Volume 3 > Half-Volume 5

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by whose goodness it had freedom in a religion not
followed by her majesty: Second, How necessary it
was that through the kind offices of the church, and
especially of its ministers, she should retain the
opinion that they sincerely sought her welfare, and
laboured to establish the good opinion of her subjects
in her favour; and lastly, How dangerous a thing it
was that ministers should be noted to disagree one
from another in the form of prayer for her majesty,
or in doctrine concerning obedience to her authority
�"and in these two last heads," he added, coming
to the pith of the matter, '' we desire you all to be
circumspect; but especially we must crave of you,
our brother John Knox, to moderate yourself as well
in form of prayer for her majesty as in the doctrine
you propound concerning her estate, and the obe-
dience that is due to her. Neither shall you take
this as spoken to your reproach, but because that
others by your example may imitate the like liberty,
although not with the same modesty and foresight."
The challenge being thus thrown down, the de-
bate commenced, of which a summary can scarcely
convey a clear idea. Knox candidly expressed his
opinion that in the present state of rule in Scotland,
where idolatry was maintained, the servants of God
despised, and wicked men placed in authority and
honour, the queen scarcely deserved the praise that
was claimed for her; and that as such proceedings
usually brought down the judgments of God upon
realms and nations, the godly in Scotland ought
rather to lament and mourn. "How are you able
to prove," queried Lethington, "that God ever
struck a nation for the iniquity of their prince, if the
people themselves lived righteously?" Knox quoted
the instance of Jerusalem and Judah, that were
plagued for the sins of Manasseh, because the people,
although not actively joining in his idolatry, yet
tolerated it by allowance and permission. In this
way all Scotland, and especially they the Protestant
nobles, were guilty of the queen's idolatry. Re-
ferring this matter to subsequent consideration,
Maitland next attacked the reformer's public prayers
for the queen, especially in connection with her
mass. "You call her," he said, "a slave to Satan;
you affirm that God's vengeance hangs over the realm
because of her iniquity; and what is that but to
raise the hearts of the people against her?" At
this an exclamation arose among the courtiers that
such a style of prayer could not profit. Knox com-
plained that his language in the pulpit had been
wrested for the purposes of censure, and that the
worst words he used in his public prayer were the
following: "'O Lord, if it be thy good pleasure,
purge the heart of the queen's majesty from the
venom of idolatry, and deliver her from the bondage
and thraldom of Satan, in which she hath been
brought up, and yet remaineth, for lack of thy true
doctrine. And let her see, by the illumination of thy
Holy Spirit, that there is no means to please thee
but by Jesus Christ, thy only Son, and that Jesus
Christ cannot be found but in thy holy Word, nor
yet received but as it prescribeth: that in so doing,
she may avoid the eternal damnation which abideth
on all obstinate and disobedient to the end, and that
this poor realm may also escape that plague and
vengeance which inevitably followeth idolatry main-
tained against the manifest Word and the open light
thereof.' This," he added, "is the form of my
common prayer, as ye yourselves can witness: now,
what is worthy of reprehension in it I would hear."
Lethington declared in reply that there were three
things in this prayer which had never pleased him.
"You pray," he said, "for the queen with a condi-
tion: 'Illuminate her heart, if it be thy good pleasure.'
Where have you the example of such a prayer?"
Knox referred to the example and authority of our
Lord himself, who had given us the rule in praying
to the Father, "If you shall ask anything according
to his will he shall hear you," and who had taught
us to pray, "Thy will be done." More than this he
could not do so long as she continued in idolatry.
Still however Maitland harped upon the authority of
precedent, and objected, "You can produce from
Scripture the example of none that so prayed before
you." "Do you think," said the other, "that the
apostles prayed themselves as they command others
to pray? And when the whole company replied
that there was no doubt of that, Knox quoted the
words of the apostle Peter to Simon Magus, and
said, "Here we may clearly see that Peter joins a
condition with his commandment, that Simon should
repent and pray�to wit, if it -were possible that his
sins might be forgiven him. Simon," he went on,
"although he had been a sorcerer, yet joined with the
apostles, believed, and was baptized; and although
afterwards he sinned through avarice, he humbled
himself so far as human judgment could discover like
a true penitent. And yet Peter doubts of his con-
version. Why then," he asked, "may not all the
godly justly doubt of the conversion of the queen,
who hath used idolatry, which is no less odious in
the sight of God than is the other, and still continueth
in the same? yea, she despiseth all threatenings, and
refuseth all godly admonitions?" "Why say you
that she refuses admonition?" replied Lethington,
'' she will gladly hear any man." "But what obedi-
ence to God," said Knox, "or to his word, ensues to
all that is spoken unto her, or when shall she be
seen to give presence to the public preaching?" "I
think never," answered Lethington, "so long as she
is thus treated." "So long then," said the other,
"you and all others must be content that I pray so
as that I may be assured to be heard of my God�
that is, that his good-will may be done, either in
making her comfortable to his church, or, if he hath
appointed her to be a scourge to the same, that we
may have patience, and she may be bridled."
Maitland then advanced to his second ground of
complaint. "Where do you find that the Scriptures
call any the blind slaves of Satan, or that the pro-
phets of God speak of kings and princes so unre-
verendly?" To this Knox answered at some length,
while his opponent cavilled at each debatable point.
After the reformer had proved satisfactorily from
Scripture that all are the sons of wrath, the servants
of sin, and slaves of Satan, until Christ has set them
free, Maitland then asked, "Where will you find
that any of the prophets did so treat kings, queens,
rulers, or magistrates?" "In more places than one,"
said the reformer: "Ahab was a king, Jezebel was
a queen, and yet what the prophet Elijah said to the
one and the other I suppose you are not ignorant."
"But that was not cried out before the people," re-
plied Maitland, "to make them odious to their sub-
jects." Knox declared that although Scripture is
silent on this point, the denunciation of the prophet
does not appear to have been whispered, or uttered
in a corner, but spoken before witnesses, as Jehu
had referred to it as a thing well known after the
death of Jezebel. Thus discomfited, the secretary
took refuge in the assertion, "These were singular
motions of the Spirit of God, and appertain nothing
to this age." In reply, Knox showed that no por-
tion of Scripture was obsolete or of private interpre-
tation, and thus continued: "But now to put an
end to this head, my lord, the prophets of God have
not spared to rebuke wicked kings as well to their
face as before the people and their subjects." In