Rev. David Dickson


1583 - 1662

Church leader and Covenanter. The son of a wealthy Glasgow merchant, Dickson was educated at the University of Glasgow. Soon after graduation, he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at Glasgow and worked alongside Robert Blair (1583 - 1666). At that time it was expected that University staff worked for only eight years before being ordained into Ministry and thus Dickson progressed to preach in Irvine from 1618. He took great exception to the Five Articles of Perth and, in 1622, was called to account before a commission including Archbishops James Law (1560 - 1632) and John Spottiswoode (1565 - 1639). Dickson was imprisoned in Turriff. He was released the following year and returned to Irvine.

He continued to work against the system of Bishops which had been imposed by Charles I. Like many others, he signed the National Covenant in 1638, then he took a leading role in the General Assembly held in Glasgow in the same year and was elected Moderator of the General Assembly held in 1639 in Edinburgh. In 1641, he had accepted the position of Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow and by 1650, he had moved to a similar position in Edinburgh. On the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, Dickson refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and was ejected from his University position in 1662. He died shortly thereafter.

Dickson wrote various commentaries on the Bible, together with theological works and religious poetry.


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