Chapter XV: The Creed and Organisation of the Reformed Church

THE Confession of Faith, ratified by the Parliament of August 1560, was composed by John Knox, John Winram, John Spottiswood, John Willock, John Row, and John Douglas. It comprised twenty-five very short chapters; and a brief preface, which stated that the Scottish Reformers had long desired to proclaim to the world the sum of the doctrine which they professed, and for which they had faced danger and infamy. In the preface it is announced:――“If any man will note in our Confession any article or sentence repugnant to God’s holy word, we humbly request him to admonish us of the same, in writing, and on our honour we faithfully promise him satisfaction from the Scriptures, or else reformation of what is proved to be amiss.” This is an indication of fairness and reasonableness; but it must be regretted that the Reformers seldom acted in the spirit of the rule which they here recognised. The preface concluded thus:――“And therefore by the assistance of the mighty Spirit, our Lord Jesus, we firmly purpose to abide to the end by this Confession of our Faith.”¹

¹ Knox, Volume II., pages 95‒96; _Acts of the Parliaments of
Scotland_, Volume III., pages 14‒22.

The Confession opened with the belief in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. God is eternal, infinite, unmeasureable, incomprehensible, omnipotent, and invisible; one in substance, and yet divided into three persons. It treated concisely of the creation of man, his fall, and original sin; the promise of a Saviour, and the continuation of the faithful from Adam to the coming of the Messiah. As to the Incarnation, Christ is declared to be truly God and truly man, having two perfect natures united in one person. On this doctrine they condemned――“The damnable and pestilent heresies of Arius, Marcion, Eutyches, Nestorius, and all others who deny the eternity of His Godhead, or the verity of His human nature, or confound them, or divide them.” This wonderful conjunction of the persons of the Godhead, “did proceed from the eternal and immutable decree of God, whence also our salvation springs and depends. For God, the Father, of His mere mercy had elected us in Christ Jesus, before the foundation of the world was laid, and appointed Him to be our Head. So we confess and undoubtedly believe in His Passion, Death, and Burial; his Resurrection and Ascension, His session at the right hand of God, whence He shall visibly return at the day of judgment.”

There are chapters on the Holy Ghost, the cause of good works, on what these consist, the perfection of the law and the imperfection of man; on the true Church, the power and the authority of the Scriptures; on the immortality of the soul, the sacraments and their right administration, the gifts freely given to the Church; and on the civil magistrate.

The Confession recognised empires, kingdoms, and cities, to be distinct realities and ordained by God. Emperors, kings, dukes, and magistrates of cities, each in their proper rank and place, are to be regarded as the holy ordinance of God, established for the manifestations of His own glory, and the good of mankind. So those who go about to destroy the existing constitution of the State, or to confound the government of a kingdom, are not only the enemies of mankind, but they also wickedly fight against the expressed will of God. Such persons therefore as are placed in authority, should be loved, honoured, feared, and held in the most reverent estimation. But then it is the duty of kings and magistrates to reform and purge religion, and to suppress all idolatry and superstition, according to the examples of the Old Testament, as in the case of David, Ezechias, Josias, Josaphat, and others, most worthy of being imitated.

“Arise, O Lord, and let thy enemies be confounded: Let them flee from thy presence that hate thy godly name: give thy servants strength to speak thy word in boldness: and let all nations attain to thy true knowledge. Amen.”¹

¹ Knox, Volume II., page 120.

The six men who drafted the Confession of Faith, also composed the First Book of Discipline; but it never received the sanction of the government. It was divided into nine heads, and treated of doctrine, polity, discipline and education.¹ It is a production embodying views on various important points that penetrate deeply into the strata of society, and wield a far-reaching influence over its destiny.

¹ The _First Book of Discipline_ is printed in the second
volume of Knox’s Works, pages 183‒257: and it is also
included in the _Collection of Confessions_, published in
1722.

