Chapter 5

In proof of the catholic, unsectarian, Christian spirit of Renwick and his followers, the clear statements of the INFORMATORY VINDICATION, the work which most fully and clearly defines their position, may be referred to. After laying down an admirable platform of fellowship and discipline, the persecuted Covenanters declare in effect, "We are not a Church at present, and cannot act fully as an organized Church. We are a broken, persecuted remnant. Our societies are not a Church, but a temporary means of enjoying proper religious instruction and ordinances of worship. They are, besides, associations for self-defence, and for watching and taking advantage of any public movement for overturning the present despotism, and recovering our liberties, civil and religious. We require to make the terms of admission strict, to guard against spies, and those who are contentious or quarrelsome. At the same time they declare the close and hallowed relations that bound them to all the true disciples of their common Lord. In a noble spirit of Christian brotherhood, they virtually proclaim, "On the communion of saints, let us impose no new restrictions. Though others differ from us in the word of their special testimony, let us embrace and love them, and acknowledge fellowship with them as Christian brethren."[6] In these noble utterances, we have strikingly exemplified the true spirit of Christian brotherhood and Catholic communion. This is the genuine import of the vow of the Solemn League and Covenant, which binds Covenanters to regard whatever is done to the least of them, as done to all and to every one in particular. While firmly holding fast all Scriptural attainments, and contending "earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints," we should cordially rejoice in the evidences of grace in Christ's servants wherever we find them. We should love them as brethren, fulfil the law of Christ by bearing their burdens, wish them God speed in all that they are doing for the advancement of His glory, and fervently labour and pray for the coming of the happy period when divisions and animosities shall cease, and when there shall be one King, and His name one in all the earth.

5. The testimony of Renwick and his associates is of permanent value and of special importance in our day, as it was directed against _systems of error and idolatry_, which serve to corrupt the Church and enslave the State. Against Popery in every form Renwick was a heroic and uncompromising witness. At the peril of life, he publicly testified against the usurpation of the papist James, and rejected him as having no claim to be regarded as a constitutional sovereign, and as utterly disqualified to reign in a Protestant reformed land. This was the main ground of his objection against James's toleration, for which the Indulged ministers tendered obsequious thanks to the usurper. Yet this edict of toleration was issued for the purpose of opening the way for the practice of Rome's abominations, and for the advancement of papists to places of power and trust in the nation. None of the Cameronians would, for any earthly consideration, even to save their lives, for a moment admit that a papist had any right to exercise political power in a reformed land. Our martyred forefathers we regard as worthy of high respect and imitation, for their deeply cherished dread of the growing influence of Popery, and for their determined resistance to its exclusive and extravagant claims. The system of Popery is the abnegation of all precious gospel truth; and is a complete politico-religious confederacy against the best interests of a Protestant nation. The boast of its abettors is that it is _semper eadem_--ever the same. Rome cannot reform herself from within, and she is incapable of reformation from external influences and agencies. The Bible never speaks of Antichrist as to be reformed, but as waxing worse and worse till the time when he shall be completely subverted and irrecoverably destroyed. Whatever changes may be going on in some Popish countries, whereby the power of the Papacy is weakened, it is evident that the principles and spirit of the Romish priesthood, and of those who are under their influence, remain unchanged. The errors of the Antichristian system, instead of being diminished, have of late years increased. Creature worship has become more marked and general. The Immaculate Conception has been proclaimed by Papal authority as the creed of Romanism. In these countries, and some other Protestant lands, the influence of Popery in government and education, and so on the whole social system, has been greatly on the increase. Among those who have most deeply studied inspired prophecy, there is a general expectation that the period of Babylon's downfal is hastening on, and is not far distant. There is a general presentiment too, that the Man of Sin, prior to his downfal, will make some dire and violent attempt through his infatuated followers against the truth, and against such as faithfully maintain it. The "_Slaying of the Witnesses_,"--which we are disposed to regard as yet future--may take place, not so much by the actual shedding of blood, though it is plain that Jesuit policy and violence will not hesitate to re-enact former persecution and massacre, to accomplish a desired purpose. It may mainly be effected, as Scott, the expositor, suggests, by silencing the voice of a public testimony in behalf of fundamental truths throughout Christendom; and of this there are at present unmistakeable signs not a few, throughout the churches in various countries.

