Dr. Joseph Morecraft — who, along with his wife Becky, was a source of great blessing to all the families who took part in the 2008 Scotland Faith and Freedom Tour — shared these poignant remarks on June 25 as he stood in front of the Martyrs’ Monument to the Scottish Covenanters, located at the northeast corner of Greyfriars’ Kirkyard in Edinburgh. There was not a dry eye in the cemetery when Dr. Morecraft concluded this powerful message. The full text of the Martyrs’ Monument is located immediately before this slightly edited transcript.

Full Text of the Martyrs’ Monument

Halt passenger, take heed what you do see, This tomb doth shew, for what some men did die, Here lies interr’d the dust of those who stood ‘Gainst perjury, resisting unto blood’, Adhering to the Covenants and laws, Establishing the same; which was the cause Their lives were sacrific’d unto the lust Of Prelatist abjur’d; Though here their dust Lies mixt with murderers and other crew, Whom Justice justly did to death pursue: But as for them no case was to be found Worthy of death but only they were found, Constant and steadfast, zealous witnessing, For the Prerogatives of CHRIST their KING, Which Truths were sealed by famous Guthrie’s head, And all along to Mr. Renwick’s blood, They did endure the wrath of enemies: Reproaches, torments, deaths and injuries, But yet they’re those who from such troubles came, And now triumph in glory with the LAMB.

From May 27th 1661 that the most noble Marquis of Argyle was beheaded to the 17th of Feb 1688 that Mr. James Renwick suffered; were one way or other Murdered and Destroyed for the same Cause about Eighteen thousand of whom were executed at Edinburgh About an hundred of Nobleman, Gentleman, Ministers and Others Noble Martyrs for JESUS CHRIST. The most of them lie here.

For a particular account of the causes and manner of their Sufferings See the Cloud of Witnesses, Crookshank’s and Defoe’s Histories

From This Moment On

Not only are you standing where the Covenanters stood, but you are looking at almost the same skyline they would have seen. You are right here in the river of history.

These Covenanters were such powerful preachers that, as they stood on the platform, ready to be beheaded or burned at the stake, they would sometimes preach long sermons from there. Eventually, the government wised up and made big brass balls and stuffed the men’s mouth with them, so that when they took them to be burnt at the stake, they couldn’t speak — because their oppressors were so afraid of the preaching of the Word of God.

Many of these Covenanters are buried in common graves here on this piece of property. As you walk around, you will see various prison cells and enclosures where they would herd the Covenanters. And there would only be room for just a few Covenanters, and there would be hundreds of them crouched side by side, sitting or kneeling — and they would do that for hours or for days. And if the guards saw anybody move because he or she got a cramp in their leg, or had to go to the bathroom, he would shoot them dead.

The Covenanters who survived were sold as slaves to the Caribbean Islands. And there was one particular shipwreck where some of them were in the bows of the ship, and the sailors escaped and nailed shut the door so that these great Covenanters could not escape.

They were Covenanters, and remember what they were Covenanters for. Up there in Greyfriars Churchyard, a document was signed in 1638 that united Scotland in the truth. It was called the National Covenant in which the people of Scotland — from the nobles down to the smallest peasant — swore before God that they would not compromise the Reformed faith — the faith of the Bible and the Reformation — no matter what.

Many of them cut their veins and signed their name in their blood on this document — the National Covenant of Scotland. And many of them, after they signed their name in blood, wrote, “til death”. That’s how serious they were. Nothing was more important to them than Christ — the King of the world, the Head of the Church, the only Redeemer of God’s elect. And they were not going to compromise one iota of His revealed truth:

“All Scripture is God-breathed; and all Scripture is profitable, that the man of God might be thoroughly equipped unto every good work.”^[1]

That’s why these men and women died. The Covenanters weren’t going to compromise this — no matter what. They were willing to shed their blood in defense of the Reformed Faith in Scotland against all who would oppose her. And that’s why many of them had to die, some in small little battles — at Bothwell Bridge and Pentland Hills — at various other places where the Covenanters were ill-clad, ill-equipped, starving, freezing to death, fighting powerful soldiers — well-trained, well-equipped soldiers — but they were willing to do it for Christ.

So walk around here; cry a little; I know I intend to.

And I address you fathers: Remember how Paul ended one of his epistles, “You can be sure that what I have been preaching is not for the praise of men, and I have been faithful, because you have seen my scars.” And Paul wasn’t speaking allegorically: He had been beaten up, scars all over his body — persecuted for Christ.

Now I ask you fathers: Do you have any scars? Do you have any scars you can show your children? Do you have any scars because you have been in this battle? Do you gather your children around you and say, “Son, I was in a great battle here for Christ — for truth. There were arguments; there was discussion; there was intimidation by the state.”

Your children love war stories. This is one of the ways we pass the faith onto our children. We not only teach them the truth, but we move them to love the truth more than we do. And so we tell them war stories of the times we’ve stood for Christ; the victories we’ve had.

One time I was in the Ukraine speaking at a Romanian Baptist Church after the fall of the Soviet Empire, and I was speaking through an interpreter. Then, afterwards, they had a big fellowship banquet, and all these little old peasants — you’ve seen them in National Geographic with the round faces and the scars — all these little men and women were gathering around drinking tea in fellowship, literally comparing scars...

“I got this ear cut off when I was faced with the KGB...”

“Yes, sir, I remember that, and that’s why I lost my left hand.”

They compared scars with each other.

And the Covenanters who died here died because they would not give up Christ; they would not give up the Reformed faith; they would not give up presbyterian, reformed government; they would not give up the freedom for which Christ died — for which they might be free.

So, I call upon you while you are here to rededicate yourself; to make this more than an historical increase of our knowledge of these martyrs. As you are here — young men, women, and girls — say, “O Lord, from this moment on — at Greyfriars — I want to be holy and only Yours, no matter what.”

And if it begins here, it can spread from our communities and then — through you and your descendants — the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the seas.