Keeping the Covenant

Isaiah 49:8 "In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances.”

There was a time when the Scottish people were told that they could not worship freely as Presbyterians. King Charles the First ordered Scottish pulpits to be filled by English priests, and that all over Scotland, the King’s Prayer book was to be used at every Sunday service.

This infuriated the independent-thinking Scots, causing them to fiercely defend their liberty of conscience and religious rights. For fifty years, (1638 – 1688) they fought against the forms of religion that were being imposed upon them by king and parliament. Using verses and passages from Isaiah, these freedom loving Presbyterians formed a covenant to confront and fight against those who were trying to eradicate their beliefs. Those years became known in Scottish history as “The Killing Times,” for many defenders of the faith were hunted down, imprisoned, tortured, and executed for opposing the government’s restrictions.

It was a long struggle. Over three generations of Scottish Presbyterians fought hard to remain independent. Instead of worshipping in their churches, they held Sunday services outside in the fields called “conventicles.” Their elders were armed with muskets and pistols to be used against government troops if necessary, but usually they were fired to give warning shots, to allow time for the congregants to flee to safety if the king’s army approached their gathering.
In 1688, in the time of God’s favor, a new revolution took place across the British Isles that ended the Killing Times. The pastors and people were restored to their churches. Their freedom to worship was reaffirmed, and their Presbyterianism grew stronger than ever.

Perhaps, in fifty years time, when those of us who are left look back on this unsettling and divisive time for our denomination, we will see that holding on to our traditions, keeping our hopes alive, and maintaining our faith in Christ enabled us to persevere, endure, and revive our calling as true Presbyterians. It is my fervent hope and prayer that we can and will overcome the things that divide us, and rediscover those sacred teachings and traditions that unite us.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we cannot see beyond this day, but You look at all of eternity. You behold the path that we are on and the divisions that we are experiencing. Grant us Your mercy and gift us with discernment, so that we may follow Your ways that will one day lead us to a time of God’s favor, a day of salvation, a covenant for our people, and a restoration of Your Church in this land. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.