Life of the rev. James Renwick

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4x3.^44.

LIFE

OP

THE KEV. JAMES RENWICK,

THE LAST OF THE SCOTTISH MARTYRS.

BY

THE REV. ROBERT SB3HPS0N,

SANQUHAR, '

AUTHOA 0» THB " TIIADITION9 OF TBB COVSNAWTWIS,'* BTC. -."^

Be thou fUthful unto defttb, and I will give thee a crown of life.'

EDINBURGH :
JOHN JOHNSTONE, HUNTER SQUARE.

LONDON : R. GROOMBRIDGE.

MDCCCXLIII.

XXTERED IK 8TATI0NJEEB* HALL.

Edinburgh : Printed by John Johnstoni, High Street.

PREFACE,

The last persecution in Scotland, which existed for
the space of eight-and-twenty years, commenced
with the restoration of Charles the Second, 1660.
This prince, infamous alike for his profligacy and
perfidy, resiled from all his vows and engagements,
and turned his hand against his hest friends. No
sooner did he ascefiid the throne, than he laid the
hand of demolition on the ancient Preshyterian
Church of Scotland, the constitution of which he
had sworn, on his coronation at Scone in 1651, to
maintain in all its integrity. He had formed the
project of rearing the fahric of a religious^ and civil
despotism, and he scrupled not to employ any means,
however nefarious, to accomplish this end. The
ladder by which he hoped to climb to the elevation
of absolute monarchy, was Episcopacy, the subser-
viency of which in promoting his designs, he firmly
counted on. Immediately after his restoration, there-
fore, he entered, contrary to his most solemn oaths,
and to every honest man s expectation, on an impious
crusade against the liberties and the lives of his sub-

IV PREFACE.

jects. He violated the social compact, and over-
stepped the limit which forms the legal barrier to
the encroachment of the ruler on the popular rights*
This reckless monarch found, on entering on his
daring enterprise, many ready instruments for the
accomplishment of his purpose, among his unprin-
cipled minions both in Church and State,*— to an
extent, indeed, which brands with an indelible
infamy the character of sundry classes of the com-
munity in that age, from whom better things were
expected.

Charles was determined that all should be subject
to his control, and that no man in his dominions
should gainsay his absolute authority. He usurped
the supremacy in Church and State, and required
every class of his subjects to bow before the great
idol which he had set up. The entire lordship which
he assumed over the consciences of men, and his
tyrannical aggression on their civil rights, were what
a great proportion of the Scottish populace, at least,
was determined not to brook. In swearing the
Covenants he had vowed to maintain the Presby-
terian Church, and to assert the rights and liberties
of the citizens ; and they had vowed allegiance to
him on these conditions; and therefore, though he
might act in violation of his engagements, thejf were
resolved to adhere to the covenanted cause, and to
abide the consequences. It was to subdue this de-
termination on their part, then, that Charles waged

PREFACE. y

the war of persecution against bis honest and un-
ofifi^iding subjects,— -a war whidi he pursued till the
end of his days, and which his successor prosecuted
with the same rigour, till he was forced to abdicate
the throne.

The period between the Restoration and the Re-
Tolution, is the darkest and most melancholy, with-
out exeption, in the entire history of the Scottish
nation. Thousands and thousands of the best
subjects in the land, because they refused to yield
subjection to an unconstitutional and lawless do-
mination, were either despoiled of their property,
or banished from their country, or depriyed of iheir
liyes.

The subject of the following Memoir was one of
the most renowned of the sufferers in that dismal
period, when eyery religious and patriotic man's life
hung in doubt before his eyes. He was bom and
csadled in persecution. His home was the wild»-
ness, and his hiding-chambers were the dens and
oayes of the earth. He maintained his testimony
on the recognised footing of the Reformation prin-
eiples, in the face of all the opposition he met with,
and at last sealed it with his blood.

His character was maligned by his enemies, and
bitterly assailed by false brethren. Eyen to this
day the aspersions that were cast on his name haye
not been fully wiped off, nor haye the minds of
many been disabused of certain injurious notions

VI PREFACE.

entertained of him. How far the following attempt
to place his character in its proper light has he en
successful, the reader is left to judge.

In this hiographical sketch, the people of the
moorlands, in the south and west of Scotland, may
prohahlj feel some interest. It was among their
ancestors that Mr Ren wick mainly sojourned. His
memory is warmly cherished hy them to this day ;
and they still retain many of the anecdotes respecting
him, with as much vividness of impression, and cor-
rectness of detail, as if the incidents had occurred
hut yesterday. A considerable number of these
traditionary notices, for the first time published, are
interspersed throughout the work, and inserted as
nearly in the order of the events as can be con-
jectured.

This little volume is given to the world, with the
sincere desire that it may profit the reader, and in
the expectation that those who peruse it will be led
to examine more particularly the history of that
eventful period to which it refers, and to investigate
more fully the great principles on which our illus-
trious ancestors took their stand, and in the defence
of which they suffered unto the death.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Pagt

Mr Renwick^B Birth-place and Parentage. — His early Piety.
— His attendance at the University. — ^His connection with
the Societies. — Lanark Declaration. — Ordained in Hol-
land, - - - - 1

CHAPTER n.

Mr Renwick*s return to Scotland. — State of the Country at
this time. — His first Puhlic Appearance at Darmead Moss, 19

CHAPTER ni.

Hardships. — Proceedings of the Council against Mr Renwick.
— Incidents. — ^Tradition.— Cottage in the Moor, , - 37

CHAPTER IV.

Happiness in the Solitudes. — Mr Renwick at Priestbill. —
Interesting Anecdote. — Apologetic Declaration, - 60

CHAPTER V.
Sanquhar Declaration. — ^Argyle, - - 78

CHAPTER VI.

Remarks. — Conventicle. — Mr Renwick^s Preaching. — Inter-
view with Mr Peden. — Success of the Gospel, - 95

VUl CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.

Page
Mr Renwick at Auchencairn, in Clofleburn. — His Journey to
England. — Joined by Messrs Alexander Shields and David
Houston, - - - - 114

CHAPTER VIII.

State of matters in the Country. — Mr Renwick and his
Party.— Fast at Caimtable, - - 130

CHAPTER IX.
Toleration. — Excessive Labours. — Anecdotes, - 148

CHAPTER X.

Increase of Labours. — Searching manner of Preaching. —
Proclamation by the Council. — ^Traditions, - 165

CHAPTER XI.

Protestation against the Toleration. — Escape at Peebles. —
Apprehension in Edinburgh.— His Indictment.— Interview
with his Mother.— His Trial.— His situation, and conduct
in Prison, . - - 182

CHAPTER XII.

The morning of his Execution.— His last Letter.— His beha-
viour in Prison.— His Martyrdom.— His Character, 203

LIFE

OF THE

REV. JAMES RENWICK.

CHAPTER I.

Mr Renwick*s Birth-place and Parentage. — His Earlj Piety. —
His Attendance at the University. — His Connection with the
Societies. — Lanark Declaration. — ^Ordained in Holland.

MiNiHivB is a pleasant village in the parish of
Glencaiin, in the county of Dumfries. It lies in
the bosom of one of the most delightful valleys in
the south of Scotland, and is surrounded with
scenery sweetly picturesque. The locality, in the
midst of which the sequestered village stands, has
been hallowed by the blood of the ''martyrs of
Jesus," which, in the heavy times of persecuting
violence, was made to flow so profusely on the
mountains and mosses of Scotland. The month
of May, 1685, witnessed a tragic scene enacted
at the bridge end of Minihive, when William
Smith, a youth of only eighteen years of age,
was cruelly shot by the command of Lowrie of
Maxwelton and Douglas of Stenhouse, for his
attachment to the covenanting cause. He died

LIFE OF THE

ivith much heavenlj composure, and in the full
assurance of faith, and striving to console his afflicted
parents, who were called to witness the death of
their dear hoy, and to how suhmissively hefore
God's terrihle things. In the churchyard of this
parish there rest the ashes of four honoured witnesses
for the cause of Christ, who, heing found in a care
at Ingliston in the neighbourhood, were instantly
shot by the barbarous persecutors. One of them,
when weltering in his blood, exclaimed, '' Though
erery hair of my head were a man, I am willing to
die all these deaths for Christ and his cause."
Rest ye blessed bodies of the martyrs — ^rest in your
blood-stained windine-sheet, till that blast, which
shall issue with such startling energy from the
mouth of the last trumpet as to be heard by all the
dead, shall break your slumbers in the tomb, and
callyou to inherit the martyr's crown !

Tne notice of these incidents has been suggested
by the mention of the name of Minihiye, in whose
immediate yicinity was bom the illustrious James
Benwick, the last of the Scottish martyrs. The
name of this rural yillage cannot be dissociated from
the memory of this pious and devoted youth, the
narratiye of whose short and eventful life it is our
intention, in the sequel, to present to the reader.

There stood, on the ancient &rm of Knees, in
the parish of Glencaim, and near to Minihive, a
lowly cottage, occupied by two rare Christian per-
sons, Andrew Renwick and his wife Elizabeth
Corsan. Andrew followed the occupation of a
weaver, and in his humble line he walked with
God, a thankful dependent both on his providence
and grace. Elizabeth was, in the full sense of the

REV. JAMES RENWICK. S

expression, a ^' mother in Israel," — a woman fiill of
faith and of good works, and one who had great
pleasure in religious ordinances, to enjoy which she
frequently travelled considerable distances from
her home, and was a constant attendant on the
sacramental occasions, imder the ministry of the
godly John Semple of Carsfaim. This pious pair
were warmly attached to the principles of the
Beformation: and the door of tbeir dwelling was
readily opened to the wanderers who, for conscience'
sake, were banished from their homes to traverse
the mountains and the wildernesses around them.
This devout and affectionate couple were blessed
with several children, whom the great Disposer of
events was pleased to remove in infeincy; and
Andrew Renwick, whose mind was always disposed
to bend in the lowliest resignation to the Divine
will, used to comfort his wife, whose motherly
heart, on the occasion of the death of her sweet
babes, was crushed with grief, by saying, that he
was well pleased to have children to be heirs of
glory, whether they died young or old.

As this good woman had hitherto been deprived
of her children in the early morning of their exist-
ence, she besought of the Lord a child who might
not only be an neir of glory, but who might tdso
live to serve him in his generation. This request,
like the prayer of Hannah, was granted, and James
Renwick was bom on the 15th February 1662, a
little after the commencement of that long and
grievous persecution for righteousness' sake, in
which he was destined to be so conspicuous a
sufferer. We may easily conceive how tms worthy
matron would, with grateful heart, devote this

4 LIFE OF THE

**' 8011 of her yows" solemnly and in faith to Him
from whom she had received him. Nor was this
devotement in vain ; He accepted the offering, and
testified his acceptance by the communication of
his pprace to the child even in his infancy. The
spintual disposition of the boy was observable when
he was no more than two yoars of age, for at this
early period he was seen to aim at prayer even in
his cradle. The remarkable appearances of a
gracious dealing with their sweet infant, excited
no ordinary emotions in the hearts of the parents.
And what parait, who is at all interested in divine
things himself, does not rejoice to witness the
symptomatic workings of heavenly grace in his chil-
dren? The dawning of spiritual light in the heart,
though faint and feeble at first, is nevertheless the
precursor of a brighter day, when the true light
shall shine in full radiance on the soul. From the
early work of grace in her son, Elizabeth Corsan
concluded that it was the design of Providence to
sanctify him for some great work in the Church, or
to prepare him, it might be, for great sufferings in
bearing witness to the truth. It is said that his
mother never lost her confidence in God respecting
him, even in the midst of the greatest trials of
persecution to which he was exposed in after life,
firmly believing that he would be carried honour-
ably through, to the glory of God and the edification
of many soids.

When he was six years of age, and could read
the Bible, he was much exercised in his mind
respecting the Maker of all things, and how the
world was created, and for what end. The idea of
a multiplicity of worlds, which, in that age, was

REV. JAMES BENWICK. 5

very rarelj entertained by the common people,
seems to have arrested his attention in a manner
unusual among children. His mind was absorbed
in musing on this amazing subject for the space of
nearly two years together, till at length he came
to the solid conviction that Almighty power was
competent to all things, and that the worlds were
framed by the word of God* These thoughts in a
mere child show the workings of a mind above
the ordinary capacity. By these cogitations he
attained, at an early period, to a rational belief in
the existence of a God, his creative power, and
superintending providence. After this, however,
and when he had reached more maturity both in
years and in understanding, we find him attacked
by temptations, which assailed the fundamental
principles of all religion ; and so powerful and bitter
were diese assaults, that one day, when walking in
the fields, and gazing on the mountains b^ which
he was surrounded, he exclaimed in the earnestness
of his spirit, ^' Though all these lofty mountains
were devouring furnaces of fire and brimstone, I
would be content to go through them aU, if by tliis
means I could arrive at the imwavering conviction
that there is a God." Out of this difficulty, how-
ever, he eventually emerged, and came not only
to the entire belief of the Divine existence, but
also to a comfortable view of his personal interest
in that God, as his God and Father in Christ.
During his childhood his manner of life furnished
the most unequivocal evidence of genuine religion.
There were three things for which he was remark-
able : secret prayer, the reading of the Bible, and
obedience to his parents. What a contrast does the

a2

6 LIFE OF THE

conduct of this pious youth present to that of the
most of children, who live without prayer, forget
the Word of God, and disohey their parents. Such
children do not seem to remember, that though
young in years, they are accountable to God, and
that their habitual disregard of religion will, in the
end, destroy the soul.

So complete was his submission to the will of
his parents, that though he desired, above all
things, to prosecute an education for the ministry, he
never objected, nor showed the slightest symptoms
of murmuring, when they proposed that he should
follow some secular trade, by which to earn an
honest livelihood. When he had nearly reached
the fourteenth year of his age, he sustained a heavy
loss in the decease of his honoured father, who died
in the full hope of the heavenly blessedness. On
his death-bed he expressed his fiill persuasion that
his beloted son would have but a short time to live
in the world, but that the Lord would make an
eminent use of him as an instrument for the pro-
motion of His cause. He was thus left withj his
mother in poor circumstances, but yet depending
on the Providence that cares for all. He had now
made considerable progress in that learning which
was necessary to fit him for the object he had in
view, so far as the means of education in a secluded
part of the country could furnish. But if he was
making progress in the school of literature, he was
also making progress in the school of Christ, and was
daily growing in grace and in the knowledge of
divine doctnne. He was a help to his worthy
mother, and much esteemed by the people in the
neighbourhood.

REY. JAMES RENWICK. 7

At length the Lord, who is the breaker up of
the way of those who trust in him, proyided for
him the means of prosecuting his studies in the city
of Edinburgh, where he attended the schools, and,
finally, the university. A number of good people,
to whom he was introduced, took a warm interest
in him, and exerted themselyes in his behalf.
When ready for the university, he superintended
the education of a number of young gentlemen,
which both procured him the means of subsistence,
and promoted his own learning. It was when thus
employed that he engaged somewhat freely with
these young men in sundry games and recreations,
which were deemed unsuitable to his religious
character and prospects, and the circumstance w^
made use of by his enemies to injure his reputation ;
but those who knew him best were ready to prove
how unfounded these aspersions were, and they bore
their unqualified testimony to the blamelessness of
his deportment. His elevation from a state of
poverty to comparatively easy circumstances, and
his being introduced into genteel society, might at
first produce an unfavourable effect on the ardent
mind of young Ben wick ; and hence the necessity
of circumspection on the part of young men of
religious habits, when they happen to be transferred
to a different sphere from that in which they were
formerly placed.

When the period of his studies in the university
drew to a close, he refused the oath of allegiance,
which was then tendered to every student of divi-
nity, on which account he was denied his laureation,
but afterwards he obtained it privately, with other
two students in Edinburgh. Mr Renwick now

8 LIFE OF THE

began to entertain serious scruples respecting his
hearing the indulged ministers, nvho seemed to have
been guilty of many unjustifiable compliances, and
he was thrown into a state of great perplexity with
regard to the course he ought to pursue, not seeing
it his duty to withdraw from them entirely. After
much prayer and many inquiries, however, he was
led to perceive his way more clearly, and like an
honest man, he determined to follow it. Having
witnessed the death of several of the worthies, and
perceiving the heavenly composure and triumph
with which they yielded up their lives, he felt a
strong inclination to identify himself with the cause
for which they suffered. This inclination ripened
into a full determination, after witnessing the
martyrdom of the good Cargill at the Gross of Edin-
burgh. The heavenliness of this martyr's deport-
ment on the scaffold, — the calm statement of the
ground of his sufferings, — the unruffled peace which
he enjoyed, — the dignified and composed manner
in which he surveyed the frightful apparatus of
death, and the joyful anticipation of his immediate
entrance on the celestial blessedness, all wrought
together in the mind of the youthfril spectator, and
guided him to a decision from which he never
afterwards resiled. Little did the persecutors dream
that the public execution of these holy men was to
become, m the hands of Providence, the means of
raising up multitudes to supply their place, and to
rear to a still greater and more conspicuous eleva-
tion the standard of Zion, all sullied and torn as it
was, on the hills and moorlands of bleeding Scot-
land.

After the death of the saintly Cargill, when field

ISSPM^^^^^^^^^QW

REV. JAMES BENWICK. 9

preachings ceased for a season, the suffering remnant
that had heen wasted and scattered by aeyouring
wolves, gathered here and there in little groups,
and formed themselves into praying associations for
the purpose of preserving among them the life of
godliness. These societies were productive of great
good to the country generally. They became f bun*
tains, by the side of which many a weary pilgrim,
in passing through the wilderness, reclined, and
was refreshed by the liying waters which they
contidned, and preserved in purity and sweetness.
Many a hallowed hour did the worthies of the
covenant spend in these religious fellowships in
some lonely dwelling in the dreary desert, when the
sable curtain of the night screened the face of the
sky, or when the snow lay deep and impassable on
the moorlands ; and who can tell, at this distance of
time, how many souls were edified in these meet-
ings, or how many wanderers were by their means
gathered into the fold of Christ ? These societies
at length formed a powerful bond of union among
the dispersed people of Christ, who looked to one
another for encouragement and defence in the dark
day of defection and suffering. Delegates were
chosen by the different associations, who convened
in some suitable place to manage the matters which
concerned the entire associated body ; and any in-
formation that related to the general interests was
circulated with amazing rapidity to every comer
of the land. By this means, whatever matter of
importance was transacted in one place became
speedily known in every other. These meetings
were not rendezvouses of rebellion, where mischief
was plotted in sullenness alid secrecy, but hidden

I

!

10 LIFE OF THE

sanctuaries for God's worship and mutual edifi-
cation.

It was not long till Mr Benwick became a mem-
ber of these societies ; and none was more active
and zealous than he in promoting the good work
of God among them. His fervent prayers and
heart-stirring exhortations greatly renresdied and
stimulated the friends who met in social inter-
course. By this means the highest opinion was
formed of his pietv and talents ; and he was already
looked on as tne mstrument which the great Head
of the Church was to employ to feed the scattered
flock, in the day when all the shepherds had with-
drawn into comers, to screen themselves from the
howling and desolating blast which now swept with
such terrific fury over the land. Nor did these
anticipations prove deceptive; for the time came
round when he alone, of all her sons, as the vene-
rable Mr Peden expressed it, was found ready to
sustain his fainting mother's head in the day when
her remorseless foes drove over her prostrate body
the bloody car of a ruthless persecution.

About the time that Mr Benwick joined the
societies, he testified the high respect he entertained
for the character of the persecuted, by raising, at
the risk of his own life, the bodies of several of
the martyrs which had been buried at the foot of
the Gallowlee gibbet, and interring them, by the
assistance of a rew friends, in the churchyard of St
Cuthberts.

On the 1 2th of January 1682, the Lanark Decla-
ration was published. In this document a testimony
was emitted against the last parliament, at which
the Duke of York presided as commissioner, and

REV. JAM£S RENWICE. 1 1

particularlj against the laws enacted by it : there
was also contained in it an adherence to the de-
claration formerly published at the Cross of San-
quhar. Mr Renwick was employed in publishing
this declaration, but he had no hand in the penning
of it, else it is likely that some expressions would
hare been greatly modified. This manifesto brought
no little odium on the society people. They were
reproached not only at home, but also abroad, as
an association that had abandoned the approved
principles of tfie Reformed Church of Scotland,
and had adopted wild and extravagant nostrums.
In order, therefore, to clear themselves of these
aspersions, they deputed Gordon of Earlston to visit
the Churches of Holland, and to lay before them a
true and unvarnished statement of their circum-
stances and proceedings. In this mission he was
successful, and gained the sympathy of these sister
Churches in behalf of that afflicted people whose
name was cast out as evil. This prudent measure
on the part of the Covenanters was the means of
securing for them afterwards an ordained ministry,
which otherwise, in all likelihood, they never would
have obtained.

Mr Renwick and several other young men were
chosen by the societies to proceed to Holland to
perfect their studies, and to receive ordination to
the holy ministry. A short time prior to his de-
parture to Holland, we find the mind of Mr Ren-
vnck most religiously and devoutly exercised. The
following is an extract from one of his letters
to Mr IiU>bert Hamilton at Lewarden : — " O let us
follow Him, O let us serve Him, O noble Master, O
noble service ! In serving Him, therein we shall

12 LIFE OP THE

get all our ambition satisfied. O let us follow him
and serve him in his own way ; he cannot be found
out of his own way. In his light we shall see light ;
in the light of his paths, and there only, we shall
see the comfortable light of his countenance. O
light, O comfortable lignt. There be many that say,
wno will show us any good ? but let us say. Lord,
lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us ;
he can, yea, doth gladden our hearts more than the
enemies' hearts, in the time when ^their com and
wine are increased. O let us leaye the world, and
follow him. Is he not saying, ' Come with me from
Lebanon, my sister, with me from Lebanon.' O,
if his company will not allure us, surely nothing
will ; and both to ravish us therewith, and to make
us sure thereof, he says, ^ with me from Lebanon,
with me from Lebanon.' " And in a letter to Mr
Drakel, an eminent minister in Holland, a few
days after this, we find him employing the follow-
ing language : — *' But O, what shall I say ? Is not
the Lord God of hosts worthy, and only worthy of
all service, if we could serve him ? May not that
infinite and transcendent love, in the profound depth
and admiration whereof angels are drowned, which
he bore unto men before the foundations of the
world were laid, so ravish and fill our souls, as
that we might say. Him only will we serve who
loved us ? Nothing present, or to come, shall be
able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus. O, is not his yoke easy, and his
burden light ? His cross is no cross, for he bears it
himself; and also those who take it up. His will
is holy, just, and good, and spiritual in all that he
does. O, what is more desirable than to live and

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 13

die unto him and for him ?'' In such a heavenly
frame, and with such sincere desires to please God
and to serve him, did this interesting youth sail for
the United Provinces, towards the end of the year
1682.

It was in the University of Groningen that Mr
Renwick prosecuted his studies. His residence in
Holland was hut short, heing only ahout six months,
hut during that time he made very great proficiency.
His young and ardent mind pursued with incessant
application the particular Branches of study to
which it was necessary he should attend, and his
profiting soon hecame apparent to all. He was
regarded hy the learned with whom he associated
as a youth of rare talents and of uncommon piety.
His gentle and amiahle manners and devout habits
gained the unfeigned love and respect of all who
knew him. Though he loved his studies, and fol-
lowed them with eager assiduity, he never forgot
the main thing, the state of religion in his own
soul. It could not be said of him while he laboured
to accomplish himself for the benefit of others, that
he forgot the keeping of his own vineyard. Amidst
his other learning, nis great object was to learn
Christ, and to learn himself. In a letter to Mr
Hamilton, he says, << O that I could praise Him for
his free, free love : he lets me see much sin, and
yet lets me see also that he does not contend for
the same, — which cannot but be great matter of
wonder. O, no sight, I think, is so sweet as that
sight, for it is backed with admiration of his free
love, and also with self-loathing."

During his stay in this place, though he was
happy in the society of learned and religious per-

14 LIFE OP THE

sons, yet his heart was with the hleeding remnant
in his natiye land. He saw them as sheep hleating
on the mountains, without a shepherd, and he
longed to be with them to share their hazards in
the desert wastes, and to impart to them the bread
of life, to strengthen and encourage their hearts
in their forlorn condition. In one of his letters
to his friend Hamilton, he employs the following
language : — ^' I am not a little sorrowful at the very
heart that I am not in Scotland to obey all your
commands anent your dear brother. The Lord him-
self knows that nothing that ever I was trysted
with was such an exercise to me as my being de-
tained now out of it is. My longings and earnest
desires to be in that land and with that pleasant
remnant are very great."

His feelings in prospect of his being inyested
with the office of the holy ministry were precisely
such as became a man who was alive to the weight
and responsibility attached to it. " Oh," he ex-
claims, " oh, it is a weighty work indeed ; oh, I
say, a weighty work indeed : who is fit for showing
up the mysteries of salvation ? who is fit for declar-
ing our sweet Lord Jesus Christ, Prophet, Priest,
and King in Zion, without any competitor, and for
opening up the same? who is fit for dispensing
these glorious benefits of the covenant of redemp-
tion? Oh, who is sufficient for these things ("
What a lesson is this to those youthful aspirants
after the ministry who are stimulated by merely
selfish and earthly motives. They run unsent, for
the glory of the Redeemer and the good of souls
never enter into their calculations. Put me into the
priest's office, that I may eat a piece of bread, is, it

REV. JAMES REN WICK. 1 5

18 to be feared, the tacit language of too many in
these times of Zion's peace and external prosperity ;
and equally condemnable are the motives of the
individual who thrusts himself into the pulpit, that
by means of his talents and his oratory he may gain
a name. " This," to quote the words of an eloquent
writer, *' this is the direst, the deepest tragedy that
ever was performed by men, — since it ends in the
eternal death of the performer, who forgets, as he
snufis the gales of popular applause, that the
yapours of damnation float upon the breeze."

The wants of the suffering people who had with-
drawn themselves from the ministry of the indulged,
called for the return of Mr Renwick. It was there-
fore necessary that his ordination should be has-
tened. For this purpose Mr Hamilton, who was
warmly attached to Mr Renwick and the cause of
the Scottish sufferers, applied to Mr Brakel, who
cordially acceded to the proposal, and wished much
that the ordination should take place in Embden.
This, however, was found to be impracticable, on
account of Mr Renwick's scruples to employ per-
sons in this work whom he did not consider sound
in the faith. Application was next made to the
Classis of Groningen, an ecclesiastical consistory
similar to a'presbytery in Scotland ; and the appli-
cation being favourably received, Mr Renwick's
testimonials were produced and sustained. When
the Classis met, Mr Renwick, and Mr Flint, a
fellow-student, were called in, and, at the request
of the Assembly, delivered their preliminary dis-
courses with great gravity. In these discourses
they, pointed out what they considered to be the
corruptions of the Dutch Church ; and this, in men

] 6 LIFE OF THE

80 young, and being withal strangers, and dependent
on the good- will of the Classis for ordination, might
be deemed rather a bold proceeding ; instead, how-
ever, of giving offence, it was well taken, and their
discourses were approved of and sustained. On
such occasions, it was customary to pay 20 guilders
for the use of the church, but the Classis generously
declared that they would defray the entire charges
themselves. But though the trial discourses were
sustained, a difficulty of rather a formidable nature
presented itself, and this was, the ordinary sub-
scription of the catechisms of the Dutch Church.
With this Mr Renwick would by no means com-
ply, alleging that the catechism justified what was
wrong in their Church. This difficulty, however,
was at length got rid of, by the proposal that the
candidates should subscribe the Standards of the
Church of Scotland. This both relieved Mr Renwick,
and reflected no small credit on the Classis. He
was then, in the presence of his friends, solemnly set
apart to the office of the ministry by the imposition
of hands and fervent prayer. So deep and hallowed
were the impressions produced by the services, that
the whole audience was melted into tears. After {

his ordination, he delivered a discourse before the |

Classis, which seems to have been attended with |

uncommon power from on high. ^' With this
solemnity," says Alexander Shields, '^the Classis
was so much affected, that at dinner, to which he ,

and his friends attending were invited, the prescs I

declared the great satismction the whole brethren
had in Mr Renwick, that they thought the whole j

time he was before them, he was so filled with the
Spirit, that they had never seen such evident tokens

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 17

of the Lord's being with them as in that affair all
alongst. Another declared he had been twenty years
a minister in that place, but had never seen nor
fomid so much of the Lord's Spirit accompanying
a work as that. Then desiring a relation might
be given to the brethren of their cause, sufferings,
and wrestlings, they were so filled, both with joy
and grief, that they promised to mind their case,
both in private and in public, and offered them-
selves for the same service again whatever might be
the hazard."

These godly, learned, and judicious men, gave
their most unqualified testimony in Mr Renwick's
behalf. He was ordained on the 10th May (o.s.)
1683. Thus was prepared an eminent witness for
the truth, who, single-handed, was to maintain the
cause of Christ's crown and covenant in the glens
and solitudes of Scotland.

Shortly after his ordination, he wrote to Mr
Hamilton in the following strain : — " You know
what a great work the Lord hath laid upon me,
and how he hath laid so many obligations upon me
to be for him and him only. I hope that ye will
be mindful thereof, praying that he will en^w me
with zeal, courage, resolution, constancy, tenderness,
and humility, and give a door of utterance, that
with all boldness I may speak all his words, and
that he may follow the same with his rich blessing.
I do not think but trials and difficulties are abiding
me; but if he be with me, I shall not care ; we must
not this day seek great things for ourselves when
the Lord is bringing evil upon all flesh, and is
breaking down what he hath built, and plucking
up what he hath planted. O, I must say this in-

b2

>%«^i<»%<'^ «» « >•

18 LIFE OF THE

deed to the praise of his free grace, that he is con-
tinuing and increasing his kindly dealing with my
soul. O that I could praise him and commend him
to all flesh." This shows how devoutly he was
exercised, how pure were his motives, in entering
on the ministry, and what a deep sense of his own
insufficiency he entertained.

On the day after his ordination, a communication
was received by Mr Brakel, stating that a formal
libel was to be forwarded from the Scottish minis-
ters in Rotterdam, containing very serious charges
against the society people in Scotland, which must
be answered, or else the ordination delayed. This,
however, came one day too late, and could not now
affect Mr Renwick ; and the friendly disposition of
the Classis towards him was not on this account in
the least degree lessened.

VBI

REV. JAMES RENWICE. 19

CHAPTER II.

Mr Benwick's Return to Scotland.— £ltate of the Country at this
time. — His first Public Appearance in Darmead Moss.

So strong was Mr Renwick's desire of visiting
Scotland, that immediately after his ordination he
hastened to Rotterdam to embrace the first oppor-
tunity of sailing to his native land. In Rotterdam
he ivas assaulted by several of the ministers with
regard to his principles, and the conduct of the
societies in Scotland ; but he was nothing moved,
he answered all with meekness, he continued firm
to his purpose, and was determined to follow, in
the strength of his Master, what appeared to be the
plain line of his duty.

In a short time, finding a ship ready to sail,
he embarked at the Brill, but being detained a
few days waiting for a fair wind, he was so dis-
gusted with the profanity of those on board, who
were continually pressing him to drink the king's
health, and threatening to inform on him in case of
a refusal, that he left the ship and took his passage
in another bound for Ireland. When at sea, a violent
storm arose, which compelled them to put into the
Rye harbour in England at the very time when

20 LIFE OF THE

there was so great an uproar throughout the king-
dom respecting the Ryehouse plot. This incident
threatened to inyolve him in no small distress, and
he narrowly escaped heing apprehended. Both the
tide-waiters and the master of the vessel were in-
clined to betray him into the hands of his enemies ;
hut, by the kindness of Providence, he eluded the
snares that were laid for him, and in the beginning
of August, after a perilous voyage, he arrived at
Dublin. Here he had frequent interviews with the
ministers who were resident in the place, with whom
he warmly and affectionately remonstrated on ac-
count of their defections and their lukewarmness
in the cause of Christ. His reproofs, though not
accompanied with any reforming effect, were at least
well taken, and the persons with whom he conversed
conceived a good opinion of him as a godly and
zealous youth, and they exerted themselves in pro-
curing for him a speedy passage to Scotland. His
voyage to what Mr Peden used to call, when in
Ireland, the ^^ bluidy land," was accomplished with
much greater difficulty than Mr Renwick antici-
pated. The master of the vessel, who was no friend
to the covenanting cause, was induced, notwithstand-
ing, to set him ashore during the night, otherwise
he would have been seized on the first moment of
his landing. Thus was this devoted servant of Christ
restored to his native land through many difficulties
and perils ; he was preserved and sanctified for the
great and good work, in which, for about the space
of four years and a-half, he laboured in the light of
his Master's countenance, with all fidelity and pain-
fulness, till he sealed his testimony with his blood.
At the time when Mr Renwick set his foot, as an

REV. JAMES REN WICK. 21

ordained minister, on the Scottish shores, the coun-
try was in a melancholy condition. The persecution
had now risen to a dreadful height ; and so frequent
were the murders on fields and scaffolds, that the
period was emphatically denominated the killing
time. The whole land was oyerrun with oppression,
and violence had risen up like a mighty flood,
pouring its desolating waters over every district
where any symptoms of civil and religious liberty
showed themselves. The bigoted and ruthless rulers
in Church and State vented, without restraint or
compunction, their fury on the unoffending people
of God, who were subjected to unheard-of suffer-
ing. And for what was it they suffered ? Why, the
great and leading offence was, their holding the doc-
trine of the supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ as
the King and Head of his own Church. It was for
maintaining this, in the face of the usurpation of it
by a profligate prince, that their enemies saw fit to
yoke the car of oppression, and to drive it remorse-
lessly over the breadth and length of a prostrate
land. Nor were the principles of civil liberty lost
sight of by our persecuted ancestors ; and because
they dared, as men and as citizens, to assert these,
the sword of despotism was lifted up to hew them
to pieces ; so that, in the united character of Chris-
tians and of patriots, our forefathers maintained a
noble struggle.

Their non-compliance with the iniquitous laws
of the time subjected the Covenanters to incredible
hardships. A lawless soldiery were let loose on the
country, to plunder and kill at their will, those who
would not subject their consciences to the dominant
party. Their recreant persecutors yielded their con-

22 LIFE OF THE

-nctions to the will of a despot, and, to serve a pur-
pose, forswore the tows under which they lay ; but
the sufferers for conscience' sake maintained their
original position, and rather than swerve from which
they were prepared to endure the loss of all things,
and even of life itself. Their craven-hearted rulers
might openly and avowedly perjure themselves, but
the virtuous peasantry were not to be seduced by
their example ; it was their determination to cleave
to the Lord in what they conceived to be the ob-
vious paths of duty ; and bravely did they maintain
this determination, and thereby proved themselves
to be a race of as noble, principled, and. upright
hearted men as the world ever saw. They were men
who reflected an honour on the nation in which
ihey lived ; and had their princes used them well,
and according to the terms of their covenanted en-
gagements, they would have been a rock of defence
to them, and the stability of their throne.

It is a grievous slander to represent the Covenan-
ters of Scotland as a race of turbulent and seditious
men, whose principles forbade them to live in sub-
jection to lawful authority. They were the last men
in the nation who would have risen up against the
righteously constituted authorities of the mnd ; and
if they had not been forced to defend themselves
against an illegal aggression, we would never have
heard of their opposition. They were men of a peace-
able disposition, good and loyal subjects, but slaves.
"The Reformers of Scotland," says Dr M'Crie,
" were always Covenanters^ and always loyal^ but
never slavish," Who, we ask, were the rebels of
these times, — ^the subjects who adhered to the con-
stitutional laws, or the rulers who violated the social

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 23

compact, and broke faith with the people ? Their
ciril and religious rights were inyaded ; and viewing
themselves not only in the light of Christian men,
but also as members of the commonwealth, the
Covenanters considered it their bounden dutj to
defend these privileges, and that not for the sake
of themselves merely, but also for the benefit of
posterity. He deserves neither the name nor the
placo of a citizen, who will not stand honestly for*
ward in defence of the rights and lives of the com-
munity, when these are unrighteously assailed. The
contendings on the part of the Covenanters would
never have existed, had not their rulers attempted,
with sacrilegious hands, to wreathe about their necks
the chains of a political and ecclesiastical despotism.
Let him renounce the civil constitution of the Re-
volution Settlement, and be branded as a rebel, who
is mean enough to traduce the manly and loyal
struggles of the honest Covenanters of Scotland.

In this crusade against the religion and liberties
of the land, many ready and effective instruments
were found to carry into full execution the dark
designs of the worthless men who guided the helm
of affairs during the reign of the royal brothers.
The chief of these " human blood-hounds," as they
have been named by one of the master minds of
our age, were Claverhouse, — familiarly denominated
Clavers, that reckless and unprincipled cavalier, that
gallant and accomplished slaughterman, who, in his
appearance, seemed fit only to grace a court, but
who in action proved himself a monster of cruelty,
and a ferocious butcher of his kind ; the infamous
Lngg, noted for his coarseness, inhumanity, and blas-
phemy ; the notorious Dalziel of Binns, whose bar-

24 LIFE OF THE

baric and savage appearance, when he happened
to yisit his master Charles the Second, with whom
h& was a great favourite, uniformly attracted a
crowd of wondering boys on the streets of London ;
and Queensberrj, of persecuting memory, distin-
guished for his injustice, rapacity, and avarice ; and
a host of others no less noted in their different
localities, — all of whom were active emissaries of
Satan, and busily employed in oppressing and mur-
dering God's saints.

This state of things drove the Church into the
wilderness, where she sought a place of refuge from
the face of the dragon. But even here she could not
be hid ; her enemies, instigated by Satan, pursued
her into the very heart of the dreariest solitudes,
and there mingled her blood with the mountain rills,
or with the dark moss water on the heath. The
assemblies which met on the moors and on the hills
were frequently attacked and hewn to pieces by
the savage troopers, who delighted in those acts of
cruelty m which their still more savage masters
employed them. The heathy mountain side, the dark
and secluded glens, the cold damp caves in the rock,
and the murky dens of the earth, were places to
which they resorted, in seeking an asylum from the
pitiless storms of persecution ; and it was in such
places that they frequently fell martyrs in the cause
of the holy evangel.

