God as our Refuge Part 6: God as our Rock part 3
God as our Refuge Part 6: God as our Rock part 3
The Covenanters and their stand on God’s word
I really love the imagery of God as our Rock, especially since I am surrounded by rocks on a daily basis. I look up daily and see the strong, unchanging rocks, and am comforted to remember that God is an even better Rock and Refuge for us. Here is what we have covered so far in this blog series on God as our Refuge:
1. God and His word are true and unchanging and are the rock to stand upon in the storms of life.
2. In the blog on God as our Hiding place, I talked about God’s sovereignty as a sweet refuge in trials.
3. In the blog on God as our Fortress, I talked about our salvation from sin that is entirely God’s doing while we were helplessly dead in our sins, and the truth of His word. This is the basis upon which we find a strong castle to run to in trouble.
In this installment I am going to change the focus to give an example of applying these principles. The basis of any right application is remembering that God’s word is the most important thing in our life as a believer if we want to live a blessed and faithful life in God. If we know God and His word, we know that He is worthy of our trust, and worthy of our devotion and submission no matter what.
The center of our faith as laid out in the Bible is in Jesus Christ. In my last blog I showed how Christ is central in the Scriptures from beginning to end. He is called the Cornerstone of our faith.
Isaiah 28:16 “Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.’”
Ephesians 2:19-22 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
Our faith is not just based on unchanging truth, but on the wonderful person of Jesus who we are in relationship with. This gives us a love and commitment to our faith that would otherwise be missing.
History of the Church standing firm on Jesus as the Cornerstone
Throughout most of the church’s history, the true church of Christ has been greatly persecuted. In America we have had a reprieve from this for a few hundred years. Many of our ancestors came to America in order to have freedom to worship God according to their conscience and the Bible. What a blessing that we have had that thus far. There are clouds of persecution that are gathering on the horizon, but let’s be thankful for our remaining freedom in the time being.
The persecution the church has endured to varying degrees throughout history has required that true believers in Jesus count the cost to follow Him. They have had to stand upon Him as their rock. They have had to deal with the normal storms of life as well as hatred for following Jesus.
Indeed, even this very hour, many of our brothers and sisters face such hostility still. Places such as China, Iran, and Afghanistan are incredibly dangerous places for believers. In Nigeria, there are militant Muslims on a crusade to wipe out Christians. And the Nigerian government seems powerless or uninterested in helping.
How then do we practically stand firm on God as our Rock and trust in Him as our refuge in times of fierce opposition? I want to highlight the example of the Scottish Covenanters in 17th century Scotland. I didn’t know too much about them until I went on a history tour of southern Scotland with the Christian history tour company Landmark Events in 2016. That trip made an indelible impression on me, and encouraged me to endeavor to be faithful like these saints were.
The Protestant Reformation that took place in the 16thcentury was built upon five foundational ideas in Scripture that the reformers would end up devoting their lives and sometimes losing their lives to:
1. Salvation is by faith alone,
2. In Christ’s atoning work and resurrection alone,
3. This is salvation is by God’s grace alone and not by any works of our own.
4. This faith rests only on what is in the Scriptures, and not on extra biblical authorities such as the Pope.
5. This is all to the glory of God.
The Reformation in Scotland vs. England
In Scotland the Reformation took a strong hold because of various reasons. One reason is that the nobility that was loyal to the Catholic church were almost all wiped out in the battle at Flodden field against England on September 9, 1513. While this was an incredibly tragic event, God used it for good in paving the way for the true gospel to take root firmly in Scotland. Heroes of the faith such as John Knox faithfully preached God’s word in Scotland. The pastors at the time of the Reformation set up a type of church system in Scotland that they felt was most biblical. They called it Presbyterianism.
Scotland had tried to be separate from England for centuries, but was joined forever to England in 1603 when Elizabeth I of England died. King James of Scotland became king of both England and Scotland. In England, the reformation was not as firmly rooted. This is because King Henry VIII broke with the Catholic church mainly to be able to divorce his wives. He then declared himself head of the church in England. The church in England (Anglican church) became similar to the Catholic church, but with the king being the head instead of the pope.
The signing of the Scottish Covenant
In 1637, King Charles I forced upon the Presbyterian church of Scotland an Anglican prayer book. The pastors in Scotland were convinced that this was filled with Catholic theology and ways of worship that they saw as heretical and therefore entirely unbiblical. They could not with a clear conscience do what the king asked. There was outrage all over Scotland over this prayer book, and much petitioning of the king.
