|
BRUCE, ROBERT (1554–1631), theological writer, second son of Sir
Alexander Bruce of Airth, who claimed descent from the royal family of
Bruce, studied jurisprudence at Paris, and on his return practised law, and
was on the way to becoming a judge. But a very remarkable inward experience
oonstrained him to give himself to the church. He went to St. Andrews to
study, and on becoming a preacher (1587) was forthwith called to be a
minister in Edinburgh. On 6 Feb. 1587-8 he was chosen moderator of the
general assembly-a rare and singular testimony to the wisdom, the stability,
and the business capacity of one so young. In 1589, when the king went to
Norway to fetch his bride, and parties in Edinburgh were somewhat excited,
the king appointed Bruce an extraordinary privy-councillor, and such was his
influence that he kept all quiet, and on the king's return received from his
majesty a cordial letter of thanks (19 Feb. 1589-90). The queen was crowned
at Holyrood and anointed by Bruce on 17 March following. He again became
moderator of the general assembly 22 May 1592. His power and success as a
preacher were very remarkable; and he continued to enjoy the king's favour
till 1596, when, giving offence to his majesty by his opposition to certain
arbitrary proceedings, he, with ?others, was banished from Edinburgh. The
king desired to introduce episcopal government into the church, and the
disinterested character of Bruce's opposition is apparent, for had he
consented, no man would have been more sure to benefit by the change. This
quarrel with the king was for the time made up ; but soon after a new bone
of contention arose. After the Gowrie conspiracy the king ordered the
ministers to give thanks for his release (6 Aug. 1600), and to specify
certain grounds of thanksgiving about which some of them had doubts. Bruce
and others gave thanks, but in terms more general than the king desired.
After much negotiation, and many efforts of friends to get the matter
settled, the king carried his point, and ordered Bruce to leave Edinburgh.
The prospect of his leaving was felt profoundly by the christian community,
who hung on his lips, and enjoyed in a rare degree his eloquent and powerful
preaching. But the king was inexorable, ana Bruce's ministry in Edinburgh
came to an end.
The last thirty years of his life were spent here and there. From 1605 to
1609 he was confined to Inverness, where he met with much harsh treatment
from Lord Enzie and others, but where his preaching was a singular
refreshment to his friends. In 1609 he was at Aberdeen, the atmosphere of
which was very uncongenial, for it was a stronghold of the episcopalians.
Sometimes he was at his patrimonial estate of Kinnaird, near Stirling, where
he repaired at his own expense the parish church of Larbert, and discharged
all the duties of the ministry; and occasionally at his other estate, at
Monkland, near Glasgow. Wherever he had an opportunity of preaching, great
crowds attended ; he preached with remarkable power, and his own life being
in full accord with his preaching, the influence he attained was almost
without a parallel in the history of the Scottish church. In 1620 he was
again banished to Inverness, and begged very hunl that, owing to his
infirmities and weakness, he might be allowed to remain at home. The king
was obdurate, and the request was refused. In 1624 he was allowed to return
to Kinnaird, where he died 13 July 1631. His remains were accompanied to the
grave by four or five thousand persons of all ranks and classes, from the
nobility downwards. From his very youth he had been regarded with remarkable
esteem and affection, and the bitter trials that chequered the last half of
his life commended him all the more to the esteem of those who were
like-minded. It was this chequered mode of life, this moving about from
place to place without any settled charge, that prevented him, as the like
causes prevented Richard Baxter in England, from leaving on his country so
deep a mark as his character and abilities were fit tod to make. Andrew
Melville described him as a 'hero adorned with every virtue, a constant
confessor and almost martyr to the Lord Jesus.' Livingstone, another
contemporary, said, 'Mr. Robert Bruce several times heard, and in my opinion
never man spoke with greater power since the apostles' days.'
As an author Bruce is best known by his 'Way to True Peace and Rest:
delivered at Edinburgh in sixteen sermons on the
Lord's Supper, Hezekiah's sickness, and other select scriptures.' This
book appeared in 1617, and bore the motto, significant of its author's
experience, 'Dulcia non meruit, qui non gustavit amara.' The sermons are in
the Scottish dialect, and are remarkable as a singularly clear and able
exposition of the scriptural doctrine of the Lord's Supper, enforced with
great liveliness and power. |
