Rounding out a Sermon - 1605
"Blackness Castle, Blackness, Scotland" by Dr John Wells - Photograph taken with a camera suspended from a kite linePreviously published: http://www.armadale.org.uk/ blackness.htm Castles from the Air, The Castle Studies Group Bulletin, 14, 20-21, (Summer
Introduction
John Welsh, first University of Edinburgh graduate ordained to ministry, served as a Presbyterian minister at Selkirk, Kirkcudbright, and Ayr, Scotland. Revival broke out while he was at Ayr. He held the last position for five years. In those years his faithful witness and prayer saw the transformation of the town into a godly place. He preached for several hours each day. When James VI of Scotland (James I of England) attempted to impose an episcopal form of government on the Scottish church, Welsh stood up for the Scots’ church’s freedoms and the headship of Christ (the Covenanter position). James had him arrested after a sermon and he was taken to the municipal building known as the Tollbooth in Edinburgh which also served as a jail. He was soon transferred to a cruel prison, Blackness Castle in West Lothian, where he was incarcerated for eight months under barbaric conditions before being exiled to France. His final sermon at Ayr was delivered on this morning, 23 July, 1605. It closed with this invocation:
Quote
“Now let the Lord give his blessing to his word, and let the Spirit of Jesus, who is the author of this verity, come in and seal up the truth of it in your hearts and souls, for Christ’s sake.”
Banner of Truth 174 (March 1978).