gladness wreathed the faces that had gathered blackness, and strength
throbbed in hearts that were faint.

The General Assembly, given strength from the Lord for the occasion,
adopted a form of Covenant for the nation. The Covenant, as written by
Rev. John Craig, was the product of a cultured brain and pious heart. It
is unsurpassed in clear diction, high purpose, majestic spirit, heroic
decision, and solemn appeal to God. It became the ground-work of all
Scotland's subsequent Covenants.

But Craig had to meet the test of faith required by his own Covenant.
King James VI., who was now on the throne, after subscribing the bond,
repudiated it, and commanded its author to do the same. Craig replied
that he would never repudiate anything approved by the Word of God. The
Court, in which he was on trial, ordered his head to be shaved, and
other indignities to be done to his person.

Again when on trial he was treated with utmost contempt by his judge, to
whom he said, "There have been as great men set up higher than thou,
that have been brought low." The judge, mockingly, sat down at his feet,
saying, "Now I am humbled." "Nay," said Craig, "mock God's servants as
thou wilt, God will not be mocked, but shall make thee find it in
earnest, when thou shalt be cast down from the high horse of thy
pride." A few years later he was thrown from his horse and killed.

The fervor aroused by the Covenant swept the Church like a Pentecostal
fire, and spread over all the kingdom as a storm of holy excitement. The
Covenant bond, being signed by the king, the nobles, and a great
multitude of people, was called, The First National Covenant of
Scotland.