The large crowd was silent as Revd Richard Cameron raised his voice at the outlawed conventicle. It was to be his last sermon before he was killed at Airds Moss in 1680. As he drew near to the end of his sermon, he uttered these memorable words: ‘Our Lord is to set up a standard,’he said,‘and oh that it may be carried to Scotland! When it is set up, it shall be carried through the nations…’ The reformers themselves had discussed world mission, but first they had to get the church in order. They had hoped that this would not take too long, but in reality, it would last from 1560 until 1690. In this period they sought to establish, then re-establish, the Presbyterian Church, in the face of tyranny.
In 1701 a group of Christians met in Edinburgh. By now, eleven years had passed since the church had settled down after the trauma of the 17th century. They began to turn their eyes from home to the nations, and hope was kindled in their hearts to reach the world for Christ. Thus was The Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) started, which received the Royal Charter eight years later, in 1709.
Inspired by the Church of England minister, Revd Thomas Bray, who had pioneered The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK)in 1698, the Scottish society was keen to bring education and literacy to this nation, especially in the Highlands, which was regarded by the Protestants as a needy mission field with little biblical Christianity and with people who spoke Gaelic as a first language. In 1709, however, SSPCK’s board in Edinburgh drew up a document stating their desire ‘To extend their endeavours for the advancement of the Christian Religion, to Heathen Nations; and for that end, to give encouragement to ministers to preach the Gospel among them.’
Although the first known Protestant missionaries were officially sent from Britain to America in 1702, by The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG), they were Scots from Aberdeen. This organisation had also been founded by the prolific Thomas Bray. In 1723, Revd Robert Millar of Paisley Abbey, wrote two volumes on world mission called The History of the Propagation of Christianity and the Overthrow of Paganism, which was printed in Edinburgh. He dedicated it to SSPCK at the back, showing the source of his inspiration.
This book impacted many church leaders in Britain and America with a call for world mission, but it was not until 1730 that SSPCK sent out its first three missionaries to the American Indians. David Brainerd was sponsored by SSPCK as he wrestled with deep depression amongst his Indian tribe. In his short ministry, between 1743 and 1747, he saw the breakthrough he longed for as the Indians turned to Christ with deep heart-searching. Brainerd’s diary was edited and published by Revd Jonathan Edwards two years later, and was disseminated by John Erskine from Edinburgh. This diary had a huge impact on inspiring and shaping missionary work, influencing such missionary giants as William Carey, Henry Martyn, and Adoniram Judson. John Wesley said, ‘Let every preacher read carefully over the Life of David Brainerd.’ Scotland had come through the valley of tears in the 17th century, to become one of the forerunners of Protestant world mission, just as Revd Richard Cameron had prophesied.
‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:19-20, NKJV).
Image: Revd Webster preaching to a packed congregation in 18th century Edinburgh, John Kay, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.