repeated
unvaryingly by the officiating minister. It has indeed been maintained,
even in recent times, and by ministers of the National Church, that "the
idea of extemporaneous prayer as an appropriate vehicle of public
devotion was one quite unknown to the Reformation." But this cannot be
made good with respect to any of the Reformed or Calvinistic churches,
and certainly least of all with respect to the National Church of
Scotland at any period of its history. Our reformers laid it down in
their First Book of Discipline as a fixed principle that "it is neither
the clipping of their crownes, the greasing of their fingers,[162] nor
the blowing of the dumb dogges called the bishops, neither the laying on
of their hands, that maketh true ministers of Christ Jesus. But the
Spirit of God, inwardly first moving the heart to seeke to enter in the
holy calling for Christ's glory and the profite of His Kirk, and
thereafter the nomination of the people, the examination of the learned,
and publick admission, ... make men lawfull ministers."[163] They
distinctly taught that no one was to be regarded as a lawful minister of
Christ into whose mouth Christ had not put _some word of exhortation_
or vouchsafed some gift of expounding and preaching the Word of
God,[164] and they expressly encouraged their ministers to look for
their Master's aid and guidance in praying as well as in preaching.
Hence throughout their Book of Common Order they carefully abstained
from imposing the _ipsissima verba_ of particular forms as rigidly
binding, or even from encouraging their ministers to rest contented with
the stated repetition of them.

[Sidenote: Its tolerant Rubrics.]

[Sidenote: Calderwood's Testimony.]

[Sidenote: Row's Opinion.]

"When the congregation is assembled," run its tolerant rubrics, "the
minister useth one of these two confessions, or _like in effect_."[165]
"This done, the people sing a psalme altogether in a plain tune, which
ended, the minister prayeth for the assistance of God's Holie Spirit _as
the same shall move his heart_, and so proceedeth to the sermon. The
minister, after the sermon, useth this prayer following, or _such
like_."[166] "Then the people sing a psalme, which ended, the minister
pronounceth one of these blessings, and so the congregation
departeth."[167] Such are its few and simple directions for the ordinary
form of public worship; and as if even these might fail to beget in the
minds of some of the