Preacher to the Remnant, The Story of James Renwick, by Maurice Grant
published by the Scottish Reformation Society, hardback, 280 pages, £17.95.
Maurice Grant has already written about two prominent Scottish Covenants: Donald Cargill, in No King but Christ; and Richard Cameron, in The Lion of the Covenant, both of which are still available. As Rev H M Cartwright says in his Foreword to this new biography: “Maurice Grant does further useful service to the Church of Christ in presenting this fresh, thoroughly-researched and attractively-written comprehensive account of the life of James Renwick, the last Covenanting minister to be put to death for his adherence to the biblical principles of the Scottish Reformation”.
Renwick was born in 1662, about the time when the Scottish government, under Charles II, imposed bishops on the Church. This was to lead to a period of shocking persecution of those who could not accept that the King and his government had any right to take control of the Church. Faithful ministers began to hold conventicles, when huge crowds often gathered to hear them. But by the time when, in 1683, Renwick was ordained, in Holland, the persecution was so fierce that these open-air services had almost ceased. When Renwick began to hold conventicles after his return to Scotland, a landlord on whose property he preached was fined £50 sterling, but the fine was repaid when he showed that he had “turned out the tenant and demolished the house”. There was utter ruthlessness at every level.
Young James Nisbet from Ayrshire described the first time he heard this loyal Covenanter: “I went about 16 miles to hear sermon preached by Mr James Renwick, a faithful servant of Jesus Christ, who was a young man endued with great piety, prudence and moderation. The meeting was held in a very large, desolate moor. He appeared to be accompanied with much of his Master’s presence. . . . His method was both clear, plain and well digested, suiting the substance and simplicity of the gospel. This was a great day of the Son of Man to many poor exercised souls, who this day got a Pisgah view of the Prince of Life, and of that pleasant land that lies beyond the banks of Jordan.”
In 1682 the authorities caught up with Renwick. He was arrested, tried and executed. Just before his death, his mother and sister were allowed to have a final meal with him. In asking God’s blessing on the food, Renwick said, “O Lord, now Thou hast brought me within two hours of eternity, and this is no matter of terror to me, [any] more than if I were to lie down in a bed of roses. Nay, through grace, to Thy praise I may say, I had never the fear of death since I came within this prison.” Such was the faith of this man of God.
We should be grateful to Mr Grant for this readable account of a man who, young though he was, did far more than could reasonably be expected in preaching the gospel and maintaining the purity of the Scottish Church in the face of fierce persecution. He did so because of his strong sense of the reality of Christ’s Kingship over Church and nation. Especially in an age when that sense has been very largely lost, this book is highly recommended.
Rest in God & A Calamity in Contemporary Christianity, by Iain H Murray
published by the Banner of Truth Trust, booklet, 35 pages, £2.00.
This little work begins by firmly rooting the permanent and universal obligation of Sabbath observance in the Lord’s own resting and sanctifying of the day as recorded in Genesis 2:3, centuries before the constitution of Israel as a people and the promulgation of the Fourth Commandment. It shows that, while there were ceremonial aspects to the Sabbath during the era of the Jewish Church, the Sabbath itself is not a ceremonial institution and there is adequate evidence in the New Testament that the Son of man as Lord of the Sabbath, and therefore God, has transferred the Sabbath of creation and of the Fourth Commandment to the first day of the week, the Lord’s day.
There is a section on the witness of history to the blessing with which God has honoured the first day of the week. An important short section demonstrates the development in Calvin’s view to the point that he said: “So let us learn to sanctify the day of rest in order to bring ourselves into conformity with our God’s example and preserve the order which He established to be inviolable till the end”.
Within short compass there is discussion of the nature of God’s rest, the love of the Christian for the law of God and for careful obedience which is a proof of a true relationship with the Saviour and not a form of legalism, and the application of the moral law to mankind and therefore the responsibility of the state to uphold public regard for the creation ordinances. Attention is drawn to the universal application of William Hewitson’s nineteenth-century remark: “Germany tells me that if Scotland lose her Sabbaths, she will lose along with them her religion and her God”.
The practical conclusion is drawn that the Lord’s Day will be “remembered” before it comes “so that nothing is postponed to that day that can be done before”. The whole day will be kept and “apart from works of ‘necessity and mercy’ the desire will be to arrange the day so that there is a maximum of time free from distractions of the affairs of the week”. Public worship will be faithfully supported and private time will be found for “spiritual things, especially for reading, meditation and prayer”. Believing parents will make the day as bright and happy as possible for the young in their families who as yet have no heart for spiritual things, “while not neglecting the obedience God requires”.
One is glad to see a significant Reformed publishing house take a firm stand for the Christian Sabbath. The concept of the Sabbath has been so lost in our public life that political, trading, travelling and sporting activity goes on without any regard to God’s law. Sadly, the Biblical concept of the Sabbath seems to have been largely lost within Evangelical, and even Reformed, Churches. This booklet challenges those of us who love the Lord’s Day to value it more highly and to endeavour to make a more spiritual, edifying and God-glorifying use of it.
(Rev) H M Cartwright
1Both items reviewed here are obtainable from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom.