The record of the life, labours, and testimony, of James Renwick is
fraught with _practical lessons_ of the highest value to the Church in
the present day; and ministers, theological students, and the rising
youth of the Church generally have a special interest in pondering them
deeply, and in seeking to reduce them to practice.
From Renwick's personal history, we see--1. An instance of the Divine
blessing on parental dedication, and early religious instruction,
confirming the truth of the Divine promise, and exhibiting the
unspeakable benefit of the faithful labours of godly parents, especially
of mothers, to the Church. 2. It is impressively shown too, that a
person's work and influence for good, is not dependent on birth or
station in life, or on outward advantages. Many of the most eminent
servants of Christ, like Luther and Renwick, sprung from the humbler
ranks of society, and before they came forward to public usefulness, had
to contend with great difficulties. Grace ennobled them. God often
chooses "the weak things" of the world to "confound the mighty." His
servants are raised from the dunghill to sit among princes. In heaven's
heraldry, a man's rank is taken, not from hereditary titles, or
possessions, but from grace renewing and sanctifying the heart, and a
life of true devotedness to Christ and his service. 3. We are taught to
lay no stress on present prosperity, but to do God's work, looking for
the recompense of reward which He gives. A noble forgetfulness of self,
and mortification to the favour of the world, have characterized all
Christ's most approved servants. Dr. Payson relates about himself, what
has been experienced by many faithful men, "When I thought myself to be
_something_, I never knew happiness of mind; since I came to feel myself
nothing, and Christ all, I have realized full satisfaction and joy."
Renwick reviled, calumniated, and persecuted in his day, while esteeming
all but loss for Christ, enjoyed in life and death, peace surpassing
understanding--his name will be ever fragrant, and his memorial
everlasting.
4. Again, Renwick's life presents a bright and attractive _example of
the graces of fervent piety_. There shines forth in his character, in
harmonious display and concentrated lustre, an array of lovely and
ennobling features. To faith, he added virtue, and knowledge, patience,
temperance, godliness, &c. (2 Pet. i. 5-7.) His Christian _wisdom_ is
singularly conspicuous. Renwick was blamed in his own day by
time-servers and backsliders as imprudent; and those who maintain the
same testimony even in our times, are characterized as foolish,
imprudent, and infatuated. Certainly, if wisdom consists only in
securing present temporal gain--fleeting pleasure and the applause of
the world, then Renwick and his followers have no claim to be considered
wise. But if the "beginning" and spirit of true wisdom are the "fear of
the Lord;" and if it is shown in preferring the advancement of God's
glory and the enjoyment of His favour to all else, and in seeking the
attainment of those ends by means divinely appointed, and approved, then
the persecuted remnant were eminently wise. By opposing Popery, Prelacy,
Erastianism, and arbitrary power, and pleading resolutely for the
covenant liberties of the Church and nation, they proposed to themselves
holy ends. Their faithful contendings; their stern denunciations of
royal perfidy and tyranny; their organization of societies, and a
general correspondence; their proclaiming open opposition to usurped
authority; and, above all, their willing sacrifice of life rather than
abandon right principles, evince true wisdom. These were the best means
that could possibly have been adopted to expose the countless evils of
the government of the royal brothers; and to rouse the dormant spirit of
the nation, to hurl tyrants and oppressors from the throne, and to
establish constitutional liberty. Then, the _fidelity_ of Renwick and
the Cameronians were seen in maintaining fully their testimony to the
whole covenanted reformation, amidst manifold perils, when the large
body of Presbyterians had made defection. The standard which they firmly
grasped and refused to surrender had its glorious motto, "FOR CHRIST'S
CROWN AND COVENANT." The central doctrine of the Redeemer's Headship
over the Church and the nations, occupied a first place in all the
testimonies emitted in their general meetings, and uttered on scaffolds
and fields of blood. Connected with this, as necessary corollaries, were
the supremacy of Holy Scripture--the spiritual independence of the
Church, and the subjection of rulers and national legislation to the
sceptre of the reigning Mediator. On these grounds, they not only
rejected infamous rulers, but condemned and rejected with utter
abhorrence the royal supremacy. The sentiment expressed in the words
subscribed to the minutes of their general meetings--"LET KING JESUS
REIGN,[5] declare the leal allegiance of Renwick and the persecuted
Covenanters to Prince Messiah. Earnestly did they seek to have the
authority of King Jesus universally acknowledged, honoured, and obeyed.
They believed firmly the sure word of prophecy that "all kings shall
fall down before Him; and all nations shall serve Him." "He shall have
dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the
earth." Psal. lxxii. 11, 8. So should we also aim to be faithful to
Christ and His cause; to our own sacred vows; to the souls of men; and
to the blood-bought privileges that have been entrusted to us to
preserve and transmit. We are responsible, not for success, but for
fidelity; and the promised reward will be a glorious recompense for all
trial and suffering. "Be thou faithful unto the death, and I will give
thee a crown of life."
Renwick was, furthermore, distinguished by a _catholic, genial, loving
spirit_. This characteristic is not generally thought to have been
prominent in the spirit of illustrious reformers and suffering
confessors. Luther, Calvin, and Knox, have been represented as unsocial,
morose fanatics, and gloomy bigots. Renwick has been branded as rigid
and austere, and those who have embraced and faithfully maintained the
same testimony have been exhibited as sectaries of the deepest dye. No
representation could be more unjust, and none is more opposed to
historic truth. Luther was most genial and loving, as his "Table Talk,"
and the record of his domestic life, abundantly testify. Calvin's
"Letters" collected by Bonnet, show how keenly and long he felt the
death of his wife and infant child; how deeply his heart was affected
with the sufferings of Protestants everywhere, even of those who
differed from him in principle; and attest, moreover, the warmth and
constancy of his friendship. Knox's declaration before Queen Mary, that
he was always affected by the crying of his infant children, shows his
gentle and susceptible disposition; while his letters to his wife and
mother-in-law bear witness, equally to his piety, and to the depth of
tender feeling that filled his large heart. Renwick was, at all times, a
loving, thoughtful, and confiding friend, as many passages in his
"Letters" declare. The annals of the persecution, and the traditions of
suffering times, testify to his genial disposition, even when he was
harassed by relentless enemies, and his heart was overwhelmed with
incessant cares and anxieties.
In proof of the catholic, unsectarian, Christian spirit of Renwick and
his followers, the clear statements of the INFORMATORY VINDICATION, the
work which most fully and clearly defines their position, may be
referred to. After laying down an admirable platform of fellowship and
discipline, the persecuted Covenanters declare in effect, "We are not a
Church at present, and cannot act fully as an organized Church. We are a
broken, persecuted remnant. Our societies are not a Church, but a
temporary means of enjoying proper religious instruction and ordinances
of worship. They are, besides, associations for self-defence, and for
watching and taking advantage of any public movement for overturning the
present despotism, and recovering our liberties, civil and religious. We
require to make the terms of admission strict, to guard against spies,
and those who are contentious or quarrelsome. At the same time they
declare the close and hallowed relations that bound them to all the true
disciples of their common Lord. In a noble spirit of Christian
brotherhood, they virtually proclaim, "On the communion of saints, let
us impose no new restrictions. Though others differ from us in the word
of their special testimony, let us embrace and love them, and
acknowledge fellowship with them as Christian brethren."[6] In these
noble utterances, we have strikingly exemplified the true spirit of
Christian brotherhood and Catholic communion. This is the genuine import
of the vow of the Solemn League and Covenant, which binds Covenanters to
regard whatever is done to the least of them, as done to all and to
every one in particular. While firmly holding fast all Scriptural
attainments, and contending "earnestly for the faith once delivered to
the saints," we should cordially rejoice in the evidences of grace in
Christ's servants wherever we find them. We should love them as
brethren, fulfil the law of Christ by bearing their burdens, wish them
God speed in all that they are doing for the advancement of His glory,
and fervently labour and pray for the coming of the happy period when
divisions and animosities shall cease, and when there shall be one King,
and His name one in all the earth.