The preachers, who, like Moses, led their flocks
to the back parts of the deserts, that there, on the
green spots of the wilderness, they might find that
pasture which was denied them elsewhere, were
especially the objects of their enemies' dislike. They
were considered as the ringleaders of the rebellion,

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 25

and consequently they were the more eagerly sought
for. After the standard of the gospel was reared in
the fields, the ministers who presided at the con-
yenticles were deemed peculiarly hostile to the
Government, and a great price was set on their
heads. These holy and devoted men traversed the
country, preaching the gospel wherever they had
access, and this they did at the daily risk of their
lives ; hut then, " they loved not their lives unto the
death." On these occasions, when the assemblies of
God's people convened on the desert heath, or in
the bosom of the bosky glen, warders were stationed
at different distances, to give notice of the approach
of the enemy, who, by means of the spies who were
constantly prowling about, were sure to receive
information of the meeting. It was at the peril of
their lives that they gathered the manna in the
wilderness; butlhen, the bread was so sweet to their
taste, that rather than forego the precious repast,
they would brave every hazard. These were times
when the sincerity of a man's religious profession
was tested to the uttermost, and when the Saviour's
presence was more especially requisite to strengthen
the faith and the hearts of his followers ; and verily
they were strengthened, for He in whose cause they
suffered did not desert them in the day of trial. The
adherents of the covenant displayed a moral bravery
which their warlike enemies might well envy, but
which they could not equal. Even timid females
and tender-hearted children manifested a courage in
meeting death for the Truth's sake, which astonished
their adversaries, and made them quail before it.
The scenes of murder on the scaffold, and the shoot-
ings in the mosses and on the mountains, demon*

c

26 LIFE OF THE

strate that the oppressors of the gospel in Scotland
had not cowards to deal with ; and well may we
affirm, that the tales of Ghrecian and Roman heroism,
which have been arrayed in classic beauty, and so
much lauded by posterity, are not to be named, in
point of interest, with those relating to our suffer-
ing ancestors, who were, for the most part, plain
country men, not bred in camps, nor trained to a
high sense of honour ; but they were trained under
Christ the Captain of our salvation, for whose cause
they were at all times ready to die.

And who were the men that instigated all this
mischief? They were chiefly the prelates, at the
head of whom was placed the notorious Archbishop
Sharp of St Andrews, whose tragic end, though it
is to be stigmatized as foul and flagrant murder, was
yet, in the providence of God, a visitation awfully
appropriate as a conclusion to his impious and cruel
life. The prelates, and their underlings the curates,
wrought much havoc in the Church, by the infor-
mations which they lodged, and the means which
they employed in stimulating to more energetic
measures the gentlemen of tne country and the
members of the council against the non-conformists.
The curates kept a roll of their parishioners, which
was frequently called on the Lord's day, at the dis-
mission of the congregation; while the soldiers, who,
during public worship, had been carousing in the
neighbouring ale-house, assembled at the church
doors, and counted the people as they retired ; and
those who were found absent were prosecuted accord-
ingly. Gentlemen and farmers, and indeed all mas-
ters, were made responsible for their servants; so
that in this way many were ruined, being despoiled of

REV. JAMES RENWICE. 27

all their goods. No religious man could with safety
lodge a single night in his own house ; and many are
the stories of the hair-hreadth escapes effected by the
peasantry from their own houses, when, at the dead
of night, their cottages were inyested by the troopers.
Almost miraculous were these escapes, and in them
the hand of God was clearly seen, and no less grate-
fully acknowledged. The sight of a book, and
especially of a Bible, was enough to ensure a man's
death. Persons in every situation, and in every
place, were exposed to the insolent intrusion of the
military, — ^not only those who lived near the great
thoroughfares, and the towns in which the soldiers
lay, but the people resident even in the wildest glens
and in the remotest solitudes. The mischief which
the troopers wrought when they came to the houses
of any of the Covenanters was incalculable. When
they were unsuccessful in finding the person of
whom they were in quest, their rage knew no bounds ;
and, in the most uproarious manner, they proceeded
to despoil the house of every thing valuable ; clothes
and money and other moveables became their ready
prey. The corn which they found on the barn
floor, they scattered on the flowing stream or in the
moss hags ; the meal which they found in the gir-
nals, they trode down in the dunghill ; and the ricks
of com and hay which they found in the stackyard,
they set on fire ; the meat which they found in the
barrels, they boiled or roasted for their own use,
and the remainder they destroyed by hacking it in
pieces with their swords, and trampling it imder
their feet ; and finally, the horses and the cows were
driven before them, as the ancient borderers used
to do in their raids against some hostile feudal

28 LIFE OF THE

chieftain. Indeed, the insolence, brutality, and
avarice of the troopers knew no bounds ; and the
country, especially in the south and west, was as if
it had been oyeiTunbja foreign enemy. Garrisons
were appointed in eyery conyenient place, and fur-
nished with a sufficient number of soldiers, who
were always ready, at the bidding of their command-
ers, to sally out to any point in the neighbourhood,
to waylay the wanderers, to plunder houses, and to
shoot suspected persons wherever they might chance
to find them. These men were drunken, swagger-
ing, swearing, savaee and lawless persons, the ap-
propriate tools of a lawless Goyemment. No object
struck more terror into the hearts of the helpless
peasantry, than the sight of a gruff trooper, a
licensed vagabond, ready to kill, or steal, or to gratify
his brutal passions, on any befitting occasion. When
at any time a laird or farmer was suspected of non-
conformist leanings, or of having harboured any of
the wanderers, if he himself could not be found, a
company of dragoons were quartered at his house
for days, or weeks, or montns, as it suited their
caprice, till every thing was devoured in the shape
of food for man or beast, and then they left the
place, as locusts leave the trees which they have
stript of their entire foliage.

The garrisons in which the soldiers lay were dens
of infamy and vice ; and to such a degree was this
the case, that some of these quarters received the
descriptive appellation of hell's hyke^ and which
appellation is attached to one of these military resi-
dences to this day. These were the agents whom
the misguided rulers of the time deputed to sup-
press the gospel in the upland distncts, to which

^s^rrr^"''^^

REV. JAMES RBNWICK. 29

the persecuted people had fled, that among the
hleak mountams and dreary wastes, where no man
dwelt, they might hold those sacred meetings, called
conventicles, in which the worship of God was
maintained at the manifest hazard of their lives.
The finings, imprisonments, and banishments during
this period^ were unparalleled in the annals of our
nation, even in its darkest and rudest times. Never
were a people more barbarously treated by their
rulers, than were the peasantry of Scotland, and
never did a people bear oppression so patiently. If
at any time they exhibited symptoms of impatience,
and drew the sword, it was in self-defence, and in
the defence of the lives of others when unjustly
assailed ; and this they did because the Scriptures
had said, " If thou forbear to deliver them that are
drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be
slain ; if thou sayest. Behold we knew it not ; doth
not he that pondereth the heart consider it, and he
that keepeth thy soul, doth he not know ? " It is
not possible to describe, nor scarcely to conceive,
the distress in which the land became gradually
involved, especially after the battle of Bothwell
Bridge. No person can form any thing like a just
conception of it, unless he carefully pore over the
veritable history of that dreary age. Every means
were resorted to for the purpose of wearing out the
saints of the Most High, and even the patience of
every patriotic mind. It is in vain for any class of
men to justify the conduct of the rulers of Scotland
during the reign of civil and religious despotism.
The facts on record are calculated sufficiently to
disable any such effort ; and indeed, any attempt

c2

m^

,^^^^ *•»■ • ^•n ^

30 LIFE OF THE

of the kind must be viewed as an insult offered to
posterity, in addition to the wrongs inflicted on
their forefathers. No description, sufliciently vivid
or true to life, can at this distance of time be given,
of the unparalleled distress of the worthy part of
the Scottish nation, during the ascendency of pre-
latic usurpation.

The condition of that section of the Covenanters
who refused to comply with the indulgence, was,
with respect to the ordinances of religion, at the
time of Mr Benwick's return, one of great destitu-
tion. They adhered honestly and conscientiously
to their principles, when many of their brethren,
from whom better things might have been expected,
were guilty of foul compliances : they, in reproach
and peril, remained true to their engagements. ^^ I
have no hesitation," says M^Gavin, ^'in calling
them the faithful few, though it has been fashion-
able from that day to this to treat them and their
memory with all manner of contempt. They were
faithful to the "Word of God, so far as they under-
stood its meaning and application, faithful to their
consciences and to their solemn engagements. I
am not called to vindicate the engagements them-
selves in every particular. The Covenanters were
fallible men, and liable to error, exemption from
which they never pretended; but they adhered
honestly and faithfully to what they conscientiously
believed to be the truth, which many of them sealed
with their blood, while the great body of their
brethren gladly submitted to accept the boon which
the king intended not for them but for the Papists,
by means of which he hoped soon to crush them
all." The great principles of the sole headship of

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 31

Jesus Christ oyer his Church, and the civil liberties
of the subjects of the realm, they attempted to
follow out in many of their practical bearings,
although there were others which they did not see,
and consequently could not follow ; nor are we to
blame them for not seeing in every point as we
now see. They walked according to their light, and
acted conscientiously on the convictions which they
entertained. There is a species of moral cruelty in
the harsh language employed by some in speaking
of these worthy men, merely because they were not
in every respect so enlightened as the moderns, who
enjoy the advantage of the improvements and ex-
perience of more than 150 additional years. Let
those who boast so vauntingly of their light, and of
the justness of their principles, see if, in the day of
equal trial, they would manifest an equal moral
heroism.

We have said that the more conscientious section
of the Covenanters was, with respect to the ordi-
nances of religion, in a very destitute condition
at the time of Mr Ren wick's arrival in Scotland.
There was not a man to maintain the field meetings
which were at one time so common in the solitudes,
and attended with so much of the Divine presence.
When these interdicted conventicles were frequent
in the desert, "the wilderness and the solitary
place was glad for them, and the desert rejoiced and
blossomed as the rose : it blossomed abundantly,
and rejoiced even with joy and singing." Great
was the success of the gospel in those times of
peril and suffering ; and the Saviour testified, by a
large effusion of his Spirit, his approbation of the
labours of his devoted servants.

32 LIFE OF THE

" In cities the wells of salvation were sealed.
More brightljr to burst on the moor and the field ;
And the Hpirit that fled from the dwellings of men,
Likeamannft-cloud rained round the camp in the glen/*

We can scarcely conceive of seasons more hal-
lowed than those occasions when great companies
met on the hrown hent, and in the tar retreat of the
moorlands, or in the hosom of the flowery glens, to
worship the God of their fathers apart n-om the
vigilant eye of their persecutors. These sacred
spots are to this day pointed out hy the shepherds,
as they traverse the lonely wastes. The writers of
the period hear testimony to the great success of
the gospel in the retreats of the mountains and in
the recesses of the wilderness. Patrick Walker
calls it the '^ good-ill time of persecution," which,
he says, ^^ was a day of great sinning and suffering,
and a defiling furnace to the most part, hut a puri-
fying day to those who kept clean hands and gar-
ments, — a day of the power of the gospel to the
conviction and conversion of many souls, which
made some to call in question if ever there had
been a greater since the Apostles' days, in so short
a time, and within so narrow bounds, as the south
and west of Scotland, for some years after the
standard of the gospel was publicly set up in the
fields."

One would think that the field preachers in those
days might have understood somewhat better than
they seemed to do, the signs of the times, and might
have learned, from the amazing success of their
ministry, to persevere in the cause they had adopted,
and to spurn any restrictions of human imposition
in the exercise of their heavenly calling. It is

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 33

greatly to be questioned if the preaching of the
gospel under the wing of the indulgence was at-
tended with eyen the fourth part of the success it
had in the open fields, when the people congregated
at the risk of their life, not only in die sweet sun-
shine of the pleasant summer, but also in the dreary
winter, when they sat contentedly in the drifting
snows to listen to the words of eternal life. It
appears that the Spirit's influence was in a great
measure restrained after the preachers deserted
their perilous post at the conventicles, and accepted
the permission to exercise their office in much
bondage in private houses.

Mr Peden, a man whose home was the wilder-
ness, and who kept conventicles wherever he had
opportunity, either in the fields or in private houses,
was, at the time when Mr Benwick returned, in
Ireland, to which country he had fled during the
heat of the persecution. The society people were
therefore in great want, and their prospects appeared
very gloomy. They wandered from sea to sea,
seeking the Word of the Lord, and could not find
it. Through the defections and perplexities of the
times, many were at a loss what to do, — their
children by hundreds were unbaptized, — ^the public
ordinances were denied them, — they languished
under many grievances and difficulties, and were at
their wits' end. Many were deeply exercised with
legal terrors, and in great distress about their salva-
tion ; and others were bordering on religious extra-
vagances and enthusiastical delusions. The prayer
meetings were the only bond which kept them
together, and the chief means of edification and
spuitual refreshment.

84 LIFE OF THE

When thines were proceeding to an extremity, Mr
Renwick made his appearance among his former
friends, a messenger of peace and mercy, and one
whose ministrations were to prove eminently bene-
ficial to this poor wasted remnant. He fomid them
with their spirits broken, and their hands enfeebled;
but he rallied them, he roused them, he united
them, and encouraged them ; so that in a short time
after his arrival among them, a remarkable change
was visible, and the cause that was sinking emerged
with new life, and spread itself abroad over the
surface of the troubled waters, on which it rode once
more triumphant.

His first public appearance was in the famous
Darmead Muir, which lies on the east of the parish
of Cumbusnethan, and on the boundary of Clydes-
dale and Lothian, where many a conventicle was held
by the worthies in those suffering times, on which
account it got the name of the '' Kirk of Darmead.**
It is a secluded spot, and surrounded by high moor-
lands, so that a company of worshippers could
remain long in its secrecy without discovery, and
the marshes and mosses contiguous to it presented
an effectual barrier in the case of a pursuit by
horsemen. In solitudes like this did the persecuted
remnant conceal themselves when they convened
for religious exercises ; and many a happy hour did
they spend, when, sitting on the blooming heath,
and enhaling its healthful fragrance, they listened
to the preaching of the everlasting gospel. It was
in the neart of this wilderness that Mr Renwick,
at the call of the societies, commenced his minis-
terial work, *^ taking up," as Alexander Shields ex-
presses it, ''the standard of the testimony of Christ,

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 35

and for Christ, upon the same ground where it was
fixed, and had fallen at the removal of the former
renowned witnesses, Mr Richard Cameron and Mr
Donald Cargill, which, in the strength of his Master,
he undertook to prosecute against such opposition
firom all hands as seemed insuperable to sense and
reason, and could not have but deterred the most
daring, that had no other principle or end for their
support or encouragement but humour or interest.
An undertaking it was to him as difficult and des-
perate as that of Athanasius against the whole
world, or that of a child thrashing down a mountain,
which yet, against all the arrows of archers which
shot at him, and hated him, he was helped to achieve
and attempt effectually, and overcome with no des-
picable success, while his bow abode in strength,
and the arms of his hands were made strong by the
hands of the mighty God of Jacob."

The meeting in Darmead moss, which took place
on the 23d November 1G83, was doubtless of a
very solemn nature. The text from which he
preached was, " Come, my people, enter into thy
chambers, and shut thy doors about thee ; hide thy-
self as it were for a little moment, until the indig-
nation be overpast." This discourse, fraught with
sound views of the gospel, displays an uncommon
degree of heavenly earnestness, and a deep insight
into the spiritual exercises of God's people. It is
a sermon, as has been justly observed, ^' which
does equal honour to his piety and talents, and will
bear a comparison, in regard both to its composition
and its sound evangelical doctrine, with many of
a much later date." In the preface to this dis-
course he gave a full statement of his principles,

36 LIFE OF THE

and of his views of some of the disputed points
among the Preshjterians of the time. He showed
the reason why he stood aloof from the other minis-
ters in Scotland, who had resiled in no small degree
from their formerly avowed principles.

So encouraging were the appearances among the
people of the upland districts, that Mr Renwick
exclaimed, '^ If the Lord could he tied to any place,
it is to the moors and mosses of Scotland." The
heavenly state of his mind, a few days prior to his
public appearance in the moss of Darmead, is suffi-
ciently indicated by the following words of a letter
which he wrote to the society of strangers at Lewar-
den : — " O, praised be His free grace, he hath pro-
vided and laid open a way whereby we may have
both access and right unto him by the mediation of
his own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore let
us answer his call, and come unto him, where all
and our only happiness lies, with hearts so enlarged,
and conceptions so framed and shapen out, that
nothing less than himself may satisfy, for more can-
not be more desired. Let us come to him, follow
him fully, and take up his cross." Thus was he
furnished with grace, and strengthened for that
* work, and those su£Ferings, on which he was to enter,
and in which he was to continue for about four
years and a-half, and then to seal his testimony
with his blood.

REY. JAMES RENWICK. 37

CHAPTER III.

HardsbipB — Proceedings of the Council against Mr Renwick —
Incidents — ^Tradition — Cottage in the Moor.

The year 1683, in which Mr Renwick commenced
his ministry among the suffering people in Scotland,
was not only remarkable for the grievous persecu-
tion of the Non -conformists, but also for c^amities
in other respects. This year was famous for the
long storm which began in November, and continued
till the middle of March, when, on account of the
frost, which rendered agricultural operations im-
practicable, and the deep snow, which deprived the
flocks of food on the hills, the distress of the coun-
try was very great. Patrick Walker, who notices
this storm, mentions circumstances apparently in-
credible. " Many graves," says he, " were seen in
the west of Scotland, when the earth was as iron,
in ones, twos, threes, fours and fives, together, which
was no imaginary thing. Many are yet alive who
measured them with their staves, exaictlj the deep-
ness, length and breadth of other graves, and the
lump of earth lying whole together at their sides,
which they set their feet upon, and handled them
with their hands, — which many concluded after-

38 LIFE OF THE

wards did presage the two bloody slaughter years
that followed, namely, 1684 and 1685, wherein 82
of the Lord's suffering people were cruelly murdered
in desert places, wherever that heayen-daring enemy
found them, and few to make graves or bury them,
for fear of that enemy, who left their dead bodies
where they killed them."

Now, we see no reason to discredit the ^eicts men-
tioned by this venerable worthy, who himself suf-
fered much in those trying times ; but while we see
no cause to doubt the truth of die statements, we
demur to the inferences drawn from them, — namely,
that these open graves were something like mira-
culous presages of more calamitous times to come.
The truth seems to be, that the people in the moor-
lands who professed covenanting principles, durst
not, especially at certain seasons, convey their dead
to the common burying-ground in the churchyard,
for fear of discovery, and therefore they were obliged
to inter them in desert places, and with as much
secrecy as possible. These open graves, then, which
were seen by travellers passing through the solitudes,
were doubtless prepared by the inhabitants of the
wilds, which at that period were much more thickly
peopled than now, as the last resting-places of their
deceased friends ; and these graves might be more
numerous this year on account of the prevalence of
epidemic diseases, which the severity of the pro-
tracted storm might generate. Persons hastily pass-
ing through the moors would doubtless be struck at
meeting here and there with open graves ; but not
having opportunity to inquire into the circumstances,
fhey incautiously concluded the thing to be mira-
culous.

REV. JAMES RENMTICK. 39

The mention of the storm which set in so severely
towards the end of this year, is introduced for the
purpose of showing what Mr Ren wick had to endure
in hia wanderings through the desert, not only from
persecutors, hut also from the inclemency of the
seasons, when in his sojoumings he was obliged so
often to lodge in caves and holes under ground. As
it respected this winter in particular, he had a hard
beginning ; and the privations which he endured in
woods and caverns, and unoccupied huts in the
mountains, fairly tested the strength of his consti-
tution, which ultimately suffered greatly from his
exposure to all sorts of weather. He was a ^' man
of a little stature, and of a fine fair countenance ;"
and he is reported to have said to his friends when
he returned from the continent, that as to his health
and the firmness of his bodily frame, he entertained
few fears ; but that his main solicitude was about
the strength of his faith, and his constancy to his
principles in the day of trial. The latter, however,
abode firm to the end, while the former oflben failed
him. A specimen of the privations he endured in
the desert is given by Mr Shields, who states that
he found ^' no place of rest but in the remotest re-
cesses in the wilderness, exposed to the cold blasts
of winter storms in the open fields, or in some shep-
herd's summer shieling in the mountains, used in
the summer, but lying waste in the winter, which
yet were the best chambers he could find, where he
made some fire of sticks or heath, and got meat
with great difficulty out of places at a distance, and
mostly from children, who durst not let their paroits
know of it. Here he and they that were with him
did sometimes remain several days and nights, not

40 lilFE OF THE

daring to look out, both from the hazard of being
seen, and from the boisterousness of the storm." In
another place he remarks, that Mr Renwick and
his friends were made '^ to lie many days and nights,
in crowding numbers, in caves and holes under
ground, without room to sit or stand, without air,
without refreshment or hope of relief, save what w^s
had from heaven, — ^the murderous pursuers coming
over and by the mouth of the hole, while they were
at their duty, praying or praising, undiscovered ;
and, when forced from thence, he nath often been
compelled, wet and cold, hungry and weary, in great
hazard, to run barefooted many miles together for
another subterraneous shelter."

With all these hardships in the prosecution of his
work, Mr Renwick laid his accoimt. He knew what
his brethren had endured for many tedious years
prior to his public entrance on the stage of Scotland's
tragedy, and he had deliberately counted the cost, so
that nothing unexpected befell him in all the]tribula-
tions he was called to endure. His appearance at
Darmead moss, as the minister of the united societies,
brought upon him the unsparing reproach of the
ministers who had partially fallen in with the de-
fections of the times. The validity of his ordina-
tion was called in question, — ^he was represented as
a bigot and a schismatic, — as an unlearned and igno-
rant person, — as an individual who had assumed the
office of a preacher, but who was under the neces-
sity of entertaining his audience with other men's
sermons, — as one who vended the wildest doctrines,
and attempted to seduce the multitude into the
most extravagant and dangerous errors. Some of
his opponents went even so fer as to assert that they

R£V. JAMES UENWICK. 4]

'^ had sought and got the mind of Ood in it, that his
labours should never profit the Church of Scotland,
nor any soul in it." Thus a spirit of rancorous op-
position was stirred up against him at the yery first.
Nor was less to be expected ; for his singular fiiith-
fulness to the true principles of the Scottish refor-
mation formed a striking contrast to their supple
and time-serying compliances. His unflinching
fidelity to the covenanting cause, in which all his
brethren had at one time embarked, operated as a
severe criticism on their conduct. They compared
him to '^ Jannes and Jambres, who withstood Moses,
and a man whom the Lord would break and bring
to nothing, and all who joined with him." The
subsequent success of his ministry, however, and the
remarkable degree in which he was countenanced
by his Master, amply refiited in the end these un-
charitable allegations, and proved that these Scottish
seers were not overmuch to be depended on, as it
respected their prophetic averments.

But Mr Renwick was speedily assailed by ene-
mies of a different description. The great council of
the nation had their attention direct^ toward him,
and he was accordingly indicted and ^' put to the
horn." There is something ludicrous in the idea of
the whole power, civil and ecclesiastical, of a great
nation exerting itself in one general and prodigious
movement, for the purpose of securing die person
of a poor ^gitive preacher, who, single-handed and
alone, was labouring to uphold the banner of the

fospe], as it waved in the breezes of his native hills,
(ut the tocsin was sounded ; and forth rushed a
hoard of savage dragoons, to scour every hill and
dale, and moss and glen, in the south and west of

D 2

42 LIFE OF THE

Scotland, if perchance they might catch a partridge
or a fly on the wilds, — a goodly prize and a worthy
reward to invest with renown, in a nation's eyes, the
gallant trooper, whose martial dexterity and heroism
might be gloriously signalized by the chiyalrous and
successful adventure. One of the most conspicuous
of these daring and quixotic knights was the re-
doubted Clarers; and who can dispute his bravery,
when he made even women quail in his presence.
But woman conquered him, and made him sneak
away, abashed at the greatness of soul which she
displayed, even at the moment when his murderous
arm had laid the victim bleeding at his feet. Did
Claverhouse conquer the wife of Priesthill, when the
mean-spirited ruffian attempted to insult the help-
less widow and the weeping children, as they gazed,
in the amazement of then: grief, on the mangled
body of the martyr ? Did not her high Christian
bearing fairly defeat the '^magnanimous" trooper,
and make him and his myrmidons flee from the scene
of slaughter, like the fragments of a scattered army
when signally routed on the battle-field? But Clavers
was a '^gallant warrior;" yes, gallant was he, and
he girded on his armour like king Saul of old,
when, with the thousands of Israel at his foot,
he sought the stripling David in the recesses of the
wilderness and among the wild goats of the rocks.
Claverhouse, illustrious Viscount of Dundee, how
great wast thou in marching through the desolate
moors of Scotland, with thy troopers at thy back I
How honourable, when thou didst rob the cottages
of the peasantry, in thy raids through a conquered
country ! How courageous, when, in the wantonness
of thy cruelty, thou didst bathe thy sword in the

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 43

blood of the innocent and unresisting ! And O how
▼aliant in thy efforts to secore the person of a help-
less man, — ^helpless as it regarded man's aid, but not
helpless when supported by the arm of God's omni-
potence! But thou didst not succeed. Another
arm than thine, O doughty chieftain, was destined
to seize the youth, and to deliver him into the hands
of those who longed to offer him up as a sacrifice to
the Moloch of prelatic usurpations.

No place was now a safe retreat for Mr Renwick.
Every part of the west swarmed with soldiers, and
spies and informers, ready to do the work of treachery
and murder. A great section of the country was in
motion, and men running to and fro, as if some
prodigious matter occupied the attention of all, and
as if a nation's destiny was about to be sealed. The
military were empowered to murder in cold blood
every suspected follower of Mr Renwick, and nume-
rous proclamations were issued against him and his
associates. The people in the £auin-houses, and in
the huts and cottages of the shepherds, were ex-
pressly forbidden, on the crime of rebellion, to har-
bour him, or to supply him with food. In these
circumstances he was frequently reduced to great
destitution, and was kept in life by precarious sup-
plies from strangers, and even from children, as has
already been observed, who furnished him with food
without the knowledge of their friends.

The hazards to which he was exposed, and the
escapes he made, were, as might be expected, both
numerous and remarkable ; and it is a pity that
his first biographer did not relate some of them ;
more especially as he informs us that they were so
many as could scarcely be recorded. It is the re-

44 LIFE OF THE

cord of such incidents that, at this distance of time,
^ould have imparted so deep an interest to the his-
tory of such a man as Mr Renwick, ivhose home
was the solitudes, and whose life was the special
care of Providence.

The following incident, however, is related hoth
by Mr Renwick and Mr Shields. One day, in the
summer of 16*84, he was going to a meeting in a
certain place not specified. As he was toiling on
his journey, in a very weary and exhausted condi-
tion, an honest country man lent him a horse to
carry him a few miles on his way. Thus assisted
he proceeded with as much expedition as the con-
venience of the three men who were vrith him on
foot would permit. As they were moving onward,
they were surprised by the sudden appearance of a
party of troopers, commanded by Lieutenant Dun-
das, from the garrison in Som castle, who were out
on their mission of searching for wanderers. They
instantly pursued, and succeeded in capturing the
men who were with Mr Renwick, whom they cut
with their swords, and otherwise sadly abused, one
of them receiving no fewer than eleven wounds.
What became of them ultimately is not said ; but
the pursuit after Mr Renwick was very hot, who,
being on horseback, fled with much greater speed
than his companions on foot. He directed his night
toward the top of Dungavel hill, while a party of
the dragoons, who were upwards of twenty in all,
followed hard behind, and poured their shot as
closely after him as possible ; and another party on
his right thrust themselves between him and the
mosses, in the heart of which they were afraid he
would take refuge. The horse on which he was

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 45

mounted not being able to cope with the more
powerful horses of the troopers, and beginning
occasionally to sink in the boggy ground, he aban-
doned it and fled on foot. He hastened along a
piece of level ground, and sped to a cairn on the
summit of the hill. For a tew moments the inter-
yening rising ground hid him from the view of his
pursuers, and by this time he reached the cairn,
beneath which, among the rude stones, the shepherd
boys had formed a sort of cavity, in which to shield
themselves from the storms as they tended their
flocks on the height. Into this place he crept, and
found it a chamber prepared for him, in which to
conceal himself from die eyes of his persecutors.
In this retreat he instantly betook himself to prayer,
and committed himself entirely to the Divine dis-
posal, and he speedily attained a sweet peace and
composure of mind as to the result. In the mean-
time the soldiers were scouring the hill in all direc-
tions ; like the dogs of the huntsman, when losing
the scent in the pursuit, they run up and down in
disappointment and perplexity, utterly at a loss
how to proceed. They never for a moment dreamed
that the fugitive was beneath the cairn, but kept
their eye on the extent before them, expecting to
see him running or lurking in the moor. At
length, being utterly baffled, they withdrew from
the place, leaving the poor praying wanderer alone
with God. The state of Mr Renwick's mind at this
time was of the most enviable kind. He encour-
aged himself in the Lord his God, and comforted
himself in meditating on the promises that regard
the people of Christ in the day of peril. He felt
great comfort in realizing these promises by faith,

46 LIFE OF THE

and especially the following : — ^^ He shall give his
angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy
ways ;" ^' which," he says, '^ was such unto me, that
I lifted up my head to see these angels; but consider-
ing my folly in that particular, I was made to laugh
at my own witlessness ; so I lay until the sun set,
sometimes praying, and sometimes praising God,
though I can do neither to purpose. But all the
joy that the Lord's works of wonder for me did
afford, was swallowed up in sorrow because of what
befell my dear brethren, who fell into the enemies'
hands." Thus was he preserved in the meantime ;
but it was only to meet with a similar treatment
whenever the enemy should find him in his wan-
derings. Mr Shields remarks that some of these
pursuits '^ continued whole days and nights, with-
out intermission, through the wildest places of the
country, for miles together, without so much as a
possibility of escaping the sight of their pursuers."

We have in one of his letters written to Mr
Hamilton this same year, an interesting narrative
of some remarkable deliverances, which may be pre-
sented to the reader in Mr Renwick's own words :
— '* We met for public worship near the Whin
bog, in the Monkland, but the country being gene-
rally apostatized into an open hostility against the
Lord, some went quickly awav into Glasgow, and

gave notice unto the enemies forces ; howbeit we
card thereof ere the forenoon sermon was ended,
yet continued until that part of the work was gone
about, and thereafter thought it fit to depart mm
that bounds, and that the armed men should keep
together for their better defence and safety, which,
through God's goodness, was a mean to keep the

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 47

enemy from noticing and pursuing strangers, that
being stricken into some confusion and terror, and
keeping both their horse and foot in one body^^yet
they lodged all night, we not knowing of it, within
a mile of some, and two miles of others of us, in-
tending to set forward toward these houses where
we were. But the Lord, whose ways are wonderful,
made use of a malignant gentleman to detain them,
he asserting that none of us went toward that airth.
Notwithstanding, this wakened up the adversaries
the more, so that they kept up a pursuit and search
which proved very destructive to our general meet-
ing, which was upon that Thursday thereafter; for,
upon that very day, they came with horse and foot
to search those moors where we were, and came
near upon us ere we got any thing concluded; which
thing moved us (we suspecting that they, some way
or other, had gotten notice of some of us being to-
gether) to remove from that place, some way off,
into a little glen, where we resolved to keep our-
selves obscure; but after we had rested and refresh-
ed ourselves a little, we spied four of their foot
marching toward us, whereupon it was thought fit
to send out so many to meet them, who, when they
came together, fired upon one another; but the
Lord's gracious providence so ordered it, that there
was not the least skaith upon our side, there being
one of the enemies' wounded, so that he died since.
Howbeit the shots alarmed the rest of the enemies
which were upon the hill ; and when we drew out
to the open fields, we saw their foot not very hi
from us, and got present advertisement that the
enemy was still upon the pursuit, and near unto us.
We in all haste set forward through the moss, hav^-

48 LIFE OF THE

ing no outward strength to flee unto but by crossing
the way of the adversary ; whereupon we expected
to Encounter with them ; yet, committing ourselves
into the Lord's hand, we went on untU we came
into another certain moss, where we staid until night,
and got much of our business done. But in all this
the wonderful power of God was seen, both in spi-
riting his people for that exigence, and preserving
us from falling among the hands of the adversaries.
Yea, though He showed us wonders therein, yet he
delighted to show us more ; for, upon the Saturday
night thereafter, there was a competent number of
us met in a bam for worship, and had not been well
begun until we heard both the drums and the trum-
pets of the enemies ; but we thought it most expe-
pedient to set watches without, and continue at our
work until we saw further.

" Nevertheless, in all these tumults and dangers
the Lord's goodness was so manifested to his people,
that he not only hid them imder his wing and pre-
served them, but also he kept their spirits from the
least fear, confusion or commotion. Yea, the very
sight of some of them would have made resolute
soldiers among us. So after this hazard was over,
some of us thought it convenient to stay where we
were, it being a woody place, imtil the Sabbath was
past ; but ere the middle of the day, we got an
alarm that the enemy was within two miles, or
thereabout, coming towards that airth, whereupon
we went over Clyde ; but so soon as that was, we,
being in number about six or seven, had almost
encountered with a party of the enemies' horse,
who, at the crossing of our way, had eventually
met with us, if that the Lord had not so ordered it

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 49

that a friend of ours had seen them ere they could
see us, who thereupon came running toward us
with a white napkin, hecause conspicuous to us,
flourishing in his hand. On this we halted, and
when he came to us we lurked among some hushes
until the enemy passed hj; and thereafter, we,
setting forward by two and two upon our journey,
which was intended to be but short, some two of
us met with one of the adversaries' number on
horseback, who presently fled with all his might
towards Lanark, we being within three miles there-
of, which forced us to take a desperate course in
running through that plenished country, unto Dar-
mead moss, still expecting to forgather with that
hostile town of Lanark, both horse and foot ; but
the Lord's power and goodness was such toward us
that we escaped all their hands, which thing was
matter of great admiration to us all, and made me
to wonder no little."

The scene of Mr Renwick's labours, during the
few eyentful and chequered years of his public
ministry, was chiefly the wilder localities of the
country. The higher parts of Nithsdale, Galloway,
Ayrshire, and Clydesdale, were the principal resort
of the wanderers, who, in the day of peril, sought
to hide themselves among the dark and misty
heights of the upland districts. The sufferers
crowded to the mountainous tracts to worship in
the wooded glens or on the bleak moor, behind the
shelter of the deep moss-hag ; and thus far removed
from human observation, they raised aloft the voice
of prayer, or the loud acclamation of praise, to Him
who was with his Church in her affliction. And
many are the tales of traditional interest that are in

E

50 LIFE OF THE

Circulation in the moorlands respecting the worthies
of those times, and which toach the deepest sym-
pathies of our nature, especially when we reflect
that these were men who "jeoparded their lives in
the high places of the field " for us who enjoy the
fruits of tneir contendings, — our liberties, ciyil and
religious. Of all the preachers who occupied the
fields in the heavy times of Zion's tribulation, there
are none of whom more numerous and stirring
anecdotes are told than of Mr Renwick. That
these anecdotes are veritable we have every reason
to believe, for they have been transmitted with
pious and scrupulous exactness in the families of
the Covenanters, that are resident by scores and by
hundreds in the landward parts of the country, and
in the very heart of the field of Mr Renwick's
labours. They are in general pious and intelligent
people, who, to this day, seem to reap the benefit of
the ministrations of this youthful and zealous ser-
vant of Christ.

We intend to introduce here and there, in this
sketch of Mr Renwick's history, a few of these
anecdotes and traditions, as illustrative of God's
providential care.

The following traditionary incident is said to have
befallen him when he was preaching in the wilder
parts of Galloway. It was known that a conventicle
was to be held by him among the desert mountains,
in a place the name of which is not given, and to
this place the leader of a party of dragoons repaired
with his men. Mr Renwick and his friends, by
certain precautionary measures, were made aware
of their danger, and fled. In the eager pursuit, the
commander of the troopers shot far a-nead of his

REV. JAMES UENWICK. 51

party, in the hope of capturing, by his single arm,
the helpless minister, on whose head a goooly price
had been set. Mr Ren wick succeeded in eluding
the pursuit, in wending his way through the broken
mosses and bosky glens, and came, in the dusk of
the evening, to Newton- Stewart, and found lodgings
in an inn, in which, on former occasions, he had
found a resting-place. After a tedious and fruitless
chase through moor and wild, the leader of the
troopers arrived at the same place, and sought a
retreat for the night in the same inn. It appears
to have been in the winter season when this occur-
rence took place, for the commander of the party
feeling the dark and lonely hours of the evening
hanging heavy on his hand, called the landlord, and
asked n he could introduce to him any intelligent
acqu^ntance of his, with whom he might spend
an hour agreeably in his apartment. The landlord
retired, and communicated the request to Mr Ren-
wick, and whatever may have been his reasons for
the part which on this occasion he acted, Mr Ren-
wick, it is asserted, agreed to spend the evening in
the company of the trooper. His habiliments would
no doubt be of a description that would induce no
suspicion of his office as a non-conformist minister,
for in these days of peril and necessity there would
be little distinction between the plain peasant and
the preacher in regard to clothing. It is highly
probable that the soldier was a man of no great
discernment, and hence Mr Renwick would suc-
ceed the more easily in managing the interview.
The evening passed agreeably, and without incident,
and they parted with many expressions of high satis-
faction and good- will on the part of the officer, who

52 LIFE OP THE

retired to sleep, with the intention of resuming his
search on the morrow. When all was quiet at
the inn, however, and when sleep had closed the
eyes of its inmates, Mr Renwick took leave of the
landlord, and withdrew, in the darkness and still-
ness of the night, to the upland solitudes, in which
to seek a cave in whose cold and damp retreat
he might hide himself from the vigilance of his
pursuers.

When the morning came, and the soldiers were
preparing to depart, the commander asked for the
intelligent stranger who had afforded him so much
gratification on the preceding evening. The landlord
said that he had left the house long before the
dawn, and was now far off among the hills, to seek
a hiding-place. ^' A hiding-place !" exclaimed the
leader. " Yes, a hiding-place," replied the inn-
keeper. '' This gentle youth, and inoffensive as
you have witnessed him to be, is no other than the
identical James Renwick, after whom you have
been pursuing." " James Renwick ! Impossible. A
man so harmless, so discreet, and so well informed.
If he be James Renwick, I for one, at least, will
pursue him no further."

