Lord’s Day, Vol. 10 No. 44
Scotland Transformed (2)
Another aspect of Reformation work in Scotland was the encouragement of education. An attempt was made to establish a school in every parish for the instruction of youth in true religion, grammar, and the Latin tongue. In the chief towns, colleges were set up for the education of the more gifted and capable students. As a consequence, learning made great progress in the land and Scotland became renowned for its standard of education. One very remarkable example of scholarship is recorded by a 16thcentury annalist. A Mr Row, minister at Perth, boarded the children of nobility and gentry in his house and instructed them more particularly in languages. At table, the conversation was all carried on in French, and the chapter of the Bible at family worship was read by the boys in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and French.
But education was only a side-line with Knox whose great concern was to spread the knowledge of Christ and His gospel to all parts of Scotland. He had many adversaries, for he boldly denounced the Mass and other aspects of the doctrine of the Roman Church. “I have learned”, he said, “plainly and boldly to call wickedness by its own terms, a fig a fig, and a spade, a spade.” Concerning the Mass he said, “One Mass is mor fearful to me than if 10,000 armed enemies were landed in any part of the realm”. No wonder, therefore, that his life was endangered! After the death of her French husband Mary Queen of Scots, no longer Queen of France, returned to Scotland to resume control of the government.
The tenets of the Roman Church had taken deep root in her mind and heart, and it was her constant endeavour to prevent the progress of the Protestant faith in Scotland. It was inevitable therefore that she came into direct conflict with Knox. The reformer’s opinion of her is striking. “If there be not in her”, he said, “a proud mind, a crafty wit, an indurate (callous) heart against God and His truth, my judgment faileth me”. This opinion was formed as a result of several interviews that Knox had with the Queen, and of these a highly interesting record remains.
On one occasion Mary said to Knox, “What are you in this commonwealth?” “A subject born within the same”, he replied, “and although I am neither earl, lord or baron in it, yet God made me a profitable member within the same, and both my vocation and conscience require plainness of me”. On hearing such words it was with difficulty that the Queen recovered her composure. But Mary had troubles other than those of religion. Her second and third marriages proved disastrous and in 1568 she fled England to seek the help of Elizabeth. She was not allowed liberty, but was kept in pleasant confinement, and always remained a danger to the English Queen as plots were formed in her favour. Ultimately, after 20 years, Elizabeth signed Mary’s death warrant.
Knox died in 1572. Occupied for long years in the ceaseless struggle against opposing forces he became as he said, “weary of the world” and “thirsting to depart”. He was buried in Edinburgh, the Regent of Scotland speaking over his grave the long-remembered words, “Here lies one who never feared the face of man.”
What was formerly St. Giles’ Churchyard, Edinburgh is now part of Parliament Square, and the place of Knox’s grave was formerly marked by a simple inscription, I. K. 1572. The removal of this stone in recent years indicates how little the blessing that the Reformation brought is prized in the Scotland of today. [Extracted and edited from Sketches from Church History by S.M Houghton, p127-129]
John Knox (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Knox), born (c. 1514 – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country’s Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lothian, Knox is believed to have been educated at the University of St Andrews and worked as a notary priest. Influenced by early church reformers such as George Wishart, he joined the movement to reform the Scottish church. He was caught up in the ecclesiastical and political events that involved the murder of Cardinal David Beaton in 1546 and the intervention of the regent Mary of Guise. He was taken prisoner by French forces the following year and exiled to England on his release in 1549. While in exile, Knox was licensed to work in the Church of England, where he rose in the ranks to serve King Edward VI of England as a royal chaplain. He exerted a reforming influence on the text of the Book of Common Prayer. In England, he met and married his first wife, Margery Bowes. When Mary I ascended the throne of England and re-established Catholicism, Knox was forced to resign his position and leave the country. Knox moved to Geneva and then to Frankfurt. In Geneva, he met John Calvin, from whom he gained experience and knowledge of Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity.
He created a new order of service, which was eventually adopted by the reformed church in Scotland. He left Geneva to head the English refugee church in Frankfurt but he was forced to leave over differences concerning the liturgy, thus ending his association with the Church of England.
On his return to Scotland, Knox led the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Protestant nobility. The movement may be seen as a revolution, since it led to the ousting of Mary of Guise, who governed the country in the name of her young daughter Mary, Queen of Scots. Knox helped write the new confession of faith and the ecclesiastical order for the newly created reformed church, the Kirk. He wrote his five-volume The History of the Reformation in Scotland between 1559 and 1566. He continued to serve as the religious leader of the Protestants throughout Mary’s reign. In several interviews with the Queen, Knox admonished her for supporting Catholic practices. After she was imprisoned for her alleged role in the murder of her husband Lord Darnley, and King James VI was enthroned in her stead, Knox openly called for her execution. He continued to preach until his final days.[https://openplaques.org/people/9002]
Yours lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee