ms, while his prayer,
which is still preserved, on the occasion of a national thanksgiving,
is an illustration of the perhaps not excellent way in which, in this
exercise, he was accustomed to combine devotion and practical politics;
a part of it ran thus:

"And seeing that nothing is more odious in Thy presence, O Lord, than
is ingratitude and violation of an oath and covenant made in Thy Name:
and seeing that Thou hast made our confederates of England the
instruments by whom we are now set at liberty, to whom we in Thy Name
have promised mutual faith again; let us never fall to that unkindness,
O Lord, that either we declare ourselves unthankful unto them, or
profaners of Thy Holy Name."

It is not surprising that one who allowed himself such liberty in
public prayer should lay no binding forms upon his brethren in the
ministry.

It remains only to be said, with regard to the restrictions of the Book
of Common Order, that so far from providing any fixed form of prayer
for uniform, use, even the Lord's Prayer was not imposed in any part of
public worship. It is added, together with the Creed, to the form of
prayer called "A Prayer for the Whole Estate of Christ's Church," but
this prayer is governed by the general rubric already quoted, which
permits such variation as the minister, moved by the Spirit of God,
shall deem desirable. There is nothing to show that it was expected
that the Lord's Prayer should be used as an invariable part of public
worship.

With these facts before us, whatever our judgment may be of the wisdom
of Knox and of the Church of his day in the matter of a regulated
service, we cannot close our eyes to the evident conclusion that the
Reformer was wholly opposed to the bondage of form in prayer. In this
part of public worship he claimed for himself, and exercised under the
guidance of the Spirit of God, the greatest freedom; and consistent
with this position he never sought to impose as a part of regular
public worship, the repetition by the minister of even that form of
prayer which of all others has for its use Divine authority. To
whatever in worship the Book of Common Order may lend its countenance,
it assuredly gives no support to the imposition upon worshippers of
prescribed forms of prayer.

Side by side with that part of public worship already considered there
has always been associated the exercise of Praise.

Although the Scottish Church conformed most closely to the Churches