Covenanters

They had a captain of their own, Archibald, ninth Earl of Argyll, who as chief of the great tribe of Campbell was known among the population of the Highlands by the proud name of Macculum Moore.

His father, the Marquess of Argyll, had been the head of the Scotch Covenanters, had greatly contributed to the ruin of Charles I, and was not thought by the royalists to have atoned for this offence by consenting to bestow the empty title of king, and a state prison in a palace, on Charles II.

After the return of the royal family the Marquess was put to death.

His marquissat became extinct.

But his opposition had been languid and cautious.

His compliances in ecclesiastical matters had given scandal to rigid Presbyterians.

And so far he had been from showing any inclination to resistance that, when the Covenanters had been persecuted into insurrection, he had brought into the field a large body of his dependents to support the government.

Such had been his political course until the Duke of York came down to Edinburgh armed with the whole regal authority the despotic viceroy soon found that he could not expect entire support from Argyll.

His parents had belonged to one of the older branches of what now we call the United Presbyterian Church.

But my father, having made an independent study of the Scotch worthies, the cloud of witnesses, the testimonies and the confession of faith, resolved to cast in his lot with the oldest of all the Scotch churches, the Reformed Presbyterian, as most representing the Covenanters, and the attainments of both the first and second Reformations in Scotland.

This choice he deliberately made and sincerely and intelligently adhered to, and was able at all times to give strong and clear reasons from Bible and from history for the principles he upheld.

Still, his sympathies and votes always went with the more progressive party in that ancient church.

An offer of fifty pounds per annum was made by the West Campbell Street Reformed Presbyterian Congregation, then under the good and noble Dr. Bates, for a young man to act as district visitor and track distributor, especially amongst the absentees from the Sabbath school, with the privilege of receiving one year's training at the Free Church Normal Seminary, that he might qualify himself for teaching and thereby push forward to the holy ministry.

The candidates, along with their application and certificates, were to send an essay on some subject of their own composition and in their own handwriting.

I sent in two long poems on the Covenanters, which must have exceedingly amused them as I had not learned to write decent prose.

But, much to my surprise, immediately on the close of the harvesting experience a letter arrived, intimating that I, along with another young man, had been put upon the short leet, and that both were required to appear in Glasgow on a given day and compete for the appointment.

Sir Archibald Johnston at the Mercat Cross hung just outside the doors of this great church.

But do you know what historical accounts tell us that some of the Covenanters did right before they were led away? They sang a psalm.

They sang a psalm.

They stopped.

Yeah.

Well, Susan, I know you had a lot of fun delving into Scottish history and finding out some of the major events that had happened in the 900 years of St. Giles Cathedral's history.

You invoked in the sermon about the Scottish Covenanters and their convictions carried big consequences.

How do we distinguish between courageous conviction and then on the other hand, I guess, like a rigid certainty of That's so tough.

What follows are the Bishops' Wars, two short conflicts in 1639 and 1640 fought over whether the king can impose his religious settlement on Scotland by force.

Charles wants to crush the Covenanters militarily, but war is expensive, and after more than a decade of ruling without parliament, he is forced into the very step he has spent years avoiding.

[gentle music]

There is no way that the king can subdue the Scots by force, which is what he essentially decides to do, without money.

The cemetery dates back to the 16th century and is home to the infamous Mackenzie Poltergeist.

This spirit is believed to be the restless ghost of Sir George Mackenzie, a ruthless persecutor of the Covenanters.

Visitors to the cemetery have reported being attacked or experiencing unexplained physical sensations near his tomb.

This podcast episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance.

I need you all to feel this, because somehow or other the church does not appear to learn it.

God was with the Covenanters amidst their glens, as gloriously as ever he manifested himself in cathedrals.

God has been as earnestly sought and as verily found in humble cottages where two or three have met to pray, as ever he has been in the largest tabernacle.

The sailors' service read on the sea has been as acceptable to God as worship on land, and the gatherings of humble Romans in the catacombs, or of the hunted fathers in the secluded dells of our counties, were as much the gatherings of the true church of God as any well-appointed assemblies can be in these peaceable times.