The officer, accordingly, marched away with his
dragoons, and searched the wilderness no further for
one of whom he had now formed so favourable an
opinion. It was probably with the full concurrence
of Mr Renwick that the master of the inn divulged
the secret, when danger was no longer to be appre-
hended ; and done, in all likelihood, with a view to
show the trooper that the Covenanters were not the
men that their enemies affirmed they were — wild,
and fanatical, and ferocious— 'and by this means to

RET. JAMES RENWICK. 53

leare a good impression on the minds of those who,
without cause, were seeking their destruction.

This, however, is but a specimen of the incidents
of a similar nature which we may yet meet with in
the progress of this narratiye. These things, never-
theless, did not in the least retard him in the pro-
secution of his work ; for no man, perhaps, ever
laboured more ardently in circumstances so equally
painful and hazardous. He had a wide field to
cultivate, having the superintendence of all the so-
ciety people in the soudi and west, and therefore
his preaching and his travellings were incessant;
and he may be said to have had no rest except
when he was shut up in caves or huts, for fear of
the enemy, or when he durst not venture out in
perilous storms. As a proof both of his labours and
of the number of his followers, he baptized, in the
space of three months, about 600 children.

His anxieties, and the excessive fatigue to which
he was subjected, began seriously to affect his health.
" For my own part," he says, " though the enemy
should not get me reached, seemingly this taber-
nacle of clay will soon fall; for I am oft-times
variously and greatly distempered in my body ; but
while the Lord hath any thing to do with me, I shall
continue, and I desire to continue no longer, though
many live longer than the Lord hath work for them.
Howbeit I many times admire the Lord's kindness
toward me ; for I never find any distemper of my
body but when I am so circumstantiate as in many
respects I may dispense with it ; and through his
grace this is all my desire, — ^to spend and be spent
fi)r Him in his work until my course be ended."

Many of the worthy men in these harassing times

E 2

54b life of the

were brought to a premature grave, by means of
diseases brought on by the buffettings of the storm,
and by excessive hunger, and the cold damps of the
caves in which they were obliged to lie whole days
and nights together. These men, though they were
neither shot in the fields nor murdered on the scaf-
fold, are not therefore to be left out of the catalogue
of the martyrs. They lost their lives in the cause
as really as those who suffered violent deaths.

The reader, perhaps, will be gratified by the fol-
lowing pleasing anecdote in connection with Mr
Ren wick, in his wanderings in the desert. One
evening, after a day of toilsome journeying in the
solitudes, he was traversing a lonely moor. The
darkness had closed in around him, and in consi-
derable perplexity he was wending his way over the
trackless wilderness. At last he observed a light,
faint and flickering, in the distance before him.
He was uncertain whether it issued from the win-
dow of some solitary hut afar in the waste, or
whether it might merely proceed from some of those
luminous substances which at certain seasons of
the year are seen in considerable abundance in
dreary morasses. He committed himself to the
guidance of that Providence that watches over all,
and especially over those whose trust the Lord is ;
and he went forward in hopes of finding shelter
for the night. As he advanced in the direction of
the light its glare became stronger and stronger,
till he plainly perceived that it streamed firom the
window of a lowly dwelling on the heath. When
he reached the door he distinctly heard the voice
of prayer. He stood still to listen ; and he heard
with unspeakable delight the utterance of fervent

REV. JAMES RENWIGK. 55

supplications on behalf of the suffering remnant,
and God's Church in affliction. The heart of the
patriarchal suppliant seemed to be full, and Zion s
troubles were the burden of his intercessions. Mr
Ren wick stood and prayed without ; for his heart
responded to every petition which the good man
preferred to the throne of grace, through the great
Redeemer, whose bowels of compassion yearned
oyer his Church in the furnace. At length, when
the family devotions were ended, he knocked at the
door, and was admitted. On his entrance the wor-
thy man and his wife were not sure in what light
to regard their visitor, — whether to consider him as
a foe or as a iHend ; for in those precarious timed
people scarcely knew whom to trust. The country
was swarming with insidious characters, with spi^ s
and informers, who, under the guise of great friend-
ship, insinuated thensilves into the confidence of
the simple-hearted people, whom they made their
prey on every hand.

Mr Renwick's appearance in the cottage, there-
fore, was the occasion of various thoughts and sur-
mises on the part of the aged couple. Was this
young man a friend ? or was he one of a party who
had come to spy out their lonely dwelling, for the
purpose of discovering wanderers, against whom he
might lodge information ? And yet there was some-
thing about the stranger's countenance and entire
demeanour which banished suspicion and invited
confidence. His manners were so gentle, the tones
of his voice so sincere, and his deportment so simple
and artless, that they forgot, when they looked on
him, that there were such persons as spies in exist-
ence. '^ I ventured to ask admittance into this

^^mtmmgmmmmmrm^mmmmmmmmmm^mmssBss%77ji

56 LIFE OF THE

house," said the stranger, ^'because I heard the
voice of prayer when 1 stood at the door, and I
said, Surely God is here, and the inmates will not
refuse to entertain a wanderer for the Saviour's
sake. I am one of that suffering remnant for whom
supplication has this evening been made; and I
solicit the shelter of this friendly roof for a night.
I am fatigued and faint with travel, and I need
repose to refit my exhausted frame. I trust that in
exercising hospitality to one who so much needs it,
the blessing of him who is ready to perish will come
upon you."

On this he received a cordial welcome ; for no class
of people is more hospitable than the inhabitants of
the moorlands, and more especially when genuine
Christianity is the accompaniment of their natural
kindness. He was placed in the warmest comer
by the blazing hearth, and every thing was done
to make him comfortable. This faithful servant of
Christ, who, in the prosecution of his Master's work,
willingly subjected himself to every hardship, found
in this hut a safe and agreeable resting-place, after
his dubious wanderings in the moor. He was
directed to a household that feared the Lord ; and
not a few of such were in those days scattered over
the desert parts of the country.

The little party in the hut discoursed on various
topics. The stranger's conversation was frank and
engaging ; and the worthy couple having dismissed
all suspicions, felt deeply interested in him. Their
hearts grew warm as they talked of Zion's troubles,
and of the afflictions of the saints in that dark and
cloudy time. " Know you," inquired the venerable
tenant of the cottage, '^ know you any thing of our

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 57

friends who are wandering among the heights of
Lanarkshire and Nithsdale ? My heart hleeds for
them when I think of their situation in these cold
and dark nights. Poor fellows ! they are thankful
for the bare shelter of the wet and dreary caves,
while we are comfortably seated here before the
warm fire ; but how long we may be permitted to
enjoy this benefit God only knows ; for even this
night, when you knocked at the door, we had our
own fears. The poor lad Renwick, too, we hear, is
hardly pressed, being driyen from place to place by
the fury of the persecutors. Have you heard any
thing of him ? We never yet have had the pleasure
of seeing him, nor of hearing him preach ; but per-
haps Providence may direct his steps this way ere
long."

Mr Renwick, on witnessing the deep and heart-
felt interest which this pious pair took in the suf-
fering remnant, and in himself as their minister,
could no longer restrain himself, and he informed
them that he was the Mr Renwick concerning whom
they had made so kind inquiries. Their astonish-
ment and satisfaction knew no bounds ; and they
received and welcomed him as an angel of God.
'< Be not forgetful to entertain strangers," says the
Apostle, " for thereby some have entertained angels
unawares." On this occasion they had opened the
door of a Christian hospitality to one of the most
honoured of Christ*s servants in the times in which
he lived ; and the blessing of Him whose servant he
was came upon them. They were probably infirm
persons, who could not travel far to hear the Word
of God, after which they thirsted ; and therefore the
Lord sent it to them, and ministered to their spiritual

58 LIFE OP THE

ivants by means of one ^vho watered the churches
in the deserts, and whose sole work it was to tra-
verse the lonely moorlands on this very errand.

When Mr Renwick had rested, and was recruited
and cheered with warmth and food, the little com-
pany engaged in prayer, in which exercise a spiritual
mfluence came from heaven, and refreshed their
hearts with more substantial nourishment than any
earthly food could impart ; for '' man shall not live
by br^ alone, but by every word which proceedeth
out of the mouth of God." The aged couple deemed
themselves imspeakably honoured in being privi-
lefi;ed to entertain so distinguished a servant of
Christ; and their hearts were full to overflowing
with gratitude and happiness, of which the follow-
ing circumstance is a proof :-* As they were sitting
before the blazing fire, with feelings that can be more
easily conceived than described, the worthy old man,
as if awakened from a revery, exclaimed, '' Janet,
bring out hoshen." The hoshen was a sort of purse
in which the country people kept the little money
they possessed, and wnich was carefully deposited
in a comer of the chest, which was generally well
filled with blankets, and various sorts of wearinff
apparel. Janet produced the hoshen, and delivered
it to her husband. The worthy man, holding it in
his hand, addressed Mr Renwick in the following
strain : — '^ We had a dearly beloved daughter, in
whose Heart we verily believe the grace of God had
a place. She was a great comfort to us, and we
fondly hoped that she would be our stay in our
declining years. But it pleased the great Disposer
of events to remove her from us. Her death was a
sore dispensation ; but the affliction it caused was

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 59

greatly alleviated by the cheering evidence she gave
of her eternal wellbeing. She died in full dependence
on the Saviour, and in great peace ; and we do not
sorrow as those that have no hope. The money
contained in this little pouch belonged to her ; ana
as the Lord has taken her to himself, and as He
enabled us to give her freely up to Him, so we are
resolved to give Him this also, as the only thing
disposable of hers that remains ; and I present it to
you, to be distributed by your means among the
suflTering remnant who are enduring privations in
the cause of that Saviour whom she loved, and with
whom she now is."

We may easily conceive with what feelings Mr
Renwick would receive this token of a pious grati-
tude, and how readily he would undertake the office
of almoner in distributing this sum among the des-
titute wanderers. We cannot estimate the worth
that was resident in this lowly cottage. It was a
household in the wilderness which Christ was train-
ing for himself. The scene which was witnessed on
this evening was such as even angels would delight
to contemplate.

CO LIFE OF THE

CHAPTER IV.

Happiness in the Solitudes — Mr Renwick at Priesthill — Interest-
ing Anecdote — Apologetic Declaration.

That our suffering forefathers were men of prayer-
ful habits, and persons who lived much in com-
munion with God, their whole history shows in
the clearest manner. Besides reading the Holy
Scriptures, and conversing together on religious sub-
jects, theirprincipal occupation when they met was
prayer. The lonely moorlands were witness to their
many supplications and earnest pleadings with God
on behalf of his Church in the ftmiace. It was the
prayers of these holy men that brought down on the
wilderness so copious a flood of divine influences,
for the supplications of God's people are like the
lofty hills which attract the clouds of the sky, and
bring down their contents in a full gush of refreshing
waters on their summits. Whole days and nights
were spent by them in this sweet exercise, for it
was when they were driven furthest from men that
they drew nearest God, and sought commimion
with Him when they were denied intercourse with
their fellow-men. Indeed, they never felt themselves
safe but when they drew near the Father of Mercies

REV. JAMES REN WICK. 61

with the voice of prayer. And they could pray
without restraint on the bleak mountain-side or in
the deserted shieling on the moors ; and who can
describe the divine ravishment of soul which they
experienced in approaching the mercy-seat, through
the great Intercessor, whose bowels of compassion
yearned over his suffering Church ? Some of the
worthy men who outlived these times of tribulation
declared, that if they had the choice of any period
of their life to spend it the second time, they would,
without hesitation, select the period of persecution,
because it was then, in an especial manner, that
they enjoyed the light of God s countenance, and
fellowship with him.

Never were men more out of their reckoning,
than were the enemies of these worthies, when they
imagined that they robbed them of all conceiyable
comfort in compelling them to flee to the solitudes,
and in keeping them there in the depth of winter,
in cold, and hunger, and loneliness ; for the places
to which they resorted, whether huts, or caves, or
woods, were places where God's presence was pecu-
liarly felt, and where they experienced the plain
foretastes of heaven itself, so that it was with diffi-
culty they were prevailed on to withdraw from
these retreats. The deserts, as places of prayer,
appeared to them more sweet and lovely than the
most delectable paradise on earth. They loved the
solitudes, for there rested the bodies of the martyrs ;
they loved the solitudes, for there they prayed to-
gether; they loved the solitudes, for there they
walked with God, and enjoyed high communion with
the Saviour, who seemed to have retired to the deserts

6' 2 LIFE OF THE

with them. Could these he otherwise than excellent
men who led a life so hearenly ?

That these are no imaginary statements, will ap-
pear from the following words of Mr Renwick : —
*^ Enemies think themselves satisfied, that we are
put to wander, in dark stormy nights, through mosses
and mountains ; hut if they knew how we are feasted
while others are sleeping, they would gnash their
teeth for anger. O, I cannot express how sweet
times I have had when the curtains of heaven have
been drawn, when the quietness of all things, in the
silent watches of the night, has brought to my mind
the duty of admiring the deep, silent, and inex-
pressible ocean of joy and wonder, wherein the whole
family of the higher house are everlastingly drowned,
each star leading me out to wonder what He must
be who is the Star of Jacob, the bright and morning
Star, who maketh all his own to shine as stars in
the firmament. Indeed, if I may term it so, I am
much obliged to enemies ; for though they purpose
my misery, yet they are instrumental in covering a
sumptuous table to me, and while they are pinmg
away in dark envy and pale fear, I am feeding in
peace and joy. 0, poor souls, what can they do ?
The greatest wronc: dieycan do is to be instrumen*
tal uT bringing a ^ariot to carry us to that higher
house, and should we not think this the greatest
favour? Let enemies never think that they can
make the people of Ood's care miserable, while He
lives and reigns. I wot well he hath that to give,
and will give that which will sweeten all the sours
of his followers." In another place, he remarks : —
'^ O fear not difficulties, for many trials, that when
looked upon at a distance, seem big and mounting.

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 63

yet when they and you meet, ye shall find them
nothing. If I commend any thing hesides Christ,
it would he the cross of Christ. These things which
make carnal onlookers think my condition hard and
miserahle, makes me think it sweet and pleasant.
I haye found hazards, reproaches, contempt, weari-
ness, cold night wanderings, stormy tempests, and
deserts so desirable, that it is a greater difficulty to
me not to be ambitious of these things, than to
submit to them."

We can easily conceive particular cases in which
the wanderers in the solitudes would experience
indescribable happiness, notwithstanding their per-
petual exposures to the harassings of the enemy.
We can imagine a few of these wanderers on the
evening of a gloomy winter s day, and just as the first
heavy flakes of snow, presaging a storm, were begin-
ning to fall, arriving at a shepherd's cottage in the
wilderness, the inmates of which belonged to their
own party. We can conceive the cordial welcome
with which they would be greeted, and the hospitable
entertainment which would be presented, while they
stretched their shivering limbs before the fire of
blazing peats piled on the cheerful hearth. After
a refreshing night's repose, the morning dawns, and
their host, approaching their couch, informs them
that the wide desert is one field of snow, gathered
to the depth of several feet, while the smoking drift
streaming along the heath renders even the nearest
objects imperceptible. No dragoons could move
abroad on such a morning as this, and the helpless
wanderers, who could scarcely at any time lay their
heads on their pillow in security, and who scarcely
ever rose without apprehension, would, in such a

64 LIFE OF THE

case as this, feel themselves in a state of perfect
quietude and safety. They would listen to the
roaring of the tempest with unspeakahlymore delight
than ever they listened to the sweetest music that
fell on their ears. They are safe for once ; their
little hut is now as unassailahle as the strongest
fortification on the summit of the beetling rock,
and they can bid defiance to all their foes. Those
religious exercises in which they so much delighted
could, in such circumstances, be performed without
the slightest fear of interruption, and they could
converse all the day, and far on in the night, on those
subjects which were more deeply interesting to
them, knowing that interference was impossible.
Several days and even weeks might be spent in
such a way as this, for the hospitable inhabitants
of the wilderness never grudged to entertain those
who, suffering for Christ's sake, had been provi-
dentially guided to their dwelling.

The perpetual harassings to which Mr Renwick
was at this time exposed, induced him to withdraw
from Clydesdale to the wilder parts of Ayrshire.
He repaired to the house of the saintly John Brown
of Priesthill, when the following scene was witnessed,
and which is so graphically described in the sketch
of Brown's life given in the Scots Worthies : —

^' Almost sinking with fatigue, he arrived at Priest-
hill. Brown was from home, and the family were
busily engaged in preparing the wool of their flocks
for a neighbouring fair. The eldest daughter, Janet,
by a former marriage, and the herd-boy, were teas-
ing the wool, and the shepherd was carding it ; while
Mrs Brown sat nursing her first-bom son at one side
of the fire, with the faithful watch-dog lying at

BEY. JAMES BENWICK. 65

her feet. At the sound of Mr Renwick's footsteps
the dog started up and ran to the door, barking at
the approach of a stranger. Janet and the herd
were almost as soon at the door as the dog, com-
manding him to be silent. The herd caught the
dog in his arms, and returned with him into the
house, while Jauet followed leading the stranger,
first looking to her mother for encouragement, and
then to her guest. She led him to her father s chair,
with a courtesy that seemed to five rise to strong
emotions in his heart. Mr Een^ck, who was on!
known to any in the house, was pale with fatigue
and sickness. His shoes were worn out, and a
shepherd's plaid hung around him seemingly for
disguise; for by his dress and speech they were
convinced that he was of superior rank. While the
seryants gazed on him, Mrs Brown was at a loss
to know whether she should welcome him as a suf-
ferer or consider him as a spy ; and she accordingly
left Janet to perform the kind offices the stranger
required, while she lulled her boy to sleep by sing-
ing a Terse of an old song. During Mrs Brown's
song Mr Renwick's countenance brightened up, and
he more cheerfully accepted of the child's endearing
attentions, who placed him in the warmest comer,
helped him off with his dripping plaid, and, in short,
imitated all the kind offices she had seen her mother
perform to her father, to the no small amusement of
the rest of the femily. On Mr Benwick it had a
different effect. He burst into tears, and cried, ^' May
the blessing of him that is ready to perish rest on
you, my dear bairn. Surely God has heard my cry,
and provided me a place to rest my head for a night.
that I had in the wilderness a lodging-place of

r2

wmmmmt^^^wmmm

66 LIFE OF THE

wayfarinff men, that I might leave my people and
go from uem ; for they he an assembly of treach-
erous men." At this moment John Brown entered.
He gazed at Mr Renwick for an instant, and then
with great deference informed him that he was
welcome to his house. " Do you know me," said Mr
Renwick ? " I think I do," replied Brown : " it was
in this house that the societies met that contributed
to send you to Holland ; and now I fear they have
not received you as they ought." " Their reproach
has not broken my heart," rejoined Mr Renwick ;
*' but the excessive travelling, night wanderings, un^
seasonable sleep, frequent preaching in all weathers,
especially in the night, have so debilitated me, that I
am oflen unfit for my work." In this happy home he
sojourned some time, till his health was recruited ;
and then he set out afresh on his Master s service.
Mr Renwick, in his wanderings, holding con-
venticles wherever he had opportunity, frequently
preached in Galloway, in the mountainous parts of
which he met occasionally with no ordinary suc-
cess. The following interesting anecdote has a
reference to one of these visits to this district He
came to Balmaclellan, and agreed with some of the
serious people there to hold a conventicle in a soli-
tary place among the mountains ; and, on the day
appomted, a great assembly convened from all parts
of the surrounding district. The morning was
lowering, and heavy showers were falling on the
distant heights, swelling the mountain streamlets
as they descended with impetuosity into the valleys.
Notwithstanding the caution, however, with which
the intelligence had been communicated, the enemy
received information, and came upon the congrega-

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 67

don just as they were going to commence worship.
On the approach of the troopers, the people fled in
all directions ; and Mr Renwick, accompanied by
John McMillan and David Ferguson, escaped to-
wards the Winding-ken. It was the design of Mr
Ren wick to seek refiige in the house of a friend in
the parish of Penningham, and there to conceal
himself for a season. The place where they attempt -
ed to ford the stream was at a considerable distance
above the village of Dairy. The river was greatly
swollen by the heavy rains that had fallen among
the hills during the morning ; and before they en-
tered into its turbid waters, they agreed to engage
in prayer among the thick bushes that grew on its
margin. When they rose from their knees, and
were about to step into its dark rolling tide, they
observed, to their amazement, a party of dragoons
landing on the opposite bank. They had reached
the place in pursuit during the time the three men
were at prayer, and without noticing them, or hear-
ing their voice, they rushed into the ford, in haste
to cross before the waters became deeper. This
occurrence plainly appeared to the party to be a
providential interference in their favour ; for it was
at the moment they were employed in devotion that
their enemies arrived and missed them ; and there
is every likelihood, had they not lingered for a space
to implore the Divine protection, that they would
have been taken in the midst of the stream at the
very time the horsemen reached the place. John
McMillan, from whose lips this tradition has been
transmitted to posterity, used to say that he was
never so impressed, either before or after, with any
thing he ever heard, as by the remarks made by

"■■■I

68 LIFE OF THE

Mr Renwick on this occasion ; and that, moreover,
they were the means of directing his attention more
particularly to providential occurrences during the
after-part of his life.

As his two friends were to accompany Mr Ren-
wick no further than the ford, they resolved not to
leave him till they should see him in safety on the
other side. As the current was powerful, they re-
sorted to the following means to assist him in cross-
ing. They provided themselves with a long, tough
branch of the mountain ash, which was grasped by
the three at equal distances, so that if one should
be carried off his feet by the strength of the stream,
the others standing firm would sustain them. They
entered the water, and the three advanced in a
breast as steadily as they could, till they reached
the bank in safety ; and having landed Mr Ren-
wick, the two companions returned to the place
they left. No sooner, however, had they stepped
from the channel of the river, than the flood de-
scended with great violence, covering the banks
on both sides, and sweeping every obstacle before
it. Such an occurrence is not unfrequent in the
upland districts, where the thunder-clouds discharge
themselves with great impetuosity among the hills.

Mr Renwick, now alone on the south side of the
stream, began to seek a place of shelter in which to
pass the night, which was now fast approaching.
He entered the mouth of a narrow glen, along which
he proceeded in quest of a resting place ; and hav-
ing found a hollow under a projecting rock, he crept
into it, and fell fast asleep. After « brief repose
he awoke, and ruminating on his uncomfortable
couch, he heard distinctly the sound of singing at

REV. JAMES REN WICK. 69

no great distance. The idea naturally occurred to
him that there might he other fugitives in the ra-
vine hesides himself, who, seeking refuge from their
foes, were engaged, in the midnight hour, like Paul
and Silas, in singing praises to God in their hiding-
place. He rose to search them out, and following
the sound through the thickets of the underwood,
he discovered a light proceeding from a hut at a
short distance before him. He advanced with cau-
tious step, and in the full expectation of finding a
company of friends with whom he should spend the
remaining hours of the night in security and com*
fort. The night was very dark, and his footing
along the narrow pass precarious, at the bottom of
which the foaming streamlet, which leapt from linn
to linn as it dashed over its rugged bed, was the
only object which was visible, and by which he
attempted to guide his way. At length he reached
the house, and stood still to listen ; but, to his dis-
appointment, the sounds which he heard were those
of mirth and revelry. It was a shepherd's cot, and
a party had convened within for the purpose of jol-
Hty and drinking.

Mr Renwick hesitated for a moment, whether to
seek admission, or to retreat to his hiding-place ;
but being drenched in rain, and shivering with cold,
he resolved to attempt an entrance. He knocked
at the door, which was immediately opened, and he
was forthwith conducted into the midst of the
apartment. The master of the cottage, whose name
was James M^'Culloch, a rude, blustering person,
and no friend to the Covenanters, received the
stranger graciously on this hilarious evening. He
led him to a seat near a rousing fire of peats, and

70 LIFE OF THE

ordered a repast to be immediately set before bim.
The demeanour of Mr Renwick formed a complete
contrast to that of the party among whom he was
now placed, and seemed to excite some suspicion
on the part of M^Culloch, who now and then mut-
tered something about rebels and conventicles, and
so forth. M^duUoch's wife, however, was a person
of a different description. She was humane, seri-
ously disposed, and a friend to the sufferers. She
had some guess of the party to whom the stranger
belonged, and dreading a disclosure in the progress
of the evening, she hurried Mr Renwick to bed in
an adjoining apartment.

As she conducted him to his dormitory, she re-
quested him to be on his guard before her husband,
who had no warm side to the persecuted people ;
informing him, at the same time, that he was in
perfect safety under her roof during the night. She
made a comforfable fire in the little chamber, before
which she suspended hb dripping clothes, that they
might be ready for him in the morning. Mr Ren-
wick having committed himself to the guardianship
of Him who watches over all, crept under the soft
and warm bed-clothes, and slept soundly till the
morning. Awaking about the oreak of day, and
groping about the obscure apartment for his clothes,
he could not find them. Uneasy suspicions began
to arise in his mind ; he dreaded some mishap,
when the mistress of the cottage entered, and in-
formed him that his garments having been so very
wot, she had not succeeded in getting them suffi-
ciently dried, but had brought part of her husband's
apparel, which she requested him to put on for a
few hours. Mr Renwick complied, and the circum-

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 71

stance was the means of saving his life. M'Cul-
loch had gone out hefore Mr Renwick rose, to drive
his sheep from the low grounds, which were flooded
with the rain that had descended so copiously dur-
ing the night. After the devotions of the morn-
ing, in which M'Culloch's wife cordially joined, he
walked out to the fields to hreathe the refreshing
air. Previously to his leaving the house, he had
thrown over his shoulders a shepherd's plaid, which
action heing ohserved hy one of the dogs that lay
near the fire, the sagacious animal rose and followed
him. Mr Renwick ascended a gentle eminence
near the dwelling, and as he stood on its summit,
his attention was directed, by the barking of the
dog, to a company of dragoons that were newly
come in sight^ and were very near. Mr Renwick,
forgetting that he was now attired in a shepherd's
dress, expected to be instantly seized. The troop-
ers rode up to him, and asked if he was the' master
of the cottage ? He replied, he was not ; and in*
formed them where he was to be found. When
the soldiers were gone, Mr Renwick returned with
all speed to the house, and having put on his own
clothes, he set out without delay for Penningham.
Thus Providence delivered, within a few hours, this
helpless man, twice from imminent danger, by the
simplest means, and preserved him for further ser-
vice in the cause of Christ. Nor were such pre*
servations, however wonderful, unfrequent. Alex-
ander Shields remarks, that ^^ his preservation in
keeping meetings so frequently and resolutely, in
the very midst of his enemies, when keeping gar-
risons all over the country, was so remarkable ; his
protection in his wanderings, both night and day,

72 LIFE OP THE

SO observable ; and his escapes from many danger-
ous and hot pursuits so many and marvellous, that
his reproachers took occasion to forge another im-
pudent lie, — that he was in collusion with the sol-
diers, only seeking the ruin of the country, and that
they would not take him."

Mr Peden, when in Ireland, had his eye incessant-
ly on the '^ bluidy land," and all his sympathies were
with the suffering remnaCnt, who were scattered by
the red sword of persecution ; and in the following
words he alludes to the privations they endured : —
*^ Pack and let us go to Scotland ; let us flee from
one devouring sword to another. The poor honest
lads in Scotland are running upon the hills, and
have little either of meat or drink ; but cold and
hunger and the bloody enemies are pursuing them,
and murdering them wherever they find them.
Their blood is running like water upon scaffolds
and fields : let us go and take part with them, for
we fear they bar us out of heaven." On another
occasion, when Mr Peden with a few friends were
seated at a plentiful meal, and when asking a bless^
ing, he put his hands beneath the bread, and hold-
ing it up, with much afiection and tears, said, '^ Lord,
here is a well covered table, and plenty of bread ; but
what comes of the poor, young, kindly, honest lad,
Renwick, that shames us all, in staying and holding
up his fidnting mother s head, now when, of all the
children she hath brought forth, there is none who
will avowedly take her by the hand ; and the poor,
cold, hungry lads upon the hills ; for the honour of
thine own cause let them not starve."

This year, 1684, the Apologetic Declaration was
published by Mr Renwick and his friends, which

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 73

caused a great noise, and which heated the furnace
of persecution seven times. In Septemher the
council indicted him in his. ahsence, and issued
against him what they called their letters of inter-
communing, of which the following is a copy : —
'* Forasmuch as Mr James Renwick, a seditious
vagahond, and pretended preacher, heing lawfully
summoned to have compeared to have answered
and underlien the law for his heing in the late
rehellion at Bothwell Bridge, 1679; keeping and
preaching at field-conventicles in arms several times
since, and particularly at Black-loch, Wolf-hole-
craig, and Greenock, and several other places ; for
msdntaining and asserting several treasonable and
rebellious principles against us and our authority
and government, whereby some of our unwary sub-
jects have been infected with and debauched into
the same wicked and unnatural and seditious prin-
ciples with himself, — ^we command and charge all
and sundry, our lieges and subjects, that they nor
none of them presume nor take upon hand to reset,
supply or intercommune with the said Mr James
Renwick, rebel foresaid, nor furnish him with meat,
drink, house, harbour, victual, nor no other thing
useful or comfortable to him, or have intelligence
with him by word, writ, or message, or any other
manner of way whatsomever, under the pain of
being esteemed art and part with him in the crimes
foresaid, and pursued therefore with all vigour, to
the terror of others. And we hereby require all
our sheriffs to apprehend and commit to prison the
person of the said Mr James Renwick, wherever
they can find and apprehend him."

It has been justly observed that " the low and

G

74 LIFE OF THE

contemptible scurrilitj of these tyrants appears as
conspicuous in this paper as their abominable
cruelties."

By this iurious declaration Mr Renwick and hia
followers were publicly ejected from the pale of
civilized society, branded as traitors and rebels, as
the ofiscouring of all things, and as persons who
were not fit to lire. A host of informers arose on
all sides, and the military were poured into every
suspected district, ^'not only commissioned," re-
marks Mr Shields, '^ to hunt, hound, chase and pur-
sue, and seek them out of all their dens and caves,
in the most retired deserts and remotest recesses
in the wilderness ; but empowered to murder and
make havoc of them wherever they could meet with
them." In this extremity what vms to be done ?
They could neither cope with this armed force nor
elude them. Their hiding-places were discovered
by the numerous spies who swarmed everywhere,
and that for the most part under the guise of friends.
They possessed no means of sustaining themselves
in their lurking-places, for food was denied them ;
and hence nothing but either starvation or murder
stared them in the face. Was it not natural, then,
that, so situated, they should employ what honest
expedients were in their power, either to deter their
ferocious enemies, or to defend themselves against
their unrighteous assaults ? In this perplexity the
Apologetic Declaration was suggested, as an expe-
dient to prevent, if possible, then: utter extermina-
tion ; and which, in their ordinary circumstances,
they never would have thought of. When this
Declaration was proposed to Mr Renwick he was
at first opposed to it, dreading the sad effects it
might proauce ; but, reflecting on the urgency of

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 75

the case, he consented, and assisted in its publica-
tion. Accordingly, on the 8th of Noyemb^ it was
affixed to the crosses of several market-towns, and
to the doors of several churches.

In this manifesto the sufferers declare ^ their firm
resolution of constant adheraice to their covenants
and engagements, and to the declarations disown-
ing the authority of Charles Stuart, and to testify
to the world that they purposed not to injure or
offend any whomsoever ; but to pursue the ends of
their covenants, in standing to the defence of the
work of Reformation, and to the defence of their
own lives. Yet if any," say they, " shall stretch
forth their hand against us, by diedding our blood
actudily, either by authoritative commanding, or
obeying such commands, to search for va, and to
deliver us up to the spilling of our blood, — ^to inform
against us, to raise hue and cry afler us, and delate
us before the courts, — as these shall be reputed by
us enemies of God and to <ihe covenanted Reforma-
tion, and punished as such, according to our power
and degree of Iheir offence, if they shall continue so
maliciously to proceed against us. And we declare
that we abhor and condemn any personal attempt,
upon any pretext whatsomever, without previous
deliberation, common or competent consent, — with-
out certain probation by different witnesses, the
guilty person's confession, or the notoumess of the
deeds themselves. And we warn bloody Doegs and
flattering Ziphites, informing against us, to expect
to be dealt with as they deal with us."

Such is the tenor of the famous Apologetic De-
claration, which so gready exasperated the rulers
of the period, but which, at the same time, deterred
not a little the base informers and insidious spies

76 LIFE OP THE

from hunting after them, and accomplishing the
mischief they so eagerly contemplated. It may he
questioned, after all, whether the sufferers ever in-
tended to act on this Declaration. It was exhibited
more for the purpose of deterring their enemies,
than with any fixed determination to put it into
execution. The killing of Peter Pearson, the curate
of Carsphaim, which happened the following year,
is not to be instanced as a proof to the contrary ;
for that act was condemned by the societies, and the
perpetrators were elected from their communion.

The result of this Declaration, however, was as
Mr Benwick had anticipated. It stimulated the
persecutors, and caused an unutterable degree of
suffering in the moorlands of Scotland. The gentle
heart of Mr Renwick was made perpetually to bleed
at the constant reports of the murders which were
committed by the persecutors in the fields, and
which led him to declare that, ^'though he had
peace in his end and aim by it, and, for the time,
durst not but concur in the emitting of it, and could
and would defend all that was in it ; yet he wished
from his heart that that Declaration had not been
published."

This Declaration drew forth from the council the
imposition of the Oath of Abjuration, which caused
much vexation in the western shires. The Decla-
ration, besides striking a salutary terror into the
ranks of the intelligencers, was the means of adding
not a few converts to the cause of the friendless
people, and also of drawing forth sympathy from
several quarters whence it was not expected. The
Oath of Abjuration, therefore,' was enforced with
great rigour. It ordained that " every person who
owns, or who will not disown, the late treasonable

REV. JAKES RENWICK. 77

Declaration, upon oath, "whetber he have arms or
not, is to be instantly put to death." The inhabitants
of all the suspected parishes, above the age of four-
teen, both male and female, were to be convened,
and every one who refused to repudiate the offensive
document, was to be put to death on the spot. We
may easily conceive the intolerable grievance of this
harassing measure. The infuriated council went so
far as to decree that no person should be permitted
to travel through the country without a certificate of
his principles and loyalty ; and this certificate could
not be obtained by any one unless he had first taken
the Abjuration Oath, denoimcing the Apologetic
Declaration as treasonable and rebellious.

Amidst all the distress of his lot, however, we
find the mind of Mr Renwick filled with a uni*^
form composure and resignation to the Divine will.
'^ Though the world," said he, ^^ think my case miser-
able; yet I think it so happy, that I know not a
man this day upon the face of the earth with whom
I would exchange my lot. O it is more sweet and
pleasant to be swimming in the swellings of Jordan
for Christ and with Christ, than to be wallowing in
the pleasures of sin and the delights of the flesh.
Yea, though Christians had not a heaven hereafter,
I cannot but judge their case even here happy be-
yond all others ; as the Psalmist saith, ' Thou hast
put gladness in my heart, more than in the time
when their com and their wine were increased.'
And when the world frowns most, I know it is
the time wherein the Lord smiles most upon his
own.

G 2

78 LIFE OP THE

CHAPTER V.

Sanquhar Declaration — Aigyle.

In the midst of the turmoils and distresses of Scot*
land, and when the tide of oppression in that land
had risen to a fearful height, — when the Coyenan-
ters, ^' expelled from their homes, were driven to
hide in dens and in caves of the earth, to wander
naked and starving in the sterile or remote parts of
the country, skulking in woods, or among mosses,
or on the hills, without any certain dwelling-place,
exposed to every extremity of climate, in the depth
of winter as well as in the heat of summer ; when
they made the heather their hed, and the rock their
pillow, and their only covering the canopy of hea-
ven ; when, deharred from the charities of life, their
presence was deemed pestilential, and their nearest
relatives dared not excnange an expression of kind-
ness with them but at the peril of their lives," —
when things were come to this pass, the prime
mover of all the mischief was suddenly removed
irom the world. He who '' cuts off the spirit of
princes, and is terrible to the kings of the earth,"
cut off Charles the Second in the midst of his days.

^^^^f^f^^^^m^f^KK^mmi^mmmmmmmmKmmmmmmfi^

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 79

in the 54th year of his age. This tyrant was torn
from the throne of Britain, and that not without
the dark suspicions of foul play. " "Worthless as a
man," says Aikman, '^ Charles was detestahle as a
sorereign. His private character was unadorned by
any active virtue, and his public conduct possessed
not even the wretched relief of splendid crime. Be-
neath a plausible exterior, he was selfish, unfeeling^
faithless, cruel, and revengeftil. The good nature
for which he was praised, evaporated among para-
sites and prostitutes, and his good-breeding was
admirably adapted for the associates of his pleasures.
When irritated, he could be rude, insulting, and
vulgar. When facetious, he was not unfrequently
blasphemous or obscene. He neither patronised
learning nor encouraged the arts, nor is his name
associated in the annals of Britain with any useful
or ornamental institution. For his government of
Scotland it would be difficult to find a parallel, ex^
cept in the worst reigns of the worst of the Cesars.
It was one continued act of revolting, flagitious
tyranny ; unprincipled and unsparing in its rapa-
city, insulting and more than usuaUy barbarous in
its bloodshed ; whose delight was to torture and to
punish after it had reviled and pillaged its victims."

This infamous tyrant himself swore to observe
the covenants, and came voluntarily under the same
obligations with that portion of his subjects, whom,
on account of their honest and loyal adherence to
these very obligations, he, for the space of nearly
five-and-twenty years, persecuted with relentless
vigour.

The death of Charles made room for his brother
James, Duke of York, to step into the throne.

80 LIFE OF THE

James was a man of even a worse character than
Charles. He was an avowed and bigoted Papist,
whose intention it was to saddle the nation once
more with Popery, and all its attendant evils, and
to follow the steps of his deceased brother, in pro-
secuting the same profligate invasion on the reli-
gion, the liberties, and the lives of his subjects. It
was not to be expected that the men who had
emitted the Apologetic Declaration would sit down
tamely under the assumption of the government, by
one so obnoxious as the Duke of York, and so keen
a persecutor. The same reasons which existed for
their disowning Charles, existed for disowning
James. On the accession of the latter to the
throne, Mr Benwick, at the request of the united
societies, drew up a Declaration, embodying their
rejection of a second tyrant. ^^ Mr Renwick," says
Mr Shields, '^ could not let go this opportunity of
witnessing against the usurpation, by a Papist, of
the government of the nation, and his design of
overtnrowing the covenanted work of reformation,
and introducing Popery. Accordingly, he, and
about 200 men, went to Sanquhar on the 28th of
May 1685, and published the Declaration, after-
wards called the Sanquhar Declaration."

