not profane, his power and laws holy, his sword holy.' It is manifest that what was contemplated in this system was not, as has been supposed, two powers or communities, the one worldly, the other professing to be heavenly, of which the worldly because of its physical force was to domineer over the heavenly, but one Christian Church or community, the government of which should be under one head. They wished to avoid what Peter Martyr1 called the Biceps et monstrosa Respublica, in which men would be distracted in their allegiance between opposite claims upon their consciences.

This system has had its main effect in Germany, though it is hardly distinguishable from that of the Reformation Settlement in England. The chief fault which we may trace in its operation in Germany is a fault not of the system itself but of the general method of government. In all matters, ecclesiastical and civil alike, there has been in Germany too minute a regulation of affairs, and too little confidence in the people themselves; and the government has consequently appeared as an external power which caused discontent by imposing its will upon the Church, whereas the fault has really lain in a wrong balance of powers within the Church itself. That there are many spheres in life, the chief of which is the formation and expression of

1 Peter Martyr's views on this subject may be found in his Common Places,' Part iv. c. 5 (p. 61), and his Commentaries on Judges xviii. and I Sam. viii.

2 See Note XVIII, in which are given, first, some extracts from Baron Bunsen's Life, showing the arbitrary power over religious affairs which he sought to correct; secondly, extracts from the introduction to the law of 1880 for the regulation of the Prussian Church, showing the modifications now adopted of the former system of absolutism.

religious belief, with which no government ought to interfere, except so far as to ensure their proper development, is a political principle of the utmost importance; and this principle has often been ignored by those in authority, by none so much as by ecclesiastical rulers. But to call this ignoring of the proper bounds of coercive authority by the name of Erastianism is unmeaning. To the system of Erastus, and of the great reformers who agreed with him, it is difficult to see what objection can be made. That system is one more of the many attempts, partially, but for the reasons above given only partially, successful, by which Christians have sought to bring human life into harmony through the redemptive power contained in the Gospel, to raise the government of men in the whole range of its operation to the dignity of a function of the Church.

I now turn to the religion of our English race, and I take, besides the main stream of it which will form the subject of the next Lecture, two important and largely successful attempts at the great object; the establishment of the Presbyterian régime by Knox in Scotland, in the latter part of the 16th century, and the foundation of Puritan communities in the early part of the 17th century in New England.

The movement of Knox in Scotland was eminently national. He addressed himself, not mainly to individuals, but to the Queen and the Estates of the realm. Religion was to be a matter of public concern. The scene at Edinburgh in the year 1581, in which the Confession of Faith, the Protest against Rome, and the

National Covenant were ratified, is worthy to be compared with the Jewish Covenants in the days of Hezekiah and Josiah1. The Estates professed their resolve to stand by the settlement of the realm made at the Reformation, and they concluded their deliverance in these solemn words: Because we cannot look for a blessing from God upon our proceedings except with our profession we join such a life and conversation as beseemeth Christians who have renewed their covenant with God, we therefore faithfully promise for ourselves, our followers, and all others under us, both in public and in our particular families and personal carriage, to endeavour to keep ourselves within the bounds of Christian liberty, and to be good examples to others of all godliness, sobriety, and righteousness, and every duty that we owe to God and man. And, that our union and conjunction may be observed without violation, we call the Living God, the searcher of our hearts, to witness; most humbly beseeching the Lord to strengthen us by His Holy Spirit for this end, and to bless our desires and proceedings with a happy success; that religion and righteousness may flourish in our land, to the glory of God, the honour of our King, and the peace

1 The fundamental documents of the Scotch Church are to be found in a volume entitled, 'The Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms,' &c. (Glasgow, F. Ore and Sons, 1843). The National Covenant or Confession of Faith of 1581 is there given (pp. 287–298). It should be distinguished from the Solemn League and Covenant made in 1643, which is also in the volume (pp. 299-306). The National Covenant contains an enunciation of the Acts of Parliament by which the Presbyterian system was established.

A spirited description of the restoration of the National Covenant in 1638 is given in Stanley's Lectures on the History of the Church of Scotland (Murray, 1872), p. 73.

and comfort of us all.' In a word, the whole nation here profess their faith and their firm resolve to pursue Christian righteousness. It was an attempt to make the Scottish kingdom a Kingdom of Christ and of God.

I need not dwell on the vicissitudes of the Scottish Church and nation, which are so closely bound up with those of our own. We all know how the settlement then made stood firm, so as to resist the designs of Charles I and of Laud, to which the English Church succumbed; how its success made Presbyterianism for a time the form of English as well as Scottish religion; how, after the Civil War and the reigns of Charles and James II, it reasserted itself in Scotland and has maintained itself ever since. I will content myself with pointing out how far it succeeded, how far it failed, in the attempt to make the Christian religion in Scotland the basis of the national life.

The words of the Covenant which I have read shew that Christian righteousness was the main thought of the actors in that memorable scene. But, owing to the preoccupation of men's minds with the controversy with Rome, and the fact that the chief instrument of Roman tyranny had been a peculiar form of doctrine and of worship, the idea of doctrine and worship was much more prominent than that of good government. Almost all the Acts of Parliament to which the Covenant refers are for the establishment of the Presbyterian form of worship and discipline. They revoke all laws made in former times in favour of idolatry, superstition, and the Papistical Kirk; they provide that all Papistical priests

and their adherents shall be punished with ecclesiastical and civil penalties as common enemies of all Christian governments; they condemn all erroneous books, and forbid superstitious ceremonies, and ordain that those who use them shall be punished, on the second fault, as idolaters. This absorption in the question of public worship and ceremonies necessarily throws into the shade the yet more important matters of men's relations to one another and to the society, the body of Christ, in which they live, in the practice of which relations consists the genuine service of God, the proper outcome of the worship in spirit and truth. And, though such relations would naturally result from Protestant Christianity sincerely adopted, and have indeed largely resulted from it, yet, the stress not being laid on this result, religion failed to gain the hold upon men's consciences which it would have gained if identified with a righteous public life. Also, the extreme severity of the laws against Popery could not but create a spirit of harshness in the minds of the people very widely different from the spirit of Christ. Righteousness without love is not Christianity; and to enact laws of extreme severity in the name of God must give men a wrong idea of the Divine character. When the heated iron had cooled, a hard form remained, which made religion. rather a peculiar mould in which character was cast than a living spirit and conviction.

And yet no one can doubt that the effect on the national character of Scotland was real, permanent and noble. If the Presbyterian system had been somewhat

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