For Christ's Crown & Covenant!

By Angela Wittman “They lose nothing who gain Christ.” ~ Samuel Rutherford Lady Boyd was born in Scotland between 1588 and 1594; her maiden name was Christian Hamilton. She was the oldest daughter of Sir Thomas Hamilton and his wife Margaret. Alexander Whyte, the author of “Samuel Rutherford and his Correspondents” writes that “she inherited no small part of her father’s talents and strength of character.” He then goes on to say that “All her days Lady Boyd was on the most intimate terms with the most eminent ministers of the Church of Scotland. We find such men as Robert Bruce, Robert Blair, John Livingstone and Samuel Rutherford continually referring to her in the loftiest terms.” In the book “Ladies of the Covenant” by Rev. James Anderson, she is described as having “encouraged the preaching of the gospel, exercising a generous hospitality and liberality towards its ministers, receiving them into her house and supplying them with money.” She was known to stay up late into the night ...

By Rev. David Silversides - Posted at Sermon Audio : Sermon Audio Link: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=860591821 (57 Minutes)

From Wikisource : A speech read by Covenanter, Richard Cameron, accompanied by twenty armed men in the public square of Sanquhar, Scotland, in 1680, disavowing allegiance to Charles II and the government of Scotland, in the name of "true Protestant and Presbyterian interest", opposition to government interference in religious affairs, and anti-Catholicism. This symbolic demonstration, essentially a declaration of war, was among the first of a series of events that led to the Glorious Revolution and the end of the reign of the House of Stuart. The Cameron Monument on Sanquhar High Street, commemorating the Sanquhar Declaration made by the Covenanter Richard Cameron and his supporters. (Image from Wikipedia ) It is not amongst the smallest of the Lord’s mercies to this poor land, that there have been always some who have given their testimony against every cause of defection that many are guilty of; which is a token for good, that He doth not, as yet, intend to cast us off alto...

By Dan Graves, MSL A company of English dragoons surprised and surrounded a Scottish preacher and a small band of armed men on this day July 22, 1680. Deciding to fight to the death, their leader, Richard Cameron, prayed "Lord, spare the green and take the ripe." The skirmish took place at Ayrsmoss and sprang out of the complicated web of religious and political considerations which composed English and Scottish relations at the time. England had imposed Episcopalian worship on parts of Scotland. Cameron was born in such a region and attended and served in an Episcopal church. After hearing Presbyterian outdoor preachers, he converted to their beliefs. Because of his natural gift of oratory, Covenant leaders felt Cameron was called to preach the gospel. And so he became an outdoor preacher. He embraced the sternest position of the Scottish reformers, holding that anyone who had accepted an indulgence to return to the Episcopal worship should be shunned. Cameron had tutored t...

By Angela Wittman James Renwick I can think of nothing more stirring than hearing accounts of those martyred for their faith. While there are those who scoff at the zeal of Christians willing to lay down their lives for Jesus Christ, history proves that those who have done so were full of the grace and joy of the Holy Spirit even until the very end. These men and women who counted their lives not as dear as the Gospel impacted the world for Christ in a way that will never be forgotten. J. C. McFeeters, author of “ Sketches of the Covenanters ” writes this about those who spill their blood for the Gospel of Jesus Christ: “God has His own way of calling out His witnesses, and assigning service to them. The Church, as a whole, has invalidated and incapacitated herself for this responsibility, by weakness, declension, and compromise. God does not commit His testimony to the Church, while in such condition; nor to the faithful in the Church, whose voice and actions are weakened or neutraliz...

By Angela Wittman The resource used for this story of Elizabeth Melvill (Lady Culross) is the book “Ladies of the Covenant” written by Rev. James Anderson. “Look to the Lord, thou art not left alone, Since He is thine, what pleasure canst thou take? He is at hand, and hears thy every groan: End out thy fight, and suffer for His sake.” (Excerpt from a sonnet written by Elizabeth Melvill in 1605 to John Welsh, a non-conformist minister of the Gospel, while he was imprisoned in the Castle of Blackness.) Elizabeth Melvill was born in Scotland in 1578 and died in 1640. She was an extremely intelligent and highly educated woman who was well known for her knowledge of religion. She unashamedly supported and encouraged the non-conformist ministers who stood for freedom and liberty in the Church and the Worship of God. The story has been told that Lady Culross was a devoted hearer of the preaching of the Gospel, and would often travel to different parishes to hear the preachers and to participa...