It may not, perhaps, be uninteresting, to give
here the tradition respecting the circumstances
which immediately preceded mis Declaration.

Shortly after the accession of James, a conven-
ticle was kept by Mr Renwick in a remote part of
the wilderness. After the day's work was con-
cluded, a meeting was held on the spot, for the
purpose of deliberating on what, in the present
posture of affairs, was best to be done. After much

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 8 1

consultation, it was agreed that a declaration of
their principles should be published on an earlj
day. They were convinced that no redress of their
grievances was to be obtained, — ^they saw that they
could not rectify matters for themselves, and that
the only thing left for them to do, was to testify
publicly and strongly against the evils complained
of. The drawing up of the manifesto was com-
mitted to Mr Renwick. Having arranged all thq
preliminary matters, and appointed another meeting
on a given day, in a secret place among the hills to
the north of Sanquhar, the assembly dispersed,
every one being enjoined to observe the strictest
secrecy. It was not an easy matter, however, to
secure the secrecy necessary in such cases ; for it
was not possible to hold any meeting, even in the
remotest solitudes, without the intrusion of spies
and informers, who appeared among them as wolves
in sheep's clothing, and who, by goodly words and
fair speeches, insinuated themselves into the good
graces of the simple-minded people, who, practising
no deceit themselves, were not so ready to suspect
others. The appointed day of meeting at length
arrived. Mr Renwick was accompanied with a few
faithfiil friends, one of whom, named Laing, a
steady adherent to the cause, lived in Blagannach,
not far from the appointed place of meeting. Bla-
gannach is situated in the midst of the mountains,
about half way between Sanquhar and Muirkirk,
and near Hyndbottom, the lonely scene of a great
conventicle held on one occasion by Cameron. The
locality affords a specimen of one of the most per-
fect solitudes in die south Highlands, and in for-
mer times, when the country was more ^thickly

82 IflFE OF THE

wooded, must haye been a rery eligible retreat in
days of peril.

When a goodly number of the people had con-
gregated, and were silently waiting till the serrices
should commence, a man on bomebadr was descried
in the distance, adrandng with all the speed that
the mggedness of the ground would permit The
deep murmuring of voices was heard throughout
the congregation, like the low muttering of remote
thunder. It was obyious to eyerj one that the
horseman was the bearer of important tidings. This
was indicated by his hurried and impatient moye-
ments. Erery heart throbbed with solicitude, and
the anxiety of the moment was intense. At length
the approach of the messenger put an ead to suck
pense. " Ye are betrayed, my mends," vociferated
he ; '' ye are betrayed, and the enemy is approach-
ing." This was mdeed the case. A traitor had
found his way into the camp at the former meet-
ing, and he had informed the soldiers. This in-
former is said to have been a man of the name of
Sandilands from Crawfordjohn, and he had been
seen in company with the coinmander of tibe dra-
goons on the preceding evening. This infamous
character was in the pay of the enemy, and he ex-
erted himself in every way to gain the good opinion
of his employers, and to retam his lucrative situa-
tion.

This information spread consternation through-
out the meeting, and it was resolved instantly to
abandon the spot, and to retire to a still more
secluded place among the mountains ; and the moss
of Blagannach was fixed on as the place of retreat.
The tent, under the awning of which Mr Benwick

REV. JAMES RENAVICK. 83

was to address the people, was speedily erected on
the edge of the morass, and was constructed of
strong stakes driven deep into the moss, and cover-
ed with the plaids of the shepherds. Before the
work of the day commenced, it was agreed that
Mr Renwick should exchange clothes with some
individual present. The design of this was, that in
the case of a sudden approach of the troopers, he
might the more readily effect his escape. There
was no small danger attending this experiment to
the man who should assume Mr Benwick's dress,
as a person in clerical hahiliments would, in these
times, be easily distingiushable from the rest of the
people. Laing, however, was ready to incur all the
risk attending the project, and he generously offered
to substitute himself in Mr Renwick's place. He
was a stout and intrepid man, and fully prepared
£dr a tough pursuit by the enemy. Mr Renwick
was forced to comply with the wishes of the com-
pany, and to attire himself for the present in a garb
different from his own, but not an unappropriate
one, for it was the garb of a shepherd. This was
done with a most generous design ; for Mr Renwick,
possessing a constitution by no means robust, was
much exhausted by the toil of the previous night's
journey, and therefore incapacitated for much ex-
ertion in flight before the pursuers.

When all things were arranged, and the watches
stationed at proper distances, to* give due warning
in case of danger, this little church in the wilder-
ness engaged in the solemn worship of God. As
the company were listening to the discourse, with
minds deeply absorbed in tibe subject, the work was
suddenly interrupted by the report that. the soldiers

84 LIFE OF THE

Mere seen adrancing through the moors, apparently
in the direction of the meeting. All was again
confusion, and the congregation rose to depart. The
troopers came near, and the greater part of the
people fled to the moss, where the dragoons could
not so easily follow them. Laing, arrayed in Mr
Renwick's clothes, took a different route, and ren-
dered himself as conspicuous as possible, for the
purpose of attracting the notice of the troopers to
himself, singly and alone, as the supposed indivi-
dual of whom they were chiefly in quest. The stra^
tagem succeeded, and the main body of the dragoons
turned in the direction in which he was fleeing,
and this afforded the people and Mr Renwick the
opportunity of escaping. Laing, acting as a decoy,
led the soldiers into the deepest and most inextri-
cable parts of the morass. He knew every foot of
it, and could wend his way with ease through its
entire breadth and length. In these mosses there
are generally narrow paths, known only to the
shepherds, who can pass and repass with perfect
safety, where strangers might probably lose their
lives. Laing, and the few that were with him,
endeavoured to preserve a certain distance from the
pursuers, not to advance too fast lest they should
give up the chase as hopeless, and turn on the
others, and not to proceed too tardily, lest their
enemies should get within shot of them. The
troopers seemed to have no doubt but that the per-
son whom they were following was Mr Renwick,
both from his appearance, and from the assistance
which they saw was occasionally lent him in step-
ping the deep moss hags. The individual about
whom so mucn solicitude was manifested, could be

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 85

no other than the minister, and therefore they were
determined to capture him, come of the rest what
might. When the horsemen had advanced a cer-
tain way into the moss, the impossibility of pro-
ceeding further became instantly apparent, and
therefore it was agreed, that two or three of the
more robust of the party should dismount and pur-
sue on foot. In a short time, however, it was
found that this method was equally impracticable, for
the tall, heayy men, leapii^ and plunging in the
moss, sunk to the waist, and could with difficulty
extricate themselves. In this attempt one of their
number broke his leg, and this incident put an end
to their pursuit. They dragged their disabled com-
panion to the firm ground^and conveyed him to
Blagannach. The good-wife of Blagannach was
the only person who was within when the party
arrived, the rest of the family, who were at the
conventicle, not having yet returned. The soldiers
behaved very rudely, and questioned her respecting
her sons and her husband. The honest woman,
however, seemed to pay very little regard to their
inquiries, professing to be greatly distressed at the
loss of a good milk cow that had that morning dis-
appeared in the morass. After they had refreshed
themselves with what provisions they found in the
house, and perceiving that they could elicit nothing
satisfactory irom the old matron, they departed,
being themselves the only party ihat had that day
sustained damage. They marched to Crawford-
john, where they left their comrade with the frac-
tured limb till he should recover. Tradition says,
that the soldier who met with the accident became
an altered man, — ^that he was ultimately brought

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86 LIFE OF THE

to repentance and the knowledge of the truth ; and
that afiter his recoyery he connected himself with
the cause he had persecuted, and lived a deroted
Christian. It is exceedingly gratifying to meet with
such an instance of a gracious change in an indivi*
dual whose occupation was to shed me hlood of the
saints. Such conyersions, though not numerous,
were nevertheless of occasional occurrence, — the
Lord manifesting his graciousness here and there,
as something noticeable, and as an encouragement
to others of the same profession to turn to Him, in
the certain hope of obtaining mercy.

The congregation hayine fled on the approach of
the dragoons, pursued then: way down the rivulet
of the Spank, towards the river Crawick. The
Crawick is a pastoral stream which rises on the bor-
ders of Lanarkshire, in the high lands, and wends its
way in a south-westerly direction, till it falls into the
Nith, in the immediate vicinity of Sanquhar. The
course of this stream exhibits a scene of surpassing
beauty; its mountains clothed in deep verdure,
present the appearance of a newly mown meadow,
while some of the hills are so abrupt from the sum-
mit to the base, that a person can scarcely walk
with steadiness along the velvet slope. The hol-
low valley of the Crawick was at this time densely
covered with wood, whose thickets afforded a secure
retreat to the fugitives from Blagannach moss. Into
this place of concealment it was in vain for the dra-
goons to attempt to penetrate, and therefore they
retired, satisfied that they had at least scattered the
conventicle, though they had captured none of the
worshippers.

The leaders of the dispersed multitude met, it is

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 87

said, on the eyening of the same day, in a seques*
tered glade in the dark forest of Crawick, to con-
cert measures anew respecting the Deckuration. It
was agreed, that though for the present they were
disappointed in their object, they would by no
means abandon their design, but that on a future
day they would meet again to fulfil their purpose.
The publication of their projected Declaration they
considered as an important duty, which they owed
alike to God and to their country, and a work which,
in tJie pces^it emergency, they were imperiously
called on to perform. They accordingly appointed
a day for a second ccmyention, and haying com-
mended one another to the grace of God, and to the
care of his proyidence, they dispersed to their seyeral
homes, thanking the Lord for the special protection
which had that day been youchsaf^ to them.

After the noise which the affair of Blagannach
made had ceased, those friendly to the coyenanting
interest conyened from all quarters, for the pui^se
of proceeding to the inland burgh of Sanquhar, to
publish the Declaration agreed on. About 200 men
met accordingly, determined to braye eyery opposi-
tion in the performance of a duty so imperatiye.
On the 28th of May 1685, the inhabitants of San-
quhar were surprised at the appearance of so great
a company, who, without any signal of their ap-
proach, stationed themselyes in the yery heart of
their town. The men had a warlike aspect, each
prepared with weapons of defence in case of an
onslaught. In those unsettled times, when rumours
of battles and of bloodshed were constantly ringing
in people s ears, it is not to be wondered at that the
populace of this quiet and secluded town should

88 LIFE OF THE

have felt some degree of alarm at the unceremoni^
ous intrusion of so great a band of men. Their
pui'pose, however, was soon divulged. They were
come not to pillage the inhabitants, nor to spill one
drop of blood, but to testify publicly their adherence
to the covenanted cause of reformation, in the only
way which was left open for them to do. Having
therefore read their Declaration aloud, in the au-
dience of the people, and then attached it to the
cross, as their avowed testimony against the' evils
of which they virtuously complained, they, in a
peaceable and orderly manner, left the place with
all convenient speed, lest the enemy, to whom in-
formation of their proceedings would instantly be
transmitted, should pursue them. This second De-
claration, which was published with much more
pomp and circumstance than the first by Cameron's
party, was equally offensive, although not so much
was said about it at the time ; for, as the one dis-
owned Charles, so the other abjured James as an
obnoxious Papist and tyrant, to whom no allegiance
was lawfully due.

The following is a copy of this Declaration : —
'* A few wicked and unprincipled men having pro-
claimed James Duke of York, though a professed
Papist and excommunicated person, to be king of
Scotland, &c., we, the contending and suffering
remnant of the pure Presbyterians of the Church of
Scotland, do here deliberately, jointly, and unani-
mously protest against the foresaid proclamation, in
regard that it is choosing a murderer to be a gover-
nor, who hath shed the blood of the saints ; the
height of confederacy with an idolater, which is
forbidden in the law of €k>d ; contrary to the De-

REV. JAMES BENWICK. 8D

claration of the Assembly of 1649, and to many
wholesome and laudable acts of Parliament ; and
inconsistent with the safety, faith, conscience, and
Christian liberty of a Christian people, to choose a
subject of antichrist to be their supreme magistrate.
And further, seeing bloody Papists, the subjects of
antichrist, are become so hopeful, bold, and confi*
dent, under the perfidy of the said James Duke of
York, and Popery itself like to be intruded again
upon these covenanted lands, and an open door
being made thereunto by its accursed and abjured
harbinger. Prelacy, which these three kingdoms are
equally sworn against, we do in like manner pro-
test against all land of Popery in general, and par-
ticular heads, &c.

^* Finally, we being misrepresented to many as
persons of murdering and assassinating principles,
and which principles and practices we do hereby
declare before God, angels and men, that we abhor,
renounce and detest ; as also aU manner of robbing
of any, whether open enemies or others, which we
are most &lsely aspersed with, either in their gold,
their silver, or their gear, or any household stuff, —
their money perish with themselves, the Lord knows
that our eyes are not after these things.

^'And, in like manner, we do hereby disclaim
all unwarrantable practices committed by any few
persons reputed to be of us, whereby the Lord hath
been offended, his cause wronged, and we all made
to endure the scouige of tongues, for which things
we have desired to make conscience of mourning
before the Lord, both in public and private."

With regard to the propriety of the various de-
elarations which were published in those times of

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90 LIFE OF THE

oppression, different persons will doubtless entertain
different opinions ; but, it may be asked, was not
the ReTolution Settlement founded on the yery
principles contained in these declarations ? And,
in 1688, did not the whole nation do, on a larger
scale, what the Coyenanters did on a small scale, —
namely, repudiate the reigning prince on account
of his tyranny and misrule ? Dr Burns, in his
excellent Preliminary Dissertation to Wodrow's
History, makes the following remark : — '^ The
conduct of the actors in the scenes at Rutherglen,
at Sanquhar, and at Torwood, in disowning the
king, and excommunicating him and his adherents,
is indeed justly censurable as rash and unwar-
ranted (?) ; but we would beg to know, wherein
did the primary principles, ayowed and acted on
these occasions, differ irom those principles which,
in the course of a yery few years thereafter, roused
the dormant spirit of the country, and chased the
oppressor from the throne?"

Did not the ''Claim of Right" which, at the
Reyolution, rescinded all the forfeitures passed
against those who had been in arms at Pentland
and Bothwell Bridge, and pronounced them null
and yoid from the beginning, plainly homologate
these principles, and giye them the nation's sanction?
And does not the House of Brunswick, on these
self-same principles, hold at the present moment
the tenure of the throne of Britain ? It is injudi-
cious, then, to giye it no worse a name, for any class
among us to traduce the conduct of these indiyi-
duals, on the broad basis of whose political princi-
ples our present constitution is founded.

The first Sanquhar Declaration, which in prin-

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 91

ciple was the same as the second, was the focus into
which were gathered those scattered rays of politi-
cal doctrines, which were formerly avowed in the
Covenants, hut which had heen obscured by a long
reign of despotism, and from which again they
radiated in every direction, enlightening men's
minds and producing a fuller conviction of their
justness and expediency, till at length, the nation,
as a whole, proceeded to act upon them, and anni-
hilated the wretched usurpation of a tyrant and
unprincipled bigot. This Declaration was an arrow
shot by the hand of a dexterous bowman, and
which, though it was long in reaching its destina-
tion, yet at length hit its object with a precision as
admirable as it was effective.

It is remarkable, that within the walls of this
little burgh was heard the first blast of that trumpet
which eventually roused the attention of the realm,
and summoned its energies to the overthrow of a
despotism under which it had groaned for nearly
thirty years. The first trampling of the feet of the
great host, which ultimately effected the Revolution,
was heard in the streets of Sanquhar. Mr Cameron,
in a sermon, said that the Sanquhar Declaration
woidd shake the throne of Britain, and we know
how fully this prediction was verified. The
Rutherglen Manifesto did not occupy the same high
.ground as the two declarations alluded to.

An elegant writer remarks that the " standard
of the Covenanters on the mountains of Scotland
indicated to the vigilant eye of William, that the
nation was ripening for a change. They expressed
what others thought, uttering the indignation and
the groans of a spirited and oppressed people.

D2 LIFE OP THE

They investigaied and taught, under the ^dance
of feeling, the reciprocal obligations of kings and
subjects, the duty of self-defence and of resisting
tyrants, the generous principle of assisting the op-
pressed, in their language helping the Lord against
the mighty. These subjects, which haye been in-
vestigated bj philosophers in the closet, and adorned
with eloquence in the senate, were then illustrated
by men of feeling in the field. While Lord Russell
and Sydney, and other enlightened patriots in Eng-
land were plotting against Charles, from a conyic-
tion that his right was forfeited^ the Covenanters
in Scotland, under the same conviction, had the
courage to declare war against him. Both the
plotters and the warriors fell, but their blood
watered the plant of renown, and succeeding ages
have eaten the pleasant fruit."

On the attempt made by Argyle and the Duke
of Monmouth to overthrow the tyrannical govern-
ment of James, a good deal of influence was used
with the society people to induce them to co-operate
with that party. Mr Renwick and his mends,
however, though they expressed great respect for
Argyle as an upright and honest man, he^tated to
join in this expedition, ^' because it was not, as they
affirmed, concerted according to the ancient plea
of the Scottish Covenanters, m defence of our Re-
formation expressly, according to our Covenants,
National and Solemn League, because no mention
was made of these Covenants, nor of Presbyterian
government, and because some persons were too
promiscuously admitted to trust in that party, who
were then, and since have discovered themselves to
be, enemies by taking the test. Yea, some that had

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 93

accession to the blood shed at Ayrs-moss, namely,
Sir John Cochran, who had a hand in bringing the
forces together, and since hath treacherously re-
deemed his life by turning a traitorous informer
against his fellow-associates."

Mr Renwick sustained much reproach for his
not falling in with the measures of Argyle, but his
scruples were conscientious. In reference to this
matter, he says in one of his letters, ^' Before Argyle
brake, many of our friends were greatly puzzled
whether the Lord was calling them to follow their
former methods, or to draw altogether by themselves
and to emit a declaration of their own. Where-
upon there was a meeting appointed to consider
the matter, and also a day for prayer ; but the Lord
disappointed one after another, until Argyle was
apprehended and his party scattered."

After the defeat of Argyle, the persecution raged
against Mr Renwick with even greater fiiry than
formerly, for though he had never acceded to Ar-
gyle's attempt, yet he and his friends were impli-
cated. The mere suspicion was enough to authorise
his enemies to whet their swords to a keener edge
against that obnoxious people. ^' All the forces,"
say^ Mr Shields, '' foot, horse, and dragoons, and
military troopers, and companies of Lowlanders,
being poured in upon all the western and southern
shires, to range through all the rocks, woods, muirs,
and mountains, pursuing close after them with inde-
^tigable travel, and saying that now they had gotten
away with Monmouth and Argyle, they must now
fall in with Renwick and the old regiment." This,
however, neither discouraged his heart nor hindered
his work. He went on progressively, with no or-

94 LIFE OF THE

dinary spiritual enlaigement and even increase of
bodily strength, preaching, and catechising, and
l>aptizing in every part of the country. The success
of his ministry was at this time uncommonly great;
a wide and effectual door was opened. Many were
converted to Christ, and many of those who had
sullied their garments by foul compliances, returned
to their former standing as witnesses for the Re-
deemer. Multitudes resorted to the moorlands to
follow the persecuted gospel, and so numerous
were the demands from all quarters, that it was not
in his power to comply widi them. A h^owed
influence came down upon the wilderness, as a dew
from the Lord, and as rain upon the tender grass.
The lonely companies that hid themselves behind
the drapery of the snow-white mist on the hill, were
made glad with the light of God's countenance, and
strengthened with the joy of his salvation. He
who foresaw what sufferings they were to bear for
His name's sake, fortified their hearts beforehand to
the firm endurance of all that they were to undergo ;
for they were killed all the day long, they were
counted as sheep for the slaughter.

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 95

CHAPTER VI.

Remarks — Conventicle — Mr RenwicVs preaeliii^ — Interview
with Mr Peden — Success of the Qt>spel.

The Word of God assures us, that " all who will
live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
Now it may justly be a matter of wonder, why the
godly should in any case suifer persecution, for may
it not be £urly asked, What evil have they done ?
are they not the excellent ones of the earth ? do
they not fear God and keep his commandments ?
do they not love their neighbour as themselves ?
do they not labout to promote the good of the world
around them ? and do they not^ in their general de-
portment, exhibit a pretty hix specimen of the excel-
lency of the religion of Christ ? Why, then, should
such a class of persons be subjected to persecution?
ouffht they not rather to be esteemed, and honoured,
and lauded by the world, and should not their per-
sons be sedulously protected from harm ? Now the
very thing on account of which such persons ought
not to be persecuted, is the reason why they are
persecuted. The world hates the godly, because
their godliness operates as an incessant and irksome

96 LIFE OF THE

criticism on its unliallowed principles and conduct ;
it hates them, because its ivorks are evil, and theirs
righteous ; and hence the fruitful source of all the
persecutions that hare been endured, from the be-
ginning till the present moment. The ground, then,
on which Christ's people suffer persecution, is
honourable to them, and reflects an unspeakable
credit on their principles and practice ; and hence
the abusive treatment which they receive from the
world may be regarded as the best testimony which
it can, in its own rude and unmannerly way, bear
to the excellency of their character.

That the Covenanters were precisely such men
as the world loves to persecute, is obvious from
their history. They were men in heart, devoted to
the Redeemer. This is as much as to say, that
they were true Christians. It would be asserting
too much, to affirm that all who adhered to the
cause of the Covenant were truly godly persons,
for there were some among them who were merely
patriots, and influenced more, it may be, by the love
of civil liberty than by religious principle. But
what we affirm is, that the great body of the men
of the Covenant were truly Christian persons, and
deeply influenced by the love of that Saviour, whose
cause it was their highest ambition to maintain.
Their attachment to the Saviour lay at the very
foundation of their character as Christians, and
without this, all their professions, and contendings,
and sufferings, would have been of little avail as
to themselves, although as to us they might have
been the medium of transmitting many valuable
privileges. With regard, then, to the sterling god-
liness of their character, there can be no doubt, for

REV. JAMES REN WICK. 97

the highest proof which a man can furnish of his
attachment to the Saviour, is the laying down of
his life in His cause. The veritahle histories of the
period in which they lived bear ample testimony to
the holiness of their lives, as men '^ of whom the
world was not worthy/* They might be maligned
as wicked men by their persecutors, but in the
convictions of all who knew them, they were God-
fearing men, the purity of whose lives emitted a
splendour too bright for their enemies to gaze on,
and therefore they hated them, and sought to re-
move them out of their sight.

They were men who had the interests of true
religion at heart, and the great object of all their
contendings was to preserve the truth of God alive
in the land. As they had felt the power of the
doctrines of Christ on their own hearts, so their
earnest wish was, that others should experience the
same. Their oppressors had in view, the establish-
ment of a religious despotism, merely for the pur-
poses of promoting their political designs, and not
at all for the spiritual good of the people ; but the
object of the Covenanters was the support of Christ's
holy evangel, and the advancement of vital godli-
ness in the community. In all religious matters
they were in earnest, heartily desirous of promoting
the glory of Christ, in the conversion and edifica-
tion of souls. The conventicles which, at the risk
of their lives, they maintained in fields and private
houses, proved that the success of the gospel was a
matter which lay very near their hearts, and that
their profession of religion was more than a name.

Mr Renwick was the minister of the moorlands,
which were the spacious fields he traversed at all

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98 LIFE OF THE

times, by night and by day, and in all kinds of
weather, in storm and in sunshine, and in the most
hazardous circumstances, when chased by troopers,
and traced by insidious spies. The incidents wnich
befell him were manifold, though only a few have
been transmitted to us by tradition, and almost none
by history, although we are informed by Mr Shields
that such incidents were almost without end. Tra-
dition says, that Mr Renwick, in his wanderings
through the wilder parts of the country, came to
the neighbourhood of Kirkmahoe, in Nithsdale,
and kept a conventicle on a hill, called Wardlaw,
not far from the residence of William Swan, of
Braehead, mentioned in the ^< Traditions of the
Covenanters," — a worthy man, who made it his
business to hide and entertain the sufferers, in their
moving &om place to place for shelter. On the day
of the meeting, a large company assembled from the
surrounding district, in expectation of spending one
Sabbath in the worship of God without disturbance.
There was a person of the name of Smith, who re-
sided within the farm of Braehead, which was
occupied by William Swan. This man was a low,
selfisD character, who expected to reap some worldly
advantage, at the expense of the meeting at Ward-
law. After the worship was begun, and when the
minister in the tent which was reared in the field
was preaching to the people, Smith, who'was watch-
ing his opportunity, came running in great haste to
the outskirts of the crowd, crying that a company
of dragoons was approaching. The report, which
was entirely false, threw the multitude into con-
fusion, and occasioned the dispersion of the congre-
gation, the very thing which Smith wanted. In

REV. JAMES REM WICK. 99

the disorder of the moment, when the people were
running to and fro, the temporary tent was oyer-
turned upon the minister, but without anj injury to
his person ; although, as might hare been expected,
several serious bruises were received by the people,
from coming in contact with the horses, nLiy of
which had been brought by the company, and were
tied in diifferent parts of the field to wait the ter-
mination of the services. When the congregation
had vacated ike spot, and not an individual re-
mained in the field. Smith, at his leisure, gathered
^e bonnets, and plaids, and Bibles, and other
BTticles which the people, in the scene of confu-
sion that ensued, had lefl behind them. Having
collected the spoil, he returned to his house like a
person laden with the plimder of the slain from the
Dattle-fidd. This man, actuated by a principle of
sordid avarice, was guilty of a base falsehood and
of a disgraceful theft, and deprived a great company
of hearing the gospel, on one of those occasions
which was but rarely enjoyed in those perilous days.
To such interruptions as this, in the prosecution of
his ministry, Mr Ren wick was frequently exposed,
and to interruptions much more serious than this,
and attended with unspeakably greater peril ; but
so much was his heart set on his Master's work, that
none of these things moved him, he was prepared
for the worst, and the trial, however fieiy, was not
a strange thing to him.

There was perhaps no preacher in his day so
popular as Mr Renwick. He seems to have had a
soft and mellifluous voice, which fell with ineiEible
sweetness on the ear. His eloquence flowed in
^^ gentle stream," and came with a great and sub-

100 LIFE OF THE

duing power on his audience. There was nothing
vehement in his action, nor boisterous in his deliyerj,
but every thing calm and dignified, and suited to
the solemnity of the subject. The continuous and
majestic flow of his oratory, which proceeded from
the urgency and earnestness of his spirit like the
still but irresistible current of a mighty river, swept
all before it, and carried his hearers onward to the
precise point he wished to conduct them. The
crowds that listened to him in the desert, were
often melted to tears by the heavenliness of his
manner and his doctrine. So persuasive and ani-
mating was he in his preaching, that the holy fer-
vour and resolution of his auditors were often roused
to so high a pitch, that they could have endured
martpdom on the spot. One who heard him preach
declared that the effect of his discourse on him and
his fellow-worshippers was such, that " they could
have been glad to have endured any kind of death,
to have been home at the uninterrupted enjoyment
of that glorious Redeemer, who was so livelily and
clearly offered to them that day."

In another place, the same person remarks, " I
went sixteen miles to hear Mr Renwick, a faithful
servant of Jesus Christ, who was a young man, en-
dowed with great piety, prudence, and moderation.
The meeting was held in a desolate moor. He ap-
peared to be accompanied with much of his Master's
presence. He preached on Mark xii. 34, ' Thou
art not far from the kingdom of God.' In the fore-
noon he gave us several marks of a saved believer,
and made a large and full offer of Christ to all sorts
of perishing sinners. His method was clear, plain
and well digested, suiting the substance and sim-

REV. JAMES BEN WICK. 101

plicitj of the gospel. This was a sreat day of the
oon of Man to many poor exercised souls, who this
day got a Pisgah yiew of the Prince of Life." Again
he remarks, respecting Mr Ren wick's preaching,
^^ O this was a great and sweet day of the gospel,
for he handled and pressed the privileges of the
coyenant of grace with seraphic-like enlargement,
to the great edification of the hearers. Sweet and
charming were the offers which he made of Christ

to all sorts of sinners

I neyer knew a man more richly endowed with
ffraoe, more equal in his temper, more equal in
his spiritual frame, more equal in walk and con-
versation. Many times, when I haye heen thinking
of the great Mr Knox, Mr Welsh, Mr Davidson,
Mr Bruce, Mr Rutherford, Mr Durham, and other
of the worthy reformers, I have thought that the
great Mr James Renwick was as true and genuine
a son and successor to these great men, as any that
ever the Lord raised up in ti^ese lands to contend
for truth, and preach the gospel to lost sinners. He
seemed to come upsides with them in soundness of
principles, in uprightness of practice, in meekness,
in prudence, in zeal for the glory of God, in giving
testimony for the truth, and against sin and defec-
tion ; so that, though he was the Joseph that was
sorely shot at and grieved, yet he was the Caleh
that followed the Lord fully. When I speak of
him as a man, — ^none more comely in features, none
more prudent, none more brave and heroic in spirit,
and yet none more meek, none more humane and
oondescendme. He was every way so rational as
well as religious, that there was reason to think,
that the powers of his reason were as much strength-

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102 LIFE OF THE

ened and sanctified as any mere man I ever heard
of. When I speak of him as a Christian, — ^none
more meek, yet none more prudently bold against
those who were bold to sin, and yet none more
prudently condescending, none more frequent and
fervent in religious duties, such as prayer, converse,
meditation, self-examination, preaching, prefacing,
lecturing, baptizing, and catechising. None more
methodical in teaching and instructing, accompanied
with a sweet charming eloquence in holding forth
Christ as the only remedy for lost sinners. None
more hated by the world, and none more strength-
ened and upheld by the everlasting arms of the great
Jehovah, to be stedfast and abounding in the way
of the Lord to the death ; wherefore he might justly
be called Antipas, Christ's faithful martyr. And
as I lived then to know him to be so of a truth, so
by the good hand of God I yet live thirty-six years
after him, to testify that no man, upon just grounds,
had any thing to lay to his charge, upon all the
critical and straitening circumstances, when that
suffering period is well considered, save that he was
liable to natural and sinful infirmities, as all mere
men are when in this life, and yet he was as little
guilty in this way as any I ever yet knew or heard
of. He was the liveliest and most engaging preach-
er to close with Christ I ever heard. His converse
was pious, prudent, and meek, his reasoning and
debating was the same, carrying along with it a full
evidence of the truth of what he asserted. And
for steadiness in the way of the Lord, few came
his length. He learned the truth, and counted the
cost, and so sealed it with his blood. Of all the
men I ever knew, I would be in the least danger of

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 103

committing a hyperbole, when speaking to his com-
mendation. And yet I speak not thus to praise
man, but for the glory and honour of God in Christ,
and who makes men to diiffer so much from others,
in some periods of the Church more than others."

The subjects on which Mr Renwick preached,
with such enlargement of spirit and heavenly ora-
tory, are embodied in his sermons. It may not be
unedifying, however, to present here a specimen of
his doctrine, and his manner of handling it, as con-
tained in one of his letters to the society of strangers
at Lewarden in Friesland : — " Let us yet come a
little nearer, and take a look of Him, as he is our
Saviour, in his condescendency, love, power, faith-
iulness, and other properties. O how condescend-
ing is he; though he be that high and lofty One, the
Father s equal, yet he stooped so low, as to take upon
him the nature of man, and all the sinless infirmities
that attend it ; he became flesh of our flesh, and
bone of our bone, and that in the lowly condition
of a servant. He suits the creatures' aflbction,. as if
it were of some worth, and seeks men and women
to match with him. O how loving is he ; it is a
strong love that he beareth to the seed of Abraham.
Doth not this shine in all that he hath done : he
emptied himself, that they might become full ; he
made himself poor, though maker and possessor of
heaven and earth, that they might become rich ; he
fulfilled the law for them, that he might purchase
to them life and happiness; he made himself a
sacrifice to the death, that he might satisfy offended
justice, and make reconciliation for them. O such
a death ! so cursed, so shameful, so painful, and so
lingering ; but above all, he had the full weight of

104 LIFE OF THE

the wrath of God to bear, which all the strength of
angels and men could not have endured ; but he
being God, could not fall under it. O what man-
ner of love is this! In effect he did not care what he
suffered; let justice charge home upon him, with all
its rigour and seyeritj, seeing he was to gain his
point, and purchase a part of mankind from Satan
to himself, from sin to holiness, from misery to
happiness; so that man, however unworthy, base,
sinful, and miserable, yet is the centre of his lore.
O how powerful is he; he is migh^ to save to the
uttermost. All the strongholds of the soul cannot
hold out against him ; his power is irresistible ; by
this he can do what he will, and by his love he will
do what we need. And again, he is so faithful, that
what he sayeth he doeth ; he will not retract one
promise that has gone out of his mouth, neither
will he fail in frdfilling all his threatenings.

^^ Much might be said of these things, but not
the thousandth part of the truth can be told. When
we win to the house above, and see him as he is,
we will be ashamed of all our babblings about him.
They that have been most ravished with his love,
and most eloquent to speak forth the praises of his
comeliness and properties, will see that they have
been but at best bahes learning to speak. O what
shall I say ; he is the wonderful, matchless, glorious
and inestimable jewel, and incomparable pearl of
great price. O who would not choice him ! Let a
man look through heaven and earth, and seek a
portion where he will, he shall not find the like
of Christ. O, then, let us be altogether his ; our
will let it be his,— our affections, let them be his,
-—the travail of our souls, let it be his; and let us

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 105

be fiiUy surrendered, and entirely consecrated to
him."

It is obvious from what we know of Mr Renwick
as a preacher, that his discourses were eminently
practical and experimental, as well as doctrinal, and
that it was not his custom to dwell exclusively, and
with an embittered sort of eloquence, on the wrongs
of a bleeding remnant, depicting their sufferings,
and denouncmg the cruelties of their oppressors.
No ; his preaching was occupied chiefly with the
substance of the gospel, with a view to the conver-
sion of sinners and die edification of believers. He
was not a demagogue, nor the ringleader of a sedi-
tious mob, traversing the country in its breadth and
length, for the purpose of exciting and fostering a
popular disaffection to the laws of the land. He
was not a person employed in political intrigues, as
the hireling agent of a party, who wished to embroil
the nation in civil war. Nor was he a mere patriot,
pleading the people's cause against a dominant and
unprincipled faction, that had infringed the social
compact, and invaded the liberties, the lives, and
the property of the subjects. He was indeed a
patriot, but much more than a patriot, — he was a
Christian, and a minister of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, whose chief ambition it was to make men
spiritually free, and denizens of the kingdom of God
above. Not that Mr Renwick reckoned the advo-
cacy of the civil and religious rights of the people
a matter of inferior moment. No; the declarations
which, at the risk of his life, he had a hand in pub-
lishing, are a full proof of this ; for these declarations
embody the great principles of patriotism and of civil
immunities as well as religion. But then he went

106 LIFE OF THE

far beyond, and high abore this, — ^he stretched his
yiews forward to eternity, and his leading design was
to bring sinners to the Saviour. For this end he
laboured night and day, in peril, in want, and in
weariness, preaching in season and out of season,
testifying the gospel of the grace of God. . Hia
whole heart was in this great work, and he count<Hl
not his own life dear unto him, that he might
finish his course with joy, and the ministry he had
receiyed of the Lord Jesus.

The moTement made by Argyle was the cause of
much uneasiness to Mr Renwick, owing to the divi-
sions that arose among the society people. Sundry
preachers that belonged to die party that fevourea
Argyle found means to insinuate themselves into the
good graces of not a few of Mr Renwick's people,
and succeeded in unsettlins their principles to a
certain extent. These individuals were, Messrs
Barclay, Langlands, and Alcorn, who traversed the
west, making reproachful speeches against Mr Ren-
wick, and urging his followers to jom in the move-
ment. By the misrepresentations of these men much
confusion was introduced into the ranks of the strict
and honest Covenanters. Many fell away from Mr
Renwick ; and not a few of even his warm friends
became disaffected. But among the bitterest of his
opponents was one Cathcart, who prevented him
firom preaching in sundry places where the people
were desirous of hearing him. He wrote a scandalous
libel against him, accusing him of heresy, and error
and pnde. All these low and contemptible accusa-
tions, however, Mr Renwick amply refuted. But;
the chief thins which srieved his upright mind in
all this turmoil was, that his hitherto stedfast and

REV. JAMES REN WICK. 107

beloyed friend, Mr Ped«n, turned hiii back on him,
and became as loud as others in reproaching him.
This caused much distress to Mr Renwick, whose
gentle nature could ill brook harsh treatment, espe-
cialljfirom those whom he respected. And Mr Peden
was a venerable character, a holy and zealous minis-
ter, who suffered much in the cause of truths having
endured no less than six-and-twenty years of per-
secution ; and who, except when he was in prison,
or under hiding in Ireland, was never off the field,
preaching the gospel in the solitudes or in private
houses. He was eminently a man of prayer, and
lived near Gh>d in heavenly fellowship. No man
was a more frequent inmate of the cottages in the
deserts, to which he betook himself for safety when
the storm of persecution raged so wastefully over
the land. His homely and affectionate manners
made him a universal favourite with th^ peasantry ;
and his blameless life commanded respect even from
his enemies. His lonely wanderings, and solitary
lodging in caves and woods, and his perseverance in
preaching the gospel in constant peril and destitu-
tion, drew toward him the sympathy and the affec-
tionate regards of all who knew or heard of him.
He was a man much honoured by his Master, and
of uncommon attainments in the divide life. The
memory of his ministrations is still retained in many
a lingering anecdote by the inhabitants of the wil-
derness. The Mae statements of the forementioned
ministers respecting Mr Eenwick had produced so

?emicious an effect on the mind of the venerable
^eden, as to lead him to affirm, with warmth, that
he would make Renwick's *' name stink above the
ground."

