The Covenanters
KING JAMES I. did his utmost for about twenty years to establish uniformity of worship in England and Scotland, and to destroy the freedom of the Kirk. Charles I. continued his father’s work, but at the commencement of his reign, (1625) when God-fearing men were continually harassed, preaching had almost ceased, and the dominant spirit was one of legal formalism, Dickson of Irvine was permitted to return to the parish from which he had been banished, and a remarkable revival immediately broke out. An irresistible power accompanied his message, and for five years few Sabbaths passed without numbers being converted. "The power of godliness,” says Robert Fleming, " like a spreading moor-burn did advance from one place to another, which put a marvelous lustre on those parts of the country (Stewarton and Irvine), the Savior whereof brought many from other parts of the land to see its truth.”
This movement stirred up the spirit of prayer and was followed by a second and more memorable revival in 1630. In June of that year a conference which included several of the persecuted ministers assembled at Shotts, on the Clyde. A vast concourse of godly persons gathered on this occasion from all quarters of the country, and several days were spent in social prayer preparatory to the service, the Communion being fixed for June 20. So rich a blessing was granted on that day that the assembly, instead of retiring to rest, divided into little bands and spent the whole night in supplication and praise. The Monday was consecrated to thanksgiving, a practice not then common, and proved the great day of the feast.
After much entreaty John Livingston, chaplain to the Countess of Wigtown, consented to preach. He spent the night with one of these praying bands, but in the morning his heart failed him at the thought of his youth and insufficiency, and he stole quietly away across the fields hoping to escape observation. As he directed a last glance at the Kirk of Shotts in the distance, a Voice spoke in his ear: "Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? A land of darkness?” (Jer. II. 31.) The Message came with a force, which compelled him to return to the work. Then God perfected His strength in His servant’s weakness. For an hour and a half Livingston expounded Ezekiel XXXVI. 25-6, "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.’’
In later life Livingston spoke of this as the day wherein he enjoyed most of the presence of God in public. " In the end, offering to close with some words of exhortation, I was led on about an hour’s time in a strain of exhortation and warning, with such liberty and melting of heart as I never had the like in public all my life.’’
Robert Fleming ("The Fulfilling of Scripture’’) says: " On this occasion there was so convincing an appearance of God and down-pouring of the Spirit in an extraordinary way, with a strange, unusual motion on the hearers, who in a giant multitude were there convened of divers ranks, that it was known that near five hundred had at that time a discernible change wrought on them, of whom most proved lively Christians afterwards. It was the sowing of a seed through Clydesdale, so as many of most eminent Christians in that country could date either their conversion or some remarkable confirmation in their case from that day.”
(It is an illustration of revival being linked to revival that at the great meeting at Kilsyth, of which place Livingston was a native, on July 23, 1839, William Chalmers Burns, preaching on Psalm CX. 3, retold the story of the Kirk of Shotts and pressed immediate acceptance of Christ. " I felt my own soul moved in a manner so remarkable,’’ said Burns, " that I was led, like Mr. Livingston, to plead with the unconverted instantly to close with God’s offer of mercy. The power of the Lord’s Spirit became so mighty upon their souls as to carry all before it, like the " rushing mighty wind’’ of Pentecost. Some were screaming out in agony: others, and among these strong men, fell to the ground as if they had been dead. I was obliged to give out a Psalm: our voices being mingled with the mourning groans of many prisoners sighing for deliverance.” [Finney. ‘‘Lectures on Revivals,” p. 62, note.])
At the date of the revival at Shotts a venerable minister, Mr. Robert Bruce, lived in retirement at Edinburgh, and through weakness kept his chamber. ‘‘ A little before his death,’’ says Fleming, " there was a meeting of divers godly ministers at that time there on some special ground of the church’s concernment, who, hearing he was in the town, came together and gave him an account of the actings of those times, the Prelates then designing the service book. After which Mr. Bruce prayed, and did therein tell over again to the Lord the very substance of their discourse, which was a sad representation of the case of the Church: at which time there was such an extra¬ordinary motion on all present, so sensible a down-pouring of the Spirit, that they could hardly contain themselves: yea, which was most strange, even some unusual motion on those who were in other parts of the house not knowing the cause at that very instant. One Mr. Weemes of Lothaker being then present, when he went away said, O how strange a man is this, for he knocked down the Spirit of God on us all!’’ This he said because Mr. Bruce did divers times knock with his fingers on the table. I had this from a worthy Christian gentleman in whose mother’s house this was.’’
[‘‘The Filling of Scripture,’’ p. 360.]
On this subject Fleming remarks ‘‘It is undeniable how great a witness to the Truth the Spirit, and down pouring thereof is: for this is God’s own seal, which is not put to a lie or false¬hood. Thus He bears witness to His work in the hearts of His people, and by this also the Lord doth seal and attest the doctrine of the church and commission of His servants who publish the same. Yea, at some special seasons when the Truth hath least countenance or encouragement from without: times of contradiction, when men will not receive its testimony, and a great spate of opposition is to the Gospel, then hath this in a more full and large measure been discernible.”
There is an instance of this in the life of Robert Garnock, executed with five others for "constumacv’’ and faithfulness to the Covenant in I68I. He had been stedfast from early youth, and has himself recorded: ‘‘ The Lord was kind to me then, and His love was better than life. I was tossed in my wanderings and banishment with many ups and downs till I came to Edinburgh, where I heard of a Communion to be on the borders of England, and then I went to it. Oh, let me bless the Lord that ever trysted me with such a lot as that was: for the 20th, 21st, and 22nd of April, 1677, were the three most wonderful days with the Lord’s presence that ever I saw on earth. Oh, but His power was wonderfully seen and great to all the assembly, especially to me. Oh, the three wonderful days of the Lord’s presence at East Nisbet in the Merse; that was the greatest Communion, I suppose, these twenty years; I got there what I will never forget while I live. Glory to His sweet name that ever there was such a day in Scotland; His work was wonderful to me both in spirituals and temporals; oh, that I could get Him praised and magnified for it. He was seen that day sitting at the head of His table, and His spikenard ‘sending forth a pleasant smell.’ Both good and bad were made to cry out, and some to say with the disciples, ‘It is good for us to be here.’ They would have been content to have stayed there, and I thought it was a heaven begun to be in that place.’’ ["The Scots Worthies,” p. 460.]
It was in the strength of such spiritual manifestations as these that the Covenanters withstood the fifty years’ persecution at the hands of the Prelates, Court and King. They fought for right principles and were ultimately victorious: they helped to procure the blessings of religious freedom and civil liberty which we now possess.
