April - the Free Presbyterian church of Scotland

One of John Knox's Stamp. 483government and discipline and abrogating the Acts in favou.rof Popery. This Act was l'ecognised as the Magna Charta ofthe Scottish Church. But it was not long until the Church wasin deep waters and without referring to the events in whichDavidson played an important part we pass on to the eventfulAssembly of 1596. This was one of the most remarkableAssemblies ever held mainly in view of the extraordinary confessionof sins made by the ministers and the signs of contritionand sorrow that accompanied the confessions. The Presbyteryof Haddington had sent up a proposal to the Assembly thatthe gross SillS of all Estates should be inquired into. A memorialwas accordingly drawn up probably from the pen of Davidsonhimself. When the Assembly met in St. Giles a resolution wa~agreed to that Davidson be asked to "give up, the particularcatalogue of the chief offences and corruptions in all Estates"and as one reads it in the Booke of the Universal Kirk it certainlywas a black enough indictment. King, ministers and peopleall had their sins set before them. It was decided that all theministers meet on a certain day to make confession. Davidsonwas the preacher and the chapters read were the 13th and 34111of Ezekiel. Unfortunately we have only scraps of his sermonas recorded by Calderwood. \Vhen the preacher pressed lJOlIwhis message in his own effective way and called upon his hearcl'~to confess their sins with promise and purpose of amendmenta wave of emotion passed over the audience and fora quarterof an hour the building resounded with weeping. Calderwoodsays; "There were sighs and sobs, with shedding of tears amongthe most part of all Estates that were present, everyone provokinganother by their example, that the kirk resounded, so that theplace might worthily have been called Bochim; for the likeof that day was never seen in Scotland since the Reformation,as every man confessed. There have been many days of humiliationfor present or imminent dangers, but the like for sin anddefection was there never seen" (Hist. of the Kirk of Scotland,V. 407). After public confession was made, prayer was engagedin, IllIld Davidson preached again; this time with the purpose