The first head announced that the Gospel should be freely and openly preached in every church and assembly of the kingdom; and that all doctrine repugnant to this should be utterly suppressed, “as damnable to man’s salvation;” that the books of the Old and New Testament contained all things necessary for the instruction of the Church, and for perfecting of the man of God: all laws and constitutions imposed upon the consciences of men, without the expressed command of God’s word, such as vows of chastity, celibacy, superstitious observance of fasting days, keeping of saints’ days, prayer for the dead, and other feasts, were therefore declared to be abolished in Scotland, and that obstinate maintainers of these abominations ought not to escape the punishment of the civil magistrate.

The second head asserted that there are only two sacraments, Baptism¹ and the Lord’s Supper, that the people should be instructed in the language which they understood before participating in the sacraments, and that in Baptism the element of water only should be used, oil, salt, wax, conjuration, crossing, and all inventions of men were forbidden. At the Lord’s Supper, sitting at a table was declared to be the most suitable posture, because our Lord Himself sat with His disciples. It was further directed that the people should partake both of the bread and of the wine, that the officiating minister should break the bread, and distribute it to those next to him, commanding the rest, every one with reverence and sobriety, to break with each other, and that during this action, some comforting passages of Scripture should be read, which brought to mind the death of Christ Jesus, and the never-ending benefit flowing from it to mankind.

¹ The Canons of the Roman Scottish Church on Baptism may be
seen in the _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume II.,
pages 174‒175, 307‒309.

The third head required the abolition of idolatry with all its monuments, such as abbeys, monasteries, friaries, nunneries, chapels, chantries, cathedral kirks, canonries, and colleges, excepting those used as parish churches and schools, and all the mansions and dwelling places attached thereto, with the gardens and orchards. It should be observed that it was only the monastic system, and the extinction of its pertinents, which was really a consequence of the establishment of Protestantism; not at all the mere wanton destruction of the buildings: in the circumstances it was necessary to remove the ornaments and the internal furniture of the Roman Catholic churches and establishments of every description, as these were all intimately connected with the worship of the system. It is always easy for people to be wise after the event, but if those who now blame the Reformers had been upon the scene at the time, their wisdom would in all probability have proved of little avail. Under idolatry was included the mass, invocation of saints, adoration of images; and finally, all honouring of God not authorised in His holy word.

The fourth head dealt with the ministers and their lawful election. In a reformed Church, it was said, no one ought to preach or to administer the sacraments, till he be called. The ordinary vocation of a minister was said to consist in election, examination, and admission. It pertained to the people and to each congregation to elect their own minister. Examinations must be in public, by the ministers and elders of the Church: the applicant should be examined openly in the presence of the people on all points of controversy between the Protestants and the Catholics, Anabaptists, Arians, and other enemies of the Christian religion, that all may hear and understand. After he has given evidence of his soundness in doctrine, and evinced his ability to convince the gainsayers, he must then appear before the congregation whom he is intended to serve, and in the presence of his flock should deliver several sermons, touching the articles of faith, jurisdiction, the office of Christ Jesus, the number, the effect, and the use of the sacraments, and finally, explain the whole Protestant conception of religion. But great care should always be taken not to thrust any man upon a congregation, if they were not satisfied with him; this point was repeatedly stated in the First Book of Discipline.

Touching the form of admission of members to their charge, a sermon should be preached by some specific member concerning the duties of the office; and an exhortation should be given both to the minister to be admitted and to his congregation. Any other ceremony was deemed unnecessary, only the approbation of the people, and the declaration of the presiding minister that the person then presented was appointed to serve his particular church. Although the apostles used the imposition of hands, yet seeing that the miracle ceased, this ceremony was unnecessary.

The Scottish Reformers experienced much difficulty in the work of organising their Church, from the paucity of qualified ministers then in Scotland; to overcome this, they adopted the only expedient of employing other two classes of persons in the work of religious instruction, called exhorters and readers. In churches where no ministers could be had, readers were to be appointed, persons who could read distinctly the common prayers and the Scriptures; and afterwards, some of these, if found qualified, might be advanced to the position of ministers. The exhorters were a class between the readers and the minister. As the name imports, they gave some explanation or application of the parts of Scripture which they read to the congregation.

