A celebrated Scotch divine; became professor of Rhetoric and Philosophy in St. Andrews, and subsequently held the living of Leuchars, in Fife; he actively espoused the cause of the Covenanters, and became a prominent leader in negotiations with the king; in 1643 he drafted the "Solemn League and Covenant" which passed into force, and he was one of Scotland's representatives to the Assembly of Divines at Westminster (1583-1646).