1. Introduction
Rev J R Tallach
By way of introduction, three matters deserve to be highlighted to indicate the fertile soil from which Presbyterian church government arose in the Scottish Church.
First, the Bible was spread abroad in Scotland. As early as 1542, copies of Wycliffe’s English Bible began to circulate in Scotland and subsequently Tyndale’s version and some of Luther’s writings, brought in “by every seaport between Thurso and Berwick”.2 This not only played a part in unmasking Roman Catholicism as “a vast conspiracy against the civil and religious liberties of mankind” but had a vital influence under God in the setting up of house churches among nobles and peasants. “The Reformers put the Word of God into the hands of the people and so brought them directly to God through Christ”,3 and public opinion was such that in 1542 an Act of Parliament was passed granting to the people of Scotland the privilege of having “both the New Testament and Old in the vulgar tongue, in English or Scots”. A R
1The first part of a paper delivered at the 2010 Theological Conference.
2John Mackay, The Church in the Highlands, Hodder and Stoughton, 1914, p 84.
3J J Murray, The Reformation 1560, Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), 2010, p 47.
MacEwen states: “It was because the revolution thus effected rested upon religious beliefs which were already established in the chief centres of national life that it was not only orderly but permanent.”4
The second factor is that, in common with the Reformation in other lands, the Scottish Reformation was inspired by the Holy Spirit as a spirit of revival throughout the land, affecting all levels of society. John Knox said, “God gave His Holy Spirit to simple men in great abundance”.5 Calvin wrote from Geneva in November 1559: “As we wonder at success incredible in so short a time, so also we give great thanks to God, whose special blessing here shines forth”.6 Indeed Knox himself was a gift from the Most High to the people of Scotland. Schaff says of him: “He led the Scotch people . . . from mediaeval semi-barbarism into the light of modern civilization, and acquired a name which, next to those of Luther, Zwingli and Calvin, is the greatest in the history of the Protestant Reformation”.7
The third factor was the influence of the Continental Reformers, and especially of the Geneva model, through Knox, on the formation of the Scottish Church. Patrick Hamilton was 24 years old when he suffered martyrdom at the hands of Cardinal Beaton in St Andrews in 1528. He had studied under Luther and Melanchthon in Wittenberg, and subsequently, while teaching at the University of Marburg, he had published a series of theses which were translated into English and circulated under the title, Patrick’s Places. Burleigh states that “certainly they contain the pure milk of the Lutheran word”.8
Another great witness to the truth, even to death, was George Wishart. He was burnt at the stake in St Andrews in 1546. Through studying at Basel and Zurich, he had come under the influence of the Swiss Reformers and had adopted their Confession, the First Helvetic, as his own. Wishart’s translation of this Confession was published in 1548.
For his part, Knox had stayed in the Geneva of John Calvin during the five years from 1554 to 1559, during the reign of Bloody Mary, and preached for a time to an English congregation in that city. He held Geneva “to be the most perfect school of Christ that ever was on earth since the days of the Apostles”.9 Schaff writes, “Still greater and more lasting [than his effect on the Reformation in England] was Calvin’s influence upon Scotland. It extended over
4 A R MacEwen, A History of the Scottish Church, Hodder and Stoughton, 1915, vol 2, p 147.
5 Quoted in Murray, The Reformation 1560, p 57.
6 Quoted in T M Lindsay, History of the Reformation, T & T Clark, 1907, vol 2, p 308.
7 P Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Eerdmans 1991 reprint, vol 8, p 819.
8 J H S Burleigh, A Church History of Scotland, Oxford University Press, 1960, p 121.
9 Quoted in Burleigh, A Church History of Scotland, p 153.
discipline and Church polity as well as doctrine. The Presbyterian Church of Scotland, under the sole headship of Christ, is a daughter of the Reformed Church of Geneva, but has far outgrown her mother in size and importance.”10 These three influences then – the Word, the Spirit, and the genius of the Continental Reformers, especially John Calvin – were seminal in the Scottish Reformation.
This paper will be divided into two parts. (1) A brief account of the setting up of the Presbyterian system in the Church of Scotland. (2) The system of superintendents, which has been criticised as substantially episcopal.
Waiting for the Consolation of Israel1
Ralph Robinson
Doctrine: True believers wait for the accomplishment of God’s promises, even those that are most unlikely to be fulfilled.
No promise which God ever made to man had more improbabilities, even seeming impossibilities, to break through than the promise of Christ. He is called “a root out of a dry ground” (Is 53:2). He was to be born of a virgin: “A woman shall compass a man” (Jer 31:22). And yet Simeon, who had a revelation from God that he should not depart this life till his eyes had seen Christ, waited for the fulfilling of this promise. If anyone should wonder why this good man’s waiting for Christ should be noted as an act of such singular faith, when the generality of the Jews had the same expectation, Chemnitz2 gives two good reasons for it.
