Share
The Semper Reformata Podcast
A Wee Woman and a Stool!
In 1637, a riot broke out in Edinburgh - it was precipitated by an event that took place in St Gile's Cathedral, where a woman decided she didn't like to hear prayers being read out of a book - and worse!
The Song of Jenny Geddes by J.S. Blackie
‘Twas the twenty-third of July, in the sixteen thirty-seven,
On the Sabbath morn from high St. Giles the solemn peal was given;
King Charles had sworn that Scottish men should pray by printed rule;
He sent a book, but never dreamt of danger from a stool.
The Council and the Judges, with ermined pomp elate,
The Provost and the Bailies in gold and crimson state,
Fair silken-vested ladies, grave doctors of the school,
Were there to please the King, and learn the virtues of a stool.
The Bishop and the Dean came in wi’ muckle gravity,
Right smooth and sleek, but lordly pride was lurking in their e’e;
Their full lawn sleeves were blown and big, like seals in briny pool;
They bore a book, but little thought they soon should feel a stool.
The Dean he to the alter went, and, with a solemn look,
He cast his eyes to heaven, and read the curious-printed book:
In Jenny’s heart the blood upwelled with bitter anguish full;
Sudden she started to her legs, and stoutly grasped the stool!
As when a mountain wildcat springs upon a rabbit small,
So Jenny on the Dean springs, with gush of holy gall;
Wilt thou say mass at my lugs, thou popish-puling fool?
No! No! She said, and at his head she flung the three-legged stool.
A bump, a thump! A smash, a crash! Now gentle folks beware!
Stool after stool, like rattling hail, came twirling through the air,
With, well done, Jenny! Bravo, Jenny! That’s the proper tool!
When the Devil will out, and shows his snout, just meet him with a stool!
The Council and the Judges were smitten with strange fear,
The ladies and the Bailies their seats did deftly clear,
The Bishop and the Dean went in sorrow and in dool,
And all the Popish flummery fled when Jenny showed the stool!
And thus a mighty deed was done by Jenny’s valiant hand,
Black Prelacy and Popery she drove from Scottish land;
King Charles he was a shuffling knave, priest Laud a meddling fool,
But Jenny was a woman wise, who beat them with a stool!
More episodes
View all episodes
Catechism Class: LD 49 Q124 Obeying the Will of God
20:07Catechism Class: LD 49 Q124 Obeying the Will of GodText: Matthew 16:24-26The catechist is still teaching us how to pray, using the Lord’s Prayer as a model for our prayers, and reminding us that when we pray these petitions there is far more underlying truth than we sometimes think. We should mine that truth! So we come to the third petition in the prayer: “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Compare that with Proverbs 14:1 The psalmist has the correct attitude in Psalm 40:8 That’s what we pray for in this petition of the Lord’s Prayer, – Lord, teach us, not only to DO your will, but to take DELIGHT in doing it.READ THE NOTES
Catechism Class: LD48 Praying About the Kingdom of God
22:35Catechism Class: LD48 Praying About the Kingdom of GodThe catechist is teaching us about the Lord’s Prayer. We MUST consider carefully every line of the Lord’s prayer, so that we can use it as a tool, a model prayer, to shape the petitions of our daily prayers, to teach us how we should pray. Luke 11:1 The Heidelberg Catechism asks, "What is the second petition?" The answer is, "Your kingdom come. That is: So rule us by your Word and Spirit that more and more we submit to you. Preserve and increase your church. Destroy the works of the devil, every power that raises itself against you, and every conspiracy against your holy Word. Do all this until the fullness of your kingdom comes, wherein you shall be all in all.”To read the NOTES CLICK HERE
The Boundless Love of God
27:05God's Boundless LoveHow wonderful is Christ’s love for us, vile sinners, that he would bring us from death to life? Let’s try to grasp its magnitude…This sermon was preached at Ballymacashon and Templepatrick Reformed Church It was recorded at TRC and and is reproduced here with their kind permission.Read the NOTES HERE
Catechism Class: LD47, Really Knowing God.
16:18Catechism Class: Lord's Day 47, Really Knowing God.Jeremiah 9:23-24 We continue our examination of the Lord’s Prayer looking at the first petition – and it IS a petition – not a declaration. It is us asking ‘May your name be hallowed.’Read the NOTES HERE
Are You Ready for War?
36:28Ready for War?Sometimes war is thrust upon us. War is horrific. More horrific than we civilians can know, and today we seem to be standing on a precipice, looking into a great chasm of conflict, perhaps even World War 3. Faced with the prospect of an escalation of violence, what are we do do? Let’s see, how God prepared David for war.Read the NOTES HERE.This sermon was preached at Ballymacashon and Templepatrick Reformed Church. It was recorded at Templepatrick and is used here with their kind permission.
Catechism Class: LD46, Q120-121 Our Father, who art in heaven.
19:00Catechism Class: LD46, Q120-121 Our Father, who art in heaven.When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, He told them exactly how they are to approach him, what they are to say and how they are to address him. The Heidelberg catechist instructs us on what we should say when come to God in prayer…https://saltyscrivener.uk/2021/01/19/catechism-class-lords-day-46-q120-121/
Catechism Class: LD45 Q119 The Purpose and Structure of the Lord’s Prayer.
14:27Catechism Class: LD45 Q119 The Purpose and Structure of the Lord’s Prayer.Lord’s Day 45 - Q119 The catechist has introduced us to the Lord’s Prayer, which is the model prayer for all our prayers. So we move on now to look at the model prayer itself, and before we begin to examine the petitions in the prayer, let’s make a few important general observations about it.Read the NOTES HERE.
Reprise: War - Famine - Death
38:06The Four HorsemenText: Revelation 6:1-8You must not think of Revelation as linear history, – history written in advance for us. It is unlikely that’s the case. Revelation is not a history book, it is apocalyptic literature, and it is a series of scenes, overlapping in time, moving in parallel through the church age, and out into eternity to come, each scene revealing to us something more of God’s eternal plan and purpose, and each one ending further ahead in history, until at very end of the book we have the final state, a new heaven and earth. In this lesson we shall watch as the first four of the seals are opened, a passage often referred to as ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”…This sermon was recorded at Templepatrick Reformed Church and is reproduced here with their kind permission.Read the NOTES HERE
Catechism Class: LD45C What Should We Ask For in Prayer?
09:50Lord's Day 45C – What should We Ask God For When We Pray? Q118. What has God commanded us to ask of him? “All the things we need for body and soul, as included in the prayer which Christ our Lord himself taught us. James 1:17.”So there is a very simple answer to the catechist’s question. We are pray for and about EVERYTHING. How difficult then is our task! How impossible to bring ALL our needs before the Lord in prayer! That’s why we have confidence that the father knows us better than we know ourselves, and he already knows what we need, even before we ask him. Matthew 6:8 Read the NOTES HERE