The fifth and sixth heads are very important, and related to the distribution of the possessions, rents, and patrimony of the church, and provision for the ministers. It was exactly in these matters that the strength and weakness of the reformation spirit in Scotland would be tested; it is necessary therefore to indicate the scheme proposed by the leading men among the Protestant clergy. It is very obvious from what has already been stated, that some of the expedients which they adopted were merely intended to meet the exigencies of the circumstances, and to bridge over the great difficulties springing out of the revolutionary changes of the religious movement. Owing to the scarcity of qualified ministers the Reformers had recourse to the expedient of selecting a number of persons with power to plant and erect churches, and to appoint ministers within the bounds of their respective provinces. To effect this they divided the country into five districts, each of which was placed under a superintendent.¹ These men were not to live idly as the bishops had often done; they had to preach themselves three times every week, to labour incessantly and to travel from place to place, till all the churches within their district were provided with ministers, or at least with readers. Till they had gone over their district, they were not to remain longer in one place than thirty days. They were to examine into the life and diligence of the ministers and readers, the order of their churches, the manners of the people, the state of the poor, and the instruction of the young.

¹ The names of the persons chosen were John Carswell, for
Argyle and the Isles; John Erskine of Dun, for Angus and
Mearns; John Spottiswood, for Lothian and Tweeddale; John
Willock, for Glasgow and the West; and John Winram for
Fife――five in all. As this number of superintendents was
never increased, the General Assembly from time to time
appointed commissioners or visitors for special districts.
Their duties were of a very arduous nature, and their
stipends were not great. They had no superiority over their
brethren, and like other members they were entirely subject
to the General Assembly. Their special office was to plant
churches, and assist in the great labour of organisation.
At this time three or four churches were sometimes grouped
together, having a minister in one and readers in the others,
under the superintendent; and this continued for many years,
till a sufficient number of qualified ministers could be
obtained.

It was proposed to regulate the scale of stipend according to the condition and circumstances of the ministers. The superintendents were to get more than the ordinary minister of a parish, a minister more than an exhorter, and the reader less than an exhorter. Proposals were made for securing a provision for the wives and families of the ministers; burghal privileges were demanded for their children, and a special preference to be accorded to their sons in the schools and colleges, with regard to the presentation of bursaries. Thus far, touching the personal wants of the new clergy and their families.

It was proposed that a portion of the property of the Church should be applied to national education. “Seeing that all men came into the world ignorant, and God had ceased to illuminate them miraculously, a system of education for the whole people was therefore a necessity.” A school was to be attached to every church, and when a schoolmaster could not be got, the minister or the reader was to teach the children and the young people of the parish, and instruct them in the rudiments of education, especially in the Catechism as translated in the Book of Common Order, called the Order of Geneva.¹ They further proposed that those who were unable to keep their children at school, should be assisted out of the funds of the Church, especially the people in the landward parts of the country.

¹ The reference here is to the translation of Calvin’s
Catechism. In another part of the First Book of Discipline
it is called the most perfect catechism that ever was used
in the Church. It was approved and adopted by the Reformed
Church of Scotland, and commonly printed with the Book of
Common Order. A translation of this catechism was reprinted
at Edinburgh in 1564, and it was long and widely used among
the Protestants of Scotland. There is a notice of early
editions in the sixth volume of Dr. Laing’s collected
edition of Knox’s works, page 341. Calvin’s Catechism was
divided into fifty-five parts, one for every Sunday, so that
the whole of it was gone through in little more than a year.
It contains three hundred and seventy-three questions and
answers.

The Palatine Catechism used by the reformed Churches of
Germany, and taught in the schools, was translated into
English, and printed in 1591 by public authority for the use
of Scotland; and it was sometimes printed with the Book of
Common Order and the Psalm Book. This catechism had three
chief headings――“1. Of Man’s Misery; 2. Of Man’s Deliverance;
3. Of Man’s Thankfulness.” It was divided into fifty-two
parts, one for each Sunday of the year, and contains one
hundred and twenty-nine questions and answers. It was
printed in the _Collection of Confessions_, published at
Edinburgh in 1722, Volume II. pages 273‒352.

