personal or mythical. — Preface. For this sermon Erskine was rebuked and admonished by the Synod. He appealed to the General Assembly, but the Assembly repeated the admonition. Against the sentence he protested, and THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 467 was joined in the Protest by Fisher, Wilson, and Moncrieff. The brethren, for their Protest, were ordered to appear before the Commission which, in November, 1733, thrust them out of the Church. See p. 167. There is no distinguished power of intellect in the sermon; the preacher evidently made no effort to reach it. In a plain and fearless way, but without any personalities, he sets forth the defections of the time, claims for Christ that Headship in the Church which belongs to Him, and for the people that liberty which is their birthright under His rule. — Prof. John Ker, D.D. The sermon was a protest against prevalent defection and error — a bold and magnanimous appeal for the rights of the Christian people, and the purity and freedom of the Christian pulpits. — Prof. John Eadie, IjL.B. Reasons by Mr. Ebenezer Erskine, Mr. William Wilson, Mr. Alexander Moncrieff, and Mr. James Fisher, WHY they have not ACCEDED TO THE JUDICATORIES OF THE Established Church. Edin., 1735. Whether we should or should not give them [Cameronians] credit for having foreseen that the liberty which belongs to Christ's House by divine right, would never be conceded by the State in such an alliance as had been then formed, and for having accordingly adopted the only course which was at that time consistent with the great principles of the Reforma- tion, we need not now discuss. Certain it is that the Secession afforded a striking confirmation of such a view, if it was that which guided the course of the Covenanters. — Rev. Dr. Beith, *^ Ebenezer Erskine." A Collection of several Remarkable and Valuable Sermons. Speeches and Exhortations, at Renewing and Subscrib- ing THE National Covenant of Scotland, etc. By several learned and pious divines of that period. Published as very seasonable and necessary for these times. Glasgow, 1741. — The volume contains documents, speeches, and discourses by Henderson, Cant, Nye, Coleman, Caryl, Case, and others. Act of the Associate Presbytery concerning the Doctrine OF Grace. Wherein the said doctrine as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and agreeably thereto set forth in our Confession of Faith and Catechisms, is asserted and vindicated from the Errors vented and published in some Acts of the Assemblies of this Church, passed in prejudice of the same. Ed in., 1742. IJy this Act the Presbytery at once a lopted, defined and vindicated the views of the Marrow-men, and gave a new impulse to that free, and full, and fervid strain of evangelical preaching, which proved itself in after years so extensive a blessing to the people of Scotland.—/). Young, D.D., Perth. As in the case of the Covenanters, with whom the Seceders had so much hereditary and spiritual affinity, it is easy so to isolate and exaggerate certain peculiarities as to create the impression that the ecclesiastical con- 468 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. tendings, testifyings, and separatings on subordinate matters, ranked higher in Secession activity than the development of spiritual life and the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. In Mr. Scott's "Annals" will be found an admirable corrective of this one-sided view.—Bev. C. G. M'Crie, Ayr. Christ Considered as the Nail Fastened in a Sure Place ; Bearing all the Glory in his Father's House : In a Sermon preached at Stirling, December 28th, 1743, immediately before the Eenovatiou of our Solemn Covenants, by the ministers of the Associate Presbytery. Edin. 1744. — Another of Erskine's single sermons was entitled "God's Little Remnant Keeping their Garments clean in an Evil Day." The Whole Works of the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine. Edited by the Rev. James Fisher. Falkirk, 1761. Were I to read in order to refine my taste, or improve my style, I would prefer Bishop Atterbury's sermons, Dr. Bates' works, or Mr. Seed's discourses. But were I to read with a single view to the edification of my heart in true faith, solid comfort, and evangelical holiness, I would have recourse to Mr, Erskine and take his volumes for my guide, my companion, and my familiar friend. — James Hervey. In these sermons the reader will find a faithful adherence to the design of the Gospel, a clear defence of those doctrines that are the pillar and ground of truth, a large compass of thought, a strong force of argument, and a happy flow of words both judicious and familiar. — Thomas Bradbury. I have been reading some treatises on the appropriation of Christ, and I like them, especially Ebenezer Erskine on the Assurance of Faith. — Dr. Chalmers, " Memoirs,^' IV., 863. At night I spent three or four hours reading Erskine's Sermons, particularly the following ones: — "The Rent Veil of the Temple;" the " Harmony of the Divine Attributes ; " " The Believer Exalted in Imputed Righteousness,'' etc. The reading of these sweet discourses was wonder- fully blessed to my soul. — Augustus Toplady. The Life and Diary of the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine. By the Rev. D. Eraser, D.D. Kennoiuay. A short memoir was prefixed to "Gospel Truth Illustrated," by the Rev. John Brown. For memoir by Dr. James Harper, see the '' United Presbyterian Fathers," and for sketch by Rev. Dr. Beith, see " Scottish Reformers and Martyrs." Dr. Donald Eraser employed his leisure time in preparing biographies of Ebenezer Erskine, the founder of the Secession in 1733, and of Ralph Erskine, his brother. Both volumes are admirably rendered representa- tions of the two brothers. In the calm study and research which the writing of these biographies involved. Dr. Eraser was led to look at the great question of the alliance betwixt Church and State, in its positive aspect. He found that the lofty object which the reformed Church of Scotland had in view, by means of this alliance, was that the little leaven should leaven the whole lump — that the power of a living Christianity should pervade the whole body politic. ... It was his father, the THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 469 Rev. John Fraser of Auchtermuchty, who tabled, in May, 1795, the paper %yhich officially brought the question of Voluntaryism before the Secession ^ynod.— i>r. J. W. Taylor, ''Historical Notices." Select Writings of the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine : United Presbyterian Fathers. Edited by Dr David Smith, of Biggar. The " Stone Rejected " will l)e found at page 303. The " Beauties of the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine," edited by the Rev. S. M'Millan, D.D., Aberdeen, appeared in 1837. See also a work on the nature of appropriating faith entitled " Saving Faith as laid down in the Word of God, and maintained in the Confessions of the Reformed Church "—being a series of works by Erskine, Di-, .John Anderson (United States), and Cudworth of Norwich, Searmona leis an Urram. Ralph Erscine, A.M. Minister 'an t'— SOISGEUL a BHA ANN AN DuNFEARMLINN. Glascho, 1836. The Erskines. % John Ker, D.D., ayid Jean L. Watson. 1880. See notice of this excellent work by Rev. C. A. Davis in " Sword and Trowel" for June, 18S1. "These cheap little biographies,' writes Mr. Spurgeoa, " are well adapted to increase the faithful of the land, and to make them emulate the brave deeds of those who have gone before." A Recovered Chapter in the Life of Ebenezer Erskine % Rev. W. Ross, LL.D. The discovery has reference to the forced settlement of a Mr. Liston at Aberdour in 1723. Erskine, MoncriefF of Largo, and Gillespie of Strathmiglo, tabled a Protest against the Synod's decision. The deed, which was drawn up by Erskine, appears in the "United Presbyterian Magazine" for May, 1885. Dr. Ross closes his interesting account of the matter as follows: — From one infatuated step to another the dominant party in the Church proceeded till they refused even to receive such a protest as this, which saved the consciences of those who were not chargeable with the crime of wrong done. And when the domain of con- science was thus ruthlessly invaded Ebenezer Erskine led the way to the formation of the Secession Church, in which the rights of the Christian people, and the inviolability of the consciences of ministers could both be preserved. See "Aberdour and Inchcolme." REV. RALPH ERSKINE, A.M., Dunfermline, 1685-1752. Ralph Erskine had " more of the orator, and of that subtlety of thought and fervour of emotion which met so remarkably in Samuel Rutherford " than Ebenezer possessed. For the story of the "wee sinfu' fiddle," see Miss Watson's sketch, p. 197. Dr. John Mason of New York informs us that while a mere boy he used to go to his father's garret, taking with him Ralph Erskine's " Faith's Plea," and as he read it he wept in view of his sins and 470 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. supplicated the mercy of God. See sermon by Dr. Elroy on the death of Dr. Mason, 1830. The works of both the Erskines, and more especially those of Ralph, whether in poetry or prose, place them high among the many-volumed Puritans. The song of redeeming love has never been sung in more lofty strains than by them, and no uninspired writings have got a deeper or firmer hold on the hearts of God's people. — John Macfarlane, LL.D. Covenanted Grace for Covenanting Work : A Sermon preaclied at Stirling, December 28, 1743, in the evening of that day on which the ministers of the Associate Presbytery did, with uplifted hands, solemnly renew the National Covenants. By Ealph Erskine, M.A., Minister of the Gospel at Dunfermline. See p. 174. The exercise of Covenanting in which the Seceders from time to time engaged may seem to us a tedious, not to say wearisome one, involving as it did not only the delivery of a sermon but the reading of the National Covenant of Scotland, the Solemn League and Covenant of the Three Nations, the Acknowledgment of Sins, and the Engagement to Duties, all of them lengthy documents. Yet that exercise powerfully afi"ected natures the cast of which was intellectual rather than emotional, as may be gathered from the fact that at a renovation of the Covenants by the Synod of Original Seceders, in which nineteen ministers in charges, two without charges, seven probationers, and eleven divinity students took part, the bond was subscribed by the historian of the body "with tears streaming down his cheeks."— ^ev. G. G. M'Crie. Faith no Fancy ; or, a Treatise of Mental Images, etc. Glasgovj, 1747. Mr. Robe of Kilsyth propounded the idea that " our senses and imagina- tion are greatly helpful to bring us to the knowledge of the Divine nature and perfections." Further he asked, "Can you or any man else think upon Christ really as He is, God-man, without an imaginary idea of it ?" Ralph Erskine replied in the above treatise, "showing that an imaginary idea of Christ as man (when supposed to belong to saving faith, whether in its act or object) imports nothing but ignorance, atheism, idolatry, great falsehood, or gross delusion." This was questionable divinity to Erskine; it made the object of faith a sensible object — not the object of faith but of sense. It is reason and not sense that is the only help to attain the knowledge of God ; and above reason was to be placed faith. This treatise of 372 pages was followed by "Appendix to Faith no Fancy," and that by a "Third Proof of Faith no Fancy." Fisher joined Ralph Erskine in the controversy. We feel that we are in the society of men of reflection and of reading. The Evangelical and the Seceding ministers of these days are quite as erudite as the academic men who despised them, and are holding firmly by old truths which the new philosophy is overlooking. — Dr. M^Cosh. May I not claim too for the Scottish Church the great Apolo- getical Philosophy of modern times ? . . . In a curious con- troversy connected with the Kilsyth and Cambuslang revivals, some of whose peculiar manifestations Mr. Robe tried to explain or vindicate by a philosophic theory, Pvalph Erskine and Fisher THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 471 had already maintained and explained, just as Reid does, the trustworthiness of the senses, and opposed the idea or image- perception. — Dr. James Walker, ''Scot. TheoL," p. 73. The Rev. Ralph Erskine's Works. Ten Volumes. Falkirk, 1794. Nor must we overlook the circumstance that Ralph Erskine and his evangehcal associates were not called to preach to a people who, in Baxter's strong and signiticant phrase, were "gospel-hardened." In contrast with the moderatism which prevailed in many of the parishes of Scotland, their preaching came to thousands with much of the freshness of a new thing. Men came shivering forth from the ice-houses of the negative theology of those times, glad to sun themselves in the warm beams of eva.ngelical truth. And these historical circumstances must be held as accounting in part for the minute subdivisions in the discourses of those preachers, which mar so much the flow of their eloquence as presented in their printed works. No doubt, this waa in part an evil habit, which had been inherited from the Puritans; but it should be remembered that it was only at distant intervals that multitudes had opportunities of hearing the gospel preached at all, and those numerous "particulars" were used as valuable helps to memory. — Family Treasury {Arnot). The "Beauties" were published by Dr. S. M'Millan in 1821, a biographical sketch of Ralph Erskine by Dr. Andrew Thomson forming a preface to the volume. The Poetical Works of the Reverend and Learned Ralph Erskine, A.M. Aberdeen, 1818. Consisting of The Gospel Sonnets, a Paraphrase of the Song of Solomon, Scripture Songs, and Miscellaneous Poems. These last include " Smoking Spiritualised," an Elegiac poem on Alexander Hamilton (p. 384), and epitaphs on Henry Erskine, Boston, Wilson, and others. James Hervey having been requested on his death-bed to furnish a recommendation of Ralph Erskine's works, which were to be published at the price of two guineas, pointed to the " Gospel Sonnets," which had been much blesse i to him during his weakness, and said, " There is a production of Mr. Erskine I value more than two guineas." The Sonnets have gone through numerous editions both in Britain and America. Christians of all denominations have borne testimony to their excellence. They are the rich marrowy doctrines versified, and retain much of the paradoxical form of expression in which the old diAdnes so much delighted. See "Letters" by S. Giltillan, p. 176; M'Crie's "Scottish Church," p. 473. One day I took up Ralph Erskine's "Gospel Sonnets," and opened up what he entitles "A Gospel Catechism for Young Christians, or Christ All in All, and our Complete Redemption," I read, and as I read I wept. Indeed I was almost overcome with weeping, so interesting did the doctrine of eternal salvation appear to me.— Andrew Fuller. Mr. Erskine's poems are greatly to be esteemed for the sweetness of the verse, the disposition of the subjects, the elegancy of the composition, and above all, for that which animates the whole, the savour of divine and experimental knowledge.— i?ev. Thomas Bradbury, London. 472 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. To compare these rhymes with the masterpieces of lyric poetry would not be doiug them justice; but in some of his lines there is a pathos flowing from the felt truth and dignity of his theme which finds its way to every congenial heart. — D7\ M'Crie. The genius of the author of the " Gospel Sonnets " has won, through its homely minstrelsy, a wide renown. — Dr. Eadie. "Ye mind, Mary," said he, turning to Mrs. Spence, "hoo them that's awa' liked to read Ralph's ' Gospel Sonnets ; ' — indeed my mother could, say them all off by heart." — *' Elder Logan," p. 47. The Life and Diary of the Reverend Ralph Erskine, A.M., OF Dunfermline, one of the Founders of the Secession. By Dr. D. Fraser, Kennoway, concerning whom and his works consult "Annals of the Church," p. 58. A biography by Dr. Pringle, Auchterarder, was contemplated for the " United Pres- byterian Fathers." A Tribute to the Memory of Ralph Erskine; Being addresses and speeches connected with the inauguration of his statue in Dunfermline, 27th June, 1849. — Among the speakers were Drs. William Johnston, Kidston, Macfarlane, M'Michael, W. Anderson, and others. The Aid or the Elders — His [Ralph Erskine's] journals, and those of his fellow-ministers, are at this time filled with notes of their travels through all the middle and south of Scotland, in nearly every case in response to invitations, and with accounts of sermons preached to hundreds and thousands of the assembled people. They had, in one year, applica- tions for supply of regular preaching from seventy different societies, and could never have met a tenth of the calls, had it not been for the aid of the elders, who took their place whea they were absent, and superintended the outlying districts. The higher tone thus given to the general body of the eldership was one of the indii-ect benefits that arose from the Secession. A " Seceder elder" was at first a sneer in the mouth of adversaries, but the part these men took has helped to restore this arm of strength to the Presbyterian churches of Scotland. — Dr. Ker, " The Erslr7ies," j^- 36. After the ministers of the Scottish Church there is no class of workers to whom Scotland owes so much as the elders. Without them the efforts of the Reformers in 1560, and 1638, never could have been cro^vned with the success which actually attended them ; and in all wise plans yet to be carried out in Scotland with a view to recover lost ground and carry the religion and morality of the country up to higher forms, the enlightened, hearty, and self-sacrificing labours of the eldership will need to be called in to a degree which only the Covenanting times knew. — Rev. W. Ross, LL.D. Religious Conflicts. — Ralph Erskine. See Chapter VIII. of " Scottish Philosophy, Biographical, Expository, Critical, from Hutcheson to Hamilton," by James M'Cosh, D.D., LL.D. Three distinct religious parties are being formed in Scotland, not including the Covenanting " remnant," who never submitted to the Revolution Settlement. First, in the Church of Scotland there is the " Moderate " type of minister, crystallized by coldness out of the floating elements. He is or he aflfects to be elegant THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 473 and tolerant, and he is terribly afraid of a zealous religious life. Secondly, the Evangelical party, called by their opponents "zealots." Thirdly, beyond the Established Church, the Seceding body, encompassed with hardships as fierce as the storms, but breathing a spirit as free as the air of their country, are rallying around them the old-fashioned and more determined religious life of Scotland. At this stage of its history it serves itself heir to the Covenants of the previous century. This body is beneath the notice of the philosophers ; and in return it shows its utter distrust of them by declining to allow its students to attend the classes of moral philosophy, and appointing a professor of its own to give instruction in that branch, on which, as on other high departments of learning, it continued to set a high value. — Dr. IPCosh — abridged. REV. JAMES FISHER, Glasgow, 1697-1775. Called to Glenisla. Ordained over Kinclaven 1725. Married Jean, eldest daughter of Ebenezer Erskine, the marriage ceremony being performed by Ralph. First Secession minister in Glasgow; inducted at Crossbill, 1741. The congregation, now known as " Greyfriars," is that over which John Dick, D.D., author of " Lectures on Theology," David King, LL.D., author of " Church Government," and Henry Calderwood, LL.D., author of "Philosophy of the Infinite," ministered. One of Fisher's earliest sermons in Glasgow was entitled " Christ the sole and wonderful Doer in the work of man's Redemption." Like all the early Seceders, Fisher preached short sermons. Sometimes he would not be longer than twenty minutes, and he rarely exceeded forty. They knew when to leave oflf, these worthies ! Brown of Inverkeithing, a noted minister in the United Secession Church in the beginning of the century, was once asked by a young man looking forward to the ministry for advice as to his future work, and the answer was, "Be short, begin well, go on, and when you see the people all eagerly listening, close, and be certain that what you have said will be remembered." The Assembly's Shorter Catechism Explained by way of Question and Answer; Wherein it is essayed to bring forth the truths of God contained in that excellent composure, more fully than has been attempted in any one of the explicatory Catechisms hitherto published, and at the same time as compendiously as the subject would allow, etc. By some Ministers of the Gospel. Glasgow, 1753. The materials, prepared by several ministers, were recommitted to three of their number, Ebenezer Erskine, Ralph Erskine, and William Wilson to revise. While this was being done Kalph Erskine, who assisted in revising and composing Part I., died (1752). Within two years Ebenezer died : thus the name of Fisher very properly became associated with the work. A 22nd edition appeared in 1849. Under the Third Command- ment, Fisher specifies the personal vow, the social vow, and National Covenanting. 474 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Strongly the early Secession theologians clung to it [the doctrine of sin as a nonentity, a nothing] ; you find it in such a comparatively popular book as the "Explanation of the Assembly's Catechism," by Fisher, the one of all our Scottish divines the least scholastic, who never came across a scholastic distinction but he seemed to feel that he was in the presence of an enemy. — Dr. Walker, "Scottish Theology," p. S6. The Eev. James Fisher while still minister of the parish of Kinclaven became one of that brave and conscientious brotherhood who, resisting the ecclesiastical despotism and oppression of that period in the Church of Scotland, separating themselves both from its immunities, and what they rightly considered as of incomparably higher importance, its defections, and its tyranny over both ministers and people, forsook its communion, but not their ministry in the Church of Christ. . . . Among that goodly band the name of James Fisher stands forth conspicuous. His work on the "Shorter Catechism" displays a rich fund of sound theological practical erudition ; and it soon became, and still continues to be, the favourite religious manual in thousands of Scotland's religious families, and has associated his name with the Erskines especially as a household word. — Bev. M. Mackay, LL.D., Dunoon. This well-known work was very generally employed by ministers as their text-book at the public examinations of their people, when both old and young were duly catechised. This was, in fact, a profound system of divinity, and was especially devoted to an explanation of the Marrow doctrines. — Dr. M'Grie. Memorials of the Rev. James Fisher, Minister of the Associate Congregation in Glasgow, etc. United Pres- byterian Fathers. A narrative of his life by Prof. John Brown, D.D., with a selection from his writings. The volume was dedicated to the surviving children of Fisher, — Mrs. Crum, Mrs. Buchan, Mrs. Hyde, Dunoon, James Ewing of Strathleven, Dr. Wardlaw, and others. Dr. Brown was married to a granddaughter of Mr. Fisher, of whose life he wrote a memoir, and whose funeral sermon was preached by Dr. Balmer. For a list of Fisher's works see Mackelvie's "Annals," p. 293. See also Shirra's "Remains," p. 195. Review of "A Serious Inquiry into the Burgess Oaths of Edinburgh, Perth, and Glasgow." 1747. Mr. Fisher also wrote a Letter to certain burgesses of bis con- gregation who withdrew from his ministry because he could not condemn the Burgess Oath as a ground of separation. It was a grandson of Mr, Fisher, James Ewing of Strathleven, who was principally influential in obtaining the suppression of the religioiis clause in the burgess oaths, and thus removing an important obstacle in the way of the union of the Belief and Secession churches in 1847. Page 183. See "Act of the Magistrates and Council of the City of Glasgow, relative to the Burgess Oath, 1819." REV. WILLIAM WILSON, A.M., Perth, 1690-1741. Born in Gallowgate, Glasgow ; named in honour of the Prince of Orange. On the day of his ejection from his church in Perth he said to certain who proposed to force admission — " Ko violence, , THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 475 my friends ; the Master whom I serve is the Prince of Peace.' The last literary service of his life was drawing up the Bond used by the Seceders in CovenantiDg. See " Elder Logan," p. 43. More brave than David's mighty men, This champion fought it f;iir In truth's defence, both by the pen, The pulpit and the chair : He stood \\ ith his associates true To Scotland's solemn oath ; And taught to render homage due To God and Cccsar both, — Ralph Erskine. A Defence of the Reformation Principles of the Church OF Scotland. A continuation of the Defence. Wherein the exceptions that are laid against the conduct of the Associate Presbytery, as also against tlieir Judicial Act and Testimony, by the Rev. Mr. Currie in his Essay on Separation, are examined; and the injurious reflections cast upon our Reform- ing period from 1638 to 1650 in the foresaid essay are discovered. By AYilliam Wilson, A.M., Minister of the Gospelat Perth. 1769. — This is Wilson's magnum opus. It was called forth by the exigency of the times. Too weak to excite any other feeling than pity at first, the Seceders gathered strength enough in a few years to create alarm. They were then held up as demagogues and apostates by Currie. The " Defence " in grasp of subject and power of argument is immeasurably superior, and it is free from all asperity and personal recrimination. Currie ventured on a " Yindication," to which Wilson replied in his "Continuation." See Agnew's "Theology of Consolation," p. 384. This *' Defence " and " Continuation " were Wilson's great contribution to the pause of liberty and religion, and they form a masterly vindication of the principles and procedure of the Secession. — Prof. John Eadie, LL.D. Life and Times of the Rev. William Wilson, A.M., one of the Founders of the United Presbyterian Church. By John Eadie, LL.D. United Presbyterian Fathers. 1849. To offer an humble tribute to the memory of one who, in a period of deep degeneracy, witnessed a good confession, and to whom his Lord intrusted a "banner" to be "displayed because of the truth," — to teach the present generation what they owe to the men of a former age, who maintained the sole Headship of Christ in the midst of virulent scorn and hostility, — to show how God selects a servant, and adapts his studies, experience, and early labours, so as to prepare him for duty and nerve him for trial, — to deepen the assurance that error and intolerance only exhaust their eftbrts in vain against the cause of truth and freedom, is the object of the following biograpliy. — Dr. Eadie, 476 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Memoirs of the Rev. William Wilson, A.M., Minister of THE Gospel at Perth, one of the Four Brethren, and Professor of Theology to the Associate Presbytery; With brief sketches of the State of Peligion in Scotland for fifty years immediately posterior to the Revolution, including a Circumstantial Account of the origin of the Secession. By Rev. Andrew Ferrier, D.D. 1829. — The biographer was a great grandson of Wilson, and a son of Dr. Ferrier of Paisley. Several of Wilson's sermons were collected into a volume. For Letter anent Abjuration Oath, see Wod. Cor., II., 229. EEV. ALEXANDER MONCRIEFF OF CULFARGIE, 1694-1761. Familiarly spoken of as '• Culfargie " — the name of his estate in the parish of Abernethy. His paternal grandfather was the Rev. Alex. MoncriefF of Scoonie, the companion and counterpart of the martyred Guthrie. His father, the Rev. Wm. Moncrieff, one of the Scottish exiles, accompanied Lady Campbell of Auchin- breck, Argyllshire, in 1686. It was of him that lady wrote in her diary — "Had a sweet day of the sunshine of the gospel, Mr. William Moncrieff having preached from these words in Isaiah xxxii. 2, ' A man shall be an hiding place from the wind and a covert from the tempest.' " He himself was designated the Lion of the Four Brethren. Preaching on a certain occasion in the Glovers' Yard, Perth, and before pronouncing the benediction he thus spoke : — " My friends, I shall tell you one thing before I dismiss you, and that is, that if the thorns of the State were as sharp -pointed as the thorns of the Kirk, there are some of you liere to-day who would have been singing psalms in heaven." He was favourable to the Marrow school of divinity, and took part with the Erskines in defending the popular rights. One of the Fathe'rs of the Secession, he was in 1744 made their professor of divinity. — James M'Cosh, D.D., LL.D., '' Scottish Philosophy:' The Duty of National Covenanting : Explained in some sermons preached at the Renovation of our Covenants National, and Solemn League, in the Bond adapted to our present situation and circumstances in this Period, by the Associate Presbytery, at Abernethy, in tlie month of July, 1744. By Mr. Alexander Moncrieff, Minister of tlie Gospel there. The Practical Works of the Rev. Alexander Moncrieff OP Culfargie, M.A., Minister of the Gospel at Aber- nethy. 2 Vols. 1779. The life was written by the late Dr. Young of Perth. The memorials include " An Inquiry into the Principle, Rule, and End of Moral Actions," wherein the scheme of selfish love laid down by Mr. Archibald Campbell in his "Inquiry into the Original of Moral Virtue " is examined, and the received doctrine THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 477 vindicated. To these are subjoined two Sermons by his son, the Rev. William Moncrietf, Alloa, who was also the author of " Observati(ms on a Pamphlet entitled ' Essay on National Covenanting.' " Memoir of the Rev. Alexander Moncrieff of Abernethy. With a Selection from his Works, by David Young, D.D., Perth : United Presbyterian Fathers. From the treasure-stores of our venerable Principal at Aberdeen we are presented with a rare gem of biography in the sketch he furnishes of his grandfather, the Rev. William Brown, the first Secession minister in Aberdeenshire, who was brought there through the great-great-grandfather of the present Mr. Ferguson of Kinmuudy, having gone to Burntisland in 1741 for the improvement of his health, there meetins; with Moncrieflf of Culfargie, one of the four Secession fathers, and ultimately joining the ranks of the Seceders. Mr. Brown was settled at Craigdam, in the parish of Tarves, in the immediate vicinity of the Earl of Aberdeen's mansion- house, upon the call of the people and on the promise of a stipend of £15 ! —Bev. C. G. jrCrie, Ayr. EEV. THOMAS BOSTON, Ettrick, 1676-1732. The great, the grave, judicious Boston's gone, Who once, like Athanasius bold, stood firm alone; Whose golden pen to future times will bear His fame, till in the clouds his Lord appear. —Ralph Erskine. Son of a Covenanter in Dunse. Henry Erskine (p. 374) was Boston's spiritual father, and Boston in turn was Gillespie of Carnock's spiritual father. Boston died the year before the Secession, else he had been with the Erskines. The doctrine of ''the open door" he and they held in common. See his theology noticed in M'Cosh's "Scot. Phil.," chap. xvii. Thomas Boston whose peaceful walk with God is not yet forgotten in Ettrick Forest, and whose writings, originally designed for his own shep- herds, are now praised in all the churches, and most prized by those Christians who have farthest grown in grace. -Dr. James Hamilton. Along with his eleven brethren Boston bore the Commission's relDuke, protested against their deliverance, and to the day of his death bewailed it. Some years later the remembrance of what was then done, and the growing oppression of the Church Courts, forced Erskine, \Joncrieff, Wil- son, and Fisher into the first great separation from the Church of Scotland. — Dr. J. \V. Taylor^ ^^ Hi'st. Antiq." All the sections of our Scottish Presbyteiianiem have been, and are, fain to claim Thomas Boston as specially with them, from his great popularity with the common people. The Established Churchmen base their claim to such affinity and spiritual descent upon the fact that Boston lived and died in their communion; the Free Churchmen theirs, on his conteudings in behalf of spiritual independence; while United Presbyterians found their kinship on this, that all his actings as well as teachings show that he would have been with them even in the length and breadth to which they have now come, and that it is only in a church entirely independent of the State that the true Bostonian doctrines in life an.T)., Kirkintilloch. The text of this famous sermon was Psalm Ixxiv. 20. The shot that it fired echoed round the world. For the interesting narrative of events connected with it see M'Kerrow, p. 725. The same polemic wrote "Letter to Dr. Thomson," in answer to review of sermon in Christian Instructor, "Reply to Vin- dication of Ecclesiastical Establishments by Dr. Inglis," "Zion's Deliverance," etc. Marshall was the Dr. Hutton of his day. To no man, however, is the credit of practically originating this contro- versy so justly due as to Dr. Marshall of Kirkintilloch, whose vigorous and well-timed discourse upon the subject, delivered in 1S29, is as the first step in the agitation. — Bev. Hamiiton M. M^Gill, D.D. Curse not the King. By the Rev. Alexander Shank.<, Jedburgh. This was the discourse he preached and published during the first French Revolution, for which he was ofi'ered a pension by Government. This offer he declined in the following terms : "I am loyal from conscience, a Seceder from principle ; I have done nothing more than my duty ; I take no reward."— -4?j«a^^, U.P. Chunky p. SS5. History of the Resistance to the Annuity Tax, under each of the Four Church Establishments for which IT has been levied ; With a statement of its annual produce since 1690, by Duncan M'Laren, M.P. Third edition. 1836. — Mr. M'Laren also wrote 492 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. " On Bishop Teinds," 1838, etc. He died 1886. See "Duncan M'Laren, M.P. for Edinburgh " — an appreciative sketch in the United Presbyterian Magazine, from the pen of Henry Calder- wood, LL.D., Professor of Moral Philosophy, Edinburgh. The Law of Christ for Maintaining and Extending His Church. 