king. They prayed, took counsel, sent delegates, did
everything in their power to have him restored. All they asked was his
adherence to the Covenant, their national Constitution of government.
Let him subscribe to this, and Scotland's bravest sons will rally around
him; the Blue Banner will wave over him in bold defiance of every foe.
But he would not yield.

[Illustration: KING CHARLES I.

King Charles I. came to the throne in 1625, and reigned over Scotland,
England, and Ireland, 24 years. His despotic will carried him into great
excesses of cruelty, and brought upon him mountains of trouble. In
Scotland the Covenanters firmly resisted his encroachment upon their
rights and liberties. He was beheaded by the English Parliament in
1649.]

The king was now a prisoner in England. While he lay at Carisbrooke
Castle, the Earl of Lauderdale, a Covenanter of some eminence,
accompanied by the Earl of Lanark, was stealthily admitted into his
presence. These men succeeded in making a compromise. Lauderdale and
Lanark agreed to raise an army to bring the king back. The king in turn
agreed to confirm Presbyterianism for three years; the permanent form of
Church Government to be then determined by an assembly of divines,
assisted by twenty commissioners to be appointed by the king. This
private treaty is known in history as "The Engagement." It contained the
elements of a base and disastrous surrender of principle.
Presbyterianism on probation! Built upon the rock of truth, it lasts
while the rock endures. Presbyterianism to be succeeded by an
uncertainty? How could the Church entrust the government of God's house
to the king's commissioners?

When "The Engagement" became public, the Covenanted Church was plunged
into a debate that wrought havoc. The peaceful sea was struck with a
storm; the angry waves lashed every shore. The compromise failed, but
the Church was infected, weakened, rent, in twain, and for forty years
was unable to stand in the presence of her enemies. Henceforward there
were two parties: those who held to the Covenant, in its clearness,
fulness, pungent energy, and logical deductions; and those who trimmed,
modified, and compromised divine truth, for the sake of numerical
strength and temporal advantage. One party was governed by principle;
the other by expediency. The entering wedge was followed by other
wedges, until the glorious Church of Scotland was chopped and split, and
thrown about into endless dis