Or
'Gleanings Among The Mountains'by the Rev. Robert Simpson, D.D., Sanquhar.
Chapter 1
The mid-to late-1600's saw the fiery trial of the church in Scotland. Determined to retain the purity of the Gospel and their own faithful ministers, and to resist the King's impositions upon the church, the finest flower of Scottish believers, from high-born landowner to lowly commoner, joined as one to sign the Solemn League and Covenant, which declared above all that the Church had no king but King Jesus.The King proscibed them all, and unleashed the full fury of mounted dragoons, specially recruited from prisons and the worst and most violent segments of society, with full licence and authority to hunt down, take prisoner, wound and slay those found attending secret gospel conventicles in the hidden fastnesses of moor and glen. Imprisonment, transportation into slavery on the West Indian sugar plantations, death and drowning awaited those who were taken. Many fell away from the cause but a multitude did not, and they became immortalized as the men and women of the Covenant.
This rare and wonderful book is full of the lives, testimonies, anecdotes, miraclous deliverances, and final words of a multitude of these courageous and faithful Scots covenanters, from godly preachers to humble believers. In these pages, their struggle, persecution, valour and eventual victory live again, a convicting and inspiring witness to a laxer age. When the storm of persecution breaks once again upon the faithful church, as it surely will, it is in such lives and recollections that we shall find example and encouragement to stand fast in, God's sovereign power, for the purity of the Gospel of Christ.
In these pages are recorded the faithful witness of some of the most devoted servants of Christ since the Apostolic age itself, many of whom stedfastly followed their forebears of the early church in the path of hardship, opposition, betrayal and martyrdom.
The following two extracts strikingly demonstrate the extraordinary blend of compassion, wisdom, courage and faith which animated this race of godly Scottish believers.
Sandy Peden who, at the hazard of his life, held forth the Gospel with great gentleness and power to assembled crowds in the wilds of moor and glen, was an extraordinary example of the prophetic faith and unction which God bestowed upon many such faithful conventicle preachers at that time:
"One of the most renowned of those worthies who persisted in preaching the Gospel in the wilds of his native land, at the constant hazard of his life, was the venerable Peden, whose history is familiar in almost every cottage in Scotland. Many incidents in the life of this good man have already been collected, but something new may be still added. There are to be found a few stray anecdotes of him here and there in the remote parts of the country, and which, for his sake, may be deemed worthy of record. Few persons possessed a more saintly character than did this man of God. He was full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. Entirely devoted to his Master's service, he counted not his own life dear unto him, that he might maintain the cause of truth in the face of the abounding iniquity of a degenerate age. His solitary wanderings, his destitution, his painful perseverance in preaching the Gospel, the peril in which he lived, his prayerful spirit, and the homeliness of his manners, greatly endeared him to the people among whom he sojourned. He had no home, and therefore spent much of his time in the fields. The caves by the mountain stream, the dense hazel wood in the deep glen, the feathery brackens on the hill, the green corn when it was tall enough to screen him from observation, afforded him by turns, when necessary, a retreat from his pursuers, and a place for communing with his God.
