Sketches of the CovenantersMcFeeters, J. C. (James Calvin)
History
Sketches of the Covenanters
McFeeters, J. C. (James Calvin)
Covenanters; Scotland -- Church history -- 16th century; Scotland -- Church history -- 17th century
When Cargill was yet a youth, he was known to spend whole nights in
prayer. What those nights must have been to that young heart! What
unfoldings of the Gospel and of the love of God! What revelations of the
beauties of Christ, the preciousness of His blood, and the treasures of
His Covenant! What insight into the value of the soul and its commission
from God! What views of stewardship, accountability, rewards,
punishments, destiny, eternity! What visions of the kingdom of the Lord
Jesus Christ, His royal rights, His glory and majesty, His jealousy over
the Church, His indignation against evil, His vindication of right! What
those nights of prayer must have been to that boyish heart! The Holy
Spirit came down upon the tender suppliant; the glory of the Lord shone
round about him; the heavens bent and burst with blessings above his
head; he made many an incursion into the upper world. What a wonderful
life we may expect to arise out of a beginning like this! Look out for
the boy that spends whole nights in prayer, or even whole hours talking
with God! Assuredly the outcome will be amazing.
Courage was prominent among the qualities that brought Cargill to the
front and made him one of Scotland's many mighties. He was afraid of
nothing except God's displeasure. His towering intellect, polished with
education, instructed in the Bible, and irradiant with the Holy Spirit,
gave him a wide horizon. He made the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ his
viewpoint, and therefore saw things in their true relation. He had a
strong, spiritual grasp of the truths of Christ and His universal
dominion. He saw Jesus crowned with many crowns; the Church united to
Christ in marriage; and all the universe subject to Christ for the
Church's sake. Cargill's clear and comprehensive view of Christ and His
universal dominion enabled him to take the right side in the great
struggle that was then shaking Scotland's foundations. He wisely chose
the strong side. He cast his lot in with the poor "remnant," who were
hunted, captured, and executed as fast as the bloodhounds of King
Charles could do their cruel work. Most men called this the weak side,
but Cargill's eyes took in the spiritual world. He gazed upon the
infinite power of God, the omnipotence of truth, the armies of heaven.
He knew that all the forces of righteousness were moving forward in
matchless harmony in support of the "remnant" who kept faith with the
Lord Jesus Christ. In the consciousness of this almighty strength, which
was at his back, how could he be afraid?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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