THE COVENANTERS.

Feilding Star, Volume III, Issue 86, 3 April 1883, Page 2

TH E COVEN ANTE RS.

Who they were? And what they did? — ♦ The Rev Mr Murray delivered his usual monthly lecture, on Sunday evening last, on the above subject. He chose for his text, Joshua AXIV, 25: "So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem." The lecturer remarked upon the momentousnesa of the act performed by Joshua and the es<* tates of Israel that day at Shechem. They acted not only for themselves bat for their posterity, and tbe effect of what was that day done, was to be felt in the subsequent history of Israel as long as it continued a nation. The intimate knowledge which the Israelites had of the facts of their past historj wai o*e of the means used by God to keep alive true patriotism and trne piety snong tiiem. The history of Itrael was a comtinuous narrative of God's dealings with, the nation. It showed that when they obeyed God they were strong, and prosperous, and when they forgot Himamd trans. gressed His law they were weak and miserable. But what was taught most conspicuously in the history of Israel is taught likewise, though not so patently, by the history of other nations. They that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. '! his is the lesson that all history is intended by God to teach. History must then be the most truly profitable and beneficial of all studies, and yet it ia by no means the subject which excites most interest in modern times. No series of events in the past history jf our country is more interesting in itself, or more important in its bearing on the liberties, civil and religious, which we now enjoy than those struggles against arbitrary rule in Church and State in which our forefathers engaged in the 17th century. And yet the knowledge which most people have of these eventful struggles is but vague and scanty. It was the attempt of King Charles to impose a new Service Book and Canons on the Scottish Church. without consulting either the Church or the Parliament or the people; which led to the National League, which took shape and form by signing a covenant by which the subscribers bound themselves to resist the arbitrary measures of Charles, and to seek the restoration of purify and liberty in < hurch and State. It was signed by a large majority of the nobles, lesser barons, clergy, burghers and peasantry of Scotland. Thus we. answer the question, who were the covenanters P We shall next try to tell what they did. Having raised an army of 30,000 men, they marched to meet Charles, who approached with an army to crush them. They met at Dnnse Law, when (Charles found that the covenanting army was so strongly posted, and his own raw levies sympathised so much with them that he was compelled to grant their request for a free Parliament and a free General Assembly. The war was resumed through Charles failing to redeem his promise, but was soon again closed, by a second promise of the Sing. Thus ended what was called the Bishops' war. The next military operation of the covenanters was assisting in the war of the English Parliament against the King. This assistance was rendered on the basis of an agreement made between the two nations called the Solemn League and Covenant, by which the two nations bound themselves to seek the same liberties. civil and ecclesiastical, as had been embodied in the Scottish. Covenant. The feelings of the Scottish Covenanters towards the English Parliament were completely altered when Republican sentiments obtained the ascendency among the latter, and these we*e heightened to the highest indignation by the execution of the fciag. The Scottish Parliament immediately acknowledged Charles' eldest son as his successor, and on his signing the covenant crowned him at Scone as King of Scotland, all the estates of the kingdom swearing fealty to him. This led at once to war with Cromwell, T c covenanting army was defeated at Dunbal and the young king of Scotland fled to France. Under the rule of Cromwell for 8 years Scotland enjoyed tranquility, and her church liberty, except that the General Assembly was not allowed to meet. With the battle of Dunbar ended the first part of covenanting history when the covenanters were a strong and unbroken party. It extended from 1638 to 1650, a period of 12 years. The second period began at the Restoration, in 1660 and. continued till the Resolution,: a period of 25 years. This latter period was the more illustrious and glorious, although a time of suffering and humiliation. The lecturer concluded by stating that his next lecture would be on the subject of " The Covenanters ; what they suffered?"