Among the many hiding-places to which this man, of whom the world was not worthy, occasionally retreated, was the solitude of Glendyne, about three miles to the east of Sanquhar. A more entire seclusion than this is rarely to be found. Glendyne stretches eastward, winding among the hills for nearly three miles. The width of the glen at the bottom is in many places little more than five or six times the breadth of the brawling torrent that rushes through it. Dark precipitous mountains, frowning on either side, rise from the level of the valley to an immense height. On the eastern extremity of the glen a cluster of hills gathers to a point, and forms an eminence of great altitude, from which a noble prospect of a vast extent of country is obtained. Near the lower end of this defile, which in ancient times was thickly covered with wood, and where it terminates its sinuous course with one majestic sweep, reaching forward to the bleak moor-lands beneath, our revered worthy had selected for himself a place of refuge. This spot, concealed by the dark mantling of the forest, was known only to a few who made the cause of these sufferers their own. It happened, on one occasion, that this honoured servant of Christ, having emerged from his covert, stood by the margin of the forest, on the beautiful slope of the mountain above. It was the balmy month of May, and Nature had just put on her loveliest attire. The forest was vocal with the sweetest music. The blackbird and the thrush were piping their richest notes on the "greenwood tree;" the gentle cooing of the wood-dove issued with a delicious softness from the grove; and the joyous lark, high in the air, was pouring a flood of melody down upon the wilderness. The wild bees were humming among the honeyed blossoms of the hawthorn; the scented wind, breathing over the fragrant heather, was playing with the rustling foliage; the brook was murmuring in the ravine below; the lambkin were gambolling on the verdant lea, and the sheep were grazing quietly bv their side; while on the distant hill the shepherd was seen, wrapped in his plaid, with his sportive dog at his foot, slowly winding his way up the steep ascent. The good man's heart beat high with rapture - his delighted eye roamed over the charming variety of hill and dale - he contemplated the glorious sun, and all the splendid scenery of the sky - he felt as if he were standing on holy ground, in the midst of the great temple of Nature - he experienced an unusual elevation of mind, and all the freshness and buoyancy of youth seemed once more to take possession of his aged frame. Full of devout sentiments he uncovered his head, the silvery hairs of which were streaming on his shoulders, and, lifting up his hands, he "praised, and honoured, and extolled the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and whose ways are judgment." He had fixed his eye on a cottage far off in the waste, in which lived a godly man with whom he had frequent intercourse; and there being, nothing within view calculated to excite alarm, he resolved to pay his friend a visit. With his staff in his hand he wended his way to the low grounds to gain the track which led to the house. He reached it in safety, was hospitably entertained by the kind landlord, and spent the time with the household, in pious conversation and prayer, till sunset. Not daring to remain all night, he left them, to return to his dreary cave. As he was trudging along the soft footpath, and suspecting no harm, all at once several moss-troopers appeared coming over the bent, and advancing directly upon him. He fled across the moor, and when about to pass a mountain streamlet, he accidentally perceived a cavity underneath its bank, that had been scooped out by the running brook, into which he instinctively crept and stretching himself at full length, lay hidden beneath the grassy coverlet, waiting the result. In a short time the dragoons came up, and having followed close in his track, reached the rill at the very spot where he was ensconced. As the heavy horses came thundering over the smooth turf on the edge of the rivulet, the foot of one of them sank quite through the hollow covering under which the object of their pursuit lay. The hoof of the animal grazed his head, and pressed his bonnet deep into the soft clay at his pillow, and left him entirely uninjured. His persecutors, having no suspicion that the poor fugitive was so near them, crossed the stream with all speed, and bounded away in quest of him whom God had thus hidden as in his pavilion, and in the secret of his tabernacle. A man like Peden, who read the hand of God in everything, could not fail to see and to acknowledge that divine goodness which was so eminently displayed in this instance; and we may easily conceive with what feelings he would return to his retreat in the wood, and with what cordiality he would send up the voice of thanksgiving and praise to the God of his life.