The king was not interested in listening to the Scots. In February of 1638, the outrage got to be so fervent and widespread that it led to the signing of a National Covenant at Greyfriars’ church in Edinburgh. This covenant was then sent throughout Scotland for more signatures.
They were pledging their lives to defend the true gospel and stand firm on the principles in the Bible no matter what. They pledge to honor the king, but not when he interferes in church doctrine. Christ alone is the head of the church.
Here are some excerpts from the covenant itself: “we are now thoroughly resolved in the truth by the word and Spirit of God; and therefore we believe with our hearts, confess with our mouths, subscribe with our hands, and constantly affirm, before God and the whole world, that this is the only true Christian faith and religion, pleasing God, and bringing salvation to man….we promise and swear by the GREAT NAME OF THE LORD OUR GOD, to continue in the profession and obedience of the foresaid religion; and that we shall defend the same, and resist all these contrary errors and corruptions, according to our vocation, and to the uttermost of that power that God hath put in our hands, all the days of our life… we call the LIVING GOD, THE SEARCHER OF OUR HEARTS, to witness, who knoweth this to be our sincere desire and unfeigned resolution, as we shall answer to JESUS CHRIST in the great day, and under the pain of God’s everlasting wrath…most humbly beseeching the LORD to strengthen us by His HOLY SPIRIT for this end, and to bless our desires and proceedings with a happy success; that religion and righteousness may flourish in the land, to the glory of God, the honor of our King, and peace of comfort of us all….”
I saw the original document on my trip. It was awe inspiring. Some people even cut themselves and signed the document in their own blood because they were so devoted. So many people signed the covenant that it was almost like the whole nation was rallying for the cause of Christ and His word.
The King’s persecution of the Covenanters
As you can imagine, the king didn’t want any exceptions to his authority over Scotland. He considered himself head of the church, instead of Christ. He was very upset with Scotland. He was not mollified by their allegiance in other areas. 1638-1688 was a time of persecution to varying degrees for those who swore allegiance to God’s word in the Covenant. Many of the Covenanters were martyred and plenty of people defected from their allegiance to the covenant under pressure from the king.
The worst period of persecution was after King Charles II passed the Conventicles Act in 1664. It banished ministers from their churches for not agreeing to his religious decrees. They then started holding secret worship services, often outside. These were called Conventicles. The punishment for attending them became death.
On my trip with Landmark Events, I saw the Grass Market square in Edinburgh where these faithful saints were executed. There is a round stone monument there. I saw Magdalen Chapel, where these dear martyred saints were taken to be prepared for burial. I saw the pen in Grey Friars Cemetery where the condemned saints were held outside. I saw the site where two faithful women named Margaret were drowned in the ocean in Wigtown for refusing to recant their belief in God’s word alone.
The source of the Covenanter’s courage
Here is a song that expresses the biblical conviction that the Covenanters staked their lives upon:
The Church's One Foundation (Hymn 354)
What made these saints stand firm in such trouble? God’s worthy character, and His unchanging, true and faithful word. They staked their lives and fortunes on the truth of Scripture and the worthiness of Christ as head of the church and their lives. When we know the true God and His true word, we will want to live for Him in spite of opposition. He is worthy! His truth is higher and more worthy than anything else on this earth. It is worth defending. Jesus is worth living for, and worth dying for.
These faithful saints knew that God’s promises to bring them safely to the reward of heaven were as sure as the ground they stood on. They knew that even though they endured trouble in this life, God would bring them home to heaven where there will be no more tears or pain or death (Revelations 21:3-4).
Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Here is a song about this encouraging hope of heaven that has comforted me since college:
How do we live faithful like the Covenanters?
How can we be faithful like these saints? We must go to God’s word. Make it our focus. We must know it better than anything else in this life. Then we will love the God we will get to know in its pages. We will find Him worthy of our loyalty and faithful service. He will give us the courage to stand firm in the midst of great troubles. He will be the rock on which we can stand though the world throws all its evil at us.
Joshua 1:8-9 “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Verses to memorize in response to this blog: Ephesians 2:19-22; Joshua 1:8-9
I also encourage you to regularly pray for the saints around the world who face persecution. Pray that they would stand firm in their faith in Jesus. Pray also that we would be courageous and loyal to Christ when we face opposition.
Here is one last song to encourage you to stand on God as our Rock:
A Shelter in the Time of Storm - Steven Anderson [with lyrics]
Email me with comments or questions at candice_anastasi@hotmail.com
In my next blog in this series, I will talk about God as our Strength.
My research from which I compiled the history of the Covenanters is from Landmark Events and from this book: The Fifty Years’ Struggle of the Scottish Covenanters 1638-88 by James Dodds