4
April 1644. Scots sign the Solemn League and Covenant in
Ulster.
The PCA historians tell the
story at: http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/04/april-4/
Any
number of our cultured readers might be upset if someone called them a
“redneck.” And for good reason as this name speaks of someone in a disparaging
way. But when you consider the origin of the word, our readers, especially
those from a Scotch-Irish background, might to proud of to have someone speak
of them in that way.
In
1643-1644, all over the three kingdoms of Scotland, England, and Ireland,
Presbyterian people signed “the Solemn League and Covenant.” We won’t deal with
it in its full form by a separate post until September 26 of 2014, but its
first section set the tone for the whole. Paraphrased by PCA Ruling Elder Edwin
Nisbet Moore, in his book “Our Covenant Heritage,” (and used by permission),
this first part solemnly pledges, with uplifted hands before God, that the
signers would endeavor “. . . the preservation of the Reformed religions
in the Church of Scotland . . . [and] the reformation of religion in the kingdoms
of England and Ireland . . . according to the Word of God and the example of
the best Reformed Churches: And shall endeavor to bring the churches of God in
the three kingdoms, to the nearest conjunction and uniformity in religions . .
. .”
In
so all over Scotland in 1643, Presbyterian people signed this covenant. The
next year, Presbyterian ministers were sent to Ireland so that the Scottish
transplants in Ulster could sign the Solemn League and Covenant also. Scottish
people in some 26 towns signed it. On this day, April 4, 1644, one thousand soldiers and
people signed it at Carrickfergus Castle, which still exists today
approximately 11 miles north of Belfast, Ireland.
So,
where does the figure of “redneck” comes from this historic occasion? The
people who signed it knew that their act of signing identified them as taking a
solid stand on the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. They knew
also that their signatures could mean persecution and death for them in the
future. A number of them signed their names in their own blood, much like the
signers of the National Covenant in 1638. Countless wore red pieces of cloth
around their necks, further identifying themselves unashamed of their
commitment to the Reformed faith. Red pieces of cloth? They were known as
“rednecks” at that time, a slang term for a Scottish Presbyterian.
The
next time you are derisively called a “redneck”, don’t get mad, but simply
reflect on the long spiritual line which stood the test of time in their
adherence to the Word of God as summarized up in the Westminster Standards.
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