It is recorded in the "Scots Worthies," that he was favoured with a memorable deliverance from the enemy, who were pursuing him and a small company with. him, somewhere in Galloway, after he came out of Ireland. When their hope of escape was almost cut off, he knelt down among the heather and prayed: "Twine them about the hill, Lord, and cast the lap of thy cloak over old Sandy and thir poor things; and we will keep it in remembrance, and tell it to the commendation of thy goodness, pity, and compassion, what thou didst for us at such a time." Thus he prayed, and his supplication was recorded in heaven; for he had no sooner risen from his knees than dense volumes of snow-white mist came rolling down from the summit of the mountains, and shrouded them from the sight of their pursuers, who, like the men of Sodom, when they were smitten with blindness, could not grope their way after them. Auchengrouch hill, in the vicinity of Glendyne, was the scene of a similar incident. This occurrence is related by old Patrick Walker in the following words: "After this, in Auchengrouch muirs in Nithsdale, Captain John Mathison and others being with him, they were alarmed with a report that the enemy were coming fast upon him; so they designed to put him in some hole, and cover him with heather. But lie not being able to run hard by reason of age, he desired them to forbear a little until lie prayed, when he said: 'Lord, we are ever needing at thy hand, and if we had not thy command to call upon thee in the day of our trouble, and thy promise of answering us in the day of our distress, we wot not what would become of us. If thou have any more work for us in thy world, allow us the lap of thy cloak this day again; and if this be the day of our going off the stage, let us walk honestly off, and comfortably thorow, and our souls will sing forth thy praises to eternity for what thou hast done for us.' When ended, he ran alone a little, and came quickly back, saying: 'Lads, the bitterest of this blast is over; we will be no more troubled with them this day.' Foot and horse came the length of Andrew Clark's, in Auchengrouch, where they were covered with a dark mist. When they saw it they roared like fleshly devils, as they were crying out: 'There's the confounded mist again!, we cannot get these execrable Whigs pursued for it.' I had these accounts from the said Captain John Mathison." Such is the statement of the incident given by Walker; the local tradition, however, is much more circumstantial."
And we then find this encouraging and inspiring evidence of the result of Christian mercy and the sovereign miracle of saving grace... "The farm of Bellybught, in the parish of Morton, is situated in a very wild spot among the mountains, and in the times of our suffering ancestors was occasionally resorted to as a place of seclusion from the fury of their persecutors. In this wilderness there was a lonely shieling, which stood in a moor encircled with hills, and in its neighbourhood was a deep and rugged ravine, whose precipitous sides were thickly covered with wood, the dark and unfrequented mazes and recesses of'which afforded a sure and safe retreat. On one occasion, a company of wanderers, one of whom was Adam Clark of Glenim, had concealed themselves in this solitary haunt. Adam, on several accounts, was generally regarded as a leader by the party with whom he was connected, and their movements were usually guided by his direction. In this dreary seclusion they held delightful communion on spiritual things, and enjoyed much sweet intercourse with God. It was to preserve unimpaired the full liberty of worshipping according to their conscience the God of their fathers, that they withstood the unrighteous usurpation of those who wished to wreath about their necks the yoke both of a spiritual and a political bondage; and hence they sought, and found, in the remote solitudes, that freedom which could not elsewhere be enjoyed. In this exile, however, they were often in much distress through hunger; and unless when a friend who knew their situation brought them a supply, they were obliged to travel a considerable distance, and in great secrecy, to procure food to preserve their lives. An anecdote is told of a pious man, who had secluded himself in a cave by the Water of AE, and who was so closely watched by his enemies, that he dared not venture abroad night or day for a considerable time. In this situation, being greatly afflicted with hunger, he observed a large wild fowl that alighted very near the mouth of his cell, and deposited an egg among the heather. This was done every morning, and on this provision he was sustained during the the time of his concealment in the cavern; and in this way, as the Lord preserved the life of his prophet by the brook Cherith, when the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, was this good man, who trusted in God, supported. In the one case the supply was miraculous, and in the other not; still the hand of a guardian Providence was as much concerned in the one case as the other. In ordinary circumstances we are not to expect that the Lord will supply our wants in any other way than in the use of means; and, therefore while we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," we are at the same time to labour with our hands to earn an honest subsistence; for the exercise of faith and the diligent use of means are to be combined. In those cases, however, in which we are precluded from using means, we are authorized to trust in God, believing that he will supply our wants in one way or in another; for he will sooner rain bread from the clouds, than suffer the confidence of his people to be defeated.
