Donald Cargill, Scottish Preacher

September 21. Donald Cargill. About seven years after he started preaching, Cargill joined the —a group of Bible believers who refused to swear that the king was the head of the church. They believed Christ was the head of the church and fought to defend that belief.

At first, he tried to make peace between the king and the Covenanters, but soon the harsh way the king persecuted the Covenanters appalled Cargill so much that he joined the Covenanting Army. He fought in several battles before he was wounded and fled to the Netherlands to heal.

When Cargill returned to , he ran coordinated campaigns of preaching in open space mixed with guerrilla warfare throughout Scotland. On this date in 1680, Cargill excommunicated King Charles II and his supporters.

When life is filled with challenges, faith-filled men draw strength from the life to come.

On the night of June 3, 1680, Cargill and sat in a quiet inn in Scotland. They were rebel ministers being hunted by King Charles II, who wanted total control of the church. They were leaders in the Covenanter Movement—Scottish Christians who met in secret because they refused to recognize anyone else but Jesus Christ as head of the church.

But on this night, in the inn known as The Palace in South Queensferry, all they wanted to be was two friends enjoying each other’s company and a well-deserved rest.

After a short while, a nobleman sat down at their table. The man asked Cargill and Hall to share a glass of wine with him, and being gentlemen, they did. But as soon as they finished their wine, the man stood and drew his sword. His name was Middleton, Governor of Blackness, and he arrested the two ministers.

The ministers drew their own swords. Middleton attacked first, seriously injuring Cargill. Hall wrestled with Middleton, trying to seize his sword, and in the confusion, Cargill escaped. Hall overpowered Middleton and attempted to escape himself, but a waiter struck him on the back of the head with the knob on the grip of his sword. Hall died shortly afterward. Cargill, bleeding badly, crawled into a dark alley and passed out. A woman found him, tore her own clothes to bind his gaping wounds, and after a great struggle to lift his body, carted him to the house of James Punton.

Although the Puntons were strangers to Cargill, they showed him mercy. They fed him and called a surgeon to dress his wounds. A few hours later, after Cargill was well enough to stand, he thanked them and departed.

Cargill fled to neighboring Cairnhill. He had lost a dear friend and almost his own life. An innocent man and his family would likely suffer because they helped him. Most men would have found somewhere to wallow in self-pity. To lick their wounds.

Cargill knew his time was short. He had determined to finish the race of life full of joy. And so he used what little money he had left to buy food for the many starving citizens of Cairnhill.

Then he stood on top of a crowded hill, still covered in dried blood, and he preached from Hebrews 11. Cargill reminded his audience of those “who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:33-38 ESV).

Angered by his failure to capture Cargill, Middleton forged a letter from Robert Stark, a famous preacher, inviting Cargill to preach in . But once again, a woman, Mrs. Moor, came to Cargill’s aid and warned him that Middleton’s soldiers were waiting for him. Cargill fled, and for the next thirteen months, he preached in secret open-air meetings whenever he could. Cargill was finally captured on July 27, 1681. As he approached the gallows, his joyful expression shocked everyone. His last recorded words were: “The Lord knows I go on this ladder with less fear than ever I entered the pulpit to preach.”

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV).

Today, where do you get your strength? When life is filled with challenges, faith-filled men draw strength from the life to come.

Walker, Patrick. Six Saints of the Covenant. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1901. Jardine, Mark. “Ambushed at the Inn: The Queensferry Incident of 1680.” Jardine’s Book of Martyrs. Accessed July 2, 2002. https://drmarkjardine.wordpress.com/2018/01/21/ambushed-at-the-inn-the-queensferry-incident- of-1680-history-scotland/. Howie, John. The Scots Worthies. London: Forgotten Books, 2018.

Story read by: Peter R Warren, https://www.peterwarrenministries.com/ Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter Audio production: Joel Carpenter Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/ Project manager: Blake Mattocks © 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved.