with him, wherein they wish that his Grace and the Lords of Privy Council would authorise the present assembly, by their presence, or by others having commission in their names: and they give this reason,—For preservation of the holy Ministry and Kirk in purity, the Lord hath appointed Assemblies and Conventions, not only of the persons appointed to the ministry, but also of other members of the kirk; and the kirk of God hath continually used, and useth the same Assemblies, sanctioned by the word of God, and authorised by the presence of Christ. It was also known to his Grace that since the time God blessed this country with the light of his evangel, the kirk appointed, and by act of Parliament it was authorised that two godly Assemblies of the whole kirk of this realm should be holden every year, as well of other members of all estates as of the ministry—which assemblies have been, since the first ordinance, continually keeped in such sort that the most noble and highest Estate have joined themselves to these Assemblies as members of one body, voting, concurring, and authorising all things therein concluded.”[1]
The Duke of Argyll has quoted portions of this important extract: we have quoted it entire. It may be true that the regent and the nobles still neglected to countenance the General Assembly by their presence to the extent which that body desired: but that is of no importance whatever. The document speaks for itself, and therefore we shall make no comments upon it: suffice it to say, that this quotation, from the writings of the man whom the church of Scotland acknowledges as its true historian, clearly indicates that the General Assembly was in itself, and in its own estimation, anything rather than a clerical council. The reader will not fail to note that the General Assembly is appointed to consist of “members of all estates,” in order that “the ministry” may be preserved “in purity.” We thus see that civilians were introduced in great abundance for the very purpose, inter alia, of watching and regulating the clergy. This does not look like putting power into the hands of the ministers.
The second “Book of Discipline” attempted indeed, in some respects, to alter the character of this assembly. It attempted
- ↑ Calderwood, p. 65