108 LIFE OF THE

In a short time, howeyer, Mr Peden saw good
reason to change his sentiments respecting Mr Ren-
wick. He entertained the suspicion that he had
heen imposed upon, and heing now an old man, and
on his death-hed, he wished to see the man who was
eyeiywhere spoken against, and to ascertain from
his own mouth the true state of the case. Having
sent for Mr Renwick, the following interview, as
given in the words of Patrick Walker, took place :
— '^ When Mr James came in, he raised himself upon
his hed, leaning upon his elbow, with his head upon
his hand, and said, 'Sir, are ye the Mr James Renwick
that there is so much noise about?' He answered,
^ Father, my name is James Renwick ; but I have
given the world no ground for making any noise
about me ; for I have espoused no new principle or
practice, but what our Reformers and Covenanters
maintained/ *Well, Sir,' said Mr Peden, 'turn
about your back,' which he did in his condescend*
ing temper. Mr Peden said, ' I think your legs
too small, and your shoulders too narrow, to take on
the whole Church of Scotland on your back. Sit
down. Sir, and give me an account of your conver-
sion, and of your call to the ministry, — of your prin-
ciples, and the grounds of your taking such singular
courses in withdrawing from all other ministers ; '
which Mr Renwick did, in so distinct a manner,—.
of the Lord's way of dealing with him from his in*
fancy, — and of three mornings successively, in some
retired place in the King's Park, where he used to
frequent before he went abroad, where he got many
signal manifestations and confirmations of his call to
the ministry, and got the same renewed in Holland
a little before he came off, with a distinct short

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 109

account of the grounds upon ^rhich he contended
against tyranny and defections, and kept up an
active testimony against all the evils of that day.
When ended, Mr Peden said, * You have answered
me to my souls satisfaction ; and I am very sorry
that I should have believed any such ill reports of
you, which have not only quenched my love to you,
and marred my sjrmpadiy with you, but made me
express myself so bitterly against you, for which I
have sadly smarted. But, Sir, ere you go, you must
pray for me ; for I am old, and going to leave the
world, — ^which he did with more than ordinary en-
largement. When ended, he took him by the hand,
and drew him to him, and kissed him, and said,
^ Sir, I find you a faithful servant to your Master ;
go on in a single dependence on the Lord, and you
will win honestly through, and clearly off the stage ;
when many others that hold their heads high will
faU, and lie in the mire, and make foul hands and
garments.' He then prayed that the Lord might
spirit, stTeng1:hen, support and comfort him in all
duties and difficulties." Thus was a misunderstand-
ing on the part of Mr Peden removed, before that
good man left the world. The alienation, however,
manifested by this venerable worthy, whose charac-
ter stood so deservedly high, operated very injuri-
ously on Mr Benwick ; for people were more ready
to believe the things that were spoken against him,
when so godly a 'man as Mr Peden took up the
reproach. But the Lord, who brings forth the
^' righteousness of his people as the light, and their
judgment as the noon-day," w^as pleased to vindicate
his servant, and to commend him more fully to the
affection and the esteem of all good men.

K

110 LIFBOFTHE

Notwithstandinff the defections which took place
among Mr Benwick's party, owing to the talae accu-
sations that had been spread abroad respecting him,
the CKMpel was greatl j soccessfnl under his ministry,
and perhaps more successful than erer it had been
since the commencement of his labours in the wil-
derness. If some fell away, others were gathered in,
so that a goodly accession of conyerts amply supplied
the place, both of those who had been remored by
martjrrdom and banishment, and of those who had
voluntarily retired from the party. In one of his let-
ters he remarks, '' As to our present case, I wot not
well what to say anent it, there are so many mercies
and judgments in it to be spoken of. God hath taken,
this last year, many from us by banishment and by
death on scaffolds; and especially on the fields, where
none, for the most part, were to see them but the
executioners ; and vet Gk>d fills up their rooms again :
neither are these things permitted to damp such as
are left Some hare, which is more sad, fallen off
from us ; and yet Qoi is fiUiiu; up their places also,
and making others more steo&st. And notwith-
standing both of persecutions and reproaches, the
Lord hath opened doors for me in several places
in Scotland, where there used to be no such access
before, and hath multiplied my work so upon my
hands, — ^I speak it to His praise-— that I have ob-
served my work, I say in some shires, to be three-
fold, and in some fourfold, more than it was. O
that God would send forth labourers; there seems
to be much ado in Scotland with them. Also it is
almost incredible to tell what seal, what tenderness,
what painfulness in duty, what circumspectness of
walk m many young ones, of ten, eleven, twelve.

REV. JAMES RENWICK. Ill

and fourteen years of age, in many places of Scot-
land, which I look upon as one of the visible and
greatest tokens of good- will we have."

From the preceding letter we see how much the
heart of Mr Renwick was in his Master's work.
Unlike those hireling shepherds, who do too little
work, he rejoiced in the increase of his, and was
glad that the field of labour was in some cases four
times larger than formerly. It is interesting to con-
template this youthful servant of Christ, opposed
on the right hand and on the left, traversing the
country, in the midst of peril and distress, for the
purpose of preaching the Gospel, and even feeling
grateful in no common degree, that he was called to
the endurance of toil and affliction, and to unheard
of exertions in propagating the knowledge of the
truth. It was no unpromising circumstance for the
future prosperity of the cause, that the Spirit of God
had descended on the rising generation, and that so
many youthfol hearts were Drought under the power
of the Gospel. These symptoms of a giacious re*
vival were needed to inspirit him, amidst all his
discouragements, and to refresh his heart in his
dreuy wanderings in the desert.

With regard to the extent of his labours, Mr
Renwick writes to Mr Hamilton in the following
strain :•— ^' My work keepeth me busy, so much of
it lies in the remote comers of the land, as Gbllo-
way, Nithsdale, Annandale, &c, I have not been
near Edinburgh since the 16th October 1685, and
I have travelled since through Clydesdale, Eskdale,
some of the Forest, Annandale, some of Galloway,
Kyle and Cunninffham ; and all these ways I ex-
amined the societies as I passed through, several

112 LIFE OF THE

other persons coming to hear ; and I found my
work greater this last journey than erer before.
Also in lower Cunningham, where there never had
been any field-preaching, I got kindly acceptance,
and great multitudes came to hear ; and I have had
several calls since from that country-side ; such like
have I found through Benfirewshire." Such was the
scene of his toils, — wide, mountainous, and deso-
late. It caused him many a weary step ; but still
his heart was lifted up in the good ways of the Lord,
and he took courage.

" Moreover," says he, in the same letter, '^ more-
over, the Lord hath wrought a great change on the
barony of Sanquhar, the parish of Eorkconnel, and
these dark comers." A spiritual influence seems,
through the ministrations of Mr Renwick, to have
descended on the inhabitants of these two contigu-
ous parishes, in the dark and cloudy day when men
could scarcely grope their way, on account of the
surrounding obscurity. Sanquhar is situated in the
very centre of the spacious field of covenanting in-
terest, which was trodden by the feet of the worthies
who were compelled to nee to the solitudes for
safety. Among the hiUs and deserts of this locality,
Mr Renwick held many a conventicle, and precious
were the seasons of refreshment with which the
people of the neighbourhood were blessed. His
labours here were not in vain in the Lord. ^' Gene-
rally," he says, '^ they come to hear the Gospel, and
are quitting many of the defections of the times."
Who can tell how many of the ancestry of the pre-
sent inhabitants of this district were brought to the
knowledge of the truth by Mr Renwick's means ?
or who can say how much they themselves owe to

BEV. JAMES BENWICK. 113

this circumstance, for the knowledge of that Chris-
tian doctrine, which, through the descent of several
generations, has been transmitted to them by a
religious parentage.

When we take our station on any of the eminen-
cies near the town of Sanquhar, and carry the eye
around the extremity of the beautiful basin in the
midst of which it stands, we find that there is
scarcely a hill or a glen within the ample circle,
which does not record some incident, more or less
interesting, which befell in the gloomy times of per-
secution. We tread more than classic ground when
we traverse these moorlands ; we tread ground that
has been consecrated by the wanderings, and the
prayers, and the suffermgs of holy men, men of
" whom the world was not worthy." The spirits of
our forefathers seem to rise up before us when
thinking on the days of other times ; we find our-
selves alone on the bleak waste, or on the tops of
the lofty mountains, where they hid and prayed,
and met in the interdicted conventicle.

K2

114 LIFE OF THE

CHAPTER VII.

Mr Renwick at Auchencairn in CloBebum — His Journey to
England— Joined by Messrs Alexander Shields and David
Houston.

Mr Renwick, in his wanderings in the upper parts
of Nithsdale, as tradition tells, yisited Closebum,
in which parish he kept a conventicle on a bleak
moor, in the time of snow. Closebum was, in those
days, a place much frequented by the worthies* Its
woods, and glens, and mountains, furnished many
a favourable hiding-place to the refugees of the
Covenant. The romantic Crihope linn, which has
been honoured by ducal visitors, and by the most
celebrated geologists of the day, and which is alto-
gether a scene wnich baffles description, afforded,—
among its shelving rocks and dark ravines, to whose
dangerous entrance no unaccustomed foot durst
venture, — ^the harassed non-conformists a retreat as
secure and unassailable as the vaults of a fortified
castle. The lonely worshippers, cowering in these
caverns, beside the roaring of the torrent, and the
tumultuous gush of waters, that shoot over the
hideous precipice, and fall, boiling and foaming,
into the dreadful caldron beneath, could raise aloft,

REV. JAMES RENWIGK. J 15

ivithout the fear of detection, the loud sound of
praise, and the hallowed voice of prayer, to Him
into whose ears no deafening sound can prevent the
entrance of the supplications of his people. It was
in the nigged sides of Orihope linn that the good
James Nevison of Closebum Mill, as has already
been detailed in the ^^ Traditions of the Covenan-
ters," took refiige with his wife and infant, when
obliged to leave his home on accoimt of the strict
search that was made for him. Their bed was the
cold hard rock ; while the baby, wrapt in a warm
blanket, was placed in a basket formed of the pliant
twigs of the palmy willow, and rocked asleep ; and
the soft lullaby chanted by the affectionate mother
filled with a sweet plaintive music the murky re-
cesses of the cave, the sound of which, wafted
stealthily on the fitful breeze, was carried down the
gloomy ravine, and died away among the distant
woods.

In this upland parish there lived sundry families
devoted to the covenanting cause, and who suffered
much in those times. Rosehill, the residence of
John Mathison, is within its bounds ; as also the
cairn of Closebum, which, in the times of which
we are writing, was tenanted by the good Wil-
liam Smith. Interesting anecdotes respecting these
two individuals, in connection with the incidents
which befell James Nevison, have been given in
the forementioned volume. Among the friends
who inhabited this district, the sufferers in the
cause of religious liberty found always a ready re-
ception and a welcome meal. Besides the security
which Closebum afforded among its mantling woods
and deep dells, to those who sought concealment

116 LIFE OP THE

from the persecutors, another circumstance which
invited the wanderers to this locality, was the pecu-
liar leniencj of the lord of the manor. Sir Thomas
Kirkpatrick showed, so far as he durst with safety,
a firiendlj disposition toward the Covenanters, who,
on that account, might flock in greater numbers to
his lands, seeking a retreat in the cottages of the
kindly affected peasantry. Many are the instances
preserved by tradition, of the manner in which this
well-disposed gentleman, whose sympathies were
uniformly found on the side of the oppressed,
screened the non-conformists who happened to be
lurking in his neighbourhood. The curate of the
parish, who, like his brethren, acted the part of
informer against those who refused to comply with
the measures of the times, did not choose to offend
Sir Thomas ; and knowing his leanings in favour
of the persecuted, he strove to save appearances as
far as possible, and hence less mischief was done
than otherwise must have befallen, had circum-
stances been more favourable. The curates did
immense harm to the Presbyterians, and brought
many a family to utter ruin; and wherever the
gentlemen of their neighbourhood inclined to severe
measures, they exerted themselves to the utmost in
procuring information respecting the Covenanters,
and in searching out their haunts.

It was in the winter season that Mr Benwick
visited Auchencaim in Closebum, where he so*
jounied in the house of a pious man of the name
of James Elspie. When residing in this lowly, but
hospitable mansion, the religious people in the
neighbourhood were desirous of availing themselves
of the opportunity of his services ; and therefore

REV. JAMES REN WICK. 117

it was agreed that a conyenticle should be held in
a retired comer in the solitudes, and information of
the circumstance was conveyed, as quietly as pos-
sible, to the friends throughout the district. The
snow lay deep on the ground, covering the dark
and sha^y surface of the moorland with one uni-
form sheet of whiteness. On the day appointed,
straggling companies were seen gathering in &om
different quarters to the meeting-place, to sit on
the soft and sinking snow to hear the words of
eternal life. The different articles necessary for the
accommodation of the preacher were brought by the
people, — a little table, on which he was to stand at
a moderate elevation above the audience, and a
quantity of the branches of the bending willow,
which were to be attached to the comers of the
platform, and gathered together at the top. Around
this were twisted ropes of straw to keep the fabric
firm, and then the whole was covered with plaids.
Thus provided, Mr Renwick took his station under
the awning, which afforded a tolerable shelter from
the cold and piercing easterly winds. It was not
on every occasion, however, that this zealous
preacher would accept of such an accommodation
as this, for he sometimes exposed himself to the
weather when preaching, and stood under the pelt-
ing rain, while the congregation sat drenched on
the ground beside him. In the present case, the
audience sat on the snow, and forgot the inclemency
of the weather, in the interesting service in which
they were engaged. Their bodies might be chilled
by the cold breath of winter, but their hearts were
wanned by the enlivening truths of the gospel, and
the quickening influences of heavenly grace. We

118 LIFE OF THE

^ho live at ease, and in the enjoyment of our many
privileges, have little notion of the spiritual ardour
by which the hearts of these followers of the Saviour
were fired, when they gathered by stealth the manna
which was occasionally rained on them in the wil-
derness, and on which they fed at the peril of their
lives.

As the little assembly were engaged in these
religious exercises, and in a great measure oblivious
of their external situation, a party of dragoons, who
had been informed of the meeting, were plodding
their way through the deep snow, for the purpose
of surprising the conventicle. As the horsemen
were moving cautiously ouward, they kappened to
start either the whuring moorfowl, or the timid
hare, at the sight of which they eagerly fired, and,
happily, the loud report of the musKets reached the
ears of the worshippers on the waste. The drcum-
stance roused their attention, and they saw in the
distance the troopers advancing. The little com-
pany fled like a flock of sheep when scared by the
ravenous wolf* Elspie's little daughter, who was
holding the horse that carried Mr Renwick, was in
great distress about the minister, and cried and
wept bitterly. " If," said her father, " you desire
Mr Ren wick's safety, do not mention his name, nor
appear in any way to acknowledge him, lest you
snould happen to point him out to the enemy."
The child saw the propriety of the caution, and
held her peace.

When the people were runninff and wading
through the snow, Elspie gave Mr Renwick in
chaige to his little daughter, whose name was
Agnes, to conduct him safely to the house by a

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 1 1 9

circuitous rout, whilei he himself mounted the horse
and rode off in a different direction, as if he were
the preacher. The troopers followed him as being
the most conspicuous person, and the rest of the
congregation escaped the pursuit. When the sol*
diers came to the tent they found the place desert-
ed, and the snow trodden by many feet, plainly
indicating the direction in which the company had
fled. They now accused themselves as being the
cause of the breaking up of the conventicle, by
means of their too great eagerness for their sport
on the moor.

But though the troopers captured none of the
conventiclers, the day did not pass without its cala-
mitous incident. An old woman, m her flight
from the meeting-place, fell through the sinking
snow into a deep moss hag, from which she could
not extricate herself. In tihe hurry and confusion,
the poor woman had not been missed by her com-
panions on the way, and it was not till the friends
reached Olosebum that they found she was not in
their company. They knew that she had not been
captured by the soldiers, and they suspected, what
was the truth, that she had sunk in the snow.
Accordingly, in the dusk, when they could venture
out without being observed, a party went in search
of her, and following the beaten track, they has-
tened forward on their errand of mercy. As they
proceeded along, looking on every side, they heard
a deep sound, as if it issued from the earth, and
standing still to listen, they distinctly heard the
voice of prayer. Guided by the sound, they came
to the place, and found the aged mother almost
covered with the snow, and sinking in the miry

120 LIFE OP THE

moss beneath. The poor woman was chilled to
the heart, and greatly exhausted by the struggles
which she made to free herself from her perilous
situation. In a brief space the dark mossy trench
must have been her grave, and the pure white snow
her winding-sheet, had not friendly aid been near.
The men drew her from her lair, and finding that
she was unable to walk, they carried her gently
along as expeditiously as possible. Their kindly
efforts, however, were vain, for she expired before
she reached the nearest dwelling-house. She met
her death in following the persecuted gospel, and
in countenancing the testimony which the worthies
had lifted up in behalf of the truth. Among the
last words she uttered were the foUowinff : — " May
Ood giTe me good of the sermon in the end, for in
the first place I have received evil ; but if I should
die among the snow, may He take me safely home
to the rest in Christ."

The soldiers tracked the footsteps of the conven-
ticlers towards Closebum, where they remained
some days, endeavouring to discover those who had
been at the meeting. Their chief object was to find
out the preacher, but they could not discover the
place of his residence.

Next morning the soldiers were early in motion,
and came upon a tailor with the implements of his
occupation in his hand, and him they accosted.
This man, whose name was William Goudie, a
shrewd and pious man, had been at the conventicle,
a circumstance of which the men were not aware.
Having incidentally met with him, however, they
began to question him, with a view to elucidate
something respecting the Covenanters in the neigh-

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 121

bourhood. After haying conversed with him on
various matters, they began to test him, thinking
that perhaps he might be one of the party of whom
they were in quest. " Do you renounce the cove-
nant ? " asked one of the party. " Which cove-
nant?" replied the honest tailor; '' is it the
covenant of works you mean ? if so, then I solemnly
and deliberately renounce all connection with it,
and all connection with those who adhere to it."
The dragoons, it would appear, were very ignorant
men, and knew nothing of the nature of those
covenants for their adherence to which our ances-
tors suffered so much ; and the tailor's reply seemed
to them perfectly satis&ctory, ^d they lauded him
for a good and loyal subject, and allowed him to go
peaceably on his way. This anecdote has often
been rehearsed as an instance of the dexterous man-
ner in which the wanderers evaded the ensnaring
questions that were frequently put to them by the
soldiers who happened to encounter them on the
highway. And, indeed, from the sagacity which
they displayed, and the self-possession which, in
perplexing circumstances, they manifested, it is
obvious that they enjoyed assistance from above in
a very remarkable way ; and this, too, in fulfilment
of the promise with which the Saviour encouraged
his disciples : — " But when they deliver you up,
take no thought how or what ye shall speak, for it
shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall
speak." Mr Renwick, on this occasion, escaped,
and none of the people were apprehended.

But Mr Renwick did not confine his ministra-
tions to Scotland merely ; he entered England also,
and there preached with no small degree of accep-

122 LIFE OF THE

tance and success. It was his desire to propagate,
in both countries, the pure doctrines of tne gospel,
and to disseminate correct notions of the nature of
Christ's kingdom, and the order of his house. The
persecution was in this year, 1686, in some small
degree slackened, and a short breathing-time was
afforded to the weary remnant who were harassed
and tossed incessantly in every part of the land.
One particular object which Mr Benwick had in
view in visiting the south at this time, was to con-
fer with some of the ministers in that part of the
kingdom respecting a union and co-operation with
him on the principles on which he and the societies
stood. His efforts in this way, however, were un-
successiiil, and he came home with no other pros-
pect than to labour singly and alone as formerly.
But his journey was not fruitless in other respects.
He preached the gospel to the edification of not a
few. '^ I have been," says he, ^' for a season in
England, where, by the good hand of the Lord, we
kept our Sabbath meetings, all except one, in the
fields, without any disturbance ; but upon our days
in the week they were kept in the night-time ; "^
so unwearied was he in publishing the message of
salvation, in season and out of season, never for-
getting the great end he had in view, the conversion
of sinners.

Mr Renwick was not a man who, in his zeal to
make converts, was ready to gather together any
sort of materials that came to his hand, jot the pur-
pose of enlarging a party ; he knew that augmen-
tation was not strength, unless it was the augmenta-
tion of sound believers. Purity of communion is
the glory and stability of a Church, and Mr Ren«

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 12^

wick exerted himself to the utmost to maintain this
purity among the society churches to which he
ministered; and few men, perhaps, have in this
respect heen more successfiil. He was particularly
scrupulous in the case of those who had been guilty
of defection, and would not, without the closest
scrutiny, admit them to fellowship. In a letter to
Mr Hamilton he remarks, — " As for those persons
who have complied with any thing or other, I do
not admit them to present their children (for bap-
tism), unless they have evidenced a right sense and
practical reformation, by standing out (against) the
temptation unto these things they have been charge-
able with, and their engagement to give due satis-
flEkction when lawfully called for, or else the attesta-
tion of some acquainted with their case, that in the
judgment of charity they appear to be convinced
of, and humbled for their sin, and their engagement
to forbear their sin, and give satisfection in manner
foresaid."

Mr Ren wick had always been desirous of obtain-
ing the assistance of men like-minded with himself
in the work of the ministry, and now his solicitude
was greater than ever. The field of labour was
every day vndening on his hand, and the necessities
of the people were becoming more clamant. ^^ My
business," he says, ^^ multiplies still on my hand,
and people are more earnest now than ever I knew
them after the gospel. O that the Lord would
send forth labourers/* This desire was soon to be
gratified ; for the Lord, who saw the toil of his ser-
vant, fEuthful alone amidst all the reproaches, and
persecutions, and privations to which he was sub-
jected, in maintaining the standard of the gospel.

124 LIFE OF THE

in opposition to the foul compliances of the times,
provided two worthy coadjutors, Messrs Alexander
Shields and David Houston, to take part of the
ministry with him, and to proceed unitedly in the
prosecution of the great work. After full delibera-
tion, and when all concerned were entirely satisfied
with regard to the propriety of the measure, these
two ministers were admitted by the societies as
fellow-labourers with Mr Benwick in the work of
the Lord.

Mr Alexander Shields, the faithful friend and
biographer of Mr Benwick, a man much about the
same age, was a native of the Merse. His father's
name was James Shields of Haugh-head. He
studied philosophy in Edinburgh under Sir William
Paterson, who was afterwards clerk to the council,
whose mismanagement and ty^^nny wrought so
much havoc in Scotland. After this he went over
to Holland for the purpose of prosecuting his studies,
where he continued for a short time, and then re-
turned to his native country. Not long after this
he went to London, and became an amanuensis to
the famous Dr Owen, who was at the time writing
for the press. It was while he resided here that he
was licensed to preach by the Scottish dissenting
ministers in London. Shortly after this he was
apprehended at a private meeting for religious pur-
poses, by the authorities, as an obnoxious person.
After the death of Charles he was sent prisoner to
Scotland, and examined before the council. He
took the oath of abjuration, of which he afterwards
bitterly repented, and made an ample confession of
it before the society people when he was admitted
by them. Mr Benwick, alluding to the circum-

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 125

stance, says, that Mr Shields, when conducting
worship in a private house, used the following
words : — ^' I cannot longer contain, hut must con-
fess unto thee. Lord, before this people, that I am
ashamed to offer my body as a lirmg sacrifice unto
thee; yet I must do it, for I, a prisoner and a
preacher, might hare been a martyr, and in glory
with thee and thy glorious martyrs above. But I
i^infuUy and shamefully saved my life with disown-
ing thy friends, and owning thy enemies, and it will
be a wonder if ever thou put such an honourable
opportunity in my hand again."

He was sent prisoner to the Bass, but he suc-
ceeded in making his escape in female attire. He
went straight to Mr Renwick, who was then in
Galloway, and attended a conventicle which was
held in the woods of Elarlston, and shortly after-
wards he was received by the societies as a fellow-
labourer with Mr Renwick. When the informatory
vindication was framed, he went to Holland to
superintend the printing, but was obliged to return
before the work was fimshed. Af^er Mr Renwick's
death, he continued preaching in the fields with
unwearied diligence till the persecution closed.

After the Revolution he was settled minister in
St Andrews, whercf he remained till 1699, when
he, with three others, was appointed to visit the
settlement of Darien in America. He died in Ja-
maica after a short illness. The last sermon he
E reached was fix)m the words, ^' Who is wise, and
e shall understand these things ? prudent, and he
shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are
right, and the just shall walk in them; but the
transgressors shall fall therein/'

l2

126 LIFE OF THE

Mr Shields was a person of no ordinary a^coni'*
plishments. He possessed a fine and vigorous
mind, was a man of extensive reading and yarious
learning, zealous for the truth, a true patriot, a de-
voted Christian, an active minister, and, in short,
one of the most estimahle men of his time. He
was hy no means a perfect character, any more
than others* He lived in a trying period, and his
yieldings hefore the council, which indicated the
weakness of human nature in him, were sincerely
lamented hy him, and his after conduct tested the
uprightness of his principles and the honesty of his
profession. He was the author of several works.
He wrote Mr Benwick's life, and the vindication of
his dying testimony. He published the " Hind Let
Loose," a book which may enlighten even this en-
lightened age. There were several sermons of his
printed, a vindication of the covenants, and a few
religious letters.

Mr Houston was a preacher in Ireland prior to
his connection with Mr Benwick's party. He was
by no means equal to Mr Shields, either as a
preacher or as a person of influence among the
societies ; but he was, nevertheless, highly esteemed
by them, and useful in his vocation, mx Benwick
makes the following mention of him : — ^' As for
Mr David Houston, he carried very straight. I
think him both learned and zealous. He seems to
have much of the spirit of our worthy professors,
for he much opposes the passing from any part of
our testimony, yea, and sticks dose to esexj form
and order whereunto we have attained, asserting
pertinendy, that if we follow not even the method
wherein God hath countenanced us, and keep not

RET. JAMES RENWICK. 127

by every orderly form, we cannot but be justled out
of the matter. He hath authority with him, which
someway dashes those who oppose themselyes ; he
discovers the mystery of the working of the spirit
of antichrist more fidly and clearly than ever I have
heard it." It appears that he went occasionally to
Ireland to preach to the societies there, who kept a
correspondence with those in Scotland. After Mr
Benwick's death, he was seized in Ireland, and con-
veyed to Scotland, to be tried before the council.
The society people having obtained information of
the circumstance, and fearing lest he should under-
go the same fate as Mr Renwick, determined to
accomplish his rescue by the way. Accordingly,
having formed a party, they waylaid the company
of troopers who hiad him under their care, and at-
tacked them at the narrow pass of Bellapath, on
the road between Cunmock and Muirkirk. In the
scuffle, several of the soldiers were killed, and one
of the Covenanters, named John M^Gechan of
Auchengibbert, in the parish of Cumnock, lost his
life, whom Wodrow terms " a singularly pious man."
The council were greatly enraged at this incident,
and the West was harassed in no small degree by
the vexatious meetings which were held for the
purpose of discovering the persons engaged in the
rescue.

Wodrow asserts that Mr Houston ultimately fell
into disrepute with the society people, and that he
was eventually rejected by the party. These state-
ments of the historian seem to be at variance with
the following statements of Michael Shields, in a
letter to the friends in Ireland, dated Sanquhar,
June 24, 1^89, the year after the Bevolution:—

128 LIFE OF THE

^ The Rey. David Houston is coming over to you,
whose labours in the gospel among you we heartily
pray may be crowned with success, to the glory of
free grace. We hear it reported with you (that)
he and we should be separated one £rom another,
which we here declare to be fabe. As formerly,
so now, we much esteem him, though many who
had their tongues bended like their bows for lies,
but they were not valiant for the truth upon the
earth, have been at no small pains to load his name
with reproaches and base calumnies, which, as they
are grievous to us to hear, so we have endeavoured
to search out the truth of them. But after trial,
excepting some sharp and too vehement expressions
concerning the indulged party, which we wish and
hope he will forbear, do find that the same hath
chiefly flowed from prejudice in some, and igno-
rance in others ; and all we shall say of them who
have so done, shall be cordial wishes that they may
see the evil of it, and do so no more."

It would appear, however, that the statements of
the historian respecting Mr Houston refer to a date
considerably posterior to the time of Michael Shields'
letter. There is in the possession of Mr Dalziel, of
the Holm of Drumlanrig, a copy of the minutes of
the general societies, containing an account of their
transactions from 1693 to 1719. In these registers
Mr Houston is several times mentioned, and it is
recorded that his case was brought before the gene-
ral meeting by the conrespondencies of Galloway.
The meeting enjoined all the correspondencies to
take it into consideration, and to report. Mean-
while he was requested to appear before them, and
answer for himself, which it does not appear he

REV. JAMES REMWICK. 129

ever did. At a meeting held at Leadhilig, on the
9th of October 1695, it was agreed that none who
countenanced him in any part of his ministerial
functions should be owned as any of their number.
He was accused of ^^ associating with the Lord's
enemies, and of marrying without sufficient testi-
monials ; " and ^' further, of marrying persons, and
baptizing children, to persons known to be guilty of
public sins, without requiring satisfaction." Mr
Houston's name does not again occur in the minutes,
and it is not likely that he had any further connec-
tion with the societies.

These two associates were yery acceptable to Mr
Renwick, whose hands, by means of their co-ope-
ration, were much strengthened in the work of the
Lord. By this threefold cord the societies were
more closely and firmly bound together, and the
success of the gospel among them soon became more
apparent.

130 LIFE OF THE

CHAPTER VIII.

State of matters in the Country. — Mr Renwick and hit Party.—

Fast at Caimtable.

It may not be improper here, perhaps, to look be-
yond the boundary within which we have been con-
fining ourselves, and glance at the outfield of the
persecution, as it presents itself to our notice at this
period. During the seven years prior to this date>
1688, the persecution raged at its greatest height.
Its furnace was heated to a degree of intensity past
endurance, and every man s life hung in doubt be-
fore his eyes. The enemies of the Church seemed
to be impelled by a satanic fury, like persons intoxi-
cated by strong drink. The madness of their pro-
cedure knew no bounds, and men were astonished
at the deeds of daring wickedness and cruelty which,
with impunity, they perpetrated before high heaven.
The foundations of law, reason, and religion ap-
peared to be erased, and the entire fabric of social
order seemed to have toppled down, and to have
buried in its ruins everything valuable in a nation's
privileges. From the commencement of these troub-
lous times, onward to the seventy-nine^ the work

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 131

ef persecution was making gradual progress ; but
at this date it received a fearful impetus. The
archbishop's death, the scuffle at Drumclog, and the
battle of Both well Bridge, stimulated to a mischiey-
ous energy the evil genius of a despotic goyem-
ment, which, for many years, had hoyered like
an ominous cloud oyer the nation, and ready to
discharge its destructiye contents, with a fearfully
augmented yehemence, on the wide territory oyer
which it lowered. The first Sanquhar Declaration,
and the skirmish at Ayrsmoss, afforded an addi-
tional pretext to the unprincipled faction that ruled
the land to proceed to the utmost excesses, in the
yiolation of the liyes and liberties of the populace.
No language can depict the sufferiogs and the out-
rages of these nine years. The annals of no nation,
perhaps, can furnish a period of tyranny and op-
pression equal to this ; eyen the worst times of the
Roman Cesars are not to be compared to it. A
nation of loyal, industrious, and religious people, lay
like a bleeding yictim at the feet of royal yillany.

These general statements may be confirmed by
an induction of particulars, and these particulars
are so profusely strewn oyer the spacious field of
persecution, that there can be no difficulty what-^
eyer in making a selection. We may fix on an
individual, a hireling in this work of bloodshed,
the atrocities of whose procedure against the cove-
nanting party may be taken as a specimen, and is
enough to stamp ihe character of an indelible in-
famy on the rule of that terrible faction that then
swayed the destinies of the nation. Take Claver-
house for instance, follow him in his godless crusade
against his country's liberties, and we will be able

132 LIFE OF THE

to form a notion of the general features of the time.
In this man we see a picture of the whole horde
of ruffian troopers, who were let loose like so many
heasts of prey, to riot on the calamities of the
peasantry. Who has not heard of Clateruousb ?
His name is a household-word in every cottage in
the south and west of Scotland ; for in what cottage
did his cruelties not raise the wailings of distress ?
Olayerhouse appeared in 1678, to act his infamous
part in the scenes of his countr/s tragedy, during the
nottest times of persecuting outrage. Few men haye
attained so infamous a renown as John Graham,
Viscount of Dundee. This man was commissioned
to ''hunt the peasant from his hearth;" and a fit
agent was he for the work assigned him. The
shameful defeat he sustained at Drumclog, shortly
after the commencement of his bloody career, great-
ly exasperated him against the Covenanters, and
seems to have imparted an impulse to his fury that
accompanied him to the end. After Bothwell
Bridge, he traversed the country with the power of
a military execution like a roaring lion. The in-
stances of his cruelty and spoliation are without
number. In his march through Ayrshire he came
to the house of Merkland, in the parish of Bar, which
he entirely plundered. He took away all the clothes,
and two horses, worth six pounds sterling. In
Gblloway, his works of plunder were indiscrimi-
nate, for he scarcely made any distinction between
friends and foes. He seized all the horses he could
find, and either drove them away, or made their
owners pay the full price. In the parish of Cars-
phairn he captured all the horses that were of any
use to him, and from a man in Cragragillen he

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 133

took three, each worth nearly four pounds sterling.
In the same parish he pilfered fifty pounds from
a poor widow woman, because, as he alleged, there
was in her house a servant who had been at Both-
well. Behold this "honourable cavalier" acting
the part of a petty thief, at the head of a gang of
licensed banditti. " In Glencaim,*' says Wodrow,
*' they apprehended a poor harmless youth at his
work, and pressed him to declare who of his neigh-
bours were said to be at Both well. The young man
either could not or would not inform them. And
when he had stood out their threatenings, they come
to put him to the torture. Boots and thumbkins
were not at hand, and the way they fell on was
this : a small cord was tied about his head, and both
ends of it were wreathed about the butt of one of
their pistols, then they twisted it about the upper
part of his head with the pistol so hard, that the
flesh was cut round into the skull. The pain was
inexpressible, and his cries were heard at a great
distance. They catched a young herd-boy in the
same parish, and would have him to discover where
his master was, whom they alleged to have been at
Bothwell. The boy very probably could tell them
nothing about his master. However, they took him
and fastened two small cords to his thumbs, and by
these himg him up to the balk (roof) of the house.
The torment he endured was very great, yet they
got nothing out of him. But the other youth last
spoken of died within a little after he came out of
their hands."

On the water of Dee, in Galloway, he came upon
a number of people in concealment, and in the
wantonness of his cruelty, and without trial or cere-

M

134 LIFE OF THE

monj, shot four of them on the spot. After their
friends had buried them, a party of soldien, by the
command of Clarers, opened their graves, and left
their coffins uncorered for several days, and the
body of one of them was disinterred, and suspended
on a tree, with a view to imitate the ignominy of a
gibbet.

In his progress through the country, he came with
his troopers to the house of Mr Bell of Whiteside, a
worthy and excellent person, and here he and his
men quartered themselves for several weeks, till,
says Wodrow, ^^ they had eaten up all the provision
that was there, and when that was done, they
forced the people about to bring them provisions,
till they, with their horses, ate up all his meadows.
And when these began to fail them, they went off,
spoiling every thing in the house, and what they
could not carry with them they sold to the people
about for meat and drink. Yea, they broke down
the very timber of the house, and burnt it, and so
spiteful were they, that they destroyed the planting.
Likewise they took with them the whole stock of
sheep, which were many, and all his horses."
^' Dreadful were the acts of wickedness perpetrated
by the soldiers at this time/' says the historian.
^' They used to take to themselves, in their cabals, the
names of devils, and persons they supposed to be
in hell, and with whips to lash one another, as a
jest upon hell.''

The cruelty of Claverhouse extended even to
children, whom he sometimes used in a very bar-
barous manner. On one occasion he collected all
^^ the children below ten years of age, and above six,
and a party of soldiers were drawn out before them.

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 135

Then," says the historian of the period, '' they were
bid pray, for they were going to be shot. Some
of them answered, ^ Sir, we cannot pray.' Then they
were ordered to tell when they saw men and guns
in their house, and if any men with guns and swords
got meat in the house, or who took it to the door
to them, and such other questions, and they should
not be shot Several children of seven or eight
years of age were carried about with the soldiers,
who sometimes would o£fer them all &ir things, if
they would tell of their parents, and what people
used to come to them late at night, and go away
early in the morning; or if they knew where their
fathers were, and who in the house carried any-
thing to them. At other times they treated them
most inhumanly, threatening them with death, and
at some little (ustance would fire pistols without a
ball in their face. Some of the poor children were
frighted almost out of their wits, and others of them
stood all out with a courage perfectly above their
age."

Acting in the same manner, and practising on
the fears of children, Claverhouse came to Close-
bum with a party of his dragoons. He had heard
of a certain non-conformist in that place, where
there were occasionally not a few, and his intention
was to seize the man in his house. Information,
however, was conveyed to the family that the
troopers were at hand, and in the surprise and tre-
pidation of the moment, the inmates fled, leaving a
child of about eight years of age in the house.
Claverhouse findinff that he was the son of the man
whom he was 'seekmg, employed coaxing and feir
words to induce the boy to inform on his father. His

130 LIFE OP THE

efforts in tbis waj, howerer, were in vain ; the child
remained firm, and refused to answer the questions
that were put to him. He then proceeded to extort
the information he wanted by threatenings. Stand-
ing at a short distance from the child, he shot a
pistol in his direction, but he continued inflexible.
He then shot another near his head, which so terri-
bly frightened him, that he told him ail he knew
conceminfl: his fiunily and his neighbours. The
meanneMTnaf, we mky aaj, the cowardice of thus
practising oh the fears of a mere child to expiscate
mformation, is utterly detestible, and shows the
low and base artifices to which such men as the
illuitrioui Clayerhouse could stoop.