1845. By the Kev. David Young, D.D., Perth— the John Foster of the Secession Church. He wrote "Ecclesiastical Establishments opposed alike to Political Equity and Christian Law," and other treatises in which he ably and eloquently expounded Voluntaryism. Considerations on Civil Establishments of Religion. By Hugh Heugh, D.D. A compendious statement of the question suited to the times, written at a stage of the controversy when the literature of the subject was scanty, including, hoAvever, important contributions by Drs. Wardlaw of Glasgow and Marshall of Kirkintilloch. See Dr-. M'Giil's " Life of Heagh." The polished Christian pastor, the ardent philanthropist, the eloquent advocate for, and the spiritual statesman of, his Church, the dauntless pleader on behalf of civil and religious liberty, the Stillingfleet of his times, with much of the acuteness, though none of the rancour, of the author of " Irenicum." — John Macfar- lane, LL.D. History of the Secession Church. By the Rev. John M'Kerrow, D.D., Bridge of Teith. Revised a7id enlarged edition. With 2:)ortraits and illustrative engravings. 1848. An abridgment of the large work ajjpears among the *' United Presbyterian Fathers," being Historical Sketch of the Origin of the Secession by Dr. Andrew Thomson. History of the Relief Church. By the Rev. Gavin Struthers, D.D. Glasgow, 1839. An abridgment of the large work by the same writer ajDpears in the " United Presbyterian Fathers." Much of the history in this and the preceding volume will be found appropriately adapted to the young in " Elder Logan's story about the Kirks," as told by John Strathesk (John Tod). The Principles of the Westminster Standards Persecuting. By Rev. W. Marshall, D.D. 1873. The writer was " that grand old Seceder minister from Coupar- Angus, with massive head, hair as white as snow, and face like Thomas Carlyle." He establishes the persecuting character of the Westminster Standards, the Covenants included, and measures swords with M'Crie, William Cunningham, and others. For references to the Covenanters see " Historic Scenes in Perthshire" by the same writer, " Historic Scenes in Fife/' etc. I cannot have the shadow of a doubt that it [Larger Catechism] teaches persecuting and intolerant principles. — Prioicipal R. Candlish, D.D. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 493 Read the able, though extreme, controversial treatise by Dr. Marshall of Coupar-Angus. — 2iev. J. 3Iacpherson, " The Con- Jessio7i.'^ A Brief Statement and Exposition of the Principles of THE United Presbyterian Church. Bij the Rev. Henry Renton, M.A. Those who wish to understand the distinctive principles of the United Presbyterian Church should peruse this valuable exposi- tion. It is clear, scriptural, and convincing. See also " Manual of Distinctive Principles,'' approved by the Synod of May, 1881, and " The Case for Disestablishment in Scotland," by Dr. Hutton. The Life of Robert Pollok, author of "The Course of Time," etc. By his Brother, David Pollok, A.M. It was in the earlier part of Pollok's career as a student of theology that the Tales were produced. He was in straitened circumstances. What was to be done ? He could write a tale — a series of tales. And where could a titter theme than the days of the Covenant be found for one whose earliest associations were interwoven with stories of martyr and moss-trooper ; whose enthusiasm had led him in his earlier days to institute an annual pilgrimage of all the youth of the district to Lochgoin, where John Howie penned the Scots Worthies, and where a flag, a drum, etc., are still pre- served as venerable relics of the days when the Church registered her second martyrology, and a second time won her birthright. — Andrev) Thomson, D.D. Letters chiefly to Christians under Bereavement; and True Fame, A Sermon. By the late Rev. John Jameson, Methven. With a memoir of the author, by the Rev. David Young, D.D. Perth. 1845. — The sermon is a masterly discourse from the words "A man was famous, etc." It was occasioned by the sight of a woodman felling a tree, as Jameson passed on a sacrament Monday from Methven to the Broom of Dalreoch. It is a bold, striking, and original discourse. In it the men of 1638 come in for a share of "true fame." Dr. Culross in reviewing Vol. III., "Treasury of David" regretted that Mr. Spurgeon had not come across this production of the gifted Jameson. One of Jameson's ancestors was imprisoned in the Bafs, and we are told that he was accustomed to pull out of his pocket an old chronometer, which had been handed down to him, with the remark, "That watch, gentlemen, was once in the Bass." The Letters of Jameson have gone through several editions. One edition contained a brilliant preface by Gilfillan ; another was executed by Dr. Robb. "True Fame" will also be found in " Sermons on Miscellaneous Subjects, by Ministers of the General Associate Synod, 1820." The Reformation in Scotland. By Andrew Somerville, D.D., Foreign Mission Secretary : Its progressive and missionary aspects, and the claim of the XJnittd Presbyterian Church to the heirship of the doctrines of the Reformers. — This is one of the most valuable of the Ter- centenary discourses that appeared in 1860. The missiouary enterprise is shown to grow out of the Reformation. The Secession 494 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Church had the honour of being early in the mission fields of Africa and America; and the Rev. George Smith, LL.D., has pointed out that the first Scottish missionary martyr belonged to the Secession. Dr. Somerville also published " The Causes of the Secession," and "Lectures on Missions and Evangelism." The First Scottish Missionary Martyr. — This was Peter Greig, who sat under the ministry of Ebenezer Brown of Inverkeithing. A letter of his, addressed to the Kev. Greville Ewing, will be found embodied in article with the above title in the " United Presbyterian Magazine " for 1884, p. 102. In the "Missionary Magazine" of May 1799, we have a vivid picture of the first Scottish missionary at work. The year following he was murdered by an assassin who plundered his house. "Thus the first Scottish and United Presbyterian missionary died for Africa, as the schoolman Raymond Rully had done in a still darker age at the hands of the Foulahs' forefathers. The Church of Ebenezer Brown has good reason to hallow the memory of the martyr missionary, Peter Greig." Traditions of the Covenanters ; or, Gleanings among the Mountains. By the Rev. Robert Simpson, D.D., ^Sanquhar. Appeared first in the " \YeekIy Christian Teacher." They exhibit the romance of real life in the days of the Covenant, and demonstrate that truth is stranger than fiction. His works have done much to rescue from oblivion many interesting traditions of the persecuting period which might otherwise have perished. — Bev. J. Murray, Cumnock. Dr. Simpson was at great pains to collect floating traditions of these holy men — traditions that would soon have been hopelessly lost in this reading age ; and, when we read his glowing pages he seems to people the wilds of Muirkirk with the martyrs of a former age to whom these solitudes were dear. — Rev. P. Meanu, *^ Muirkirk," p. SI. Both our country and our church are under deep obligations to Dr. Simpson for the highly interesting and invaluable works which from time to time he has published relating to the Scotch Covenanters. No man living has done more than Dr. Simpson has done in this peculiar walk of literature to diffuse the savour of the martyr graces and sacrifices. If the descending obligation of the covenants be not found in our formularies, he has secured that it be lodged and embalmed in our hearts' feelings and faith. — United Presbyterian Magazine. Dr. Simpson made the following additional contributions to the covenanting literature of Scotland : — Banner of tlie Covenant ; A Voice from the Desert ; The Times of Claverhouse ; Martyrland ; or. The Perils of the Persecution. Memorials of Worth. The Martyrs op our Manse. 1858. A sketch by the Rev. John Macfarlane, LL.D. Dr. Macfarlane also wrote "The Night Lamp" — the memoir of a covenanting sister; the "Life of Dr. Lawson," p. 488, and, along with Dr. M'Kerrow, the "Life and Correspondence of Henry Belfrage, D.D., of Falkirk." THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 495 Memorials of the Life and Work of the Rev. William Johnston, D.B., Limekilns. It was under the fraternal guidance of this warm-hearted Nonconformist pastor that Dean Stanley visited the _ shrines of the Secession Kirk and studied the l^ves of Gillespie and the Erskines. Dr. Johnston died on Sabbath, the 24th of May, 1874 A few days before he had appeared in the Synod; and his last act was to support an overture from his Presbytery m favour of Disestablishment. He declared that " the Established Church had not kept the faith, that it had not kept the people, and that it tended to create and foster alienation, jealousy and discord among various classes of her Majesty's subjects." He had risen from a sick bed to deliver this speech; and when dying he remarked with a deam of his old humour, that the address was lii« last testimony at the Grassmarket" against civil interference with the religion of the suh^ect.—Literari/ World. He was not a Chalmers or a Macleod or a Guthrie, but he was not unworthy to be mentioned in connection with them. He was ever in Xance of the above-named divines in advocatmg the most hberal measures of his own times.—S purgeo?i. Jubilee of the Rev. William Orr, Fenwick, March 11, 1879. The Rev. William Orr was a worthy successor in the ministry, if not in the actual Kirk, of the famous William Guthrie. The vohime is full of covenanting associations; there is a fine historical sketch by the Rev Wmiam Orr of Brechin; and the illustrations are eKcellent If ««* makinTtoo much noise in the world, and never any noise with the false rina of the sounding brass and the tinkling cymbal all the rather has his nu°etmnfstry its echoes in another world.'' In ^he C/...s^ja. Wer for 18S2 will be found a sketch of Mr. Orr by the Rev. James Banks of Salt- coats The father of Mr. Banks was the first John Pounds of Scotland, and he is himself a fine specimen of the old covenanting worthy. The Cloud of Witnesses; or, Scotch Martyrology. By William Anderson, LL.D. Glasgow, 1853. A TDrefatorv notice, by the committee appointed to carry into execution the rrsolutTon^o re^^^ Paton's monument, explains the occasion of tMs e^quent discourse-preached in the churchyard ot Fenwick on the first Sabbath of May. 1853, to an assemblage of 3,000 persons. The Martyrs and Heroes of the Scottish Covenant. By George GiLFiLLAN. Sixth Edition. 1863. This book and "The Bards of the Bible" will prove Gilfillan's most endurinc. works. It is not a history in the strict sense, but a series of historical word-paintings illustrative of covenanting times, scenes, and incidents. Gilfillan inherited not a lit le ot the covenanting spirit from his father, the Rev Samuel Gilfillan of Comrie, whose writings were much prized by Lady Nairne, authoress of "The Land o' the Leal," etc. 496 TREASUBY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Modern Christian Heroes. Land., 1869. A Gallery of Protesting and Reforming men, including Cromwell, Milton, the Puritans, Covenanters, First Seceders, etc., by Pev. George GilfiUan, author of "Night; a Poem," etc. — The lectures on the Covenanters begin with the signing of the Covenant in 1638. See " Galleries of Literary Portraits " and " Remoter Stars " for sketches of Jameson of Methven, Gilfillan of Comrie, Dr. Anderson, Dr. Chalmers, George Buchanan, Robert Pollok, and others. Gilfillan lays the lash unsparingly on Aytoun. Most heartily do we admire the flagellation of one who, sitting under the fig-tree which his fathers watered with their blood, beats his penny drum to march them for ever out of the field of fame. — Reviewer. The Scottish Covenanters. By James Taylor, D.D., F.A.S.E. CasselVs Shilling Library. Multum in Parvo. The entire history of the Covenanting struggle we have in this book. Its perusal will refresh the memories of those who have studied the larger works ; it is calculated to whet the appetite of those who for the first time through its pages make themselves acquainted with the struggles of the Covenant. Dr. M'Crie was asked once to write a short History of the Church of Scotland, but replied he would as soon think of writing the Lord's Prayer on a sixpence. Dr. Taylor, author of the "Pictorial," and "The Age we Live in," has succeeded where Dr. M'Crie was afraid to venture. Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine. By John Ker, D.D. 1880. See p. 469, Professor Ker also contributes an introductory chapter to Miss Watson's Lives of Peden and Renwick, (p. 359). Another charming bicentenary sketch is entitled "A Day in the Upper Ward of Clydesdale." " Echoes of the Psalms in the Experiences of Life and Death " is the title of a series of deeply interesting jottings from Covenanting literature contributed to the "United Presbyterian Magazine" for 1884. No one writes of the Covenanters with such geniality of heart and unafi'ected simplicity of speech as Professor Ker. Would that he had opportunity to undertake to supply a desideratum, and give us an entire History of the Times of the Covenant. The Emblem of the Church. — The emblem of the Church of Scotland is "The bush burning, but not consumed." It is not as setting it aside, but, we trust, supplementing it that the United Presbyterian Church has adopted " The dove with the olive leaf ; " and when the scattered children of the family are brought together into one Church again, the names of the Erskines, and the impulse they gave to Christian work, will find their acknowledged place. — Prof. Ker, D. D. Plea for the Covenanted Reeormation. 1844. An able treatise on the subject by Dr. Stevenson, Ayr. He did not enter the Union of 1820. He wrote also "Dissertation on the Atone- ment," etc. Catechism of the History of the Church of Scotland. 1842. By Rev. B. Laing, Colmonell. In 1843 he published "An Address on Covenanting, " THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 49T \NNALS AND STATISTICS OF THE ORIGINAL SECESSION ChURCH. Bu Rev David Scott, F.S.A.Sc, Saltcoats. Ever, those .ho may be inclined to regard the Old Lights as somewha^ T>rovincial and narrow in their views, recognise the gieat debt which gcolland owes to their sincere piety and unyielding hdebty to conscience^ She would have been a much poorer country to-day but for their testimony to siTitual reabties in years that were exposed to the secuUxnsing influence oi a^ agan Moderatism. The Old Lights kept the lamp of evangelica^ truth buraincr brightly in the midst of the surrounding darkness ; and their l/nrl V^Zm bv Mr Scott, is one that will stir interest and gratitude m fheliul of every ChristLn patriot. -7'Ae CJ^istlan Leader, May 20, 18SG. The Martyr's Testimony and the Martyr's Crown. Bif Andrew Thomson, D.D. 1885. A sermon at the bicentenary of John Brown of Priesthill. See Ghr^.nan TpmhrlY 399 "Dr. Thomson's sermon formed a httmg close to a com- memorition'whiih conclusively demonstrated that a warm place m the heart of'ihe Scottish people is ^tiU reserved for their faithfnl Covenanting fathers." Gairney Bridge Memorial. Third Jubilee. 1883. Documents connected with the origin of the Secession Church 5th December 1733, and addresses at laying the foundation-stone of an obebsk memTr al-The introduction is by Professor Ker, who thus writes of the Fathers " They were sincere to the inmost fibre of their conscience, and fearless in following out their convictions. Had they lived in the previous centu?v thev would have been preachers on the hills or sufferers at the Giassm^arS. is made here of the "Diary of the Rev. Thomas MalrTorwell," one of the fonnders of the Church. See also " U.P. Magazine," 1884. ^,,^.11 f^^„ The four men were after all only successors of others who long before them had spread the Gospel in those lonely and remote regions. Saint Serf had long beire brought Christ to this district, and ^'-^^}'l^'!^^^'l^^\l that small island rock in Lochleven. John Knox was at work in those mrts when Queen Mary was imprisoned in the loch's massive and pic ur- £\ue castk.^ James Renwick some fifty years before .t^^ Secession had ^reached under the Balgedie hills at a spot called Renwick s Pulpit to this Ty Gairney Bridge was only another Bothwell Bridge, where four men ^li the Gospel did a mightier work than the hundreds of Covenanters with their swords and cannon.-Pro/. Graham, D.D., London. The Secession was greatest in this-that its /o^^dation was la^d in homage to Christian truth. It was a testimony /°VJ^\*7*|^^^°f,^^7,^;*^ The struggles of Knox for a pure Gospel, the martyrdoms of Puritans and Covenanters for the same great issue, found in them a needful contniuation. SrSecessTon and aT^ the Rebef, contended for something deeper S.an ^ere Hbert^^ Jurisdiction. It was for the Bible as the t- ^ o^^ o^ God, for the divinity of Christ, for the reahty and sufficiency of His atone^ meni as that in which all sinners of "^.^^^^^^^^^f^V host for the living blessed efficacy of the renewing grace of the K^^y.^^^'*', ^^Xv^ur hoDC of immortality, founded on umcn and conformity to a Ining baMour. Th^eseVwis and precious doctrines of the Christian redemption were unspLkaWy dear to the founders of the Secession and to those who ^oUo'wed th'em; and in contending for them and -^f-^y^^^^/XJ^^^^^^^^ Pelagianism, the self- righteousness and bfeless morality of tlie Moderate theology, they felt that they were standing in the breach and that the battle o^ the Reformation was fought anew. '^^^^ 'f^^'^'ll'^^^^^^ ^von. In and by them the labours of Knox and Melville and of the ^^ est minister Assembly, the Letters of Rutherford, the Marrow of Modern 2 I 498 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Divinity, the Memoirs of Halyburton, and the Fourfold State of Boston, found their living snccession.— Principal Cairns, D.D., LL.D. Dissent is on its trial in our time. If it elect simply to stand within its own lines, emphasising its old distinctions, and providing for its own household, it will dwindle. But this also is true : Dissent has carried its followers up to the highest apprehension yet won of the New Testament ideal. The voluntary lines on which it works are in far truer harmony with the spirit of Chris- tianity than the more ambiguous position of the State Churches. If having separated in search of ideal purity, we, now that God has called us to practical conquest, close our ranks, mass our forces, husband our resources, make the conquest of souls our aim, the standard of spiritual life will rise, new energies will break forth, and, instead of being arrayed against us, all the tendencies floating in the air of thought will come like birds to shelter in the over-canopying system and all-spanning organisation of a great Church — the million-sided reflector to the nations and aofes of the mind and character of her Lord. — Rev. John Smith. M.A., Edinburgh, " The Sjnritual Conquest oj Britain." Elder Logan's Story about the Kirks. A Book /or the Young. By John Strathesk. 1884. The writer is Mr. John Tod, author of " Bits from Blinkbonny," who in adding Bell o' the Manse to our gallery of Scottish portraits has proved himself a public benefactor. " Bell " has already found her way into Windsor Palace, and the Countess de Gasparin has introduced her in a French garb to many homes in France. "More Bits from Blinkbonny " followed in 1884. For a paper by the same writer on the Ettrick Shepherd see the "Christian Leader," IV., 49. Designed for Scottish youth, telling them in the vernacular with infinite pathos and humour about the Covenanting times, the Secession and its founders, the rise of the Relief, etc. There is danger m our crowded age of the things being allowed to sink out of sight which Mr. Tod has here recalled with so much enthusiasm ; and we are glad to see the needful work performed by a man who brings to the task not only sympathy and fulness of knowledge, but also a rich fund of humour and literary qualifi- cations of a high order. — W. H. Wylie. Mr. Strathesk has written the history of the United Presbyterian Church with much heartiness, and he has made it as attractive as possible for the young whom he aims to instruct. It is most desirable that the brave days of old should be remembered, and that the grand principles for which the fathers struggled should be set before the rising generation. We fancy that young men and women will derive more benefit from this work than the younger folk are likely to do ; for, put the Presbyterian controversies how you may, they require a considerable measure of theological knowledge before they can be appreciated or even understood, and this knowledge is not commonly possessed by boys and girls. We commend " Elder Logan's Story " to every member of the United Presbyterian body, and advise that a copy be placed in every household belonging to that excellent community. — C. H. Spurgeon. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 499 FREE CHTTECH LITERATURE. Principal Haddow was an iiltra-Calvinist ; Professor Campbell was a Rationalist. Betwixt these widely differing phases of sentiment there existed a class of ministers, who feeling deeply the necessities of their own hearts, and who receiving the declarations of God's Word in the simplicity of faith, maintained that God has in the Gospel offer made a deed of gift and grant of His Son unto mankind lost, so that eacli one is warranted on the ground of that offer to take Christ as his own to rest on, and what Christ has done as belonging particularly to himself for appropriation and participation. This class embraced such men as Boston of Ettrick, Wilson of Maxton, Webster of Edinburgh, Wilson of Perth, and the Erskines. These men felt that the free and unconditional and sincere offer which the Gospel makes to everyone is the only foundation of the sinner's faith and hope. It was around this as the foundation-doctrine that the controversy gathered. The higher Calvinists, such as Principal Haddow, brought forward their views of election, so as in reality to impede and fetter the Gospel offer. The misty divines perplexed and puzzled themselves and their hearers, by throwing in faith and repentance as conditions betwixt the sinner and tlie Gospel offer. The paganised divines, such as Professor Campbell, looking down with a self-complacent air from their philosophic height, professed to treat the whole subject as the rubbish of theological jargon — the word-war of weak-brained and narrow-minded enthusiasts. It was only such men as Boston and his associates, who saw and estimated aright the vitally important truth imperilled. To these times, and to these persons we must look when we search for the sources of those ecclesiastical divisions which Scotland mourns. — Rev. J. W. Taylor, D.D., " Historical Notices." HUGH MILLER.— WALTER C. SMITH, D.D. Anti-Patronage Library. Comprehending a Collection of Acts of Parliament and Assembly connected with Patronage; Currie's ^^ Jus Fojmli Divinum;" and treatises by different civil and ecclesiastical authors, including Lord Prestongrange, Sir Francis Grant, Mr. Crosby, Dr. Owen, Dr. Doddridge, and others. With Moderatism the Evangelicals were constantly in contact ; but not until they obtained the powerful advocacy of Dr. Andrew Thomson and Dr. Thomas Chalmers did they produce much impression. But, once the stream of revival began to flow, it rapidly rose. Finding its spring in the Dissenting Churches without, it gradually extended to the Establishmeut within; and the Indian Mission, superintended by Dr. Diiff, and the Home Mission, directed by Dr. Chalmers, were the results. Influenced by many causes, the times were such that society instinctively sought safety in activity. Everything political and religious was in commotion. It was democracy asserting its power and demanding its freedom, and the Church was too closely allied to democracy to resist its claim. Within the Estab- lishment a minority, rapidly increasing in numbers and influence, fought against the law of patronage, and for the spiritual liberties of the people. Without the Establishment the religious community almost universally adopted the new Voluntary doctrine, that State Charchism was incon- sistent with the enjoyment of spiritual liberty; that it was neither lawful nor expedient; and by-and-bye the Evangelical Anti-Patronage party was committed to its famous Ten Years' Conflict, which resulted in its libera- tion by disruption in 1843. — JRevieioer. 500 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The evil was in the essential nature of an alliance between Church and State, The only remedy was in secession. Throughout all this discussion, writes Lord Cockburn, " the peers outdid all their former doings in ignorant hostility to our State." Professing in words to keep the door open for reconciliation, they shut it and nailed it up, and in terms purposely oflFensive ; "and so farewell hope," adds his lordship plaintively, "from Queen, Lords, and Commons." It was well that it was so. The brightest page in Scottish history is that which tells of the clergy ceasing to hope in Queen, Lords, and Commons, and resting instead on the living God. It gave new life to the Presbyterian Church. It made Presbyterianism even fashionable. Great landlords became proud of their religious teachers, and in spite of cases of paltry and pitiful persecution, the feeling in favour of the new martyrs and confessors was intense. Led away by his enthusiasm for a spectacle so divine, Lord Cockburn adds, the mitres of England may tremble for it. The mitres of England at present tremble not. English Churchmen have pliant consciences, and are slow to learn lessons of self- denial and sacrifice. — Literary World, May 22, 1874- Letter from one of the Scotch People to the Right Hon. Lord Brougham and Yaux on the opinions expressed BY his Lordship in the Auchterarder Case. 1839. This lettf^r by Hugh Miller will be found in the " Headship." Miller did for the Free Church cause what no other man of his day accomplished. He proved himself the people's friend, and put himself forward as such in this Letter, which is full of impassioned eloquence and powerful and convincing argument. " Hugh Miller fought for his Church with the earnestness and vehemence of his Covenanting fathers at Marston Moor or Drumclog." The Whiggism of the Old School, as exemplified by the Past History and Present Position of the Church OF Scotland. By Hugh Miller. 1839. While yet unacquainted with the fate of his first brochure Miller was engaged upon a second. It is a masterly vindication of spiritual independence from the historical standpoint. Through what influence was it that the more secular-minded the clergy- man the more certain was he of retaining his office in the Church, and through which men such as Fisher and the Erskines came to be regarded as the very pests acd traitors of the institution, and the godly and inoffen- sive Gillespie, whose solemn crime it was that he would neither offend against his own sense of duty, nor yet outrage the conscience of others, came to be contemptuously thrust out ? Through what influence was it that the clerical farmers and corn factors of forty years ago were brought into the Church — the men who were so ready to quit the pastoral for the agricultural life, and who in years of scarcity, when the price of grain rose beyond all precedent, were either thriving on the miseries of the people and accumulating to themselves, in the least popular of all characters, the bitter contempt and unmingled detestation of a whole country, or as the unhonoured martyrs of unlucky speculation were studying in jails, or under hiding, the restrictions and technicalities of the bankrupt statutes ? Who of all the men rf our country has not marked the difference which obtains between the faithful minister of Jesus Christ, alike equal in rank to the highest and to the lowest who have souls to be lost or saved, and the mere clerical, half -fashionable gentleman, etc.?— p.- 21. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 501 The Harp on the Willows. By Rev. James Hamilton, D.D., London. A little volume (the 45th London edition), containing also "Remembering Zion," "Farewell to Egypt," "The Church in the House," "The Dew of Hermon" — a choice collection for the heart, the hearth, and the house of God. Dr. Hamilton possessed the rare faculty of etherealizing. He has ennobled everything that his pen has touched. His complete works extend to six vols. " The Harp " strikes this opening note : — Two months ago I went to Edinburgh to attend the Convocation of ministers [Novr., 1842]. Like many of my countrymen my heart used to beat harder when I came in sight of that city of Reformers and Covenanters, of hallowed Sabbaths, and crowded churches, and solemn assemblies. 15ut on this occasion "how did the city sit solitary ! " Its pleasant sanctuaries had a look of widowhood ; and the most melancholy object of all was a gorgeous unfinished structure on the Castle Hill, reared for the Assemblies of the Church of Scotland, but more likely to be their cenotaph. There was the chairman who might so easily have been the Adam Smith, the Leibnitz, or the Bossuet of the day ; but who, having obtained a better part, has laid economics, and philosophy, and eloquence on the altar which sanctified himself. There was Dr. (7ordon, lofty in simplicity, whose vast conceptions and majestic emotions plough deeper the old channels of cus- tomary words, and make common phrases appear solemn and sublime after Jie has used them. There were Dr. Keith, whose labours in the prophecies have sent his fame through Europe, and are yearly bringing converts into the Church of Christ ; and Mr. .James Buchanan, whose deep-drawn sympathy, and rich Bible lore, and Christian refinement have made him a son of consolation to so many of the sons of sorrow. There were Dr. Welsh, the biographer and bosom friend of Thomas Brown ; Dr. Forbes, among the most inventive of modera mathematicians ; and Dr. Paterson, whose " Manse Garden" is read for the sake of its poetry and wisdom and Christian kindness, where there are no gardens, and will be read for the sake of other days when there are no manses. And there was Dr. Patrick M'Farlan, whose calm judgment is a sanction to any measure ; and who, holding the richest benefice in Scotland, most appropriately moved the resolution that rather than sacrifice their principles, they should surrender their possessions. The Annals of the Disruption. By the Rev. Thomas Brown, F.R.S.E. It has done our heart good to read this story of a brave deed. We are sure it would be for the health of many iu this degenerate age to study this record of what was done some forty years ago. When a boy we remember the enthusiasm of the Independent congregation with which our family was connected. The collec- tion made when the Scotch minister preached for the Free Church exceeded anything on record. Certain of the Disruption men have been among our choicest friends, and we like to think of all they did and suffered for the truth's sake. God bless the Free Church, and keep it faithful ! A perusal of this record may help in that direction, and therefore we are glad to bring it before our readers, many of whom dwell in the "land of brown heath and 502 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. shaggy wood." The volume is of goodly size, and contains count- less anecdotes and memorials. Every Scotchman should read it, because he knows the great influence which the event had upon his country's spiritual life, and every Englishman should read it, because he ought to know what his northern brethren have done. — C. H. Spur g eon. 12th January, 1843. — The answer from Government to the Church has at last been published. It is contained in a letter from Sir James Graham. It is not known who the compounder of this " State paper," as it is called by it8 admirers, is. It is certainly not written by Sir James Graham, the Home Secretary who signs it. Some give it to Duncan M'Xeill, the lord- advocate, who, however, I don't believe wrote it. He would have been shorter, more guarded, and would not have felled himself by calling the Second Book of Discipline (which is non-intrusion and independent through- out), " a standard of the Church." It is all much liker Lord Aberdeen. 