I have recently been reading Iain Murray’s inspirational book, A Scottish Christian Heritage; a great book that stirs the heart to pray that God would once again visit this nation with the sort of godly men and preachers he has used in the past.

I was reminded of some of what Murray writes when I learned that Scott Rennie had been appointed as Minister of St Giles, the ‘High Kirk of Edinburgh’. Rennie was the first openly gay Church of Scotland Minister, and it was his appointment to a congregation in Aberdeen that began the controversy which led to the Church of Scotland accepting and recognising same sex Ministers within the Kirk.

It is well known that John Knox was once minister of St Giles, but what is less well known is that one of Knox’s successors was a now much forgotten preacher by the name of Robert Bruce who served there from 1587-1605 at which point he was banished to Inverness. Murray has a chapter devoted to this great man of God which includes this quote which could well be said of the state of the church in Scotland today.

“As for the greater part of our priests, our ministers, their mouths have lost the truth, and their persons have lost their reverence; the Lord has made them contemptible in the eyes of men.” (p59)

In a similar vein, Murray also quotes Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847):

“If people go to perdition in these days it is not for want of ministers. The clergy are likely to become soon as plentiful as the locusts in Egypt, and which of them is the greatest plague of the two, time and the experience of the Church will discover.” (p80)

As an antidote to this dark situation, mirrored in so many ways today apart from the abundance of ministers, either good or bad, Chalmers prayed this prayer:

“The blessing and they Spirit, O Lord, be on this parish and neighbourhood. O that a day of power and of refreshing were to come amongst them. I implore thy Spirit on behalf of this county. O may its ministers be turned to the Lord. O send them pastors according to thine own heart….Stay not thine arm, O God, make it bare. Come forth in the might of thy all-subduing Spirit, and reveal Christ in many hearts, for His sake.” (p88)

Lord, God, graciously answer Chalmers prayer in Scotland today.

(all quotations from A Scottish Christian Heritage by Iain H Murray. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2006)