in addition to their name, wrote, till death, and some even opened a vein, and subscribed with their

became so much as Mense sheet, in a short time,

space, that there was

the

on botsingle additional signature, sides, throughout its whole

a

Even the margin was scrawled over and, as the document filled up, the subscribers seem to have been limited to the initial letters of their name. Zeal in the cause of Christ, and courage for the liberties of Scotland, warmed every breast. Joy was mingled with the expression of some, and of shouting arose from a few. But by far the greater portion were deeply impressed with very different feelings. Most of them, of all sorts, wept bitterly for their defection from the Lord. And, in testimony of his sincerity, every one confirmed his subscription by a solemn oath. With groans, and tears streaming down their faces, they all lifted up their right hands at once. When this awful appeal was made to the Searcher of Hearts, at the day of judgment, so great was the fear of again breaking this Covenant, that thousands of arms which had never trembled, even when drawing the sword on the eve of battle, were now loosened at every joint. After the oath had been administered, the people were powerfully enjoined to begin their personal reformation. At the conclusion, every body seemed to feel that a great measure of the divine presence had accompanied the solemnities of the day. With their hearts much comforted and strengthened for every duty, the enormous crowd retired about nine o'clock at night. Well, indeed, might Henderson boast, in his reply to the Aberdeen doctors, that this was the day of the Lord's power, wherein we saw his people most willingly offer themselves in multitudes, like the dew-drops of the morning-this was, indeed, the great day of Israel, wherein the arm of the Lord was revealed the day of the Redeemer's strength, on which the princes of the people assembled to swear their allegiance to the King of kings.'"

“THE GLASGOW GENERAL ASSEMBLY forms the next great step in the second Reformation. The very fact of its being held was, in itself, a triumph. One little oversight in the establishment of Episcopacy left an opportunity for assailing it, which was now powerfully and successfully seized upon. It had been allowed that Bishops were accountable to a General Assembly, and this slender cord became a cable in the band of Henderson, by which he pulled the whole fabric of Prelacy to the ground. The King's Commissioners, unable to resist the tide of the Assembly, left it in despair. The As sembly, notwithstanding, proceeded with their business. The Bishops were tried, deposed, and excommunicated. Several of the most important principles in the constitution of our Presbyteries were laid down and adopted. And Henderson, who had presided with the most distinguished ability and courage, throughout the whole proceedings, triumphantly dissolved the Assembly, exclaiming, we have now cast down the walls of Jericho, let him that rebuildeth them beware of the curse of Hiel the Bethelite? es yarm en yd badrisedne kor mé

Passing over a most interesting account of the commencement of open hostilities between Charles and the Covenanters, we notice the proposal of Henderson for the compilation of the great standards of the Presbyterian Church, in its CONFESSION, CATECHISMS, and FORM OF GOVERNMENT. This is particularly noticed by our author, in a manner most honourable to Henderson.

"Had there been nothing else to render this Assembly conspicuous in the pages of our Church History, or to secure respect for the memory of its moderator, the magnificent idea, which he here was the first to suggest, of framing our Confession of Faith, our Larger and Shorter Catechisms, and our Directory or Platform of Church Government and Worship, would have been enough to immortalize the period in which he lived. By these Henderson has erected a monument, in almost every heart in Scotland. For two hundred years, these have withstood the attacks of infidelity, and even many severe wounds from the hands of their friends; yet is the Confession of Faith, unshaken as the rock of ages, still found, on a Sabbath afternoon, in the hands of our peasantry, dear to them almost as their Bible, and the Catechism carried morning after morning, by our sons and our daughters, to the parish school, (the plan of which Henderson devised,) that their contents may enlighten the mind and spiritualize the nature of the rising generation. Next to the introduction of Christianity itself into Scotland, and the translation of the Bible into the vulgar tongue, the framing of the Confession of our Faith and of the Catechisms, has conferred the greatest boon on every Christian in our country. It was on Wednesday, the 28th of July, that Henderson first suggested to the Assembly the propriety of drawing up a Confession of Faith, a Catechism, and a Directory, for all the parts of the public worship. His first intention seems to have been to frame the system in such a way as to make it agreeable to the worshippers on both sides of the Tweed. But there is no compromise of Presbyterianism in it from beginning to end, so as to support the Episcopalian principles of the English. On proposing the matter, he expressed himself as being anxious to escape the toil of compiling these important works; but the burden was laid on his back, with liberty to retire from his parochial duties whenever he pleased, and to call to his assistance the abilities and diligence of any of his brethren."

