MEET JOHN WITHERSPOON FROM SCOTLAND

John Witherspoon was born in Edinburgh Scotland in 1722.  He was a descendant of the great reformer John Knox.  Born to a minister he became one himself and accepted a call to the town of Beith.  There he was caught up in the battle of Falkirk where he was made a prisoner for a period of time.  In 1766 he was called by the trustees of New Jersey College to fill the post of their president.  He and his family arrived there in August of 1768.
When the British Army invaded New Jersey the College was broken up  and Witherspoon was called  to a new venture.  Early in 1776 he was asked to help form a new Constitution for New Jersey.  Then when made a delegate to the General Congress he had already formed his opinion in favor of Independence.  On August 2, that year Witherspoon set his signature to the Declaration of Independence.
Dr. Witherspoon continued to serve on important committees and worked long and hard on both military and financial matters and special commissions throughout the war.  He left public service in 1783, when the war was over, and returned to the pulpit.  There he continued to preach the gospel message, even after he went blind.  With the help of someone to lead him he filled the Church with the word of God.  When Dr. Witherspoon died in 1794 it was said that a "great man had fallen in Israel."....Medicineman!