Chapter V: Preface: Christian Reader, (5)

II. In the manner of maintaining this testimony, these famous fathers, while faithful for God, gave us a perfect pattern of purity and strictness, in opposition to all degrees of conformity and compliance with the corruptions of the time; and laid down such rules and constitutions, as might regulate us in our contendings about present defections, and teach us what account to make of them, and how to carry towards them: which if adverted unto, would evince how manifest and manifold the declinings of many have been from the late reformation, that yet pretend to adhere unto it, and how justifiable the aversation and abstraction of the present reproaching suffering party is, from all these defections and the daubings of them, because so much deviating and declining from the attained reformation. I need not repeat how prelacy, and all the parts and pendicles of that antichristian hierarchy, were abjured in the national covenant, and condemned in the acts of assemblies, and re-abjured in the solemn league and covenant, and in the solemn acknowledgement of sins and engagement to duties, where also we came under sacred and inviolable engagements, to endeavour the extirpation thereof: Which doth clearly file the present countenancing and submitting to the prelatic curates, in receiving ordinances from them, among the grossest of defections; being altogether inconsistent with these acts and constitutions, and covenant obligations to extirpate them, as much as the countenancing of popish priests were inconsistent therewith, being both equally covenanted to be extirpated. Next, though in this period, tyranny being in its retrograde motion, erastian supremacy was not so much contended for, and therefore not so much questioned as formerly, being held exploded with execration out of doors and out of doubt; yet the testimony was still continued against it, in the uninterrupted maintaining of the church's privileges and freedom of assemblies, against all encroachings of adversaries. And therefore the embracing of the late detestable indulgences, were as contrary to the actings of this as to the testimonies of the former period, against the supremacy from which they flow. Yea many particulars, might be instanced, wherein the accepters had declined from the covenanted reformation then prosecuted; not only in their confederating with malignant usurpers, for the pretended benefit of them (by which, if there had been no more, they are obnoxious to the censure of the church, standing registered in an act of assembly, ordaining all persons in ecclesiastic office, for the like or lesser degrees of compliance, yea even for procuring protections from malignant enemies, to be suspended from their office and all exercise thereof at Edin. 1646. sess. 14.) Nor only in their taking sinful instructions from them, restricting them in the exercise of their ministry; but in admitting themselves, by their patronage, to be by them presented to their prelimited and pre-imposed congregations: which involves them in the iniquity of the abolished patronages, condemned by the assembly; for that ministry of such so presented, is made too much to depend upon the will and pleasure of man, and such an imposition is destructive of the church and people's liberties, obstructive of the gospel's freedom and faithful plainness, and occasion of much base flattery and partiality; and in subjecting to, homologating, and fortifying a sacrilegious supremacy, overturning the intrinsic power of the church, contrary to the covenant obliging to the preservation of the government, as well as to the doctrine of the church, in the first article thereof; and in their suffering themselves, either directly or indirectly, either by combination, persuasion, or terror, to be divided and withdrawn from that blessed union and conjunction, which they were obliged to maintain and promove, according to the sixth article of the solemn league and covenant; and in their strengthening the erastian usurpations of enemies encroaching upon the church's liberties and Christ's prerogatives, against which we are engaged expressly in the solemn acknowledgment of sins and engagement to duties, where also we have these words article 2. Because many have of late laboured to supplant the liberties of the church, we shall maintain and defend the church of Scotland, in all her liberties and privileges, against all who shall oppose or undermine the same, or encroach thereupon under any pretext whatsomever. Next, we have many demonstrations of the zeal and strictness of these servants of Christ, in their synodical determinations of censures, to be past upon many ministerial corruptions; which will condemn the present course of covering and countenancing them, and commend the contendings of a poor reproached party against them, in their conscientious abstracting from them. Of which determinations, I shall rehearse some. Among the enormities and corruptions of the ministry, in their callings, this is one, sect. 4, 5. Silence in the public cause--some accounting it a point of wisdom to speak, ambiguously--whereof the remedy is sect. 15. 'That beside all other scandals, silence or ambiguous speaking in the public cause--be seasonably censured, general assembly, at Edinburgh, June 13. 1646.' There is indeed an act against withdrawers from ministers: but in the self same act they are charged to be diligent in fulfilling their ministry, 'to be faithful in preaching, declaring the whole counsel of God, and as they have occasion from the text of scripture to reprove the sins and errors, and press the duties of the time, and in all these to observe the rules prescribed by the acts of assembly, wherein if they be negligent, they are to be censured, general assembly Edinburgh, Aug. 24. 1647. sess. 19.' Then there is that act, Aug. 3. 1648. sess. 26. for censuring ministers for their silence, and not speaking to the corruptions of the time; 'calling it, a great scandal, through some ministers their reserving and not declaring themselves against the prevalent sins of the times; appointing, that all that do not apply their doctrine to these corruptions, which is the pastoral gift, and that are cold or wanting of spiritual zeal, dissembling of public sins, that all such be censured even to deprivation; for forbearing or passing in silence the errors and exorbitancies of sectaries in England, or the defections current at home, the plots and practices of malignants, the principles and tenets of erastianism; and if they be found too sparing, general, or ambiguous in their applications and reproofs, and continuing so, they are to be deposed, for being pleasers of men rather than servers of Christ, for giving themselves to a detestable indifferency or neutrality in the cause of God for defrauding the souls of people, yea for being highly guilty of the blood of souls, in not giving them warning.' And in that seasonable and necessary warning of the general assembly, Edinbugh July 27. 1649. sess. 27. we are taught how they resented the unfaithfulness of ministers continuing in defections, and how we are to look upon them and carry to them: where they say, it is undeniably true, that many of the evils, 'wherewith this church and kingdom hath been afflicted in our age, have come to pass because of the negligence of some and corruptions of others of the ministry; and the course of backsliding was carried on, until it pleased God to stir up the spirits of these few, who stood in the gap, to oppose and resist the fame, and to begin the work of reformation in the land; since which time, the silence of some ministers, and the compliance of others, hath had great influence upon the backslidings of many amongst the people, who, upon the discovery of the evil of their way, complain that they got no warning, or that if they were warned by some, others held their peace, or did justify them in the course of their backsliding: we can look upon such ministers no otherwise, than upon these that are guilty of the blood of the Lord's people, and with whom the Lord will reckon, for all the breach of covenant and defection that hath been in the land; the priest's lips should preserve knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts, but such as are departed out of the way, and have caused many to stumble at the law, therefore hath the Lord made them contemptible before all the people, according as they have not kept his ways, but have been partial in his law, because they have lost their favour, he hath cast out many of them as unsavoury salt.' Furthermore, to evidence the purity and power of zeal burning and blazing in these days in their contendings against public enemies on all hands, I shall instance some of their acts and testimonies, clearly condemning the manifold compliances of this generation and which may contribute somewhat to justify the reproached preciseness of a remnant, standing at the furthest distance from them. There is an act for censuring the compliars with the public enemies of this church and kingdom, general assembly, June 17. 1646, sess. 14. 'where, they judge it a great and scandalous provocation, and grievous defection from the public cause, to comply with those malignants (such as James Graham then was) in any degree, even to procure protections from them, or to have invited them to their houses, or to have drunk James Graham's health, or to be guilty of any other such gross degrees of compliance; censured to be suspended from the communions, ay and while they acknowledge their offence.' And yet now, for refusing these degrees of compliance, for not having the protection of a pass from the wicked courts of malignant enemies, by taking a wicked oath, and for refusing to drink the king's health, a greater enemy then ever James Graham was, some poor conscientious people have not only been murdered by enemies, but mocked and condemned by professors. There is an act likewise, and declaration against all new oaths or bonds in the common cause imposed without consent of the church general assembly, Edinburgh July 28. 1648. sess. 18. 'Enjoining all the members of the church to fearbear the swearing or subscribing any new oaths, or bonds, in this cause without advice and concurrence of the church, especially any negative oaths or bonds, which may any way limit or restrain them in the duties whereunto they are obliged, by national or solemn league or covenant.' Yet now, for refusing oaths, not only limiting in covenanted duties, but contradicting and condemning many material principles of the covenanted reformation, many have not only lost their lives, but also have been condemned, by them that are at ease, having a wider conscience to swallow such baits. It is known how pertinacious the most faithful in those days were, in their contendings against associations, in any undertaking for the cause, with persons disaffected to the true state thereof. I need not give any account of this, were it not that now that principle is quite inverted; and poor adherers to it, for their abstracting and substracting their concurrence with such promiscuous associations, are much hated and flouted; therefore I shall give some hints of their sentiments of them. In their answer to the committee of estates, July 25, 1648, sess. 14. the general assembly says, 'It was represented to the parliament, that for securing of religion it was necessary, that the popish, prelatical, and malignant party, be declared enemies to the cause upon the one hand, as well as sectaries upon the other, and that all associations either in forces or counsels, with the former as well as with the latter, be avoided.' And in their declaration concerning the present dangers of religion, especially the unlawful engagement in war, July ult. 1648. sess. 21. they say, 'Suppose the ends of that engagement be good (as they are not) yet the means and ways of prosecution are unlawful; because there is not an equal avoiding of rocks on both hands, but a joining with malignants to suppress sectaries, a joining hands with a black devil to beat a white devil; they are bad physicians who would so cure one disease, as to breed another as evil or worse--we find in the scriptures condemned, all confederacies and associations with the enemies of true religion, whether Canaanites, Exod. xxiii. 