In his ravaging expeditions through the country,
he at one time, when entering Nithsoale, from Ayr-
shire, drove the inhabitants of the upland parish of
Kirkconnel, on both sides of the river, before him
like a flock of sheep, and then treated them as his
caprice or cruelty dictated. He marched like a
general at the head of an invadinff army, killing
and plundering as it best pleased him ; sometimes
ffratimnc; his revenge, and at other times his cupi-
dity, bv the perpetrating of raeanand scandalous acts
of theft, ill befitting the lofty demeanor he assumed
as a high-minded and gallant warrior. Many were
the coM-blooded murders which this ^'magnani-
mous" trooper committed in the fields. He shot
without accusation and without trial, with his own
hand, John Brown of Priesthill, while his virtuous
wife ^^ stood like the rock, which the thunderis rend-
ing ; " and when, in the fortitude of a high Chris-
tian bearing, she put to him the question, *' How
will you be answerable for this morning's work ? *'

REV. JAMES REN WICK. 137

he replied in the true style of a niffian and a blas-
phemer, ^^ To men I can be answerable ; and as for
God^ I will take him in my own hand." Such was
the man whose persecuting fame has made Scotland
to ring from end to end, and the picture of whose
cruelties seems to be as vividly before the mind of
the peasantry of the present day, as if they had
witnessed but yesterday the entire series of his bar«
barities.

** There, worthy of his masters, came
The despots* champion, hloody Oraliam,
To stain for aye a warrior^s sword,
And lead a fierce, though fawning horde.
The human hlood-hounds of the earth.
To hunt the peasant from his hearth.**

These few particulars, gleaned in the track of
Glaverhouse's progress through the country, during
the ten eventful years in which he was employed
in the ungracious work of persecution, are but a
specimen of hinuelf; and when we consider the host
of similar characters, who were all actively engaged
on the bloody field, and doing exactly as he did,
and some of them even surpassing him in certain
particulars, we may well wonder that Mr Renwick
and his little flock were not utterly swallowed up,
without a solitary individual remaining to represent
the cause for which they suflered. This, doubt-
less, would have been the result, had the per-
secution continued much longer. It would have
worn out the saints of the Most High, at least that
section of them who maintained uie stricter and
more consistent eround which the preceding worthies
had occupied. Sut the "bush burned, and was not

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138 LIFE OF THE

consumed," because God was in it ; and it was his
pleasure to rescue a remnant, who wrestled with
him, and walked with him, and suffered for him.
Now and then the furnace was cooled down, and
anon it was heated again, and then its scorching
flame abated, till the fires were extinguished alto*
gether. It is to be remarked, however, that the
great force of the persecution was, in the latter years,
chiefly directed against the society people ; while
those who sat down under the screen of the indul-
gence were comparatively secure, at least at times.
The outstanding sections of the Presbyterians, who
maintained the gospel in the fields, and would not
coalesce with their less scrupulous brethren, were
the prey on which the mighty endeavoured to seize,
and to tear to pieces like devouring wolves.

For certain reasons, however, the violence of the
persecution was at this time greatly restrained, and
a breathing- time was offered to the Presbyterians
generally. " The reasons" says Wodrow, " of the
slackening of the persecution this year, as to some
branches of it, are many. After the endeavours of
the prelates and their adherents, so vigorously sup-
ported, as we have heard, for twenty-six years, one
needs not to be surprised to find they had little
work to do. Most part of the Presbyterian minis-
ters were banished, or had withdrawn, and few were
left. The gentlemen and heritors who favoured
Presbytery were either worn out by death, forfeited,
banished, or put under such burdens as were equal
to a forfeiture, and little more could be done this
way. The common people, who had suffered so
much during the former years, were many of them
cut off, transported to the plantations, or mewed up

REV* JAMES RENWICK. 139

in prisons, and the rest so borne down by the sol-
diers, and time-serving persons, and wanted minis-
ters to preach to them, that they lived as privately
as might be, and essayed to pass this melancholy
time as much unobserved as they could. A good
many complied in some things, and now and then
heard some of the better sort of the established
clergy, especially such who showed themselves hearty
Protestants, by opposing Popery, now coming in so
fast." It appears, then, that the fire of persecution
merely wanted fuel ; its spirit was the same, but it
wanted the occasion. The grand object which James
had in view, was the establishment of Popery on its
ancient basis; and therefore, in order to make room
for this, he mitigated the rigour of the former mea-
sures against the Presbyterians. ^' All the respite,
then, at this time, was either from mere necessity,
and want of objects to work upon through the pre-
ceding barbarity, or designed to cozen and cheat all
who had any warm side to the Protestant religion,
to go into, or at least not to oppose, the Jesuitical
measures the king was entering upon for the total
ruin of the Reformation."

But though others were leniently dealt with, the
strict non-conformists received no favour. ''The
society people," says Wodrow, " in this and the
succeeding years, were hunted and harassed in the
south and west, as far as they could be discovered.
Their hardships were indeed inexpressible, and their
privations and deliverances remarkable. Mr James
Renwick was preaching here and there, as he best
could, in retired places." Whatever rest, then,
there was for others, there was none for Mr Ren-
wick and his party. They were too honest in their

1 40 LIFE OF THE

principles, and too unflinching in their opposition
to that tide of misrule, and'oppression, and Popery,
that now threatened to deluge the nation like a
desolating flood, sweeping onward with disastrous
energy, and overturning ererj thing valuable in
matters both civil and sacred. This little company
had no resource left them but the power of prayer,
and they were ready to Say, with the pious king of
Judah, ^' our God, wilt thou not judge them, for
we have no might against this great company that
Cometh against us, neither know we what to do ;
but our eyes are upon Thee." Their manings were
not disregarded, and their wailings, like the bleat-
ings of solitary sheep on the lonely hills^ were not
unheeded by Him who never trifles with the feel-
ings of a wounded heart ; and richly were they
comforted with the hidden stream of the consola-
tions of God, who prepared a table for them in the
presence of their enemies, and anointed their heads
with fresh oil. No ordinary means could support
men in their circumstances, and had it not been a
conviction of the sacredness of their cause, and
the powerful support of divine grace, they must
have sunk ; but God was with them, he was their
^^ strength and their deliverer, the horn of their sal-
vation, and their high tower."

These good men were, to use the Janguage of
their rulers, '^ intercommuned," and every person
was forbidden to hold intercourse with them. But
what then, — they held companionship with moun-
tains, and they looked on eveiy height, and glen,
and streamlet, as a friend. And truly there is
scarcely a hill which does not tell a tale of their
wanderings, nor a moorland rill which does not

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 141

murmur a story of their sufferings, nor aflowerj glen-
let which is unacquainted wif£ their communings
with God, nor a hosky rayine that is not yocal with
the minstrelsy of their times, and scarcely a desert
moss whose hlooming heather, once dyed with their
crimson hlood, does not wave pensively over their
lowly resting-place. " I think," said Mr Renwick,
^ I think within a little there shall not he a moss
nor a mountain in the west of Scotland which shall
not he flowered with martyrs." Hallowed scenes,
trodden hy the feet of holy men, ye are dear to us,
very dear to us, for their sake !

When they were intercommuned, did they hold
communion with mountains, and contract a mend-
Uness with inanimate nature ? Yes ; hut they did
more than this, — ^they held companionship with
Heaven, and cultivated an intimacy with ike Sa-
viour, the like of which few men smce their time
have reached. They were admitted to a wonderful
degree of close communion with God, and hy means
of their incessant converse with Him, their &ith and
experience in innumerahle instances rose to the full
assurance of salvation. This fact was more espe-
cially apparent at the hour of their death, — an hour
of solicitude to all, and an hour when men are more
especially disposed to speak the truth. We might
here produos^ma^iy examples in confirmation of this
averment. The good Cargill, when hrought to the
scaffold as an honoured witness for the truth, said,
^' This is the most joyful day that ever I saw in my
pilgrimage on earth. My joy is now hegun, which,
I see, shall never he interrupted. I see hoth my
interest and His truth, — ^the sureness of the one,
and the preciousness of the other. It is nearly thirty

142 LIFE OF THE

years since He made it sure ; and since that time,
though there has fallen out much sin, yet I never
ivas out of an assurance of mine interest, nor long
out of sight of His presence." This is the testimony
of one, the truth of which will not readily be dis-
puted by those who know his character. Walter
Smith, a student in diyinity; who suffered at the
same time with Mr Cargill, said, " And now I am
to die a martvr. and am at fuUy persuaded of my
interest in Christ, and that he has countenanced
me in that for which I am to lay down my life, as
I am of my being." James Boig, another student,
who suffered at the same time^ remarked, ^^ If I
had time to enlarge, I could give you a more parti*
cular account of God's goodness to me ; but let this
suffice, that I am fairly on the way, and within a
view of Immanuel's land, and hope to be received as
an inhabitant there vrithin the space of twenty-six
hours." John Malcolm, a weaver in the parish of
Dairy, in Galloway, who suffered martyrdom in
1680, said, in his last speech, ^^And now I am
clear of my interest" (in Christ), "and clear as to
the grounds on which I am to* lay down my life this
day. John Potter, a farmer in the parish of Up-
hall, in West Lothian, who suffered at Edinbui^h
on ike 1st of December 1680, expressed himself as
follows : — " I am well pleased with-m3^t this day.
O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy
name for all that He has done for my soul, and for
bringing me here this day, to lay down my life for
Him ! I am not afraid of grim death ; I know that
God hath taken away the sting of death, through
the sufferings of his Son." Isobel Alison, who was
executed for her adherence to Christ's cause, in

KEY. JAMES RExNWICK. 143

Edinburgh, 1681, exprtosed herself to this effect : —
'^ O, the everlasting covenant is sweet to me ! I
bless the Lord, and praise his holy name, who hath
made my prison a palace to me. O how great is
his love to me ! I bless the Lord that ever he gave
me a life U) lay down for him." James Skeen, who
suffered 1680, concludes one of his letters with the
following words : — " From my delectable prison, in
which my Lord has allowed me his peace and pre-
sence, and comforted me with the assurance that I
shall reign with Him eternally, for I am his, and
bought with his precious blood."

The same assured confidence of salvation was
expressed by many of the Covenanters who were
taken by surprise, and shot in the fields. Daniel
M^Michael, who was shot by Captain Dalziel, at the
mouth of the pass of Dalveen, in the parish of Duris-
deer, said, when the bandage was tied over his eyes,
"Lord, thou broughtest Daniel through many straits,
and hast brought me, thy servant, hither to witness
for thee and thy cause : into thy hands I commit
ray spirit, and hope to praise thee through all eter-
nity." The godly John Brown of Priesthill, the
flower of the martjrrs of the west, who was shot by
Claverhouse before his own door, on the first morn-
ing of summer 1 685, thus expressed himself imme-
diately before his death : — " O death, where is thy
sting f O grave, where will be thy victory ? Blessed
be thou, O Holy Spirit, who speakest more comfort
to my heart than the voice of my oppressors can
speak terror to my ears." But it is needless to en-
large ; we could produce instances of a similar na-
ture to an indefinite extent. Let any person read
the testimonies of the worthies in the *' Cloud of

144 LIFE OF THE

Witnesses," and say if the attainments of these men,
in knowledge, in spirituality of mind, and in inti-
macy with Qod, were not of the rarest kind. Can
the thought, then, for a moment he admitted, that
these were the men whom their enemies represented
them to he, — ^ferocious, seditious, and persons who
had cast off all fear of God. They were holy,'humhle,
quiet, and unohtrusive men, who lived mainly for
we world to come. To what a high standard did
these maligned hut honoured individuals reach, when
they attained the fiill assurance of their salvation !
How far were they ahove the standard of the ordi-
nary rate of Christians in our day !

Our persecuted ancestors adopted no unlawful
means to save themselves £rom trouhle. They were
content to endure affliction to the uttermost, rather
than, hy foul compliances, to hring discredit on their
profession and guilt on their consciences. They
could easily have extricated themselves from all
their distresses, had they fallen in with the plans of
their rulers ; in one day they could have freed them-
selves from persecution, had they done as their
superiors did, and taken part with them ; hut, in-
stead of this, they resolved to wait with patience
God's time, and to look up to him for deliverance
with a good conscience.

Mr Renwick and his party stood as sufferers
between the persecutors on the one hand, and the
moderate and complying Presbyterians on the other.
Through the misrepresentations of the latter, trans-
mitted against him to the continent, the good Mr
Brakel, who was so much his friend when he was
in Holland, was much grieved, and sent home a
warm and friendly remonstrance ; which was taken

REV, JAMES REN WICK. 145

in good part by Mr Renwick. Mr Brakel showed
more tenderness and sympathy in his remonstrance
than all the other ministers in Scotland taken to-
gether had ever expressed. If the attempt to preju-
dice the mind of Mr Brakel against him caused him
much sorrow, he was still more deeply wounded
by the harsh expressions which Mr Koelman had
uttered. Mr Koelman was an eminent Dutch divine,
who entertained a great esteem for Mr Renwick,
and who sympathized deeply with the sufferers in
Scotland ; but the same means had been employed
with him that had been employed with Mr Brakel
to alienate his mind from the remnant in this coun-
try. The bitter and unguarded reflections which
this otherwise worthy man had made, could not &il
to wound the mind of a man of so much sensibility
and gentleness as Mr Renwick, and he could not
conceal the pain which it inflicted on him.

In December this year, 1686, the council issued
a severe proclamation against Mr Renwick, who
had hitherto eluded their vigilance, notwithstand-
ing the mighty force which was employed against
him, and the numerous searches for him which were
instituted in all parts of the country. An appeal
was now made to the cupidity of those who might
be acquainted with his hiding-places, and a goodly
price was set on his head,-* ^ reward of no less
than £l 00 sterling was offered for his apprehen-
sion. This, however, did not dishearten this zealous
servant of Christ; he encouraged himself in the Lord
his God, and persisted in the faithful discharge of
his ministerial duties, preaching the gospel in all
the remotest recesses of the wilderness, and where-
ever an opportunity offered ; nay, he seemed rather

146 LIFE OF THE

to increase in diligence, and to abound in service,
in proportion to the likelihood of his being soon cut
off by the hand of yiolence. While the considera-
tion of a martyr's death appeared to enervate other
men, it stimulated him, and imparted fresh energy
to his efforts, and communicated a greater, hardi-
hood in meeting danger for the Truth s sake.

A few dayB Ifter L proclamation was emitted
by the council, and the tempting bribe was offered
for his capture, v^e find him holdmg a large conven-
ticle at Caimtable, in the neighbourhood of Muir-
kirk. This place was, in all ukelihood, selected in
the heart of the solitudes both for secrecy and as a
centre-point for the convenience of the worshippers
from the different parts of the upland wastes. The
Ticinity of Caimtable contained clusters of cottages,
amongst the inhabitants of which were many of the
Covenanters, who fearlessly maintained their prin-
ciples in the day of general defection. But not a
few of these poor people suffered severely for their
honesty, and were banished, by the injustice of the
times, from their habitations. Tradition affirms, that
*' no fewer than thirty chimneys ceased to smoke on
Whitsunday at noon, on the fair lands of Carma-
coup."

The text from which Mr Renwick preached, on
the occasion of the hst held at the base of Caim-
table, was the following : — " Blow the trampet in
Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly." The
discourse was designed to enumerate the causes of
fasting; which he did in forty-one particulars, show-
ing that these were some of the reasons why the
Lord was contending with Scotland. The discourse
is characterised throughout by deep sincerity and

HEV. JAMBS REN WICK. 147

earnestness. In conclusion, he remarks, ^^ that
ive could mourn all of us this day over these things !
O that it might please Him to send down a shower
of the influences of His Spirit among us, and that
we might be helped to cry for His help to this work !
And O, what need haye we to look to ourselves;
for there is something to be won this day, if we be
serious with God, — and there is something to be
lost this day, if we be come to mock God with our
formality; for Satan will be here, and will be careful
and busy to get the fruit of this day gathered up."

148 LIFE OF THE

CHAPTER IX.

Toleration — Excessive Labours— Anecdotes.

This year, 1687, was famous for King James's
three indulgences. The first was proclaimed in Feh-
ruary, the second in June, and the third in October.
The first of these tolerations permitted the moderate
Presbyterians to meet in private houses, to hear the
indulged ministers, expressly mentioning that no
meeting was to be held in the open fields, nor even
in bams, in which a greater number might per-
chance congregate, than in the privacy of a family
apartment. The second was somewhat larger in
its permissions, and allowed meetings to be held in
any house, but still interdicting the field conven*
tides. This, it was thought, would leave the field
preachers without excuse, and would furnish the
Government with a strong pretext to proceed against
them, should they still persist in assembling their
congregations on hills and moors. The third pro-
clamation announced that all preachers and people
who firequented conventicles in the open air should
be prosecuted with the utmost rigour of law, and
that those who restricted themselves to houses.

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 149

should teach nothing "which might tend in any
way to alienate the minds of the people from the
Goyemment, and that they should specify to the
privy counsellors and sherifis the particular houses
in which they were accustomed to meet for divine
worship. Against all this, Mr Ren wick lifted up
his testimony, and warned the people against the
snares which he conceived were laid for them ; he
plainly perceived the design of all this show of
liberality. Its object was not to take off any re-
strictions in preaching the gospel, but to open a
door in the most insidious manner for the introduc-
tion of Popery. The king's predilections were well
known ; he hated not only the Presbyterian prin-
ciples particularly, but the Reformation principles
generally, and he wished to establish the Popish
faith throughout the wide extent of his dominions.
From the temper of the country, he plainly ob-
served, that to introduce his favourite system openly
and avowedly might create an opposition of rather a
formidable nature, and might embroil the kingdom
in a civil war. He resolved, therefore, to proceed
more cautiously, and to endeavour to accomplish
his purpose without greatly exciting the suspicions
of the people, who cherished an indomitable dislike
to the Papal superstitions. With this view, then,
he opened the door of what he conceived to be a
pretty liberal indulgence, allowing all to serve God
in their own way, which was intended to operate
as a blind, in reference to the Presbyterians, under
the pretence of granting them religious liberty, but
chiefly to allow the Papists the full exercise of their
religion. This was the main drift of all the indul-
gences granted by this intolerant4»igot and heartless

n2

1 50 LIFE Of f HE

tyrant, and though great numbers did not seem
to perceive this, but, on the contrary, deemed the
toleration a precious boon, Mr Renwick and his
followers saw clearly through the thin guise of
deception under which the main purpose Was con-
cealed ; and, therefore, they failed not, as honest
witnesses and true patriots, to sound the alarm, and
to tear aside the illusive covering. They nobly
refused to accept an indulgence which proceeded
from a man who had usurped the supremacy over
the Church of Christ, and who assumed a power
of dispensation which did not belong to him. They
scorned to receive that as a boon from any mortal
hand, which was every man's birthright, and they
declared, that ^'nothing can be more vile than
when the true religion is tolerated under the notion
of a crime^ and when the exercise of it is allowed
only under heavy restrictions."

But were not these indulgences embraced by
many worthy men who were as inimical to Prelacy
and Popery as Mr Renwick and his adherents
were? It is true, a great number did embrace
these permissions, and preached the gospel under the
wing of the various indulgences that were granted
at different times, during the period of the perse^
cution ; nor can it be denied, that in many instances
they did much good, as in the case of John Semple of
Carsphaim, who, as an indulged minister, preached
the gospel for seventeen years, and was the honoured
instrument of gathering many souls to Christ ; and^
bad as matters in the country were, they would have
been ten times worse had it not been for these in-
dulged ministers, because the curates were, for the
most part, ignorant of the gospel, and immoral to

REV. JAMES ilENWICK. 1^1

a proTerb. Hence the gospel was, in many desti-
tute localities, preserved oy the Presbyterian minis-
ters, who, under the GoTernment arrangements,
accepted of charges. Nor was this the only advan<>
tage that resulted to the community ; they were the
means of assuaging the persecution in the parishes
where they were settled, for the people going readily
to hear them, were not prosecuted as non-confor-
mists, as they were who lived in the parishes of the
purely Episcopal incumbents. But, though these
were advantages that resulted from their compli-
ance, the justification of their conduct in accepting
the indulgences is another matter. If good was
done by them, it was not owing to the system
under which they had placed themselves, but in
spite of it ; as we find that the Lord often brings

food out of evil, while the evil is not therefore to
e approved of. True it is, that the times in which
they Uved were of the most perplexing nature, and
even wise men were driven to their wits' end. They
were often so bewildered that they did not know
to which hand to turn ; and, therefore, if they fre-
quently stumbled and fell, they still claim our sym-
pathy. It is an eaa^ thing for those who, in peace-
ful days, ruminate, in the quietude of their homes,
on the times and scenes of which we are speaking,
coolly to scrutinize the conduct of the actors in
such scenes ; but the question is, had we lived then,
would we have acted a better part ? Few in that
perilous period were gifled with the penetration of
Ben wick and Shields, and fewer still were possessed
of the grace to act so disinterested a part. Those
who accepted the indulgence cannot be justified,
while "those who declined its acceptance," says

152 LIFE OF THE

Dr Bums, '^ acted, we apprehend, on the most con-
sistent and independent principles. The very ac-
ceptance of such a boon implied, in some measure,
a recognition of the reigning order of things in the
Church. The indulgence came in the shape of a
commission, to hold a spiritual charge granted bj
a civil power, and the reception of such a thing as
this was, in so far, a practical renunciation of the
grand principles of Presbyterianism."

Mr Renwick's opposition to the indulgences called
forth the invectives of those who had complied with
their requisitions. He was loaded with reproaches,
for they thought the more they reviled him the
more they exculpated themselves. He was, at the
time of the first toleration, alone in Scotland ; Mr
Shields being on the continent, and Mr Houston
in Ireland. Mr Renwick and his friends did not
hesitate to testify explicitly against the toleration,
at whatever risk to themselves. " "What they
rejected," says M'Gavin, " was not toleration gene-
rally, but the toleration offered by the king, which
was clogged with conditions with which they could
not conscientiously comply, such as owning the
king's prerogative and supremacy or headship over
the Church. It would have been acknowledging
that the king, who was a Papist, had a right to
grant liberty to worship God as his Word requires,
which implies a right to withhold that liberty, and
they would have yielded to his impious claim, to
be sovereign lord of their consciences."

The sufferings of the society people were aug-
mented rather than diminished on account of these
indulgences ; and the great object of Prelatists and
Presbyterians was to extinguish the party as an

REV. JAMES RENWIGK. 1 53

obnoxious and untameable sect. Mr Renwick
remarks, " Our troubles are growing, and enemies
are stretching out their hands violently to perse-
cute, and they want not instigations from our false
brethren; so we are made the contempt of the
proud, and the scorn of them that are at ease. Our
sufiferings were always rightly stated. But never so
clearly as now, and why should we not endure
these trials, for they shall work for truth's victory
and Christ's glory." Notwithstanding all these
incessant harassings, Mr Renwick prosecuted his
work with a spirit as daimtless as ever. " I have
not," says he, in a letter to the laird of Earlston,
" I have not been forgetful of you, though I have
long delayed to write, and the real occasion of my
so long delay, was the throng of business, together
with a designed forbearance, until I had tiiis course
finished in Galloway, that I might give you an ac*
count of the present case of this country. I had great
access to preach the gospel, the Lord wonderfully
restraining enemies, and drawing out very many
to hear, and moving them to give great outward
encouragement. We kept thirteen field meetings,
whereof four were in the daylight, and I studied
publicly to declare and assert, in its own place,
every part of our present testimony. We had also
nine meetings for the examination of the societies,
casting the most adjacent together into one meet-
ing for that effect, and I hope, through the Lord's
blessing, that that small piece of labour shall not
want its fruit."

This excessive labour began at length to produce
an injurious effect on a constitution not naturally
robust, and there is every reason to believe, though

1 54 LIFE OF THE

he bad not been cut off by tbe band of persecution^
tbat be would soon bave sunk and died a martyr to
excessive toil in tbe prosecution of tbat good work
on wbicb bis beart was set In anotber letter be
remarks, " My business was never so weigbty, so
multiplied, and so ill to be guided as it batb been
tbis year, atid my body was never so frail. Ex-
cessive travel, nigbt wanderings, unseasonable sleep
and diet, and frequent preaching in all seasons of
weatber, especially in tbe nigbt, bave so debilitate
me, tbat I am often incapable for my work. I
find myself greatly weakened inwardly, so tbat I
sometimes fall into fits of swooning and fainting.
I seldom take any meat or drink but it figbts
witb my stomacb, and for strong drink, I can take
almost none of it. Wben I use means for my
recovery, I find it sometimes effectual; but my
desire for tbe work, and tbe necessity and impor-
tunity of tbe people, prompt me to do so more tban
mv actual strength will well allow, and to under-
take some toilsome business, as casts my body pre-
sently down again. I mention not tbis tbrougb
any anxiety, quarrelling, or discontent, but to sbow
you my condition in tbis respect. I may say, tbat
under all my frailties and distempers, I find great
peace and sweetness in reflecting upon tbe occasion
thereof; it is a part of my glory and joy to bear
such infirmities, contracted through my poor and
small labour in my Master's vineyard."

Such is the simple account be gives of himself
in being spent in bis Master's service ; and it is
truly affecting to know, tbat wben be became so
weak as not to be able to sit, even on horseback,
bis friends actually carried him to the place where

RET. JAMES RENWICK. 1 55

he was to preacb, and when the service was over,
brought him back in the same manner to his
lodgings, whether to a lonely cottage on the wilds,
or to a dreary cavern in the ravine. Tradition has
preserved a number of interesting stories respecting
the providential deliverances experienced by Mr
Renwick, in his wanderings in the hilly parts of
the country, and especially in Galloway. The fol-
lowing anecdotes are told of him by the people
resident in that district, and who still cherish his
memory with uncommon regard : —

A conventicle was to be held among the hills,
not far from Newton-Stewart, and in order to be
in readiness for the projected meeting, Mr Renwick
repaired to the neighbourhood on the preceding
evening. In a state of considerable destitution, as
tradition affirms — and we can easily believe it — ^he
arrived, after the light of day had departed, at a
public house on the way side. The master of the
inn was not a Covenanter, at least he did not
belong to the stricter part of the non-conformists,
but he was a worthy man, and not only hospitable,
as his vocation demanded, but really kind, and
more especially to Mr Renwick and his friends,
who were subjected to so many hardships. This
man, like the landlord mentioned in a former
chapter, who entertained Mr Renwick in the vil-
lage of Newton-Stewart, was well acquainted with
him, and never failed to minister to his wants when
he happened to visit that quarter, for God had put
it into the hearts of many to show him kindness
for the gospel's sake ; and they were blessed in their
deed, for " he that receiveth a prophet in the name
of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward."

150 LIFE OF THE

There lired in this neighbourhood a person who
generally went under the name of "^ Silly Willy
omith." He was a mendicant, and an indiyidual
who was weak in his mind. Willy constantly tra-
versed the country, and he knew eyery body, and
every body knew him. He was a harmless creature,
possessed of a kind heart, and even inclined to what
was serious. Willy, in his rambling, became ac-
quainted with Mr Renwick, with whom it appears
he frequently met, and for whom he had conceived
a strong attachment, and would sooner have died
himself than seen any mischance befall the wander-
ing minister. This poor man, at whom every person
was inclined to laugh, and whom not even the most
jealous malignants ever once suspected of favouring
or helping in any way the intercommuned Cove-
nanters, was often of signal service to Mr Renwick.
Hesometimes brought intelligence of the movements
of the troopers; and we can easily conceive him
running without stockings and shoes at great speed,
and availing himself of every advantage in passing
through fields and woods by a nearer route, to give
the friendly warning. No person heeded Willy,
nor cared where he ran, nor what he was about,
for he was "» Silly Willy," and his movements were
capricious. At other times he watched Mr Renwick
like a guardian angel, when he was lurking in a
thicket or hidden in a cave, and ofttimes supplied
him with the bread of his begging which he received
in abundance from the hand of charity ; for few
people, we may suppose, would refuse a morsel to
poor harmless Willy when he happened to present
nimself at their hearth, for in those days the wan-
derers of Willy's description did not use the cere-

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 1 57

monj of knocking at the door. It is wonderful to
think on the particular sort of means which the
Lord sometimes employs for the sendee of his people,
and how ayailahle he can make the most apparently
insignificant instrument for the accomplishment of
very important ends. Silly Willy Smith, and not
the powerful and influential of the land, was made
use of hy Providence for shielding Mr Ren wick in
the hour of peril, and Willy's name is to this day
rememhered and mentioned with respect.

On the evening prior to the meeting, Willy had
learned the place of Mr Ren wick's residence, and, as
usual, was on the outlook, for he conceived he had
something worth the while to guard when his
minister was in the house. And his guardianship
was not unneeded, for a company of troopers were
near, information haying heen conveyed to them
respecting the conventicle. Mr Renwick had just
partaken of an entertainment, and was warming
himself hefore a hlazing fire in the kitchen, when
Willy entered with the report that soldiers were just
at h£uid. The landlord was fully aware that his
inn would he occupied as their quarters during the
night, and he hecame very solicitous ahout his guest.
Mr Renwick, seeing the honest man's concern ahout
his safety, said, that as he was at present feeble and
exhausted by means of his haying been so many days
exposed in the fields to the inclement weather, he
was resolyed to stay where he was and to abide
the consequences, as he was not able to flee. It
was then proposed that he should array himself with
all speed in a suit of the landlord's clothes, but he
Being rather a corpulent person, and Mr Renwick
A short and slender man, it was considered that the

158 LIFE OF THE

scheme, if adopted, would rather excite suspicion
as otherwise ; and so the proposal was abandoned.
The soldiers now thronged into the honse, the
best apartment of which was occupied by the com-
mander. Mr Renwick kept his seat bj the fire in the
kitchen, not without solicitude, but trusting in his
God, and ready to resign himself to whatever might
be his fate. During the bustling made by the
uproarious troopers, little attention was paid to the
unassuming stranger, who kept near the comer be-
yond the hallen; and any inquiries that were made
concerning him led to nothing, and nothing was
suspected, for they nerer deemed it possible that
the man in quest of whom all the soldiers in the
country were in motion, would place himself care-
lessly and unmored, by the fire of a public inn,
exposed to the gaze of every visitor who might
happen to call on his way. Many a time did the
worthy men in those trying days escape detection in
this way. Their coolness, and apparent courting an
interview with the military, screened them from
hazard; whereas, had their timidity led them to
assume a different bearing, and incited them to
attempt an escape, their capture was inevitable.
But then it was not every man who had the nerve
to act in this way, not to speak of the grace which
was necessary to enable them to conduct them-
selves with prudence and Christian firmness in a
moment of sudden danger.

The evening passed on, and the soldiers retired
to rest. Their dormitory was the stable loft, where
beds were made for them among the soft hay, im-
mediately above the horses' stalls ; and there is per-
haps no chamber so warm and comfortable in a cold

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 159

"winter night, as the apartment which the dragoons
now occupied. As for Mr Renwick there was no
bed in the house for him, and therefore he was ob-
liged to stretch himself on what by the peasantry
is called the lang settle^ or wooden seat, in the form
of a modern sofa, which stood behind the fire-place,
in an open space which was formed for its reception.
Here he slept, and enjoyed the genial warmth of the
place, a treat with which he was seldom favoured,
as he was often obliged to cower down during the
night in some outhouse, or thicket, or cave, — thank-
ful for any retreat, however inhospitable, under the
care of the Great Shepherd of Israel, who never
slumbers nor sleeps. It appears that the conven-
ticle was to be held in the night season, a circum-
stance of no imfrequent occurrence, as is stated in his
letters. The night was deemed the fittest season,
both because their enemies were not so likely to be
abroad, and also because, if discovered, their foot-
steps could not be so easily traced in the dark.
There is something very solemn in the idea of a
great company of worshippers meeting at the dead
of night in the heart of a lonely moor, with nothing
to guide them to the appointed spot but the occa-
sional gleaming of the lightning from the murky
bosom of the thick clouds with which they were o'er-
canopied, while the hoarse muttering of the thun-
der was heard mingling with their song of praise.
These were truly sad times, when God's people, in
a professedly Christian country, were obliged to
shroud themselves in imperyious darkness, when
they assembled for religious exercises, for fear of the
enemy and the avenger.

Mr Renwick was astir a little after midnight.

160 LIFE OF THE

and before he retired from the house he entered the
stable, as being the most secluded place he could
find for the purpose of secret prajer. He does not
seem to have been aware that the soldiers were
sleeping in the loft aboye him, and as he did not
conceiye himself to be within the hearing of any
individual, he felt no restraint. By degrees nis Yoioe
rose, as the fervency of his spirit wrought within
him, till it became so audible as to awaken the sol-
diers* They heard an earnest voice uttering mys-
terious sounds in the stable beneath, and supersti-
tious fears crept over them. They felt as if they
were in an old haunted castle, and actually supposed
that the place was infested with spirits of evil. The
poor ignorant men were not accustomed to the voice
of praver, and more especially in gnch a place, and
at such an hour. Mr Renwick prayed, and the sol-
diers lav trembling on their beds, not daring to stir
in the darkness. When he had ended his devotions
he waited on the good landlord, to take leave of
him ; but no sooner was he ready to depart, than
honest Willy Smith, faithful in his attachment, was
at his side, — ^the kind creature having watched the
opportunity to conduct him in the darkness through
the intricacies of the moorland path which they had
to trace. The place of meeting was at no great
distance from the inn, and when Willy had mely
lodged him in the hands of his friends, he instantly
returned, to watch the movements of the soldiers,
and to convey intelligence to the conventiclers.
When the day dawned, the soldiers were again in
motion, and made a mighty noise about the fright
they received in the night-time, and felt peculiarly
grateful that they were so soon to leave a place so

REV. JAMES BENWICK. 161

infested ivith demons as they asserted it was. The
commander, who had brought his troopers to dis-
perse the conventicle, found nothing, for all was
over before the break of day, and the worshippers
had retired to their several homes. The soldiers
returned to their garrison at Carsphaim, without
having obtained their object. Carsphaim was at this
time infested by troopers ; for there were no less
than two garrisons in this rural district. So dis-
affected was the place, or rather, so numerous were
the witnesses that were reared under the ministry
of the devoted John Semple, that Peter Pearson,
the curate who succeeded him, and who was an
active informer, and an inveterate enemy to the
Covenanters, required all the military assistance he
could command to subdue the refractory spirit of
the populace, and hence a more than ordinary pro-
portion of soldiers was located in the parish, and all
was at the disposal of the infamous Lagg, who rioted
in cruelty and oppression, and who hunted with his
merciless wolves the poor wanderers like sheep on
the hills ; and many were the deeds of ferocity per-
petrated by this wicked man, and which live in the
painful remembrance of the peasantry to this day.
Lagg is justly ranked among those

i«

Bloody men.

Whose deeds tradition Baves,
Of lonely folk cut oflF unseen.
And hid in sudden graves."

Willy Smith was of eminent service to Mr Ren-
wick on another occasion. A conventicle was ap-
pointed to be held at a place called Gatelock, m
Girthland, of which the military had received notice.
Accordingly, a party was despatched to seize the

o 2

162 LIFEOFTfiE

preacher, and disperse the assemhlj. The meeting
was held in the day-time, and when the services were
well adyanced, the warders, who were stationed at
the proper distances, annotmced the approach of the
military. The intelligence threw all into confusion,
and the people fled with all speed from the face of
the foe. It was the concern of every one to secnre
the minister from harm, and as they were planning
his escape, Willy Smith presented himself, and pull-
ing Mr Benwick by the arm, said, ^ Come with
me ; the soldiers will not suspect you in my com-
pany.** To this proposal he agreed, and reqaested
that no one should foUow him. He walked away
with Willy, with perfect confidence in his fidelity
and affection. He conducted him to a glen, in the
bosom of which was a natural recess among the
rocks, the mouth of which was concealed among
the pendent branches of the thick bushes which
grew on the steep sides of the ravine. The place
was well known to Willy, who, in his wanderings,
noticed many things unobserved by other people.
The cavity could easily contain several persons with-
out inconvenience, and it appeared to be a very elt-
S'ble retreat in time of danger. Here Willy secreted
[r Renwick, and tended him with the utmost assi-
duity. The soldiers were perfectly aware that he
was hidden in some place in the vicinity, but where
his concealment was, neither friend nor foe could
tell, and Willy was determined to reveal it to none*
In order, if possible, to secure his person, the troopers
formed a sort of cordon around the place, and if
they could not seize him, at least to cut off his re*
treat. Willy, however, was a privileged person, and
he could go and come reckless of the notice of the

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 1G3

soldiers, into whose mind it never once entered that
he had any intercourse with Mr Renwick. Whether
he stayed with him all night is not said, hut he
supplied him with food, which he carried, as men-
dicants do, in his wallet; and as the prophet of
the Lord was fed by ravens when he dwelt by the
brook, so this servant of Christ was sustained by a
person who himself lived on alms, and he drank of
the rill that murmured past the mouth of his cave.
Willy was now the daily companion of the fugitive,
whom he encouraged by every means in his power,
and spoke kindly to him ; and it is said he never
retired from the cave without begging an interest
in Mr Renwick's prayers. So faithfully did Willy
keep Mr Renwick's secret, that his friends began
to suspect the simpleton of treachery, and the idea
was entertained that he was either betrayed or mur-
dered. A man of the name of M'All, who was
more forward than the rest in giving expression to
his fears, attacked Willy, who was so greatly indig-
nant at the base suspicion, that he proceeded forth-
with to the commander of the troopers, and stated,
that M'All was in his opinion a person whom he
ought to apprehend; and on this suggestion M'AU
was seized, and carried to Carsphaim ; and what be-
came of him is not known. After this, the soldiers,
finding their efforts fruitless, left the place, and Mr
Renwick emerged from his concealment, and ap-
peared once more among his friends. Willy's con-
duct, which now appeared in its true light, was
much approved of, and the poor man was now
noticed and esteemed by many who formerly heeded
him not. There were many other instances, doubt-
less, which tradition has forgotten, in which Willy

1G4 LIFE OF THE

was helpful to Mr Renwick. It is asserted, that
when Willy heard of his apprehension in Edinburgh,
he went all the waj from Galloway to see him, and
to try what could be done for his liberation.

The grace of God, operating on the heart and
dispositions of persons strikingly characterised for
their mental imbecility, is much to be admired;
and it is pleasant to think that such instances are
not rare. The inhabitants of Peeblesshire well re-
member the mendicant whom they termed Daft
Francis Anderson. He was for many a long year
familiar in every cottage in that district ; every one
knew his religious dispositions. He was a man of
prayer, a regular attendant on divine ordinances,
and it was with reluctance that he consented to
lodge a night in a house in which the worship of
God was not observed. The God who perfects
praise out of the mouths of babes and sucklings,
can also enlighten and sanctify those who, to human
apprehension, are incapable ox receiving the simplest
elements of religious truth ; he can make his paths
so plain, that '^ the wayfaring men, though fools,
shall not err therein.'' It would be well for some
who are inclined to value themselves on account of
their mental accomplishments, were they to mani-
fest the same soundness of heart and Christian kind<^
liness of disposition as " Silly Willy Smith."

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 1 ^5

CHAPTER X.

I&crease of Labours. — Searching manner of Preaching. — Procla*
mation by the Council. — ^Traditions.

Mr Renwick's labours were greatly increased
daring the eighty-seven ; for though many had left
the societies by means of the few erratic preachers
who endeayoured to throw their associations into
confusion, yet the people flocked in large companies
to hear the gospel in the fields. The truth is that
the persecutions which Mr Renwick endured, and
the loud clamours that were braised against him,
published his name far and wide, and attached to
him a universal degree of popularity as a preacher,
quite contrary to the design of his enemies, who
thought ^ to cast out his name as eviL'' His
audiences were constantly on the increase : those
who heard him once longed to hear him again, and
his preaching stations multiplied on every side.
The peasantry, notwithstanding the threatenings
denounced against them, assumed a greater boldness
in facing danger for the Truth's sake ; and, as if
inspired by a new spirit, they disregarded every in-
convenience and every hazard in crowding around

166 LIFE OF THE

this devoted servant of Christ, and in supporting
and encouraging him in the good work of the Lord.
The eagerness of the people to hear, and the evident
hlessing that attended the gospel, created a great
desire in the breast of Mr Renwick for an accession
of labourers. His heart was full when he thought
on the immense good that might be done, provided
a few zealous and godly men would offer themselves
for the service. " There is," he remarks, " there is
much work to be had in Scotland, notwithstanding
of all the persecution, as would hold ten ministers
busy, O blessed be the name of the Lord ; and if I
had some with me to help to plenish the country, and
to act more judicially and authoritatively, through
the Lord's assistance the cruelty of the enemy, and
the malice and underminings of other parties, would
not be able to mar the work in our hands." Mr
RenwicVs popularity as a preacher did not arise from
his pleasing men, and prophesying smooth things
to them ; he dealt faithfully with the consciences of
men, and acted on the principle that it was better
that his hearers should dread the worst, than feel.the
least, of the wrath to come. He accordingly used
great plainness of speech, setting before his audience
their wretched and helpless state by nature, their
exposure to divine wrath, and the necessity of an
instant application to the blood of the atonement
for the remission of sins. He was particularly soli-
citous in guarding men against self-deception in
matters of experimental religion, showing that " they
are not all Israel who are of Israel, and that he is
not a Jew who is one outwardly." As a specimen
of his searching manner of preaching, we may lay
before the reader the following remarks made by

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 1 67

him in one of his letters to some religious ladies with
whom he was in the hahit of corresponding.

" O, much honoured ladies, consider the indis-
pensable and absolute need ye have of a Saviour ;
consider the awful commands, full promises, free
oflFers, hearty invitations, and serious requests given
forth in the Word, all crying aloud, with one voice,
unto you to match with the Lord of glory. Con-
sider the assurance that his own testimony hath
given you, of dwelling with him throughout eternity
in his heavenly mansions, where ye shall see him as
he is, have a full sense of his love, and a perfect love
to him again, and ever drink of the rivers of pleasure
that flow at his right hand, if ye shall embrace him
upon his own terms. Consider the peremptory cer-
tification of everlasting destruction, of dwelling with
continual burnings, and lying under the burden of
his wrath, a curse running always out upon you in
the overflowing flood if ye shall neglect to make
your peace with him [[that is, to be reconciled to
him] and reject his salvation. I say, consider these
things, and ' give all diligence to make your calling
and election sure,' and see well that ye be not de-
ceived, for there are many mistakes and a great
mystery in that business. Many think themselves
to be something when they are nothing, and so de-
ceive themselves, and come short of the grace of
God; instead of founding upon the immoveable rock
of ages, they build upon the sand of their own attain-
ments, for folk may go a great length and yet be
void of true saving grace ; they may have a great
speculative knowledge of the matters of God and
mystery of salvation, and strong gifts ; they may
abstain from many pollutions and gross evils that

168 LIFE OF THE

others are given to ; thej maj extemallj perform
many duties, as reading, prayer, and be very much
in these ; they may hare a very great sorrow for
sin, not because of the dishonour done to God but
the hurt to themselres, not because they are polluted
but because they are destroyed by it; they may
hare a desire after grace, which yet is not for grace s
sake but for heaven's sake ; they may have an his-
torical faith, and give an assent of the mind to all
that is revealed in the Word, yea, to the spiritual
meaning of the law ; they may have big hopes, and
that in the mercy of God, which, nevertheless, is
but presumption, for they forget that he is just, and
neglect to lay hold upon Clmst for satis&ction of
his justice, whereas he is merciful to none out of
Christ ; they may have the common operations of
the Spirit, and a ' taste of the heavenly gift and the
powers of the world to come' ; they may be con-
vinced that it is good to close with Christ, and com-
fort themselves as if they had done it, whereas ihey
are stiU in their natural state ; they may suffer many
thin^ materially for the cause of God, and toU
much in following ordinances, undeigoing the same
out of respect for their own credit ; I say, people
may, and many do, arrive at all these and such like
attainments, and notwithstanding remain in the gall
of bitterness and bond of iniquity. It may make us
all tremble to think what a length folk may go, and
yet never have gone out of themselves, and passed
through the steps of effectual calling. Many will
say to him in that day, ^ We have eaten and drunken
in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets ;
have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy
name cast, out devils, and in toy name done many

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 169

wonderful works,' — ^whom he will chase away from
his presence with that awful sentence, Depart ye^
professing unto them that he neyer knew them.

*' Let this alarm you to make sure work in this
great concern ; and do not deceive yourselves with
a counterfeit instead of a reality, with a flash instead
of conversion, and a delusion instead of Christ ; but
get ye a sight of your sinful and miserable state, a
sense and feeling thereof putting you in perplexity,
and discouraging you from resting in it, a convic-
tion of your inability to help yourselves, and of your
unworthiness that God should help you out of it ;
and look unto Christ as your alone Saviour, receiving
him wholly in his threefold office, of King, Priest,
and Prophet, — welcoming him, and taking up his
cross against the world, the devil, and the flesh, and
resting upon him alone for salvation ; and the busi-
ness will be done, and all will be sure — ^then you
may defy devils and men for plucking you out of
his hand.

'^ And if ye have thus closed the bargain with
Him, then you will find in you a war declared and
maintained against all sin — ^a respect to all the com-
mandments of the Lord, a liking of the way of hap-
piness as well as happiness itself, a high esteem of
justification and sanctification, a prizing of Christ
and a longing to be with him, and an admirable
change wrought, in you, — a new judgment, a new
will, a new conscience, a new memory, and new
afiections ; in a word, all the faculties of the soul
will be new in regard of their qualifications, and all
the members of the body in regard of their use* Now,
if ye have attained to a saving interest in Christ, ye
may find these and the like marks and evidences of it.

170 LIFE OF THE

^^ halt not in this great matter, rest not in iin-
certainty, and satisfy not yourselves with a may-he,
hut ^ examine yourselves, whether ye be in the raith;
prove your own selves : know ye not your own selves,
how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be repro-
bates.' In setting your faces towards Zion, ye may
expect that Satan will raise all his storms against
yon ; but fear him not, for the grace of God is suffi-
cient for you. Give yourselves wholly to the Lord,
to serve him and to love his name, to choose and
follow the things that please him ; your greatest
honour lieth in this your greatest duty, your greatest
profit, and your greatest pleasure. Count the cost
of religion ; God is a liberal dealer ; deal not nig-
gardly with him, prig not with him about your
estates. Who in heaven is like unto him ? and who
on the earth is to be desired like him ? Lay down
to him your names, your enjoyments, your lives,
and your all at his feet, for he only is worthy to
have the disposal of them ; and the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory that is to be revealed. Think it not
much to quit the vain and carnal delights of the
world ; they cannot satisfy your senses, much less
your souls. The earth is round and the heart of
man three-nooked, therefore this cannot be filled
by that ; and though ye could find content in them,
yet how vain were it because inconstant ? and how
unsolid because uncertain?"

No one can read these remarks without some
degree of solicitude, and a desire to become better
acquainted with himself, lest he should unwittingly
be acting the part of a self-deceiver. Many think
they are right when they are wrong— many suppose

REV. JAMES REN WICK. 171

they are in a state of grace, saying, Peace, peace,
when there is no peace, having a form of godliness
hut denying the power thereof. The heart is deceit-
fill, and from our natural self-love we are inclined
to form a good opinion of ourselves, and consequent-
ly of our state before God. A profession of religion
is one thing, and its reality is another ; it is the^^tn^
and not the name that God looks to; and if the
heart is not right with Him, all our external refor-
mation is of no avail in His sight. Faith in Christ,
a new heart, and a sanctified nature, are necessary
to constitute us genuine Christians in the sight of
Him who searches the heart and tries the reins of
the children of men.

If, then, Mr Renwick's preaching was highly
esteemed, it was because of its faithfulness, and the
power by which it was attended ; and the day of
the last reckoning only can reveal the real and ex-
tensive good which the ministrations of this much
maligned servant of the Lord accomplished.

While Mr Renwick was thus busy in preaching
the gospel, and labouring to win souls to Christ,
his persecutors were no less active in plotting his
destruction. Within the space of five short months
after the toleration was granted, no fewer than fif-
teen desperate attempts were made to apprehend
him, and the mean and dastardly council of Scot-
land issued the following proclamation : —

" Forasmuch as one Mr James Renwick, a flagi-
tious and scandalous person, has presumed and taken
upon hand these several years bygone, to convoke
together numbers of our unwary and ignorant com-
mons to house and field conventicles, which our law
so justly terms nurseries of sedition and rendezvouses

172 LIFE OF THB /

of rebellion, — ^we, out of our royal care and tender-
ness to our people, being desirous to deliver all our
loring subjects from the malign influence of such a
wretched impostor, have therefore prohibited and
discharged all our subjects that none of them offer
or presume to harbour, reset, supply, &c., but do
their utmost endearours to pursue him as the worst
of traitors. And if, in the pursuit of the said James
Renwick, he or any of his rebellious associates, re-
sisting to be taken, any of our subjects shall happen
to kill or mutilate him, or any of them, we hereby
declare that they nor none assisting them shall be
called in Question, and that their domg thereof shall
be reputed good and acceptable serrice to us. And
for the better encouragement to such as shall appre-
hend and bring in the person of the said Mr James
Benwick, traitor foresaid, dead or alive^ he or they
shall have the reward of one hundred pounds ster-
ling money, to be instantly paid to him by the corn-
missionaries of our treasury."

What was this in&mous proclamation but just a
license from the Oovemment, accompanied with a
weighty bribe, to commit murder on the persons of
the subiects, the subjects to constitutional law, and
not to the caprice of a profligate tyrant. How would
we, in these days, brook the issuing forth of such a
mandate by the Government against the numerous
sections of non-conformists that now overspread the
land ? There would be the simultaneous movement
of millions like the swelling of a mighty flood, which
no human arm could check, and no royal edict as-
suage, till it swept the purifying waters of its high-
crested waves over the breadth and length of the
nation.

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 173

With such a might and mastery set in array
against him, it appears truly wonderful that Mr
Renwick should baye at all escaped ; and yet he
continued traversing the country night and day, in
all seasons, for the space of four years and a-half,
vigorously plying his heavenly vocation. "We could
not so escape now if we were similarly situated ; a
few weeks or months at most would put us in the
grasp of the enemy. Circumstances, no doubt, con-
tributed to his preservation for so long a time : the
uncultivated state of the country, the want of roads
through the moorlands and glens, and the great
spaces of natural forest now cut down or decayed,
afforded in those times ample means of conceal-
ment and escape. The Divine Providence, however,
operating no doubt by means, was in an especial
manner his shield of protection, till he had fuliilled
the ministry which he had received of the Lord
Jesus, for ^^ every man is immortal till his work be
done."

Notwithstanding all the denunciations of ven-
geance with which he was followed, he never quailed
for fear of the enemy, nor did he in the least degree
relax his diligence. The success which accompanied
his labours inspired him with fresh zeal, and he
rejoiced to encounter peril for the gospel's sake.
" As to the present state of the country, Clydesdale,"
he says, ^' continueth firm as it was ; Nithsdale is
as one man upon their former ground, together with
Annandale. Some in Kyle are gone off, but many
continue ; the few that are in Livingston and Cal-
der are put all in a reel — the Lord knoweth how
they will settle. Since our last meeting with those
ministers, I have made a progress througn Galloway,

p2

LIFE OP THE

and found never such an open door for preaching
the gospel, the people coming far better out than
they did before ; and we got eight field meetings
kept there without any disturbance, and six in Nitha-
dale, many coming out who were not wont to come,
and none in any of these places staying away that
came out formerly/'

It seems, that as the persecuting period was draw-
ing nearer to its close, the people, generally speak-
ing, were beginning to entertain a higher apprecia-
tion of the principles for which Mr Renwick was
contending. A spirit of inquiry was spreading
through tne community, and was producing the
most salutary effects ; a hidden under-current had
set in, which, gradually augmenting, at last obtained
a strength and impetuosity so overwhelming, as to
carry along with it the entire sentiments of the
nation, and accomplished the Revolution.

The following anecdotes are told in connection
with Mr Renwick's labours in Galloway : — A meet-
ing had been appointed to be held at a place called
the Waterhead of Deuch, a wild district among the
desert mountains, for to such localities the wanderers
resorted, seeking the remotest recesses in the bosom
of the hills, that there they might worship God with
the less likelihood of interruption. This situation
was otherwise convenient as a meeting-place to the
inhabitants of the contiguous parishes of Dalmel-
lington. New Cumnock, and Garsphaim. In these
places there was a considerable sprinkling of stedfast
adherents to the good cause. When the persecution
became hot, the sufferers crowded in greater num*
bers to the hilly districts ; and when at any time it
was more tolerable, they naturally retreated to the

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 1 75

lower and more sheltered parts. Mr Renwick, in
proceeding to the upland solitudes to meet his friends,
had to pass near Oarsphaim ; and in order to ayoid
any of the strolling parties of the soldiers belonging
to the garrison in that place, he travelled in the
darkness of the night in company with a iriend, who
acted as his guide through the wastes. They arrived
without any disastrous incident at a place called
Castle Maddie. The good man of Castle Maddie
befriended the sufferers, and exerted himself in their
behalf; he constructed an ingenious hiding-place for
those who might occasionally resort to his dwelling,
and a place which it was not easy for the prying
eyes of even the practised troopers to discover. In
the wilder localities the fuel of the peasantry con-
sists chiefly of peats, and in the immediate vicinity
of the farm houses especially, there are to be seen
enormous piles of this material, formed like bricks,
well dried, and baked in the sun. The farmer of
Castle Maddie built his peat-stack close to the end of
his cow-house, in the gable of which was a small win-
dow. It occurred to the worthy man that in rear-
ing his peat-stack, the end of which closed up the
aperture, he might so fashion the interior as to form
a snug chamber, neatly walled and arched over with
the dry peats, which might afford a seasonable and
secure retreat to the persecuted people in the time
of danger. Accordingly he accomplished his design,
and made the opening in the end of the wall the
entrance, which, in order to prevent suspicion, was
filled with peats ; into this hiding-place the retreat
was easy, and could be made on the shortest warn-
ing. On Mr Renwick's arrival he was kindly re-
ceived by the honest fanner, with whom he resided

176 LIFE OF THE

for some time. During his stay at Castle Maddie
a company of troopers made their appearance, for
they sometimes visited places for the mere purpose
of eating and drinking, as well as for making
searches after persons in concealment. Mr Benwick
instantly withdrew to the peat-stack, accompanied
by the master of the house, who entertained his
own fears respecting the designs of the enemy, and
more especially as ne was now become a suspected
person. Having built up the aperture with peats,
they sat down in the murky apartment to wait the
result. The soldiers having found nothing, retired,
and Mr Renwick and his friend issued from their
concealment, and proceeded to Waterhead to meet
the conventicle. The worshippers assembled at a
place called Craignew, and notwithstanding the
secrecy observed on such occasions, information was
communicated to the soldiers at Carsphaim, who in-
stantly hastened to disperse the meeting. Mr Ren-
wick escaped and returned to the parish of Girth-
land, where it is probable he occupied Willy Smith's
cave, as the glen still bears his name, which doubt-
less arose from the circumstance of its having been
his frequent resort.

The following incidents took place when Mr Ren-
wick was preaching on the banks of the Dee in Gal-
loway : — The river was much swollen by the rains
that nad fallen in high lands, and was considered to
be unfordable. A party of troopers made their ap-
pearance on the margin of the stream, immediately
opposite the conventicle ; the deep rolling waters,
however, darkly tinged by the hundreds of mossy
rills and torrents that form the tributaries which
feed the majestic current, offered an effective barrier

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 177

to the assailants, and the meeting was in no haste to
separate. The soldiers presented themselves in a
hostile attitude on the hrink of the flood, and fired
their muskets across to the conventicles, but no ball
reached their resting-place, and no horseman durst
ford the impetuous stream. The prey of the enemy,
though fully in their sight, and even within the
reach of their voices, was safe from the attack, and
all their fire-arms were for the time being perfectly
innocuous, for Providence had laid an obstacle across
their path, which was utterly insurmountable. The
worshippers remained at their ease, and continued
in their devotions in the very face of their foes, and
reckless of all the symptoms of disappointment and
rage which they exhibited. At length, when it suited
themselves, they dispersed, and deliberately wended
their way to their different homes. Mr Renwick,
and a few friends who wished to keep him company,
betook themselves to the heights, for they knew the
restlessness of their persecutors, and were fully aware
that if by any means they should happen to cross
the river, they would search every house and hiding-
place in the neighbourhood. They deemed it not
safe, therefore, to lodge in any house in case of a
surprisal in the night season. The weather appears
to have been mild, and it was probably the summer
season, for the wanderers ascended one of the rugged
hills with which that part of the country is so thickly
studded, and crouched down in the bosom of one of
those little scars on the face of the mountain, under
the shelter of which the sheep ensconce themselves
from the high winds and storms which sweep with
great vehemence around the sides of the steep
heights and down the narrow glens. In this place

178 LIFE OP THE

thej abode during the niglit, under the open canopy
of the firmament, but under the covert of Him, the
shield of whose protection is ever thrown over those
who put their trust in Him.

When the morning sun had risen upon the earth,
and when the little company of wanderers had
offered up their devotions to the Preserver of their
lives, it was agreed that some of their number should
undertake to procure some food to satisfy the crav-
ings of their hunger. As they were deliberating
on what was best to be done, and how to proceed
with the greatest caution, as there were so many
spies and informers all around them, they observed
a man in the garb of a soUtary shepherd wandering
on the hill, and apparently directing his steps acci-
dentally toward their retreat in the scar. As he drew
near they discovered themselves to him, thinking
that probably Providence might send them relief by
his means ; but the man was a spy in the guise of a
friend, who had come to seek out Iheir hiding-place ;
and knowing that they were concealed somewhere
on the hill, and being pretty confident that he would
find them, he brought a company of troopers at his
back to seize them. The soldiers, however, remained
at a considerable distance behind to prevent, on the
part of the fugitives, any suspicion that they were
connected with the strolling shepherd. The shep-
herd congratulated the friends on their escape from
the enemy, informing them at the same time that
several of the dragoons, in attempting to cross the
river, had been swept away by the impetuosity of
the current. When Mr Kenwick heard this he
lifted up his hands to heaven, and expressed his
gratitude to God for the deliverance vouchsafed

REV. JAMES REKWICK. 179

them, and spoke in such a strain a£i completely
overawed and melted the emissary who had been
sent out to entrap them. By this time the soldiers
made their appearance, and were marching slowly
along the foot of the hill, but they did not observe
the lugitives in the concealment of the scar. The
shepherd now fell on his knees, and with tears con-
fessed that he was an informer, who had come for
the express purpose of deUvenng them up to the
persecutors, but that since he came among them,
God had touched his heart by means of what he
had seen and heard, and that he was now deter-
mined to renounce his infamous vocation, and hence-
forth to espouse the cause in which they were suf-
fering. The little company was struck mute with
astonishment, and the truth of what the man stated
was obvious, for there were the troopers wending
their way slowly about the hill, and apparently
looking out for their guide to direct their further
movements. The poor man, whose name, it is
said, was Reid, a native of Lanarkshire, became a
true penitent, and abandoned the party in whose
service he hsul been engaged. Mr Renwick and
his friends escaped at this time, and kept them-
selves close in the scar till the soldiers left the
hill.

These incidents plainly show the Saviour's watch-
ful care over his servant in preserving him for the
work assigned him. It is obvious, at the same time,
that notwithstanding the affected contempt express-
ed of him by his enemies, that Mr Renwick was in
their view a man of no small importance ; the price
which they set on his head was a hundred pounds

180 LIFE OF THE

sterling, no trifling sum in those days trulj, and a
-whole army was employed to make war against him,
and to hunt him down. Had Mr Renwick heen a
common man, or a man of little influence in the
land, we would have heard of no such preparations,
on the part of the Goyemment, for the purpose of
crushing his cause. The truth is, there was no man
more dreaded by the council than he, for he seemed
to be a host in himself, and his name was in every
person's mouth. He was a man to whom the atten*
tion of friends and foes alike was directed for seyeral
years, a sort of prodigy that had appeared in the
land ; and the amazing influence he possessed not
only proved that he was a person of rare godliness,
but also of no inferior talents. His enemies feared
that he would revolutionize the country in their very
face ; and indeed his labours were rapidly tending
to this, and hence their solicitude to get him into
their power. Argyle and Monmouth were much
more easily defeated than Mr Renwick ; his ene-
mies might indeed defeat the man, but they could
not defeat the cause that was daily gaining ground,
and in its civil aspect it in a few months accom-
plished the memorable Revolution.

In his wanderings Mr Renwick came to Loch-
goin, in the parish of Fenwick,[in Ayrshire. Loch-
goin is the noted residence of the Howies, who have
occupied the spot for several centuries. This place,
in the very heart of the lonely moors, was the
resort of the worthies in the times of persecution.
Gentlemen and ministers, as well as those in the
humbler ranks of life, were all welcome to Loch-
goin, as sufferers in the good cause. When Mr

RET. JAMES REN WICK. 181

Renwick, in bis joumejrings througli the desert,
came to this friendly house, he was in a state of
considerable destitution, as it respected his habili-
ments, and James Howie furnished him with a
pair of good shoes, and otherwise assisted him for
tiis Mastex^s sake.

182 LIFE OF THE

CHAPTER XL

Protestation against the Toleration — Escape at Peebles — Appre-
hension in Edinburgh — His Indictment — Interview with his
Mother — His Trial — His Situation and Conduct in Prison.

We now adyance to the closing year of the perse-
cution, the famous 1688, when the tyrant was
chased from the throne amidst the just execrations
of an insulted and indignant people, and when the
rights of the nation, ciyil and religious, were re-
stored, and their future possession secured to the
subjects. The great Revolution which so distin-
guished this penod, after the endurance of a perse-
cution of no less than eight-and-twenty years con-
tinuance, amply justified the principles generally
maintained by the sufferers in Scotland, and which
were more specifically bodied forth in the yarious
declarations and apologies emitted by them at differ-
ent junctures.

This was the last year of Mr Benwick's eyentful
life, for in a few weeks after its commencement he
gained the martyr's crown. His godly sincerity and
zeal in his Master's service seemed to increase more
and more as he approached the end of his course.

BET. JAMES BENWICK. 188

For, " drawing near the close of his days," as Alex-
ander Shields remarks, "he ran very fast, and
wrought very hard, hoth in the work of his own
salvation as a Christian, and in the work of his
generation as a minister and a witness for Christ."
He felt a strong desire to emit a declaration against
the toleration, and the sinM compliances of those
who had heen ensnared hy it. On his way to
Edinburgh for this purpose, he visited the town of
Peebles, in which were a number of his adherents,
with whom he had agreed to hold a meeting. In
this, however, he and his friends were disappointed,
for just as the meeting was about to be held, the
town was all in an uproar in the pursuit of some
persons who had been guilty of theft. When the
brethren perceived the commotion in the town, they
supposed it was for the purpose of interrupting the
little conventicle and apprehending the minister,
and, on this supposition, the meeting was prevented
from being held, and Mr Benwick, having narrowly
escaped, proceeded on his journey.

When he arrived in Edinburgh he was anxious
to meet with the indulged ministers that he might
lay his protestation before them, but finding that
there was no likelihood of any convention taking
place, he left it in the hands of the Rev. Hugh
Kennedy, their moderator. After this he went
over to Fife to visit the friends in that district,
where he kept sundry conventicles, for he never
was satisfied unless he was preaching, or catechis-
ing, or holding conferences. The last sermon he
preached was at Borrowstounness, from the text,
" Who hath believed our report ? and to whom is
the arm of the Lord revealed ?" This discourse,

184 LIFE OF TUB

which is printed in his volume of Sermons, is a
mere ontlme of what must haye been delivered, —
but, meagre as it is, we see all the grand and essen-
tial truths which constituted the theme of his
ministrj, and on which he enlarged with so much
sweet and hearenlj eloquence.

On the last day of January he returned to Edin-
burgh, and late in the evening came to a house on
the Castle-hill, where he lodged. This house was
frequently visited by the Customhouse officers, in
search of contraband goods which were sometimes
secreted there. This circumstance rendered this
lodging rather unsafe for Mr Renwick; and one
John Justice, an active officer, who had been prowl-
ing about in the evening in the way of his voca-
tion, heard distinctly the voice of prayer in the
fisunily, and instantly suspected that there were
some intercommuned persons in the house. The
master of the house was supposed to be a favourer
of Mr Renwick, and probably Justice had learned
that he had lodged here on his way to Fife, and
that there was a likelihood of his returning in a
short time, and consequently had determined to
watch him. The reward of a hundred pounds was
a tempting lure to the cupidity of a man like
Justice, and the opportunity of his capture was not
to be lost. Next morning, about seven o'clock,
the officers burst into the house on pretence of
searching for uncustomed goods, but in reality to
apprehend Mr Renwick. While his assistants
entered the house. Justice stationed himself at the
door to prevent the escape of him of whom he had
come in quest. When the men entered, Mr Ren-
wick moved toward the door, and in presenting

^^* ^^1» »**■■—'

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 185

himself in the passage Justice exclaimed, ^^Mj
life for it, this is Mr Renwick." He then bawled
out, " all within this house must go to the guard,
that thej may show what trade thej are of." Mr
Ben wick answered, V I shall soon show you what
my trade is." The officer then ran to the street
calling out for help to secure the ^^ dog Renwick,"
as he termed him.

In the meantime, two of his friends attempted to
escape by another door, but when they opened it
they found it closely guarded, and when one of the
party made an effort to break through the ranks of
the assailants, he was repelled with great violence,
and forced to retreat within the house. On this
Mr Renwick discharged a pistol, the startling re-
port of which made &e assaulters fall back. He
then sprung forward, and fled through the opening
which they had involuntarily made for him, while
one of them struck him violently, with a long staff,
on the breast, which greatly enfeebled him in run-
ning. He fled down the Castle Wynd toward the
head of the Cowgate, but, owing to the stunning
effect of the blow he had received on the chest, he
fell several times, and having lost his hat, the cir-
cumstance attracted notice, and he was seized by a
man on the street, while the other two escaped.
Graham, the Captain of the Guard, to whom he
was delivered, exclaimed, when he looked on his
youthful and comely countenance, '' Is this the boy
Renwick that the nation has been so much troubled
with ?" ^^ I am," replied he, with a smiling aspect
and gentle demeanour. One Bailie Charters, a
blustering insolent person, accused him of frequent-
ing houses of bad fame, which base insinuation he

Q 2

■^W^^g^M^fc li^

180 LIFE OF THE

repelled with becoming indignity. He was next
carried before a quorum of the Council ; and when
Qraham delivered him into their hands he was
heard to say, ^' Now, I have given Benwick up to
the Presbyterians, let them do with him what mej
please/'

After this he was committed to prison and laid
in irons. As soon as he found himself alone in his
dreary cell, and fully in the power of his enemies
who nad so long thirsted for his blood» he turned
to God, his heavenly Father, and poured out his
heart before him in solenm prayer. He was now
about to be oiFered up on the cdtar of Prelatic vio*
lence, and he had no refuge but God, and he sought
no other. He made an tmreserved surrender of
his life to the Lord, and besought, as a special
favour, that his enemies might not be permitted to
torture his body, but merely to take his life, and
this request was granted. How natural to God's
people IS it to turn to him in the day of their distress,
and to make supplication before him, — as natural it
is as for a child who fears danger to run to the anns
of his parent. How widely different was the con-
dition of Mr Renwick from that of a felon cast
into the prison-house for his crimes ? And how
different their feelings and experience, — the one
frets, and chides, and curses ; and the other prays,
and blesses God, and pleasantly resigns himself
into His hand.

Prior to his receiving his indictment he was
brought before the Chancellor in the Viscount Tar-
bet's lodgings, and there privately examined re-
specting his owning the king's authority, the pay-
ing of cess, and carrying arms at field meetmgs.

REV. JAMES RENtVICK. 187

To all which he answered with a frankness and in*
genuousness which both astonished and perplexed
his adversaries. He was particularly interrogated
respecting the cess, because there was found on him
a note-book containing the outlines of some ser^-
mons on this specific subject. In the same book
they found the names of sundry persons, fully writ-
ten, and a number of others whose initials only were
marked. The latter he explained, at their request,
in order to avoid torture, considering that the per-
sons were already as well known and as obnoxious
as they could be. The Chancellor asked him of
what persuasion he was. He replied that he was a
Presbyterian. This question probably was put to
him because the report had spread abroad that he
was a Papist, and had that turned out to be the
case, the likelihood is, that he would have been the
more leniently dealt with. The Chancellor next
asked him why he, being a Presbyterian, differed so
widely from his brethren of the same persuasion
respecting the indulgence and the king's authority.
His reply was, that he adhered to the old Presby-
terian principles which had been avowed by the
whole nation, and especially maintained for twenty
years prior to the Restoration, but.from which many
of his brethren had swerved for a little liberty, as
you yourselves, said he, have done for a little hon-
our. The Chancellor had the candour to remark,
that these, he believed, were the true Presbyterian
principles, and that his brethren only wanted his
courage and honesty to make the same avowal.

On the 3d of February he was indicted to stand
his trial before the Justiciary Court. The follow-
ing is a part of his indictment :— ^' Nevertheless,

^i^^^^^^^iiW^^FW^^^— ^ag1^^^^B^^^ ^FiTi » - w^i>^B^i^^W^y

188 LIFE OF THE '

it is of verity that ye, the said Mr James Reni^'ick,
having shaken off aU fear of God, respect and re-
gard to his Majesty's authority and laws, and hav-
ing entered yourself into the society of some rehels
of most damnahle and most pernicious principles,
and disloyal practices, you took upon you to he a
preacher to these traitors, and hecame so desperate
a villain, that ye did openly and frequently preach
in the fields, declaiming against the authority and
government of our Sovereign Lord and King, deny-
ing that our most gracious Sovereign, King James
the Seventh, is lawful King of this realm, and as-
serting that he was an usurper, and that it is not
lawful to pay cess or taxes to his Majesty, hut that
it was lawful and the duty of the subjects to rise in
arms, and to make war against his Majesty and
those commissionate by him." Such is the strain
of the entire document, and written in a style
worthy of the lowest miscreants, who could scarcely
employ viler terms in their attempt to bespatter the
character of the most worthless of their class.

After he had received his indictment, his mother,
through the favour of the keepers of the jail, was
admitted into his apartment. This worthy woman
who had sought a child from the Lord, and who,
when she had obtained him, dedicated him to the
service of Christ, was now about to be bereaved of
him. The news were brought to her as she sat in
her lowly cottage, that her dear son, who had for so
many years been the child of her solicitudes and her
prayers, and who for so long a time had laboured in
the gospel at the risk of his life, wandering among
his native hills and glens, was now seized. That
day had now come which she had for many an

BEY. JAMES RENWICK. 189

anxions month anticipated, the day of his capture
by his ruthless enemies, and now he was immured
I within the dark prison walls, from which there was
no expectation of a release till its doors were opened
for his procession to the scaffold. And this good
woman, who was called, hut not unexpectedly, to
bow before God's terrible things, arose, and with
a heavy heart plodded her weary way to yisit the
gloomy cell that contained what was most dear to
her on earth, and dearer than eyen her own Hfe.
She went, and God was with her. She lingered
not, for her bowels yearned over the son of her
TOWS. At length the dark turrets of the city loomed
in the distance, — the city in whose streets had flowed
the blood of many a precious saint of God, and her
heart throbbed high as she painted in her imagina-
tion the likely scene of the next execution, the
martyrdom of her own child. But she was sup-
ported, for she had a service to perform and a flery
trial through which to pass, and her God had said,
" As thy day so shall thy strength be.**

Elizabeth Corsan was admitted into the cell of

her son, who, like a malefactor, lay in irons. The

interview was of the most affecting and edifying

nature, but what passed at this time has not been

preserved, owing to the agitation of his mothei^s

mind on the shock she received at the circumstances

in which they met. When the Sabbath came,

which fell on the 5th of February, three days before

I his trial, he expressed great sympathy with his

■ poor flock that t^as scattered among the mountains

as sheep without a shepherd, and bleating mourn-

I fully to their fellows as they traversed the barren

j heath in quest of pasture. He regretted that he

190 LIFE OF THE

VTBS to leare them in their destitute ciicumstancefl)
lest thej should become a prej to deyouring wolves.
At the same time he remarked, that though his
heart was with his flock, among whom he was
ready to spend and to he spent, he feared to return
to the world again, and to that conflict with the
body of sin which he had so long sustained, a con-
flict much more painful, and stubborn, and inces-
sant, than that which he maintained with his per-
secutors who sought his life night and day. He
affirmed that if he were again to preach the ffos-
pel in the fields he would use the same freeaom
and faithfulness in upholding the standard he had
reared : this he deliberately declared in full prospect
of the sufferings he was to undeigo, and to which
he was already in part subjected. The fear of man
did not discourage him, nor did the terror of death
frighten him from his purpose.

On another occasion, his mother asked him how
he did. . He answered, ^^I am well;" but added,
^' since my examination I can hardly pray." This
reply stunned his poor soirow-stricken parent, and
smote her to the heart. She gazed on him with
unutterable perplexity and distress, when he speedily
remoyed her suspense by exclaiming, that he could
hardly joro^, being so much taken up with prais^
ingy he was so greatly ravished with the joy of his
Lord. His mother was one day expressing her fears
lest she should &int when the time approached,
spying* '' How shall I look upon that head and
these hands set up among the rest on the ports of
the city ; I have so much self that I shall never be
able to endure such a sight." O who can describe
a mother's heart in such circumstances ; no wonder

REV. JAMES REN WICK. 191

that the poor woman felt solicitous, for with what
feelings could she hehold the mangled body of a
son so tenderly beloved. His severed limbs and
head exhibited ignominiously on places the most
conspicuous that they might be gazed on and in-
sulted by the rabble, — tms was too much for the
heart of such a mother, and she was ready to sink
at the prospect of a trial so insupportable. On
seeing ihe distress of his mother he smiled, and
said that she should never witness that sight, ^' for,"
continued he, ^' I have oifered my life to the Lord,
and have sought that he will bind them up that
they may do no more, and I am persuaded that
they shall not be permitted to torture my body nor
touch a hair of my head further."

It is remarkable that the fears with which he
was haunted when at liberty, respecting the tor-
turing of his body, in the event of his being appre-
hended by the enemy, were entirely removed when
in prison. He always shuddered at the idea of the
infliction of bodily pains, for he was possessed of
great gentleness and sensibility, and he instinctively
shrunk at the thought of the cruelties to which
many of his suffering brethren had been subjected ;
and many a lonely moment did he spend in the
wilderness, ruminating on what might, in this way,
befall him. So high occasionally were his feelings
on this point wrought up, that he would hold up lus
hands before his face, and gazing on them, exclaim,
" How shall I endure to have these struck off, and
my legs tortured, in the boots, and my head taken
from my body ! " In the prospect of these afflictions
he prayed and attained submission ; and now, when
he was brought near to the trial, he prayed again.

192 LIFE OF THE

and reached the persuasion that he would obtain
an exemption from that which he feared. So entire
was his confidence in reference to this, that he de-
clared, ^^ that the terror of them (the tortures) was
so removed, that he would rather choose to be cast
into a cauldron of boiling oil, than do anj thing
that might wrong the Truth.'' The day of trial,
when contemplated at a distance, is often more
terrible than when it actually comes.

Several friends besides his mother were admitted
to see him, with whom he conversed in the most affec-
tionate manner, and with all earnestness exhorted
them to be reconciled to God, and to remain stedfast
in His ways to the end. When they expressed their
deep sorrow at being about to be deprived of him,
at a time when his services were so much needed,
he said, that '^they had more need to bless the
Lord that he should now be taken away irom these
reproaches which had broken his heart, and which
could not be otherwise wiped off, even though he
should get his life without yielding in the least."
This statement shows, in the most impressive and
affecting manner, how heavy were the reproaches
which were cast upon him, which nothing could
wipe away from his name, as he supposed, but the
shedding of his blood. Presbyterians and Prelatists
alike reviled him, and their calumnies were not to
be refuted, as he conceived, by any thing short of
his martyrdom. O how oft;en must that sensitive
heart have been crushed with grief, with a grief
expressed to none but to his God ; when he longed
for death to clear him of the obloquies so liber^ly
heaped upon him by enemies, and those from whom
better things might have been expected !

