By Grace DischerAge 17
The Mayflower Compact was the governing document of a little band fleeing to the New World to escape from the persecution of the English Church. They were willing to disobey the king of England, to worship against his “holy” orders, and to defy the “Divine Right of Kings.”
For a group of English subjects to act so contrary to the common beliefs and practices of the age was a heroic and noble step, but it was not without precedent. This bold measure was due primarily to the culture contrary thinking of those early Scotch reformers, particularly John Knox, who, in their turn, were grounded in the Scriptures, and steeped in their Scottish heritage of liberty and the concept of the governing being in a covenant relationship with the governed.
When the signers chose, rather than a government of one person, or a body of persons, a covenanting community, where each would be held accountable to his neighbor, they were evidencing the covenantal ideals.
"For the glorie of God and advancement of ye Christian faith, we do... ...covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politick...to enact,... and frame... just and equal laws...for the general good of the Colonie, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience."
The Mayflower Compact, in its turn, influenced the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643, in which the people of Scotland banded together, defied the king of Britain, and declared they would have “No King but King Jesus,” when referring to the head of the church. Overall, the Mayflower Compact was an important document in American history, and its covenantal background cannot be ignored.
For a group of English subjects to act so contrary to the common beliefs and practices of the age was a heroic and noble step, but it was not without precedent. This bold measure was due primarily to the culture contrary thinking of those early Scotch reformers, particularly John Knox, who, in their turn, were grounded in the Scriptures, and steeped in their Scottish heritage of liberty and the concept of the governing being in a covenant relationship with the governed.
When the signers chose, rather than a government of one person, or a body of persons, a covenanting community, where each would be held accountable to his neighbor, they were evidencing the covenantal ideals.
"For the glorie of God and advancement of ye Christian faith, we do... ...covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politick...to enact,... and frame... just and equal laws...for the general good of the Colonie, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience."
The Mayflower Compact, in its turn, influenced the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643, in which the people of Scotland banded together, defied the king of Britain, and declared they would have “No King but King Jesus,” when referring to the head of the church. Overall, the Mayflower Compact was an important document in American history, and its covenantal background cannot be ignored.
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