The Protestant church in all its sections should be thoroughly awake to its danger from the destructive errors, idolatry and power of its ancient irreconcilable enemy; and should, by all legitimate means, labour to counteract and nullify its political influence. The ministry and the rising youth of the church should study carefully the Popish controversy, and should be intimately acquainted with the history of the rise and progress of the Papacy--its assumed blasphemous power--its accumulated errors and delusions, and its plots, varied persecutions and cruel butcheries of Christ's faithful witnesses. Above all, they should set themselves earnestly, prayerfully and perseveringly to diffuse the Bible and Gospel light in the dark parts of their native country, and among Romanists in other lands. By embracing fully and holding fast, in their practical application, the principles of the British Covenants, and by imbibing the spirit of covenanted martyrs--men like Renwick and the Cameronians, we will be prepared for the last conflict with Antichrist. The firm and faithful maintenance of a martyr-testimony will be a principal instrument of the victory of truth over the error and idolatry of Rome. "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death," (Rev. xii. 11.)

Finally--the testimony of Renwick is valuable, as throwing light on _great evils connected with systems of civil government_, and _with Protestant churches_, and as pointing out clearly the duty of faithful witnesses in relation to them. Two great principles--the one _doctrinal_, and the other _practical_, were essential to it, or rather constituted its whole speciality. These were--first--that, according to the national vows, and the reformation attainments, the whole civil polity of the nation should be conformed to the Scriptures,--and secondly, the positive duty of distinct separation from whatever systems in the state or the church that are opposed to entire allegiance to Messiah, the Prince. The civil constitution and the national legislation and administration, as well as the lives of rulers, were required to be in subjection to His authority, and in accordance with the prescriptions of His word. When such subjection is withheld, Christ's servants, if they would be faithful to the exalted Saviour, cannot do otherwise than refuse to incorporate with the national society, and to homologate the acts of its rulers; and from Churches that do not testify against national defection, they are constrained to maintain distinct separation. The past history of the Church bears clear testimony that truth has been frequently preserved, when it was in danger of being lost, by open separation from those who were bent on declension and apostacy.

In our day, it should not be regarded as enough to profess in theory the doctrine of Christ's Headship, or merely to speak in commendation of a martyr-testimony. We should aim, as Renwick and his followers, at whatever inconvenience and hardship, to give it _practical effect_. The reason why these honoured confessors disowned the authority of Charles and his brother, was, not solely or chiefly, because of their tyranny or persecuting measures, but principally because the authority assumed was opposed to the exclusive royal prerogatives of the Redeemer. The public evils against which Renwick and the later martyrs testified to the death, did not cease at the Revolution; nor can we admit that the Revolution Settlement embodied all the principles for which the Covenanted martyrs contended, and suffered, and died. On the contrary, there are essential and inherent evils in the Revolution Settlement, both civil and ecclesiastical, which exist to this day, and which render a decided testimony against it dutiful now, as it was at the period of the Revolution. The Act Rescissory, which was passed at the Restoration, is still retained in the Statute Book: the National Covenants were abandoned, both by the Church and the nation, and neither has returned to a sense of their obligation. The Scriptural attainments of the Reformation were left under a gravestone. Presbyterianism was established in Scotland--not because it was Scriptural or right in itself, but because it was agreeable to the wishes of the majority of the nation, and it was set up on an Erastian basis. By the introduction of the curates into the ministry of the Scottish establishment, at the king's behest, without any public confession or renunciation of Prelacy--the germ of Moderatism was laid, which, in due time, budded and brought forth bitter fruits, in numerous corruptions and oppressions, and in multiplied divisions and separations.

Prelacy, abjured in the Solemn League of the three kingdoms, was, at the Revolution, established in England and Ireland, and the supremacy of the monarch as head of the National Church, and in "all causes, civil and ecclesiastical," was declared to be an inherent prerogative of the crown. These evils yet exist in the civil and ecclesiastical establishments of these countries; and others have in recent years been added, such as the admission of papists to places of power and trust throughout the nation, the national endowment of popish institutions, and the public favour shown by rulers to the Antichristian system. The national policy in these instances and others that might be mentioned, is wholly inconsistent with the doctrine of the Redeemer's Headship in its legitimate application, and is the source of many of the evils that in our day corrupt and degrade the Church of England, and that prevent the developement and prevalence of genuine Protestantism throughout the nation. The Presbyterian Churches that claim descent from the covenanting reformers and martyrs, should seriously consider whether they do not compromise a faithful testimony, and encourage national apostacy, by incorporating with a civil system that refuses homage to the reigning Mediator, and obedience to the authoritative prescriptions of His word.