5. The testimony of Renwick and his associates is of permanent value and
of special importance in our day, as it was directed against _systems of
error and idolatry_, which serve to corrupt the Church and enslave the
State. Against Popery in every form Renwick was a heroic and
uncompromising witness. At the peril of life, he publicly testified
against the usurpation of the papist James, and rejected him as having
no claim to be regarded as a constitutional sovereign, and as utterly
disqualified to reign in a Protestant reformed land. This was the main
ground of his objection against James's toleration, for which the
Indulged ministers tendered obsequious thanks to the usurper. Yet this
edict of toleration was issued for the purpose of opening the way for
the practice of Rome's abominations, and for the advancement of papists
to places of power and trust in the nation. None of the Cameronians
would, for any earthly consideration, even to save their lives, for a
moment admit that a papist had any right to exercise political power in
a reformed land. Our martyred forefathers we regard as worthy of high
respect and imitation, for their deeply cherished dread of the growing
influence of Popery, and for their determined resistance to its
exclusive and extravagant claims. The system of Popery is the abnegation
of all precious gospel truth; and is a complete politico-religious
confederacy against the best interests of a Protestant nation. The boast
of its abettors is that it is _semper eadem_--ever the same. Rome cannot
reform herself from within, and she is incapable of reformation from
external influences and agencies. The Bible never speaks of Antichrist
as to be reformed, but as waxing worse and worse till the time when he
shall be completely subverted and irrecoverably destroyed. Whatever
changes may be going on in some Popish countries, whereby the power of
the Papacy is weakened, it is evident that the principles and spirit of
the Romish priesthood, and of those who are under their influence,
remain unchanged. The errors of the Antichristian system, instead of
being diminished, have of late years increased. Creature worship has
become more marked and general. The Immaculate Conception has been
proclaimed by Papal authority as the creed of Romanism. In these
countries, and some other Protestant lands, the influence of Popery in
government and education, and so on the whole social system, has been
greatly on the increase. Among those who have most deeply studied
inspired prophecy, there is a general expectation that the period of
Babylon's downfal is hastening on, and is not far distant. There is a
general presentiment too, that the Man of Sin, prior to his downfal,
will make some dire and violent attempt through his infatuated followers
against the truth, and against such as faithfully maintain it. The
"_Slaying of the Witnesses_,"--which we are disposed to regard as yet
future--may take place, not so much by the actual shedding of blood,
though it is plain that Jesuit policy and violence will not hesitate to
re-enact former persecution and massacre, to accomplish a desired
purpose. It may mainly be effected, as Scott, the expositor, suggests,
by silencing the voice of a public testimony in behalf of fundamental
truths throughout Christendom; and of this there are at present
unmistakeable signs not a few, throughout the churches in various
countries.
The Protestant church in all its sections should be thoroughly awake to
its danger from the destructive errors, idolatry and power of its
ancient irreconcilable enemy; and should, by all legitimate means,
labour to counteract and nullify its political influence. The ministry
and the rising youth of the church should study carefully the Popish
controversy, and should be intimately acquainted with the history of the
rise and progress of the Papacy--its assumed blasphemous power--its
accumulated errors and delusions, and its plots, varied persecutions and
cruel butcheries of Christ's faithful witnesses. Above all, they should
set themselves earnestly, prayerfully and perseveringly to diffuse the
Bible and Gospel light in the dark parts of their native country, and
among Romanists in other lands. By embracing fully and holding fast, in
their practical application, the principles of the British Covenants,
and by imbibing the spirit of covenanted martyrs--men like Renwick and
the Cameronians, we will be prepared for the last conflict with
Antichrist. The firm and faithful maintenance of a martyr-testimony will
be a principal instrument of the victory of truth over the error and
idolatry of Rome. "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by
the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the
death," (Rev. xii. 11.)
Finally--the testimony of Renwick is valuable, as throwing light on
_great evils connected with systems of civil government_, and _with
Protestant churches_, and as pointing out clearly the duty of faithful
witnesses in relation to them. Two great principles--the one
_doctrinal_, and the other _practical_, were essential to it, or rather
constituted its whole speciality. These were--first--that, according to
the national vows, and the reformation attainments, the whole civil
polity of the nation should be conformed to the Scriptures,--and
secondly, the positive duty of distinct separation from whatever systems
in the state or the church that are opposed to entire allegiance to
Messiah, the Prince. The civil constitution and the national legislation
and administration, as well as the lives of rulers, were required to be
in subjection to His authority, and in accordance with the prescriptions
of His word. When such subjection is withheld, Christ's servants, if
they would be faithful to the exalted Saviour, cannot do otherwise than
refuse to incorporate with the national society, and to homologate the
acts of its rulers; and from Churches that do not testify against
national defection, they are constrained to maintain distinct
separation. The past history of the Church bears clear testimony that
truth has been frequently preserved, when it was in danger of being
lost, by open separation from those who were bent on declension and
apostacy.
In our day, it should not be regarded as enough to profess in theory the
doctrine of Christ's Headship, or merely to speak in commendation of a
martyr-testimony. We should aim, as Renwick and his followers, at
whatever inconvenience and hardship, to give it _practical effect_. The
reason why these honoured confessors disowned the authority of Charles
and his brother, was, not solely or chiefly, because of their tyranny or
persecuting measures, but principally because the authority assumed was
opposed to the exclusive royal prerogatives of the Redeemer. The public
evils against which Renwick and the later martyrs testified to the
death, did not cease at the Revolution; nor can we admit that the
Revolution Settlement embodied all the principles for which the
Covenanted martyrs contended, and suffered, and died. On the contrary,
there are essential and inherent evils in the Revolution Settlement,
both civil and ecclesiastical, which exist to this day, and which render
a decided testimony against it dutiful now, as it was at the period of
the Revolution. The Act Rescissory, which was passed at the Restoration,
is still retained in the Statute Book: the National Covenants were
abandoned, both by the Church and the nation, and neither has returned
to a sense of their obligation. The Scriptural attainments of the
Reformation were left under a gravestone. Presbyterianism was
established in Scotland--not because it was Scriptural or right in
itself, but because it was agreeable to the wishes of the majority of
the nation, and it was set up on an Erastian basis. By the introduction
of the curates into the ministry of the Scottish establishment, at the
king's behest, without any public confession or renunciation of
Prelacy--the germ of Moderatism was laid, which, in due time, budded and
brought forth bitter fruits, in numerous corruptions and oppressions,
and in multiplied divisions and separations.
Prelacy, abjured in the Solemn League of the three kingdoms, was, at the
Revolution, established in England and Ireland, and the supremacy of the
monarch as head of the National Church, and in "all causes, civil and
ecclesiastical," was declared to be an inherent prerogative of the
crown. These evils yet exist in the civil and ecclesiastical
establishments of these countries; and others have in recent years been
added, such as the admission of papists to places of power and trust
throughout the nation, the national endowment of popish institutions,
and the public favour shown by rulers to the Antichristian system. The
national policy in these instances and others that might be mentioned,
is wholly inconsistent with the doctrine of the Redeemer's Headship in
its legitimate application, and is the source of many of the evils that
in our day corrupt and degrade the Church of England, and that prevent
the developement and prevalence of genuine Protestantism throughout the
nation. The Presbyterian Churches that claim descent from the
covenanting reformers and martyrs, should seriously consider whether
they do not compromise a faithful testimony, and encourage national
apostacy, by incorporating with a civil system that refuses homage to
the reigning Mediator, and obedience to the authoritative prescriptions
of His word.
The rising youth of the Church should carefully study in its legitimate
application, and vitally important consequences, the grand article of
Renwick's testimony,--the Redeemer's Headship over the Church and the
nations, and the cognate principles of the supremacy of the word, the
spiritual independence of the Church, and the claim of the subjection of
the nation and its rulers to the authority of the reigning Mediator.
Whether viewed in the light of the past or of the present state of the
nations, as of America, and the kingdoms of the antichristian earth; or
of prophecy yet unfulfilled, a testimony for these truths is of grand
and overwhelming importance. This is emphatically, the _present
truth_--the cause of God and truth, now to be pleaded in the earth. It
is "the word of Christ's patience," which we are required to hold fast.
It is at our peril If we be found neutral here; our preservation from
the coming "hour of temptation," is alone to be expected in fidelity to
the great trust committed to us. We are assured in the faithful word of
prophecy, that the Redeemer will ere long take to Him his power to
reign. The "Little Stone" shall bruise and break in pieces the feet and
toes of the "great Image,"--the representative of the world-powers,--and
become a "great mountain," and fill the earth. Then shall the cause for
which Christ's witnesses testified in sackcloth, and for which chosen
martyrs died, gloriously triumph. "The kingdoms of this world shall
become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ."
The peaceful, triumphant death of Renwick, shows impressively that there
is a reward to the righteous; that a life of self-denial and devoted
piety appears at the close, enstamped with heaven's approval; and that
labours and sufferings for Christ's sake conduct to the joy of completed
victory, and to perfect communion with the Redeemer, and the redeemed in
glory. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of
that man is peace." (Ps. xxxvii. 37.) "After this, I beheld, and lo, a
great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and
kingdoms, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. And cried
with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb." (Rev. vii. 9, 10.)