There was a little catechism in Latin which was used in the
grammar schools. It embraced forty-one questions and answers.
In 1592, the General Assembly authorised a Catechism, which
was drawn up by John Craig, with the assistance of Robert
Pont, Thomas Buchanan, and Andrew Melville; its title is――“A
form of Examination before the Communion.” The Assembly
ordered it to be used in families and to be taught in
schools. _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 574, 784, 788.
It is known by the name of Craig’s Catechism. It has twelve
headings, and contains ninety-six questions and answers.
The eighty-sixth question is this――“What is the office of
the Christian magistrate in the Church? A. He should defend
the true religion and discipline, and punish all troublers
and contemners of the same.”――_Collection of Confessions_.
Volume II., pages 363‒377. A new edition of Craig’s
Catechism was prepared and issued some years ago by W. T. G.
Law of the Signet Library, Edinburgh.

The state of the poor labourers of the ground was noticed, with the remark that they had been long oppressed. The Reformers were grieved to see that some of the barons were so cruel to their tenants, and extorted from them as much, and even more, than the priesthood had done; and they argued earnestly that this class should now be relieved of a part of the burdens which had so long pressed upon them. It was also firmly maintained in the First Book of Discipline, that the poor and the helpless ought to be supported and sustained from the property of the Church.

The seventh head treated of ecclesiastical discipline. A distinction was drawn between crimes which should be punished and put down by the State, and those which fell under the discipline of the Church. All capital crimes ought to be punished by the civil power; but drunkenness, excess in eating, oppression of the poor by cruel exactions, or cheating in buying and selling, properly appertained to the Church to punish as God’s word commanded. Owing, however, to the confusion introduced by the Roman Catholic system: “The Church of God is compelled to draw the sword against such open and manifest offenders, cursing and excommunicating all such, as well as those whom the civil sword ought to punish as the others, from all participation with her in prayers and sacraments, till open repentance manifestly appears in them. As the form of proceeding in excommunication ought to be grave and slow, so when once it is pronounced against any person, whatever their rank and condition may be, it must be kept with all severity. For laws made and not kept engender contempt of virtue, and bring in confusion and liberty to sin.” The same sharp and inflexible rules of discipline were to be applied to all ranks in the kingdom, to the rulers as well as to the ruled, and even to the preachers themselves as well as to the humblest in the nation. Here at least there was a thorough recognition of equal justice and no respect of persons.

The eighth head related to the election of elders and deacons. The most intelligent, faithful, and honest men that could be found within the Church should be nominated for election, and their names publicly announced by the minister to the whole congregation. Regarding the form of voting, so that every man might give his vote with freedom, each congregation was left to adopt such rules as seemed most likely to attain the end. They were to be elected yearly, but those in office the preceding year might be re-elected. The elders were to assist the minister in all the public affairs of the church, in judging causes, and in admonishing the licentious; for by the gravity of the elders, the levity and unbridled life of the immoral should be corrected and restrained. They were to observe the life, diligence, and study of the minister himself, to admonish and correct him, and when necessary, with the consent of the congregation and the superintendent, they might depose him. The office of the deacon was to receive the rents and gather the alms of the church, and to keep and distribute them as should be appointed. They were also to assist the minister and elders in deciding causes, and they might be admitted to read publicly, if required, and found fit to perform that duty. The deacons personally should be sober, humble, lovers of concord and peace, and examples of godliness to all. The elders and deacons were to receive no stipend, because they held office only from year to year, and because their services to the Church did not prevent them from attending to their private business.

