A Woman Who Fears the Lord

" I desire to bless Him that ever He was pleased to cast our lot together, that He found you out a help meet for me: you were never a temptation to me, nor an obstruction to me either in my ministerial or Christian course… " (Written by Mr. John Carstairs to his wife Janet in November of 1662.) Janet Mure was born in February of 1625 in Scotland; she was the sister of Margaret Durham, who was married to James Durham, the well known theologian and respected minister of the Presbyterian Church. Janet married Mr. John Carstairs, who became one of the persecuted non conformist ministers of the Gospel, at the age of 22 or 23 years. Together they had seven children: three sons and four daughters. Most of what we know about Janet Carstairs is derived from the letters she and her husband wrote to each other during the period of time when he was forced to flee Scotland due to persecution for his adherence to the Presbyterian faith. Their letters reveal a strong, heroic woman who loved

"And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him…And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." (Genesis Ch. 2, vs. 18, 21-24 KJV) This week’s character sketch is of Margaret Mure, who was born in Scotland in 1618. It is reported her parents brought her up in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord." Her first marriage was to the minister Zachary Boyd of Glasgow. She was soon widowed and then went on to marry Mr. James Durham, a celebrated and popular minister who died at the youn

"I know in whom I have believed, and that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. I have preached salvation through His name, and as I have preached, so do I believe, and do commend the riches of His free grace, and faith in His name unto you all, as the only way whereby you can be saved." (Spoken by Rev. James Guthrie while on the scaffold in 1661.) Jane Ramsey, who became Mrs. James Guthrie, has been described as a woman with "unswerving faithfulness to the cause of God." It is only by the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit that one could possibly endure the suffering Mrs. Guthrie did when she lost her husband to martyrdom. Rev. James Guthrie was a contemporary of Samuel Rutherford and became an ordained minister in 1638. He has been described as a man who loved God, his country, and one who boldly spoke of the Lordship of Christ over both the Church and the nation. This eventually led to his being charged with treason and his

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." (Deuteronomy 31:6 – KJV) The heroine of this story is Lady Margaret Douglas who was born in Scotland in 1610 and then at a young age married the man who became the love of her life, the First Marquis of Argyll, Archibald, Lord Lorn. During her first pregnancy Lady Margaret suffered from a serious illness. The doctors told her that to treat her illness the life of her child would need to be sacrificed in order to save hers. Rev. James Anderson, author of the book "Ladies of the Covenant" writes this about her: "But from this proposal the heart of the mother recoiled, and on no consideration would she give her consent. In the good providence of God, however, the life both of the mother and of the infant was saved..." Of Lady Margaret’s marriage to Lord Lorn, we are told that both she and her husba

“Christ hath too many occasional friends; but the ground of all is this, ‘I love Jesus Christ, but I have not the gift of burning quick for Christ.’ Oh, how securely should faith land us out of the gun-shot of the prevailing power of a black hour of darkness! Faith can make us able to be willing, for Christ, to go through a quarter of hell's pain.” (Taken from Samuel Rutherford’s dedication of “Trial and Triumph of Faith” to Lady Jane Campbell, the Viscountess of Kenmure) Lady Jane Campbell was born in Scotland in the 17th century. She was a contemporary of Lady Culross, and also shared a friendship with Samuel Rutherford who spoke of her in the highest terms. He immortalized her memory and name with dedicating his book “Trial and Triumph of Faith” to her. Lady Kenmure not only was a benefactor to the Presbyterian ministers, but she was one of their greatest advocates. Toward the end of her life when her fortune had diminished, she continued to give to the banished and persecute

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 'Live still to die, that by death you may purchase eternal life...' 'Forasmuch as you have desired so simple a woman to write in so worthy a book, good Master Lieutenant, therefore I shall as a friend desire you, and as a Christian require you, to call upon God to incline your heart to His laws, to quicken you in His ways, and not to take the word of truth utterly out of your mouth. Live still to die, that by death you may purchase eternal life: and remember how the end of Methusael who shall read in Scripture was the longest liver that was of man, died at last: for, as the preacher says, that there a time to be born and a time to die; and the day of death is better than the day of our birth.' Yours, as the Lord knoweth as a friend, Jane Duddeley. (1) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ While reading these words written by Lady Jane Grey to Sir John Brydges, I cannot help but marvel at the love and compassion she had for others right before her death. We do not read of h

by Angela Wittman "Be of good cheer, Master Ridley, and play the man, for we shall this day light such a candle in England as I trust by God's grace shall never be put out." (Bishop Hugh Latimer's last words before he was burned at the stake for his faith on October 16, 1555.) And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens...And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

By Angela Wittman The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. (Psalm 18:46, KJV) Dear Friends, Please share in my joy as I give praise to the God of my salvation and declare to all that 'the LORD liveth' and He does indeed bless those who trust in Him. This praise report is written as a thank you to all the saints who stand in the gap and witness against abortion at the child murder centers in their communities. Please know you are making a difference and you are much loved by our Father in Heaven and this sister in Christ Jesus. May God bless you and cause His face to continually shine upon you for your faithfulness. December 4, 2004 Yesterday at Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, Missouri, we had a mom and dad to leave the mill and as they were pulling out of the parking lot, the mom shouted, "I didn't do it!" She was smiling and waving at us. Then right before we were getting ready to pray as a group and leave for the da

By Angela Wittman Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (2 Timothy 3:12) Dear Friends, The recent arrest of a group of Christians here in America has compelled me to write to the Church in America about abiding in Christ and the inevitable persecution this will bring. The recent persecution I am referring to is the arrest of eleven Christians, which took place in the city of "brotherly love" commonly known as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The group of Christians had gone to the annual homosexual event called "Outfest" (which covers a 15-block downtown area) to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The engagement of our culture as modeled by the Repent America group in Philadelphia is what we all are called to do, if we are true disciples of Jesus Christ. Here is an excerpt of the November 15, 2004 press release, Preliminary Hearing Set for Christians Charged with Hate Crimes as released by Repent America: They [the Repent America gro

By Angela Wittman ~~~~~~~~ "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD shall be praised." (Proverbs 31:30) Dear Friends, I was recently reminded of the truth that a woman's beauty does not lay in her outward appearance (as this will fade); but true beauty is found in those women who fear the LORD. The type of beauty I am referring to is the beauty of integrity and conviction. When I read the accounts in Scripture of women who found great worth in the Lord’s eyes, I see women of strong character who feared the LORD more than man. It is my great pleasure to review with you what Scripture records about some of these beautiful women and the memorable deeds they performed in faith. One of the first women who come to my mind is the prophetess Miriam who was also the sister of Moses and Aaron. Miriam is well known for the heroic story of hiding and watching the baby Moses as he floated in the Egyptian river and was found by Pharaoh's daughter.

Abigail Adams - Wikipedia By Angela Wittman "You have this day to declare yourself head of a nation. "And now, O Lord, my God, Thou hast made thy servant ruler over the people. "Give unto him an understanding heart, that he may know how to go out and come in before this great people; that he may discern between good and bad. "For who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" were the words of a royal Sovereign; and not less applicable to him who is invested with the Chief Magistracy of a nation, though he wear not a crown nor robes of royalty... "Though personally absent...my petitions to Heaven are that "the things which make for peace may not be hidden from your eyes." "That you may be enabled to discharge them with honor to yourself, with justice and impartiality to your country, and with satisfaction to this great people, shall be the daily prayer of your Abigail Adams. " (Taken from America's God and Cou