Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

or, The Death of the Marquis of Argyll

Let us turn our steps towards Edinburgh Castle. Rising sheer up three hundred feet from the valley around, it is the first thing the eye sees on entering the city. Many tales of deepest interest gather round this grey and rambling pile of buildings. It was here that the imprisonment, trial, and condemnation of the first Marquis of Argyll took place.

He was a friend of Oliver Cromwell, and when Cromwell visited Edinburgh he feasted him in the large banqueting hall the finest room in the Castle. It is said that he had agreed with Cromwell in the execution of Charles I. If that were so he certainly repented of it afterwards, for he put the crown of Scotland on the head of Charles II. at the Restoration, and he was the first of the Scottish nobles to swear allegiance to him.

He travelled to London in order to welcome the King, but there, on the charge of being concerned in the death of Charles I., he was seized and cast into prison.

After spending five months in the Tower of London, he was sent to Edinburgh to be tried by his peers for treason, and was lodged in the state prison in the Castle.

Argyll had many enemies amongst his judges, and they found no difficulty in bringing him in guilty, and at once the sentence of death was pronounced upon him.

He found that it was of no use to appeal to the King, for that unscrupulous monarch cared little for the fate of either friend or foe so long as he was able to have his fill of pleasure. There was to be no mercy — no forgiveness for him.

How different are God’s ways from man’s! He offers a free pardon to all; yea, he finds His great delight in forgiving poor guilty rebels.

Now there may be a question as to Argyll’s guilt, but there can be none at all as to ours. By nature we are all rebels against God; our sins and self-willed ways prove this, and every sin that we have committed is an act of rebellion — it is high treason against God Himself. But how great is the grace of God! He does not condemn us as we justly deserve, but is sending forth to all the proclamation of forgiveness.

How can God’s forgiveness be obtained? By simply bowing to the One through whom God sends it. “Christ died for the ungodly” and it is because of what He has done, and through Him, that God can save and bless poor sinners; but those who want the blessing must, trusting in this Saviour, bow heart and knee to Him.

Argyll put the crown upon the brow of Charles II. He acknowledged him as his rightful lord; he was certainly not a rebel then; and you must treat the Lord Jesus in the same way: own Him as your Lord crown Him in your heart.

If you do this I can assure you that He will never play you false, as the King did the first Marquis of Argyll; for He loves at all times, and never leaves or forsakes those who belong to Him.

I am thankful to be able to tell you that Argyll was a Christian, so that death to him was not so terrible as it would otherwise have been. When the sentence was passed upon him, and he realised that it would be vain to hope for mercy, he said to those who had condemned him: “I placed the crown upon the King’s head, and this is my reward. He does but hasten me to a better crown than his own. Nor can you, my lords, deprive me of that eternal portion which one day you may require for yourselves.”

He had evidently learnt that the treasures of heaven were better than the treasures of earth, or he could not have spoken of the crowns of heaven as being better than the crowns of earth. In this he spoke truly, for all earthly glory will become dim and fade away, but the crown which the Lord’s hand gives is incorruptible, and can never tarnish or be spoilt.

How good, too, for the Christian to know that death cannot deprive him of his eternal portion. Death is the end of every earthly possession, and those whose possessions are only in the earth have a very very dark prospect.

See to it, dear friend, that you secure for yourself treasure in heaven. We thank the Marquis for his speech, and earnestly hope that everyone who reads these lines may be able to speak with the same confidence about the future.

He was removed from the Castle and placed in the common prison at the Tolbooth, and here Lady Argyll was permitted to visit him. She was very indignant at the way he was being treated, and in her grief exclaimed, The Lord will requite it.”

He replied, “Forbear, Margaret. I pity my enemies, and am as contented in this common prison as in the Castle or the Tower of London.”

When he ascended the scaffold on which he was to be beheaded he proved the reality of his profession by displaying a truly Christian spirit. There he publicly expressed his abhorrence of the execution of Charles I. and said he forgave all his enemies. Then, with great composure, he placed his head on the block, and in an instant was launched into eternity.

This story, then, shall illustrate for us two things; first, the blessed prospect that lies before the Christian, and, then, how the Christian ought to act in the present. If we are to be with the Lord Jesus Christ for ever, we ought to be like Him now; and it is our blessed privilege to display His character in this world, and treat others as we have been treated by Him. All we have and hope for as Christians we owe to God’s free grace, for we had merited nothing but judgment, and because of this we are exhorted to forgive others also,

Then see to it that God’s pardoning grace is yours; then rejoice in the bright prospect before you, and, last of all, while you wait for the bright and glorious future, do not forget to show forth the praises of the One who has called you out of darkness and blessed you so greatly.