The ninth head referred to the polity of the Church, which embraced those things that might bring the rude and ignorant to knowledge, inflame the learned to greater fervency and to retain the Church in good order. It was then stated that there were two kinds of polity, the one necessary, the other merely expedient and amenable to circumstances. The first required that the word should be truly preached, the sacraments rightly administered, and the common prayers publicly offered; that children and rude and ignorant persons should be instructed in the chief points of religion, and offenders punished, as without these there was not the face of a visible Church. The second touched upon such matters as that psalms should be sung, that certain portions of Scripture should be read when there was no sermon, and that on this or the next day of the week, few or many, the congregation should meet for worship. Regarding points of this character each congregation was permitted within limits to frame rules suitable to its circumstances. It was required, however, that in all the chief towns there should either be a sermon or common prayers every day, with some exercise of reading the Scriptures. In every notable town it was also required that there should be sermon and prayers on one day of the week, besides Sunday; and during the time of this service both masters and servants should cease from their business and labour. In all places the Sunday was to be regularly kept: in the forenoon the Word was to be preached, the sacraments administered, and marriage solemnised; and in the afternoon the children should be taught in their catechism and examined in the presence of the people, as thereby the old as well as the young might be better enabled to understand the questions and answers propounded, and the doctrines of Christianity. To promote this great end every church should have an English Bible, and the people were commanded to convene at befitting times to hear it read and interpreted, and thus by degrees to dispel the grovelling ignorance and thick darkness which had so long enslaved their bodies and minds.

Concerning marriage, it was found that the existing relations of the different sex were of the most lax and immoral character. Under the Roman Catholic system, the practice of divorce, of dissolving marriage by granting dispensations on various grounds, tended to foster immorality and to encourage crimes of the most atrocious description, more especially among the upper classes.¹ The Reformers, therefore, endeavoured to frame regulations calculated to remedy this class of social evils. Henceforth marriage must be publicly celebrated in the face of the Church; and to avoid all suspicion, the banns should be proclaimed on three successive Sundays. On no consideration should secret marriages be permitted; the ceremony should be solemnised publicly.

¹ _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume II., pages 130‒131,
297.

Touching burial it was stated:――“In all ages it has been held to signify that the same body that was committed to the earth should not utterly perish, but should rise again.” From what immediately followed, it is pretty clear that the Reformers were reluctant to abolish all the forms and ceremonies which till then had been associated with the burial of the dead. This is not surprising, as veneration for the memory of the departed is one of the strongest and deepest sentiments of human nature; it touches those tender strings of the heart which are at once the source of the purest emotions and the noblest feelings of our common humanity. In Scotland, as elsewhere, from the earliest period there is ample evidence of this respect for the memory of the deceased, and it was keenly felt by the Reformers themselves. At the same time they were more strongly impressed by the baneful results which superstitious notions and practices had produced; and thus without much discrimination they put a ban on the expression of one of the most affectionate features of human character, when, to avoid all superstition, they enjoined――“that the dead should be conveyed to the place of interment with some honest company of the Church, without either singing or reading; yea, without any kind of ceremony hitherto used, other than that the dead be committed to the grave, with such gravity and sobriety as those that be present may seem to fear the judgment of God, and to hate sin, which is the cause of death.”

The First Book of Discipline concluded with an article concerning the punishment of those who profane the sacraments and contemn the Word of God. It suggested that very severe measures should be adopted for the repression of all such abuses within the kingdom. This Book of Discipline was not sanctioned by parliament, but it was approved by an act of the Privy Council in January, 1561, and about thirty of the nobles and gentry subscribed it. The Reformers failed to obtain any settled provision or adequate allowance for the new clergy out of the confiscated lands of the Church; and none of the Acts of the Parliament which abolished the Roman Catholic religion were ever sanctioned by Queen Mary.

The Book of Common Order, mentioned in the First Book of Discipline, was a kind of directory of public worship.¹ It contained a form of prayer for the ordinary meeting of the congregation. At that time extempore prayer was not common in Scotland, nor anywhere else among the reformed clergy. The book also gave directions for the administration of the sacraments; a form of marriage; a prayer to be said at the visitation of the sick; and instructions on the order of ecclesiastical discipline.² There were also two treatises, the one on fasting, and the other on excommunication. These, however, were written and adopted by the Church a few years later, and will fall to be noticed in connection with other influences which affected the people.

