s which had hitherto been retained by the Reformed Churches.
In Scotland they opposed, as they had done elsewhere, all reading of
prayers, and, in particular, the kneeling of the minister for private
devotions on entering the pulpit, the repeating of the Lord's Prayer in
any part of the public service, and the singing of the _Gloria Patri_
at the end of the Psalm. The movement, let it be said, although it
took an extreme form, had its spring in the deep disgust and shame felt
by many pious souls at the laxity and formality which characterized
religious life in England during the earlier part of the Stuart period.

The unwise policy of Charles in seeking to force upon the Scottish
Church a liturgical service, had produced in the minds of many its
natural result, creating extreme views in opposition to all prescribed
forms of worship. The Brownists, therefore, found in Scotland a large
following, and a rapidly increasing section of the Church began
gradually to depart even from the forms and suggestions of the Book of
Common Order, and to adopt a still less restricted form of service.
Against these irregularities the General Assemblies of 1639 and 1640
legislated, and yet in such terms as seem to indicate that already the
mind of the Church at large was being prepared for change. It was
ordained by the first of the Assemblies referred to that

"No novation in worship should be suddenly enacted, but that Synods,
Presbyteries and Kirks should be advised with before the Assembly
should authorize any change."

The desire for greater freedom in worship continued to increase, until
in 1643 the General Assembly appointed a committee with instructions to
prepare, and have in readiness for the next Assembly, a Directory for
Divine Worship in the Church of Scotland. This was a distinct
concession to that section of the Church which was opposed to even the
simplest forms of an optional liturgy. The work, however, was
superseded by a similar undertaking on a larger scale, in virtue of an
invitation from the members of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster
to the Church of Scotland to join with them in the preparation, among
other standards, of a Directory of Worship for the use of the Churches
of both England and Scotland. The invitation was accepted with
readiness, and "certain ministers of good word, and representative
elders highly approved of by their brethren," were elected to represent
the Scottish Church in this g