For  it  was  out  of  the  peril  in  which  the  Scottish  nation
found  itself  that  there  came  the  renewal  of  the  National
Covenant.  Two  men,  whose  names  are  written  bright  across
the  annals  of  the  time,  planned  this  renewal:  Archibald
Johnston  of  Wariston,  the  young  advocate  of  the  Edinburgh
courts,  and  Alexander  Henderson,  foremost  and  most  states-
manlike of  the  Presbyterian  clergymen  of  the  day.  Between
them  they  framed  the  momentous  charter.  It  consisted  of
three  portions.  The  first  was  a  reproduction  of  an  older
Covenant,  the  King's  Confession  of  1581 ;  the  second  enu-
merated the  various  Acts  of  the  Scottish  Parliament,  which
condemned  Popery  and  confirmed  the  privileges  of  the
Eeformed  Church ;  the  third  was  a  grave  and  emphatic
protest  against  those  alien  modes  of  worship  which  had
provoked  the  present  troubles.  Wariston  was  author  of  the
second  portion,  Henderson  of  the  third.
