was presented
for the ordinance at the close of the sermon by the father, who was
attended by one or more sponsors. When the Lord's Supper was observed
(which in some congregations was monthly) the tables were spread in
that part of the Church which had formerly been the chancel, and as
many communicants as could conveniently do so sat down together with
the minister. These, when the tables had been served, gave place to
others.

The services throughout were marked by simplicity, reverence and
freedom from strict and unbending forms; liberty characterized their
every part, and room was left for the exercise of the guiding Spirit of
God, in a measure not enjoyed by Churches tied to the use of a
prescribed worship; at the same time there was a recognized order and a
reverent devotion in all parts of the worship which many non-liturgical
Churches of this day may well covet. It was a service simple yet
impressive, voluntary yet orderly, regulated and yet untrammeled.

The Period of Controversy, 1614-1645.

"They were splintered and torn, but no power could bend or melt them.
They dwelt, as pious men are apt to dwell, in suffering and sorrow on
the all-disposing power of Providence. Their burden grew lighter as
they considered that God had so determined that they should bear
it."--FROUDE.

Chapter V.

The Period of Controversy, 1614-1645.

The years from 1603, the date of James the Sixth's ascent to the united
thrones of England and Scotland, until 1645 the year of the Westminster
Assembly, cover one of the most exciting and interesting periods in
Scottish history. Especially is this period of interest to the student
of Scottish Church history, because of the influences both direct and
indirect which the struggles of that time had upon the development of
the character and practice of the Presbyterian Church.

The Book of Common Order had received the authority of the General
Assembly sitting in Edinburgh in 1564, and for nearly fifty years from
that date it was the unchallenged directory for worship and usage in
the Scottish Church. Its use, though not universal, was general, and
it was uniformly referred to, as well in civil as in ecclesiastical
courts, as comprising for the Church the law respecting public worship.

The first mention of any desire to modify or amend this book occurs in
1601, in the records of the General Assembly, when a motion was made
respecting an improved version of the Bi