Renwick

“ He was now above the level of the crag and made out among the twisted mass of stone the vestiges of what had once been a chapel, and a watchtower. There was an arch which seemed to lead into a vaulted structure, but from his position he could not see within it.
Renwick's eyes were good and they searched the valley below him ceaselessly. He thought he heard a rumble as of thunder in the distance, but as the sky was clear he knew that he must have been mistaken, but after a while along the road below him more soldiers passed, riding rapidly and silently—into the deeper shadows of the gorge. ”

“ Renwick had chosen for his text these words, in the fourth verse of the eighteenth chapter of the book of Revelation—"Come out of her, my people." The kindly phrase, "my people," was beautifully insisted upon.
"There ye are," said Renwick, stretching out his hand to the darkening sleet; "there ye are, a poor, shivering, fainting, despised, persecuted remnant, whom the great ones despise, and the men of might, and of war, and of blood, cut down with their swords, and rack with their tortures. Ye are, like ye'r great Master, despised and rejected of men ”

“ It was in the month of January 1688, that Mr Renwick was preaching, after nightfall, to a few followers, at Braid Craigs, in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. The night was stormy—a cold east wind, with occasional blasts of snow—whilst [97] the moon, in her second quarter, looked out, at intervals, on plaids and bonnets nestled to the leeward of rocks and furze. It was a piteous sight to view rational and immortal creatures reduced to a state upon the level with the hares and the foxes. Renwick discoursed to them from the point of a rock which protruded over the lee side of the Craigieknowe. ”

“ The most unfavorable phase of the situation was that the German agent knew Renwick by sight, and would have every opportunity of following him to some secluded spot—shooting him in the back and escaping into a nearby street before the excitement subsided. What did the German agent look like? He might pass the fellow, elbow to elbow, and the Englishman would not know him. Renwick had no fear of meeting the man on even terms, but the thought of being stabbed in the back or shot at by any casual passer-by was disturbing to his morale. Every innocent bush, every tree was an enemy. ”

“ And yet Renwick decided that before he made the rash attempt to mount the cliff he must further investigate. And so he lay silent until nightfall when with drawn automatic he emerged from his hiding place and quietly made his way along the mountain side. He searched the undergrowth eagerly, as a man only can when his life depends upon the keenness of his senses, and without mishap reached a point opposite the castle where he commanded both the courtyard and the mass of buildings around the central tower. ”

“ The firmness of his attitude had brought the interview, apparently pleasant and quite unofficial, to a sudden ending, and Renwick had left the Ministry, aware that his own official position in Vienna had suddenly become precarious.
His statement was now at the Embassy, and its astounding contents had been read by his Chief. He made his way thither, somewhat dubious as to the thrill of his achievement, aware of a shadow about him, the ghost of yesterday's joy, which made all success save the intimate personal one that he most craved, flat, stale, and unprofitable. ”

“ She put a finger to her lips in token of silence, and Renwick followed her gaze down the graveled path which led toward the arbor. As under-secretary of the British Embassy in Vienna, he had been trained to guard his emotions against surprises, but the sight of the three figures which were approaching them down the path left him bereft for the moment of all initiative. In the center walked the Archduke, pulling deliberately at his heavy dark mustaches while he listened to the figure upon his right, a man of medium stature, who wore a hunting suit and a jäger hat with a feather in it. ”

“ He made his way at once to Renwick, whom he found on 6 Dec. 1686 at a field conventicle at Earlston Wood, parish of Borgue, Kirkcudbrightshire. On 22 Dec., at a general meeting of Renwick's followers, he publicly confessed the guilt of ‘owning the so-called authority of James VII.’ His ‘Hind Let Loose’ is a vindication of Renwick's position on historical grounds. ”

“ Renwick began to regard "The Blessing" as an emanation of a soul so simple as to be incapable of recognizing the diabolic element, derision. He was conceiving a tenderness for the honesty which could read his placard as one of sincerity. How blessed must be hearts innocent of mockery! Why should he not gratify them by discoursing to visiting subscribers? The idea tickled his fancy. At least he might amuse himself by writing what would edify Durley's parties if delivered with gravity. He might make material of some of Miss Minnely's voluminous letters of instruction to himself. ”

“ Soon after, while yet only nineteen years of age, Renwick witnessed the martyrdom of the venerable servant of Christ, Donald Cargill. He stood near the scaffold, beheld his courageous and triumphant departure to glory, and heard the clear and powerful last words, in which he nobly testified for the crown-rights of the Redeemer, and against Erastian usurpation. "As to the causes of my suffering," said the dying martyr, "the chief is—not acknowledging the present Authority, as it is established in the Supremacy and Explanatory Act. ”

“ He had not seen.
"I am not afraid to die." Nor was Renwick—but to live were better—to live at least for tonight. Fury gave him desperation, but for the task before him he needed coolness, too. And realizing that haste might send him hurtling to the bottom of the gorge, he moved more cautiously, stepping down with infinite pains until he reached the brook, which he crossed carefully, and then moved back up the declivity toward the castle. ”

“ Renwick was, furthermore, distinguished by a catholic, genial, loving spirit. This characteristic is not generally thought to have been prominent in the spirit of illustrious reformers and suffering confessors. Luther, Calvin, and Knox, have been represented as unsocial, morose fanatics, and gloomy bigots. Renwick has been branded as rigid and austere, and those who have embraced and faithfully maintained the same testimony have been exhibited as sectaries of the deepest dye. No representation could be more unjust, and none is more opposed to historic truth. ”

“ The innkeeper regarded the worn and mud-stained garments of his guest rather dubiously, but the terms of the offer in the matter of money having been made clear, the transformation was accomplished without difficulty and Renwick boarded the train rather jubilant at the celerity and speed of his journey. By nightfall, with luck, he would be across the Danube and well within the borders of Hungary, mingling in crowds where all trace of his identity would be lost. ”

“ It was in mid-winter, when storms were a shelter from the foe, that forty armed Covenanters, including James Renwick, entered the town of Lanark, and there delivered a new Declaration of rights and wrongs, that made their enemies gnaw their tongues for pain.
We find Renwick, soon after this, studying theology in Holland. After twenty months he appeared before Presbytery for ordination. This is the man who has had his introduction to God. Now we will see what his acquaintance with God will do for him. ”

“ The testimony which Cargill and Cameron boldly proclaimed and sealed with their blood, was cordially espoused by Renwick, and faithfully maintained by him during the whole course of his public ministry. He was called, besides, to the great work of preaching a full and free Gospel, throughout many parts of his native country, to multitudes who were hungering for the bread of life, when through terror of oppressive rulers, or from seeking their favour, others shrunk from the performance of so important and hazardous a duty. ”

“ Renwick. That is so fine. But Mr. Cummins is also most devoted. I feel sure he would cordially yield, if Miss Minnely approved. I presume you will wish me to tell her that you are grateful for her kind message?"
"Cordially grateful seems more fitting. Miss Heartly—and I am—especially for her choice of a deputy."
"Thank you, Mr. Renwick. I will tell her that, too. And may I say that you will be pleased to adopt her suggestion that you discourse a little to visitors, pending possible changes in this Flat, instead of just coming forward and turning around. Literary men are so clever—and—ready." ”

“ Herr Renwick visits Belgrade and Sarajevo while a plan is arranged to take the life of the Archduke Franz. It is well within the bounds of possibility——"
"Your skill in invention does you credit," she put in quickly, "but Herr Renwick has no interest in the death of the Archduke. On the contrary, he has done what he could to save him." ”

“ But Renwick was immovable in his determination to suffer for his principles; it became a proverb, ‘Begone, as Mr. Renwick said to the priests.’ On 16 Feb. he penned his dying testimony and a letter to his followers. Even on the morning of his execution he was offered his life if he would sign a petition for pardon. On the scaffold he sang a psalm, read a chapter, and prayed at length. He suffered on 17 Feb. 1688, having just completed his twenty-sixth year. He is celebrated as the last of the martyrs of the covenant, James Guthrie [q. v.] being one of the first. ”

“ His Christian wisdom is singularly conspicuous. Renwick was blamed in his own day by time-servers and backsliders as imprudent; and those who maintain the same testimony even in our times, are characterized as foolish, imprudent, and infatuated. Certainly, if wisdom consists only in securing present temporal gain—fleeting pleasure and the applause of the world, then Renwick and his followers have no claim to be considered wise. ”

“ Not only have eminent historians and other distinguished writers, in recent times, done justice to the character and labours of Renwick, and the contendings of the Society people; but within the last few years, by several public Commemorative services in Scotland, the spirit and testimony of the later Scottish martyrs, have been held forth as worthy of the grateful regard of posterity, and commended to their imitation and adoption. ”

“ To the friends of evangelical truth, and the faithful witnesses for the Redeemer's royal prerogatives, the services of Renwick, at the crisis in which he exercised his public ministry, were invaluable. He was eminently the man for the time. Through the influence of the unhappy Indulgence, the strict Covenanters were reduced to what they style themselves in the "Informatory Vindication," a "wasted, suffering, anti-popish, anti-prelatic, anti-erastian, anti-sectarian remnant." By the death of Cargill and Cameron, they were left as "sheep without a shepherd,"—broken and scattered. ”

“ The day of ordination being come, Mr Renwick was called in a very respectful way. After spending some time in prayer, the examination began, which lasted from ten in the morning to two o’clock in the afternoon. Then his friends, who were attending in the church, were called in, (amongst whom was his honoured friend Mr Hamilton, and another elder of the church of Scotland) to witness the laying on of hands, which, after the exhortation, they performed with prayer, the whole meeting melting in tears; and thereafter he had a discourse to the classis. ”

“ This led to the second Sanquhar declaration, promulgated by Renwick and his followers on 28 May 1685.
Renwick refused to join the insurrection of 1685 under Archibald Campbell, ninth earl of Argyll [q. v.] He was in sympathy with its object, but held aloof from a movement not distinctly put on the basis of the covenant. Hence he alienated many of his own party. His old friend, Sir Alexander Gordon, then a prisoner at Blackness, turned against him. He was viewed as a man who would only act by himself. ”

“ The record of the life, labours, and testimony, of James Renwick is fraught with practical lessons of the highest value to the Church in the present day; and ministers, theological students, and the rising youth of the Church generally have a special interest in pondering them deeply, and in seeking to reduce them to practice. ”

“ Beneath the exterior which may have seemed forbidding to you, I am only human. Last night I took advantage of your weariness and weakness in telling you, with cruel bluntness, of Herr Renwick's relations with the Serbian government. ”

“ Renwick's work in the Church is not yet fully accomplished, nor is the influence of his name losing its attractive power. On the contrary, there is evidence, increasing as it is cheering, that while the one is drawing to it more earnest regard and willing workers, the other is constantly becoming more powerful and widespread. ”

“ H.B. Renwick and Lally were sent out, each at the head of a sufficient party, with instructions to proceed together to the west until they reached waters running to the Restigouche and then to divide, Mr. Lally proceeding to the northwest angle and Mr. Renwick toward Rimouski. Each was directed to pursue as far as possible the height of land and to remain in the field as long as the supplies which the men could carry would permit. They were also ordered to mark their path in order to insure a safe return, as well as all the stations of their barometric observations. ”