ersion of all. Will not ministers and elders soon be worn out by the
incessant and desperate attacks? The sea is roaring, the waves are
raging, will Presbyterianism be engulfed? will the supremacy of Jesus
Christ go to the bottom? Strong hearts are trembling; much prayer is
arising to heaven; from faithful pulpits fervent appeals are ascending
to God. What shall be the end of these things? Is there no remedy to be
found? "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?" Must
these spirited men bow to the will of the tyrant and see their Church
brought into bondage? There were great searchings of heart.

"The Covenants! the Covenants!" This has been repeatedly the watch-cry
of Scotland in the throes of distress. The Covenants have been the glory
and strength of the Church in the past; will they not be safety and
stability to the Church in the present? Such was the thought that
throbbed in many hearts at this critical moment. The Holy Spirit was now
clothing Himself with Henderson, Warriston, Argyle, and other princes of
God, preparing them to lead the Church into the renewal of her Covenant
with God.

The right to worship God according to conscience, when conscience is set
free by the Spirit and enlightened in the Word, must be jealously
guarded. Every attempt to introduce the devices of man into the service
of the Church should be strenuously resisted. Each innovation in the
worship of God does violence to the most delicate and sacred feelings of
the human heart, and is a reflection on the wisdom of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who has ordained all the services of His House with utmost care
and precision. If the Covenanted fathers protested unflinchingly against
a man-made Prayer Book, what would they have done at the appearance of a
modern pulpit programme of music and hymns?

* * * * *

POINTS FOR THE CLASS.

1. Describe the militant character of the Church.

2. What three successive demonstrations of strength did the Covenanted
Church give against the new Prayer Book?

3. What was the great issue?

4. How should the Church guard divine worship against corruption?

XIII.

RENEWING THE COVENANT.--A.D. 1638.

King Charles believed in the divine right of kings, and the
Presbyterians believed in the eternal right of Christ to rule kings. The
two beliefs could not be reconciled; hence the great struggle. The
attacks on Presbyterianism came in rapid succession and with