The Daily News. TUESDAY, MAY 23, 1905. JOHN KNOX, THE REFORMER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7829, 23 May 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDAY, MAY 23, 1905. JOHN KNOX, THE REFORMER.

The four hundredth anniversary .of, the birth of John K»ox tho great Scotch reformer, was celebrated on Sunday in every Presbyterian Church throughout the colony. The memory of this remarkable man, andhib, life's dovotion to the inuc h needed work of reformation, is as warmly cherished to-day by cvangeKical Christendom as it was three ccntum-a ago. "Honour to all tho brave and true ; everlasting honour to bravo oU Knox, one of the truest of the true!" wrote Carlyle, and these words cho the feelings of a vast number o5 men aed women to-day. To realise in the fa.intest degree the part which John Knox played as the chief promoter of the reformation in Scotland, i'. is necessary, to obtain a gltmpse :, t the stormy times in which he lived. At the time of his birth, the i.r.roae of Scotland was occupied by James JV. I and during the life of John Kuc-x there followed" in succession JamesV., Mary, Francis and Mary, Mary, Henry and Mary, .and the last oi: tho Scottish Kingc, James VI., who ascended the throne of England u9 James I, only a few years before Knox died. During the same period stirring events and changes were taking place in England under H«ary VIII., Edward-VI., Mary, and Elizabeth. Students of. history need not be reminded of'the religious and political strife of those terrible years in which the w;holo gamut of fanaticism', intrigue, and human passion was in evidence No times were those for mealy-mouthed platitudes. The need of reform in religious matters demanded exactly those trualities in a reformer which John Knox possessed —exalted principles, great intellectual energy, undaunted intrepidity, and exemplary piety and morality. Robertson, in his history of Scotland, while commenting' upon tho severity of J oka Knox's deportment, tho impetuosity of his temper, and his- zealous intolerance, says :—'.'These very qualities, however, which now render his character less amiable, fitted him to be the instrument of Providence for advancing tho Reformation among 1 the fierce people, and enabled him to face dangers and to surmount opposition from which a person of more gentle spirit would have .been apt to shrink back." Nothing that concerned ths common weal was beyond the scope of Knox's anxious attention and labour, and the nation owes it to him that the foundations o] popular education were well and truly laid whenever the affairs of ,tho Church erf Scotland were first sot inorder. The Reformation took different turns in different parts of Europe ; and it was left to Knox and his brethren in various parts of , Scotland to claim and insist' on tho spiritual freedom of tho Church, under the leadership of Ohrist nlnnc. While Lesley, Bishop of Ross, has put on recordr-a testimony accepted by historians who were certainly not biassed in favour of Knox—that, amid the great tumult and popular heat, the people were so governed that no man was killed ami noj blood was shed, the distinguishing mark of the Reformation in Scotland was its thoroughness. The absolute vindication of the rights of the people bore fruit in the gradual shaping and development of Presbyterianism. The dislike of anything savouring of episcopacy (in the modern sense) took root so deeply "that only with this in view can the subsequent history of Scotland be rightly appreciated. The freedom with which the Reformer discussed affairs of State had no counterpart in ari.» other country in Europe, and every attempt to suppress it failed. The outcome has been the association of religious thought with -matters of Government, with results most beneficial to the nation. It is said that bishops, priests, and friars feared John Knox becuuse of the terror of the Sword of the Spirit, which he weilded ; yet. despite all calumny, ho wus a truly tenderhearted man. For one so frail physically it is marvellous that he was aible to undergo such manifold hardship? and exertions as fell- to h'is lot. " Then- is no doubt the severe strain caused bv ' the tempestuous way in which he carried on his noble work hastened his death, which took place in Noveni-, ber, 1572, The endurance of that work is sufficient testimony as to the rock- on which it was |,uill. Looking back to those days ot religious turmoil, we can all the more appreciate the grand work which such men u » John Knox accomplished, and we should rualise that the peace and toleration which is enjoyed to-dnv , wore the outcome of the zeal displayed.in the-past % the champions oJ i civil and religious liberty. Rugged and grand, John Knox will continue to stand out prominently in the j tory of the nation, and his name I will be revered so long as Scotland! and Prcsbytcrlanism exist. Like most' men, he had his faults, but they are lost sight of in the manifold' virtues with which he was so conapfl . u . ously endowed.