Adam Clark, who was a robust and active young man, and well acquainted with the locality, issued, with one or two ot his companions, from their hiding-place in the night season, for the purpose of providing a meal for the rest who remained in the shieling. He obtained his errand, and returned in safety before the early dawn, congratulating himself and his friends on his success. The party amounting in all to twenty-eight persons, having with grateful hearts participated of the welcome viands which He who provides for the wants of all his creatures had set before them, were reposing securely within the hut, when Clark, and his brother Andrew, standing near the door, observed a ewe pass with startling haste, and then another, pursued by a swift and powerful dog. "What means this?" exclaimed Andrew. "It is one of Morton's dogs," replied Adam; "our retreat is discovered, and the troopers will be here instantly." The party within were roused to a sense of their danger, and every man had his defensive weapons in readiness. Scarcely had they accoutred themselves when the dragoons in thundering haste surrounded the hiding-place. The friends within rushed simultaneously to the bent,for the purpose, if possible, of making their escape. The leader of the troopers commanded them to seize Clark, come of the rest what might. He was instantly attacked by a powerful dragoon, and Clark, having caught his horse by the bridle reigns, pushed him backwards till he stumbled and overthrew his rider. The dragoon was now fully within his power, but he spared his life, resting contented with having come off victorious and unscathed in the perilous scuffle. In the meantime his attention was directed to another quarter, where he saw his brother Andrew prostrated in a moss, and a gigantic dragoon standing over him, and about to hew him to pieces with his ponderous broadsword. Adam sprung to his assistance, and in a moment was at his side. The dragoon turned round to defend himself from the attack of his new opponent, and left Andrew uninjured. In the conflict. Adam wrested the sword from the band of the soldier, and having thrown him on the heath, descended with his companions into the ravine or deep gully, formed by the rushing of the mountain torrent, in the bosky recesses of which they found a retreat from the vengeance of their foes, who dare not venture after them, lest they should receive a fatal shot by the party unseen, from the heart of the dark bushes in which they were hid. Thus did Providence defend this little band of Christian patriots; and while it must have been a matter of thankfulness to them, that no one of their number was missing, nor any of them seriously hurt, it must have been no less satisfactory, that they had left none of their enemies dead on the field of conflict. Their object was not to destroy the lives of others, but to preserve their own; and if at any time in self-defence they took away life, it was not because they had pleasure in it, but because necessity compelled them.
Many years after this, when the Revolution Settlement had made foes friends again, Adam Clark, now a peaceful storefarmer among the hills of his native district, happened to be in the city of Edinburgh, to which place he had driven a flock of sheep for sale. As he was strolling along the streets he was accosted by a tall and strongly-built man, who asked him if he did not recognise him. "No," said Clark, "I do not know you; you seem an entire stranger to me." "I know you, however, having once met with you in circumstances which I shall not easily forget." "To what do you allude?" replied Clark. "Do you not remember," said the man, "the onslaught at Bellybught? Do you not remember the dragoon from whom you wrested the sword, and whom you left prostrate in the moss?" "I do," answered Clark; "and are you the man?" "I am; and to you I owe my life, for you had me completely in your power. I am beyond measure happy that I now have the opportunity of rendering to you my cordial thanks for your clemency; and I trust that God, in opposition to whose cause I then fought, has in his graciousness, turned mv heart to himself. From the moment I escaped from you with my life, I never lifted a weapon on the side ot persecution, and I most sincerely regret that I ever enlisted in that cause; but I, like Paul, did it ignorantly and in unbelief." Clark was astonished; he grasped him by the hand, and hailed him as a brother, and rejoiced that, having left the path of the destroyer, he had found the way that leads to peace and everlasting life. "Have you still the sword," asked the reclaimed trooper, "which you twisted so yarely from my grasp?" I have," replied Clark, "and l intend to keep it as an heir-loom in my familv." "Keep it, then, you bravely deserve it; and let it never more be employed, but in an honest cause." There is something exceedingly agreeable in an occurrence of this kind. Two men who once met in deadly strife on the battle-field, meeting again in times of peace, and meeting with hearts united in the same bonds of Christian fellowship, attached to the cause of the same common Lord, and sharers of the same common salvation, is indeed a circumstance worthy of notice, and delightfully illustrative of the power of the Gospel on the heart."