¹ It was an adaptation of the Order of Geneva――the forms of
worship which had been received by the English congregation
in that city. Of this congregation Knox was for some time
pastor, hence it was sometimes called the Order of Geneva.
The Geneva edition of 1558 was reprinted at Edinburgh in
1562, and again in 1564, and it was approved and sanctioned
by the General Assembly; the subsequent editions were
numerous, and commonly printed with the old metrical version
of the psalms. _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 30, 54.
In Dr. Laing’s edition of Knox’s Works, accurate and minute
details on these points will be found.

² _Collection of Confessions_, Volume II., pages 372, 468;
1722. Knox’s Works, Volume VI., pages 275‒333.

The system of doctrine and polity of the Reformed Church of Scotland as presented in the Confession, the First Book of Discipline, the Catechism, and the Book of Common Order was pretty distinct, although on several points rather crude and imperfectly developed. The doctrines of Calvin were adopted by the Scottish Reformers with little modification, and it was at this time that Calvinism seized the minds of men with irresistible power.¹ The Calvinistic modes of belief and thought were decidedly more opposed to the Roman Catholic tenets than the doctrines of Luther. Of this fact, the Catholics themselves were well aware, and hence the intense bitterness that eventually prevailed everywhere, when Calvinists and Romanists came into conflict with each other. In Scotland amongst the Protestants heresy was for a long time quite unknown; the disputes which arose within the Reformed Church in this country were always about points of polity or external forms, or the limits of the liberty and power of the Church. The first brunt of the battle was directed against the Roman Catholic system; and it is vain and untrue to deny that the Protestants persecuted the Catholics. The moral ideas and sentiments of the sixteenth century were comparatively narrow and imperfectly developed, and Knox and his associates would most assuredly not have taken it as a compliment, if they had been told that they tolerated the Catholics. The Reformers distinctly, emphatically, and constantly, proclaimed that it was the duty of the State and the Church to punish and extinguish the confessors of the mass and other forms of idolatry. The proceedings of the General Assemblies, the Acts of Parliament, and other national records, contain endless evidence of this. What else could have been expected? A nation does not spring up to an elevated moral position in a day or in a few years; and the ultimate results of a great revolution cannot justly be measured by its immediate effects. On the contrary, the movement must be followed century after century ere its truth and glory can be fully apprehended.

¹ On the re-establishment of Protestantism in England at the
accession of Queen Elizabeth, the English bishops would
have gladly dispensed with Episcopacy, and the ceremonies
which the Queen imposed were barely tolerated. In regard to
the great question of the real presence the majority of the
bishops agreed with the Swiss Reformers. Hunt’s _Religious
Thought in England_, Volume I. pages 39‒41. For further
evidence of the influence exerted by Calvin on the Reformed
Church, see Hagenbach’s _History of Doctrines_, Volume II.,
178‒183, and Ranke’s _History of the Popes_. Blunt,
_Dictionary of Doctrinal and Historical Theology_

The first General Assembly met at Edinburgh on the 20th of December, 1560. There were only a few ministers present, but a number of lay commissioners attended. The Assembly enumerated and recorded the names of those who were deemed best qualified for preaching the word and administrating the sacraments, and reading the common prayers in all the churches. The ministers and readers together did not exceed sixty in number; and it can easily be seen that the difficulties and obstacles which the leaders of the Protestant revolution had to overcome, were something enormous; but they boldly proceeded to meet the necessities of the circumstances, in the way already indicated, by placing a man over a district to organise and appoint readers and exhorters to the churches where ministers could not be obtained.¹

¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 3‒6.

Another General Assembly met at Edinburgh on the 26th of May, 1561. It passed an act for the suppression of the Catholic worship throughout the kingdom; and measures were proposed for strengthening the hands of the superintendents. A supplication was sent to the government calling on them to take order――“With the pestilent generation of that Roman Antichrist within the realm, who was again threatening to erect their idolatry.” The Privy Council acceded to their request and passed an act thereon; and the Protestants went forward with their work of suppression and reorganisation.¹

¹ _Ibid._, pages 8‒10.