John Willison (1680 – 3 May 1750) was an evangelical minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

and a writer of

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

literature.

Life

His father was

laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

of a small property near

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, where John Willison was born. He was inducted to the parish of

Brechin Brechin (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Scottish Reformation, Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which contin ...

as minister in 1703. In 1718 he moved to a charge in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

. His treatise on the

sanctification Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

of the

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was in response to the policies of

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and the

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clergy. It provoked a reply from James Small, an Episcopalian, which was answered by Willison in his ''Letter from a Parochial Bishop to a Prelatical Gentleman''. After this, he wrote a devotional work: ''A Sacramental Directory''. Small replied to his earlier ''Letter'', upon which Willison published ''An Apology for the Church of Scotland''. He then moved on to political topics with ''A Letter to an English Member of Parliament''. After the ejection of

Ebenezer Erskine Ebenezer Erskine (22 June 1680 – 2 June 1754) was a Scottish minister whose actions led to the establishment of the Secession Church (formed by dissenters from the Church of Scotland). Early life Ebenezer's father, Henry Erskine, served as ...

and his fellow-ministers for opposition to

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

, Willison attacked their exclusion in a sermon to the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

and Mearns in 1733 (published as "The Church's Danger"). He tried to win them back and a majority was gained in the General Assembly of 1734 as a healing measure. As a result, Willison was sent to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

as part of a deputation to labour for the repeal of patronage, but they were only successful insofar as they gained some important concessions. Erskine and his colleagues were not satisfied and formed a separate presbytery in 1739 (see

United Presbyterian Church of Scotland The United Presbyterian Church (1847–1900) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. It was formed in 1847 by the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, and in 1900 merged with the Free Church of Scotland to form the U ...

for Seceders history). In 1737 he wrote one of his most famous and most reprinted works ''The Afflicted Man's Companion'', and also an explanation of the Shorter

Catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

called ''An Example of Plain Catechising''. Other catechetical pieces published by Willison at different times were ''The Mother's Catechism'' (a famous and much used young children's catechism) and ''The Young Communicant's Catechism''. In 1742 he published another much printed work, ''The Balm of Gilead'' which includes twenty-four discourses, twelve of them relating to

The Lord's Supper The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. In 1744 there followed his ''Fair and Impartial Testimony'' on the state of the Church of Scotland. During the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, having published in the same year ''Popery Another Gospel'', he was threatened by soldiers of the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

army while conducting service in the church building and for a few weeks had to preach in private houses. His last publication was ''Sacramental Meditations and Advices'' (1747).

Selected writings

* ''Treatise Concerning the Sanctification of the Lord's-Day'' (1712 or 1713) * ''A Letter from a Parochial Bishop to a Prelatical Gentleman in Scotland, concerning the Government of the Church''(1714) * ''A Sacramental Directory: or, a Treatise concerning the Sanctification of a Communion-Sabbath'' (1716) * ''An apology for the Church of Scotland : against the accusations of prelatists and Jacobites, particularly the reflections of J.S. late incumbent at Forfar'' (1719) * ''A letter to an English member of Parliament : from a gentleman in Scotland, concerning the slavish dependencies, which a great part of that nation is still kept under, by superiorities, wards, reliefs, and other remains of the feudal law, and by clanships and tithes'' (1721) * ''The Church's danger, and the minister's duty declared, in a sermon preach'd at the opening of the Synod of Angus and Mearns'' (1733) * ''The Afflicted Man's Companion'' (1737) * ''An Example of plain Catechising upon the Assembly's Shorter Catechism'' (1737) * ''The balm of Gilead, for healing a diseased land '' (1742) * ''A fair and impartial testimony : essayed in name of a number of ministers, elders, and Christian people of the Church of Scotland, unto the laudable principles, wrestlings and attainments of that Church; and against the backslidings, corruptions, divisions, and prevailing evils, both of former and present times'' (1744) * ''Sacramental meditations and advices for the use of communicants : in preparing their hearts, and exciting their affections, on sacramental occasions; and a Christian directory, consisting of forty scripture directions, proper for all those intending heaven'' (1747)

Sources

* Biographical introduction to John Johnstone's reprint of "The Afflicted Man's Companion"
COPAC

External links

Etext of "The Young Communicant's Catechism"

Etext of "A Fair and Impartial Testimony"

John Willison biography

Includes Etext of Willison's "Five Sacramental Sermons"

Two booklets currently in print reprinting parts of Willison's writings under the titles "Directions for Christians" and "Meditations on the Lord's Supper"

Sample from "An Example of Plain Catechising"

Letter from Willison about the Cambuslang Revival {{DEFAULTSORT:Willison, John 1680 births 1750 deaths Clergy from Stirling 18th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Scottish evangelicals Scottish religious writers