(1) The common bulk of the Jews expected Christ only for external advantages. They expected Him only as one that should restore their outward liberties, which were then invaded and taken away. But Simeon waited for Him as a spiritual redeemer, that should save the soul from sin and hell.
(2) Simeon expected His coming to be near at hand, according to the predictions of the prophets; whereas the generality of the Jews had only a loose, uncertain expectation of Him. Simeon waited for a speedy coming of Christ; therefore the Holy Ghost takes such strict notice of it.
We have other examples in Scripture of the holy waiting of godly men for the fulfilling of divine promises. The Apostle mentions how Abraham waited for the promise of a son when his body was even dead, and his wife unlikely
10History of the Christian Church, vol 8, p 818.
1The first part of a sermon, with editing, on the words in Luke 2:25: “Waiting for the consolation of Israel”. Robinson (1614-1655) was a prominent Presbyterian in London in Puritan times.
2Lutheran theologian (1522-1586).
to conceive, according to the course of nature (Rom 4:18-21). David waited many years for the promise which God made to him of succeeding Saul on the throne. Though he was sometimes put to a stand, through difficulties and cross providences, yet he did expect the accomplishment of the thing promised. Often in the Book of Psalms he mentions his waiting (as Ps 62:1,2,5).
Daniel waited for the accomplishment of God’s promise for restoring the Church from their captivity, though there were many difficulties in the way, the Church being then as dry bones (Ezek 37:3-6), yet Daniel believed and waited for it (as appears by Dan 9:1). He counted the number of the years and, when they drew near their end, he stirred up himself to pray with more than ordinary faith.
The whole Church waited for the fulfilling of this promise: “I will wait for the God of my salvation, my God will hear me” (Mic 7:7). So in that other sad case they did wait for deliverance, though God hid His face from them (Is 8:17). The people were in great distraction because of Sennacherib’s army, and many waited on Rezin and Remaliah’s son, yet the true believers waited on God for salvation. This is the duty and the practice of godly men in all ages.
1. What is meant by waiting for a promise. Waiting on God for the fulfilling of His promises comprehends these three things:
(1) A firm believing that what is promised shall come to pass. Waiting is the acting of hope, and the foundation of hope is faith. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Heb 11:1). It is impossible for the soul to wait on God for what it does not firmly believe God shall make good. Abraham would never have waited for a son of promise if he had not first believed the promise of a son. Simeon could not have expected the consolation of Israel if he had not first believed the promise of God for the birth of Him who was the consolation of Israel. Take away the belief of the promise and waiting for it ceases. It is not an act either of grace or reason, but of folly and madness, to wait for that which is not first believed.
(2) A patient tarrying for the Lord’s leisure. Waiting on God for a promise is an act of patience as well as faith. “He that believeth shall not make haste” (Is 28:16), and he that waits makes no haste. He that would have a promise fulfilled one day before God’s time is not a waiter but a commander. The Holy Ghost describes waiting on God for a promise by tarrying till it be made good (Hab 2:3). He was a wicked man who said, “What should I wait for the Lord any longer?” (2 Ki 6:33). True waiting does not limit the Holy One of Israel, either for manner or time. “Rest in the Lord . . . patiently”, that is David’s counsel (Ps 37:7). Daniel waited for the fulfilling of the promise of the Church’s deliverance out of Babylon, till the set time came (Ps 102:13).
David calls waiting on God a being silent to God3 (Ps 62:1). A quick eye and a silent tongue become him that waits on God. He that waits on God may pray for the hastening of the promise, but the conclusion of all must be: not when I will, but when God wills. Our Saviour tells His apostles what it is to wait on God. Tarry at Jerusalem, says He, and “wait for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4). He that sets God a time to fulfil His promise does not wait for a promise, but steals a promise. The Church well expresses the nature of true waiting upon God: “Our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that He have mercy upon us (Ps 123:2).
(3) An earnest desire to have the promise made good. Patient waiting forbids murmuring, but it doth not forbid desire. There can be no waiting for a promise without hungering after the promise. The Church, in Psalm 123:2, was contented to stay God’s time, yet in the next verse she expresses her desire, “Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us”. The Apostle expounds waiting by a word signifying desire: “Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God” (2 Pet 3:12).
There is a twofold hastening of a promised good: the one arising from impatience, the other arising from desire. Now, though those who wait must not hasten any good with impatience, yet they may and must hasten it with desire. To hasten, out of discontent, any good which God has promised argues distrust of God, but not to hasten it out of ardent desires argues some slighting of the good promised. “I have longed for Thy salvation, O Lord,” says the psalmist (Ps 119:174). Longing is the very extremity of desire.
The one who waits must not limit God, but he may petition God to fulfil His promise. Scripture expresses waiting by a word which signifies heat of desire: “The earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Rom 8:19). The word signifies waiting, or looking with a stretched-out neck, as a prisoner looks for an expected pardon, or as a man looks for a friend whom he has long expected and would gladly see.
