The Saint Paul globe., 1899-03-27
of laymen and ministers. The assemblys
finding is final.
GENERAL, COUNCIL.

elected delegates from all Presbyterian
bodies in the world. 1t has only advisory
powers. Now, suppose a member of the
church was accused of a breach Of the
law of the church by the session. he has
three courts of appeal. Be ii known that
American government is Presbyterianism
In government. Presbyterianism was first
and Americanism is built line upon line
upon Presbyterian government 1t was
the Presbyterians of North Carolina who
drew up the first draft of the Declara-
ton of Independence, and it was the
Presbyterians- of those colonies Of the
old days who gave its first form to the
free republican government In the
United States which we enjoy today
To the session corresponds the
municipal court to the presbytery the
district court, to the synod the supreme
court of the state, and to the assembly
the supreme court of the United States
Every genuine American citizen, theRe-
fore, must be a Presbyterian at heart In
relation to the laws of the country, for
Presbyterianism gave him his free laws,
the laws of the people. for the people and
by the people.
"a departure from the primitive and
apostolic form of government began at
an early date in the centuries to manifest
itself in a way natural enough to fallible
beings. The desire for authority and pre-
eminence asserted itself in the pastors of
large churches claiming authority over
those in the small parishes.
''The larger churches We're resorted to
for advice and assistance by the country
churches In the selection of ministers for
them, and the large churches came by
and by to believe that they had a right
to appoint and even to consecrate men to
the ministry of Christ. Thus the germ
grew until, in the middle ages, we find
MONARCHICAL CHURCH RULE
spreading itself nearly over all Europe.
The notable exceptions of the preserva-
tism of Presbyterian principles were in
the WaldenSian valleys Of Italy and the
western isles of Scotland among the Cul
deeS, where every power was resisted but
the power which God invested in the
church-the representative power selected
by the church itself.
During the middle ages the sleep of
death prevailed in the church and 1t was
a matter of little moment 10 most men
what the church believed, in what man.
ner she was governed, or by whom the
government was carried out. But with
the dawn of the sixteenth century the
breath of the Spirit of God in Europe
was breathed upon the dry religious
bones and there was ushered i'll great
religious awakening, known IN history as
the Reformation Two Of the leading ac-
tors in this mighty movement, John Knox
and John Calvin, were the men who re-
formed the primitive and apostolic gov
ernment of the church and doctrine Of
the church, and gave to the Presbyterian
church the rational and common sense
mold which commends it to so many
strong minds over the whole world In
the end of the nineteenth century.
presbyterian principles of government
are not accepted by all nations or by
all churches yet 1t would be vain to ex
pect that they should while we live in the
world where there are men Of so many
minds, but when we pass into the world
where there is only one mind, we
will find that the mind there is Presby-
terian, for it is written of that world in
the Book of Revelation Round about the
throne were four and twenty seats, and
upon the seats were four and twenty
elders sitting clothed in white raiment
and they had upon their heads crowns Of
gold The final triumph and Endorsement
of the grand principle of church govern
ment by elders Is that which exists In
the New Jerusalem.
STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY.
81 admire the Presbyterian church be-
cause of her valiant struggles for civil
,, and religious liberty. The struggle for
civil and religious liberty which began
in the sixteenth century was the out
come OIL the pTlQclplSS Ol IHc EIcSOy tSI ldil
church. For three centuries the six
teenth, seventeenth and eighteenth. the
greatest centuries in history, Presbyte
rianism never swerved from her attitude
Of fighting, bleeding, dying till the end
was accomplished. The history Of the
Presbyterian church in these centuries Is
a history of which no other church can
boast, and no other church has accom-
plished so much for nations and for men
in securing the liberties of the citizen
and the liberties of the conscience as has
done the Presbyterian church.
'"rhe history Of those three centuries
in Europe is the history chiefly Of the
trials and triumphs Of Presbyterian prin-
ciples. There were certain centers spread
ing themselves over Europe where the
struggles were waged and from these the
influence radiated to the extremities Of
the country and across the seas
''In Scotland the voice Of John Knox
was raised, witnessing for the crown
rights Of Jesus Christ that He alone
is Lord of the conscience, law-giver in
His own church and King in His own
Kingdom. The Scottish Covenanters,
hunted by the dragons of the king like
partridges over the hills, because they
refused to conform to type of worship
which was obnoxious to them,
PREFERRED TO BE SHOT
Gown or cut TO pieces raInef lnan re-
nounce the Covenant they had made with
their God, to be dutiful to their God, to
their religion and to their country. When
Ciaverhouse, with his pistol, scattered
the brains of John Brown, of PrieSthiN,
on the ground, he asked his wife: What
thinkest thou of thy husband now. wom-
an? With sobbing voice she gallantly
replied: L ever thought much good of
him, but now more than ever Those
he who with he
roic faith in God and the right, fought
for the liberties OF conscience, and if
they themselves died in the fight. handed
down the liberties as an heritage to their
sons.
"The history Of Presbyterianism in
Scotland is also its history in ireland.
While the Presbyterian bodies in Ireland
and Scotland were not originally united,
vet their history has been i'll the main
similar, with similar struggles for civil
and religious liberty and similar triumphs
in the advancement of their cause.
''The Holland Presbyterians, in their
brave struggle with the tyrants of Spain,
cut their dykes and let the ocean in
rather than submit to the tyranny Of
Philip and the Duke of Alva We may
thank God that we are Presbyterians
when we read the thrilling story of Pres
byterian heroism in the Netherlands dur
Ing those awful days, and We may thank
God for the infusion of this same brand
of blood in the veins that our America
year ago raised the sword
against the same old oppressor,
Spain, and drove her from those
islands of the sea where, for centuries
like as in Holland she had been crushing
with iron heel free-born men bearing the
image of their Creator
STRUGGLES IN FRANCE.