The Life of James Renwick: A Historical Sketch Of His Life, Labours And Martyrdom And A; Vindication Of His Character And TestimonyHouston, Thomas
History
The Life of James Renwick: A Historical Sketch Of His Life, Labours And Martyrdom And A; Vindication Of His Character And Testimony
Houston, Thomas
Covenanters; Renwick, James, 1662-1688; Scotland -- Church history -- 17th century
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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