16th January, 1843. — And now we have the answer to it (Minute of General Assembly's special Commission, Jan. 12, 1843). An answer which no man except Alexander Dunlop, its real author could have written. Very few could have stated the true case of the Church with such accurate learning or such luminous force ; nobody else with such candour and quietness. — Journal of Henry Cockburn. Memories of Disruption Times. By Alex. Beith, D.D. A chapter in autobiography embracing the half-year preceding and the half-year following i8th May, 1843. The material was intended for Brown's "Annals," but was deemed worthy of separate publication. The Disruption Assembly, Mr. D. O. Hill's Painting. That Picture, begun more than twenty years ago, is now nearly finished. It is a historical picture of immense interest. Upwards of four hundred highly-finished portraits cover the large canvas. They are all taken from the life, and the labour M'hich the artist has bestowed on them must have been enormous. Looking at the picture we have before us, the memorable Canonmills Hall, Avith its low unceiled roof and bare rafters coming down close to the heads of the spectators in the gallery. The grand figure of Chalmers occupies the moderator's chair in the centre. In front of the chair stands the clerk's table beside which we recognize the familiar faces of Dr. Clason and his brother in office, the late lamented Mr. Pitcairn. The signing of the Deed of Demission is going on. Dr. Candlish, younger looking by twenty years than he is now, stands in the front of the platform. He holds in his hand the roll of ministers adhering to the resolutions of the Convocation, and as he reads out the names the ministers advance to the table one by one to sign the resignation of their earthly all. Dr. Patrick Macfarlan, of Greenock, who gave up the largest living in the Scottish Establishment, is in tbe act of signing. The artist chose this as the point of time for the picture, in accordance with a suggestion made by Dr. Gordon. Dr. Macdonald, the "apostle of the north," with his quiet look of unfalter- irg resolution, waits to sign next. Beside him stands an impressive figure. It is that of a very aged man, whose countenance wears a solemn and deathly aspect. His fingers feebly grasp the pen which has been put into his shaking hand, as his tottering frame is helped towards the table. This venerable figure is Dr. Somerville of Drummelzier, who, after that day, had little more left for him to do in this world but to go home and die. Thus they came forward one after another, through many hours, to lay their gift on the altar, to sacrifice position, and living, and home, and freely to THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 503 accept all the uncertainties, straits, and hardships that lay before them. Low in an unnoticed corner near the clerk's table, Hugh Miller had placed himself with characteristic modesty. There he sits ; his brown hair, touched with its first sprinkling of grey, lies in thick masses above his mighty forehead ; his well-known plaid hangs loosely about him ; his quiet eye seems to see deep and far into the vast significancy of the scene passing around him. Looking along the front of the platform on which the Moderator's chair is placed, we recognise the bold, intrepid countenance of Gray of Perth. Makgill Crichton of Rankeillour, noble m form— for "the bold Bertrams were aye the wale of the countryside"— but nobler still in nature, looks on with his look of manly enthusiasm. Dr. Guthrie's speaking face kindles at the scene. Yonder is the graceful form and thoughtful countenance of Sheriff Speirs, and beside him Sheriff Monteith. Finer examples of Christian manhood no man ever saw. There the philosophic Welsh appears, and there is the best likeness of Sir David Brewster that has ever yet been put on canvas. And there is Dr. Cunningham— an impersonation of strength in repose. In that group behind Dr. John Bruce, we recognise the illustrious Abercrombie and the strongly marked features of Professor Fleming. But to enumerate all this multitude of portraits were endless. The eye, roaming over the picture, rests upon many a well- known face— the two Buchanans ; stout old Roderick Macleod ; the Earl of Breadalbane ; Mr. Fox Maule ; Lord Advocate Rutherford ; the warrior lineaments of Sir Thomas Macdougal Brisbane; Mr. Campbell of Tilli- chewan's gentle face ; Sir Andrew Agnew, who brought to the defence of the Sabbath all the hereditary stoutness of his race ; the present Lord Advocate MoDcreiflf and his brother Sir Henry ; Mr. Dunlop, the Warriston of the Disruption time ; Mr. Crauf urd, now Lord Ardmillan, and very many more. The picture to be truly historical— to be a true picture of the Disruption- behoved to include the portraits of many who were not bodily present in Canonmills that day. If a right idea of the Church of the Disruption was to be conveyed, it was necessary to show how largely she bulked in the eye of the world, and what movements, going out to the ends of the earth, had their cradle in that low-roofed hall. Accordingly, as we read the picture— and we might spend many hours in reading it, leaving it unex- hausted—we discover numerous skilfully arranged groups which represent the Church in her varied activities. Her outgoings among the nations are represented by several groups. Portraits of Dr. Duff, whose rapt eye and intense look the artist has perfectly caught. Dr. Wilson of Bombay, and the dusky face of Dhanjibhai Nauroji, tell how she cares for the heathen. Dr. John Bonar, the beloved father in Israel, whose face beams on the canvas as it beamed in life, with characteristic benignity, is there to testify her fostering care for our countrymen throughout the ungbty extent of the British colonies. Her love for God's ancient people is witnessed by the presence of the deputation to Palestine— all but Robert M'Cheyne, who had already gone up— Dr. Keith, Dr. Black, Mr. Bonar, and Dr. Duncan, the inimitable excellence of whose likeness we cannot help noticing. Ihe Church of the Disruption at once roused the interest and drew the regard of God-honouring men from all regions of the earth. Dr. John Brown and Dr. Heugh are here ; Dr. Cooke of Belfast and Dr. James Hamilton of London ; Dr. Bunting, Merle D'Aubigne, Dr. Cappadose of Amsterdam, Professor i. M. Moir. Other subjects are :— The Witness Stones of Rutherford, The Deathbed of Rutherford, The Signing of the Covenant, Martyrdom of John Brown, The Last Words of Hugh M'Kail, etc. Extracts from two poems follow : — Scotland ! hallowed in thy story, Who would trace thine annals right, One peculiar page of glory Ever brightens on his sight ! THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 551 Not the honours, far descended, Of thine ancient hero kings ; Not thy bulwarks, blood defended, — These are but thy meaner things ! True, the pulse exulting flutters, True, our souls within us burn, Trumpet names as Freedom utters, Wallace — Bruce — and Bannockburn ! But a holier joy subdues us, Tracing, while our heartstrings thrill, How the Saviour deigned to choose us, In His cause to sufier still ! Honoured be the patriot story ! Well may Scottish hearts beat high, Yet a far-excelling glory. Glads the heaven-anointed eye — Heritage unbought — unpriced — Rich in the reproach of Christ ! Early, early on our mountains, Presage of a glorious day. Pure, as from its native fountains, Faintly broke the gospel ray. Storm and cloud the pathway covers By our rude forefathers trod ; Yet that dawning brightly hovers Where St. Columb walked with God ! Ever broadening, ever welling From lona's holy home, Poured the radiance, sin-dispelling, Till it met the fogs of Rome : Dark eclipse the earth then shrouded. Lurid phantasms filled the air ; But the glorious sun, though clouded, Shorn and beamless — still was there ! ****** Hope thou not, then, earth's alliance ; Take thy stand beside the Cross ; Fear, lest by unblest compliance, Thou transmute thy gold to dross. Trim thy lamp, the night hours cheering. Wash thy robes from every stain ; Watch to hail the glad appearing Of the Bridegroom and His train ! Haste ! thy coming Lord to greet. Cast thy crown before His feet ; Only, may His quest for thee Find thee — what He made thee — Free ! — Introduction. 552 treasury of the scottish covenant. Peden at the Grave of Cameron. There came a worn and weary man to Cameron's place of rest, He cast him down upon the sod, he smote upon his breast ; He wept, as only strong men weep, when weep they must or die, And, " Oh ! to be wi' thee, Ritchie ! " was still his bitter cry ! " My brother ! 0 my brother ! thou hast passed before thy time. And thy blood it cries for vengeance, from this purple land of crime ; Who now shall break the bread of life unto the faithful band — Who now upraise the standard that is shattered in thine hand ? ' ' Alas ! alas ! for Scotland ! the once beloved of heaven, The crown is fallen from her head, her holy garment riven ; The ashes of her Covenant are scattered far and near. And the voice speaks loud in judgment, which in love she would not hear ! " Alas ! alas ! for Scotland ! for her mighty ones are gone : Thou, brother, thou art taken — I am left almost alone ; And my heart is faint within me, and my strength is dried and lost, A feeble and an aged man — alone against a host ! " Oh pleasant was it, Ritchie, when we two could counsel take, And strengthen one another to be valiant for His sake ; Now seems it as the sap were dried from the old blasted tree, And the homeless, and the friendless, would fain lie down with thee ! " It was an hour of weakness, as the old man bowed his head, And a bitter anguish rent him, as he communed with the dead ; It was an hour of conflict, and he groaned beneath the rod, But the burthen rolled from oif him as he communed with his God ! " My Father ! 0 my Father ! shall I pray the Tishbite's prayer, And weary in the wilderness while Thou wouldst keep me there ? And shall I fear the coward fear of standing all alone. To testify for Zion's King, and the glory of His throne ? ' ' 0 Jesus, blessed Jesus ! I am poor, and frail, and weak, Let me not utter of mine own — for idle words I speak ; But give me grace to wrestle now, and prompt my faltering tongue. And breathe Thy name into my soul, and so I shall be strong ! " I bless Thee for the quiet rest, Thy servant taketh now, I bless Thee for his blessedness, and for his crowned brow ; For every weary step he trod in faithful following Thee, And for the good fight foughten well, and closed right valiantly 1 ** I bless Thee for the hidden ones, who yet uphold Thy name, Who yet for Zion's King and Crown shall dare the death of shame ; I bless Thee for the light that dawns even now upon my soul. And brightens all the narrow way with glory from the goal ! "The hour and power of darkness, it is fleeting fast away — Light shall arise on Scotland, a glorious gospel day ; Woe ! woe ! to the opposers, they shall shrivel in His hand, Thy King shall yet appear for thee, thou Covenanted land ! " I see a time of respite, but the people will not bow ; I see a time of judgment, even a darker time than now ; Then, Lord, uphold Thy faithful ones, as now Thou dost uphold, And feed them, as Thou still hast fed. Thy chosen flock of old ! THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. • 553 *' The glory ! 0 the glory ! it is bursting on my sight, Lord ! Thy poor vessel is too frail for all this blinding light ! Now let Thy good word be fulfilled, and let Thy Kingdom come, And Lord, even in Thine own best time, take Thy poor servant home ! " Upon the wild and lone Airsmoss, down sank the twilight grey, In storm and cloud the evening closed upon that cheerless day ; But Peden went his way refreshed, for peace and joy were given, And Cameron's grave had proved to him the very gate of heaven ! Death Scenes of the Scottish Martyrs. B2/ Henry Inglis. 1859. Henry Inglis of Torsonce is the great-grandson of the celebrated Col. Gardiner who fell at Prestonpans in 17-45. The following is the first of the seven stanzas setting forth the " death scene " of Brown of Priesthill : — Tie up the cur to the rowan tree, And let six of the men dismount : Ye may leave his tongue and his weasand free To tell the truth, an he will, to me : Now carrier of Calvary, Prepare for thy last account ; For never on earth shalt thou bear again Rebel warnings to rel)el men, If thou showest not where, and how, and when, In moss or moor, by craig or fen, Thou hast hidden the canting hound ! Songs of the Covenant Times. By an Ayrshire Minister. 1861. By the Kev. James Murray, born in Eddleston parish in 1812, and for thirty years minister of Old Cumnock. He died at Mentone in 1875. See Mearns' "Muirkirk," p. 106. "The Hill Preacher — Alexander Peden," is written in well-constructed and ringing blank verse interspersed with a few beautiful lyrics. Fourteen other poems, all on subjects connected with the coveoanting times, make up the volume. The whole of these poems have a peculiar sweetness and charm about them, and they have a power and a pathos as well, which often compel a tear, — Edwards, ^^ Mod. Scot. Potts," III., 150. The Covenanters ; and other Poems. By H. Brown, Lanark. New Edition. 1866. The author taught a school successively at Drumclog, Galston, and Lanark. Mr. Gladstone while in office sent a cheque for £50 in his favour from the Royal Bounty Fund. He died in Glasgow in 1885, aged 85 years. "The Covenanters" is a well-sustained poem in four cantos. The story of John Brown's martyrdom is told, pp. 51-55. Lays of the Covenanters. By James Dodds. With a memoir of the author hy the Rev. James Dodds, Dunhar. 1880. There are few finer instances on record, of the poor boy be- ginning the world on "a little oatmeal," yet rising to a position of 554 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. distinction. Among the friends who encouraged Dodds was Carlyle, who wrote from Chelsea, 11th July, 1844, as follows; — It is an awful enterprise that of London, but also full of generous results if you have strength. Strength to look chaos and hell in the face ; to struggle through them toward the Adamantine Isles ! For a literary lawyer I should say Edinburgh was far preferable. Success in law here is totally incompatible with literature. This you should reflect on before starting. On the whole, if you have the offer of a clerkship that will secure you subsistence there can be no harm in coming up to take a view of us, and to try what kind of chaos we are. There is much here to interest a brave young Scotsman, to expand him, to repress him, and in many ways instruct him, if he have strength to learn. If he will not learn they will kill him here in one way or another. You may depend very certainly on my omitting no opportunity that may arise to further you in this matter. If my power equalled my inclination you were very safe in it. If your present half-certain outlook end in nothing, pray apprise me of that, and I will at least speak to some persons about it. And so I will wish you a wise resolution — wise and genuine as in the sight of God, your Maker, which, indeed, is wishing you all. The heedless clamour and babble of our fellow- creatures do but bewilder us. " Thou must be a great man," they cry, "or we will not be flunkies to thee ! " " Who wants you for flunkies ? I will be a small man ! " — Believe me, etc. To London and law, James Dodds went, but he soon returned to Scotland to devote himself to literature. The "Lays" include The Death of the Marquis of Argyll, Death of Guthrie, Sharp offering a Bishopric to Douglas, Battle-song of the Pentlands, John Knox at Calder House, etc. The editor was a cousin of the poet, and inherited not a little of the same covenanting spirit. The sketch of his cousin is a masterly biography. The Nithsdale Martyrs. By William M'Dowall. 1844. The " Nithsdale Martyrs," every line of which is fresh as the dews of Parnassus, and natural and delightful as the song of the lark above the green hillside. — Edwards, '' Mod. Scot. Poets," III., 258, Heart Histories ; Violets from the Greenwood, etc., in Prose and Verse. By Marion Paul Aird. 1853. Miss Aird is the writer of the well-known hymn, " Had I the wings of a Dove." This is how she sings of the Martyrs' Graves — Their home was oft the mountain cave, Their couch the waving fern. Their pillow oft the grey moss stone. In moorlands dark and stern. 'Mid bleatings of the mountain lamb, The melody of rills, The moss-hag, 'mid the purple blooms. Deep in the heathy hills ; The auld cairn, where the plover wails, And fern or thistle waves — 'Mid green spots in the wilderness — There, seek the martyrs' graves. the literature of the covenant. 555 Songs of Religion and Life. Bi/ John Stuart Blackie, Professor of Greek, Edinburgh. 1876. A series of songs on the Heroes of Faith embodies — Rullion Green, Lines written at Magus Moor, Martin Luther, Patrick Hamilton, Walter Mylne, and the generous Evangelist (Dr. T. Guthrie). The following are specimens : — A Sabbath Meditation. Thou art more than all The shrines that hold Thee ; and our wisest creeds Are but the lispings of a prattling child, To spell the Infinite. Kings have drawn the sword, Lawyers have wrangled, to declare Thy Being ; And convocations of high-mitred men The foaming vials of sacerdotal wrath Outpoured, and, with tempestuous proud conceit, Shook the vast world about a phrase to name Thee, In vain. Thou, like the thin impassive air, Dost cheat the grasp of subtlest-thoughted sage ; And half our high theology is but The shadow, which man's poor and clouded ken Hath cast across Thy brightness. Rullion Green. Say not that they were harsh and stern and sour. Or say they were so, but not therefore base ; In iron times God sends with mighty power Iron apostles to make smooth His ways ; And hearts of rock, close-clamped with many a bar, He plants where angry billows lash the shore ; Thus love by fear, thus peace is pledged by war — (Stern law !) and gospel paths are paved in gore ; We reap in ease what they did sow in toil, And rate them harsh, and stern, and sour the while. Rude warriors, rest ! God from that ill wrought good ; Your strong endurance wrought strong hate of wrong, Let dark Dunnottar's dungeon solitude, And the strong Bass, attest your sufferings long ; No polished pen, no smooth and courtly verse. Ye need to prove the virtue of your crime ; Pentland's green slopes, and the bleak moors o' the Merse Shall be your record to remotest tmie ; Ourselves your sons, inheriting your stuff. While we are worthy, shall be praise enough. BALLADS AND SONGS OF THE COVENANT. Something more Powerful than Jacobite Song. — Even with refer ence to their power iu preserving the traditional history of the struggle out of which they took their origin it must be admitted that louder in the ear of the Scottish people than " Wae's me for Prince Charlie " is the wail over the martyrs of the Covenant ; and tales of the heroism these displayed amid their sufiferings are cherished in the memory, and told with enthusiasm when the name of the Chevalier is never mentioned except in singing the Jacobite songs for the enjoyment of their poetry and music— y. Clark Murray, LL.D., " The Ballads and So7igs of Scotland." 556 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The Place of the Psalms. — When the news of the destruction of the Spanish Armada off Mull in 15S8 reached Edinburgh the Rev. Robert Bruce gathered the inhabitants at the Market Cross, and there sung the 76th Psalm. The same psalm formed the battle song of the Covenanters at Drumelog. It was also sung on the streets of Edinburgh after the Revolution of 1688. Fletcher of Saltoun speaks of a wise man of his acquaintance who said " that if he could make the songs of the nation, he cared not who made the laws. " We have reason to be thankful that in our history there has been an influence more powerful than either the laws or the songs. The Stuart monarchs made their laws, and the Jacobites their songs. But these songs, Avhile they still appeal to the national sentiment, and are really songs of the people, to which we listen with a romantic sympathy that beguiles us into a temporary partisanship, have not influenced the current of the national life. It is because there was a deeper music that conquered the nation's heart. The Psalms sung on wild moorlands, and by dying men in the Grassmarket of Edinburgh, have vanquished the songs. . . . These men were too busy or too earnest to make many songs ; and the poetry of the time that has come down to us is from another school ; but the psalm has vanquished the song, and given us the laws under which we live. . . . They could not feed on the hymns alone ; they must have the strong meat of the Psalms, which had a historical place in the history of their Church, which were the battle songs of heroes and the dying songs of martyrs. If they took the Psalms from the children he was afraid it would still further tend to put the Psalms out of the Churches. — Bev. John Ker, D.D. Lesley's March. Played by the Scots army when it marched into England under Alexander Lesley, Earl of Leven, in 1640, 26,000 strong. It was first published by Ramsay in the "Evergreen." The following is the style :— When to the kirk we come, We'll purge it ilka room, Frae Popish reliques, and a' sic innovation, That a' the world may see, There's nane in the right but we, Of the auld Scottish nation. The Battle of Philiphaugh. Composed on the defeat of Montrose, September 13, 1645. It was received from Selkirkshire tradition, is historically accurate, and though not of great poetic merit, is valuable as an authentic song of victory. " The Covenanters might well plume themselves upon this victory," writes Aytoun. Both Scott and Aytoun are careful to give in a foot note another version of the line 'That loe should sing a psalm, namely, That toe should take a dram—t\\e origin of which may readily be guessed. The ballad consists of twenty-one stanzas, beginning — On Philiphaugh a fray began, At Hairhead wood it ended ; The Scotts out o'er the Grsemes they ran, Sae merrily they bended. The Gallant Grahams. In this a nameless minstrel mourns the wreck of the royal cause and the fate of the Marquis. Scott received the ballad from Ritson. It begins " Now fare thee well, sweet Ennerdale"— i.e., Endrickdale, in Dumbarton- THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 557 shire. The Grahams have found in Professor W. E. Aytoun one who in heroic verse champions Claverhouse as the "Last of Scots, and last of freemen ; " see " Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers." The laureate of Clavers, however, takes wonderful liberties with facts. See GilfiUan's "Martyrs," p. 262. The Battle of Bullion Green. The production of a royalist. Sir Walter Scott had it from Mr. Livingston of Airds, who took it down from the recitation of a woman on his estate. See the same in " The Ballads of Scotland," edited by Aytoun, who prefaces this ballad with certain remarks about the rising. "It must 1)6 allowed," he writes, "that, on this occasion, they [the Covenanters of Dumfriesshire] displayed remarkable forbearance, for they spared the life of their oppressor when that was entirely in their power." The gallant Grahams cam' from the west, Wi' their horses black as ony craw ; The Lothian lads they marched fast, To be at the Rhyns o' Gallowa. " Lay down your arms, in the King's name, And ye shall all gae safely hame ; '' But they a' cried out wi' ae consent, " We'll fight for a broken covenant." Noah's Ark. A contemporary of Archbishop Sharp penned a ballad with this heading. See Wodrow MSS. in Advocates' Library ; also Dodds' "Fifty Years' Struggle," jx 113. The Battle of Loudon Rill. This ballad, given from recitation by Sir W. Scott, commemorates the Battle of Drumclog or Loudon Hill. It was the composition of a Coven- anter better acquainted with the Psalms of David than with ballads and ballad-making. But up spak' cruel Claver'se then. Wi' hastie wit an' wicked skill ; " Gi'e fire on yonder westland men : I think it is my sovereign's will." But up bespake his cornet then, "It's be wi' nae consent o' me ! I ken I'll ne'er come back again, An' mony mae as weel as me. There is not ane of a' yon men, But wha is worthy other three ; There is na ane among them a', That iu his cause will stop to die. An' as for Burly, him I know ; He's man of honour, birth, an' fame ; Gi'e bim a sword into his hand. He'll fight thysel' an' other ten." 558 treasury of the scottish covenant. The Discomfiture of the Godless at Drumclog. With better feeling than Scott, Allan Cunningham has indited some Cameronian legends and ballads. In the 7th volume of "Blackwood" there is a bundle of very spirited ballads from Cunningham's pen. One of these bears the title as above. Bellum Bothuellianum. By Guild. See Scott's Introduction to the " Minstrelsy of the Border," and "Illustrations of Scottish Life and History from Song and Ballad," by William Gunnyon. The mishap to Claver- house's horse at Drumclog is thus described : — Vix dux ipse fuga salvus, namque exta trahebat Vulnere tardatus sonipes generosus hiante. The Battle o' Both well Brig. This ballad, the production of a Covenanter, appears in Scott's Minstrelsy. It throbs with feeling, and bears the ring of genuine poetry. The hero is Alexander Gordon of Earlstoun. There are various renderings of a few of the sixteen verses which constitute the ballad. So Earlstoun rose in the morning. An' mounted by the break o' day ; An' he has joined our Scottish lads, As they were marching out the way. Now, fareweel father, and fareweel mother. An' fare ye weel my sisters three ; An' fare ye weel my Earlstoun, For thee again I'll never see. So they're awa' to Bothwell Hill, An' waly they rode bonnily ! When the Duke o' Monmouth saw them comin', He went to view their company. " Ye're welcome, lads," then Monmouth said, " Ye're welcome, brave Scots lads, to me ; And sae are ye, brave Earlstoun, The foremost o' your company." Then he set up the flag o' red, A' set about wi' bounie blue ; " Since ye'll no cease, and be at peace, See that ye stand by ither true." They stell'd their cannons on the height, An' showered their shot down in the howe, An' beat our Scots lads even down, An' they lay slain on every knowe. * THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 559 Alang the brae, ayont the brig, Mony brave man lies caulcl and still : But lang we'll mind, and sair we'll rue The bloody battle of Bothwell Hill. Whurry, Whigs, awa\ The Cavaliers give their version of events from Rullion Green to Bothwell Bridge in this ballad with such inimitable candour that the reading of it suggest some curious psychological questions. It is evident that from their point of view Cavalier and Covenanter belonged to two different genera, and that the Covenanter was made to be hunted down as much as a fox, or a badger, or any other denizen of firth or forest. — William Gunnyon, " Illustrations from Song and Ballad." The restless Whigs, with their intrigues, Themselves they did convene, man, At Pentland Hills and Bothwell Brigs To fight against the King, man ; Till brave Dalzell came forth himsel' With loyal troops in raws, man. To try a match with powther and ball : The saints turned windlestraws, man. The Solemn League and Covenant. By Robert Burns. Spoken in reply to a gentleman who sneered at the sufferings of Scotland for conscience' sake, and called the Solemn League and Covenant ridiculous and fanatical. — Chambers's " Burns" p. IJfO. The Solemn League and Covenant Cost Scotland blood — cost Scotland tears : But it seal'd Freedom's sacred cause — If thou'rt a slave, indulge thy sneers. He has sung as no one else could Bannockburn, but not a word of the dark muirlands of his own country where the mighty men of God fought and fell. What a loss has this been ! — Gilfillan. The Battle of Dunbar. See " The Maid of Nuremberg and other Voluntaries " by the Rev. E. Paxton Hood. Then rose the hurtling cannon- shower along the startled coasts ; Then dashed on Lambert's iron-hearts through Leslie's scattered posts ; Then rose their cry, "The Covenant ! " 'mid sneers, and taunts, and boasts. " The Lord of Hosts ! " our captain cried ; " The Lord, The Lord of Hosts ! " The word that healed our aching hearts in many an ancient scar ; That was the word by which we fought and conquered at Dunbar. 'Twas when the storm of fight was o'er, the battle almost done, Forth from the sea, beyond the rocks, looked up the great red sun ; Our general saw the flying hosts — " They run ! " he cried, "They run 1 Let God arise, and let His foes be scattered ! " — we had won. High o'er the plain his voice arose, we heard it near and far ; So our Good Lord Protector fought and conquered at Dunbar. 560 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. BoTHWELL Brig. By James Hogg. " Oh! what is become o' your leal goodman, That now you are a' your lane ? If he has joined wi' the rebel gang You will never see him again." " 0, say nae the ' rebel gang,' ladye ; It's a term nae heart can thole ; For them wha' rebel against their God, It is justice to control." " When rank oppression rends the heart. And rules wi' stroke o' death, Wha wadna spend their dear heart's blood For the tenets of their faith ? " This ballad will be found along with other selections in Whitelaw's "Book of Scottish Ballads." See also "Minstrelsy of the Border," and Maidment's "Scottish Pasquils." The Covenanter's Scaffold Hymn. By James Hogg. Sing with me, sing with me, sing with me ! Friends in Jesus, sing with me ; All my sufferings, all my woe, All my griefs I here forego. Farewell, terror, sighing, grieving. Praying, hearing and believing. Earthly trust and all its wrongings, Earthly love and all its longings. Sing with me, sing with me, sing with me, Friends in Jesus, sing with me ! Sing with me, sing with me, sing with me ! Blessed spirits, sing with me : To the Lamb our song shall be Through a glad eternity. Farewell, earthly morn, and even, Sun, and moon, and stars of heaven. Heavenly portals, ope before me ; Welcome Christ, in all Thy glory ! Sing with me, sing with me, sing with me. Blessed spirits, sing with me ! TifK Covenanter's Tomb. By James Hogg. Yes — though the sceptic's tongue deride Those martyrs who for conscience died ; Though modish history blight their fame. And sneering courtiers hoot the name Of men, who dared alone be free Amidst a nation's slavery, — Yet long for them the poet's lyre Shall wake its notes of heavenly fire. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 561 Their names shall nerve the patriot's hand, Upraised to save a sinking land ; And piety shall learn to burn With holier transports o'er their urn ! Sequestered haunts ! — so still — so fair, That holy faith might worship there, — The shaggy gorse and brown heath wave O'er many a nameless warrior's grave. Old Fannys Sang (Brownie of Bodsbeck). There's an eye that sees, there's an arm upreais, There's an ear that hears our mourning, There's an edict pass'd out frae the sky. From which there's no returning. Then dinna greet for the day that's gane, Nor on the present ponder, For thou shalt sing on the laverock's wing, An' far away beyond her. See also Nanny's sublime "Hymn," beginning — " O Thou who dwell'st in the heavens high." The Martyr. A modern ballad of fifty-seven verses by James Hogg. See also " Book of Scottish Ballads," by Alexander Whitelaw, p. 32. Oh where have you been, bonnie Marley Reid, For mony a long night and day % I have miss'd ye sair, at the Wanlock-head, And the cave o' the Lowther brae. Our friends are waning fast away Baith frae the cliff and the wood ; They are tearing them frae us ilka day ; For there's naething will please but blood. The Twa Martyrs' Widows. By Robert Allan. This ballad will be found in Blackie's " Book of Scot. Ballads," and the song which follows, in "The Book of Scot. Song." The writer was a native of Kilbarchan, and died in New York in 1841. Sit down, sit down by thy martyr's side. And I'se sit down by mine ; And I shall speak o' him to my Giule, And thou may speak o' thine. It's wae to thee and it's wae wi' me, For our day o' peace is gane, And we maun sit wi' a tearfu' e'e, In our bouroch-ha' alane. 2n 562 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. O Scotland ! Scotland, it's wae to thee, When thy lichts are ta'en aw a' ; And it's wae, it's wae to a sinfu' Ian', When the righteous sae maun fa'. The Covenanter's Lament. By Egbert Allan. There's nae Covenant now, lassie ! There's nae Covenant now ! The Solemn League and Covenant Are a' broken through ! There's nae Kenwick now, lassie, There's nae gude Cargill, Nor holy Sabbath preaching, Upon the Martyr's Hill ! It's naething but a sword, lassie ! A bluidy, bluidy ane ! Waving owre poor Scotland For her rebellious sin. Scotland's a' wrang, lassie, Scotland's a' wrang — It's neither to the hill nor glen, Lassie, we daur gang. The Martyrs' Hill forsaken, In simmer's dusk, sae calm ; There's nae gathering now, lassie, To sing the e'enin' psalm ! But the martyr's grave will rise, lassie, Aboon the martyr's cairn ; An' the martyr soun' will sleep, lassie, Aneath the waving fern ! The Pentland Hills. By the Baroness JVairne. The pilgrim's feet here oft will tread O'er this sequestered scene, To mark where Scotland's martyrs lie In lonely Rullion Green ; To muse on those who fought and fell— All Presbyterians true ; W^ho held the League and CoA^enant — Who waved the banner blue ! Ah ! here they sang the holy strain — Sweet Martyrs' melody ; When every heart and every voice Arose in harmony. The list'ning echoes all around Gave back their soft reply. While angels heard the hallo w'd sound, And bore it to the sky. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. o63 The Lament of the Covenanter^s Widow. For this, and "The Pentland Hills," see Life and Songs of the Baroness Nairne, by Kev. C. Rogers, LL.D. The Midnicht Revel of Mugdock. By Huch Macdonald. A magnificent ballad, written by Hugh Macdonald, put into the lips of " some stern minstrel of the Covenant," whose righteous soul the author represents as being shocked at the thought of the scenes enacted in the hall of this time-stained castle. See "Rambles Round Gla-gow," p. 299. What means yon licht in Mugdock tower, Whilk winnock and loophole sma' Lets oot in gowden shafts that fret Mirk midnicht's raven wa' ? What mean these voices of wassail rude, On the dank wind's gusty wing ? And why sweeps the frichtet howlet forth, As the loud, loud lauchters ring 1 BoTHWELL Brig. By Janet Ham n. ton. In commemoration of a gathering at the Brig, June 10, 1866. See also Poem entitled "Caledonia," and "The Covenanting Ancestors of Janet Hamilton" — a paper by Joseph Wright, author of "Aye work awa'." An' bless'd be God we noo can sit Beneath oor vine and fig-tree shade — May raise the psalm, an' preach, an' pray, Nane daurin' to mak' us afraid. Nae Dark Dalzell, nae Clavers stern, Ride forth wi' sword an' bridle ringin', Oor sufFerin' covenanted sires To prison, an' the scaffold bringin'. The memories o' her martyred dead May Scotlan' dearly cherish ever ; They sowed the seed, we reap the grain — Their names, their deeds shall })erish never ! Hackston's Martyrdom. They were Christians : and they cut the heart from out the living man, And waved it as a flag is waved upon the battle's van ; And burned it as a beast is burned, some idol to appease ; And cast the human ashes round, like incense on the breeze : And they did it in the name of God ! Where were His lightnings then, That came not with consuming fire — To light the everlasting pyre Of these blaspheming men ? 