4
December 1681 A.D. Scots Covenanter John Nisbet Hanged
When John Wycliffe sent his
barefoot preachers throughout England in the 14th-century, carrying the
Scripture in English, and calling for real heart changes, his message crossed
the border into Scotland. There Murdoch Nisbet heard and believed. He acquired
one of the rare English-language manuscripts of the Bible. Murdoch's son,
grandson and great grandson followed his footsteps of faith. The great-grandson
was John Nisbet of Hardhill. (A great-great grandson, James Nisbet wrote his
story).
John fought for the Reform faith
on the European continent during the Thirty Years' War. Then he returned to his
native Scotland and fought some more. King Charles II's government drove
hundreds of pastors from their pulpits and perpetrated many other outrages of a
religious nature. This led a number of Scots to take up weapons. (Their theology taught that it was allowable to fight in preservation of religious
freedom.)
In 1666 John marched with a
group of Covenanters which was attacked on Rullion Green. Outnumbered four to
one and short of weapons, the covenanters fought valiantly but suffered defeat.
Wounded in seventeen places, John was left for dead. He recovered, and wandered
as a fugitive for years. His brave wife and children were thrown out of their
home and some died of hunger, cold and disease. Eventually, while at prayer
with three others, John was attacked by a party of dragoons, led by one of his
cousins. In the desperate fight that followed, he was wounded seven times. The
men with him were shot through their heads on the spot, but John was kept alive
because of the reward offered for him. Taken to Edinburgh, he was tried. He
told his captors he would rather die than lie (by pretending to change his
faith). He was condemned to death.
Despite his serious wounds, he
was loaded with chains weighing 100 pounds. Under this harsh treatment, he
rejoiced all the more, claiming he'd had a vision of God so intense it would
have killed him if God hadn't given him the strength to bear it. "It has
pleased Him [God] to give me such real impression of unspeakable glory as without
constant and immediate supports from the Giver will certainly overwhelm
me," he said.
The prospect of being hanged on
Friday only made him happier. "O for Friday! O for Friday! O Lord, give
patience to wait Thy appointed time!"
He wrote his last will and testament.
In it he said, "Be not afraid at His sweet, lovely and desirable cross,
for although I have not been able because of my wounds to lift up or lay down
my head [without help] yet I was never in better case all my life."
On this day
Friday, December 4, 1685, the soldiers led
him to his execution. Witnesses said his face shone in anticipation of glory.
He exclaimed, "I have longed these sixteen years to seal the precious
cause and interest of precious Christ with my blood. And now, now He has
answered and granted my request, and has left me no more ado but to come here
and pour forth my last prayers, sing forth my last praise to Him...mount that
ladder, and then I shall quickly get home to my Father's House..."
On the scaffold, he preached a
farewell sermon, urging the onlookers to prepare for the day of judgment. The
soldiers did their best to drown his voice by beating their drums. John Nisbet
sang a last psalm and they swung him off into eternity.
Bibliography:
1. "John Nisbet." http://www.freechurch.org/fair/fair7.htm
2. Rusten, E. Michael and Rusten, Sharon. One Year Book of Christian History. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 2003.
3. Smellie, Alexander. Men of the Covenant. Revell, 1903.
4. Taylor, James. The Scottish Covenanters. London:
Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co, no date given. [Taylor gives Nisbet's date of
execution as December 5th, a Saturday].
5. Various internet articles.
Last update July,
2007.
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