Nisbet Rejoices As the Noose Tightens
On the Day December 4 1865
Khen Lim
A Covenanter converticle in Loudon Hill (Image source: auloudon.wordpress.com)
“At another time, when in company with my father, and some
suffering friends, on a Sabbath day, which was spent in the worship of God, a
little before the sunset, unexpectedly there came a troop of the enemy to the house
next to where we were. This, at first, put some of our company to fear, who
said, What shall we do? My father
answered, Since there is no way for us to
escape, but in the Lord, come, let us sing the praises of God and let Him work
His own work; to which the rest consented; and accordingly, the most part,
after calling upon the Name of God, the ninety-first Psalm was sung…
“He that doth in the secret place of the most High reside,
Under the shade of Him that is th’ Almighty shall abide.
I of the Lord my God will say, He is my refuge still,
He is my fortress, and my God, and in Him trust I will.
Assuredly He shall thee save, and give deliverance
From subtle fowler’s snare and
from the noisome pestilence…
“But, behold the kind care and restraining power of our infinitely
gracious God who interposed Himself betwixt us and all danger! For, though
there was no way of escape for us, being in a plain country, far from any wood
or moss, yet the Lord wonderfully provided us with safety. For, when the enemy
had searched the three next houses to that house which we were in, they rode
quite off and did not so much as speak where we were. The remembrance of this
wonderful deliverance, and of this Sabbath’s frame, especially in singing the
ninety-first Psalm, has been strengthening, reviving and refreshing to me times
out of number.”
A Covenanter's Communion (Image source: commons.wikipedia.org)
The above is a selected narrative of James Nisbet’s account of
the time he was with his father, John Nisbet and friends and what took place
between August and October of 1685. James’ father’s year of narrow escapes
eventually would come to an end. In November, James witnessed a meteor
screaming quietly but blazingly across the night sky and a week later, he
received tragic news of his father’s capture.
Born in 1627 to James Nisbet, John Nisbet came with a rich
legacy. In the year 1500, it was his descendant Murdoch Nisbet who joined the
Lollards of Kyle but fled abroad once persecution arose against them. As he
fled, he grabbed hold of a copy of John Wycliffe’s translation of the New
Testament. It was a while before he felt safe to return and when he did, he dug
a vault below his home and there, he withdrew from life, serving God as he read
his ‘new book’ and offered instructions to those who had access to him.
Lollards sowed the seeds of the Reformation (Image source: lookandlearn.com)
The Lollards were barefoot preachers sent out throughout
England by John Wycliffe in the fourteenth century. They were tasked with sharing
the Good News and seeking conversion among the masses. Probably unbeknownst to Wycliffe,
his message crossed into Scotland where Murdoch was gripped by what he heard.
It was then that he acquired one of the rare English-language manuscripts of
the Bible that he then took with him as he escaped. From his new-found belief,
Murdoch began a Wycliffe-inspired line that followed Christ fervently, from his
son to grandson and then great-grandson. That great-grandson was John Nisbet
and the above original narrative was written by Murdoch’s great-great grandson.
Like his great-great grandfather, John, son of an Ayrshire
tenant farmer, also went abroad to Europe. There, he became a professional
soldier and joined the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) to fight for the Reform
faith in response to the Roman Emperor Ferdinand II of Bohemia’s attempts to
curb the religious activities of his Protestant subjects. The series of wars became
Europe’s longest and most destructive, claiming anywhere up to 11,500,000 dead.
On his return to Scotland, he attended the coronation of King
Charles II in 1650 but then too, he subscribed the covenant, swearing to defend
Scotland’s allegiance to ‘all the acts of reformation attained… from 1638 to
1649.’ Upon leaving the military and returning to the family hearth at
Hardhill, near Loudon, he married Margaret Law and had children with her. However
peace proved a scarce commodity. Back in his native Scotland, Charles II was hell-bent
on forcing their Episcopalian traditions on the Scots’ Presbyterian culture. In
the process, he drove hundreds of pastors from the pulpits. All of this led to
Scots taking up arms in their bid to safeguard their choice of faith.
Scottish Covenanters in prayer before battle (Image source: printsoldandrare.com)
As a Covenanter, John was a regular attendant of the illegal
field conventicles*. He also was involved in the Battle of Rullion Green arising
from the Pentland Rising in November 1666 in which he was one of 900 losing Covenanter
rebels to fight against a 3,000-strong Scottish Royal Army. It was in Rullion
Green that John’s was wounded in seventeen places and left for dead. Yet he somehow
recovered and wandered about as a fugitive for years even while the Covenanters
continued to take the fight to the government in the Battles of Drumclog and
Bothwell Brig within the month of June 1679 three years later.