564 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Look round on Scotland's ruined fanes — on shattered arch and wall, On roofless aisle and broken font — on column, tomb, and stall, Laid waste within the sunniest spots of this our happy land — As waste as lieth Nineveh, upon the desert strand. The lightning of a nation's wrath has smote them with decay ; The faith their reeking altars fed, With life-blood of the saints, is fled. In heaven the martyrs have their bed — The Covenant lives for aye. — Quoted in Lecture by Dr. Landels. Andrew Hislov, the Eskdalemuir Martyr. This poem by Professor John Veitch, LL.D., Glasgow, appeared in "Good Words." "The death of Hislop," says the writer, " was attended by some circumstances of even unusual atrocity on the part of Claverhouse." He was Init 17 years of age, and his mother was a widow. He was asked to draw his bonnet down over his eyes while he was being shot, but he refused, remarking that he had nothing to be ashamed of. See also "Hillside Khymes," and "History and Poetry of the Scottish Border," by Dr. Veitch. Andrew Hislop ! shepherd lad, " Martyr" graven on your tomb ; Here you met the brutal Clavers, Here you bore his murderous doom ! Coming from the hill that morn, Doing humble duty well ; Free in step, your honest look. Born of sunlight on the fell. Here the Eskdale mountains round you. In your ear the murmuring stream ; Here, 'tis May, the bleating lambs — Life but seems a peaceful dream. With no weapon but the crook Your soft helpless flock to guide ; Here they shot you, shepherd lad, Here you poured your warm heart tide ! " Ere I pass into the Presence, May I make a prayer to God 1 " " Not one word," said brutal Clavers, " We've no time, you \vretched clod ! " Draw your bonnet o'er your eyes. That is boon enough for thee." "I pass to Cod with open face, Whom you will hardly dare to see ! " Westerhall and Claverhouse, Turn now since the deed is done ! What care ye for rebel corpse ? Let it bleach beneath the sun ! THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 565 So they left you, martyr brave, Left you on the reddened sod ; But no raven touched your face ; On it lay the peace of God ! On the moor the widow mother Bows to lot of dule and pine ; And Westerhall and Claverhouse Have merrily rode back to diue ! The Song of Mrs. Jenny Geddes. By Professor J. S. Black if, LL.D., Edinburgh. 'Twas the twenty-third of July, in the sixteen thirty-seven, On Sabbath morn from high St. Giles', the solemn peal was given ; King Charles had sworn that Scottish men should pray by printed rule ; He sent a book, but never dreamt of danger from a stool. With a roio-dov)—yes, I troio !— there's danger in a stool! The Bishop and the Dean came wi' mickle gravity, Riaht smooth and sleek, but lordly pride was lurking in their e e ; Th°eir full lawn sleeves were blown and big, hke seals in briny pool ; They bore a book, but little thought they soon should feel a stool. With a row-doiu—7jes, I trow /— they'll feel a four-legged stool ! The Dean he to the altar went, and, wi' a solemn look, He cast his eyes to heaven, then read the curious-prmted book : In Jenny's heart the blood upwelled with bitter anguish full ; Sudden she started to her legs, and stoutly grasped the stool ! With a row-doio—at them now !— firmly grasp the stool. As when a mountain cat springs upon a rabbit small. So Jenny on the Dean springs, with gush of holy gall ; WiU thou say the mass at mxj lug, thou Popish-puling fool ? No ! no ! she said, and at his head she flung the four-legged stool. With a roio-doiv—at them Jiow !— Jenny fling the stool! And thus a mighty deed w^as done by Jenny's valiant hand. Black Prelacy and Popery she drave from Scottish land ; King Charles he was a shufiiing knave, priest Laud a pedant fool, But Jenny was a woman wise, who beat them with a stool ! With a row-dow—yes, I troio !—she conquered by the stool. The Covenant Banner. Verses sent by an Ayrshire elder to the Rev. Mr. Steele of Dairy (a brave standard bearer), and read at a bi-centenary meeting. Blow softly, ye breezes, by mountain and moor. O'er the graves of the Covenant men. By the muirland and flood that were red with their blood. Can ye waft the old watchwords again ? " For Scotland and Christ " the breezes of old O'er the wilds of the Westland bore, From the Lugar and Nith to the Lothian Frith, And the German Ocean's shore. And where'er they blew% a prayer was breathed And a holy psalm was sung ; And hands were clasped and the banner grasped When the Covenant watchword rung. 566 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. 0 for the brave true hearts of old, That bled when the banner perished ! 0 for the Faith that was strong in death — The Faith that our fathers cherished ! The banner might fall, but the spirit lived, And liveth for evermore ; And Scotland claims as her noblest names, The Covenant Men of yore, MISCELLANEOUS POETRY. Patriots have toiled, and in their country's cause Bled nobly ; and their deeds, as they deserve, Receive proud recompense. We give in charge Their names to the sweet lyre. Th' historic muse, Proud of the treasure, marches with it down To latest times ; and sculpture in her turn Gives bond in stone and ever during brass To guard them, and to immortalize her trust. But fairer wreaths are due, though never paid, To those, who, posted at the shrine of Truth, Have fallen in her defence. A patriot's blood, Well spent in such a strife, may earn, indeed. And for a time insure to his loved laud The sweets of liberty and equal laws ; But martyrs struggle for a brighter prize, And win it with more pain. Their blood is shed In confirmation of the noblest claim. Our claim to feed upon immortal truth, To walk with God, to be divinely free. To soar and to anticipate the skies. Yet few remember them. They lived unknown Till persecution dragged them into fame. And chased them up to heaven. Their ashes flew — No marble tells us whither. With their names No bard embalms and sanctifies his song ; And history, so warm on meaner themes, Is cold on this. She execrates, indeed, The tyranny that doomed them to the fire, But gives the glorious sufierers little praise. —Coivper, " The Tasl;" Book V. Thus informed. He had small need of books ; for many a tale Traditionary, round the mountains hung, And many a legend, peopling the dark woods. Nourished imagination in her growth. And gave the mind that apprehensive power By which she is made quick to recognise The moral properties and scope of things. But eagerly he read, and read asain, Whate'er the minister's old shelf supplied ; The life and death of martyrs, who sustained, With will inflexible, those fearful pangs Triumphantly displayed in records left Of persecution, and the Covenant-times, Whose echo rings through Scotland to this hour ! And there by lucky hap had been preserved— A straggling volume, torn and incomplete. — WorcUworth, " The Excursion.'' THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 567 Poetical Essay on King William's Memory. By Kev. R. Flemin(;. 1720. Added to **A Practical Discourse" (p. 372). The "Pindarick poem" is dedicated to William Carstares. See Story's " Carstares," p. 157. The Kirkiad, or Golden Age of the Church of Scotland. 1774, What need to pare a bold expression, To make it hang with the Confession, Which every novice knoves is now But like a supple broken bow ! — Prof. Bruce, Whitburn. A Satire on the Stool of Repentance. Written in rhyme, about 1690. To be classed with the "Memoirs of Magopica," "Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence," etc. Metrical Legends of Exalted Characters. By Joanna Baillie. To Miss Baillie we are indebted for "The gowan glitters on the sward," " Saw ye Johnny coming ? " "The weary pund o' tow," and other songs. See "Galleries of Literary Portraits " by George Giltillan, L, 196. The Clyde. By John Wilson. He bewails in elegant language the deplorable issues of the Battle of Bothwell. See "Scottish Descriptive Poems " edited by Dr. Leyden. Lays of Judah and other Poems. By Robert Frame. This volume, respectfully inscribed to Mrs. Hyde, Rosegarth, Dunoon, contains a spirited lay on " The Execution of Argyll" in 1661. The Covenant; or, The Conflict of the Chctrch. 1850. The product of a female heart and mind. She was a frequent con- tributor to F.C.M. The Cross and the Crown ; Or, The Trials and Triumphs of the Scottish Kirk. By the Rev. John JohQston, Balmaghie. 1871. The author has done injustice, both to him- self and his theme, by the peculiar stanza which he has uniformly adopted. Lays of the Scotch Worthies and other Poems. By J. P. Well- wood. 1880. The worthies are Hamilton, Wishart, Mylne, and Knox. Martyr-Songs. By the Rev. W. Kennedy Moore, London. " Scotland" is very beautiful — Wide sweeps of purple heather Robe the broad mountain's breast — 'Tis the imperial winding sheet Of martyrs laid to rest. Lays of the Scotch Worthies, and other Poems. 1881. By the Rev. James Paton, Glasgow. The worthies celebrated in song are Hamilton, Wishart, Knox and others. Songs and Ballads of Clydesdale. With Illustrative Notes by A. Nimmo. 1882. In this collection I have paid due attention to the lays of the Cove- nanters. It is a curious fact that the bulk of our best song-writers are either natives, or intimately associated with the land of the covenant. Clydesdale is a covenanting district. — Pre/ace. 568 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The volume contains "Covington Mill," by Kev. James Proudfoot ; "Lines on the Scottish Martyrs," by Rev. J. G. Small ; '* The Highland Host," by Cleland; "The Covenanters in Carnwath Moor," etc. Hymns of Faith and Hope. By Horatius Bonar, D.I). " The Martyr's Hymn," and " The Martyr's Grave " are two gems in the first series. '• A Reformation Hymn" has appeared since, and has been set to music by Dr. E. W. Bullinger. The following are two stanzas :— For the franchise of the Conscience, For the inner man unchained, For the intellect ennobled, And the soul's high birthright gained ; For the keys of heaven recovered From the robber-hands of Ptome, For the Kingdom's open gateway, And the sinner's welcome home : Blessed be God, our God, alone, Our God, the Everlasting One, Who spake the word and it was done ! For the martyr's song of triumph, On the wheel, or scorching pyre. For his strength of meek endurance, On the rack, or torturing fire; For the noble witness- bearing To the Christ the Lamb of God, To the one unchanging priesthood, To the one atoning blood : Blessed be God, our God, alone, Our God, the Everlasting One, Who spake the word and it was done ! Poems. By John Morrison. These are full of covenanting traditions. "The name of Lag, " the writer tells us, IS still associated with all that is diabolical. The horse-shoe of Redgmintlet is borrowed from his countenance." Service of Song. The earlier struggles of the Scottish Covenanters. From sienincr of the Covenants to the Battle of Drumclog. Compiled by E. B. M., Sey j & R Parlane -The musical portion is by James Merrylees : the histor ca part by a lady Among the selections are the "Dirge of the Sland Martyrs (Dodds), and "Our Fathers were High-minded Men'' (Gunn) Service of Song. r'Zf^-^^*?.''T.^*-^.u^^^^^.^''°"' *^'^ ^'^*^^« of Drumclog to the Revolution Ane Booke of Ballades. By Jeaxnie Morison. Priesthill-s„ife'''"se'; "Scathe: ofso'^g.B'"'" '^"""^'^ "'"'"' ^^™-'' "^ Chubch HisxoKV: A Poem. PrM by James Heddebwick, Gla^gou: THE LITERATUFJ-: OF THE COVENANT. 569 The Banner o' Blue ; or, The Career of the Covenant Flag. By Angus Macphkrson. Conventicle at Glenmuirshaw. By John Inglis, in "Poems and Songs." It is a metrical version of a scene described by Dr. Simpson entitled "The Perils of the Persecution.'" New Words to an Old Tune. There's nae Bible noo, lassie, There's nae Bible noo ! The Buke abune a' bukes, lassie, Is a' broken through. There's nae Confession noo, lassie, There's nae creed ava' ! They've a' gaen by like gloamin' ghosts ; They've melted like the snaw. There's nae Sabbath noo, lassie, There's nae Sabbath noo : The holy daj^ our fathers loved Is a' broken through. There's nae Gospel noo, lassie, There's nae Covenant blood : There's nae altar noo, lassie, There's nae Lamb o' God. There's nae Erskine branch, lassie, There's nae Gillespie shoot ; 0' a' the Marrow plants, lassie, Not ane has taken root. There's nae Chalmers noo, lassie. There's nae gude M'Cheyne ; And the dear, dear cross they preached, lassie. The dear, dear cross is gane. Folks dinna vrant a cross, lassie, They've cutten doun the tree ; And nael)ody believes it, But fules like you and me. The narrow way to glory Is now a wide, smooth road ; The gate that was sae strait, lassie, They've made it big and broad. And a' will get to heaven, lassie, If ony heaven there be ; For wha believes in hell, lassie. But fules like you and me ? We'll no be lang here, lassie, 'Mid a' this stir and care ; And the place that kens us noo, lassie. Will ken us soon nae mair. The silver heads o' wisdom, lassie, Are wearing fast away : Will the green anes coming up, lassie, Be wiser than the grey ? — Anon. 570 TREASUBY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The Erskines. By G. Paulin. The extrusion of God's truth And substitution of Platonic lore In Scottish pulpits banded not a few Of Scotland's laymen, who with tears deplored The mournful lapse since the old Covenant days Of Scottish ministry — to ask for help The faithful few, whom Erskine led— to keep The warm devotion of her Covenant faith Alive upon her altars. Cornyglen Had some such men, who freely gave their substance To God, who had redeemed them. The Battle of Drumclmg. By Pvev. Robert Wilson, D.D. Greenock. He wrote also " The Pleasures of Piety," "Ode on the Union in 1847," etc. The Battle of Bothwell Bridge. By David Macnaik, Greenock. The Bass Pock. See "Poems" by Delta — Dr. Moir of Musselburgh, the author of the immortal " Casa Wappy." He has also written The Covenanter's Night Hymn. This breathes much of the rich and plaintive sweetness characteristic of Delta's poetry. In a note the writer says that the Covenanters fought and gained the battle of an entire century, and that their victory was the victory of the Protestant cause in Scotland. For "A Canticle of the Covenanters," by Delta, see S. C. Herald, II,, CA. The Mount of Communion. By Thomas Aikd. Thomas Aird has a fine Vision introducing them [Covenanters], and the whole genius of his poetry and his prose is evidently that of one who has often pored over their history, read their books, and seen their blue banner fluttering over his head in the hall of dreams. — Gilfillan. A Dream of the Times of the Covenant. By Walter Chisholm. See "Poems " by this Berwickshire shepherd-lad; preface by W. Cairns. Katie's Well. See " Moorland Ehymes " by Robert Wanlock (Reid). Page 20. The Wigtown Female Martyrs, The Men Martyrs of Wigtown, See "Poems," by Gordon Fraser. The Tomb of Priesthill, By Thomas Thomson. 1843, A short sketch of his life (1800-1879), with a passage entitled The Martyr's Prayer appears in "Modern Scottish Poets," by D. H, Edwards, VIIL,97. The Covenanter. By the Rev. David Arnot, D.D. Edinburgh. See Mod. Scot. Poets, VIII., 319. The Covenanters. By John Galt. See " Scot. Ch. Herald," I,, 480. The Death of the Covenanter. In Poems forminof appendix to Memoir of Montague Stanley, A.R.S.A. By the Rev. D. T. K. Drummond. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 571 The Covenanters' Communion.* By David Vedder. 1828. It is written with a glowing pen, and its enthusiasm in reference to the subject is manifestly as sincere as it is ardent. — GUfillan. Fain would I sing the memory of those Uncompromising spirits, — stern and brave; Who, like the pristine martyrs, nobly chose To stand or fall for Christ's prerogative, As King and Head of Zion. — And to give Their houses to the spoiler — to the flames : Their bodies to the torture— death, than live With an accusing conscience ; — and their names Enrolled in characters which dark oblivion claim?. And I would sing their solemn Eucharist, Their day of jubilee and joy on earth ; Held at life's hazard, midst the lonely waste, Where nought of life, save ptarmigans had birth ; The doctrines which Heaven's messengers held forth, The sacred Songs of Zion which arose Up to the throne, with consecrated mirth ; Their prayers and aspirations, till the close Of that eventful day; — if Heaven its aid bestows. Friends of a buried Covenant ! arise. And o'er its mouldering relics drop a tear ; Join in your poet's fervent sympathies, Tho' boasted Liberality may sneer ; — That cause, as their immortal souls was dear, To your heroic fathers. — Ardently They fought — they bled — they fell, but knew not fear, What time a tyrant's myrmidons drew nigh ; — Hence Freedom's sacred tree spreads its green branches high. Dob's Linn. A savage dell near Birkhill in MofFatdale where the devil was in the habit of appearing to two heroes of the Covenant. How they got rid of him the following traditional rhyme describes : — Little kend the wirrikow. What the Covenant could dow ! What o' faith, an' what o' fen. What o' micht, an' what o' men ; Or he had never shown his face. His reekit rags, an' riven taes, To men' o' mak', an' men o' mense, Men o' grace, an' men o' sense ; For Hab Dob and Davie Din, Dang the de'il owre Dob's Linn. "Weir," quo' he, an' "weir," quo" he, " Hand the Bible to his e'e ; Ding him owre, or thrash him doun. He's a fause, deceitfu' loon ! " Then he owre him, an' he owre him, He owre him, an' he owre him : Habbie held him grifi'and grim, Davie threush him liff an' limb, Till, like a bunch o' barkit skins. Doun flew Satan owre the linns ! 572 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. The Covenanters. By Letitia E. Landon. There came a shadow o'er the land, and men Were hunted by their fellow-men like beasts, And the sweet feelings of humanity "Were utterly forgotten ; the white head, Darkened with blood and dust, was often laid Upon the murdered infant, for the sword Of pride and cruelty was sent to slay Those who in age would not forego the faith — The faith they had grown up in. I was one of these : How could I close the Bible I had read Beside my dying mother, which had given To me and mine such comfort ? But the hand Of the oppressor smote us. The Sons of the Covenant. By Miss Young. See " Mod. Scot. Poets," VII., 136. DuNNOTTAR Castle. By Rev. James Aird, Kattray. This poem fell into the hands of the late Dr. Marshall of Coupar-Angus, who published it in his " Historic Scenes." DuNNOTTAR Castle. By George Colburn. ■See " Mod. Scot. Poets," V., 69. Last Words of Samuel Rutherford. This sweet poem by A. R. C. (Mrs. Cousin) will be found in "Immanuel's Land and other Pieces;" also appended to "Letters" (Oliphant). The Muirs o' Kyle. See "Poems," by George M'Murdo, and Edwards' "Mod. Scot. Poets," v., 223. For "Martyrland," see Adamson's "Lays of Leisure Hours." -James Ren wick, the Last Scottish Martyr. By George Maxwell. See " Modern Scottish Poets,' VIII., 402. My Ain Countrie. By Alexander M'Laggan, who wrote this song, as also "Hurrah for the Thistle," and other pieces for " Whistle-Binkie." Heaven watch thou ever o'er My ain countrie ! Let tyrants never more Rule my ain countrie ! May her heroes dear to Thee — The bauld hearts and the free — Be ready aye to dee For their ain countrie ! May a blessin' licht on a' In my ain countrie ! Baith the grit folk an' the sma' In our ain countrie ! On whatever sod I kneel Heaven knows I ever feel For the honour and the weal 0' my ain countrie ! THE LITER AT i'lil-J OF THE COVENANT. 573 TALES OF THE COVENANT. The whole annals of romance, including the marvellous escapes described by Le Sage, Godwin, Eadclifife, Scott, and Bulwer, contain no adventures more striking, no incidents more intensely interesting, no such hairbreadth escapes as those which abound in the history of the Covenant. — Gilfillan. Tales of the Border and of Scotland : Historical, Tra- ditionary, AND Imaginary. Revised hy Alexander Leighton. 12 Vols. NiMMO, Edin. Notwithstanding the researches of Wodrow, and the more recent enlargement and annotations of Dr. Burus, we are quite conscious that a volume, somewhat interesting, might still be collected of additional and traditional atrocities, of which no written record remains, nor other save the recollections of recollections — in other words the remembrance, which we and a few others possess, of the narratives of our grandmothers whilst we were yet children. — Thomas Gillespie, Professor of Humanity, St. Andrews. Gleanings of the Covenant. — These gleanings by Professor T. Gillespie will be found in Vols. XV. and XVI. Thej' embrace the following stories : — 1. The Grandmother's Narrative. 2. The Covenanters' March. 3. Peden's Farewell Sermon. 4. The Persecution of the M'Michaels. 5. The Rescue at Enterkin. 6. The Fatal Mistake. 7. Bonny Mary Gibson. 8. The Eskdalemuir Story. 9. The Douglas Tragedy. — Vol. XIV. contains "The Covenanting Family," by John Mackay Wilson, and Vol. XXI. " Earl}- Days of a Friend of the Covenant." The people who dwell on the borders of England and Scotland must surely be born story-tellers. It must be grand to sit over the big farm- house fire, and listen to legends, tales, and marvels like these. The "Arabian Nights" are dreary compared with nights around Kelso, and Yetholm, and Berwick, and the like. These seven volumes [Gemmell's edition] contain enough to stir all souls in our manse for the next twelve- months. What with romance, domestic incident, martyr death, smuggling, poaching, gipsying, and all manner of adventure, there is something for everybody — something even to raise the hair, and make the flesh creep, should it be desired. Scrupulous folk who are pai'ticular as to the onion which brings the tear to their eye, can have their choice ; and those who do not care to waste a pitying drop over fiction can also be obliged with a narrative of a more cheery kind. The tone and tendency of these volumes are at all times pure and manly. If ever we are snowed up for a night in a roadside inn, may a good providence arrange that "Wilson's Tales of the Borders" shall be in the cupboard, and we shall pass a merry time. — Spurgeon. Memorials of James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd. Edited hy his Daughter, Mrs. Gordon; vnth Preface by Professor Veitch. James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, was born in 1770. Next to Burns he is the greatest poet that has sprung from the common people' of Scotland. His prose works contain the following covenanting tales : — " A Tale of Pentland," " A Tale of the Martyrs," "A Narrative of the Times of the Covenant and Wars of Montrose," " The Cameronian Preacher's Talk — Guilt Miraculously Revealed and Punished." Eor a fine sketch of Hogg by John Strathesk see "Christian Leader," IV., 50. Miss J. L. 574 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Watson has edited and prefaced "The Queen's Wake," and L. Anderson, Esq., Moffat, has prefaced a new edition of "The Brownie." The Browxie of Bodsbeck. By the Ettrick Shepherd. A tale illustrative of the religious persecution in Moflfatdale. It was written by Hogg at Altrive Farm in 1817. Bodsbeck is about seven miles up the valley. The "brownie" was an industrious and benevolent spirit, wild, meagre and shaggy. During the night he rendered various services for which no recompense was to be offered. The "brownie of Bodsbeck" was a proscribed Covenanter. Hogg's interest in the Covenanters was due to the fact that his ancestors had suffered persecution for religion's sake among the wilds of Ettrick. One of the comrades of his youth, too, was John Grieve, son of the Bev. Mr. Grieve of Cacrabank. See page 561. On the publication of the first edition I was grievously blamed by a certain party for having drawn an unfair character of Clavers. ... If through all the histories of that sufi'ering period I had discovered one redeeming quality about Clavers I would have brought it forward, but I found none. He had the nature of a wolf, and the bravery of a bull-dog. — Introduction. The Ettrick Shepherd must also be named among the defenders of the children of the Covenant against Scott, for although his Broivnie was begun before Old Mortality, it was not published till after. — Gilfillan. Old Mortality. Edited by the Rev. P. Hately Waddell. LL.D. For many interesting materials in the shape of traditional lore, the editor tells us, Scott was indebted to Joseph Train, super- visor of excise, Newton-Stewart, poet and antiquarian. Train had collected traditions and anecdotes relating to the Covenanters, and suggested a tale of which Claverhouse should be the central figure. It was Train who informed Scott regarding Bobert Paterson (Old Mortality). It must be almost superfluous to say that in Old Mortality both many events connected with this rising are coloured or mis-stated, and almost every character introduced on the one side and on the other misrepresented or overdrawn as regards fact. —For the rest all is beautiful.— P. H. Waddell, LL.D. Every Christian man, well-read in history cannot fail to regard the influence of the Waverley Novels with the utmost jealousy. The tendencies of the whole are usually, where religion is concerned, most false. The worst evils of the anti-religious party are smoothed or totally suppressed; the severity and errors of the nonconformists tortured into the ridiculous, or exaggerated into the wildest enthusiasm. Much of this falsification is effected by the introduction of fictitious personages, placed in situations so ridiculous, or unfavourable, as to deprive the reader of all sympathy with their opinions. Party had something to do with this misrepresentation ; a love of military glory still more ; Jacobinical propensities even more yet, and, it is to be feared, a dislike of spiritual religion most of all— JlialVs '' Footsteps," p. 313. THE LITKRATURE OF THE COVENANT. 575 The widow of John Brown of Priesthill, calm hitherto, burst into sobs and tears as she sat down beside the mangled corpse and covered it with her plaid. It was out of this invincible power over his soul, heart, and imagination, which such a woman, as also the two women in that sublime tragedy of the Solway Flood exerted over Sir Walter Scott, far down below his Cavalier leanings, that he constructed his two noblest women, Jeanie Deans, and her who alone in his marvellously varied range of portraits touches the highest water-mark of spiritual heroism and pathos, like Brutus in the Shakespeare gallery, the poor widow Elizabeth Maclure in "Old Mortality." We can for-give and even eajoy a hundred Mause Headriggs for the sake of that one noble woman who, if among all his characters Lucy of Lammermoor strUces the deepest notes of tragic sorrow, strikes the highest onesof victorious faith withinus. — Prof. W.Graham,D.D. The description given by a celebrated novelist of the period of the Covenanters is not historically correct. The greater part of the descrip- tion applj'ing to the religion and morals of that class of persons in Scotland who are known by the name of Covenanters must have been supplied almost altogether by the imagination of the writer. . . . The writer seems to have been utterly unacquainted both with the observances of the Presbyterian Church and those of the Episcopalian Church which succeeded it. He imagines for instance that the Liturgy was observed after the Restoration of Charles IL, whereas in point of fact, the only change that took place in the worship in the Churches consisted in the discontinuance of the Directory and the adoption of three Articles which had not been thought offensive in the days of Knox, the use of the Lord's Prayer, the repetition of the Creed by parents when they brought their children to be baptised, and the use of a Doxology in connection with the singing of Psalms. — Principal Lee, ^^ Evidence on Sabbath Observance.'' A tale which has been considered by some as bearing too hard upon the Covenanters, but which, notwithstanding some drawbacks on this head has been instrumental in making their cause and heroic sufferings known to tens of thousands, both in the old and new world, who would never otherwise have heard of their name. — Alexander Whitelaic, " The Book of Scottish Ballads.''^ In all these tenets there was no real conviction on my part, arising out of acquaintance with the views or principles of either party. — Sir W. Scott. [In a note to the Introduction to the " Monastery," mention is made of the penitence of Jedediah Cleishbotham and his reconciliation to the Cameronian minister on his imaginary deathbed]. Scott's Other Tales. — In Scott's other works numerous allusions to (Covenanting and Puritanic times occur, all breathing a milder degree of the same spirit of mingled prejudice and admiration. David Deans is a genuine Covenanter, and he is touched with a tender hand. In Jeanie Deans he paints con amore a character which only Scotland and the remaining influence of the covenanting day could have produced — so guile- less yet so prudent ; so modest and so courageous ; so pious yet so humble and disinterested. She is just Isabel Weir handed down to the next century. In the "Bride of Lammermoor" he introduces a covenanting minister who had been "out in the persecution," Mr. Bide-the-Bent, who makes on the whole an amiable fitjure. And equal to anything in all his writings is that weird story in " Redgauntlet " — wandering Willie's Tale, where he shows us the principal persecutors in hell, in a manner which would have delighted the inmost soul of the author of the "Scots Worthies" himself, and which is perhaps the most powerful flight of imagination the wizard's genius ever took. — Gi'Jillan's " Martyrs," p. 2A6. 576 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Tales of the Covenanters. % Robert Pollok, A.M. With Biographical Sketch of the Author by the Rev. Andrew Thomson, Edinburgh. Fifth Edition. 1850. The three Tales, Helen of the Glen, Ralph Gemmell, and the Persecuted Familv are here combined. A more recent edition is that with a life of Pollok by Miss Jean L. Watson. These Tales have long been "favourite reading" (R. P. Magazine) "with young people in Scotland. Older people will find them not unworthy of their perusal in their more mature years. Pollok's views of gospel truth are wonderfully correct." Page 549. Lights and Shadows of Scottish Life. 1822. In "The Covenanter's Marriage-Day." "The Baptism," etc., and in passages sprinkled through the " ISToctes," Professor John Wilson has given a somewhat poetic but at the same time a highly sympathetic account of the Covenanters of Scotland. Suffice it that his [John Wilson's] tone in reference to our heroes has always been enthusiastic, and that in his "Lights and Shadows" there occur several tales beautifully representing his sympathy with their cause, their sincerity, and their sufferings. — GilJUlan. JRiNGAN Gilhaize; or, The Times of the Covenantees. By John Galt. We remember yet with pleasure reading Kingan Gilhaize from the pen of the indefatigable Johh Gait, which was generally understood to be designed as a rejoinder to Scott. With much of the rambling inartistic character of all Gait's works it has passages of beauty and interest, and does full justice to the amiable qualities of its heroes. — GilfiUan. He is still a little wounded that Ringan Gilhaize, the story of a martyr- Covenanter, of which he says with an injured tone, " My memory does not furnish me with the knowledge of a novel of the same kind," should not have gained the appreciation which he feels sure it deserved. — Mrs. OUphant, ^^ Literary History of the 19th Century ^^' III., 196. Blackwood's Magazine. 1822. This volume contains John Brown, or the House on the Muir. The Covenanters. By Robert Macnish. See Macnish's Works, or "The Book of Scottish Story," Edin., 1884. John Cheap the Chapman's Library : The Scottish Chap Literature OF last century classified. With a life of Dougal Graham. Printed for the Booksellers. Part IV. contains Life of John Knox, Life of John Welsh, Life and Prophecies of Alexander Peden, Life and Prophecies of Donald Cargill, The Battles of Drumclog and Bothwell Bridge, and the Laird of Lag's Elegy. A Tradition of the Times of the Martyrs. By Edward Irving. A Paper addressed to Allan Cunningham, and first published in "The Anniversary" for 1829, of which he was editor. The following is the closing note, " Farewell, my dear friend ! May the Lord make us worthy of our sires ! " See also S. C. Herald, 1841. OwAiN Goth ; a Tale of the Revolution. In 3 Vols. Dr. Burns refers to this historical novel in an interesting note to Wod- row— Vol. II., 271. THE LITERATURE OF THE COVENANT. 577 Illustrations of the Author of Waverley, etc. By Robert Chambers, LL.D. 1825. The writer illustrates the mode of escape adopted by Rob Roy ia crossing the Avondhu, by the following covenanting tradition : — A Caraeronian, in the district of Galloway, flying from two dragoons who pursued him hotly, came to a precipice which overhung a lake. Seeing no other means of eluding his enemies, he plunged into the water, and attempted to swim to the other side. In the meantime, the troopers came up, and fired at him ; when he, with an astonishing presence of mind, parted Avith his plaid, and swam below the water to a safe part of the shore. His enemies fired repeatedly at the plaid, till they supposed him slain or sunk, and then retired. William Douglas ; or, The Scoltish Exiles. 3 Vols. 18'26. From the pen of Henry Duncan, D.D., Ruthwell, (1774-1846). The author was a staunch Tory, and while writing in favour of the Covenanters, advocated passive obedience and non-resistance. Patrick Wellwood ; a Tale of the Times of the Kikk and Covenant, for the Young. Glasgoio, 1839. By the Rev. John Anderson of Helensburgh. The subject of the story was the son of Josiah Wellwood, laird of Knockalie, a pious Covenanter. The author's object was to show the young the priceless inheritance transmitted from the past, and its cost. The tale is written witli fine literary taste, and with singular power of description. Magdalene Nisbet : the Maiden of the Merse. A Tale of the Persecution of Charles the Second's Time. By a United Presbyterian Minister. Edin., 1858. Its perusal cannot fail to feed and strengthen that fine spirit of covenant chivalry which won for us our national liberties, civil and religious. See U.P.M. for 1858. Gideon Brown : A True Story of the Covenant and of the Perse- cution IN Scotland, as related by Himself. Edited by Charles Mackay, LL.D. Might have been written by Defoe. " The Plague of London," by Defoe, is still believed by thousands to be an actual narrative of facts, and this little piece of autobiography stands a good chance of equal credence, for it is lifelike to a high degree. The more our people know of the Covenant and of those who suffered for it the better, — Spurgeon. Graham M'Call's Victory : A Tale of the Covenanters. By Grace Steering. A covenanting story, very harrowing to the feelings. The book is sound, and soul-stirring; kindling in the soul a hate of tyranny, and an admiration for the martyrs for the faith. — Spurgeon. The Martyr of Glencree: A Story of the Persecutions of Scotland. By Robert Someks. The story is laid in the hills and glens of Galloway. The Mist and the Glen : A Story of the Covenant in the south-west of Scotland and north of Ireland, in the Scottish dialect. In Perilous Times : A Tale of Ancient Ayr. By William Robertson. See critical notice of this covenanting story in Christian Leader, V., 12. 2o 578 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Carlowrie; or, Among Lothian Folk. By Annie S. Swa.n. This is a pretty tale of Scottish life in the lowlands. It is intended to portray character among lairds and land-cultivators who cherish oa the soil they dearly love the piety of the old Covenanters. Jock Halliday, a Grassmarket Hero. Sketches of Life and Character in an old City Parish. By Robtna F. Hardy. A story fitted to do good service in connection with temperance or missionary enterprise. Swan's Nest. Religious Tract Society. A specially good story of covenanting times. RiNGAN Oliver of Smailcleucheoot. A man of great stature and immense strength. Numerous stories are preserved regarding him. He was with the Covenanters at Bothwell, and was set to keep the Pass. He was at Queensferry when Hall was taken prisoner. He was present at Killiecrankie, and after the defeat of Mackay's army retreated with his friends to Dunkeld. See Smail's "Jedburgh and Vicinity." Historical and Traditional Tales connected with the South of Scotland. By J. Nicholson of Kirkcudbright. Contains the Laird of Torfoot's account of the Battle of Drumclog, sketch of James Renwick by Rev. Dr. Simpson, etc. Tales, Legends, and Historical Reminiscences of the Scottish Covenanters. By Ellen E. Guthrie. See " Sunday at Home " for February, 1884. Martyrland; or, The Perils of the Persecution. By the Rev. R. Simpson, D.D., Sanquhar. 1S6I. A thrilling story. Eddie Cringan is a fine specimen of the old cove- nanting character. The scene is partly laid in Glenmuir Shaw in the ueighbourhood of Muirkirk, where there was an old vault within which Covenanters used to be imprisoned. Captain Creichton, the bloody perse- cutor, made the locality his headquarters for a time. "It was there the birds had perched, and it was there that the net was spread to catch them." A fifth edition of this work appeared in 1881 in fiue bold type under the careful supervision of Mr. Thomas D. Morison, Glasgow. Page 494. Entertainment for Leisure Hours. By Peter Mackinnell. The Book of Scottish Story. Edinburgh, 1884. Contains John Brown, Grizel Cochrane, The Lady of Warristoun, A Tale of Pentland, etc. Bits from Blinkbonsy ; or, Bell o' the. Manse. A Tale of Scottish Village Life between 1841 and 1851. By John Strathesk. See Treasury, p. 498. More Bits from Blinkbonny. A Tale of Scottish Village Life betiveen 18.S1 and 1841. By John Strathesk. This is a worthy sequel to the former " Bits from Blinkbonny." Rare, racy stuff we have here. Never say the Scotchman has no fun in him ; for a deep, quiet, thoughtful mirth he beats us all. We like this book, and would aid its circulation ; it does good to scatter such innocent jjleasantries. One should know a little of the northern Doric to appreciate these pages as they deserve to be. — Spurgeon. III. MISCELLANEA To abstract the mind from all local emotion would be impossible, if it were endeavoured, and would be foolish, if it were possible. Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses, — whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings. Far from me and from my friends be such frigid philosophy, as may conduct us indififerent and unmoved over any ground which has been dignified by wisdom, bravery, or virtue ! That man is little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of lona. — Dr, Johnson. For Thy saints take pleasure in her stones and favour the dust thereof. — Psalm cii. I4. Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. — John vi. 12. INSCRIPTION ON THE MARTYRS' MONUMENT, EDINBURGH. Halt, passenger, take heed what you do see : This tomb doth shew, for what some men did die. Here lies interr'd the dust of those who stood 'Gainst perjury, resisting unto blood; Adhering to the Covenants, and laws Establishing the same : which was the cause Their lives were sacrific'd unto the lust Of Prelatists abjur'd. Though here their dust Lies mixt with murderers, and other crew. Whom justice justly did to death pursue; But as for them no cause was to be found Worthy of death, but only they were found Constant and stedfast, zealous, witnessing, For the Prerogatives of Chkist their King. Which Truths were seal'd by famous Guthrie's head. And all along to Mr. Renwick's blood, They did endure the wrath of enemies, Reproaches, torments, deaths, and injuries. But yet they're those who from such troubles came, And now triumph in glory with the Lamb. From May 27th 1661 that the most noble Marquis of Argyle was beheaded to the 17th of FebJ' 1688 that Mr. James Renwick suffered, were one way or other Murdered and Destroyed for the same Cause, about Eighteen thousand, of whom were execute at Edin- burgh about an hundred of Noblemen, Gentlemen, Ministers and Others, noble Martyrs for Jesus Christ. The most of them lie here. For a particular account of the cause and manner of their Sufferings, see the Cloud of Witnesses Crookshank's and Defoe's Histories. Copied from the present Monument in Greyfriars, erected in 1771, in place of an older one, by James Currie, Pentland. The old monument is still in existence, and the version of the inscription given by Mr. Thomson in the " Cloud " is from the older monument. MISCELLANEA I. THE PPtlSONS OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANTERS. " As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted (writes John Bunyan) on a certain place where was a den, and I laid me down in that place to sleep; and as I slept I dreamed a dream." Like Bunyan, who was confined twelve years in Bedford jail for exercising his ministry, not a few Scots Worthies sufifered "bonds and imprisonment" for their adherence to the truth. Only the more historic of the Bastiles into which the Covenanters were thrust are enumerated, and but a few of the many faithful prisoners of Jesus Christ named, particularly such as have left behind them any literary tokens of their imprisonment. Scaffolds are hard to climb, though from their height God gave souls visions they could not have received at their foot. But how much harder to bear were caves, and mosshags, and dungeons, — the Bass Rock and Dunottar Castle, — and crowding together for months under the open sky and in all weathers in Greyfriars Churchyard, — and hungers, in which it was a crime for the nearest to offer a crumb, — and utter loneliness in loneliest places for weeks and months ! What a large and glorious new eleventh chapter of the Hebrews could be made from these times ! — what names, equalling the best of the old chapter of heroes of the most heroic grace of all, faith ! — Prof. W. Graham, D.D. THE TOWER OF LONDON. Rev. Andrew Melville was imprisoned here from 1607 to 1611. See p. 61. He had been sentenced to imprisonment in Blackness as early as 1583 for his sermon on Daniel iv., but meanwhile had escaped to England. See Cald. "History," lY., 13. James Melville embarked for Newcastle on the 2nd July, 1607, from the stairs leading to the Tower ; and continued as the vessel sailed down the river to fix his eyes, streaming with tears, on the Bastile which enclosed the friend for whom he had long felt an enthusiastic attachment and whose face he was not again to behold. — M'Crie, ''Life of Melville," p. -278. Earl of Loudon. — Imprisoned 1639, and well-nigh despatched. The Marquis of Argyll. — On being informed that Argyll had come to London in 1660 to hail his restoration, Charles II. stamped violently on the ground and exclaimed, " To the Tower with him," savagely seeking the death of the nobleman who had placed the crown of Scotland on his head. See Kirkton, p. 60 ; Wodrow, I., 130. Johnston of Warriston. — Conveyed to the Tower from Rouen w^here he was discovered by a spy. Confined from January to June, 1663, after which he was taken to the Tolbooth in Edin- burgh, See Wodrow, I., 356. William Carstares. — Imprisoned 1674. See Dr. Story's " Life of Carstares," p. 40. 582 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVEN Ah T. PRISON LITERATURE. L].TTER FROM Mr. AnDREW MeLVILLE TO A FrIEND IN SCOTLAND, September 4, 1608. I must confess, that miraculouslie above all expeetatioun the Lord has upholdin and underpropped my weaknesse, that nather wearines&e in bodie, nor faintnesse in soule, has assailed me unto this day; but, in an wholesome bodie I have alwayes carried an inward peace of conscience, with great cheerefulnesse in spirit; being comforted by experience of perfytting the promises made unto us in the Word of that Prince of Glorie, and God of all consolatioun, yea, even feeling the same most sweetlie watering my barren soule with drops of grace from above, in suche sort, that I darre not conceale from you the wayes of the Lord in His incomprehensible mercie toward suche a poore wretch as I am. — Cald. ^* Hist.,'' F/., 784. Letter from Andrew Melville to Sir James Sempill of Beltrees. It is dated, "London Tower this first of December 1610," and will be found in M'Crie's "Life of Melville," p. 487. BLACKNESS CASTLE. David Lindsay, minister at Leith, was imprisoned here for protesting against the packed Parliament which passed the Black Acts in 1584. Rev. John Welsh, Ayr; Eev. John Forbes, Alford ; Rev. Robert Dury, Anstruther ; Rev. A. Duncan, Crail ; Rev. A. Strachan, Creich ; and Rev. John Sharp, Kilmany, were thrust into this earliest of Covenanting prisons. Welsh and Forbes were transported thither July 26, 1605, being "inclosed straitly in several houses, and keepit from the company of one another, and all other society whatsoever." The others followed. On August 2, the six were taken before the Council at Edinburgh, and remitted to Blackness on the 3rd. " Take courage, my dear brethren, and rejoice," said Welsh. They took courage, and as they marched by night to their prison they sang the 11th Psalm according to the old version. While they were lying in the dungeon Welsh received a Letter of encouragement from Lady Culross, who bade him and his companions be thankful that they were only in the "darkness of Blackness," and not in the "black- ness of darkness." After lying in "foull holls" till November they were banished for life. Page 274. The Abbot of New Abbey.— " Taikin August 1605, by the Lord Cranstoun, not without perrel from the country people, who rose to rescue him out of his hands. He was first s'ent to Blackness, and after two or three days w^as transported to the Castell of Edinburgh, where he was interteaned upon the King's expences till his departure out of the countrie." MISCELLANEA 585 Heniy Blythe, minister of the Canongate, Edinburgh. — Sent thither because in a sermon he " heavily i egratted " the treatment to which Welsh and Forbes had been subjected. William Pdgg of Athernie. — Imprisoned in 1624 for refusing to kneel in the act of communion. See Livingstone's " Charac- teristics ; " Cald. ''Hist.," VII., 629. James Fraser of Brea.— Page 366. See also Anderson's "Martyrs of the Bass," p. 131 ; Miller's "Scenes and Legends," p. 121. William Gordon of Earlstoun. — See " Scots Worthies." Mrs. Janet Hamilton — Lady Gordon of Earlstoun, who wrote one of her Covenant-Engagements in Blackness in December, 1687. See Wod. "Sel. Biog.," I., 497. Lady Caldwell. — Imprisoned for three years, and her daughter, Miss Jean, six months. See " Ladies of the Covenant." S4th June, 1677. — The Council wrote a letter to his ^Majesty, desiring he would be pleased to grant warrant to his thresaurie for lifting as much money as will repair the Castle of Blackness for holding prisoners, the Bass being already full. His Majesty sent down a warrant conform. — Fountainhall, p. 160. PRISON LITERATURE. The Summe of that which I dreamed so neere as I can REMEMBER, BOTH THE FIRST AND SECUND NIGHT. Mr. David Lindsay's dream in Blackness, 1584. See Cald. " History," lY., 167. Letter by John Welsh to the Right Honourable Lilias Grahame, Countess of Wigtown. Blackness, January 6, 1606. The Countess was a most devout and pious lady. She is men- tioned in Livingstone's " Characteristics." " That rare letter out of Blackness," which occupies eight pages in the Wodrow volume, contains the following passage :— Who am I that He should first have so called me and constituted me a minister of the glad tidings of the gospel of salvation these sixteen years already; and now, last of all, to be a sufferer for His cause and kingdom ? Now let it be so that I have fought my fight and run my race ; and now from henceforth is laid up for me that crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge will give, and not to me only, but to all that love His appearance, and are chosen to witness this, that Jesus Christ is the King of saints, and that His Church is a most free kingdom, yea, as free as any kingdom under heaven, not only to convocate, hold, and keep her meetings and conventions and assemblies ; but also to judge all her affair?, in all her meetings and conventions amongst her members and subjects. These two points : 1. That Christ is the Head of His Church; 2. That she is free in her government from all other jurisdiction except Christ's; these two points, I say, are the special cause of our imprisonment, being now convicted as traitors for the maintaining thereof. We have been 584 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. ever waiting -vrith joyfulness to give the last testimony of our blood in coijfirmation thereof, if it should please our God to be so favourable as to honour us with that dignity. Yea, I do affirm that these two points above written, and all other things which belong to Christ's crown, sceptre, and kingdom are not subject, nor can be, to any other authority but to His own alto - July 22, 1663 Rev. John Cruikshanks, Pentland, - - Nov. 28, 1666 Rev. Andrew M'Cormack, )j About Fifty others. )> Major M'Culloch, Barholm, - Edinburgh, - Dec.' 7, John Gordon, Knockbreck, - )> Robert Gordon, his brother, - 3> John Ross, Mauchline, - )> Andrew Arnot, }> - John Shields, >J - John Parker, . . _ )> Gavin Hamilton, - it - James Hamilton, - 11 - Christopher Strang, 11 „ Alex. Robertson, preacher, - 11 - Dec. 14, John Neilson of Corsack, J) ~ George Crawford, Cumnock, - )) _ Robert Buntine, Fenwick, Glasgow, - - Dec.' 19, John Hart, Glassford, - 11 . Robert Scott, Dalserf, - 11 JJ IMatthew Baton, Newmilns, - J, - Rev. Hugh M'Kail, - Edinburgh, - Dec'.' 20, John Wodrow, Glasgow, 11 J, Ralph Shields, Ayr, 11 JJ Humphrey Colquhoun, - )> „ John Wilson, Kilmaurs, }) James Smith, Ayr, - - Dec. 27, Alexander Macmillan, - " _ James Macmillan, . George M'Kertney, - - John Short, - . - . _ _ John Graham, " _ John Muirhead, - _ J^ " James Davie, - - - Bathgate, - John Hunter, - - - Corehead, - James Mitchell, - - - Edinburgh, James Learmont, - Andrew Brodie, Forgandenny, Thomas Ker, Heyhope, - Andrew Richmond, Thomas Weir, William Dingwall, James Thomson, - Thomas Fleming, - William Gordon of Earlstoun, Eev. John Kid, - Rev. John King, - Arthur Inglis, Cambusnethan, Thomas Brown, - James Wood, - - - Andrew Sword, - John Waddell, - John Clyde, Henry Hall, Haughhead, Rev. Richard Cameron, Michael Cameron, John Hamilton, - John Gemmel, James Gray, Robert Dick, Captain John Fowler, - Robert Paterson, - Thomas Watson, - David Hackston of Rathillet, Archibald Alison, John Malcolm, Dairy, - James Skene, John Potter, Archibald Stewart, William Gouger, - Christopher Miller, Robert Sangster, - Laurence Hay, (Shot) Crockome, (Killed by ClaverlioDse) Drumclog, 77 Both well, - Edinburgh, Stocklton, Magus Moor, » Dec. 31, 1666 » " Dec. ., Jan. 2, 1667 April, 1673 1675 Jan. 18, 1676 Sept. 27, 1678 Dec. „ June, 1679 June 1, „ June 22, „ Aug. 14, „ July „ Xov. 25, „ >j " 55 55 55 55 South Queen Airsmoss, - sf'ry, June 3, July 20, IG80 55 55 - 55 55 55 - 55 55 55 55 55 55 - 55 55 55 55 55 55 - 55 55 55 - 55 55 55 Edinburgh, 55 55 55 - July 30, Aug. 11, Aug. 13, Dec. 1, ^5 55 55 55 55 55 - 55 55 55 55 - Mar! 11, 55 168 55 - 55 55 July 13, 598 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Andrew Pitulloch, Kev. Donald Cargill, - Walter Smith, student, James Boig, student, - William Thomson, Wniiam Cuthill, - Robert Garnock, Stirling, David Ferrie, James Stewart, - _ . Alexander Eussell, Patrick Forman, - - - AVilliam Hervie, - Robert Gray, AVm. Graham, Crossmichael, John Finlay, . . - Wm. Cochrane, Strathaven, - James Robertson, Stonehouse, Alexander Hume of Hume, - John Wilson, Lanark, - John Nisbet, younger, - James Smith, John Wharry, William Buick, Andrew Gullon, - John Cochrane, Lesmahagow, John Whitelaw, - - - Arthur Bruce, George Martin, Dailly, John Gilry, - - - - Robert Baillie of Jerviswood, John Dick, student, James Johnston, Cadder, Arch. Stewart, Lesmahagow, James Winning, Glasgow, John Main, West Monkland, John Richmond, Galston, Capt. John Paton, Fenwick, - James ISTisbet, Darvel, - Arthur Tacket, Hamilton, Thomas Harkness, Locherben, Andrew Clark, Leadhills, Samuel M'Ewen, Glencairn, - James Nicol, Peebles, - James Smith, James Law son, - - . Alexander Wood, John Watt, Kilbride, - Edinburgh, July 13, July 27, 1681 5J Lanark, Edinburgh, Keils, Edinburojh, Kilmarnock, Glasgow, - - Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Glasgow, - Edinburgh, Burnann, ■ Glasgow, )) Edinburgh, Oct." 10, 1682 1683 Mar. 2, May 19, Dec. 15, Dec. 29, May 16, Apr. 14, June 13, June 14, July 20, Nov. 30, Feb. 22, 1684 3> - Feb. 24, 3) - Mar. 5, Glasgow, - - Mar. 19, May. 9, June 5, Aug. 1, Aug. 15, Aug! 27, Oct. 24, Nov! 14, MISCELLANEA. 599 John Semple, Glassford, - Edinburgh, Nov. 14, 1684 Andrew M'Gill, - - Ayr, Nov. 55 James Graham, - - Edinburgh , Dec. 9 ^ 3 55 Thomas Wood, jj ' " J? 59 Thomas Robertson, J) . " 5J 55 George Jackson, - )j ~ " J> 39 William Keagow, )j " ~ »J 55 Eobert Stewart, - - Water of Dee, - Dec. 55 John Grier, - J5 " M 55 Robert Ferguson, 95 }> 95 Jaraes M 'Michael, )J ~ 35 55 William Hunter, - - Kirkcudbright, - 3J 55 Robert Smith, }) " J> 55 Robert Pollock, Kilbride, - Edinburgh, Jan. 23, 1685 Robert Millar, Rutherglen, 5J " " J? 35 James Dun, - Caldons Wood, - j> 39 Robert Dun, 5) ~ )» 35 Thomas Stevenson, }> " 55 John Stevenson, - JJ 39 James M'Lude, - J? 53 39 Andrew Macaulay, ?J " 3 5 95 Thomas M'Haffie, Straiton, - Straiton, - !5 9f Daniel M'Michael, - Dalveen, - Jan., James Algie, - Paisley, - Feb. 3, 35 John Park, - " 5J 55 95 David Hallidaj, Balmaghie. - Kirkconnell, Feb. 21, 33 John Bell, - 3> 5) ., Andrew M 'Robert, J5 55 39 James Clement, - " ?J ' )> 99 Robert Lennox, - )) 55 99 John Smith, - Lesmahagow, Feb., 35 John Wallace, - Lochenkit Moor, Feb. 18, 95 William Heron, - - John Gordon, - William Stewart, - - Edward Mackeen (Kyan) . Feb. 28, 9' William Adam, - - Muirkirk, - Feb. 35 Edward Gordon, - - Irongiay, - Mar. 8, 39 Alexander M'Cubbin, - " . " 53 93 William Smith, aet. 18, - Glencairn. Mar. 29, 59 John Brown, Lesmahagow, - Clydesdale, March, 33 James Kirke, - Dumfries, - ») •3 John Law, - - Newmilns, Apri' 1, 53 John Gibson, - GlencairD, - Apr. 28, 35 James Bennoch, - }} ~ ' ,, 55 Robert Edgar, )) " " 59 53 Robert Mitchell, - 5J ■ " 93 35 600 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Robert Grierson, - - Glencairn, - Apr. 28, 16^ John Semple, - Dailly, April, >5 John Barrie, - Avondale, - 55 55 Gabriel Thomson, - Eaglesham, May 1, Robert Lockhart, 55 55 55 John Brown, - Priesthill, - 55 ;5 Peter Gillies, - Mauchline, May 6, 55 John Bryce, )> 55 55 Thomas Young, - 55 55 55 William Fiddison, )) " ,5 55 John Bruning, )) Robert Thorn, - Polmadie, - May 11, 55 Thomas Cook, J) _ John Urie, - }) " _ Andrew M'Quhan, - Newton, Gallov iSiJ 5 55 55 Andrew Hislop, - - Eskdalemuir, - 55 55 Joseph Wilson, - Corsegellioch, May, 55 John J amieson, - ,, John Humphrey, - 55 55 55 David Dun, - Cumnock, - Simon Paterson, - 5) ~ James White, - Little Blackwood, Thomas Richards, - Cumnock, - . June, Archibald, Earl of Argyll, - Edinburgh, . June 30, 55 David Halliday, - - Twynholm, - July 11, George Short, 55 ~ - William M'Kirgue, - Straiton, - _ July, 55 Gilbert M'Adam, - - Kirkmichael, - 55 55 Thomas S tod art, - - Edinburgh, „ Aug. 12, 5 Matthew Bryce, - 5, ~ _ James W^ilkie, 5 5 _ William Johnston, - Wigtown, - _ 55 John Milroy, 55 " - 5) George Walker, - 55 - )) John Hunter, - Moffat, - 5) John Stott, - - Dunnottar, - 5) James Aitchison, - - _ James Russell, _ . William Brown, - _ )> Another (p. 621), _ _ 55 Two Women, 55 _ 55 James Watson, _ Another, 55 J5 William Paterson, - Strathaven, . 55 Thomas M'Clorgan, - Dailly, _ 55 John Hallume, - Kirkcudbright, _ _ Robert M'Whae, - - Borgue, - - "5 MISCELLANEA. 6Ui John Murchie, Colmonell, Oarrick, . 1685 Daniel Meikle wrick, )» - 5) Alexander Lin, Kirkcowan, - 5J JohnNisbetof Hardhill, Edinburgh, - Dec. 4, ?5 Edward Marshall, j» 5 ' •) John Fergusbill, - Fenwick, - - 5» George Woodburn, )) - >> Peter Gemmel, )» - )J John Smith, Cunningham, - n William Shillilaw, Water of Ayr, - ?? Rev. John Blackadder (Died), - Bass Rock, - June, 1686 David Steel, Lesmahagow, - Dec. 20, 1 jj Rev. James Renwick, - Edinburgh, - Feb. 17, 1688 George Wood, Sorn, Tinkhornhill, - June, 55 John Macgeaghan, Bello Path, - July 28 ) 5> Mowat, _ - - Galloway, - - C^Cloud," p.540) Aiichinleck, - Carlinwark, 5) j> J(;hn M'Glorgan, - - 5> p. 557 Matthew M'ilwraitli, - Colmonell, J» p. 593 Samuel Rutherford died 1661. Had not death prevented he was in the same hazard. — BaiUie. Mrs. Menteath in her " Lays " describes the rough officers breaking in upon the stillness of the darkened room ; to whom — Feebly the sick man raised his hand, that hand so thin and pale. And something in the hollow eye made that rude speaker quail. "Man, thou hast sped thine errand well : yet is it wasted breath. Except the great ones of the earth can break my tryst with Death. A few brief days, or briefer hours, and I am going home Unto mine own prepared place, where but few great ones come ; The summons of that mightie-;t King, to whom all kiugs must bow, Is on me for an earlier day, — is ou me even now." Alexander Peden died 1686. Alexander Feden died January 26, 1686, and was buried in the sepulchre of the Boswells at Auchinleck (p. 357). Six weeks after, his body was dragged from its resting place by his enemies to Old Cumnock, where it was exposed at the place of public execution and afterwards buried beneath the gallows. Such, however, was the reverence of the people of Cumnock for Peden that they changed their place of burial to the God's acre conse- crated \>Y his dust. Peden's name assuredly is contained in the martyrs' roll. It was the intention of the violators to take the body of Peden and hang it in chains on the gallows; but this was not done, thanks to the intervention of William, second Earl of Dumfries, who told Murray, the commander of the party, that " the gibbet was erected for malefactors and murderers, not for such men as Peden." They re-interred the body, not in the churchyard, but at the foot of the gallows. From that hour the ground became sacred. Three years before, three Covenanters were hung on the gibbet and buried in the same spot, one of them an old man of eighty years of age. The former graveyard became disused, and "now the dead of generations have been laid to rest beside the grave of the grand and weird old Covenanter." This is the man to whose memory it is proposed to erect a monument at Cumnock — the man who, if not strictly a martyr, was a notable leader in that great array of Covenanters whose lives and deeds 602 TEEASUm- OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. were a prophecy of the triumph of religious libertj' in Scotland, and of whom, for that reason, Professor Blackie not unwarrantably declares that they "proved after all the true prophets and the profoundest theologians of the age." — Evening Times, Glasgow, October, 1SS6. Here let me stand beneath the sacred shade Of these twin thorns that shield a prophet's bones ! I have stood high on monumental stones, "Where Memphian kings august made grand parade. Not moved as here. My loves are with the braves Who stand erect for freedom and for right. When rampant pride, harsh law, and sworded might Would crush out thought, and stamp all men for slaves ; And such was Peden. In the day when kings Claimed right divine to murder honest men. And venal bishops flapped their vulture wings O'er God's dear souls, hounded from glen to glen, Peden stood firm ; and to his faith then shown We owe that now we call our souls our own. — John Stuart Blackie, LL.D. James White. James White, Little Blackwood, Kilmarnock, was shot in 1685 by Peter Inglis at the house of James Paton, where twelve were gathered together for praj'er. Paton was a wright, and Inglis, "with a big aixe for felling timber, cut off the head of White, took it to Newmilns, and next day played with it as a football on the greeu." See Brit, and For. Ev. Rev., xix., 363. Rev. James Guthrie. The head of the martyr was set up on the Xetherbow Port as a spectacle for the finger of scorn to point at. But among those who repaired thither, and looked up at the long grey hair rustling in the wind, and the features embrowning and drying in the sun, one little boy was often seen gazing fixedly upon that countenance with looks of love and terror — and still returning day after day, and hour after hour, as if there was for him a language in that silent head which none else could hear. And who could that child be but Guthrie's young son, the little "Willie" of the martyr's last aflectionate counsels and cares ? — Rev, T. Thomson. [See Mrs. Men- teath's touching lay, entitled "The Martyr's Child."] Andrew- Hislop. It was the martyrs who triumphed. It was the murderers who called upon their omti heads a curse. " Pull your bonnet over your face," said the soldiers of Claverhouse to the Scotch boy whom they were going to shoot. " I can look you in the face, sirs," the lad answered, confronting them with his Bible in his hand, " I can look you in the face, sirs; I have done nothing of which to be ashamed. How will you look me in the face when you shall be judged by the things written in this Book ? " — F. W. Farrar^ D.t). See also pp. 394, 402, 404, 407, 409, 580. See "The Cloud" for the Testimonies, etc., of these martyrs. John Brown of Priesthill. The story of this marcyrdom requires to be specially referred to at the present time, for John Brown has become more than ever a historical character. Macaulay, following Wodrow, has woven the narrative into secular history, and has provoked the ire of Aytoun and Napier. With the view of throwing discredit on Macaulay these writers have laboured to prove Wodrow untrust- worthy at two points, which have become crucial — the one the MISCKLLAXEA. G03 story of the Christian carrier, the other the Wigtown martyrdom. In both cases Wodrow's trustworthiness stands unimpeached, while his critics have come oft' second best. Cf. pp. 332, 419, 497. See opening chapter of " Our Royal Shepherd," by the Rev. R. Gil- christ, Sliotts, for an account of a visit to John Brown's grave. John Brown, a poor carrier in Lanarkshire, was for his singular })iety, commonly called the Christian carrier. Many years later, when Scotland enjoyed rest, prosperity, and religious freedom, old men, who remembered the evil days, described him as one versed in divine things, blameless in life, and so peaceable that the tyrants could find no ofience in him except that he absented himself from the public worship of the Episcopalians. On the first of May (1685) he was cutting turf, when he was seized by Claverhouse's dragoons, rapidly examined, convicted of noncon- formity, and sentenced to death. It is said that even among the soldiers it was not easy to find an executioner. For the wife of the poor man was present : she led one little child by the hand : ic was easy to see that she was about to give birth to another ; and even those wild and hard-hearted men, who nick-named one another Beelzebub and ApoUyon, shrank from the great wickeu- ness of butchering her husband before her face. The prisoner meanwhile, raised above himself by the near prospect of eternity, ]n*ayed loud and fervently, as one inspired, till Claverhouse, in a fury, shot him dead. It was reported by credible witnesses that the widow cried out in her agony — " Well, sir, well ; the day of reckoning will come," and that the murderer replied — "To man I can answer for what I have done, and as for God, I will take Him into mine own hand." Yet it was rumoured that even on his seared conscience and adamantine heart the dying ejaculations of his victim made an impression which was never efiaced. — Macaulay, " History of England;' /., 2SG. Many lamented the death of John Brown of Priesthill, who was shot dead by Claverhouse in 1685, and none more than the children who were wont to gather round him on Sabbath evenings. John Brown's meeting of children is the first notice we have of a Sabbath School in Scotland. — D. Dickson in Free Asuemhbj. In this work [Scots Worthies] are inserted Memoirs, bj' a lady, of John Brown of Priesthill and of Hugh M'Kail, originally published in a separate form with a Preface and Notes by M 'Gavin. The separate work, which is not exactly the same as the insertious, was so acceptable to the public that three editions were soon called for. — Rev. G. Eiving. A very interesting account of John Brown appeared in BlackirooiVs Afayazine some time after this was written; but the writer has confounded the name of John Brown of Blackwood parish with that of his namesake of Priesthill, and the house on the mnir with that in Muirkirk. ' The house on the muir was where Caldwell, Kersland, and the gentlemen of Renfrewshire rendezvoused on their way to join Colonel Wallace and the company who fell at Pentland. — Hote to M^ Gavin's ^^ Scots Worthies." Letter from Claverhouse to the Lord Tre.asurer Qceensberrv, dated May 3, lfiS5, first published ix Napier's Memoirs of Claver- house.— I suspect that the general impression will be that Mr. Napier has 604 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. done no service to his hero by publishing this letter. There is a cold- bloodedness in its tone which I do not like, and which few men will like. What horrid work it was which this Claverhouse had to do, and which he seems to have had a pleasure in doing — hunting down his poor countrymen and countrywomen and butchering them in cold blood at their cabin doors ! I hope I am not wrong in saying that three-fourths of those who now hold her Majesty's commission would rather resign their commission for ever than engage in such butcheries. The document, however, is very valuable, and everyone must thank Mr. Napier for its publication. It throws some additional light upon very sad times. It shows us both the agents and the agencies of despotism amongst a population both honest and pious though somewhat fanatical and perfectly loyal till they were goaded to rebellion. It tells all the more powerfully upon the heart because it confines the attention to one particular case — would it were the only one, or would it were the worst.— i)r. Cunningham, ''Church History," II., 24I. Extract Minute Muirkikk Session.— In Septr. 1682 deputations were appointed to wait upon Janet Weir of Darnhunch, John Brown "Priest- field," and Thomas Ritchart, Greenock-Mains. In Novr. these reported. . . . Those who went to see John Brown, I myself being present, said he gave reasons : — 1. I kept company with an indulgit minister. 2. I paid sesse. When denyd this was a sufficient ground to separate from the church, he [replied] that he whom he loovit as the faithful messenger of Jesus Christ, and who was now lying at Airs Moss . . . that as he would ansur to Godd at the grat day of Judgment he would never heir any of these indulgit persons, therefor he could not come. Bi-Centenary atPriesthill, June 20th, 1885.- It was surprising to find so many different streams of pilgrims wending their way down from the hilltops into the valley. The main current was immediately before and behind from Muirkirk, ascending the Sware Hill, a serpentine bit of the Glasgow Road, as its name indicates, which winds its way among the little hills that prevail till we reach the modern house of Priesthill. From the north-east hill descended a long stream of men and women from Lesmaha- gow ; another baud of visitors had walked all the way from Sanquhar ; from the north came a contingent from Strathaven, not forgetful of those traditions of their own which must bind their hearts to this shrine at Muir- kirk, while the grass-grown road leading from Glenbuck was black with the people of that prosperous village. When all these converging streams had met in the central hollow where is the tombstone over John Brown's grave, the company numbered close on 2000. Those from a distance sat down on the comiparatively few dry spots that were to be found on the moss, and succeeding little groups gathered in succession in the clearly- defined depression, covered with greenest grass, which indicates the site of the lowly dwelling which witnessed on a May morning two hundred years ago that sublime act of fidelity to God by a poor peasant and his wife which has stirred the heart of humanity as few other events have in the history not merely of Scotland but of the world. Mr. Noble of the Free Church opened the meeting with prayer. Dr. Easton of Darvel preached an eloquent and appropriate discourse from Psalm Ixxvii. 5. The second of the memorial sermons was preached at 7 o'clock in Muirkirk parish church by Dr. Andrew Thomson, Edinburgh, from Rev. ii. 10. A native of Sanquhar, Dr. Thomson was reared in the very heart of the covenanting land, and even in childhood drank in the spirit of covenanting times, being brought near to than by personal intimacy, not only with martyr shrines and the scenes of some of the greatest historic annals of the seventeenth century, but also with worthy descendants of the faithful witnesses, in whom were reproduced many of the finest traits of their ancestors. — Glasgoio Daily Mall. MISCKLLANKA. 605 THE WOMEN OF THE COVENANT. Women of all classes, alike high-born and low-born, devoted themselves to the cause of the Covenant. Kirkton states that while few gentlemen of position came to the held meetings the ladies attended in great numbers. The officers were compelled to report that the ladies were the "chief fomenters of the disorders." They were in consequence subjected to imprisonment, torture, banishment and death. When these failed to quench their zeal the government made husbands responsible for their wives, and fathers for their daughters. See "The Ladies of the Covenant" by the Rev. James Anderson (1807-1875) — Original Seceder, Kirriemuir, aiithor of "Memorable Women of the Puritan Times," and joint-author with M'Crie, Miller, Fleming, and Balfour of " Tlie Bass Kock;" Cald. "History," IV., 200; also "Lives or Eminent Women [Grizel Cochrane, etc.] and Tales for Girls from Chambers's Miscellany." Any account of the era of the Covenant would be grievously defective which did not assign a prominent place to the heroines of the noble struggle — the pious mothers and daughters of Scotland under whose care the martyrs and heroes were reared, by whose example not unfrequently they were fired, and by whose tender care and sympathy as the ministering angels of the Covenant they were sustained and cheered. — Gilfillan. Sir William Fleming of Ferm for his lady hearing a Presbyterian minister was by the Council fined in 5000 merks, and her son was to have power to retain it off her " joynter " in case her husband died. — Analeda Scotica. Mrs. Elizabeth Welsh, daughter of John Knox, and wife of the Rev. John Welsh of Ayr. Nor should women be omitted from the record of Presbyterian heroism. There too should be seen Mrs. Welsh, the daughter of Knox, pleading with King James to allow her dying husband to return to Scot- land and breathe once more his native air. " He may, if he will conform," is the brutal reply. ^Gathering up the corners of her apron, she answers, " Your Majesty, I will sooner kep his head here ! " — Cath. Pi-esb., III., 53. Elizabeth Melville, Lady Culross, daughter of Sir James Melville of Halhill, and wife of John, Lord Colvill of Culross. The Rev. Robert Melvill of Culross was her brother. See Sel. Bio^., L, 349. Lady Lilias Grahara, Countess of Wigtown, daughter of the Earl of Montrose. Sel. Biog. (Wod. Sel.), L, 18, 339. Ladv Anne Livingstone, Countess of Eglinton. Sel. Biog. (Wod. ^Soc), L, 347. Lady Margaret Livingstone, Countess of Wigtown. She was the friend and helper of the Rev. John Livingstone. Lady Anne Cunningham, daughter of Glencairn, and Marchioness of Hamilton. A Christian worker in connection with the revival at Shotts in 1630. See Whitelocke's "Memorials," p. 30 ; Anderson's "Ladies of the Covenant," p. 1. The courage too of the women of the Covenant must not be forgotten. Truly from Lady Hamilton standing on Leith shore, with her pistol and gold bullets ready to shoot her son if he landed, to Isabel Weir, sitting silent and with covered face beside her husband's corpse — they were high- hearted women those of the covenanting times. — Gilfillan, '^Martyjs, etc.," p. ISl. 606 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Lady Margaret Cunningliam, sister to the Marchioness of Hamilton, married first to Sir James Hamilton of Evan- dale, secondly to Sir James Maxwell of Calderwood. See Wodrow's " Life of Boyd," p. 266. Lady Boyd, daughter of the first Eurl of Haddington. Her son, Lord Boyd, died a Covenanter in 1640. Another son, Earl of Crawford-Lindsay, also embraced the Covenant. See Rutherford's "Letters;" Anderson's "Ladies," p. 13. Lady Jane Campbell, Viscountess of Kenmure, third daughter of the seventh Earl of Argyll. She and her husband attended the ministry of Rutherford, whom they were instrumental in bringing to Anwoth. See Rutherford's " Letters." She took a deep interest in the ejected ministers. Died 1672, Lady jMargaret Douglas, ]Marchioness of Argyll, daughter of the Earl of Morton. She and her husband highly valued the evangelical preachers. Among others who visited Inveraray was David Dickson, who with his wife and children resided two years in the Castle. See dedication to Durham's "Exposition of the Ten Commandments." L^pon the exe- cution of the Marquis, " all did compassionate his religious lady and children." See Rowe's " History," p. 385. Lady Loudon, Margaret Campbell. M'Crie's "Scot. Cli.," p. 183. But Lady Loudon was a Covenanter, and it is probable that in certain quarters this will share the fate of similar instances of female heroism and self-denial at this period, which our High Church historians can only account for on the supposition that these ladies in their zeal for securing to their husbands the crown of martyrdom must have been contemplating the advantages of a second match ! — Jl'Crie, ''Scot. Ch.,'' p. 1S3. Lady Anne, Duchess of Hamilton. Daughter of the first Duke of Hamilton, who entered into the " Engagement." She exerted herself nobly though ineffectually in behalf of Hugh M'Kail and James Mitchell. An interesting account of this lady appears in "Memoirs of Catherine, etc." See "Ladies of the Covenant," p. 178, A staunch Presbyterian and hearty Resolutioner. — Lochhart. Lady Anne Lindsay, Duchess of Rothes. In her case we behold pietv exemplified from generation to generation. See Anderson's " Ladies." Lady Margaret, Countess of Rothes, daughter of the Duchess of Rothes. See Crawford's Peerage, p. -430, Lady Mary Johnston, Countess of Crawford. John AVelsh was her spiritual father. See "Ladies of the Covenant." Lady Caldwell, Barbara Cunningham. Imprisoned with her three daughters in the Tolbooth of Glasgow. Afterwards sent along with her eldest daughter to Blackness. Pp. 583, 587. Lady Colvill, daughter of David Wemyss of Fingask. Imprisoned in Edinburgh Tolbooth. See Anderson's "Ladies." MISCELLANEA. eo\ Helen Johnston, Lady Graden, daughter of Sir Archibald John- ston, Lord Warriston. She visited and read to her brother- in-law, Robert Baillie of Jerviswood, when in prison, and accompanied him to the bar and to the scaflfold. His sister-in-law (a daughter of Johnston of Warri-stou), who had volun- tarily shared his imprisonment, attended his last moments on the scaffold, and with Komau fortitude witnessed the execution of a horrid sentence.— Sir Walter Scott. Lilias Dunbar, Mrs. Campbell. Her Diary appeared in 1832 in The Religious Monitor and Evangelical Repository, Vermont, America, preceded by a sketch of the authoress, written bj her grandson, the Eev. James Calder, Croy. Lady Anne Mackenzie, Countess of Balcarres, afterwards of Argyll. A friend of Baxter. See Epistle Dedicatory to Treatise on the Mischiefs of Self -Ignorance — Baxter's "Works," II., 762. Her daughter Anne became a pervert to Popery through the insinuating persuasions of the Jesuits. This caused her great sorrow. The late Prof. Dr. John Brown, Edinburgh, had in his possession a copy of Baxter's " Life and Times " which belonged to the Countess, and which contained important memoranda. See " Horce Sub.," p. 246, for the same, also for Lord Lindsay's letter to John Brown, M.D,, thereanent, Henrietta Lindsay, Lady Campbell of Auchinbreck, daughter of the Countess of Argyll. Page 476. Grisell Hume, Lady Baillie o£ Jerviswood. See *' ^Memoirs of the Lives and Characters of the Right Hon. George Baillie of Jerviswood and Lady Grisell Baillie," by their daughter Lady Murray of Stanhope. Page 4 OS. The tenderness of filial piety, the ingenuous truthfulness, the fine feeling and agreeable good humour with which they are written, and the variety of interesting traits of Scottish simplicity and homeliness of character which they contain render the narrative extremely engaging.— i?et'../ame.5 .4 ;?fZ^/'S07?. Lady Douglas of Cavers. Sir William Douglas and his Lady opposed the settlement of Thomas Sommerville, intruded upon Cavers by order of the Archbishop of Glasgow, 1675. The parishioners joined in opposing, and the ordination had to take place at the Kirk Style. The women had stones in their laps, and hesitated not to call the Presbytery '• soul- murderers and the devil's servants." Sir W. Douglas was deprived of office for nonconformity, and his lady when a widow was imprisoned for two years and only released on condition that she should leave the country. Lady Scott of Harden was another of the Te\-iotdale sufferers. Lady Catherine Hamilton, Duchess of Atholl. Daughter of Lady Anne, Duchess of Hamilton. The Rev. Mr. Moncrieff of the United Secession Church, Hamilton, wrote " Memoirs of Catherine^ etc." See Anderson's "Ladies," p. 588. 608 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Isabel Hume, wife of Alexander Hume of Hume, executed in 1682. The death of her husband was one of those cruel judicial murders resolved upon to strike terror into men ot position and property. She appealed to Lady Perth in vain for her interposiiion. The Earl of Perth suppressed an important petition in favour of Hume. Wodrow blames the collectors of the " Cloud" for omitting Hume's Last Words. See "History," III., 420. Mrs. John Livingstone, Ancrum. She presented a petition to Parliament in 1674 for liberty to enjoy the preaching of the nonconforming ministers. Many other ladies supported her ; Eow specifies 109. Kirkton says they "filled the whole Parliament Close." Fourteen of them, mostly ministers' widows, presented each councillor with a copy of the petition, while Mrs. Livingstone presented hers to Lord President Pothes. The names of the ladies as given in the act of council were : — Mrs. Elizabeth Rutherford, Margaret John- ston, Lilias Campbell, Lady Mersington (elder), Bethia Murray, Janet Fleming, Catherine Montgomery, Margaret Lundy, Margaret Dury, Isabel Kennedy, Rachel Aird, Sarah Lorimer, Barbara Home, Elizabeth Dalziel, Grissel Durham, Agnes Henderson. They were found "guilty of a tumult- uary convocation, commotion, and uproar within the Parlia- ment Close, and of presenting a most insolent and seditious petition to the Council," and banished from the city of Edinburgh, Leith, and suburbs. Mrs. William Yeitch, wife of the Rev. W. Yeitch, Dumfries. Her Diary, which was never intended to be anything more than a "private memento for her children," has been published in " Memoirs of Yeitch, Hog, etc." Mrs. James Guthrie, widow of the martyr. Mrs. James Durham, daughter of William Muir of Glanderston, and wife of the Rev. James Durham, was in 1679 twice committed to prison for having, in her house religious meetings or conventicles. Mrs. John Carstares, wife of Rev. John Carstares, and mother of Principal Carstares. Mrs. Hugh Binning (Mary Simson, daughter of James Simson a minister in Ireland), connected herself towards the close of her life with the Society people. She corresponded with Renwick and with Sir Robert Hamilton of Preston. See Leishman's " Binning," p. xliii. Mary Haldane, relict of John Guthrie, minister at Tarbolton. She and another minister's widow were sent to prison till " they shall find caution under a thousand merks each to remove from the town of Edinburgh and six miles round it." Wife of Alexander Monciiefi' of Scoonie. Being importuned by MISCELLANEA. 609 Parliament to endeavour to get her husband to recede from some of his principles, she answered that for her part before she should contribute anything that would break his peace with his Master, she would rather choose to receive his head at the Cross. Isabel Alison, Perth, was executed at Edinburgh, Jan. 26, 1681. See her Last Speech and Testimony in " Cloud," p. 117. Marion Harvie, a servant-maid of Borrowstoness, was executed at Edinburgh, Jan. 26, 1681. See " Cloud," p. 131. The Indictment will be found in appendix to " Ladies of the Covenant." No execution of those cruel times seems to have excited a deeper interest and sympathy throughout the country. Lord Fountaiahall, a^ judge of the time, twice notices their end and tries to excuse the sentence. —Prof. John Ker, D.D. There were hanged at Edinburgh two women of ordinary rank, for their uttering treasonable words and other principles and opinions contrary to all our government. They were of Cameron's faction. At the scaffold one of them told so long as she followed and heard the curates she was a swearer, sabbath-breaker, and with much aversion read the Scriptures, but found much joy upon her spirit since she followed the Conventicle preaching. — Lord I'ountainhall , *' Observes." Isabel AYeir. wife of John Brown of Priesthill. John Brown and his wife are made to stand out from the deepest privacy ; they are bathed in the light that never was on sea or shore, and have become characters equally dear to the romantic imagination and to the Christian heart. John Brown's wife was a noble spirit, blythe, leal- hearted. Her smile shone on him like sunshiae on a dun hillside. — GilJiUan. Marofaret M'Lauchlan and Margaret Wilson, drowned iu the waters of the Bladenoch mingled with those of the Solway flood, May 11, 1685. The elder sufiferer was placed near to the advancing flood, ia the hope that her last agonies might terrify the younger into submission. The sight was dreadful. But the courage of the survivor was sustained by an enthusiasm as lofty as any that is recorded in martyrology. — Macaulay. The place where such a sentence could be effected was the water of the Solway, celebrated for its rapid tides. The method of execution according to tradition was the tying to stakes within high-water mark and leaving the victims until the tide rose over them. The old woman was placed so as to suffer before her companion, in order that she, the younger, might be impressed or terrified into compliance, and the pious conversation recorded as passing between them, with the singing of psalms and other rhetorical decorations of siich scenes, seem to have suggested a doubt of the truth of the whole story. The other method, though more revolting, was less cruel. The executioner held the victim's head under the water until life was speedily extinguished. In this instance it would appear that the story about the tide was not without some foundation, and that the execution had been done in the narrow channel of the Bladenoch when the tide was rushing through it, so that the people of the district stood close by on the bank exhorting the poor creatures to accept the oath and live. "The trial was in proper form by commissioners of justiciary with a jury. Those who sat on the commission of justiciary were not properly responsible judges, 2q 610 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. but the bitter enemies of those on whom they professed to administer justice. It included Grierson of Lag, a very Herod, according to the Covenanting tradition?, among the persecutions of the faithful. Another was the sheriff, David Graham, brother of Claverhouse. They were all men prepared to wreak their vengeance on their hated enemies as far as the law would permit them. The affair was thus a memorable example of the pi'evailing spirit of the times. It was not so much that government with its own hand acted executioner as that it let loose the spirit of hatred and tyranny. There is evidence that in this instance the higher authorities saw something dangerously odious in the novelty and peculiarity of the case, and that there was a design to interpose in it ; hence the long con- troversy it bred. There is on record a minute of the Privy Council reprieving the execution, with instruction to interpose with his most sacred Majesty for a royal remission. But it is equally certain that the women were put to death. There seems to have been blundering on the part of the higher authorities, who had too much work of the kind before them to give it all very full and serious attention. The inference is that the ministers of vengeance, having the power to execute the sentence, did execute it. And if in this they might possibly have been liable to question, the Government of the day was not one to press them hard. Hence the end of controversy is to bring us back to Wodrow's conclusion, who says that the recommendation for a remission should have been dealt with as a virtual pardon; so that " the people of Wigtown are deeply guilty and had no powers for what they did." — Dr. Burton. See also pp. 391, 392, 393, 408, 479, 581. The Wigtown Martyrs. The "Wigtown Martyrs " having become a crucial case of late, the prmcipal documentary evidence in support of the case for the martyrs is here briefly summarised. No one can have the wish to propagate a myth instead of truth, yet most people will feel disposed to adopt the language of Dr. James Walker and say : " I would feel the loss of the Wigtown martyrdom to be some- thing like the loss of one of our greatest national memories — like the blotting of Bannockburn from our annals." Instructions by the Privy Council to the Military Commission. 16S4. If any person own the principles [of Renwick's Proclamation] or do not disown them, they must be judged at least by three. But at this time you are not to examine any women but such as have been active in the said courses, in a signal manner, and those are to be drowned. See " Case for the Crown " by Napier, p. 26. List or "Disorderlies" and " Withdrawers from Public Worship." The list given in at Wigtown, October 15, 1684, by Mr. Andrew Symson, curate of Kirkinner, and preserved in the Register House, Edinburgh, contains the name of Margaret Lauchlison, marked "disorderly." The Penninghame list, lately found among Sir Andrew Agnew's papers at Lochnaw, contains, among other withdrawers, the names of Margaret Wilson and Agnes Wilson. See " History Vindicated," p. 27. Informatory Vindication. 1687. In this work of Renwick the persecutors are charged with " drowning women, some of them very young, and some of exceeding old age." MISCELLANEA. 611 Hind Let Loose. 16S9. Neither were -women spared ; but some were hanged, some drowned — tied to stakes within the sea-mark, to be devoured gradually with the growing waves ; and some of them very young, and some of an old age. — Alexander Shields, p. 197. A Shokt Memorial of Sufferings and Grievances. 1690. In this memorial, published by the Societies five years after the event, the laird of Lag and Captain Winram are charged with having "most inhumanly drowned at stakes within sea-mark two women at Wigtown, namely, Margaret Lachlan, upwards of sixty years, and Margaret Wilson, about twenty years. " A Brief and True Account of the SuffefvIngs of the Church of Scotland, occasioned bv the Episcopalians since 1660. London, 1690, But I would have him [the writer of " The Present State and Condition of the Clergy and Church of Scotland" ] to remember that there are Epis- copal inhumanities which we have felt of a far higher nature than those he falsely alleges they suffer, viz., rapine, murder, hanging, drowning, etc. A Second Vindication of the Church of Scotland. By Gilbert Rule. 1691. Some gentlemen (whose names out of respect for them I forbear to mention) took two women — Margaret Lauchland, and Margaret Wilson, the one of 60, the other of 20 years — and caused them to be tyed to a stake within the sea-mark at Wigtown, and left them there till the tyde overflowed them and drowned them. — P. 28. [Three Episcopalian writers replied to Dr. Rule, namely, Calder, Monro, and Sage, but all of them left the above statement uncontradicted]. Toleration's Fence Removed. An answer to "Toleration Defended" (written by George Brown in 1703). Dr. Scott in his "Fasti" ascribes the above reply to Mr. James Ramsay of Kelso. After an account of the penal laws passed in the reigns of Charles II. and James II. against such as attended conventicles the writer proceeds — "It's well enough known that poor Women were Executed in the Grass mercat, sure it was not for rising in arms against the King, others of them were tyed to Stakes within floodmark till the Sea came up and drowned them, and this without any form or process of Law ; how many were by the Souldiers taken up by the way, or while they were about their Employments, examined on this or the other head, and if the common Souldiers were not satisfied with their answers, they shot them dead upon the spot ; how many Worthy Gentlemen were fined even above the value of their fortunes merely because a Presbyterian Minister preached or prayed in their families, yea, though the Gentlemen observed the Law themselves, if their Ladies, though never so privately, went to hear a Presbyterian Minister, their husbands were harassed and broken." A SHORT character OF THE PrESBYTERIAN SpIRIT, IN* SO FAR AS IT CAN be gathered out of their own books, especially out of a Letter fkom a Gentleman to a Member of Parliament con- cerning Toleration, etc. Edin., 1703. A m03t important document in the case, and unknown to Napier. Neither printer's name, nor author's appear on the pamphlet, but it is known to have been printed by Mr. Andrew Symson, and the reputed author was Matthias Symson his son. At the time of the ^Vigtown martyrdom Andrew was "Curate" in Kirkinner (Margaret Lauchlison's 612 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. parish), and had therefore the best means of knowing what befel the women. His son, the author of the "Short Character," must have also known the real facts of the case. This, then, is how he writes in reply to a tract which he is reviewing: — "He says. Others were ti/ed to stakes within the flood-marlc till the sea came up and droioned them, and this without any form or Process of Law. He durst not instance any so treated. I know they generally talk of two women in Galloway — drowned they were indeed, but not tyed to stakes within the Hood-mark till the sea came up, as this malicious vindicator represents, who it seems has had no better informer than the frontispiece of that lying, pestiferous and rebellious Lybel, A Hind let Loose. And what, he adds, without any form or Process of Law ^ is so manifest a Lye, that Hundreds in Gallovjay can testify the contrary. They were Judicially condemned after the usual Solemnities of Procedure. The Judges were several Gentlemen commissioned by Authority, of whom Mr. D. G., Brother to the then L. of Cl., [Mr. David Graham, brother to the then Laird of Claverhouse] was one ; the Chancellour of the Assise (or Foreman of the jury; and Clerk of the Court are yet alive. And though the Records of that Court should be lost, yet the Registers of the Privy Council can clear the matter on this poiut, so that this may for ever stop the lying mouths of such vain bablers, busiebodies, and impudent Calumniators, who say that they were drowned without form or Process' of Law. See " History Vindicated," p. 73. An Examination of Three Prelatical Pamphlets— viz. 1. A Full and Final Answer, etc. 2. Imparity among Pastors in so far as IT Entrencheth upon the Remarks on the Case, etc. 3. Thk Short Character of the Presbyterian Spirit, in a Letter to a Friend. Edinburgh : Printed by George Mosman. 1703. Written by James Ramsay of Kelso, author of "Toleration's Fence Removed." At p. 38 we read : He [Matthias Symson] takes upon him to deny that the poor women spoke of were tied to stakes wdthin floodmark till the sea came up and drowned them ; and yet I have a paper from eye-and-ear witnesses of that abominable fact; yea, and though the soldiers, by vertue of an order from the Council, made some sham triall before they did thus execute these women, it may be well said they died without any due form or Process of Law ; and nothing can be more unaccountable than to grant such a power to soldiers to kill whomsoever they met on the road or found at their work if they would not give them satisfaction in such matters as they were allowed to interrogate them upon ; and not a few were thus summarily executed. [To deny that the women vjere drowned does nor seem to have occurred to anyone till Mark Napier declared it a " myth "—least of all to the son of the Rev. Andrew Symson of Kirkinner, who boldly maintains, however, that the women were not "tyed to stakes within floodmark." The con- troversy, in short, resolves itself into a dispute as to whether the women were tied hard and fast to stakes or otherwise.] MINFTE-BOOK OF KiRK-SeSSION OF WiGTOWN. Under date 8th July, 1704, it represents Bailie M'Keand, elder, '* declaring the grief of his heart that he should have sitten on the sieze of these women who were sentenced to die in this place in 1685." Minutes of Kirk-Session of Kirkinner. 15th April, 1711. — hiter alia, the minister gave in the account of the suflferings of honest, godly people in the late times, as follows :— Margaret Laughlison, of known integrity and piety from her youth, aged about 80, widow, was, in or about the year of God 1685, in her own house, taken off her knees in prayer . . . and being sentenced to be drowned at a MISCELLANEA. 613 stake within the ilooJ-mark ju&t below the town of Wigtown, was accord- ing to the said sentence fixed to the stake till the tide made, and held down within the water by one of the town-officers by his halbert at her throat, till she died. [Margaret Wilson is similarly mentioned in the Penninghame session record, of date 1711, at which time her mother was alive, and her brother an elder in the parish.] Presbyterian Persecution Examined. Edinburgh^ 1707. The author of this, apologising for the "rabbling," addresses the Epis- copal clergy thus : — "Let all the excesses of the multitude, therefore, be buried under the same charity, gentlemen, that covers your former barbarous treatment ; and if they did not pistol in cold blood, if they did not tie the women to the stakes in the sea and let the tide flow over them, etc." The inference is obvious. Popery Reviving. Edinburgh, 1714. This pamphlet throws light on the mode of the execution of the sentence : — Two stups of timber were fastened upon the brink of the water of Bladenoch (to which place the sea Hows always at high water), and the prisoners are brought under the guard of a troop of dragoons. . . , Cords were tyed to the foresaid stups and to their bodies, and they thrown over the brink of the river into the water and drowned. Thus died two innocent women by a public sentence, whose lives no law (even the severest then standing) could have reached without a manifest stretch. The truth of this fact, with many other aggravating circumstances than what I have condescended on, can be proved by a hundred living witnesses. Cloud of Witnesses. 1714. The history of the Wigtown execution is fully given in this collection by the Society People. Unfortunately there is a mistake (a misprint) as to the year, 1684 being put for 16S5. Defoe is the first historian after the " Cloud." He speaks of the women as bound to one stake ; see "Memoirs," p, 81. After him comes Wodrow, whose " History," batsed on the authority of the local church courts, was published in 1722. The Case for the Crown. By Mark Kapiek. 1863. See p. 422. Napier's avowed design was to destroy the credibility of Wodrow, thereby casting discredit on the reports of the ministers of the Church. "Poor Wodrow!" exclaims Dr. Tulloch, after gathering together a few of the vulgar epithets hurled at him by Xapier. "One learns to respect him with all his gossip and narrow-mindedness, when we turn to his pages from such delirious abuse as disfigures these ' Memoirs of Dundee.' " Any student anxious to catch a last glimpse of all the ugliest features of Scotch Jacobitism and Episcopacy should nerve himself to read Mr, Mark Napier, although the bluntness of moral discernment, the unconscious brutality of sentiment, and the elaborate friskiness of style, are very trying to one's patience. — Dr. Story's " W. CarstuTe-s," I4G. That modern champion of men and things that have ignominiously passed away wants nearly all the qualities that belong to the great, or even the respectable historian. His bulky biographies of Montrose and Dundee shew the spirit of the partisan throughout, and reproduce the sentiments of an exploded Jacobitism. He has no sympathy with those men and principles that have made his country great. . . . Apologist of, and fit companion for Claverhouse. Lag, and Winram, . . . this Scottish advocatus diaboli. — Brit, and For. Evang. Btv., 1869. Et tu, Brute ! — Cranmer, notwithstanding his great position and his latest moments on the heights of heroism, has never excited half the living 614 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVEXANT, human interest that has been given to Margaret Wilson, drowned at a stake by the advancing tide on the western coast of Scotland ; as to whom Mr. Napier has shown it to be somewhat probable that she was never drowned or otherwise done to death at all. — W. E. Gladstone, ''Contem- porary Review,'' October, 187S. [For a reply to Mr. Gladstone by Professor Witherow, author of "The Apostolic Church," see " Cath. Presby.," 1879.] The Drowned Women of Wigtown. Dumbarton, 1862. A Romance of the Covenant, suggested by Mr. Napier's ' ' Memoirs of Dundee," with a series of documents relating to the occurrence, arranged and connected by Joseph Irving. The writer handles the evidence in a somewhat uncritical manner, regarding the martyrdom as a mystery or enigma not yet altogether solved. The Wigtow^n Martyrs : A Story of the Covknant in 1685. By the Rev, Principal Tulloch. Macmillan, Vol. VII., 145. Mr. Napier has no pretensions to write history, and we did not judge his work by any historical standard, but even a writer whom no one would think of taking as a guide need not repel by the frivolous coarseness of his language. Partisanship as blind as that of Mr. Napier might be relieved by courtesy and good feeling. We regret to say that the biographer rf Dundee has no more perception of these qualities than he has of historical equity and veracity, It is singular how frequently the champions of what is considered the chivalrous and the higher side of our national life indulge iu such graces of language on the old principle, we fancy, of swearing like a gentleman. For a genuine piece of literary rowdyism there is nobody at all to compare to your man of blood and culture, your apologist of heroes like Claverhouse and kcights like Charles II. The aristocracy of the cause must be held to consecrate the brutality of the language, as the polish on the surface of such historical gentlemen is made to excuse their coarseness of heart. — Principal l^ulloch, LL.D. History Vindicated in the Case of the Wigtown Martyrs. By the Rev. Dr. Archibald Stewart, Minister of Glasserton. Second Edition. 1869. Those who undertake to bring scattered and conflicting events within the focus of history are infinitely indebted to the warriors in such controversial conflicts as the late war on " the Wigton Martyrs " has been. It has often been said, how many doubts might be settled if we could get the matter put into the form of a lawsuit with able counsel on both sides ! This is exactly what has been done ; and the public has given its verdict in favour of the author of "History Vindicated." — Dr. Burton. Any such evidence, however, will be merely matter of literary curiosity except in so far as it may clear up the obscurity which still rests on the precise circumstances under w-hich the drowning took place. As to the fact itself, mo hardly think that, after the array of proof which Dr. Stewart has produced from the Records of the local Church Courts, and after the testimony of Mr. Matthias Symson, virtually vouched for by his father, who was the minister of Margaret Lauchlison's parish, and living close to Wigtown at the time of her execution, even Mr. Napier will continue sceptical. Certainly, no other sane man in Scotland can. — Scotsman. History Rescued, in answer to "History Vindicated;" being a Recapitulation of "The Case for the Crown," and the Reviewer's Review, in re the Wigtown Martyrs. By Maek Napier. Two hundred and seventy additional pages, revealing no new discovery save a remarkable instance of that well known frailty of heroic natures, MISCELLANEA. 615 which deprives them of the capacity of knowing when they are beaten. The structure ©f the work affords vestiges of a design of a truly vast and earnest character — an exhaustive examination of the literature of the day for the purpose of founding on the negative testimony of all parts of it where the Wigtown affair might have been referred to, but is not. A faith in this kind of evidence rests on an amiable peculiarity in the author, which he will be unable to communicate to the less susceptible. It magnifies the horror of the act, as one that must have resounded trumpet-tougued all over the world. — Burton, VII., ooU. A Labge Description of Galloway. By Andrew Sym.-son, Minister of Kirkinner, 1684. With an Appendix containing Oeiginal Papers from the Sibbald and Macfarlane MSS. Edin., 1823. Andrew Symson became a printer in Edinburgh, where he was employed by his Non-juring friends, the Jacobite literati. See also "Wigtown and Whithorn, Historical and Descriptive Sketches and Stories," by Gordon Fraser; " Margaret Wilson" in Dr. Beith's " Reformers and Martyrs;" and " The Martyrs by the Sea," by Rev. A. A. Bonar, D.D. The story is so glaringly cruel that some years ago an attempt was made to show that it is not true. But there is not a particle of evidence against it in any of its details. There is no fact in the history of our country better proved, and more certain than the drowning of these two faithful women. — Dr. A. A. Bonar. Among the persons who, during that troubled period were apprehended on the simple charge of preferring the forms of Presbyterian worship to those of Episcopacy were two females, one just reached womanhood, and the other in life's decline. May the mantle of these sufferers in its amplest folds fall on their descendants ; and should we at any time, in scenes of turmoil wdiich may even now be brooding over our native land, be called to suffer from the pride and injustice of others, may we do it in the spirit which the gospel dictates ! It is no strange thing for men to imagine that they honour Christ by trampling on their brethren. — Rev. R. Brodie, Glas'jov. Margaret Wilson's Tombstone in Churchyard of Wigtown. The following is the testimony upon the stone, a beautiful facsimile of which forms the frontispiece to "History Vindicated ":— Here lyes Margrat Willson, doughter to Gilbert Willson in Glenvernoch, who was drowned anno 1685, aged IS. Let earth and stone still witnes beare — There lyes a virgine martyre here, — Murther'd for owning Christ supreme Head of His Church, and no more crime. But not abjuring Presbytery, And her not owning Prelacy ; They her condemn'd by unjust law, Of heaven or hell they stood no aw. Within the sea, ty'd to a stake She suffered for Christ Jesus sake. The actors of this cruel crime Was Lagg, Strachan, Winram, and Grahame ; Neither young yeares nor yet old age Could stop the fury of there rage. The inscription on Margaret Lauchlison's tombstone is not, as in the case of Margaret Wilson, given in the "Cloud." On that account it does not come within the range of the controversy, save in the reference con- tained in the two last lines of the above epitaph. 