Wednesday, August 19, 2026

It is the 19th of August 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Today we head to the Church in Scotland- we’ve played around here before, especially with regard to the Scottish Reformation, John Knox, and the birth of Presbyterianism.

 

But there is a second name, oft forgotten, but perhaps as important as Knox for the Scottish church in the 17th century- the time of the Stuarts and Civil Wars… he was Alexander Henderson. His early years are especially cloudy- probably born in 1583 in the East Neuk of Scotland- that is, around Fife on the East Coast. He attended the nearby University of St. Andrews and received his M.A. in 1603 and was licensed to preach in 1611.

 

He was given the parish of nearby Leuchars in 1612- an ominous year in Scottish Church history. Remember, after the death of Queen Elizabeth in England, the crown went to King James, the Stuart, who was King of Scotland. King James thus became the king of both, and the English church settlement- that of Bishops appointed by the Crown and an aesthetic and practice that was definitively “high” as opposed to simple and plain Presbyterian worship.

 

When Henderson was appointed to his post at Leuchars, the people rejected him and had the doors to the church nailed shut. Henderson and others had to literally enter the church through its windows.

 

This gave rise to one of the most well-known stories about Henderson and his transition from pro-Episcopal supporter of the crown to leader of the Scottish Covenanters. The story is that he secretly went to hear the famous preacher Robert Bruce of Kinnaird at St. Giles in Edinburgh. He kept himself hidden, but wanted to hear the famous Presbyterian Covenanter preach. Bruce is said to have read from John 10-“He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold … the same is a thief and a robber.” This is the semi-legendary account of how the pro-episcopal Henderson became the leader of the opposition.

 

By 1618 we know he had opposed the 5 Articles of Perth- these included a requirement to kneel for the Lord’s Supper and to re-introduce saints' days and holy days.

 

Things came to a head in 1637 when Charles, the new king and son of James, imposed a prayer book on the Scots. Henderson refused to comply, stating that only Parliament had the right to do such a thing. The following year the National Covenant was circulated- the declaration against the King and Episcopacy and Scottish confession of faith was written by none other than Henderson. The General Assembly at Glasgow would accept Henderson’s Covenant and the Bishops Wars commenced (this is the often overlooked beginning of the so-called “English Civil Wars”).

 

In 1639 Henderson published his “Instructions for Defensive Arms”- this was a supremely important installment in the Reformed tradition of righteous resistance- how could one rightly oppose a king? These ideas will be important in the coming revolutions (many of the American revolutionaries borrowed from Henderson and reformed resistance theories).

 

From 1640, Henderson was the Rector of the University of Edinburgh (perhaps the second finest university in the country) and helped to resolve the Bishops’ Wars, negotiating directly with Charles I. Charles, in return, made Alexander the royal chaplain and dean of the Chapel Royal in 1641.

 

Despite this, Henderson wouldn’t be swayed. With the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, Henderson led the Scottish church to side with Parliament. The primary document to unify them was the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643- it too was penned by Henderson.

 

In 1646, when Charles I was captured by Parliament, it was Henderson who was called upon to personally persuade the king to accept the Solemn League and Covenant. The two would meet in Newcastle to discuss the reform of the church and the removal of the bishops. Charles would not budge, and Alexander, already feeling ill, went back home to Edinburgh. There he died, on the 19th of August in 1646. He could not have foreseen the future- the beheading of the King, the disaster that was Oliver Cromwell, and the eventual triumph of the National Covenant and the Presbyterian church in Scotland. But it was he who did much of the important work that paved the way- from his initial rebellion to his authorship of works that defended the rebellion and promoted a path forward. Alexander Henderson, if he was born in 1583, was about 63.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Psalm 124:

If the Lord had not been on our side—
 let Israel say—

2 if the Lord had not been on our side
 when people attacked us,

3 they would have swallowed us alive
 when their anger flared against us;

4 the flood would have engulfed us,
 the torrent would have swept over us,

5 the raging waters
 would have swept us away.

6 Praise be to the Lord,
 who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

7 We have escaped like a bird
 from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
 and we have escaped.

8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
 the Maker of heaven and earth.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 19th of August 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man with an idea for a rap musical about the Scottish Covenanters… (Alexander) Henderson…. Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who likes to imagine that Henderson spent some of his school days at the Old Castle Tavern, where yours truly would be a bartender some 4 centuries later… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.