1. Introduction
Matthew Vogan
In Jeremiah 18 the prophet is taken to the house of the potter by the Lord in order to behold the way in which a vessel was being formed from the clay. “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter”, Jeremiah records. “So he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in Mine hand, O house of Israel. . . . And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not My voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them” (vv 1-10).
There is a vital lesson in this, that God “doeth according to His will . . . among the inhabitants of the earth” (Dan 4:35); He “putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Ps 75:7). It is He that builds and plants a nation. It is He that benefits them. This is particularly true concerning covenanted nations: “It shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!” (Num 23:23). The Most High formed and built up Scotland and gave her rich benefits along with the reformation of religion.
Thus, when we speak of true benefits to any nation, we must be careful to trace these back to their source in the bountiful providence of “the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits” (Ps 68:19). This was what John Knox himself acknowledged when he looked back upon the Reformation from the year 1566: “What was our force? What was our number? Yea, what wisdom
17Gordon Donaldson, Scottish Historical Documents, Neil Wilson Publishing, 1997, p 146.
18J H S Burleigh, A Church History of Scotland, Oxford University Press, 1960, p 201.
1The first part of a paper delivered at the 2010 Theological Conference. The main part of the paper consists of the following sections: (1.) A Revolutionised Nation, (2.) A Reformed Nation, (3.) A Liberated Nation, (4.) A Covenanted Nation, (5.) An Educated Nation, (6.) A Disciplined Nation, (7.) A Provided Nation.
or worldly policy was in us to have brought to any good end so great an enterprise? And yet in how great purity God did establish among us His true religion, as well in doctrine as in ceremonies! To what confusion and fear were idolaters, adulterers and all public transgressors of God’s commandments within a short time brought!
“The public order of the Church, yet by the mercy of God preserved, and the punishment executed against malefactors, can testify unto the world. For as touching the doctrine taught by our ministers, and as touching the administration of sacraments used in our churches, we are bold to affirm that there is no realm this day upon the face of the earth that hath them in greater purity; yea, we must speak the truth, whomsoever we offend – there is none, no realm we mean, that hath them in the like purity. All praise to God alone, we have nothing within our churches that ever flowed from that ‘Man of sin’. And this we acknowledge to be the strength given to us by God, because we esteemed not ourselves wise in our own eyes, but, understanding our whole wisdom to be but mere foolishness before our God, we laid it aside, and followed only that which we found approved by Himself. Our first petition was, ‘That the reverent face of the primitive and apostolic Church should be reduced again to the eyes and knowledge of men’. And in that point we say that God has strengthened us till the work was finished, as the world may see.”
The famous statue of John Knox in the courtyard of New College, Edinburgh, bears the following inscription: “Erected by Scotsmen who are mindful of the benefits conferred by John Knox on their native land”. We would prefer to see acknowledgment of the One in whose hands Knox was a mere instrument, but we might also ask whether such sentiments are widely felt and expressed to this degree in our nation today? On 15 April 2010, at the end of the day’s business, a handful of members of the Scottish Parliament remained to debate a rather vague motion noting “the 450th anniversary of the Reformation in Scotland” and drawing attention to its impact upon improved literacy and education and that, arguably, the Reformation paved the way for the Scottish Enlightenment thus contributing to “laying the foundations of modern Scottish society”. Only 8 MSPs were interested in speaking to it over the next 45 minutes, adding little clarity to the motion.
This event accurately reflects the way in which the Reformation is generally regarded in Scotland today. At the present time, the general assessment of the Reformation’s benefits to the nation is either non-existent or particularly weak, in focusing solely on the area of education. This focus is altogether narrow, however. It is no exaggeration to say that the Reformation created Scotland as a modern nation and that it effected such a revolution within society that one might consider its impact in every area. This was the central
and most important event in Scottish history. The failure properly to assess the Reformation in Scotland arises from a failure to discern its vital roots in God and His Word. The historian W Stanford Reid observed that “one can never understand the Scottish Reformation unless and until one recognises that the ultimate authority of the Bible lay at its very foundation”.
It is noteworthy that the Scots Confession makes reference to the reformations under Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah and Josiah, since these events taken together help us to understand better the nature of the reformation endeavoured in Scotland. The reformations under Hezekiah and Josiah were marked by a return to biblical worship and zeal against idolatry. Covenaning with God was an additional feature of Josiah’s reformation. It is particularly in relation to Jehoshaphat, however, that the benefits of reformation are described in 2 Chronicles 17 and 19. Idolatry was removed, and the civil courts of justice and the church courts were reorganised, with graded courts of appeal, in conformity to God’s requirements given through Moses. Levites were also sent throughout the land to teach the law of God. It was a reformation that was not only interested in punishing sin, but in preventing it as far as possible, through clear instruction in the truth of God. The entire nation experienced prosperity and peace as a consequence. Taking a composite picture of the Reformations of Judah, we can describe their benefits as the removal of false religion, covenaning with God, instruction in the truth, church discipline, government and justice in accordance with God’s requirements.
We wish to focus in general on such benefits in considering the nature of the Scottish Reformation. Ironically, the Roman Catholic historian Tom Devine is one of the few in public life who are not inclined to play down the significance of the Reformation. He speaks of the way in which “all aspects of life” in Scotland, “welfare, moral discipline, education” were directed by the Reformation. He believes that we owe to the Reformers “our schools, universities, democratic institutions and legal framework”. Scotland was in effect, reconstituted or formed anew as a nation at the Reformation, and we would like to consider various aspects of this and the benefits that it brought to the nation.
The world is not ruled by fate, nor by one indifferent to the moral actions of men, but by the living, personal God, who regards all things in relation to Himself and His moral government, and who has a holy displeasure at moral evil. Without ought of the turbulent emotion found in us, and which betrays human weakness, the supreme Lawgiver, from the perfection of His nature, is angry at sin, because it is a violation of His authority, and a wrong to His inviolable majesty. Though He cannot be injured, as men commonly understand the term injury, He may be wronged by the creature’s refusal to acknowledge His divine authority.
George Smeaton