An interesting account follows of the preparation and signing of THE SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT, and of the calling and sitting of the memorable WESTMINSTER AssemWe can make room for no more than the following graphic sketch of the place, and manner of conducting the business :

BLY.

"The room, which was all hung, was about the size of the College forehall at Glasgow, and fitted up like the Assembly House in Edinburgh. At the upper end sat the president on a chair raised. Before, and under him, his two assessors were seated, and before them, through the length of the room, stood a table, at which were the scribes. Along the room, on to the right of the speaker, stood three or four benches, which were occu.

pied by the Scottish Commissioners and the Members of Parliament deputed to the Assembly. On the benches opposite, going from the upper end to the chimney, sat the Divines, to the number of about seventy; and in the open space from the fire to the door, the Lords of Parliament had chairs set for them, as they came occasionally to the House. They met at nine o'clock, and generally sat five or six hours. Every diet began and ended with prayer; but, on particular occasions, when their discussions had become too keen and perhaps personal, when divine light was required to illuminate their path, or when the sins of the land cried for repentance, they humbled themselves before God by continued acts of devotion, occupying a sederunt of nine hours. At these appointed times, Twisse would open with a brief prayer; Marshall would pray for two hours, most divinely confessing the sins of the members of the Assembly in a wonderfully pathetic and prudent way; Arrowsmith would preach an hour, and then a psalm was sung; afterwards, Vines would pray near two hours, and Palmer preach an hour; and again, Seaman would pray near two hours; after this, Henderson would bring them to a sweet conference of the heat confessed in the Assembly, and other seen faults to be remedied, and point out the necessity of preaching down Anabaptists and Antinomians; and Twisse would close the whole with another short prayer, and a blessing on particular occasions."

"The Assembly divided themselves into three committees, in each of which every man might attend as a member. When the Parliament sent the Assembly written orders to take any purpose into consideration, every committee took a portion, and, in their afternoon meeting, prepared matters for the next day. After a short discussion, the result of their deliberations was set down in the form of a distinct proposition, and fortified with apposite texts of Scripture. Next morning, after prayer, the clerk read the proposition and Scripture, and a long, learned, but orderly, debate ensued, not only upon every proposition by itself, but on every text of Scripture brought to confirm it. After a matter had been thoroughly handled in replies, duplies, and triplies, sometimes for twenty days, and the whole mind of every member expressed to his satisfaction, the clerk rose with the amended proposition, and advancing to the speaker's chair, he read it and put the question, whether the patter were properly stated. After the numbers of contents and non-corpents were ascertained by the one division standing, the proposition was recorded, and there could be no more of the matter. And if, in the course debate, any speaker came back upon it, he was called to order. In the same way they went on with the first Scripture alleged for proof of t proposition. No man addressed another in debate, but spoke to thyenair, and in all contradictions kept to general discreet expressions. he outward form of the procedure was, in every respect, worthy of imit on, but for its woful length.',

THE DEATH OF HENDERSON close his interesting volume. He sunk under his accumulated labours of body and mind, never having been of a robust constipation, but of a most sensitive and tender mind. And we cant better conclude our notice of the volume, which should have been much more lengthened, had our limited pages admitted, than by the following condensed view of the character of Henderson, given by the author:

"Henderson seems to have been remarkably mild and affectionate from natural temperament; and, as a proof of this distinguishing feature, she was dearly beloved by his Sovereign and his friends, and much respected even by his opponents. In the very furnace of controversy, in which he was so much occupied, the serene and amiable qualities of the Christian. and the native courtesy of the gentleman, never gave way. He was, in every respect, remarkably adapted for the station he held as leader of the middle party, between two others which were more extreme in their measures. Averse, on the one hand, to an absolute government, which Baillie and other westerns were willing to support, and altogether hostile to that spirit of republicanism and religious independency which was daily gaining ground, Henderson, as the supporter of a limited monarchy, restrained and modified the ultra contending factions with which he was surrounded. His weight in the councils of the Covenanters mainly depended on the single circumstance, that the sincere and sensible men, of very different opinions, rested their entire confidence in the honest and accuratate balance of his mind. His death, therefore, like the crushing of the key-stone of an arch, brought every thing at once into confusion. As moderator in the stormy Assemblies of that stormy period, to cool the heat of fiery spirits; as the convener of a committee, to chalk out the prudent course, amid doubtful modes of procedure; as a commissioner for Scotland, in every treaty for peace entered into during his lifetime, to detect and defeat the secret tactics of negociation as the penman of a party, to explain, defend, and 'enforce a proposition, to frame a healing overture, often to the entire contentment of opponents, or to embody the sentiments of a large meeting in condensed legislative language; and, as a debater, to strike h, at the moment ripest for conviction, to select the argument most powerful in confirming and confuting, and to gather every waverer to his vote-no man of that age, so productive of varied talent, was better qualified, by disposition, intellect, and experience. But, although gentle in his dispositions, he was far from being insensible; on the contrary, Baillie admits, that the man had, by nature, a little choler not quite extinguished? A hasty or harsh expression, however, was scarcely ever permitted to escape him; unkind feelings and uncharitable constructions were foreign tipis heart. But, in one instance, when he felt his character impeachedhe vindicated his conduct with honest indignation ; and, on another occasion, when he found himself overreached, the iron deeply wounded his,ilpirit. It has been asserted, that, in contending with the Independents, h. caution, in the end, dwindled into indecision, and that his candour was setimes turned into simplicity by Cromwell and Vane. Henderson was nondeed, apt to cherish suspicion, but long after he detected the lurkingmractices of his cold-blooded opponents, he continued to act on the diried conviction of the daring courage of every case, the best policy, Henderson had the man who never feared the face of clay, nor the sudden, vigorous, and regardless spirit of him whos denominated, by his enemies, the Archetypal Bitter-Beard; but he was distinguished by the greater elevation and tenderness of sentigent the 8 feeling of prudence and forbearance the cautious,

e

and the mild,

modest, passive endurances human efforts

generally

with success. Knox, Melville, and Hendersop were all conspicuous for the fortiter in re, but Henderson alone combined with it the suaviter

in modo. His loyalty and personal respect for the King, his gratitude to him, and pity for his sufferings, should not be forgotten. In every stage of the struggle, these sentiments were always nearest his heart, and in the end they sank him into melancholy, which might not," perhaps, cause his death, but it assuredly hastened it. The love of liberty, says M'Crie, was in him a pure and enlightened flame; he loved his na tive country, but his patriotism was no narrow, illiberal passion-it opened to the welfare of neighbouring nations, and of mankind in general. His learning, prudence, and sagacity, soon distinguished him among that band of patriots who associated for the vindication of their national rights; and be was consulted by the principal nobility and statesmen, on the most important questions of public concern. Averse to severe or high measures, and disposed to unite all the friends of religion and liberty, he nevertheless did not hesitate to approve of and recommend bold and decisive steps, when necessary to remedy intolerable grievances, or to prosecute and secure a necessary reformation. His sagacity and political wisdom were free from the base alloy of duplicity and selfishness, with which they are so often debased. His integrity and virtue remained unncorrupted amid the blandishments of the court, and the intrigues of the cabinet. The confidence reposed in him, and the influence which he was enabled to exercise, which were as great as ever were enjoyed in a Presbyterian Church, he did not in a single instance betray or abuse. As a public speaker, he was eloquent, judicious, and popular. His eloquence was easy, but impressive, grave, but fluent. It was like the motion of a deep river, which carries one along insensibly, with a full tide, cold and clear, rather than with the rapidity of a swollen current. Whenever he preached, it was to crowded audiences; and when he pleaded or argued, he was regarded with mute attention. So long as the purity of our Presbyterian Establishment remain as often as the General Assembly of our Church is permitted to convene-while the Confession of Faith and Catechisms, Larger and Shorter, hold a place, in our estimation, second to the Scriptures alone-and till the history of the revolution during the reign of Charles I. is forgotten-the memory of ALEXANDER HENDERSON will be respected, and every Presbyterian patriot in Scottland will continue grateful for the SECOND REFORMATION of our Church, which Henderson was so instrumental in effecting."

With this short sketch we introduce to our readers the Life and Times of Alexander Henderson. Its author has our most hearty thanks for his well-timed and useful labours. We earnestly hope he may feel himself encouraged to proceed in the useful path of history on which he has entered, and that be will favour the Church with his contemplated volume on the Life and Times of Robert Douglas. Our quotations from his presents work, render it unnecessary that we should charaéterize it farther than we have done. It will be sufficient to say, it is clear, simple, comprehensive, interesting, and instructive. No Presbyterian should be satisfied without a perusal of it. We particularly recommend it for Congregational Libraries & And, since it has pleased the great Disposer

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