A Woman Who Fears the Lord

The resource used for this story of Elizabeth Melvill (Lady Culross) is the book “Ladies of the Covenant” written by Rev. James Anderson. “Look to the Lord, thou art not left alone, Since He is thine, what pleasure canst thou take? He is at hand, and hears thy every groan: End out thy fight, and suffer for His sake.” (Excerpt from a sonnet written by Elizabeth Melvill in 1605 to John Welsh, a non-conformist minister of the Gospel, while he was imprisoned in the Castle of Blackness.) Elizabeth Melvill was born in Scotland in1578 and died in 1640. She was an extremely intelligent and highly educated woman who was well known for her knowledge of religion. She unashamedly supported and encouraged the non-conformist ministers who stood for freedom and liberty in the Church and the Worship of God. The story has been told that Lady Culross was a devoted hearer of the preaching of the Gospel, and would often travel to different parishes to hear the preachers and to participate in the Lord’s

“They lose nothing who gain Christ.” ~ Samuel Rutherford Lady Boyd was born in Scotland between 1588 and 1594; her maiden name was Christian Hamilton. She was the oldest daughter of Sir Thomas Hamilton and his wife Margaret. Alexander Whyte, the author of “Samuel Rutherford and his Correspondents” writes that “she inherited no small part of her father’s talents and strength of character.” He then goes on to say that “All her days Lady Boyd was on the most intimate terms with the most eminent ministers of the Church of Scotland. We find such men as Robert Bruce, Robert Blair, John Livingstone and Samuel Rutherford continually referring to her in the loftiest terms.” In the book “Ladies of the Covenant” by Rev. James Anderson, she is described as having “encouraged the preaching of the gospel, exercising a generous hospitality and liberality towards its ministers, receiving them into her house and supplying them with money.” She was known to stay up late into the night writing in her per

This story of Lady Anne Cunningham is taken from the book “The Ladies of the Covenant” by Rev. James Anderson. Lady Anne was born in Scotland sometime before 1588 (her exact birth date is unknown); she married Lord James, the Marquis of Hamilton in 1603. Together they had five children. Lady Anne was then widowed in 1625. After her husband’s death, she continued to live a life of devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ and of blessing others until her death in September of 1647. She lived during two periods of national covenanting that took place in Scotland in 1638 and 1643. Those known as “Covenanters” maintained that Christ was the Supreme King of the church and the nation, which conflicted with those who advocated “the divine rights of kings” over both realms. Even though her husband did not have share her zeal for freedom of religion and he reportedly was more concerned with personal ambition, Lady Anne persevered and left an impact upon future generations of Christians. She was known

By Angela Wittman In my previous editorial I gave a brief introduction to the book “The Ladies of the Covenant: Memoirs of Distinguished Scottish Female Covenanters, Embracing the Period of the Covenant and the Persecution” written by Rev. James Anderson and published in 1850. My hope is to introduce you to the women who lived during the period of the Reformation (from the 1500’s through the 1600’s) in Scotland and also during the most intense time of persecution, known as “The Killing Times” (1680 – 1688). It is reported that approximately 18,000 men, women and children died for their Christian faith during this brief time. Christians can prosper from the testimony of those who have faced difficult times and held fast to their faith. The faithful witness of those who were persecuted and martyred for their testimony of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will strengthen and encourage us as we see our culture becoming less tolerant of Christianity. I pray we will use the examples set by the