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BLUE BANNER FAITH AND LIFE VOLUME 13 JANUARY-MARCH, 1958 NUMBER 1 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6 A Quarterly Publication Devoted to Expounding, Defending and Applying the System of Doctrine set forth in the Word of God and Summarized in the Standards of the Reformed Presbyterian (Covenanter) Church. Subscription $1.50 per year postpaid anywhere J . G. Vos, Editor and Manager 3408 7th Avenue Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, U .SA Editorial Committee: M. W. Dougherty, R. W. Caskey, Ross Latimer Published by The Board of Publication of the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Churdh oi North America Agent for Britain and Ireland: The Rev. Adam Loughridge, B.A., Glenmanus Manse, Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland Agent for Australia and New Zealand: The Rev. Alexander Barkley, B.A., 20 Fenwick St., Geelong, Victoria, Australia Publication Office, Linn, Kansas, U.S.A. Entered as Second Class Matter in the Postoffice at Linn, Kansas The Bible My Mother Gave Me From a very Old Scrapbook Give me that grand old Volume, the gift of a How through strong persecution and the struggle mother’s love, of evil days, Tho’ the spirit that first taught me has winged its The precious light of the truth ne’er died, but flight, above, was fanned to a beacon blaze. Yet, with no legacy but this, she has left me How in far-off lands, where the cypress bends o’er wealth untold, the laurel bough, Yea, mightier than earth’s riches, or the wealth of It was hid like some precious treasure, and they Ophir’s gold. bled for its truth, as now. When a child, I’ve kneeled beside her, in our dear He tells how there stood around it a phalanx none could break, old cottage home, Though steel and fire and lash swept on, and the And listened to her reading from that prized and cruel wave lapt the stake; cherished tome. As with low and gentle cadence, and a meek and How dungeon doors and prison bars had never damped the flame, reverent mien, God’s word fell from her trembling lips like a But raised up converts to the creed whence Chris­ presence felt and seen. tian comfort came. That housed in caves and caverns — how it stirs Solemn and sweet the counsels that spring from our Scottish blood! its open page, The Covenanters, sword in hand, poured forth the Written with all the fervor and zeal of the pro­ crimson flood; phet age; And eloQuent grows the preacher, as the Sabbath Full of the inspiration of the holy bards who trod, sunshine falls Caring not for the scoffer’s scorn, if they gained a Thro’ cobwebbed aisle and checkered pane, a halo soul to God. on the walls! Men who in mind were God-like, and have left on That still ’mid sore disaster, in the heat and strife its blazoned scroll of doubt, Food for all coming ages in its manna of the soul; Some bear the Gospel oriflamme, and one by one march out, “Who, through long days of anguish, and nights devoid of ease,” Till forth from heathen kingdoms and isles beyond the sea, Still wrote with the burning pen of faith its higher mysteries. The glorious tidings of the Book spreads Christ’s salvation free. I can list that good man yonder, in the gray church So I cling to my mother’s Bible, in its torn and by the brook, tattered boards, Take up that marvelous tale of love, of the story As one of the greatest gems of art and the king of and the Book: all other hoards, How through the twilight glimmer, from the earli­ As in life the true consoler, and in death ere the est dawn of time, Judgment Call, It was handed down as an heirloom in almost The guide that will lead to the shining shore every clime. where the Father waits for all. BLUE BANNER FAITH AND LIFE VOLUME 13 JANUARY-MARCH, 1958 NUMBER 1 Sketches of the Covenanters By J. C. McFeeters Chapter XXIX. The Battle of Rullion Green. — A. D. 1666. To enforce the royal will and overawe the Covenanters, troops were stationed among the peo­ A young Covenanter once stood on the battle­ ple and commissioned to plunder and kill the dis­ field of Rullion Green, pensively pondering over obedient at will. the battle and the heroes whose blood had watered this soil. Two centuries and more had fled since The sufferings of the Covenanters, at the hands the engagement, yet the field appealed to the re­ of the soldiers, were indescribable. Their homes sponsive heart with powerful eloQuence. The were invaded; their property was confiscated; their beautiful slope, the verdent pasture, the grazing flocks and herds were driven off; their families flocks, the broad valley, the distant hills, the ex­ were broken up; the aged and delicate, the women pansive sky, the summer charm—all blended into and children — all who would not yield to their a strange enchantment around the young man’s demands endured personal violence. The country soul. The Quiet meditation Quickened the heart; groaned and staggered under the cruelty author­ the heart aroused the imagination; the imagination ized by King Charles, and practiced by his agents. revived the scenes of November 28, 1666, by which this field was made memorable in the struggle of Conditions became desperate; the wise were the Covenanters for civil and religious liberty. He driven mad; patience ceased to be a virtue; en­ was deeply impressed with the value of the Cove­ durance was at the point of conflagration. Thou­ nant, which was sealed with the blood of the noble sands had to flee and keep in hiding, to escape warriors who sleep on this hillside. There he personal harm and even the shedding of their vowed, that if God would ever give him a home blood. of his own, the home would be called RULLION GREEN. God gave him a home; a beautiful resi­ At this juncture of events, four young Cov­ dence, adorned with this name, graces the city of enanters, fleeing from place to place for safety, Airdrie to-day. came to a dwelling, where they found four dra­ goons preparing to roast an old man on a gridiron, The battle of Rullion Green had its cause to extract information concerning his money. The many days previous to the actual engagement. We sight shocked every noble feeling; their manhood will get the better view by following the chain was aroused, and their courage was greater than of events. their prudence. They challenged the conduct of the soldiers, and were answered with drawn Four years before, to the very month, four swords. The Covenanters came off best. They hundred ministers has been expelled from their rescued the aged victim, disarmed the soldiers, and churches, because they would not forsake their marched them off at the point of their own sabers. Covenant, renounce Presbyterianism, and follow In the fight one of the Covenanters fired a pistol, the instructions of King Charles and his Council, in wounding a dragoon. That was "the shot that the administration of God’s house. echoes around the world,” and re-echoes, till it resounded over the green valley of the Boyne, The Covenanted people, deeply in sympathy among the rocks of Bunker Hill, and along the with their ministers, refused to wait on the preach­ banks of the Appomattox. ing of the curates — the ministers of the Episcopal Church sent by the authority of the king to supply The Covenanters knew they had now precipi­ the vacant pulpits. tated a conflict, that would call armies into the A series of proclamations was then issued to field. The king’s measures have hitherto been bring the Covenanters into subjection, each procla­ severe, but now the furnace will be heated seven mation being severer than the one preceding. fold. The Covenanters must now meet force with force, or be utterly crushed. They attempted to The people were enjoined to attend their Own raise an army. Next morning, the four men were parish church, warned against going to the con­ increased to ten, and a second encounter resulted venticles, and threatened with fines, imprisonment, in the capture of a detachment of the king’s regu­ and exile for freQuenting what the king termed lars, with one dead. The second day volunteers "unwarrantable preaching.” swelled the number to 250; the prospects were 4 growing bright. Another engagement resulted in "O God, why hast Thou cast us off? the surrender of Sir James Turner, the local com­ Is it for evermore? mander of the royal forces. Thus far the operations Against Thy pasture-sheep why doth greatly encouraged the Covenanters: they now hoped to be able to redress their grievances, and Thine anger smoke so sore?” compel the king to with-draw his army, thus bringing the horrors of those times to an end.