April - the Free Presbyterian church of Scotland

;j'~2 Free P1"esbyte1'ian Maqazine.Davidson had not always Discretion nml Prudellce as his companionsand lest anyone may think we are doing him injusticeattention is called to the fact that Andrew Melville had onmore than one occasion to lay a restraint on Mr. John's exuberanceand when ." Mr. Andro's " vehement nature is remembered nothingmore need be said on this subject. Dr. Gillon has given us anexcellent biography and a comprehcnsive account of the stirringevents in which Davidson figured.The Divine Right of Kings and the Crown Rights of JesusChrist were to come into clash before Knox was long in hisgrave. The insistenct' of the Divine Right of Kings was ultimatelyto smash the Stewart dynasty while the defence of theCrown Rights of Christ was to produce a noble band of menwhose names will be held in memory as long as religious libertyis prized. It was a tremendous struggle and cost our forefatherstears and blood before it became the heritage of their children.Andrew Melville was Knox's successor and he proved a worthysuccessor of the great Reformer. He was out and out againstthe mongrel Episcopacy set up by Morton with his TulchanBishops and when J ames began his manoeuvres in setting up an]i}piscopaey of his own. kind in Scotland he found in Andre''lMelville a man who spoke itS straight to him as ever kings wereaccustomed to listen to. In John Davidson Andrew Melville hadone as unbending and as zealous as himself-as unbending insetting aside every pretext for Episcopacy-and as zealous forthe maintenance of the Reformation eause. J ames's leniencyto the Popish lords until their disloyal activities forced him totake action was a great grief to the Presbyterian ministers.In 1592 the General Assembly petitioned the Scottish Parliamcntfor the repeal of the Acts of Parliament which were againstthe libertie:s of the Church and asked that the polity of theChurch should be recognised and ratified. The horror awakenedin the country by the murder of the Good Regent, the Earl ofMoray, made the Court party anxious by every means to conciliatethe ministers and pass measures favourable to the Church. WhenParliament met it passed an Act ratifying the PreBbyterian