At an early hour it seemed that the whole city of Edinburgh was astir and moving en masse. They came in small groups and crowds, converging on Greyfriars’ Kirk. Some were chatting excitedly, but others were deep in their own thoughts. Over the next few days, it was estimated that about 60,000 people had come to support this special event, a remarkable number since the population of the city was only about 40,000 in those days.
Of all the milestones in the history of Scotland, 28th February 1638, stands out as being one of the most important: it was the date of the signing of the National Covenant in Greyfriars’ Kirk, Edinburgh. This document has been called the ‘Magna Carta’ of Scotland by some, and the ‘Phanatical covenants’ by others. This document enshrined within its text a covenant of the Presbyterians to God that they would stand for their faith. It was the first time in history that almost a whole nation had covenanted with God, with the exception of Israel. Those who signed it were called Covenanters, and by doing so they were reaffirming their reformed faith, at the same time as sending out a petition to the king and authorities for freedom of faith and conscience in Scotland. It would trigger off a movement towards human rights, but the path ahead would end up being one of the darkest periods in our history. For Archibald Johnston, the lawyer who worked with Alexander Henderson to draw up the document, it was the ‘gloriest day that ever Scotland saw since the Reformation.’
The National Covenant came about through a growing discontent since 1605, when King James VI started to exercise his control over the Church of Scotland. When Archbishop Laud, under Charles I, introduced the Anglicised Book of Common Prayer to the nation, it was read out from the pulpit in St Giles’ in Edinburgh in 1637, without the consent of either the Scottish Church or Parliament. The atmosphere in the crowded building was tense because of the growing sense of people having their freedom and rights trodden underfoot. When the reader got to the point of the communion, according to tradition, Jenny Geddes could not contain her emotions any more. Hurling her stool at the reader, she bawled out, ‘Villain! Daurst thou say the Mass at me lug?’ A riot ensued and people exited the building, refusing to attend the service any longer. The women, in particular, seemed to be irate. Baillie tells us that about nine O’clock that night, whilst Bishop Annan and some minister friends were walking in the Old Town, ‘some hundreds of enraged women, of all qualities, are about him, with knives, and staves… they beat him sore.’
Over the following weeks Edinburgh was in a turmoil. Some church ministers sent petitions and complaints to the council and Scottish Parliament. Key church leaders, realising the uncoordinated and chaotic approach of some, distanced themselves from the ‘rascal multitude’, and decided to put together a peaceful, legal, and well-thought through petition to the king and those in authority. Although it was a petition for freedom of faith, the document produced in 1638, was actually called the National Covenant, because those who signed it throughout much of Scotland, were entering an agreement with God to uphold their faith. It was such a phenomenally important matter in our nation, that it will take a short series to unpack the significance of this document. By producing and signing this National Covenant, our nation would be heading towards one of the greatest storms in its history.
‘And all the people took a stand for the covenant’ (2 Kings 23:3, NKJV).
Image: One of the original copies of the 1638 National Covenant, bequeathed to the Free Church by the Earl of Dalhousie, in the Presbytery Hall of ETS: photo by Paul James-Griffiths