BITESIZE BIOGRAPHIES/Samuel Rutherford

Samuel Rutherford was 36 years old when he was exiled to Aberdeen, feeling that he was 'an outcast and withered tree.' He had served the little church at Anwoth in Galloway faithfully, but in those August days of 1636 he seems to have felt for a while that his useful service was over. Little could he have known that his exile would end in less than two years when Scotland rose up to resist the king's domination of the church. He could hardly have imagined that he would serve a key role in reasserting biblical doctrine, worship and government to the Scottish church. He would also play an important part in the Westminster Assembly, defining Christian doctrine for much of the English-speaking world for centuries to come, and nearly two dozen influential books would flow from his pen, winning the admiration of the Reformed churches of Britain and the Continent.