This vehement desire for the fulfilling of the promise is to be expressed:
(1) By frequent meditations. The soul must have its thoughts much upon the promise. When David says that the precepts of God are always before him, we must say so also. And so must we do with the promises of God: they must be ever before us; we must meditate on them all the day long.
(2) By fervent prayer. Patience in waiting for a promise, and passionate earnestness in praying for the fulfilling of it, are not inconsistent. We must daily beg of God that He would give being to His promises. We must say with the Church, “Come, my beloved . . .” (Song 7:11).
(3) By a careful use of all lawful means to make good the condition of the
3See AV margin.
promise. We must be as earnest to do what God has commanded as to enjoy the good which He has promised.
2. Why godly men thus wait for the good which God has promised. I shall name seven reasons.
(1) They know they are servants. Servants must wait upon their masters for the good they expect (Ps 123:2). The people of God know they are only servants, and servants that depend on the free will of God for everything; this makes them willing to wait on God. He that will not wait on God denies that he is a servant and that God is his master (Lk 12:35-37).
(2) They know God has given them both faith and hope so that they may wait on Him. Waiting is nothing else but the acting of hope. A child of God would not have any grace lie idle in his soul. He knows God has given every grace to be exercised. Not to use the grace received is to abuse it. A child of God would not abuse a thing so excellent as hope. Now, he knows that hope is given to enable him to wait for the fulfilling of promises.
(3) They therefore know in some measure what a great sin it is not to wait. To refuse to wait on God for the fulfilling of His promise is to slight God – to undervalue the promise, as if there was nothing in it worth waiting for. A man cannot disparage either God or His promises more openly than by refusing to wait on Him for His promises. Now, a child of God would not willingly cast any reproach either on God or His promises, from which he receives so much good.
(4) They are not unmindful how long and with how much patience God waited on them for their obedience. They remember God tarried sermon after sermon, year after year, for their conversion. The Apostle speaks of God’s long-suffering in waiting on the old world (1 Pet 3:20). Every one of God’s children is conscious of God waiting on them patiently when they had no mind to know Him. When they slighted grace, when they scorned mercy, God waited; this makes them so ready to wait on God (Is 30:18).
(5) They know that they do not deserve the good promised. The children of God know that all His promises are free to them. They will readily assent to Jacob’s acknowledgment: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant” (Gen 32:10). They know how well they deserve the heaviest threatening but how unworthy they are of the least mercy. With an unfeigned heart they say, as David did when God had promised to build his house: “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me hitherto?” (2 Sam 7:18). The motto of a child of God is: Less than the least of all mercies of God. This makes them wait.
(6) They know how certain the promises of God are. They have experi-
enced how He has made good the promises that are past, and they know He will show the same unchangeableness in those that are to come. They know His name is Jehovah – God that has His own being from Himself, and that will give being to all His promises. This encourages them to wait. It was the Apostle’s logic in his generation: “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us” (2 Cor 1:10). It is ignorance of God that causes the heart to distrust. “They that know Thy name,” says David, “will put their trust in Thee” (Ps 9:10). God’s children know His name; therefore they will wait.
(7) They expect satisfaction from the enjoyment of what is promised. They know every promise of God will bring full contentment of heart when it is fulfilled. They cannot now expect so much as they shall then find in the promises of God. They know these promises are, as the Apostle speaks, “exceeding great and precious” (2 Pet 1:4). They know the harvest will make amends for all their expectation; therefore they wait for it.
“He Was Oppressed”1
A Sermon Outline by John Kennedy
Isaiah 53:7. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.
His oppression points to the treatment which He received from the hands of His creatures; all was unrighteous oppression on their part; afflicted points to what came to Him from Heaven.
The Oppression from Creatures.
This was to Him whose throne as God is for ever and ever.
As such He was over all creatures, having omnipotent power.
He was the eternal Son of God, under His Father’s infinite love.
He undertook to be the Kinsman Surety of His people.
As such He was made flesh, made sin, and made a curse.
On this account He was delivered to the hands of oppressors.
The Nature of the Oppression.
It was both unrighteous and cruel on the creatures’ part.
As to His personal rights, all honour, trust and service was due to Him.
His sinful creatures denied all this to Him.
Being made sin justified God’s action in permitting this.
Notwithstanding the display of His glory, they crucified Him.
1Preached in Dingwall on 6 August 1882, and edited.
Notwithstanding the display of His love, they oppressed Him.
His Meekness.
Think of what He knew of His own personal rights as God over all.
Think of His consciousness of omnipotent power.
Think of Him led as a lamb dumb to the slaughter.
His meekness is due to His love to Him who sent Him: “That the world may know that I love the Father”.
His meekness is also due to His love to His people; otherwise He could have easily shaken off His persecutors.
He willingly submitted to all required by law and justice for His people.
Application.
Look that you may wonder.
Look that you may trust in Him.
Look that you may love Him.
Can you go on despising Him?