32 and 24. xii. 15. Deut. vii. 2. or other heathens, 1 Kings xi. 1, 2.' More arguments against associations may be seen in that excellent discussion of this useful case, concerning associations and confederacies with idolaters, infidels, hereticks, or any other known enemy of truth or godliness, by famous Mr. G. Gillespie, published at that same time: whereunto is appended his letter to the commission of the general assembly, having these golden words in it, words fitly spoken in that season, when he was a-dying, at the beginning of the public resolutions: 'Having heard of some motions and beginnings of compliance, with these who have been so deeply engaged in a war destructive to religion and the kingdom's liberties, I cannot but discharge my conscience, in giving a testimony against all such compliance. I know and am persuaded, that all the faithful witnesses that gave testimony to the thesis, that the late engagement was contrary and destructive to the covenant, will also give testimony to the appendix, that compliance with any who have been active in that engagement is most sinful and unlawful. I am not able to express all the evils of that compliance, they are so many--But above all, that which would heighten this sin even to the heavens is, that it were not only a horrid backsliding, but a backsliding into that very sin, which was specially pointed at and punished by the prevalency of the malignant party, God justly making them thorns and scourges who were taken in as friends. Alas! shall we split twice upon the same rock? yea run upon it, when God hath set a beacon on it? yea I may say, shall we thus outface and outdare the Almighty, by protecting his and our enemies, by making peace and friendship with them, when the anger of the Lord is burning against them. I must here apply to our present condition, the words of Ezrah, ix. 14.--O happy Scotland, if thou canst now improve and not abuse this golden opportunity! but if thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord, wrath upon wrath, and wo upon wo, shall be upon thee from the Lord.' Whereunto is subjoined his dying testimony to the same purpose; wherein are these words: 'But if there shall be falling back, to the sin of compliance with malignant ungodly men, then I look for the breaking out of the wrath of the Lord, till there be no remedy.' This was the warning of a worthy dying man. Notwithstanding of which and many other warnings and witnessings, a course of compliance was commenced by the public resolutioners, and continued in to this day; wherein that faithful warning of a dying servant of Christ is verified. But before I leave this purpose, I must obviate an objection that some make use of for strengthening themselves in their incorporations and joining at least in worship, with the corruptions of the time, and for condemning conscientious withdrawers; that the godly in those days did not separate from the men of these compliances and defections, as many do now, viz. the protesting party did not withdraw from the public resolutioners and associators with malignants. I answer, first, many and these the most godly and tender did withdraw, even from their own ministers, and would have gone forty or fifty miles to hear a faithful minister at that time: yea ministers themselves, in the case of intrusion of the unfaithful, would have supplied the paroch, as if the church had been vacant, and when they could not get access to the pulpit, they preached in the fields, on purpose to witness against, and professedly to withdraw the people from such an unfaithful intruder; as might be instanced particularly for time and place, if need were. But next, the church then, though broken by division, and under the subjection of strangers deprived of her general assemblies, yet was in a constitute case, enjoying the privilege, power and order of synods and presbyteries, to whom the people offended with their ministers might address themselves, for an orderly redress, and removal of these scandals in an ordinary way; and so they needed not assume to themselves that power to regulate their communion, that in a broken state, as now is, must be allowed to them. And besides, both the ministers at that time who were faithful, though they might have proceeded to censure and silence the corrupt party as they were obliged, yet not only found it difficult by reason of the injury of the times; but also thought it best to spare them, and the people to bear them, as burdens; until, as they were still in hopes, they should obtain a general assembly to take order with them, but now it is not so. And then the defection was but beginning, and people did not know and could not expect it would go such a length, and therefore could not fall upon the rigour of that duty, which such disorders call for at first: but if they had seen where these beginnings would land them at length, I doubt not but they would have resisted those beginnings, in such a way as would have precluded this imputation of novelty upon our necessitated withdrawings.

