The first Scotch Covenant was taken in 1557, "to establish the most blessed word of God and His congregation," and to "forsake and renounce the congregation of Satan;" by which, of course, we are to understand the apostate Church of Rome. Another succeeded in 1581, protesting against Popish doctrines and rites, as being full of superstition and idolatry. In 1638, a third is found, including a transcript of the confession of 1581, a summary of Parliamentary acts condemnatory of the Papal religion, and a new declaration drawn up by Henderson; the subscribers to which swore they would continue in their Protestant profession, defend it against errors and corruptions, and stand by the King in support of the religion, laws, and liberties of the realm.[366]
1643, September.
The New League and Covenant of 1643, the origin of which we have just described, differed from former ones by the addition of an express resolve to extirpate prelacy as well as popery. It consisted of six articles, pledging subscribers to preserve the established religion of Scotland, to endeavour to bring the Church of God in the three kingdoms to the nearest possible uniformity and conjunction, to aim at the extirpation of popery and prelacy, superstition, heresy, schism, profaneness, and whatsoever is contrary to sound doctrine and the power of godliness, to preserve the privileges of Parliament and the liberties of the kingdom, to search out malignants, and promote peace, and to defend every one belonging to the brotherhood of the Covenant.[367]
With intense ardour was the engagement entered into by the Scotch, who venerated and loved these symbols of confederation. The Covenant passed from city to city, from town to town, from village to village, gathering together the men of the plain and the men of the mountain, like the fiery cross, which summoned the clan round their chieftain's banner.
"O'er hill and dale the summons flew, Nor rest nor pause the herald knew, Not faster o'er thy feathery braes, Balquidder speeds the midnight blaze, Rushing in conflagration strong, The deep ravines, and dells along. Each valley, each sequester'd glen, Mustered its little horde of men That met, as torrents from the height, In highland dales, when streams unite, Still gathering as they pour along, A voice more loud, a tide more strong."
Taking of the Covenant.
The Scotch wished to see the Covenant embraced with the same love and zeal in the cities, towns, and villages of England, but in this they were disappointed. The adoption of the Covenant, however, at Westminster, was a very solemn ceremony. The Assembly met on Monday, September the 25th, 1643, in St. Margaret's Church—an edifice almost lost in the shadow of the neighbouring Abbey, but deeply interesting as the place of worship still used on special occasions by the Houses of Parliament. The building then was somewhat different from what it is now, for it did not possess at that time the antique centre window of stained glass; but the graves of Sir Walter Raleigh, and of Caxton, the printer, existed beneath the pavement, and their names were symbolical of the art and the enterprise which had contributed largely to the great revolution betokened by this notable gathering. Besides the Divines, and the rest of the Assembly, the House of Commons, and the Commissioners from Scotland attended the service. White of Dorchester commenced the service by offering prayer to the Almighty. Then Philip Nye read and explained the terms of the Covenant, commending it as a defence against popery and prelacy, and a stimulus to further reformation.[368] Dr. Gouge presented a second prayer.[369] Mr. Henderson, the Scotch Commissioner, described the deliverance of his countrymen from prelatical domination, declared the purity of their intentions in what they had done, and gratefully acknowledged the blessings of heaven upon their work and service. After the Covenant had been read, the Assembly rose, and with that solemnity which marked the Puritan mode of performing such acts, they lifted up their right hands to heaven, worshipping the great name of God; by their gesture reminding us of another oath, less spiritual but not less solemn, sworn by the Swiss patriots, under the shadow of the Seelisberg, on the rich green slope by the shore of the lake of Uri. After this ceremony, the Commons and the Divines adjourned to the chancel, and there wrote their names on the parchment rolls, containing the words of the Covenant.
1643, September.
On the 20th of September, being the Wednesday before the Monday on which the Covenant was sworn, a battle was fought at Newbury; and the particulars of this action must have reached the Assembly before they held up their hands to heaven; perchance some held them up all the more firmly in consequence of what they had just been told respecting the persistent valour of the army. For all along the valley, more than half a mile in length, Essex's men, wearing fern and broom in their hats, had fought from four o'clock in the morning until ten at night. After a struggle, hand to hand, in the darkness, the King's forces stood in order on the further side of the Green, and Essex expected a fresh engagement next day; but the enemy retreated in the night, and consequently the Parliament claimed the victory. One fell in that engagement, whose death, with its never to be forgotten touches of sadness, deeply affected some who faced him in battle, after sitting beside him in council. Lord Falkland, on rising that morning, had put on a clean shirt, saying he would not be found in foul linen amongst the slain; and when his friends attempted to dissuade him from fighting, replied, "I am weary of the times, and foresee much misery to my country, and believe I shall be out of it before night." And so he was.[370]