COVENANT OF Salt (H^? ni-nja). This phrase is supposed to denote a perpetual covenant, in the seal- ing or ratification of which salt was used. As salt was added to dififerent kinds of viands, not only to give them a relish, but to preserve them from patze- faction and decay, it became the emblem of wcorrvp- tibility and permanence. Hence a " covenant of salt^ signified an everlatting covenant (Num. xviii, 19 ; Lev. ii, 18; 2 Chron. xiii, 5). See Salt.
Covenant, Solemn League and. There were se^ral covenants drawn up in Scotland havingregsd to the maintenance of the Reformed or Pr«byteriaB religion in that country. The First Covenant was subscribed in Edinburgh Dec. 3, 1557, the mass of sign- ers being known as the Congregation, and the nobility and leading subscribers as the Lords of the Congrega- tion (q. v.). They petitioned the government for hJt^ erty of worship. Being met with dissimulalMn and treachery, a Second Covenant was signed at Perth, May 31, 1559, wherein the subscribers bound them- selves to mutual assistance in defense of their reHgiens rights. The appeal was made to arms, and the M ef queen Elizabeth of ^gland was called in to coonter^ act the French troops invited by the Pkpal party. On
COVENANTS
545
COVERDALE
the death of the qaeen-mother in 1660, the French troops were withdrawn, and Parliament, being left at liberty, ordained the I^bjterian as the Established Church of Scotland. In 1638 the NaUonal Covenant -waa subscribed over all Scotland with great enthusi- asm. This was not only a repetition of the former covenamts, but contained, moreorer, a solenui protest against prelacy.
The Solemn League and CoveaatU was a compact en- tered into in 1648 between England and Scotland, binding the united kingdoms to mutual aid in the ex- tirpation of popeiy and prelacy, and the preservation of true religion and liberty in the realm. It was drawn up by Alexander Henderson, approred by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Aug. 17, latUied by the Convention of Estates, and aeoepted and subscribed Sept. 26 by the English Piuliament and the Westminster Assembly (q. v.). In 1646 It wafl again ratified by the Scottish General Assembly, together with the Directory for Worship framed by the Westminster Assembly. Althou^^ Charles I would not approve of it, Charles II engaged by oath to observe it, a promise which be broke upoe the first opportunity. The Scottish Parliament of 1661, in the interest of the king, established the royal supremacy, annulled the Solemn League and Covenant, and ab- solved the lieges from its obligations. The *' Cove- nants'' have a place in the volume which comprehends the Westmituter Con/esnon qf Fakh (Scottish edition), but for what reason it is difficult to say, for the Churdi of Scotland does not make adherence to them obliga- tory on either clerical or lay members. Certain Scot- tish and Irish dissenters, however, still profess attach- ment to the covenants, and on particular occasions renew their subscription to them. — 'Hetherington, Htst. of Church of Scotland; McCrie, Sketdket of (X Birt. ; Rudloff, GeschidUe der Beformation m SckoUkmd (Bei^ lin, 1853, 2 vols.). See Cameronians ; P&bsbtte- BiANs, Beformsd ; Scotland, Chubch of.
Covenants, Theology o£ See Fbde&al Thb-
OLOOT.
Covenanters, the name given primarily to that body of Presbyterians 'in Scotland who objected to the Revolution settlement in Church and State, and desired to see in full force that kind of civil and ecclesiastical polity that prevailed in Scotland fh)m 1638 to 1649. *' According to the Solemn League and Covenant, rat- ified by the Parliaments of En^nd and Scotland,.and also by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster in 1648, Presb3rteriani8m was to be maintained m the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and pop- ery, prelacy, superstition, heresy, schism, etc., were to be extirpated. The * Covenanters* in Scotland con- tended, as is well known, under much suffering, for this species of Presbyterian supremacy throughout the reigns of Charles II and James YII (II). As a meas- ure of pacification at the Revolution, Presbytery was established in Scotland by act of Parliament, 1690 ; but it was of a modified kind. Substantially the Church was rendered a creature of the State, more particular- ly as regards the calling of General Assemblies ; and prelacy was not only confirmed in England and Ire- land, but there was a general toleration of heresy — i. e. dissent. In sentiment, if not in form, therefore, this party repudiated the government of William III and his successors, and still maintained the perpetually binding obligations of the Covenants. The Covenant- ers acted under strong convictions, and only desired to cany out to a leptimate issue principles which have always been found in the Presbyterian Church of Scot- land ; but which, for prudential considerations, had been long practically in abeyance. In short, it is in the standards of the Covenanters that we have to look for a true embodiment of the tenets held by the great body of English and Scotch Presbyterians of 1643. Others gave m to the Revolution setUement, and afler- II.~M K
wards found cause to secede. The Covenanters never gave in, and, of course, never seceded. Although thus, in point of fact, an elder sbter of the existing Church of Scotland and all its secessions, the Cameronian body did not assume a regular form till after the Revolution ; and it was with some difficulty, amidst the general con- tentment of the nation, that it organized a communion with ordained ministers. The steadfiistness of members was put to a severe trial by the defectbn of their min- isters, and for a time the people were as sheep without a shepherd. At length, after their faith and patience had been tried for sixteen years, they were joined by the Rev. John McMillan, from the Established Church, in 1706. In a short time afterwards the communion was joined by the Rev. John M*Neil, a licentiate of the ^Established Church. As a means of confirming the faith of members of the body, and of giving a public testimony of their principles, it was resolved to renew the Covenants ; and this solemnity took place at Au- chensach, near Douglas, hi Lanarkshire, in 1712. The subsequent accession of the Rev. Mr. Kaime enabled the Covenanters to constitute a presbytery at Brae> head, in the parish of Camwath, on the 1st of August, 1743, under the appellation dt the Reformed Presby- tery. Other preadiers afterwards attached themselves to the sect, which continued to flourish obscurely in the west of Scotland and north of Ireland. For their history and tenets we refer to the TesHmony of the Re- formed Prethyterian Church (Glasgow, John Eeitii, 1842). Holding strictly to the Covenants, and in the- ory rejecting the Revolution settlement, the political position of the Covenanters is very peculiar, as they refuse to recognise any laws or institutkns which they conceive to be inimical to those of the kingdom of Christ" (Chambers, Enofclopmdia^ s. v. Cameronians). The Reformed Presb3rterians regard themselves as the modem representatives of the Covenanters. See JTu- tory of the Covenanters (2 vols. 18mo, PhOad. Presb. Board); also the articles Presbttbbiam (Rbfobmed) Chubcm ; Cameron ; Scotland, Church of.