III. We have in this period, not only an illustrious testimony for the principle, but a continued and unintermitted putting into practice the duty of defensive arms, in resisting the sovereign power, maleversing and abusing authority to the destruction of the ends of it; which resistance was avowed, encouraged, and furthered by the general assembly, both for the defence of themselves, and for the help of their brethren in England. Take one expression in their solemn and seasonable warning to all ranks, Feb. 12, 1645, sess. 18.--'Unless men will blot out of their hearts the love of religion and cause of God, and cast off all care of their country, laws, liberties, &c. (all being in visible danger of present ruin and destruction) they must now or never appear actively, each one stretching himself to, yea beyond his power. It is not time to dally, or go about the business by halves, nor be almost, but altogether zealous: Cursed is he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently. If we have been forward to assist our neighbour kingdoms, shall we neglect to defend our own? Or shall the enemies of God be more active against his cause than his people for it? God forbid.' In another seasonable and necessary warning, July 27, 1649, sess. 27. they say, 'But if his majesty, or any having or pretending power and commission from him, shall invade this kingdom, upon pretext of establishing him in the exercise of his royal power; as it will be an high provocation against God, to be accessory or assisting thereto, so it will be a necessary duty to resist and oppose the same.' These fathers could well distinguish, between authority and the person abusing it: and were not so loyal, as now their degenerate children are ambitious to shew themselves, stupidly stooping to the shadow thereof, and yet will be called the only asserters of presbyterian principles. But we find, they put it among the characters of malignants, to confound the king's honour and authority with the abuse and pretence thereof, and with commissions, warrants, and letters, procured from the king by the enemies of the cause and covenant, as if we could not oppose the latter, without incroaching upon the former. But here an objection or two must be removed out of the way before we go forward. One is, from the third article of the covenant; where there seems to be a great deal of loyalty, obliging to defend the king's majesty, his person and authority, in the preservation and defence of the true religion and liberties of the kingdoms, 'that the world may bear witness with our consciences of our loyalty, and that we have no thoughts or intentions to diminish his majesty's just power and greatness.' I answer, there is indeed a deal of loyalty there, and true loyalty, because lawfully limited, being qualified with, and subordinate unto the preservation and defence of the true religion and liberties of the kingdom (as the makers of the covenant do expound it, in the assembly's declaration against the unlawful engagement, July _ult._ 1648, sess. 21.) not that reverse loyalty, which makes duties to God conditional and limited, and duties to the king absolute and unlimited, as our loyalists do now. And I wish others were free of it, who have sworn oaths of unlimited allegiances to maintain the king in any power unto which his force aspires; and to justify this their loyalty, will bring in this article of the covenant with a distorted sense, reading it backward, 'that we in the preservation and defence of religion must preserve and defend the king:' As if religion obliged to defend him, do what he will. It were better such pretended covenanters denied the covenant, than to be such a reproach to it, in wresting its genuine sense. But I have adduced the sense of the best interpreters of it, the general assembly. Next when they entered under the bond of this covenant, they did it with a purpose to oppose all his invasions upon religion and the liberties of the people, and to vindicate these precious interests from his usurpings, into a state of liberty: And shall we imagine, that that very oath of God did lay upon them or us an obligation to defend the person who is a destroyer of all these, contrary to the very nature of the oath, contrary to the hope of the covenanters, and contrary to their subsequent practice? But then it will be urged, why then was that clause cast into the covenant? I answer we have not the same cause to keep it, as they had some cause to put it in, with accommodation to the present possessor of the sovereignty. The owning of it in our circumstances would be as great a reproach to us, as the want of it was to them in theirs. They put in the words to prevent the world's mistake, and to remove that odium industriously heaped upon the heads of whose hearts were associate in the defence of religion and liberty, therefore they would profess they would not be disloyal while he was for God. And a defiance may be given to clamour, and calumny itself, to give one instance of the defect of performance hereof, while he went not about to ruin those things, incomparably more precious than his person or authority, and in ruining whereof no person can retain authority.

