2 July
1757 A.D. Rev. William Martin—1st Presbyterian Covenanter
Ordained in Ulster, Ireland & American Revolutionary Patriot
Myers,
David T. “July 2: Rev. William Martin
(1757).” This Day in Presbyterian History. 2 Jul 2014. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/07/july-2-3/. Accessed 2 Jul 2014.
July 2: Rev. William Martin (1757)
Five Shiploads of Settlers to South Carolina
Not
that long ago in Ulster or North Ireland. some 250 Christians gathered at a
crossroads in County Antrim, known as the Vow, to remember the ordination of
the Rev. William Martin. That ordination took place on this day, July 2, 1757. He was the
first Covenanter minister ordained in Ulster. He had a wide place of ministry,
essentially covering two counties. In fact, in seven separate towns, he
pastored various societies. In addition to his pastoral role, he became the
voice of opposition to the Anglican authorities who sought to place huge rent
demands on the Presbyterian tenants, often evicting them from the land for
failure to pay those demands.
Sometime
during the year 1770, Rev. Martin received a call from the Scot-Irish settlers
in South Carolina to come and pastor the church at Rocky Creek. After
prayerful consideration, Rev. Martin decided to go. But being a true
shepherd of the flock, he urged a mass movement of his congregations in Ulster
to join him in South Carolina. Think of the administration gifts needs to
move shiploads of settlers to South Carolina that year of 1772. But that is
exactly what occurred. Five ships—the James and Mary, the Free Mason, the Lord
Dunluce, the Hopewell, and the Pennsylvania Farmer—carried over 1200 Scot Irish
from Ulster to South Carolina. And while some went to other areas of the South,
most settled in the region around Rocky Creek.
As
astonishing as this move was, consider the fact that this large number of
settlers were composed of several factions of Presbyterians from the old
country. There were Associate Presbyterians, Covenanters, Burgher
Presbyterians, Anti-burgher Presbyterians, and Seceders. All of them came
together in the local congregation known as Catholic Presbyterian Church. An
interesting fact which shows up in the record is that the families lived in
tents on their property until the church building was erected! The Lord came
first.
When
the Revolutionary War began in 1775, Rev. Martin preached a fiery sermon
reminding the congregation that there was a time to pray and a time to fight.
Two companies were raised out of the congregation, and over fifty fought and
died from the congregation. Rev Martin himself was imprisoned for six months by
the British.
All
was not right however with Rev. Martin himself. After returning to the parish
for three years, he was let go by the congregation for “intemperate” remarks.
Finally in 1801, six charges were brought against him. Two of these were
habitual drinking and the holding of slaves. He was deposed by the Presbytery
in 1801. He died five years later in 1806.
Words to Live By: We cannot take away the amazing work which Rev. Martin
did in transporting so many Christian Presbyterians to the new land of
opportunity. Certainly, he remains as one of the stalwarts in establishing
Presbyterianism in the South. But at the same time, we who are involved in the
Lord’s work must pray and work to remain in good standing with the Lord. It is
so easy to fail and fall away from the standards of His Word. So people, pray
much for your pastors that they will remain solid in the Lord until their
labors are finished on the earth.
He rebelled against the bishop God had provided to ensure the ministers teach faithfully and things are done decently and in order.
ReplyDeleteThen he rebelled against the anointed king God had provided to ensure the people lived faithfully, decently, and in order.
Finally he rebelled against the Christ.
As an Anglican I might suggest that this gentleman is not the best poster boy for the Reformed faith! ;-)
As a Christian, of course, I recognise that brothers and sisters faced difficult decisions on those days. I don't want to open old wounds, but to point out that some people see things differently.
1. You make a modest point that, on the whole, has some merit.
ReplyDelete2. Regrettably, your comment assumes too much, to wit, that Bishops are teachers and defenders of the faith. Many have been. Many have not been. E.g. Billygoat Laud, William Arundel, or John Fisher. So, tempering your point would be prudent. One can surely point to others, e.g. Jack Iker who invokes departed saints, surely a false doctrine. More could be stated.
3. As for rebelling against a King, another good point. As a Canadian by birth and citizenship, until naturalization as a US citizen, this has always been my view. That the US was founded by rebels to the crown.
4. In any case, this particular man is far superior to the Arminian and Tractarian wingnuts that have inhabited and have been tolerated in the Anglican world--rebels to the High Majesty of the Triune God. Bishops, to whom you impute some degree of competence, have grossly erred for decades. They can't even generate a competent Confession of Faith.
5. Ergo, your complaint has merit in part and, horribly, small to little to no merit on another point.
6. Thanks for your effort and argument