John Knox - Church of the Holy Rude (1559)
The Regent was furious and marched against the Lords of Congregation. This was the beginning of a year of civil war. Knox had been appointed pastor of St Giles, Edinburgh, but the proximity of the Regent’s forces made it dangerous for him, so he went to travel around the country, where he saw the Reformation advancing everywhere. That year was one of incessant and Herculean labour. His days were spent in preaching, his nights in writing letters, he roused the country, and he kept it awake. His voice like a great trumpet rang through the land, firing the lukewarm into zeal, and inspiring the timid into courage. When the friends of the Reformation quarrelled, he reconciled and united them. When they sank into despondency he rallied their spirits. He himself never desponded. His sermon at the Church of the Holy Rude, in Stirling was an example of this, driving away the depression that was on the congregation.