* Secret and unlawful religious get-togethers of
non-conforming beliefs
Through his involvements with the Covenanters in all these
battles, it was inevitable that John would be considered an outlaw by the
Scottish government. Subsequently, there was a substantial reward out for his
capture. Meanwhile his wife and children were forced out of their home and left
to die of hunger, if not cold and disease. John eventually came across others
on the run and staying together, they moved from place to place. Eventually
however, while praying, he was attacked by an enemy regiment, ironically led by
one of his own cousins somewhere in Fenwick.
Despite putting up as fierce a fight as possible, John was wounded
as many as seven times while his three friends were all shot in the head,
execution-style. John was kept alive because the men knew there was a price on
his head and they were looking to collect. And so they took him to Edinburgh
where he was tried and condemned to death after he refused to recant his faith
even if he had to pretend.
Despite being seriously wounded, his captors burdened him with
over forty-five kilos’ worth of chains around his body. Yet no matter how
harshly he was treated, John rejoiced even more, declaring a vision he had of
God that was so intense an experience that it would have killed him had the
Lord not gifted him the strength to withhold.
“It has pleased Him to give me such real impression of
unspeakable glory as without constant and immediate supports from the Giver will
certainly overwhelm me,” he said.
When he was told that he would be hanged in Grassmarket,
Edinburgh on December 4 1685, which happened to be a Friday, he proclaimed, “Oh
for Friday! Oh for Friday! Oh Lord, give patience to wait Thy appointed time!”
He seemed elated.
The Covenanters' Memorial at Grassmarket (Image source: welcometoscotland.com)
On that Friday, 331 years ago, this day, soldiers of the Royal
Army led him to his public execution. Those who witnessed the hanging said John’s
face beheld the glory that awaited him.
“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!” he said aloud.
As he was led to mount the scaffold, John, in preaching his
last sermon, urged the people around him to prepare for the Lord’s return and
be in readiness for the Day of Judgement to come. Even as he implored the
people, the soldiers did their best to drown him out by beating their drums
even more loudly.
According to his son James’ account of his father, “He sang the
first six verses of the thirty-fourth Psalm and read the eighth chapter of the
Romans and prayed with great presence of mind and very loud. He then went up
the ladder, rejoicing and praising the Lord. And so, upon the fourth of
December, sixteen hundred and eighty-five, in the fifty-eighth year of his age,
ended that race, which he had run with faith and patience.”
In memory of John Nisbet in Loudin Parish Kirk, Newmilns (Image source: findagrave.com)
The first six verses of Psalm 34 that John recited from the Scottish
Psalter ran like this:
“1 God will I
bless all times; His praise my mouth shall still express. 2 My soul shall boast in God: the meek shall
hear with joyfulness. 3 Extol
the Lord with me, let us exalt His Name together. 4 I sought the Lord, He heard, and did me from
all fears deliver. 5 They
look’d to Him and lighten’d were: not shamed were their faces. 6
This poor man cry’d, God heard, and sav’d
him from all his distresses.”
After he sang the last Psalm, John was committed into
eternity.
In his last will and testament, John wrote, “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.”
John Nisbet was buried at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh. At the
Loudon Parish Kirk in Newmilns, a memorial monument stands in honour of this
amazing man of God.
Reading Sources
Howie, John (1863). Lives
of the Scottish Covenanters: Being a Brief Historical Account of the Most
Eminent Noblemen, Gentlemen, Ministers, and Others… (Glasgow, Scotland:
W.R. McPhun). Available at https://books.google.com.my/books?pg=PA475&lpg=PA465&dq=john+nisbet+covenanter&id=AoYaAAAAMAAJ&ots=kf3Xe8JB34&redir_esc=y&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false
Jardine, Dr Mark. James
Nisbet and Hardhill’s Lucky Escape in Late 1685. Available at http://scotlandskillingtimes.com/wp/?cat=963
Rusten, E. Michael and Rusten, Sharon O (Feb 2003). The One Year Book of Christian History – A Daily
Glimpse into God’s Powerful Work. (Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House
Publishers) Available at https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Christian-History-Books/dp/0842355073
Sime, William. (1830) History
of the Covenanters in Scotland (Vol. 2). (Edinburgh: Waugh & Innes)
Available at https://www.amazon.com/History-Covenanters-Scotland-William-Sime/dp/1175199516
Smellie, Alexander (1903). Men
of the Covenant. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Fleming H Revell Company)
Available at https://www.amazon.com/Men-Covenant-Alexander-Smellie/dp/1140608983
Taylor, James (1887, repub Sept 2013). The Scottish Covenanters. (TheClassics.us) Available at https://www.amazon.com/Scottish-Covenanters-James-Taylor/dp/1230297480
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