Series 5 > Religious Controversy in Scotland 1625-1639
(30) Page 15
Download files
Complete book:
Individual page:
Thumbnail gallery: Grid view | List view
INTRODUCTION
15
Perth does injoyne to kneill, for reverence, to the mysterious elements; this kneilhng I
think a Papist would not maintain,so I take it for a calumnie ...41
One sees in this comment some of the fracture lines which the covenanting
movement had to try to paper over; they are also visible in Spang s letter.
The document is a presbyterian production, perhaps by Rutherford himself,
and from Baillie’s comments, it had some circulation in manuscript—not an
uncommon medium for presbyterian divinity. The question of indifferency had
a long history from the time of the Protestant Reformation and was discussed
by other Scottish divines.42
[Robert Baillie,] ‘The Unreasonablenesse of the Service Book which is made
for the Church of Scotland: An Answer unto the Preface of the Service Booke’,
c.1638
Source-. EUL, Laing MSS, La.I.292a.
On 2 January 1637 Robert Baillie asked William Wilkie, regent in Glasgow, to
send him a copy of the service book, though it was not yet published. ‘I am
myndit to cast my studies for disposing of my mind to such a course as I mey be
aunsuerable to God for my cariage.Whouever, I am gready affrayit that this aple
of contention have banishit peic[e] from our poor Church heireftir for ever.’43
With rhetoric like that contained in this and other tracts, that would have been
a judicious expectation. Given the points of similarity between this tract and
Baillie s Parallel or briefe Comparison of the Liturgie with the Masse-Book, the Breviarie,
the Ceremoniall, and other Romish Ritualls (London, 1641), it is reasonable to sug¬
gest that he in fact wrote it, though he was not the only divine to write on the
subject. John Hay, minister at Rafford, reported to the 1638 assembly that he
had done likewise;44 there exists another manuscript treatise entitled ‘Jeshurun,
or a people once right going wrong in the service of God made manifest by the
new order of the communion’;45 and an anonymous writer produced a four-
page tract entitled Reasons for which the Service Booke, urged upon Scotland ought to
bee refused (n.p., 1638).
William Spang to Henry Rollock, 1638
Source: NLS,Wodrow MSS, Folio Ixvi, no. 55.
This appears to be an autograph. A note on the back of the document reads:‘To
41 RBLJ, i, 8-9.
42 J.D. Ford,‘The lawful bonds ofScottish society: the Five Articles of Perth, the Negative Confes¬
sion and the National Covenant’, Historical Journal, xxxvii (1994), 45-64; Ford,‘Conformity in con¬
science’.
43 RBLJ,i,\.
44 RKS, 166; FES, vi, 221.
45 EUL, Laing MSS, 1.293.
15
Perth does injoyne to kneill, for reverence, to the mysterious elements; this kneilhng I
think a Papist would not maintain,so I take it for a calumnie ...41
One sees in this comment some of the fracture lines which the covenanting
movement had to try to paper over; they are also visible in Spang s letter.
The document is a presbyterian production, perhaps by Rutherford himself,
and from Baillie’s comments, it had some circulation in manuscript—not an
uncommon medium for presbyterian divinity. The question of indifferency had
a long history from the time of the Protestant Reformation and was discussed
by other Scottish divines.42
[Robert Baillie,] ‘The Unreasonablenesse of the Service Book which is made
for the Church of Scotland: An Answer unto the Preface of the Service Booke’,
c.1638
Source-. EUL, Laing MSS, La.I.292a.
On 2 January 1637 Robert Baillie asked William Wilkie, regent in Glasgow, to
send him a copy of the service book, though it was not yet published. ‘I am
myndit to cast my studies for disposing of my mind to such a course as I mey be
aunsuerable to God for my cariage.Whouever, I am gready affrayit that this aple
of contention have banishit peic[e] from our poor Church heireftir for ever.’43
With rhetoric like that contained in this and other tracts, that would have been
a judicious expectation. Given the points of similarity between this tract and
Baillie s Parallel or briefe Comparison of the Liturgie with the Masse-Book, the Breviarie,
the Ceremoniall, and other Romish Ritualls (London, 1641), it is reasonable to sug¬
gest that he in fact wrote it, though he was not the only divine to write on the
subject. John Hay, minister at Rafford, reported to the 1638 assembly that he
had done likewise;44 there exists another manuscript treatise entitled ‘Jeshurun,
or a people once right going wrong in the service of God made manifest by the
new order of the communion’;45 and an anonymous writer produced a four-
page tract entitled Reasons for which the Service Booke, urged upon Scotland ought to
bee refused (n.p., 1638).
William Spang to Henry Rollock, 1638
Source: NLS,Wodrow MSS, Folio Ixvi, no. 55.
This appears to be an autograph. A note on the back of the document reads:‘To
41 RBLJ, i, 8-9.
42 J.D. Ford,‘The lawful bonds ofScottish society: the Five Articles of Perth, the Negative Confes¬
sion and the National Covenant’, Historical Journal, xxxvii (1994), 45-64; Ford,‘Conformity in con¬
science’.
43 RBLJ,i,\.
44 RKS, 166; FES, vi, 221.
45 EUL, Laing MSS, 1.293.
Set display mode to: Universal Viewer | Mirador | Large image | Transcription
Images and transcriptions on this page, including medium image downloads, may be used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence unless otherwise stated.
Scottish History Society volumes > Series 5 > Religious Controversy in Scotland 1625-1639 > (30) Page 15 |
---|
Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/127328325 |
---|
Description | Over 180 volumes, published by the Scottish History Society, containing original sources on Scotland's history and people. With a wide range of subjects, the books collectively cover all periods from the 12th to 20th centuries, and reflect changing trends in Scottish history. Sources are accompanied by scholarly interpretation, references and bibliographies. Volumes are usually published annually, and more digitised volumes will be added as they become available. |
---|