The rising youth of the Church should carefully study in its legitimate application, and vitally important consequences, the grand article of Renwick's testimony,--the Redeemer's Headship over the Church and the nations, and the cognate principles of the supremacy of the word, the spiritual independence of the Church, and the claim of the subjection of the nation and its rulers to the authority of the reigning Mediator. Whether viewed in the light of the past or of the present state of the nations, as of America, and the kingdoms of the antichristian earth; or of prophecy yet unfulfilled, a testimony for these truths is of grand and overwhelming importance. This is emphatically, the _present truth_--the cause of God and truth, now to be pleaded in the earth. It is "the word of Christ's patience," which we are required to hold fast. It is at our peril If we be found neutral here; our preservation from the coming "hour of temptation," is alone to be expected in fidelity to the great trust committed to us. We are assured in the faithful word of prophecy, that the Redeemer will ere long take to Him his power to reign. The "Little Stone" shall bruise and break in pieces the feet and toes of the "great Image,"--the representative of the world-powers,--and become a "great mountain," and fill the earth. Then shall the cause for which Christ's witnesses testified in sackcloth, and for which chosen martyrs died, gloriously triumph. "The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ."

The peaceful, triumphant death of Renwick, shows impressively that there is a reward to the righteous; that a life of self-denial and devoted piety appears at the close, enstamped with heaven's approval; and that labours and sufferings for Christ's sake conduct to the joy of completed victory, and to perfect communion with the Redeemer, and the redeemed in glory. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace." (Ps. xxxvii. 37.) "After this, I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kingdoms, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." (Rev. vii. 9, 10.)

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: Hist of Ch. of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 64]

[Footnote 2: Calvin and Geneva, vol. I., II.]

[Footnote 3: See Appendix,--Note A.]

[Footnote 4: Dodds' "Fifty Years' Struggle," p. 275.]

[Footnote 5: See "Faithful Contendings."]

[Footnote 6: Dodds' "Fifty Years' Struggle," p. 275.]

APPENDIX.

It has been common in some quarters of late, to speak of Renwick and his associates in testimony-bearing and suffering, as only contending against the unconstitutional and persecuting measures of the government of the Royal brothers,--and to declare that, had they lived to witness the change of government which took place at the Revolution, they would have joyfully hailed it as the realization of their eager aspirations,--and would have incorporated readily with the national society. Thus, Dodds in his "_Fifty Years' Struggle of the Scottish Covenanters_,"--while acknowledging the important services rendered to the cause of the Prince of Orange, by the bold and resolute position taken by the Cameronians, represents Renwick, as not only "the last martyr of the Covenanting struggle," but also as "the _Proto-martyr of the Revolution_." He adds, "Like the shepherd overwhelmed in the snow-storm, he perished within sight of the door. The door of deliverance was speedily opened, on the arrival of William, in November, 1688." And, again, speaking of Cameron, Renwick, and the stricter Covenanters, he says, "So far, the REVOLUTION SETTLEMENT--in the main adopting what was universal, and rejecting what was exclusive, or over-grasping in their views,--was the consummation and triumph, civilly and politically, and to a large extent, ecclesiastically, of the FIFTY YEARS' STRUGGLE OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANTERS." These statements, though plausible, and such as seem likely to be readily embraced by those who have no relish for a full Covenanted testimony--or who desire to maintain fellowship with corrupt civil and ecclesiastical systems, are liable to one fundamental and unanswerable objection,--they are wholly unsupported by historical evidence. All pains were taken by Cameron and Renwick, in preaching and in their dying testimonies, and by the United Societies in their published declarations, to show that they testified not merely against the usurpation and blasphemous supremacy of the last of the Stuarts,--but likewise, principally, against all invasion of the Redeemer's royal prerogatives,--and all departure from the scriptural attainments of the former happy Reformation. In nothing were they more decided than in testifying to the death, that the National Covenants were the oath of God, perpetually binding on all classes in the realm,--"the marriage tie," which no power on earth could dissolve--that all departure from the principles of these federal deeds was sinful, and involved the land in the guilt of national apostacy and perjury,--and that the authority of the Scripture was supreme in constituting the national society, in enacting and administering the laws, and in regulating the lives and official acts of the rulers.