Culross Abbey Kirk - Wikimedia These biographical highlights are from Wikipedia : In 1603 Elizabeth became the earliest known Scottish woman writer to see her work in print, when the Edinburgh publisher Robert Charteris issued the first edition of Ane Godlie Dreame, a Calvinist dream-vision poem. She was a personal friend of leading figures in the presbyterian opposition, whose frustration eventually erupted in 1637 in the Edinburgh Prayerbook Riots, leading to the National Covenant of February 1638, the Glasgow General Assembly which abolished the episcopate, and the outbreak of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.[2] Melville's father was the courtier and diplomat Sir James Melville of Halhill (1535–1617), one of the many children of the Fife landowner Sir John Melville of Raith, an early convert to protestantism who was executed for treasonable communication with the English invaders in 1548. Elizabeth's marriage contract has not survived, but it is clear from the signatures to...

Ane godlie dreame, compylit in Scottish meter be M. M. gentelvvoman in Culros, at the requeist of her freindes , by Elizabeth Melville, Lady Culross. Title page. Published 1603 in Edinburgh by Robert Charteris. (Courtesy of National Library of Scotland.) Source: Wikipedia By Elizabeth Melville (Lady Culross,) Published 1603 One day as mourned very sorely, With various things which my soul was grieving My peace fled and could not be relieved With heaviness my heart was very upset I loathed my life, I could not eat or drink I could not speak or look to any living soul But mused alone and diverse things did think. The wretched world did irritate my mind I thought upon this false and Iron age, And how our hearts were so to vice inclined That Satan seemed most fearfully to rage Nothing on earth my sorrow could ease I felt my sin most strongly to increase I grieved my Spirit that was wont to be, My soul was drowned in deep distress... Before the Lord I had thus complained My mind grew calm, ...

By Angela Wittman Sarah Livingston - Photo Courtesy of WLOX - 13 A friend recently sent me this link to a story about a home schooled teen, Sarah Livingston, and her re-enactment of the Scottish Covenanters for a Mississippi History Day Competition at USM this past June where she won first place in the Performance category and the Overall prize in the high school division. Sarah is quoted in the news story as saying she wrote her own script and found her own props for the ten minute performance before the judges. To prepare for the competition she not only studied the history of the Covenanters, but she also studied the Scottish accent to make her performance more realistic. In my opinion, this is quite remarkable for a seventeen year-old young lady! May the good Lord bless Sarah Livingston and her quest to introduce others to the Scottish Covenanters through historical drama; she truly appears to be a twenty-first century Lady of the Covenant. News Source : http://www.wlo...

By Angela Wittman Readers may be familiar with the National Reform Association and the movement for a national Christian amendment acknowledging Christ as Lord in the United States Constitution. This movement has a noble history and was led by men with theological roots to the Scottish Covenanters. Wikipedia reports the movement began during the Civil War: In February 1863, while the American Civil War was being fought, a coalition of eleven Protestant denominations from seven northern states gathered to discuss the state of the nation. Seeing the Civil War as God's punishment for the omission of God from the Constitution, they discussed a proposed amendment to alter the wording of the Preamble to acknowledge God. The idea that civil governments derive their legitimacy from God, and Jesus in particular, was alleged to be based on Biblical passages such as Psalms 2 and Romans 13. Raymond Joseph was a senior pastor of Southfield Reformed Presbyterian Church , Southfield, Michigan (F...

Originally published at Ladies Of The Covenant . Ladies Of The Covenant editor's note: This essay by John W. Robbins is being reproduced from The Trinity Foundation website and can be found in its entirety at: http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=256 . Also, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Mrs. Andrea Schwertley for directing me to it. Mrs. Schwertley is truly a lady of the Covenant. - Angela Wittman, ed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Christians and the Civil War By Dr. John W. Robbins - The Trinity Foundation Editor’s note: John Robbins finished this essay December of 2007. After battling cancer for almost three years he went home to be with his Lord on August 14, 2008. He believed and faithfully defended Christ Jesus and the one true Gospel of our King. He lived his life according to Philippians 1:21 - “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” May we all endeavor to do the same. “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come ...