The so-called "stool of repentance" was a means of enforcing morality in the Scottish kirk sessions. The sinner had to sit on the stool during the service and was thus demeaned in front of the entire congregation.
Repentance stool, from Old Greyfriars, Edinburgh, unknown artist; source: Andrews, William (ed.): Antiquities and Curiosities of the Church, London 1897, p. 97.