The Revolution Settlement, in both its civil and ecclesiastical departments, instead of being the exemplification and carrying forward of the work of the Second Reformation,--for the maintenance of which the Scottish martyrs shed their blood,--was a deliberate abandonment of it, and was established in open opposition to its grand and distinguishing principles. The faithful companions and followers of Renwick refused to incorporate with this Settlement, on the ground of adhering firmly to the scriptural vows of the nation, and the testimonies of illustrious martyrs. While giving the best proof of their genuine patriotism, they withheld allegiance from the government of William, and they took the name and position of "Old Dissenters," for reasons which they clearly stated, which those who opposed and misrepresented them, were unable to answer, and the greater part of which are as applicable to the present British government, and existing ecclesiastical systems, as they were to the Settlement of the Revolution. Several of the political changes which have taken place in recent times, have supplied strong additional grounds for faithful Covenanters maintaining the position of public protest against, and active dissent from the establishments, civil and ecclesiastical, of the nation. The reasons of separation from the Revolution Church and State, as given by the "Society People," are presented in a lucid and convincing manner, in the work entitled--"Plain Reasons for Presbyterians dissenting from the Revolution Church in Scotland, as also their Principles concerning Civil Government, and the difference betwixt the Reformation and Revolution Principles." They are likewise exhibited in a condensed form in the "Short Account of Old Dissenters," emitted with the sanction of the Reformed Presbytery, and in very luminous terms in the Historical part of the "Testimony of the Reformed Presbyterian Church."

No person who peruses these works, and ponders their carefully prepared statements, can with candour and honesty affirm that Renwick and his fellow-sufferers would have willingly incorporated with the Revolution Settlement; or that fellowship with the present British political system, by taking oaths of allegiance and office, and setting up rulers, is consistent with their declared and dearly prized principles. Let the "Plain Reasons" to which we have referred, be duly weighed--and it must be perfectly apparent, that Mr. Dodds's oracular statement--that the "REVOLUTION SETTLEMENT" was the consummation and triumph, civilly, and politically, and to a large extent ecclesiastically, of the "Fifty years' Struggle of the Scottish Covenanters," is completely destitute of any solid foundation. These _reasons_ are such as the following--The Scottish reformation in its purest form was deliberately abandoned in the Revolution Settlement--Both the Church and State concurred in leaving unrepealed on the Statute-book, the infamous Act Rescissory, by which the National Covenants were declared to be unlawful oaths, and all laws and constitutions, ecclesiastical or civil, were annulled, which approved and gave effect to them. The Revolution Church was, in every respect, an entirely different establishment from that of the Second Reformation. Its creed was dictated by Erastian authority--its government established on the ground of popular consent and not of Divine right--its order and discipline were placed in subjection to Erastian civil rulers--and the Scriptural liberties of the ministry and membership interfered with; and corruption in doctrine, and ordinances of worship, without the power of removing it, extensively spread throughout the ecclesiastical body. How sadly different a structure did this appear to the eyes of faithful men, who lamented that the carved work of a Covenanted Sanctuary had been broken down, and the "beautiful House where their fathers worshipped, was laid waste!" Nor could the civil and political part of the Revolution Settlement have any pretensions to be a proper carrying out of the civil system of the Reformation era. In this the federal deeds of the nation were the compact between rulers and ruled, and were an essential part of the oath of the Sovereign on admission to supreme power. Civil rulers were required to be possessed of scriptural and covenant qualifications--and were taken bound to make a chief end of their government the promotion of the divine glory in the advancement of the true reformed religion, and the protection and prosperity of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. They were likewise solemnly engaged to employ their official influence and authority to put away systems that had been abjured in the National vows,--Popery, Prelacy and Erastianism, and to discourage all profaneness and ungodliness. At the Revolution, all these engagements were deliberately set aside. The sovereign's coronation oath, and the oath of allegiance of subjects, bind both equally to the support of Prelacy--which is declared to be established unchangeably in England and Ireland. The whole civil system is based on expediency and the popular will, and not on Scriptural principles. The authority claimed and exercised by the monarch over the Presbyterian Establishment in Scotland, and the National Church in England and Ireland, is grossly Erastian. The introduction of Popery into the bosom of the State--the admission of Papists to offices of power and trust in the nation, and the endowment of Popish Seminaries and chaplains--which the Revolution Settlement barred--but which the Antichristian and infidel policy of recent times has enacted, show still more clearly that the civil and political system established in these countries is diametrically opposed to that which was set up at the era of the Reformation, and was contended for by the Scottish martyrs--and impose on all who would honestly promote the ends of the National Covenants, the obligation to maintain distinct separation from it.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Life of James Renwick, by Thomas Houston