Click Here To Read Chapter Five of 'Traditions of the Covenanters'
(The Ministry And Preaching of Alexander Peden)Click Here To Read Chapter Twenty of 'Traditions of the Covenanters'
(On The Venerable James Renwick)
We also warmly recommend these superb writings, "Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." by John Charles Ryle, "Bible Reading" by John Charles Ryle, and "A Call To Prayer" by John Charles Ryle, to our readers.
You'll also find a selection of J.C. Ryle's books further down on this page. They make for some of the most profitable, edifying, encouraging and uplifting Christian books available, and are classics which have stood the test of time!
If you appreciate the writings of the godly Bishop Ryle, you'll certainly delight in those of the great Charles Haddon Spurgeon, whose sermons were flashed around the world by telegraph and reprinted in full the following day in newspapers from New York City to Sydney, Australia! We particularly recommend "All of Grace", "Justification by Faith", "The Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit", and "A Revival Sermon".
And how could we adequately describe the preaching of the incomparable Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, whose pulpit ministry in Britain had an effect felt around the world! We warmly recommend his sermons, "The Parable of the Prodigal Son", "God and Mammon", "The Light of the World", "The Salt of the Earth", "Jesus on Prayer". "The Call to Battle", and "A Living Hope of the Hereafter".
And for a moving witness to steadfast Christian faith under persecution, see "The Scottish Covenanters".
We have provided in the box below a live, continually-updated listing of the current bestselling books by, and on, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Amazon.com. Please click on any of these titles to read extracts from, or reviews of, these books. You can also place an order for any of themt at the same time with Amazon.Com, if you wish, and enjoy speedy delivery plus the low Amazon.Com price!
![Bestselling Christian Books by, and on, Charles Hadden Spurgeon ['C.H. Spurgeon'] from Toronto Christian Book Centre, your single source for Christian Bibles, Christian books, Christian music, Christian videos, Christian children's books, Christian computer software, and Christian DVDs, serving global customers online from Toronto, Ontario, Canada](spurgeonban.gif)
We have provided in the box below a live, continually-updated listing of the current bestselling books by, and on, C.H. Spurgeon at Amazon.com. Please click on any of these titles to read extracts from, or reviews of, these books. You can also place an order for any of themt at the same time with Amazon.Com, if you wish, and enjoy speedy delivery plus the low Amazon.Com price!
![Bestselling Christian Books by John Charles Ryle ['Bishop J.C. Ryle'] plus 'Shall We Know One Another and Other Papers' by John Charles Ryle, 'Holiness Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots' by J C Ryle, 'Old Paths' by John Charles Ryle, 'Knots Untied' by John Charles Ryle, 'Practical Religion' by John Charles Ryle, 'A Call To Prayer' by J C Ryle, 'Thoughts for Young Men' by John Charles Ryle, 'How Readest Thou' by J C Ryle,.'The Christian Leaders of the Last Century' by John Charles Ryle, 'Faithfulness and Holiness The Witness of J. C. Ryle An Appreciation' by Dr J I Packer, 'The Christian Race and Other Sermons Vol 3' by John Charles Ryle, 'Shall We Know One Another and Other Papers' by John Charles Ryle](ryleban.gif)
"Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots" - J. C. Ryle
"Old Paths" - John Charles Ryle
"Knots Untied" - John Charles Ryle
"Practical Religion" - John Charles Ryle
"A Call To Prayer" - John Charles Ryle
"Thoughts for Young Men" - John Charles Ryle
"How Readest Thou?" - John Charles Ryle
"The Christian Leaders of the Last Century" - John Charles Ryle
"Faithfulness and Holiness: The Witness of J. C. Ryle: An Appreciation" - Dr. J. I. Packer
"The Christian Race and Other Sermons Vol.3" - John Charles Ryle
"Shall We Know One Another and Other Papers" -John Charles Ryle
We have provided in the box below a live, continually-updated listing of the current bestselling books on Sanctification at Amazon.com. Please click on any of these titles to read extracts from, or reviews of, these books. You can also place an order for any of themt at the same time with Amazon.Com, if you wish, and enjoy speedy delivery plus the low Amazon.Com price!
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