616 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Who would be Martyrs now-a-days? — It is not only pos- sible to some, but open and offered to all, to become so conscious of God's sustaining grace, in duty and in trial, to be so joined in fellowship to an unseen but real presence, that we shall feel we have a life formed in us which can never die. There is a spring of immortality not only swelling out from the throne of God, but ready to rise up in every heart that will admit Him who is the true God and eternal life. It is this faith entering into the soul as a vital principle which formed those ancient martyrs who counted it all joy to face suffering and shame and to meet death, when the God of truth summoned them. They are sleeping, wide apart, in the catacombs of Rome and the Greyfriars of Edinburgh ; and it was no vague guess, no nebulous haze of sentiment that made them fill those graves ; but because Christ's own life in them had made them partakers of the world to come. It has been asked by some who hang garlands on their sepulchres, "Who would be martyrs now-a-days ?" and they add " that the bitterness of the question lies in its truth." Those who make such a state- ment might surely ask themselves whether the principles held by them can possibly be the same on which these heroic souls of old lived and died ; and they might further ask themselves whether the principles can be true which are confessedly unable to nerve men against the last extremity of duty and of trial. I thank God, and I am sure many can thank Him with me, that we have known men who would have been martyrs, and that we know them yet — men who have proved their allegiance to truth so fearlessly against reproach and loss, who have faced the " arrowy sleet and hail " of the bitterest calamities so calmly and nobly, day by day, as to make us feel with the surest conviction that they could have walked to the scaffold or the stake. This is not a thing to promise for ourselves, but no man shall stop me of this boasting on behalf of men and women I have known. We may not be able on our part to realize God's grace as so powerful in us that we could meet, here and now, the martyr's death. But one thing we can seek to do; we can let Christ's life rise in us as a life of humble obedience to the will of God. We can say in the sorest trial, " I would not have it otherwise when it is He who puts the cup into my hand. I would not choose to live if He has seen the time fit for me to die." And then when the crisis comes we shall be ready for it. The martyr's spirit descends on him when the fire is kindled, and the Christian's willingness to depart comes when his Master calls. There is the same grace for both, and the same triumph. — Prof. John Ker, D.D., '' Uxj^osKor,'' 1885. MISCELLANEA . 617 III. THE TOMBSTONES AND MONCJMENTS OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANTERS. The best guide here is *'The Martyr Graves of Scotland," by the Rev. J. H. Thomson, p. 460. Another work, and handier, being in one volume, enumerates 76 places and supplies the records. It is entitled "Inscriptions on the Tombstones and Monuments erected in memory of the Covenanters." The author was Mr. James Gibson, latterly of Liverpool ; he died in 1886. See also '* Scottish Tombstones," by Dr. C. Rogers; an Old Mortality tour, by W. S., in Brit, and For. Evanun linen, six feet by five and a half. It has painted upon it an open Bible, and the Scottish Crown and Tiiistle. The inscription is " Phinigk for God . . . Country and Covenanted Work of Reformation." It waved at Kilsyth, Bothwell, and Drumclos:. Illustrations of the relics will be found in Carslaw's " Scots Worthies." See also Thomson's *' Martyr Graves,"!, 151. Silver Coins. — About forty in number. They belonged to James Howie, who was compelled to hide them in the earth, in the days of the persecution. The spot was given up for lost, but sixty years ago it was come upon accidentally. Library. — John Howie had amassed a large collection of books. About 300 still remain. The most valuable part of the library is the collection of pamphlets, some of them exceedingly rare. On a copy of Edward Irving's " Oracles of God," there is inscribed: — To my cousins, the Howies of Loch Goyne, the representatives of a family which has done much, and suflfered much for the testi- mony of Christ. — Edward Irving. IIanuscripts. — Three volumes survive the ravages of time, the borrowing of friends, and the pilfering of too enthusiastic admirers. They contain n®tes of Sermons, etc. Visitors' Record. — "Presented, August 5, 1869, by a party of friends in remembrance of their visit to Mr. John Howie, grand- son of the author of the 'Scots Worthies,' and the 31st lineal descendant, — originally exiles from the Waldensian valleys on account of persecution, and occupants of Lochgoin since 1178." The first names recorded are these : — Rev. William Carswell, Eaglesham ; Rev. John M'Dermid, Glasgow ; Rev. John H Thomson, Eaglesham ; Rev. Arch. Craig, Dalton ; Rev. Alex. Andrew, Busby. JAMES GUTHRIE EELICS. The Smith Institute, Stirling, contains, among other local curiosities, the following memorials of the Rev. James Guthrie, who suffered martyrdom in 1661 : — Portrait of James Guthrie in oil. Study Chair. Part of Book-Case or Library. CARSTARES' RELICS. EiXG presented by the Marquis of Argyll to the Rev. John Carstares who ministered to him in prison in 1661. 640 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Thumbkins with which Carstares was tortured, presented to him by the King. They are in possession of Alexander Graham Dunlop, Esq. of Uairbraid. Page 632. Ring enclosing some of King William's hair, presented to William Carstares. See Dr. Story's " Life of Carstares." BIBLES. Pedens Bible. — This valuable relic of Peden passed lately into the hands of Mr. James Mudie, Broughty-Ferry. It is a copy of Beza's version published in London, 1599, and profusely embellished with woodcuts. On the inside of the front board there is this inscriptioc : — "Alexander Pedine my own hand, aet. 23 years, 1649." There are many family notices, among others this record of a brother : — " Mongo Pethein was born the 23 of Februar 1693, died in the Lord the fift Apryll 1709, and did hope unto salvation." The weather-stained appearance of the well-thumbed volume would seem to indicate that it was present at many a conventicle on the hillsiues and moors of Scotland. Page 287. Cargill^s Bible. — In the village of Strathmiglo in Fife, in the possession of one who is lineally descended from a sister of Donald Cargill, is the Bible which he carried with him to the scaffold in 1681. It is a very beautiful Cambridge edition, printed in 1657, with red marginal lines, ornamentally bound, and strengthened with silver clasps, which the respect of its subse- quent owners has added. This venerable volume shows on some of its pages the weather marks which it received, when on the lonely hill-side or on the naked moor Cargill held it in his hand, and under the passing storm proclaimed to those who received no mercy from man the sovereign and abundant mercy of God. — Rev. J. W. Taylor, D.D. The Gladstanes' Bible. — The following is the record upon the title page of the Family Bible in possession of the Gladstanes of Whitlaw : — Upon the 14th day of May, 1645, my father Francis Gladstanes, 29 years of age, and ane lieutenant was with his brother Captain James Gladstanes, and other nine sisters' sons of Sir William Douglas of Cavers, sheriff of Teviotdale, killed at the battle of Auldearn fought against Montrose. Alexander AVCubbin's Bible. — A small folio, printed by Andro Hart, Edinburgh, and to be " solde at his buith on the north side of the gate, a little beneath the Crosse. Anno Dom., 1610." Preserved by the station-master at Elvanfoot, a descendant of the martjr. See also pp. 638, 644. MISCELLANEA. 641 BANNERS, SWORDS, ETC. One of the verses in the ballad of Bothwell Bridge speaks of the " flag o*^ red a' set about wi' bonnie blue," in illustration of which Sir W. Scott has the following interesting note : — Blue was the favourite colour of the Covenanters ; hence the vulgar jjhrase of a true blue whig. Spalding informs us that when the first army of Covenanters entered Aberdeen " few or none wanted a blue ribband." The Lord Gordon, and some others of the marquis's family had a ribband when they were dwelling in the town, of a red fresh colour, which they wore in their hats, and called it the Boyal rilharul, as a sign of their love and loyalty to the King. In despite and derision thereof, this blue ribband was worn and called the Covenanter's ribband by the haill soldiers of the army who would not hear of the royal ribband. The Blvidy Banner of Drumclog and Bothwell Brig. — This Banner is in possession of the family of Raeburn at Dimbar. It is thus described by the late J. Drummond, Esq., in "Trans. Soc. Antiq.," Vol. III. :— It is of blue silk, here and there a little faded; but having been treasured as a valuable heirloom is in very fair preservation, and is inscribed in Hebrew characters (gilded) " Jehovah-Nissi," the Lord is my banner. For some cause or other the cloth has given way where many of these letters are painted, and what remains is so tender that it will scarcely bear touching. The next line is painted in white, "For Christ and His Truths," and then came the words from which it has received the name Bluidy Banner — " 'No quarters for ye active enimies of ye Covenant." These seem to have been first painted in a light colour, and afterwards repainted in a dull, faded-looking red, in fact quite a bloody colour. It is four feet five and a half inches by three feet five and a half inches. Jt belonged originally to Henry Hall of Haughhead, one of the leaders at Drumclog and Bothwell. Hall's son, while on his deathbed, gave it to a zealous covenanting friend named Coch- rane, who settled at Coldstream, and who in turn bequeathed the banner to his daughter Mary, who married Mr. Raeburn. Along with the banner there was a chest of arms which had been used in covenanting times, and two swords are also preserved. Mr. Drummond holds that the inscription on the banner justifies the fiction of Creichton respecting the gallows at Bothwell. But see on this Thomson's "Martyr Graves," I., 299. Bothwell Bridge Banner in Chicago. — When Dr. Andrew Bonar of Glasgow was in America two years ago, an old Cove- nanter banner came to light, under circumstances thus narrated : While Dr. Bonar was in this city [Chicago] he was much delighted to find here a time-worn banner of the Scottish Covenanters, more than two hundred years old. He had some time ago clij)ped from a newspaper a brief notice to the effect that such a relic of the olden time was in this city, and he determined that when he 642 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. came he would search it out. He mentioned the circumstance to Jas. B. Waller, Esq., at whose residence in Lake View he was entertained as a guest while here. Mr. Waller took the matter in hand, and found the banner in possession of the family of the late Judge Manierre, and they kindly permitted him to take it out to his residence for Dr. Bonar's inspection. In the presence of a large company of Christian friends, who had assembled at an evening meeting at his house, Mr. Waller, at Dr. Bonar's request, exhibited it to the company and recited its history. It had been borne in the famous battle of Both well Bridge in 1679, by the followers of Reid, Laird of Kilbride, whose title is on the banner, and from whom, through the Plamiltons, the Manierre family are descended. It is about six feet by three and a half, originally of pale yellow silk, now much faded. It bears across the centre, in large letters, perfectly distinct still, the inscription — " Kilbride for God, the King, and the Covenant," and under this the picture of a large open Bible with a reference to a text in the prophet Jeremiah — xxxi. 3L This battle- worn flag had been in possession of the lairds for many generations in Scotland, and was at last brought to this country by one of them [Mr. William Reid, Glasgow] in 1840. Once since then it was loaned and carried to Rockford, 111., for some public celebration, and being exposed to the wind in a procession was somewhat tattered. It passed safely through the great Chicago fire of 1871, being in one of the only two trunks that were saved when the Manierre mansion was burned. It certainly is a relic of the past, fraught with many historic memories, and is not a little damaged from having travelled so far from home and encountered so many perils. — Sunday at Home, 188 Jf. Banner of the Covenant. — Kept by Mr. Hugh M'Geachan, Cumnock. See a song on this ancient relic by Rev. James Murray in " Songs of the Covenant Times," p. 187. Old and tattered as thou art, Little heeded, little known, Thou didst play a valiaut part In the struL'gle long bygone ; And our boasted liberty Partly purchased was by thee, Shotts' Banner. — I learnt that a standard borne by the Cove- nanters at Both well Bridge was still to be seen at the farm of Westercroft. Being desirous to see this interesting relic I set off one fine morning in the hope of obtaining a glimpse of the time- honoured banner. The standard, when produced, proved to be an old piece of white linen covered with stains as dark as those of Rizzio's blood exhibited in Holyrood, the surface of which displayed unmistakable bullet-holes, and bearing the following inscription in large red letters : — " For the parish of Shotts. For MISCELLANEA. 643 Reformation in Church and State according to the Word of God and our Covenants." In regard to this standard, the owner observed that it was nothing to look at, being made of such humble materials, but that the silk ones borne by the wealthy farmers and lairds were splendid indeed. For instance, there was Mr. G., of Green Hill; the standard he had was of the finest yellow silk, with the motto, "Christ's Crown and Covenant," engraved in letters of gold. " And who, pray, bore this standard now in your possession at Bothwell Bridge ? " " A young man of the name of Talfourd, who lived up at the Muirhead. My mother was one of that family, and they had many a thing that belonged to the Covenanters— amongst other articles, the musical instru- ments thev made use of when going to battle. My mother kept them till they fell to pieces with age."— iS'. E. Guthrie, " Tales.' [Either this or another Shotts Banner is affirmed elsewhere to be the property of Mr. Orr, farmer. Loan, by West Craigs. It is somewhat similar to the flag at Lochgoin, but browner in appear- ance, not having been washed. Tradition says it was at Bothwell Bridge. It belonged to a family named Thomson before it passed into the hands of the present owner. It is 5 feet 6 inches in length by 4 feet 6 inches.] The Thistle Banner.— The "Thristles (Thistle) Banner" is now the property of Mr. Brown, Royal British Hotel, Dundee. As its title implies, it was a national standard, and was borne by the Covenanters when \vith a gallant army they marched into England, August 28, 1640, and took possession of Newcastle. It is beautifully wrought upon silk, and bears date 1640.^ Some lines in uncouth metre are inscribed upon it, expressing the feelings dominant in those times : — Since Christ's become our King, Syon's trueth our foundation, Worldlings did ever cross our peace and reformation. Envy the infernal chief uncessantly torments Eve's true promised seed by restles instruments. Let Christians not grow fifeared of Satan's roaring story, For this our wrestling day will bravely end in glory. Even this our tempral yoke, it shall yield and bring home A crown of righteousness to those that overcome. Stewart of Garscube^s Flag.—W. R. Johnston, Esq., R.S.A., has in his possession a flag said to have been carried by Stewart of Garscube at the battle of Worcester, and afterwards used at the battle of Bothwell Bridge. It is in good condition, and although now faded to a weak green and dull orange colour seems originally to have been pink and blue. Captain Nisbet of II ardh ill's Flag. — The gallant captain commanded the Loudon troops at Bothwell, and carried his flag safe out of the ill-fated engagement. It is preserved at Darvel. 644 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. MoNELAND Banner. — Borne at Both well Bridge by John Main, standard-bearer to the Monkland Company. The flag is in the possession of a descendant and namesake in Airdrie. Though tattered, it still bears in letters of gold the testimony of " East Monkland for Church and State, according to the Word of God and the Covenant." It contains the rejDresentation of a Bible, the crown, and thistle, with the motto, Nemo me impune lacessit. Beneath is a hand grasping a drawn dagger. Drumclog Banner. — An old banner, said to have been used at Drumclog, is in the possession of Col. Hamilton Campbell of !N etherplace. It is very much worn, and the inscription almost illegible. It was lent and exhibited on September 19, 1885, on the occasion of the unveiling of a memorial to the Mauchline martyrs. Another Drumclog flag is in the possession of Mr. M. Brownlie, Strathaven. The Avondale Banner. — This bears the inscription, "At Drumclog, Avondale, 1st June, 1679, in the cause of civil and religious liberty." It is in possession of the Benefit Society, Hamilton, having been presented by the Drumclog lairds. — " I have seen one of the ancient banners of the Covenanters ; it was divided into four compartments, inscribed with the words, Christ — Covenant — King — Kingdom." Similar standards are mentioned in Spalding's curious and minute narrative, Volume II,, 182, 24:5.— Sir W. Scott, Note to Battle of Bothwell Bridge. Bible and Sword of "the very worthy pillar of the Church," William Gordon of Earlstoun, killed by a company of English dragoons in 1679, have been preserved. They are in possession of the Gordons of Greenlaw. John Brown of Friesthill's Sword. — In possession of Mr. J. B. Dalzell, Portland Park. It was last exhibited, with other covenanting relics, at a bazaar held in Hamilton in 1886, in behalf of a pre-Disruption church at Chapelton. Mr. Dalzell's collection also includes the sword which belonged to James Wilson, Strathaven. Captain PATOh^s Sword. — A small blade is to be seen at Lochgoin, but the real formidable Aveapon of Captain Paton is said to be an Andrea Ferara, forty inches long, in possession of Thomas Rowatt, Esq., of Bonnanhill, Strathaven, a descendant of Paton. George Woodburn's Sword. — It is 40J inches long, and has stamped upon it the name " Andrea Ferara." Preserved by his representatives at the Mains, by Newmilns. See Thomson's "Martyr Graves," I., 194. MISCELLANEA. 645 BixdAN Oliver's Sword. — I heard from a remarkable man residing at Inclibonny, one of the most extraordinary persons I ever knew. He is a connection of Ringan Oliver, or more l^roperly Oliphant, a certain bold yeoman — the strongest man in our country — who fought as a Covenanter at the battle of Bothwell Bridge. James Veitch possesses the sword his ancestor carried and used on that occasion, a very fine weapon, — Sir W. Scott. [Dr. Veitch of St. Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, was a son.] Two SivoRDS, two bayonets, one gun, and a drum taken at the Battle of Drumclog by Whyte of Neuk, are in possession of Captain Napier of Lethem, Strathaven. Chimney-Crook. — On the occasion of Bonshaw's raid, a trooper, T. M'Lelland, quietly stole into the house of John Richards, and gave friendly intimation of the approach of the enemy. Drawing his sabre he made with it as his "witness" three nicks upon the chimney-crook. The identical crook is kept by a descendant as a memorial of the escape of John Richards. See " Bonshaw's Raid " in Murray's " Songs of the Covenant Times." " You're welcome, Tom M'Lelland, Though it gives us much surprise, You've ta'en to such a calling. And come in such like guise. You're welcome to our dwelling, Though we little thought to see One of the Kirk's oppressors — A deadly foe, in thee ! " "I came not for thy thanks," he said, " Nor yet to break thy bread ; But to ward a great disaster From off thy snowy head. Go, speed thee to thy hiding ; Let fire nor light appear ; For Bonshaw and his troopers An hour hence will be here." He drew his heavy sabre. He whirled it round his head. And thrice upon the chimney-crook A deep-cut notch he made. " Be these hard knocks my witness. When I am dead and gone. That I have warned thy house," he said, " And danger great foreshown." 27.B. — The foregoing list is not exhaustive. Indeed the entire district around Hamilton, and Strathaven is full of Covenanting relics. 646 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. Cameronian Colours. — The Last Colours carried by the Cameronian Regiment were presented by the officers to the Lord Provost, Magistrates, and Town Council of Glasgow, and by them deposited in the Cathedral, July 9, 1885. Two banners are preserved. The following scenes of engagement are indicated : — Blenheim, Oudenarde, Egypt, Corunna, Abyssinia, Ramillies, Malplaquet, China. The 26th, or Cameronian Regiment, raised on Douglas Muir, 1689, became the 1st battalion the Cameronians Scottish Rifles 1881. The Folio Manuscript. — This belongs to Stirling's Public Library, Glasgow, and contains : — Imprimis — A Collection of Petitions, Remonstrances, Narrations, Speeches, and other papers published in the beginning of our troubles in 1636, out of which may be gathered a perfect history thereof. Item — The Sessions, Actings and Canons of the 2 Generall Assemblies holden at Glasgow and Edinburgh in 1638, and 1639. The Power of Association as a means of Grace. — The sight of a tree, or a rock, or a river's bend, the lighting upon an old letter, or book, may at once awaken the liveliest recollections, and stir up the heart to its profoundest depths. What is it that makes home a sacred place 1 Is it not this strange power of association 1 Then, too, what is it that lends a halo of undying interest to the spot where some heroic deed has been done, — that makes it capable of raising in us emotions which we feel nowhere else ? Is it not this fact, that moral feelings and actions have a strange power to fasten themselves to the scenes in which they were called forth ? We value a flower, however lowly, plucked from storied ground, incomparably more than one found in a common situation, however distinguished for beauty or fragrance, A blade of grass from the grave of Bunyan ; a wall-flower from the ruined shrines of lona; or a sprig of that southernwood which reminded the British soldiers in the Crimea of home by its familiar perfume, crushed out under the horses' hoofs in the battle charge — these things, mere trifles in themselves, speak to the dullest soul in language that cannot be mistaken. Every one can understand the feelings that overpowered Dr. Carey when he observed a daisy springing up in his garden at Serampore, having been conveyed to India in earth with other seeds ; or the emotion that thrilled all hearts in an Australian town, when it was announced that a primrose from England had just arrived by ship in full bloom in a flower-pot. And is it not this charm of association — more powerful than any other, idealising and beautifying the humblest object — which endears to the pilgrim the hallowed land where all the nations of the earth come to wor- ship, over whose blessed acres walked the feet of our Redeemer 1 — Rev. Hugh Macmillan, LL.D. MISCELLANEA. 647 Y. THE COVENANT IN ART. We naturally take on the look of one whom we look at admiringly, " We shall be like Him," said the beloved disciple, "because we shall see Him as He is," as if that great sight alone were sufficient to produce a certain divine transfiguration. And something like this is the effect of whatever helps to keep before us the excellence of them that are gone. The man whose memory is filled with reminiscences of those who have fought the good fight and conquered is one who will hear a voice inaudible to the giddy multitude, and discover a beckoning arm which none but himself may perceive. It cannot but be for his benefit to retain some impressions of the departed ; but that can only be efiected on the conditions of wax and seal ; there must, in the first place, be a certain receptivity or impressibleness ; and, in the second place, a certain consistency. But even when the impression is made, and made on a mind that retains it, the same thing is apt to occur which employed the chisel of Old Mortality. The cares of life obscure the inscription and gradually fill up the lettering. The mental surface has also its disfiguring lichens, and some efi"ort is neeessary to preserve the characters clear. No reader of Sir Walter Scott can have forgotten his picture of the old man whose hammer's clink broke the silence of the Pentlands and disturbed the plover and the blackcock, regularly as the moss began once more to obliterate the epitaph on the martyr's grave, which intimated, in rude language, who had fallen and for Whom. The living tablet of the heart, however deeply impressed at first, requires a similar renewal ; and those material remembrances which we construct do, for the afi'ectionate legend there, that which the old itinerant with his white pony did for the moorland resting-places of those who perished for Christ and His Covenant. — A. C. Beza's Effigies or Knox. Carlyle strongly condemns both the portrait and memoir of "Joannes Onoxus," given in the "Icones" by Beza. He refuses to accept it as a faithful likeness of the reformer who "kindled all Scotland within few years, almost within few months, into perhaps the noblest flame of sacred human zeal and brave determination to believe only what it found completely believable, and to defy the whole world, and the devil at its back, in unsubduable defence of the same. . . . No feature of a Scottish man traceable there, nor indeed, you would say, of any man at all ; an entirely insipid, expressionless individuality, more like the wooden figure-head of a ship than of a living and working man ; highly unacceptable to every physiognomic reader and knower of Johannes Cnoxus Giffordiensis Scotus." The Torphichen Portrait. In possession of Lord Torphichen, Supposed to have been painted a century after Knox's death. It is a reproduction of Beza's. A copy was prefixed to M'Crie's " Life of Knox " in 1811. When M'Crie the younger, however, published a new edition of his father's works he set aside the above portrait as harsh, and substituted a fac-simile of the engraving from Verheiden's " Pra-stantium aliquot Theologorura, etc., Elfigies," published at the Hague in 1602. Knox Preaching before Queen Mary. By Sir David Wilkie, R.A. One of the most impossible pictures ever painted by a man of indubitable genius, including therein piety, enthusiasm, and veracity. The portrait is 64:8 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. in fact, nothing other than an improved reproduction of the old Beza figure-head. — T. Carlyle. Knox Dispensing the Sacrament. By Sir David Wilkie, R.A. An exquisite design, left unfinished l)y the great artist. The likeness of Knox in this picture was not that in *' Knox Preaching," but a copy of that of Verheiden. See " Lays," by Dodds, pp. 249, 263. Of this picture [Distraining for Rent] it is not easy to speak. It is, to our liking, Wilkie's most perfect picture. His "Blind Mans BufF," his "•Penny \Vedding," his "Village Politicians," and many others have more humour, — his "John Knox Preaching" more energy, — his "John Knox at the Sacrament " more of heaven and victorious faith ; but there is more of iiuman nature, more of the human heart, in this than in any of the others. — John Brown, LL.D., " Horce Subsecivce.^' The Somerville Portrait of Knox. The original is in possession of the Hon. Mrs. Ralph Smyth of Gaybrook, Mullingar, Ireland. It was first engraved by Charles Knight in 1846. According to Carlyle the internal evidence in favour of this portrait is complete. Portrait in Glasgow University. According to tradition "original," but considered to be of doubtful derivation from Beza's effigies. The Holyrood House "original " is of the same character, and the Hamilton Palace "original" represents "not the prophet of the Reformation, but to all appearance the professional Merry Andrew of the family." John Knox at Holyrood. By W. P. Frith. In John Knox's House, Canongate. By E. M. Paterson. Interior of John Knox's House. By Marion Ancrum. Knox in St. Giles. By T. Knott, Edinburgh. The Battle of Drumclog. By Sir George Harvey, P.R.S.A. Sir George began his series of Covenanting subjects in 1830. His "Quitting the Manse'' is described in the "Autobiography of Thomas Guthrie, D.D., II., 85 ; and a photograi^h from " Sabbath in the Glen " (the original painting executed for the late Earl of Dalhousie), will be found in the same work at p. 353. The artist died in 1876. The Covenanters' Communion. By Sir George Harvey, P.B.S.A. To the fidelity of the general outline of the piece designated " The Covenanters' Communion " no exception can be taken. It cannot be disputed, that they assembled on the mountain heath, and under the canopy of heaven. It cannot be disputed that persons of both sexes and of all ages were there — that the babe in arms was there — that the silver locks of those who were bendins to the grave were seen there — and that martial accoutrements were in strano'e combination with the vohime that contains the MISCELLANEA. 649 charter of our heavenly hopes. It has beeu thought, however, that the impression given to the figures in this motley group was too calm and staid for the civcumstances in which they were placed. The objection proceeds from forgetfulness of the character of senuine relifjion. Even under these circumstances it is calm and staid. It is the soul rising in devout admiration and fixed on God, — the mind is possessed of but one idea — the pervad- ing presence of Him who rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm; and who, on the clouds which sometimes encircle His chosen people, has impressed the rainbow of His promise and the sign of His benignity. The representation which the artist has given of the faithful of former days is not more consistent with theological accuracy than with historic truth. — Bev. IL Brodie, Glasgow. Mrs. W. and I went to the studio of Harvey the Scottish artist. I saw there his Covenanters celebrating the Lord's Supper, a picture which I could not look at critically on account of the tears which kept blinding my eyes. It represents a bleak hollow of a mountain side, where a few trembling old men and women, a few young girls and children, with one or two young men are grouped together in that moment of hushed prayerful repose which precedes the breaking of the sacramental bread. There is something touching always about that worn, weary look of rest and comfort with which a sick child lies down on a mother's bosom, and like this is the expression with which these hunted fugitives nestle theraselves beneath the shadow of their Redeemer ; mothers who had seen their sons "tortured, not accepting deliverance," — wives who had seen the blood of their husbands poured out on their doorstone, — children with no father but God, — and bereaved old men from whom every child had been rent — all gathering for comfort round the cross of a suffering Lord . . . Another most touching picture of Harvey's commemorates a later scene of Scottish dev^otion and martyr endurance scarcely below that of the days of the Covenant. It is called " Leaving the Manse." Mr. Harvey kindly gave me the engraving of his Covenanters' Sacrament, which I shall keep as a memento of him and of Scotland. His style of painting is forcible and individual. He showed us the studies that he has taken with his palette and brushes out on the mountains and moors of Scotland, painting rnoss, and stone, and brook, just as it is. This is the way to be a national painter. — Mrs. H. B. Stowe^ ^^ Sunny Memories.'' Hackston Abandoning the Pass at BoTH^VELL Bridge. An old painting of which there are but two copies extant, one in the collection of the Duke of Hamilton, the other at Dalkeith House. " The whole appearance of the ground," writes Sir W. Scott. " even including a few old houses is the same which the scene now presents. The removal of the porch or gateway upon the bridge is the only ])erceptible difference." The Last Sleep of Argyll. By Ward, who also painted " The Last Scene in the Life of Montrose." Nothing in his life became Montrose so much as his manner of leavincj it. " He died," it has been said, " like a 650 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. gentleman." Frescoes of Ward's two paintings were commissioned from the artist for the House of Lords. So effectually had religious faith and hope, co- operating with natural courage and equanimity, composed his spirits, that on the very day on which he was to die, he dined with appetite, conversed with gaiety at table, and after his last meal lay down, as he was wont, to take a short slumber, in order that his body and mind might be in full vigour when he should mount the scaffold. At this time one of the Lords of the Council, who had probably been bred a Presbyterian and had been seduced by interest to join in oppressing the Church of which he had once been a member, came to the Castle with a message from his brethren, and demanded admittance to the Earl. It was answered that the Earl was asleep. The Privy Councillor thought that this was a subterfuge, and insisted on entering. The door of the cell was softly opened, and there lay Argyll on the bed, sleeping in his irons the placid sleep of infancy. The conscience of the renegade smote him. He turned away sick at heart, ran out of the Castle, and took refuge in the dwelling of a lady of his family who lived hard by. There he gave himself up to an agony of remorse and shame. . . . "I have been in Argyll's prison. I have seen him within an hour of eternity, sleeping as sweetly as ever man did." — Lord Macaulay. Old Mortality. By James Drummond, R.S.A. The smooth finished style in which John Faed has been accus- tomed to work is well illustrated in " Old Mortality," where the eccentric worthy in question is seen at his pious task of restoring a Covenanter's gravestone. The quaint figure being turned with his back to us, the artist has saved himself the painting of the face ; but he has certainly spared no pains in the elaboration of the straggling white hair and old grey coat, of the gravestone and other details ; while in the treatment of the lonely moorland, he has secured a pensive evening eff'ect in good keeping with the spirit of the subject. — A. C. The Cove.vanters in Greyfriars Churchyard. By James Drummond, R.S.A. Other historical pictures by Drummond are : — " John Knox bringing home his second wife," " The Porteons Mob," " Montrose on his way to Execution," " Peace," and ** War." The last two were acquired by the late Prince Consort. A Conventicle Preacher Arrested and brought before a Justice Court. By R. Herdman, R.S.A. This celebrated picture attracted the particular attention of Her Majesty Queen Victoria on the occasion of her visit to the Edinburgh Exhibition in 1886, The noble picture in which a venerable preacher, his dishevelled grey hair and weather-stained coat bearing witness to the hardships he has undergone, stands up resolute and defiant in front of the Justice, before whom he has been haled by CJaverhouse's troopers. A rich liquid colour and masterly manipulation lend additional charms to its skilfully sustained dramatic interest. — A. C. miscellanea. 