THE following interesting covenant, entered into by children in the year 1683, appeared in A Collection of Dying Testimonies of some Holy and Pious Christians who Lived in Scotland before and since the Revolution, published in 1806. It was reprinted as an appendix to Passages in the Lives of Helen Alexander and James Currie. Some of the children were only ten years of age when they signed the covenant. The following are the title and words of the covenant:—
“A covenant transaction with the Lord by a society of young children, who met together in a meeting at Pentland Town, in the time of persecution, when there was no faithful minister in Scotland, anno 1683, ere that great burning and shining light, Mr. James Renwick, came an ordained minister from Holland.
“This is a covenant made between the Lord and us, with our whole hearts and affections, to be His children, and Him to be our God and Father, if it please the holy Lord to send His Gospel to the land again. That we stand to this covenant, which we have written between the Lord and us, as we shall answer at the great day; that we shall never break this covenant which we have made between the Lord and us. That we shall stand to this covenant which we have made; and, if not, it shall be a witness against us in the great day when we shall stand before the Lord and His holy angels. O, Lord, give us real grace in our hearts to mind Zion’s breaches that is in such a low case this day; and make us to mourn with her, for Thou hast said, them that mourn with her in the time of her trouble, shall rejoice when she rejoiceth; when the Lord will come and bring back the captivity of Zion, when He shall deliver her out of her enemies’ hands; when her king shall come and raise her from the dust in spite of all her enemies that will oppose her, either devils or men; though thus they have banished her King Christ out of the land, yet He will arise and avenge His children’s blood at her enemies’ hands, which cruel murderers have shed. Them that will not stand to every article of this covenant, which we have made betwixt the Lord and us, that they shall not go to the kirk to hear any of these soul-murdering curates, we will neither speak nor converse with them. Any that breaks this covenant they shall never come into our society. We shall declare, before the Lord, that we have bound ourselves in covenant to be covenanted to Him all the days of our lives—to be His children, and Him to be our covenanted Father. We subscribe, with our hands, these presents:—
| “BEATRIX UMPHERSTON, | “MARGARET BROWN, |
|———————-|——————–|
| JANET BROWN, | JANET BROWN, |
| HELEN MONTRAY, | ISOBEL CRAIG, |
| MARIAN SWAN, | MARTHA LOGAN, |
| JANET SWAN, | AGNES AITKIN, |
| MARGARET GALLOWAY, | MARIAN McMORREN, |
| HELEN STRAITON, | CHRISTIAN LAWRIE.” |
| HELEN CLARK.” | |