22 December 1666 A.D. Scots Covenanter Hugh McKail Hung
by the Neck
Myers, David T. “December 22: Hugh McKail
Martyred (1666).” This Day in Presbyterian History.
22 Dec 2014. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/12/december-22-hugh-mckail-martyred-1666/.
Accessed 22 Dec 2014.
December 22: Hugh McKail Martyred (1666)
He Gained the Martyr’s Crown
The
enemies of the Covenanters had very long memories. Long after sermons were
preached or actions taken, the authorities in Scotland remembered words and
actions against them. Such was the case with a young minister by the name of
Hugh McKail.
A
child of the manse, from Bothwell, Scotland, his pastor father was one of those
forced out of his pulpit and parish when he refused to conform to
Prelacy. Little is known of young Hugh’s early days, but he did go to
Edinburgh for education. There he was soon marked out as a young man of
exceptional ability. For that, upon graduation, he was chosen to be a
chaplain and tutor of the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir James Stewart. In
that Covenanter home, he would sit at the feet of those in leadership positions
in the church and learn of the dire situation facing both the church and the
state.
In
1661, he applied to the Presbytery for licensure in the ministry.
Preaching in a variety of situations, he was quickly recognized by his hearers
for his great ability in the Word of God. However, his ministry soon came
to an end as it became obvious that he wouldn’t compromise his convictions,
just as his father before him. Preaching his last sermon in a church in
Edinburgh, he had a sentence in it which marked him for remembrance by the
Prelate forces of his day. He said, “the Church is persecuted by a Pharaoh on
the throne, a Haman in the State, and a Judas in the Church.” The
identification was obvious to all in the pews that day.
Forced
to leave his beloved Scotland, the young twenty-six year old would spend the
next three years in Holland. On his return to Scotland, the situation had
not improved any and there was a spark of rebellion in the air. That spark
was ignited, as my post on November 28 indicated, at the Battle
of Rullion Green. Hugh McKail was among the nine hundred in the
Covenanter ranks that day. But his own physical weakness removed him before
that great battle arrived, and he traveled to Edinburgh instead. There he
was arrested by the authorities, not so much for his Covenanter attachments as
for his statement made in that Edinburgh church some years before.
Interrogated
in prison, he was placed in the Boot, a fearful torture device which all but
crushed his leg while he remained silent in voice. He was ordered to die
by hanging on December 22, 1666. His
exact words that day of death have been preserved through the ages. They were:
Farewell
father, mother, friends, and relations; Farewell the world and its delights;
farewell meat and drink; farewell sun, moon, and starts; Welcome God and
Father; welcome sweet Jesus Christ the mediator of the New Covenant; welcome
blessed Spirit of grace, the God of all consolation; welcome glory, welcome
eternal life; welcome death! Into Thy Hands I commit my spirit.”
Words to Live By:
Could
Hugh McKail have compromised his convictions and avoided suffering and
death? Certainly, and many did. But this young man was reared
by a parent who by his example remained steadfast to the Word of God and
the testimony of Jesus Christ. With such an example like that, it is no
wonder the young minister was given over to sacrifice, in loyalty to both the
Living and Written Word, come what may to his physical body. Addressing
all parents reading these posts on Presbyterian history: Your life preaches all
the week. Are those in your family being helped or hindered to follow the
Living and Written Word?
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