REY. JAMES RENWICK. 1 93

Two days before his trial he wrote the following
letter to a friend : — ^' I have no cause of complain-
ing of my lot ; there is a great necessity for it, and
the Lord hath seen it for his gloiy, and he maketh
me joyful in it. But there is one thing that doth
a little trouble me, and yet when I look upon it
again, I think there is not much cause of trouble, —
the matter is this : when I was apprehended and
searched, there was found upon me a little memo-
randum, containing the names' of some persons to
whom I had lent and from whom I had borrowed
some books, as also a direction of letters to some
doctors of diyinity, or ministers abroad. Upon
this I was interrogated in the Tolbooth, by a com-
mittee, who said mey had orders to torture me if I
was not ingenuous. So as to the direction to the
doctors or ministers abroad, which were full in the
memorandum, I told that there was a purpose of
writing letters to them, but that none were written.
And being asked about the scope or design of the
letters, I told that it was to represent our sufferings,
and to procure sympathy. I was asked with whom
I kept correspondence abroad ; and I told, with Mr
Robert Hamilton, which I thought could do no
injury. And as to the names of the persons that
were written short, I judged there was no hazard
in explaining their names, who were in the same
hazard already, so I told that A. S. was Alexander

Shields Now I shall say no more as to this,

but only desire persons who are m my circumstances,
either not to keep such memorandums, or not to
keep them upon them, which I did inadvertently
and inconsiderately. You may communicate this to
whom you think fit, especially to the persons con-

R

194 LIFE OF THE

cemed ; bat see that you take along with you all
the cucamstances. I studied to sare myself from
lying, to presenre them from trouble, and to eyite
we thieatened torture. ... I haye nothing frirther to
write at the time, for I resolye to write some after
this, which I would haye more public than this. I
desire that none may be troubled on my behalf, but
rather rejoice with him who, with hope and joj, is
waiting for his marriage and coronation hour."

On the 8th of February, Mr Benwick was placed
at the bar of the Justiciary Court, and his mdict-
ment being read oyer, he was asked if he acknow-
ledged all the charges that were brought against
him. ^ All," he replied ; ^^ but when it is said I
haye cast off all fear of God, that I deny; for it is
because I fear to offend God, and to yiolate his law,
that I am here standing ready to be condemned*"
He was asked if he owned authority, and especially
if he acknowledged King James the Beyentn to l>e
his lawful soyereiffn. ^^ I own all authority," said
he, " that hath its prescriptions and limitations
from the Word of God; but I cannot own this
usurper as lawful king, seeing, both by the Word
of God, such a one is incapable to bear rule, and,
likewise, by the ancient laws of the kingdom, which
admit none to the crown of Scotland, until he swear
to defend the Protestant religion, which a man of
his profession cannot do." The following questions
were pressed upon him :-^'* Can you deny him to
be king? Was he not the late king^s brother?
Had the late king any children lawfully begotten ?
Was he not declared to be king by act of Parlia-
ment ?" To those interrogatories he firmly replied,
'^ He is king defacto^ but not dejwte ; that he was

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 195

the late king's brother, he knew nothing to the
contrary; what children the other had, he knew
not, but from the Word of God, which ought to be
the rule of all laws, or from the ancient laws of the
kingdom, it could not be shovm that he had or
could have any right." He was next asked if he had
taught it to be mdawful to pay cess and taxes to
his majesty. To this he answered, — ^^ For the pre-
sent cess, exacted for the present usurper, I hold it
imlawful to pay it, both in regard it is oppressiye
to the subjects for the maintenance of tyranny, and
because it is imposed for the suppression of the
gospel. Would it have been thought lawful for
8ie Jews, in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, to haye
brought eyery one a coal to augment the flame of
the ramace to deyour the three children, if so they
had been required by that tyrant ? And how can
it be lawful either to oppress poor people for not
bowing to the idols the king sets up, or for their
brethren to contribute what may help forward their
oppression on that account." He was next asked
if he adyised his hearers to come armed to conyen-
ticles, and if he taught the doctrine of resistance in
case of opposition. In answer to this he said, '^ It
was inconsistent both with reason and religion to
do otherwise : you yourselyes would do it in like
circumstances. I own that I taught them to carry
arms to defend themselyes, and to resist your unjust
violence." They asked if he owned the note-book
and the sermons which it contained. He replied,
" If you haye added nothing, I will own and am
ready to seal all the truths contained therein with
my blood. He was then requested to subscribe his
confessions, which he at first refused, but at length

196 LIFE OF THE

be said, ^ I will subscribe tbe papers as my own
testimony, but not in obedience to you/* Wben
the jurymen were called and sworn by fiyes, be
was asked if be objected to any of them. He replied,
'^ That he did not, but protested that none might
sit on his assize, that professed not Protestant or
Presbyterian principles, or an adherence to the cove-
nanted work of reformation." The verdict of guiltj
was returned, and he was sentenced to be executed
in the Grassmarket on the Friday following. Lord
Linlithgow, the Justice-General, asked if he desired
longer time. He replied, '^ That it was all one to
him ; if it were protracted, it was welcome ; if it
were shortened, it was welcome ; his Master's time
was the best." It is very noticeable, that while
those who called themselves Presbyterians, and who
were men eminent in the tolerated meetings, did not
scruple to sit as jurymen, and consent to bis death,
some even of the opposite &ction rather submitted
to the fine, than to give their verdict against him.
^' Sommerville, chamberlain of Douglas, though he
appeared, yet, when he saw Mr Renwick turn about
and direct his speech to them, ran away, saying,
he trembled to think of taking away the life of
such a pious-looking man, though they should take
the whole of his estate.''

He was respited by the council till the 1 7th of
the month ; but though this favour was granted
without his knowledge, he refused to make the
least concession, whicn might in any way be con-
strued into an abandonment of his principles.

During the few days he had to live, he was
carefully secluded from his friends, who were not
allowed to visit him, but he was continually ex*

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 197

posed to the intrusion of Prelatists and Papists, who
wasted his time with their arguments, and harassed
him with their proposals. Bishop Paterson fre-
quently visited him, and on one occasion said to
him, " Think you that none can be saved but those
of your principles ? Will you kill yourself with
your own sword, seeing you may have your life on
so easy terms ? " "I never said nor thought," re-
plied he, " that none could be saved except they
were of these principles ; but these are truths for
which I suffer, and which I have not rashly con-
cluded on, but deliberately, and of a long time have
been confirmed that they are sufficient points to
suffer for." The bishop then took his leave, and
expressed some concern on his account, and added,
*' It was a great loss he had been of such principles,
for he was a pretty lad." On the evening before
his execution, the bishop sent to inquire if he could
be in any thing serviceable to him. Mr Renwick
returned thanks for his kindness, and said there
was nothing that he needed, and therefore nothing
that he could ask.

One M'Naught, a curate, visited him, and con-
versed with him on various points, and professed
himself much pleased with his candour and integrity.

Dalrymple, the king's advocate, also visited him,
and expressed no little solicitude on account of his
death, and more especially on account of the part
he himself had been obliged to take in the matter.
He earnestly urged Mr Renwick to sue for pardon,
and to acknowledge the king's authority, but he
remained inflexible. It appears that both the pre-
lates, and others of the members of the council,
cxperieAced certain painful misgivings on account

R 2

IDS LiFEOFTfiE

of Mr Renwick's condemnation, and that an j con-
cession on his part would have been gladly seized
bj them, as a seasonable pretext for commuting
his sentence, and sparing his life. His appearance
before his judges had made an impression which,
was not easily effaced; and in their consciences
they felt that they were guilty of a crime of no
common magnitude, in putting to death so holy
and harmless a man. Several petitions had, un-
known to him, been prepared, begging a commuta-
tion of the sentence ; these were sent to him for
signature, but he positively refused to append his
name to any such documents. He was resolved to
give no colour to the ungenerous surmises that
were already believed by many, that he had resiled
from his principles to save his life. '

Three days prior to his execution, he was again
brought before the council, where he was closely
questioned respecting the Informatory Vindica-
tion. What passed on this occasion, however,
never transpired further than what he himself com-
municated in a letter to a few friends the day fol-
lowing. In the letter, he says, — ^*' My dear friends
in Christ, I see now what hath been the language
of my reprieve, — ^it hath been that I might be further
tempted and tried ; and I praise the Lord that he
hath assisted me to give further proofs of stedfast-
ness. I have been assailed by some Popish priests,
but the last time they came, I told them I would
debate no more with such as they were, and that I
had lived and would die a Protestant, and testify
against the idolatries, heresies, superstitions^ and
errors of that antichristian way. But yesterday I
was cast into a deep exercise, and made to dwell

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 1 99

under the impression of the dreadfiihiess of every
thing that might grieve the Spirit of God. I found
sin to be more bitter than death, and one hour's
hiding of God's face more insupportable. And then
at night I was called before a part of the council,
and the Chancellor produced the Informatorj Yin*
dication, and asked if I knew it. I answered, I
did know it« And being interrogated, 1 confessed
that I had a great hand in the writing of it. They
pressed me to tell my assistants. I told them they
were those whom they persecuted, but would satisfy
them no further. They also urged me, upon pain
of torture, to tell where our societies were, — who
kept our general correspondence ? and where they
were kept ? I answered, though they should tor-
ture me, which was contrary to all laws, after sen-
tence of death, I would give them no further notice
than the books gave. I was moreover threatened to
tell my haunts and quarters, but I refused to make
known to them any such thing, so I was returned
to prison. Such exercise as I had was very needful
for such a trial, and I would rather endure what they
could do unto me, than have dishonoured Christ,
offended you, and brought you into trouble. But
I hope, within three days, to be without the reach
of all temptation. Now I have no more to say.
Farewell again, in our blessed Lord Jesus."

After this examination, in which he had displayed
so much firmness and honesty of principle, he ex-
perienced, on his return to the jail, an unwonted
degree of the commimications of the Holy Spirit.
His heart overflowed with gratitude and joy, that
he was counted worthy to suffer for the name of
Christ, and in his cell there was nothing heard but
the voice of gladness and of triumph.

200 LIFE OF TUB

When some asked how he did, he replied, ^^ I
am very well, hut will he better still within three
days." He lived under a strong impression that
he would one day fall by the hand of yiolence }
such impressions were not uncommon in those days,
and were just what was to be expected. Men's
liyes hung in doubt before their eyes, and none
could tell when they awoke in the morning, but
that their blood might water the heath ere the
eyening ; but then this consideration tended greatly
to abstract their thoughts from the world, it in-
duced them to liye near God, and made death, when
it came, no stranger.

Mr Renwick expressed his conyiction that his
death would be productiye of much more good than
his life, eyen though he should be spared for many
years to come. When he was asked what he thought
God would do with the remnant that were left, he
said, '^ It would be well with them, for God would
not forsake nor cast off His inheritance."

In his dying testimony, which he wrote the day
preyious to his death, he says, ^^ It hath pleased the
Lord to deliver me up into the hands of men, and
I think fit to send you this salutation, which I expect
will be the last. I dare not desire to have escaped
this lot, for no less could have been for his eloiy
and the vindication of his cause on my b^aif«
And now my blood shall either more silence re*
proaches, or more ripen them for judgment ; but I
hope it will make some more sparing to speak of
those who shall come after me, and so I am the
more willing to pay this cost for their instruction,
and my successor's ease.

*' Since I came to prison^ the Lord Las leen

REY. JAMES RENWICK. 201

wonderfully kind to me, he has made his Word to
give me light, life, joj, courage, and strength ; yea,
it has dropped with sweet smelling myrrh unto me.

what can I say to the Lord's praise ; it was hut
little that I knew of him hefore I came to prison,
hut I haye found sensihly much of his divine
strength, much of the joy of his Spirit, and much
assurance from his Word and Spirit of my salvation.

^^ I have met with many assaults in prison, some
from the indulged party, and some from prelates ;
hut, hy the strength of God, I was enahled to stand,
that they could neither hend nor hreak me. I was
assaulted hy some of the Popish party, hut they
found none of their own stuff in me.

" Now my dear friends in precious Christ, I think

1 need not tell you, that as I have lived, so I die,
in the same persuasion, with the true reformed and
covenanted Preshyterian Church of Scotland ; and
I adhere to the testimony of the day as it is held
forth in our Informatory Vindication, and in the
testimony against present toleration, and that I own
and seal with my hlood all the precious truths,
even the controverted truths that I have taught.

^^ I exhort you to make your personal reconcilia-
tion with God in Christ, for I fear that many of
you have that yet to do ; and when you come where
I am, to look pale death in the face, you will not
be a little shaken and terrified, if you have not laid
hold on eternal life. I would exhort you to much
diligence in the use of the means. Do not fear
that the Lord will cast off Scotland, for he will
certainly return again, and show himself glorious
in our land. But watch and pray, for he is bring-
ing on a sad overthrowing stroke, which will make

202 LIFE OF THE

many say, that they hare easily got through that
haye got a scaffold tor Christ.

^' I may say this to His praise, that I have found
his cross sweet and lovely to me, for I have had
many joyful hours, and not a frightful thought
since I came to prison. I am now longing for the
joyful hour of my dissolution, and there is nothing in
the world that I am sorry to leave but you ; but I go
to better company, and so I must take my leave of
you all. Farewell beloved sufferers and followers
of the Lamb; farewell Christian intimates; fare-
well Christian and comfortable mother and sisters ;
farewell sweet societies and desirable general meet-
ings ; farewell night wanderings in cold and weari-
ness for Christ; fareweU sweet Bible, and preach-
ing of the gospel ; farewell sun, moon, and stars,
and all sublunary things ; farewell conflicts with a
body of sin and death ; — ^welcome scaffold for pre-
cious Christ ; welcome heavenly Jerusalem ; wel-
come innumerable company of angels, and general
assembly and Church of the first-bom ; welcome
crown of glory, white robes, and songs of Moses
and the Lamb ; and above all, welcome O thou
blessed Trinity and one God, O Eternal One ! I
commit my soul into thy eternal rest.''

BET. JAHE8 BENWICK. 203

CHAPTER XII.

The Morning of his Execution — ^His Last Letter — His Behayiour
in Prison — His Martyrdom — His Character.

The morning of an execution is in general one of
extreme perturbation and terror to the poor criminal,
who has forfeited his life to the laws of his country.
The first dawnings of day on the dingy walls of lus
prison-house send through his frame a thrill of
norror. It is the light of that day which numbers
hia last on earth, of a long series of sinful days, and
'days of forgetfulness of God. His conscience is
burdened with crimes, and he has nothing but the
Slackness of despair before him. His futurity is
-covered with a pall of the deepest shading, and not
one ray of hope pierces the gloom to cheer his
wretched spirit. '^ Having cast off all fear of God,"
and rejected the gracious overtures of the gospel,
lie is about to pass out of time into eternity, with
the terrific forebodings of eternal perdition. His
heart is ready to burst with anguish, as the deep-
toned bell, widi solemn and dreadful knell, announces
that his hour is come. O the helplessness of human
nature in such a crisis, and how vividly does such

204 LIFE OF THE

a scene depict the ^^ exceeding sinAilness of sin,"
and the woful wretchedness that follows a life of
iniquity unrepented of and unforgiven ! O, at such
a moment, how precious are faith's yiews of the
atoning hlood of the Lamb of God that taketh away
the sin of the world !

The 1 7th of February 1688 was the last day of
Mr Renwick's brief and checkered pilgrimage on
earth. It was a day not imlooked for, and a day
that was hailed by him with unspeakable joy. The
last sun that shone for him, was to him die gayest
and the brightest that eyer gilded the firmament ;
it was a sun that blazed in a cloudless sky, and
which imaged forth the. splendours of that eternal
day on which he was just about to enter. The hour
of his martyrdom was the hour of his triumph. In
his prison-cell were heard no groanings of anguish,
and no wailings of despair, but the humble yoice of
prayer, and songs of praise to the God of his salya-
tion : ^' the yoice of rejoicing and salyation is heard
in the tabernacles of the righteous." Instead of the
torture of a guilty mind looking forward to the
judgment-seat, he experienced the peace of God, and
the joyful anticipations of an immediate entrance
on the heayenly blessedness. It was ^^ the day of
his espousals, the day of the gladness of his heart ;"
for he was like the bride arrayed in beauteous robes,
and waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. He
was admitted to much nearness of intercourse with
the Sayiour, in whose cause he was now about to
offer up his life ; and the communications of diyine
consolation filled his soul to oyerflowing. Death
had no terrors to him, it was the welcome porter
that opened the gates of the celestial mansions to

RET. JAMES RENWICK. 205

admit his happy spirit into the joy of his Lord.
Nay, his prison-chamher appeared to those who
visited him, to he the threshold of heayen itself,
where angelic voices were heard, and the sweet fore-
tastes of eternal blessedness enjoyed. His enemies
were confounded, his friends delighted, and the
grace of God magnified. Grreatly mistaken were
they who thought, that if they killed him, they
would inflict on him the greatest calamity and dis-
honour. He reasoned in quite a different strain ;
he hailed his death as his greatest gain, and his
hi^est glory. The immediate prospect of death
tests a man's principles and experience to the utter-
most ; and Mr Renwick, in the bloom of youth, in
good health, and in the full possession of all his
mental Acuities, and with many a tempting offer
of life, deliberately preferred to die, rather than bring
his character and his cause into the least discredit.
He endured the fiery trial, and came forth like gold
of the seventh refining.

His last letter he wrote on earth was to his dear
friend, Mr Robert Hamilton, at that time on the
continent. It is as follows : — ^^ Right honourable,
and dear Sir, — ^This being my last day upon earth,
I thought it my duty to send you this my last salu-
tation. The Lord hath been wonderfully gracious
to me since I came to prison ; He hath assured me
of his salvation, helped me to give a testimony for
him, and own before his enemies all that I have
taught, and strengthened me to resist and repel many
temptations and assaults, O praise to his name !

" Now, as to my testimony which I left in your
hands when I first entered the work of the ministry,
I do still adhere unto the matter of it; but I think

s

206 LIFE OF THE

the manna: of expression is in some things too tart ;
and it containeth sundry men's names, some whereof
are now in eternity ; also, it is not so pertinent to
our present af^irs, for the state of our controyersies
is altered ; therefore I judge it may be destroyed, for
I have testimony sufficient left behind me in my
written summons, and in my letters. But if this
trouble you, and you desire to keep it for yourself
and your own use, you will keep this letter with it,
and not publish it abroad ; yet you may make use
of any part of the matter of it, that may conduce to
the clearing of any controyersy. And as for the
direction of it unto you, if I had liyed, and been
qualified for writing a book, and if it had been
dedicated to any man, you would haye been the
man ; for I haye loyed you, and I haye peace before
God in that, and I bless his name that I haye been
acquainted with you.

^' Remember me to all that are friends to you,
particularly to the ladies at Lewarden, to whom I
would haye written, if I had not been kept close
in prison, and pen, ink, and paper kept from me.
But I must break off. I go to your God, and my
God. Death to me is as a oed to the weary. Now
be not anxious ; the Lord will maintain his cause,
and own his people. He will show his glory yet
in Scotland. Farewell, beloyed and comfortable
Sir."

Early on the day of his martyrdom, the captain
of the jail entered his cell, and requested that when
on the sca£Pold, he would not mention the causes of
his death ; that he should say nothing that might
tend to irritate, and that he should cast no blame
on his opponents. This request was sufficiently

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 207

unreasonable, and plainly shows the fear entertained
by his enemies, lest his last speech should bring to
light more of the truth than was desirable, and lest
too fayourable an impression should be made on the
populace, convened to witness his execution. Mr
Renwick answered, " What God gives me to speak
that will I speak, and nothing else, and nothing
less." The captain then stated that his life might
yet be spared, and that his reprieve was certain, if
ne would only sign the petition which he now pre*
sented to him. The contents of this petition are
not mentioned, but there is every reason to believe
that the particulars were the same as those embodied
in the former proposals. This demonstrates the
solicitude of those who had a hand in his con-
demnation, to obtain his release, from a conviction
of the iniquity of the sentence. His enemies were
conscience-smitten, and felt as if about to bring
innocent blood upon their heads, if he should die
luder the hand of the executioner. His refusal to
comply with the suggestions of the captain was
coupled with the remark, that he could find no pre-
cedent in Scripture, nor from ecclesiastical history,
of any of the ancient martyrs formally petitioning
their persecutors to grant them their lives in the
way in which he was now asked to do ; although
martyrs might justly remonstrate with their enemies
on the wickedness of taking away their lives from
the earth. As for his part, in his present circum-
stances, he considered that the preferring of a peti-
tion to save his life, would amount to a swerving
from the principles of truth, and a plain refusal to
bear his testimony for Christ. The captain, chafed
at his obstinacy, as he considered it, replied, ^' that

208 LIFE OF THE

many martyrs would have thought it a great privi-
lege to have the offers he had." Mr Renwick waived
further discussion, and hegged that he might he per-
mitted to speak with his mother and sisters for a
brief space. To this the captain demurred, lest he
should give them papers to carry out secretly, when
Mr Renwick replied, '^ that he might search them
if he pleased."

His request was acceded to, and his mother and
sisters were permitted to hold their last interview
with him on earth. The little family was now
alone, and free to open their hearts without the
restraint of strangers. O who can tell the mingled
emotions of this affectionate company, — the meeting
of hearts, the deep expression of condolence, the
tears, the prayers, and me benedictions. And may
we not suppose that the spirit of the departed hus-
band and rather, who had for so many years been
in the better state, was also present, deputed with
good angels, to convey the emancipated spirit of his
martyred son to the regions of the blessed.

Before they parted they partook of a little re-
freshment together, and in giving thanks for what
God in his providence had set before them, he
uttered the following words : — " O Lord, now hast
thou brought me within two houra of eternity, and
this is no matter of terror to me, more than if I were
to go to lie down on a bed of roses. Nay, through
grace to thy praise, I may say I never had the fear
of death since I came within this prison. But from
the place I was taken in, I could have gone away
composedly to the scaffold."

At another time he said, " O how can I contain
the thoughts of this, to be within two hours of the

»«^aa^M^"i« ■■■' . — -* ^-

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 209

crown of glory!" In speaking to his mother and
sisters to prepare for death, he said, '' It is in itself
the king of terrors, though not to me now, as some-
times it was when I was in my hidings. But now
let us rejoice and he glad, for the marriage of the
Lamh is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.
Would ever I have thought that the fear of suffering
and death could he so taken away from me ? But
what shall I say of it ? it is the doing of the Lord,
and marvellous in our eyes." He further remarked,
'' I have many times counted the cost of following
Christ, hut never expected it would have heen so
easy ; and now who knows the honour and happi-
ness of that, ' He that confesseth me hefore men, him
will I confess before my Father.'" He said fre-
quently, "Now I am near the end of time, I desire to
bless the Lord it is inexpressibly sweet and satisfy-
ing to me, that he hath kept me from complying in
the least with enemies."

Perceiving his mother weeping, he bade her re-
member, that they who loved any thing better than
Christ, were not worthy of him. " If ye love me,"
he said, '' rejoice that I am going to my Father, and
to obtain the enjoyment of what eye hath not seen^
nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart
of man to conceive it."

After having made these observations, he turned
to his heavenly Father with the voice of supplication,
as one about to enter into his immediate presence ;
but he had not continued long in this exercise, till
he burst forth in the raptures of praises, for his heart
was enlarged, and his faith had risen to the full
assurance of hope. Indeed it appears that his chief
work in prison was praise. A doubt of his salvation

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210 LIFE OF THE

he had not, and he could not help expressing, in
songs of thanksgiving, his admiration of the nches
of God's redeeming lore. In prayer he expressed
his full confidence, that in a short space he would
he beyond all conflicts with sin and sorrow, and be
in that place where no distance from Christ would
be experienced more. He prayed that the Lord
would be with the su£Ferinff remnant, and raise up
holy and devoted men, who should transmit the
testimony to succeeding generations. He expressed
a confidence that the £ord would be ffracious to the
land, and bless his Church in the midst of it.

At length hearing the drum beat to assemble the
guard to lead him from the prison, his heart was
filled with a joy inexpressible, and he cried out in
a transport, ^* Yonder the welcome warning to my
marriage, the bridegroom is coming, and I am ready,
I am ready/'

He then took his last farewell of his mother and
sisters, the objects dearest to him on earth. And
O ! how painful must have been the separation be-
tween hearts that were so knit together, kindred
spirits that were blended into one, and whose mutual
aflections were like the powerful current of a deep
and placid river, the onward pressure of whose stream
nothing can arrest, till it» waters commingle with
the ocean. 1 the power of motherly tenderness,
and sisterly attachment. But was there no heroism
in the constitution of these poor sorrowing females?
YeSf for they were enabled to resign him, whom,
above all earthly creatures they loved with an
intense affection, to the Lord, and to consent
tbat he should die an honoured witness for Jesus
Christ* When the youthful martyr saw them bathed

Ilf» —

REV. JAMES BENWICK. 2tl

in tears, and crushed with grief, he comforted them,
and spoke kindly words to their heart ; and like an
angel of mercy ahout to return to heaven, he was
the messenger of consolation to their troubled minds,
and diffused over their spirits the healing balm of
a heavenly consolation. He encouraged them, and
said, ^' that ere all was done, they should see matter
of praise in that day's mercy."

Having, as was customary in such cases, been
taken to the council-room to hear his sentence read,
he was requested to say there, what he intended to
say on the scaffold. He replied, I have nothing to
say to you, but what is written in the following
words of Jeremiah : ^' As for me, behold I am in your
hand, to do what seemeth good and meet unto
you ; but know ye for certain, that if ye put me to
death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon
yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the in-
habitants thereof."

When he refused to comply with their request
they informed him that his voice would not f be
audible on the scaffold, for the drums woidd be
beaten during the whole time of the execution.
They desired him to pray in the council-room, fof
the same reason that they besought him to make
his speech, which when he refused to do, he asked
if they would beat the drums at any other time than
when he was making remarks on the conduct of
his persecutors. They commanded him to make no
reflections ; but he firmly answered, ^' I will not be
limited by you what to speak ; I have not premedi-
tated any thing, but what the Lord gives me that
will I spetik." They asked him if there was any
particular minister he wanted to have with him on,

2t2 LIFE OF THE

the scaffold. He replied, '^ If I would have had any
of them for mj counsellors and comforters, I should
not have heen here this day; I require none with
me but this one man," meaning the man that stood
beside him.

He was now conducted to the scaffold, which he
ascended with the greatest alacrity, and seemed
eyen in a transport of joy. His situation excited
a great deal of interest, and an immense crowd
gathered to witness his end. Cbreat were the meet*
mgs which occasionally convened, in the moorlands,
to hear from his lips the words of eternal life, but
his death assembled more at one time than ever his
preaching did ; and the witnessing of his execution,
and the words he uttered, though imperfectly heard
by the multitude, were probably productiye, at the
moment, of a good no less efficient and extensire.
It is said of Samson, that '^ the dead which he slew
at his death were more than they which he slew in
his life;" and in all likelihood me happy effects of
Mr Renwick's martyrdom were ultimately ^eater
than those produced by his ministrations m the
fields during the four years and a-half of his buspr
and erentfd Hfe. ''The blood of the martyrs is
the seed of the Church."

On his first appearance on the scaffold he was
entreated not to speak to the people, because,
owing to the beating of the drums, his address
would not be heard; but of this he took no notice.
One of the curates who had stationed himself near
the scaffold, accosted him in an insulting manner,
and cried out, '' Mr Benwick, own our king and
we will pray for you." " I will have none of your
prayers," said he in a calm and dignified manner ;

REV. JTAMES RENWICK. 213

I am come here to bear my testimony against you,
and all such as you are." The unfeeling curate
persisted in his annoyance, and exclaimed, ^^ Own
our king and pray for him, whatever you say against
us." To this he meekly replied, " I will discourse
no more with you ; I am within a little to appear
before Him who is King of kings and Lord of
lords, who shall pour shame and contempt upon all
the kings of the earth that hare not ruled for
him." It has been justly remarked, that the " con-
duct of this officious and cruel Episcopalian, who
could thus tease and harass a dying man, is just a
specimen of the abominable proceedings of the per-
secuting prelates, during the whole period of Epis-
copal rule."

He then sang a part of the lOSd Psalm, and read
the 1 9 th chapter of the Book of Reyelation, after
which he prayed and committed his soul into the
hands of his heavenly Father, through the ever
blessed Mediator, and besought the Lord to yindi-
cate, in his own time, the cause for which he
suffered. In prayer he said, "that the day of
his death was the most joyful he ever had in this
world, and that it was a day he much longed for.
He blessed God that he was to be honoured with
the crown of martjrrdom, an honour that angels
are not privileged with, being incapable of laying
down their lives for his princely Master."

Owing to the beating of the drums, and other
interruptions, he complained that he was hindered
in worshipping God, but said, " By-and-by I shall
be above these clouds. There I shall enjoy Thee,
and glorify Thee without interruption, and without

214 LIFE OF THE

intermission, for ever." When he had ended his
devotions, he began to speak to the crowd in the fol-
lowing strain :— ^^^ Spectators, I am come here this
day to lay down my life for adhering to the truths
of Christ, for which I am neither ashamed nor afraid
to suffer. Nay, I bless the Lord that ever He counted
me worthy, or enables me to suffer any thing for
Him ; and I desire to praise His grace that He hath
not only kept me from the gross pollutions of the
time, but abo from the ordinary pollutions of chil-
dren ; and as for such as I have been stained with,
He hath washed and cleansed me from them in His
own blood.

^^ I am this day to lay down my life for these
three things, — for disowning the usurpation and
tyranny of James Duke of York ; for preaching
tnat it was unlawful to pay cess expressly enacted
for the bearing down of the gospel ; and for teach-
ing that it was lawful for people to carry arms for
defending themselves in their meetings for the en-
joyment of the persecuted gospel ordinances. I
think a testimony for these is worth many lives ;
and if I had ten thousand, I would think it little
enough to lay them all down for the same.

*^ Dear friends, I die a Presbyterian Protestant.
I own the Word of God as the rule of faith and
manners ; I own the Confession of Faith, Larger
and Shorter Catechisms, Sum of Saving Knowledge,
Directory for Public and Family Worship, Cove-
nants, National and Solemn League, Acts of Gene-
ral Assemblies, and all the faithful contendings that
have been for the Covenanted Reformation.

" I leave my testimony approving of preaching

REV . JAMES REN WICK. 215

in the fields, and of defending the same by arms.
I adjoin my testimony to all these truths that have
been sealed by bloodshed, either on scaffolds, fields,
or seas, for the cause of Christ.

" I leave my testimony against Popery, Prelacy,
Erastianism, and against all profanity, and every
thing contrary to sound doctrine and the power of
godliness,— particularly against all usurpations and
encroachments made upon Christ's rights, the Prince
of the kings of the earth, and who ^one must bear
the glory of ruling His own kingdom, the Church ;
and m particular, against this absolute power usurped
by this usurper, that belongs to no mortal, but is the
incommunicable prerogative of Jehovah; and against
this toleration flowing from this absolute power."

He was at this stage of his speech commanded
to cease. He said, " I have nearly done;" and
then continued,—" Ye that are the people of God,
do not weary to maintain the testimony of the day
in your stations and places ; and whatever ye do,
make sure of an interest in Christ, for there is a
storm coming that shall try your foundation. Scot-
land shall be rid of Scotland before the delivery
come. And you who are strangers to God^ break
off your sins by repentance, else I will be a sad
witness against you in the day of the Lord."

When he had said this, they caused him to de-
sist, and ascend the ladder. When he had gone up,
he said, — " Lord, I die in the faith that Thou wUt
not leave Scotland, but that Thou wilt make the
blood of Thy witnesses the seed of Thy Church,
and return again and be glorious in our land. And
now. Lord, I am ready ; the bride, the Lamb's wife,
hath made herself ready."

216 LIFE OF THE

When the napkin was tied about his face, he said
to his friend that attended him, — ^^^ Farewell; be
diligent in your duty, and make your peace with
God through Christ. There is a great tnal coming.
As to the remnant I leave, I hare committed them
to God. Tell them from me not to weary nor to
be discouraged in maintaining the testimony. Let
them not quit nor forego one of these despised
truths. Keep yom: ground, and the Lord will pro-
vide you teachers and ministers ; and when He
comes, He will make these despised truths glorious
upon die earth.''

He was then turned over with these words in
his mouth, — ^^ Lord, into Thy hands I commit my
spirit; for Thou hast redeemed me, Lord God of
truth."

Thus died Mr James Renwick, on the third day
af)«r he had completed the six-and-twentieth year
of his age, — a young man, but a matured Christian,
—-a young minister, but a renowned martyr of Jesus
Christ, for whose sake he '' loved not his life unto
the death. " '^ His righteous soul from insult spring-
ing," winged its way, under the guidance of guar-
dian angels, to the immediate presence of God and
of the Lamb ; his trials and privations, and wan-
derings in moorlands and on mountains, in the pro-
secution of his Master's work, all terminated in the
heavenly blessedness. Heaven was the place to
which he constantly looked forward as the consum-
mation of his happiness ; and many were the sweet
hours of absorbing meditation on the beatitudes of
eternity which he spent in the lonely caves and
in the dreary deserts ; and, as he mused, the fir«
burned, and he longed to be away to his Father's

REV. JAMES RENWICK. 217

house ; and hence the unutterahle joy he felt as the
time of his release drew near, — ^the time when he
was to be admitted an inhabitant in that great house
in which there are many mansions, and which Christ
has been preparing as a residence for his redeemed
people.

With what sensations must a ransomed spirit ap-
proach the threshold of heaven, and survey for the
first time the splendours and glories of the celes-
tial world, which is the perfection of the Divine
workmanship, where all the magnificence of the
Deity is displayed, and all the grandeur of God's
eternal majesty revealed ! O, what scenes of glory,
and beauty, and sweetness, in endless and en-
chanting variety, created by Him whose munifi-
cence and skill are unbounded ! With what sur-
prise and interest inexpressible will that soul
which is for the first time admitted to behold
the blessed Jesus, contemplate His person ! What
must it be to look on that countenance which is
like the sun shining in his strength, — to see those
hands and feet that were pierced by the nails when
He hung on the tree, — and to hear that voice that
ever fell with gracious accents on the ears of sin-
ners! No tongue can express, and no heart can
conceive, what that sight must be ! With what a
reception do the spirits of just men meet, on their
entrance into the august palace of the universe !
They are welcomed by the Eternal Father from his
high and glorious throne, and admitted to his im-
mediate presence, for the sake of His own adorable
Son, whose people they are, and whose image they
bear.

Mr Ren wick found, when he came to grapple

T

218 LIFE OF THK

with the last enemy, that his aspect was not half so
terrible as when contemplated in the obscurity of
the distance. But nothing can unsting death but an
interest in the blessed propitiation ; for no circum-
stance without this can make death happy.

When all was over, and the crowd dispersed, the
lifeless body was taken down, and prepared for
burial. His afflicted mother and sisters needed
the assistance of kind friends to enable them to
perform the last office that relations can perform on
earth. Helen Alexander of Pentland, a mother in
Israel, and one who had suffered much in those
days of trial, assisted on this melancholy occasion.
" Some months after this," says she, ^' Mr Renwick
being taken, I went and saw him in prison. When
discoursing about several things, I said, ' Sir, within
a little you will get the white robes.' He added,
' and palms in my hands ;' and when he was exe-
cuted, I went along to the Greyfriars' churchyard,
took him in my arms until stripped of his clothes,
helped to wind him in his grave-clothes, and helped
to put him into the coffin. This was a most shock-
ing and sinking dispensation — ^more piercing, wound-
ing, and afflicting than almost any before it.*'

With regard to Mr Renwick's character, there
can be but one opinion. A youth more holy, zeal-
ous, and amiable, is not to be found, perhaps, in the
annals of martyrdom. He was illustrious alike
both for his patriotism and his Christianity: the
glory of his Master and the salvation of souls was
the great object of his life. His self-denial was
remarkable; and the privations to which he was
subjected, and which he bore without a murmur^
were enough to break down the spirits and exhaust

REV. JAMES RENWICIC, 219

the energies of any ordinary man. His humility
and meekness endeared him to the peasantry of
Scotland, and made him a welcome inmate in the
cottages of the moorlands. He was a man pos*
sessea of much greatness of soul, and true dignity
of character. His moral heroism was conspicuous
to all ; for neither reproaches nor personal hazards
could frighten him. While others, in the mean-
ness and cowardice of spirit, were guilty of foul
compliances to save themselves from trouhle, he
maintained his ground with unflinching stedfast-
ness, and was prepared to outhrave the fiercest
storms of persecution in the defence of what, in his
conscience, he believed to be the Truth. His deter-
mined opposition to tyranny. Prelacy, and Popery,
and the general defection of the times, brought
against him a whole host of enemies, political and
ecclesiastical, whom he feared not to combat single-
handed. Nor did he fight in vain; for the soli-
citude of his enemies on his account, and their
eagerness to silence him, plainly shows that their
fears, occasioned by him alone, were almost as great
as if an army of ten thousand invaders had landed on
our shores. On his side he had Truth both poli-
tical and religious, and this his enemies well knew.
His appearance was uncommonly prepossessing; and
his youth and comeliness of aspect, and the modesty
of fids demeanour, excited the admiration and pity
of even his persecutors. His death created a great
sensation throughout the land, — much greater, per-
haps, than that of any of the preceding martjrrs.
A conviction of his innocence and integrity of pur
pose seems to have obtained a secret lodgment in
the breasts of his adversaries, which caused them

220 LIFE OF THE REV. JAMES RENWICK.

no small uneasiness, on account of the ungracious
part they had acted towards him. Even his mur-
derers said they thought he went to heaven. The
Viscount Tarbet remarked one day in company,
when Mr Renwick happened to be the subject of
conversation, " that he was one of the stiffest main-
tainers of his principles that ever came before them.
Others we used always to cause at one time or other
to waver," said he, " but him we never could move.
Where we left him there we found him ; we could
never make him yield nor vary in the least." He
was the last of that cloud of witnesses that suffered
during the long reign of tyranny and persecution, —
a reign of nearly thirty years' continuance, — when
the best blood of Scotland's sons was shed like
water on fields and on scaffolds, for an honest ad-
herence to the civil and ecclesiastical constitution of
the nation.

Mr Renwick had little leisure for literary avoca-
tions, yet he left behind him the Informatory
Vindication, the Testimony against King James's
Toleration, two volumes of Sermons, a collection of
Letters, a Treatise on the Admission of Ruling
Elders, a Testimony in Defence of the Persecuted
Presbyterians of Scotland, and a few other pieces
of inferior interest

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Miller, Hush

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Newton, Rev. John

Paterson, Alex. S.

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