651 The Signing of the National Covenant in Greyfriars' Churchyard, Edinburgh in 1638 — Alexander Chisholm. The Covenanters' Preaching. By Robert Thorburn, A.R.A. The artist died at Timbridge Wells, 1885. This is one of the largest of his high-class paintings. It was exhibited in the Royal Academy, London. The preacher and the audience are life-size, and admirably rendered, alike as to grouping, effect, costume, and expression of countenance. Murder of John Brown of Priesthill. By Duncan. Portrait of Sir Alexander Leslie. In Melville House there hang two paintings of much interest to the Protestant and Presbyterian. One is a full length portrait of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, which was given to Leslie as a testimony of regard. The other is the portrait of Sir Alexander himself. In the portrait the crookedness of his figure is hid by a loose black robe. Sir Alexander was created Earl in 1641, for his important services to his country. In addition to History, Poetry, and Painting, the Covenant may be traced by those who have a mind in the fine arts hkewise of Music and Sculpture. A Covenanter's View of Art. — The truth is, Art, unless quickened from above and from within, has in it nothing beyond itself, which is visible beauty — the ministration to the lust, the desire of the eye. But apart from direct spiritual worship, and self-dedication to the Supreme, I do not know any form of ideal thought and feeling which may be made more truly to subserve, not only magnanimity, but the purest devotion and godly fear ; by fear, meaning that mixture of love and awe, which is specific of the realization of our relation to God, I am not so silly as to seek painters to paint religious pictures in the usual sense : for the most part, I know nothing so profoundly profane and godless as our sacred pic- tures; and I can't say I like our religious beliefs to be symbolized, even as Mr. Hunt has so grandly done in his picture of the Light of the World. But if a painter is himself religious ; if he feels God in what he is looking at, and in what he is rendering back on his canvas ; if he is impressed with the truly divine beauty, infinity, perfection, and meaning of unspoiled material nature — the earth and the fulness thereof, the heaven and all its hosts, the strength of the hills, the sea and all that is therein ; if he is himself impressed with the divine origin and divine end of all visible things, — then will he paint religious pictures and impress men religiously, and thus make good men listen and possibly make bad men good. Take the landscapes of our own Harvey. He is my dear old friend of thirty years, and his power as a painter is only less than his fidelity and ardour as a friend, and that than his simple, deep-hearted piety. I never see one of his transcripts of nature, be they solemn and full of gloom, or laughing all over with sunshine and gladness, but I feel something beyond, some- thing greater and more beautiful than their greatness and their beauty — the idea of God, of the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last, the living One. This is the true moral use of Art, to quicken and deepen and enlarge our sense of God. — John Brown, M.D., LL.D. 652 TREASURY OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. C0:NCLUSI0N— PvETROSPECT. The Covenanters did not suffer for " trifles." They were not martyrs by mistake. A most precious heritage, secured at great cost, they have bequeathed to the people of Scotland. The liberties and religion of the land compose this bequest, and constitute at the same time the martyrs' enduring monument. Civil Liberty. — Liberty has been the child of oppression resisted; prosperity has come, sometimes rapidly, sometimes slowly, in the footsteps of adversity and desolation. Shall those who reap the fruits sneer at those who sowed in tears ; shall we lightly esteem the exertions of our forefathers, when we see all around us the happy results of those exertions? Is it to our own wisdom or to the course of events, very different indeed in aspect, yet springing from the same nobility of soul, that we owe the plenitude and full tide of our existing comfort, prosperity, and peace ? Here it is that it seems to me so unworthy for men to sit down in that spirit of pride which I have already described, to read with quiet pulse and unmoved heart the record of struggles that have had such a noble consummation. — Lord 2Ioncreiff. Mr. A. B. Todd, of Cumnock, has just published a series of sketches of "The Homes, Haunts, and Battlefields of the Covenanters." That volume, priceless in its simplicity, will help the ignorant to some know- ledge of as noble a story as ever was told by the lip of poet ; and the young Scottish spark who can sneer while reading it is unworthy of " a land whose freedom is the blossom of heroism and martyrdom. " We of all free peoples on the face of the earth, can least afford to forget the sources of our freedom. Certainly only the shallow and the foolish will sneer at the story of Alexander Peden. — Evening Times, Glasgoiv, October ;?3, 1886. [Cf. Robert Burns, p. 559 ; see Dr. Robert Burns on the matter of civil hberty in Wod. "Hist.," I., xxi.J Religious Liberty. — History testifies that not infidelity but religion has the power of making martyrs. They are the faithful praying men, — men who believe in God and eternity, — who know how to brave death and all the horrors of persecution — who can bear the tortures of the thumb-screw and the boot as calmly as if silken gloves pressed their fingers and silken hose their feet, — who can lay their necks upon the block joyfully, as if the headsman's knife were to invest them with knightly honours — who can tread the scaffold with kingly step, and vault like conquerors into chariots of fire. . . . Liberties which have been so dearly bought should be highly prized and sacredly guarded. Through much struggliug — at a vast expenditure of life — have they been handed down to us ; through the same or MISCELLANEA.. 653 severer struggles, at the same or a vaster expenditure, if need be, must we hand them down intact to the generations which are to come. Cowards are we, unworthy of the name Britons degenerate sons of noble sires, if we suffer pope or despot to lay rifling hand on our godly heritage. Fools are we, if, under any pretence we trust the promises or suffer the encroachments of that system, which, under the disguise of Erastianisrn pressed so heavily on our fathers. — Dr. Landels. We have got out of all thrse strict and strait necessities ; we have no rigid barriers imposed upon us from the present or the past ; we are enlightened and free — what use do we make of our advantages? Yes freedom is a great virtue, but, " you of the virtue, how strive you ? " Ah ! it is not for us in our languorous time, when every door opens at a touch and every barrier falls with a push, it is not for us, so backward to act and so slow to suffer, to speak with easy lips of the failure of those of old ! But did they fail after all ? Ilutherford thought he did, and said so. But men are sometimes not the best judges of that which themselves have done not even at the close of life. — A. T. Innes, " Evang. Succ," II., 106. Pkesbytery. — And now, suppose the Kirk had been the broad, liberal, philosophical, intellectual thing which some people think it ought to have been, how would it have fared in that crusade ; how altogether would it have encountered those surplices of Archbishop Laud or those dragoons of Claverhouse ? It is hard to lose one's life for a "perhaps;" and a philosophical belief at the bottom means a " perhaps," and nothing more. For more than half the seventeenth century the battle had to be fou, G07. Baillie, Joanna, 567. Baillie, Robert, 106, 298, 310. Balfour of Burley, 544. Ballads, 555. Ballantyne, J., 491. Bancroft, Dr., 262. Bands, Religious. 23-27, 174, 033. Banished, The, 274, 582, 585, 596. Banners, 633, 641. Bass Rock, 354, 369, 589. Bates, Dr., 164, 395, 458. Bayne, Dr., 105, 507, 520. Baxter, R., 293, 307, 341, 607. Beechers, The, 629, 649, 658. Begg, Dr., 190, 455, 517, 527. Beith, Dr., 363, 502, 529, 615, 655. Bible, Geneva, 245, 287. Authorised Version, 287. Covenanters' Bibles, 640. Bicentenaries, 94, 359, 539, 604. Binning, H., 326. Biographia Preshyteriana, 350, 388. Biography, A Collection, 375, 389-393. : Cloud, etc., .393-412. , "Bishop," 44, 47, 297. I Bishops' Drag-Net, 125. I Bismarck, 400. I Black, D., 262. Blackadder, J., ,354, 453, 589, 619. I Blackadder, Col., 355. ; Blackie, Prof , oT^b, 565, 602, 630. : Blackness, 268, 272, 391. 582, 619. : Blaikie, Prof., 34, 345, 523, 526, 590. , Blair, R., 312, 314. Blair, Dr. W. , 304, 309, 542. Blue, emblem, 562, 641. ! Bonar, Dr. A., 309, 401, 525. 615, 641. I Bonar, Dr. H., 440, 525, 527, 568. Bonar, Dr. J., 525, 528. Book of Common Order, 30, 37, 107. 246, 300, 384. j Book of Common Praiier, 74, 290. English Prayer Book, 25, 246, 384. i Book o/ Discipline (First), 35, 243, 247. ; Second Book of Discipline, 44, 57, I 266, 502. 664 GENERAL INDEX. Book ofSparts, 287, 290. Booke of the. UniversaU Kirk, 111, 294. Books burnt, 304, 340, 375. Boots, The, 632. Boston, T., 165, 172, 477, 498, 523. Boston, T., 179, 481. B )thwell Bridge, 388, 558, 563, 587, 649. Gallows, 4:^5, 641. Boyd, Dr. A. K. H., 422, 450. Boyd, B., 277. Boyd, Z., 90, 319. Bradbury, T., 468. Brevet en's Travels, 284. 292. British Museum, 123, 285, 637. Brougham, Lord, 204, 450, 500, 519. Brown, E., 473, 486, 494. Brown, H., 553, 630. Brown, J., D.D. (Edin.). 214. 439, 487, 503, 654. Brown, J., M.D. (Edin.), 487, 607, 648, 651. Brown, J. (Haddington), 367, 485. Brown, J., \) D. (Langton), 445. Brown, J. (Lesmahagow), 578, 603, 625. Brown, J. (PriesthiJl), 251, 419, 497, 553, 570, 602, 626, 644. Brown, J. (Wamphray), 339, 453. Brown, J. (Whitburn), 328, 486. Brownlee, T., 387. ?3ruce, A.. 178, 489, 567. Bruce, King Eobert, 17, 489, 551. Bruce, M., 364, 452. Bruce, R., 57, 279, 313, 398, 482, 556, 585, 586, 589. Bryce, Dr., 443. Brysson, G., 379. Buchanan, (4., 15, 240, 257, 264, 432. Buchanan, Dr. R., 43, 399, 508, 511. Buckle, 292, 318, 412, 488, 518. Burgess Oath, 176, 474. Burgher and Antiburgher, 176, 217, 367, 481, 506, 633. Burnet, Bishop, 342, 346, 425, 628. Burns, 484, 559, 618. Burns, Dr., 385, 422. 424, 426, 652. Burton, Dr. J. H., 169, 434, 540, 609. Bush, Dr., 488. C Cairns, Principal, 194, 238, 463, etc. ('alder, R., 562, 413, 611. (Jalderwood, D., 47, 67, 69, 283, 585. Calderwood, J., 389, 454. (.'alderwood. Prof., 215, 473, 479, 492. Caldwell, Lady, 421, 583, 587. Calvin, 187, 242, 252, 445. Calvinism, 30, 184, 232, 347, 520. Cameron, J., 278. Cameron, R., 141, 144, 231, 348, 452, 517, 552, 597, 618, 626. Cameronians, 128, 372, 460. Cameronian Colours, 646. Campbell, A., 476. Campbell, C, 386. Campbell, Lady, 476, 588, 607. Campbell, R., 252, 261. Candida Casa, 22, 542. Candlish, Principal. 511, 514, 527. Canons, Book of, 73, 287. Cant. A., 89, 295, 312, 467. Cargill, D., 134, 347, 350, 452, 517, 640. Principle enunciated, 538. Carmichael, J., 276. Carslaw, W. H., 396, 639. Carlyle, A., 513, 519. Carlyle, T., 18, 73, 114, 119, 149, 299, 320, 534, 554, 647, 662. Carstares, J., 317, 343, 374, 586, 608, 639. Carstares, Principal. 150, 161,378,581, 585, 613, 632, 639. Cars well, J., 248, 252. Catechism, Larger, 113, 492. Catechism, Shorter, 114, 473, 522. Catechisms, 243, 256, 260, 268, 270, 320. 327, 440, 489, 525. Catechist, 45. Games of the Lord's Wrath, 307, 322. Chalmers, Dr., 170, 203, 209, 325, 425. 468, 504, 506, 545, 550. Chambers, R. & W., 17, 446, 577, 605. Chap Literature, 576. Chapels of Ease, 203. Characteristics, 440. Charles!., 265, 289, 319. Charles IL. 73. 98, 121, 122. 244, 416. Charteris, H., 256, 259, 277. Charteris, Prof., 190. Chivalry, inheritors, 16. Christians Great Interest, 324, 354, 375. 426. Christian Instructor, 336, 428, 441, 478. Christian Observer, 441, Church of Scotland— True ? 196, 438. Churches. S^e Established, R.P., etc. Civil Magistrate, 45, 108, 111, 162, 179, 187, 205. 218, 235, 479, 483, 495. '•With a Vengeance," 192, 500. Distinctive Principles, 218. Claim of Right, 205, 208, 506. Clarendon, 240, 293, 297, 4;:i5. Claverhouse, 419, 428, 556, 564. 6U3. Cleland. W., 342, 355, 544, 568. Cloud of Witnesses; 393, 515, 613. Clyde, J., 376, 625. Clydesdale, 496, 567. Cockburn, Lord, 184, 202, 204,214, 217, 291, 443, 482, f02. "Farewell hope," 500. Colquhoun, Lady, 542. Coltness, Lady, 392. Columba, 22, 551. GENERAL INDEX. 665 Colvil, S., 544. Commentaries, 260, 263, 2C5, 278, 315, 317, 327, 332, 335, 341, 371, etc. Commissioner, Lord High, 34, 55, 461. Communion, Covenanters', 251, 355. 390, 448, 571, 624, 64^^, 656. Confession, Knox's, 29, 38, 661. King James's, 48, 58, 256, 635. Westminster, 1U7, 109, 152, 508,522. Churches and Standards, 109. Congregationalism, 200, 330, 531. Conscience, 101, 480, 500 (pliant), 628. " ^Yho would force, etc.," 630. Constantine, 41, 186, 200, 654. Constitutional Assoc. Fresbytery, 178. Conventicles, 126, 129, 147. Convention of Leith, 43. Conversion, 374, 504. 513, 542, 661. Cook, Dr., 193, 195, 203, 430, 443. Cook, Joseph, 19, 100, 658. Cooper, Bishop, 64, 289. Corbet, J. ("Epistle"), 291. Country, Physical aspect, 14. Covenant, Influence of, 18, 323. Signing of, 84, 651. Covenants, Bands, 23. Burning of, 122. Copies of, 633-638. James's. See Confession. National, 48, 58, 78,292,405,633-637. Solemn League, 97, 299, 634-638. Descending Obligation, 195, 217. Covenanters, 23, 86, 96, 104, 121, 127,447. Covenanting, 470, 476, 490, 496. " There's nae Covenant," 562, 569. Cowper, William, 566. Craig, J., 48, 50, 248, 256. Crawford, Prof., 445. Creed, The, 35, 242, 256, 575. Creeds, 109, 375, 522. 555. Creichton, 420, 435, 578, 641. Crofton, Z., 295. Cromwell, 100, 320, 330, 330, 403. Letter to the Ministers, 118. Crookshank, 426. Crossraguel, 67, 252, 542. Culdees, The, 22, 489, 497. Culross, Lady, 263, 334, 543, 605. Cunningham, Dr. J., 44, 47, 432, etc. Cunningham, Prin. W., 161, 213, 503, 510, 528. Dalziel of Binns, 421, 526. D'Aubign^, 41, 124, 191, 432, 4.39. Davidson, J., 252. Davidson, J., 59, 261, 536, 585. Deacons, 36, 45, 247. Declarations, Boyal, 96. Declarations, Covenanters', 131, etc. Declaratory Act, 110. Defoe, 351, 423, 577, 613. Dick, Dr.. 473, 4S7, 490, 532. Dick, A. C, 487. Dickson, D., 70, 77, 90, 95, 96, 120, 274, i 313, 606. I Dickson, J., 369, 453, 589, 592. I Directory, Family Worship, 113, 243. ! Public Worship, 107, 230, 575. Disestablishment, 238, 657. See E.G. I Dispute a;/ain.sl tht K.P.C., 302. , Disraeli, 286, 480. I Disruption of 1662, 124, 165. Disruption of 1843, 213, 501. Assembly, 5r!2. Worthies, 526. Dissent, 169, 173, 195, 367, 498. Dissenters, 437 (" Heretics"). Distinctive Articles, 219, 464. Divioe Right, 72, 265. Set Presbytery. Divisions, Ecclesiastical, 3 lb, 439. Dodds, J., 349, 505, 511, 553, 630. Donald, G., 550. Donaldson, A., 115, 125, 364, 520. Douglas, E., 90, 106, 301, 337, 554, 635. Douglas of Cavers, 607, 638. Doune Castle, 61, 588. " Drinking Parliament," 122, 124. Drumclog, 387, 557. 621, 648. Drummond, J., 650. DufiF, Dr., 222, 307, 396, 506, 511, 514, 528, 631, 661. Dumbarton, 61, 271, 584, 587. Dunbar, 559, ()41. Duncan, A., 6U, 274. Duncan, Dr. J., 306, 503, 513. 528. Dundee, 47, 59, 241, 536. Dunlop, A., 199, 203, 205, 503, 506, 528. Dunlop, W., 326, 374. Dunnottar Castle, 517, 555, 572, 593, 62L Dury, J., 248, 275. Dury, J., 275. Dury, R., 60, 275. Dykes, Dr., 462, 514. Durham, J., 120, 313, 316, 606, 608. E Kadie, Dr., 150, 176, 475, 479, 485. Edinburgh, 33,44,244, 256,501,585,635. Greyfriars, 85, 580, 586, 616, 618, 622, 629, 651. Tol booth. 354, 370, 380, 585. Education, 22, 37, 436. Elder, Dr., 189, 213. Elders, 36, 45, 247, 286, 303, 324, 362, 3^3, 472, 520, 658. Emblems, Church, 496. Endowments, 40, 71, 185, 236, 514. Engagement, The, 117. England, 101, 169, 187, 236, 251, 267, 295, 320, 654. Enthusiasm, 171, 202, 540. 666 GENERAL INDEX. Episcopacy. See. Prelacy. Epitaphs, 542, 580, 617. Era, of Advance, 662. Erastianism, 43, 55, 57, 144,231,303,306, 332, 382, 443, 461, 520, 637, 653, 657. Erskine of Dun, 23, 33, 36, 42, 254, 637. Erskine, E., 166, 171, 184, 377, 449, 466, 512. Erskine, R., 171, 175, 397, 469, 531, 637, 656. Erskines, The, 465, 469, 523, 570. Successors of Covenanters, 173, 174, 193, 195, 497, 507. Erskine, H., 155, 172, 374. Erskine, Dr. J., 370, 441, 480. Established Church, 40, 156, 169, 196, 199, 228, 235, 448, etc. And Covenant, 193-205, 438. Essence and Accident, 199, 208, 237. Literature, 424, 427, 430, 432, 438. Relation to Confession, 109, 152. Disestablishment, 208, 438, 483, 658. Unions and Disruptions — Why? 185. Evangelical Succession, 523. Evangelism, 169, 172,441,497,525,654. Basis of Covenants, 345, 497. Ewing, G., 249, 603. Ewing, J., 466, 474, 532. Exhorters, 36, 247. " Extirpation " of Prelacy, 99, 662. Faithful Contendings Displayed, 323, 369, 395, 451. *' Father'd in a mighty past," 628. Farrar, Dr., 21, 536, 602. Fast-Days, 656. Fasti, 312, 611. Fenwick, 495, 622, 639. Ferguson, J., 120, 332. Ferme, C, 60, 263, 588. First Book of Discipline. See Book. First General Assembly, 32. First Lay Evangelist (Wishart), 241. First Scottish Missionary Martyr, 494. First Six Reformed Ministers, 40. Fisher, Jas., 175, 455, 470, 473. Fisher, Ed., 478. Five Articles of Perth, 67, 271, 283,313. Flavel, 485. Fleming, R., 370. Fleming, R., 371, 567. Fletcher of Saltoun, 556. 637. Flint, Prof., 323, 404, 425, 435. "Flowered with Martyrs," 234, 595. Forbes, J., 60. 274, 276, 582, 586. Forbes, Dr., 319. "For Christ's Crown and Covenant," 14, 234, 451, 456, 618, 641. Forrester, T., 161, .340, 381, 382. Forty, The, 54, 443, 504. Foster, J., 107, 411. Fox, C, 408, 411. Fox Maule, 511. Foxe, J., 254, 289, 638. Fraser of Brea, 366, 583, 591. Eraser, Dr., 385, 472. Fraser, J., 366, 593. Fraser, J., 489. Free Church, 110, 188, 209, 523. And Covenant, 216, 232. Claim of Right, 205, 506. Disruption. See Disruption. Literature, 499-530. Theocratic Abstraction or Ghost, 521, 657. "Rather no Eudowments at all than, etc.," 514. Free Parliament and Assembly, 33, 134, 141. Freedom, National, 15, 17, 510, 652. Freedom, Religious, 33, 76, 166, 170. 188, 340, 505, 521, 551, 559, 568, 652. Froude, 245, 653. Fuller, A., 471, 488. G Gaelic, 252, 439, 469. Gairney Bridge, 497. Gait, 570, 576. Gardiner, Dr., 291, 294, 416, 434. Geddes, Jenny, 75, 291, 565, 632. Gib, A., 173, 175, 481. Gilfillan, G., 128, 148, 307, 321, 335, 404, 495, 543, etc. Gilfillan, S., 471, 489, 495. Gillespie, G., 77, 103, 106, 109, 114, 301. Gillespie, T. (Dunf.), 179, 1S4, 213, 370. 439, 477, 479, 500. Gillespie, T. (St. Andrews), 573, 593 Gillespie, P., 120, 326, 336. Gillies, J., 335, 440. Giving, Christian, 235, 660. Gladstone, W. E., 194, 228, 508, 61 3. Glasgow, 635, 646. See " 1638." Assembly, 88, 94, 292, 298, 515, 646. Declaration, 132. Martyrs, 620, 622. Printing, 94, 319. Tolbooth, 587. University, 266, 635, 648. Glass, J., 438. Glencairn, 24, 26, 302. Glimpse of Glory, 354. "God alone Lord of the Conscience," 101, 130, 215, 318, 464. Goold. Dr., 217, 220, 233, 451, 459. Gordon, J., 240, 434, 634. Gordon of Earlstouu, 451, 558, 623, 644. Gordon, Lady, 391, 583. Gospel Sonnets, 471. Government Pension, 491. GENERAL ISDRX. 66< Graces before and after Meat, 262. Graham, Prof. W., 101, 121,230,575,581. Graham, W., 490, 491. Grahame, J , 428, 545. Grahame, L , 273, 583. Gray, A., 329. Oude and Godlie Ballates, 242. Guthrie, Jas., 120, 307, 321, 384, 403, 512, 554, 586, 602, 627, 639. Guthrie, J., 326, 453, 608. Guthrie. Ur. T., 189, 209, 214, 511, 513, 528, 637, 648, 657. Guthrie, VV., 324, 354, 424, 452. H Hackston, D., 388, 563, 597, 634, 649. Haddington, Earl, 407, 606. Haldanes, The, 201, 531. Hall, Bishop, 241, 296. Hall, H., 134, 578, 641. Hallani, 148. Halyburton, T., 385, 392, 396, 498, 618. Hamilton, A., 384. Hamilton, Jas., 501, 503, 512, 542. Hamilton, Janet, 563. Hamilton, Pat. , 517, 595, 627. Hamilton, SirK., 131, 351, 391,453,608. Hamilton, Lady, 605, 606. Hampton Court Conference, 287. Hanna, Dr., 52, 319,504. Harvey, Sir G., 048. Harvie, Marion, 609. Heart, The, a living tablet, 647. Henderson, A., 76, 79, 86, 91, 93, 97, 196, 247, 295, 298, 467, 654. Hepburn, J., 155, 452. Herdman, P., 650. Heritage, Our, 20, 173, 196, 628, 652. Hervey, J., 468, 471. Hetherington, Dr., 105, 430, 432, 508. Heugh, H., 181, 492, 503. High Commission Court, 65, 126, 631. Hind Let Loose, 372, 611. Hislop, A., 564, 602, 622. Historians, 240, 285. 289, 365, 368, 423, 4.32, 475, 494, 496, 506, 593, etc. History, 15, 21, 423. History of the Reformation, 23, 32, 249. History in Schools, 4.35. Hog, J. (Carnock), 166, 439. Hog, T. (Dysart), 73, 2S2. Hog, T. (Kiltearu), 155, 363, 589. Hogg, J., 498, 560, 573. Howie, Jas., 399; 454. Howie, J.. 325, 328, 341, 348, .396, 425, 451-454, 493, 639. Hume, A., 263. Hume, A., 598, 608. Hume, D., 172, 258. Hume, Sir P., 408. 411, 544. Hutcheson, G., 288, 334, 329. Hutchison, P., 455. Hutton, Dr., 191, 195, 198, 493. Hyslop, J., 547. Ideal, A Glorious, 462. Independents, 118, 306, 330, 438, 531. Indulgences, 127, 149, 338, 341. Informatory Vindication, 305,361, 373. luglis. Lord, 58, 266. Innes, A. T., 10.3, 119, 201, 230, 307, 310, 522, 657. Intercommuning, 1,31. Inverness, 311, 588. lona, 22, 489, 551, 579. Ireland, 98, 164, 187, 236, 295, 654. Irving, Dr., 257, 283, 285, 319, 542. Irving, E., 30. 478, 576, 639. Issachars Burden, 311. Jacobites, 156, 159, 166, 555. James VI., 57, 286. Jameson, J., 493. Jameson, W., 161, 262, 381, 383. Jamieson, Dr., 489. Johnson, S., 257, 579. Johnston, J., 269. Johnston of Warriston, 79, 84, 88, 1U6. 117, 398, 404, 581. 607, 633. Johnston, Dr. W,, 480, 495. "Judgments," 399, 400, 401. Jus Divinum Begiminis, 297, 313. Jus Populi Vindicatum, 305, 376. Keith, Dr., 501, 528. Kenmure, Viscount, 301, 309. Kenmure, Viscountess, 317, 606. Kennedy, G. , 250, 252, 253. Kennedy, Dr., 366, 525, 528. Ker, Prof., 16, 72, 166, 186, 234, 487. 496, 528, 539, 616. Kerr, J., 195, 453, 461. Kid, J., 167, 637. Kid, J., 348, 453, 597. Killiecrankie, 428, 578. Killing Time, 119, 533 Kilmalcolm, 359, 542, 591. King, Dr., 473. King, J., 348, 453, 597. " Kirk " and " Church," 246. Patrimony of the Kirk, 35, 45. Kirkton, J., 274, 368, 407, 413, 605. Kneelina, 68, 283. Knox, 32, 100, 244, 250, 429, 445, 482, 497, 507, 516, 524, 647, 662. And Episcopacy, 42, 47. Sermon, 507. Institute, 532. 668 GENERAL INDEX. Knox, Liturgy, 246. S>^e Book of C. O. Monument, 244, 490, 532, 623. Mundella, 537. Ladies of the Covenaut, 335, 347, 352, 392. 406, 543, 585, 593. 605. Laina, Dr., 44, 48, 67, 251, 253, 268, 2S2, 319, 431, 634, 636. Lag, 420, 610, 613. Laing, B., 496. Lanark Declaration, 144, 360. Landels, Dr., 20, 84, 122, 128,531, 533. Laud, Abp., 73, 74, 290, 653. Lauder, Sir J., 409, 431. Lauderdale, 131, 418, 426, 435. Law, R. , 365. Lawson, Dr., 434, 488. Lawson, J., 254, 260, 279, 625. Lay Evangelism, 201, 241. L. E. L , 572. Lee, Principal, 51. 368, 433, 575 Lee, Prof.,29I,434("Increaseot Faith"). Lees, Dr. J. C, 449, 523, 542. Leighton, A., 285. Leighton, Abp., 130, 344, 399, 526, 634. Leishman, Dr., 328, 414, 426. Leith, 25, 27, 43, 274. Lennox, Lord, 480. Leslie, Alexander, 556, 651. Lex Bex, 305, 311, 322. Life of John Knox, 250, 647. " Lifting," 453. Lightfoot, Bishop, 297. Lindsay, D., 26U, 582, 583. Lindsay, Lord, 30, 75, 193. Lindsay, Dr. T. M., 30, 32, 40, 200, 209, 213, 216, 246, 247, 522, 528. Linton, J., 594. Literary Merit of Writings, 95, 321 , 347. 376, 388, 412, 426. Literature of the Covenant, 239, 388. Established Church. 438. Free Church, 499. (General, 531. Historical, 423. Poetical, 543. See Poet. Literature. Prison Literature, 582. R. P. Church, 451. Secession Church, 465. Tales, 573. Livingstone, Dr., 523. Livingstone, J., 333, 453. 540, 605, 608. I.ochgoin Relics, 638. London, 265, 296, 581, 625. Longmuir, Dr., 517. Lorimer, Prof., 251, 517. Lome, Lord, 450. Loudon, Lord, 75, 77, 448. 581, 606. Luther, 170, 247, 254, 257, 445, 488. M Macaulay, Lord, 389, 410, 431, 441, 603. Macaulay, Z., 441. Macdonald, H., 541, 563, 617. Macfarlane, Dr., 494. 534. Macintosh, John. 506. Mackay, Dr. M.,' 466, 474, 529. Mackenzie, Sir G. , 421, 617. Mackenzie, J., 423, 434. Maclaren, D., M.P., 491. Maclaurin, J., 439, 459. Macleod. Dr. D., 35, 448. Macleod, Dr. N., 442, 448, 506, 549. "The Fundamentals," 448. Macmeeken. J. W., 288, 458. Macmillan, Dr. H., 646. Macmillan, J., 163, 361, 452, 454, 637. Macmillan. J., 350, 361. M'Cheyne, 115, 210, 513, 524. M'Cosh. Prof., 386, 472, 528. M'Crie, Dr. T., 51, 178, 193, 250, 267. 294, 301, 428, 442. 482, 544, etc. M'Crie, Dr. T., 69, 313, 358, 398, 41 S, 427, 434, 484, 528, 647. etc. M'Crie, C. G., 439, 468, 470, 477, 523. M'Gavia, W., 249, 332, 398, 531. M'Gregor, Dr., 42, 198, 238. M'Kail, H. 288, 331, 398, 596, 603. M'Kerrow, Dr., 482, 489, 492. M'Killisan, J., 366, 589, 593. M'Lauchlan, Dr. T., 13, 231, 240, 252. M'Lauchlan, Margaret, 609-615. M'Ward, R., 327, 342, 347, 377. "Magna Charta" of Presbytery, 54. 96, 123, 154. Cf. 46. Maitland of Lethington, 33. Malignants, 118, 120, 302. Marroiv of Modern Divinity, 165, 167, 377, 467, 478, 486, 498, 523, 525. Marshall, Dr. A., 491. Marshall, Dr. \Y., 144, 492. Martin, R. T., 299, 342, 460. Martyrdom, 195, 595, 616, 652. ^nd "Absurdity," 519. Martyrology, Reformation, 595. Martyrology, Covenant, 596. Martyrs, Tributes, 435, 520, 560, 628. " Xoble Army," 214, 424, 580, 595. I Mary, Queen, 32. 40, 244, 259, 497, 524. I Masson, Prof. , 298, 540. I Masson, J., 390. M earns, 23. 241, 256. Melville. A., 44, 47, 52, 61, 64, 264. 275, 512, 543, 581. 586. Melville, J., 59, 61, 267, 581. I Menteath, Mrs., 86, 431, 550, 601, 602. 1 Miall, J. G., 122, 533, 574. Middleton, Earl, 122, 124. Miller, H., 16, 200, 364, 427, 449, 482, 500, 507, 510, 526, 529, 590. GKNKRAL INDICX. 669 Miller, Mrs., 568. Milton, 100, 105, 1S2, 297, 307, 336. Minnyhive, MBS, 620. Minto, Earl, 408. Missions, 200, 372, 442, 494, 506, 661. Mitchell. Prof., 30, 106, 108, 169, 242, 246. 445. Moderatisrn. 155, 165, 182, 201, 338, 459, 472, 506, 518. "The True Wild, or the Fanatic" (Quarterly Review, 1870), 202. "Moderator." 65, 257. Modern Scotlish Poets, 550, 554. Moir, Dr , 545, 570. Moucreiff, Sir H., 161. 441, 523. 529. Moncreifif, Lord, 189. 203, 287, 523, 652. Moncrieff, A., 121, 172, 608. Moncrieff of Culfai'gie, 168, 476. Montgomery, K., 51. Montrose, 415, 556, 649. Morton, Resent (James Douglas). 24. 28, 42, 245, 253, 261. Morayshire, 520. Muirkirk, 547, 604, 626. Mundella, A. J., 435, 537. Murray, J., 446, 494, 553, 642, 645. Murray, Ladv, 408, 607. Music, 177, 243, 248, 568, 651. Mutual Eligibility, 221. N Nairne, Baroness, 495, 562. Naphtali, 375, 383, 400. Napier, Mark, 415, 445, 604, 613, 614. National Covenant, 633. Sf-e Covenant. Neonomianism, 165, 439. New England, 373, 658. New Light, 176, 179, 489. Nisbet, A., 332. Nisbet, J., 356, 626, 643. "No Bishop, no King," 287. Nobility, The, 18, 537, 538. A Book from a Duke ! 443. Love of Country, 18, 35, 4'A. Nonconformists, 194. Old Mortality ( R. P.), 400, 517, 574, 503, 617, 620. 647, 650. Old Mort-xlity, 421, 483, 574. Oliphant, Mrs., 429, 576. Oliver, A., 72. Oliver, Riugan, 578, 645. " O Mother, dear Jerusalem ! " 316. Open Air Meetings, 130, 147, 54(>. "Open Door," 523. Ordination, 1'97. Original Secession Church, 177,217,220, 390, 468, 470, 477, 496. Literature, 482, 484, 490, 496. 497. Orr, VV., 495. Owen, Dr., 317, 325, 337, 372, 499. " Passengers for Glory, etc.," 379. Parliament of 1560, 28. Drinking Parliament, 122. Free Parliament, 58. Prelates sit in, 59. Patersou, Dr. N., 158, 202, 517. Paterson, R. See Old Mortality. Paton, Capt., 495, 622, 638, 644. Patriotism, 143, 173,359,4.58,512, 658. Patronage, 116, 154, 159,222,378,499- Act of 1874, 197, 222-230. Patterson, J. B., 486. Patterson, Dr. A. S., 486. Peasantry, Scortish, 18, 130, 595. Peddie, Dr., 489. |>Peden, Alexander, 287, 326, 356. 452. 552, 591. 594, 601, 620, 640, 652. Peebles, 253, 626. Pentland, 347, 555, 557, 573, 596, 626. Persecution, 131 (Sir W. Scott), 417 (Fresh Light), 421, 446, 593. Perth, 61, 67, 270, 283, 310, 595. Peterkiu, A., 85, 92, 294. Petitions. 73. 77, etc. Petrie, 240, 584. Phoenix, 295, 338. Pictures, their moral value, 651. Poetical Literature, 263, 265, 269, 315, 371, 389, 512, 526, 543, 566. Pollok, R., 493, 549, 576. Pont, R., 32, 248, 260. Poor, The, 38. Popery. 16, 34, 48, 142, 186, 252, 272. 371, 396, 533, 540, 6r)8, 662. Established in Scotland, 13, 22. Papal Hierarchy, 31. "The least rag of Popery," 514. Porteous, Dr. ^Y., 489. Prayer, 75, 244, 247, 358, 656. Prayer Book, 251 See Hook. Preaching. 522, 540. See Sermons. Prelacy, Black, .53, 582, 654. Catechism for Schools, 437. Consecration of the Prelates, ()6. Exotic, 536. Episcopalian Claim, 536. " Presbyter, Priest writ large," 307. Presbytery, 654, 662. See " Bishop.' And Prelacy, 42, 54, 123, 125, 239, 296, 302, 374, 628. 653. Presbyterianism, 106, 296, 459, 522. And Gentlemanliness, 376. And Ordination, 297. Divine R'ght, 161, 297, 338, 344, 381 . Free of State, 32. Established by the State, 22, 40, 54. Persecuted by State, 42, 60, 65, etc. 670 GENERAL INDEX. Presbyteriani8m,abolishe(i by the State, 123, 129. Be-established, 152, 460. The Veil Eent, 161, 165, 209. Reconstruction, 208, 234, 446. Future of, 53S (Dr. Ker). Prison Literature, 582-594. Prisons of the Covenanters, 258, 581. The Imprisoned, 258, 286, 322, 391, 404, 407, 409, 582, 586, 589, 593. Privy Council, 76, 147, 251, 540, C31. Protectorate, The, 118, 122. Protestant Religion, 28, 156, 254, 397. Protestations, 61, 67, 87, 92, 94, 120, 167 205 etc Protesters, 119, 120, 304, 335. Psalms, The, 232, 243, 248, 257, 258, 260, 288, 337, 458, 556, 575. Puritanism, English, 520, 654, 662. Q Queen Victoria, 238, 448, 498, 650. A very strong Prot. Church, 238. Queensferry Paper, 134, 506, 626. R Rabbling, 429, 613. Race, a factor in Nationality, 15. Rae, John, 586, 590. Raid of Ruthven, 53. Rainy, Principal, 72, 518, 529, 530. Ramsay, A., 90, 293. Rationalism, 165, 171, 236, 499. Rattray, A., 14, 458. "Rax me that Bible," 442. Readers, 36, 247. Reformation, The, 18, 38, 522, 524. From Popery to Presbytery, 42, 150. Ter-centenary, 23, 39, 493, 509. Reformed Presbyterian Church, 150. 156, 161, 164, 195, 373,451. Disruption of 1863, 164, 458, 460. Union, 230, 462. Reid, J. S., 430. Relief Church, 179, 479, 481. Religion in Scotland, 130, 239. 241, 256, 292, S15, 340, 344, 374, 399, 654. Revivals, 83, 173, 213, 216, 440. Testimony of f-lurnet, 346, 425. Religious Equality, 72, 199. 236. Reliques of the Covenant, 631-646. Renton, H., 493 510. Renwick, J., 148, 220, 297, 360, 373, 389, 393, 450, 506, 595, 610, 626. Rescissory Act, 123. See Act. Resolutions, The, 120. Resokitioners, 120, 318, 330. Restoration, The, 121, 132. Revolution, The, 129, 143, 149, 556. Settlement, 108, 150, 151, 373. Anniversary, 489. Robertson, Dr. W. B., 12, 526. Robertson, Prin., 171, 196,201,427,619. Rogers, Dr. C, 293, 447, 548, 563, 617. Rollock, 48, 90, 95, 259, 270, 277. Romish Church, 540. Ross, Dr. W., 107, 115, 365, 469, 520. Rothes, Earl, 93, 291, 335. Rotterdam, 532. Rous, F., 288. Row, James, 293. Row, John (Aberdeen), 319. J Row, John (Carnock), 83, 89, 107, 282. 1 Row, John (Perth), 33, 35, 282. * Row, W., 282, 313. Rule, G., 161, 381, 413, 590, 611. Rullion Green, 562. See Pentland. Rushworth, 424. Ruskin, 15. J Rutherford, S., 90, 103, 119, 121, 304, I 314, 588, 601, 653. ' Rutherglen Declaration, 131. S Sabbath, The, 178, 198, 218, 287, 290, 296, 341, 525, 545. 549, 555, 648. Sabbath School, 603. Sage, Bishop, 382, 383. Sanquhar, 142, 360. Sanquhar Declaration, 141, 341, 634. Scot of Scotstarvet, 293. Scot, W., 60, 281. Scotland, Influence on England, 16, 245, 462, 520, 524, 539, 654. Place and Mission, 18. 658. Three Thousand Ministers, 658. Scotch Prefibyterian Eloquence, 335, 381, 413, 422. Scotch Sermons, 447. Scots Worthies 393, 396, 452, 603. Un- Worthies, 4.V2A22. Scots Presbyterian Magazine. 441. Scott, Sir W., 340, 427, 484, 575, 593. "Cavalier Prejudices," 428, 575. Second Thoughts, 131, 416. Scottish Churches. >S'e« Special Names. Dissent, 432. See Dissent. Lanauasre, 242, 280, 489, 516, 629. Nationality, 13, 198, 359, 539. Philosophy, 470. Sabbath, 525. See Sabbath. Theology, 468, 513, 518. Semple, G., 155, 366, 369, 453. Semple, J., 365. Separation, 184, 367, 373, 438, 475. Sermons, 103, 321,329,335,349,364, 628. Service Book, 73. See Book of C. P. Sharp, Abp., 123, 126,416,437, 525, 634. Sharp, J., 60, 275. Sharpe,C. K ,3ii5.368, 414,421,425,435. Shields, A., 163, 362, 372, 451, 611. Shields, M., 451. GENERAL INDEX. 671 Shotts, 333, 605, 642. Simpson, Dr., 3G2, ;^66, 494,569, 578. Simpson, P., 359, 591. Simson, Alex., 271. Simson, And., 2(39. Simson, Archd., 67, 271, 588. Simson, P., 61, 270. Simson, W., 271. Symson, Matthias, 611, 612, 615. Sinclair, Sir G., 442. Sinclair, Sir J., 541. .Sixteen-thirty-eight, 13, 20, 66, 78, 85, 88, 217, 239, 4,30, 444, 646, 659. ♦'Sixty Bishops, The," 125, 153, 155. Small, J. G., 550, 568. Smec'ymnuKs, 296. Smith, Dr. G., 494, 514. Smith, Dr. W. C, 104, 114, 208, 526. Smith, W., 352. Society Men, 451. Solemn 1 eague and Covenant, 97, 299, 617, 6:U, 637. Somerville, Dr. A., 493, 6C0. Song, 17, 550, 565. Spain, 245, 280. Spalding, J., 240, 311. Spanish Armada, 54, 56, 489, 556, 635. Spiritual Independence, 17, 34, 53, 199, 214, 298, 443, etc. Spottiswood, 248, 255, 282, 289. Spreull, J., 380, 590. Spreull, " Bass John," 380, 590. Spurgeon, 20, 187, 202, 220, 244, 271, 308, 395, 453, 540, etc. Stanlev, Dean, 17, 114, 291, 518, 617. State Churchism, 172, 190, 197, 209, 479, 549, 551, 654. Statistical Account, 541. Sternhold and Hopkins, 244, 248, Stevenson, A., 240, 313, 454. Stevenson, Dr. G., 490, 496. Stevenson, J., 240, 392. Stewart, D., 250. Stewart, Sir James, 375 ; 392, 418. Stewart, Dr. A., 610, 614. St. Andrews, 267, 618. St. Bartholomew's Day, 124. 437, 538. St. Giles' Lectures, 4.34, 449, 535. Stillingfleer, 381, 492. Stipends, 36, 70, 72. Stirling, 26, 78, 588, 627, 634. Stirling. J., 375. Story, Dr., 47, 336, 421, 443, 425, 450. Stowe, Mrs. H. B., 542, 629, 649. Strathaven. 627, 644. Struthers, Dr. (r., 492. Struthers. J., 240, 424, 432, 549. Stuarts, The, 125.. 142, 401, 462, 617. Sum of Saving Kvo\chd