IV. But now two things will chiefly be desiderated, which now we own in our testimony, for which many have died, that seem not to be confirmed by or consistent with the testimony of this period. One is, that we not only maintain defensive resistance, but in some cases vindictive and punitive force, to be executed upon men that are bloody beasts of prey, and burdens to the earth, in cases of necessity, when there is no living among them. This principle of reason and natural justice, was not much inquired into in this time; when the sun was up, whose warmth and light made these beasts creep into their dens, and when they, being brought under subjection, could not force people into such extraordinary violent courses when the ordinary and orderly course of law was running in its right channel. Yet from the ground of their ordinary procedure, military and civil, against such monsters, we may gather the lawfulness of an ordinary procedure in a pinch of necessity, conform to their grounds: I hope to make this evident, when I come _ex proposito_ to vindicate this head. But there is another thing that we own, which seems not to have been known in these days, viz. That when we are required to own the authority of the present dominator, we hold sinful to own it. Yet we find these reverend and renowned fathers owned King Charles I. and did not refuse the succession of Charles II. I shall answer in order. First, As to King Charles I. there was a great difference betwixt him and his sons that succeeded; he never declared parliamentarily that neither promises, contracts, nor oaths should bind him, as the first of his perfidious sons did; it might have been then presumed, if he had engaged so far for promoving the work of God, he would have been a man of his word (for to say a king of his word, is antiquitate in a good sense, except that it means he is as absolute in his word as in his sword, and scorns to be a slave to it.) Neither professed he himself a papist, as the second son hath done: Again it must be granted, that more might have been comported with in the beginning, when there were some hopes of redress, than after such process of time; whereby now we see and feel beyond all debate, that the throne stands and is stated, not only in opposition to, but upon the ruins of the rights and privileges both of religion and liberty. But was not the equivalent done by the church, anno 1648, when they refused to concur with that unlawful engagement, for restoring of the king, 'till security be had, by solemn oath under his hand and seal, that he shall for himself and successors, give his assent to all acts and bills for enjoining presbyterial government, and never make opposition to it, nor endeavour any change thereof? July _ult._ 1648. sess. 21.' But it will be laid, that in their renewing the covenant that year, they did not leave out that article. True, thereby they stopped the mouths of their adversaries; and then they were not without hopes, but that in his straits he might have proved a Manasseh taken among the thorns. And the covenanters at that time, not being clear that he had done that which _ipso jure_ made him no magistrate, chused rather, while matters stood so, to engage to maintain him, than simply to disown him (which yet our forefathers did upon smaller grounds many times) in the hopes of being prevailed with at last. But when they saw that this proved ineffectual, therefore at the coronation of the new king they made the covenanted interest the sole basis upon which alone authority was conferred upon him. For the second, though they did not refuse the succession of Charles the Second (which was their blame and our bane, of which we may blush this day) yet we find many things in that transaction which justify our disowning of him, and condemn the owning of the present possessor. (1.) In that seasonable and necessary warning, July 27, sess. 27. 'whereas many would have admitted his majesty to the exercise of his royal power, upon any terms whatsoever: the assembly declares first; that a boundless and unlimited power is to be acknowledged in no king nor magistrate; neither is our king to be admitted to the exercise of his power, as long as he refuses to walk in the administration of the same, according to this rule. Secondly, that there is a mutual stipulation and obligation between the king and the people, as both of them are tied to God, so each of them are tied to one another, for the performance of mutual and reciprocal duties; accordingly kings are to take the oath of coronation, to abolish popery and maintain the protestant religion: As long therefore as the king refuses to engage and oblige himself for security of religion and safety of his people, it is consonant to scripture and reason and laws of the kingdom, that he should be refused. Thirdly, in the league and covenant the duty of defending and preserving the king, is subordinate to the duty of preserving religion and liberty: And therefore, he standing in opposition to the public desires of the people for their security, it were a manifest breach of covenant, and a preferring the king's interest to the interest of Jesus Christ, to bring him to the exercise of his power. Fourthly, That it was for restraint of arbitrary government, and for their just defence against tyranny, that the Lord's people did join in covenant, and have been at the expence of so much blood these years past; and if he should be admitted to the government before satisfaction, it were to put in his hand that arbitrary power, and so to abandon their former principles, and betray the cause. Fifthly, That he, being admitted before satisfaction, would soon endeavour an overturning of the things which God hath wrought, and labour to draw public administrations, concerning religion and liberty, into that course and channel in which they did run under prelacy, and before the work of reformation. Whence they warn that every one take heed of such a snare, that they be not accessory to any such design, as they would not bring upon themselves and their families, the guilt of all the detriment that will undoubtedly follow thereupon, of all the miseries it will bring upon the kingdoms--And therefore whosoever attempt the same, oppose themselves to the cause of God, and will at last dash against the rock of the Lord's power, which hath broken in pieces many high and lofty ones, since the beginning of the work in the kingdoms.' 2. I shall here insert the act of the West-kirk, declaring their mind very manifestly.

'_West Kirk, August 13, 1650._ The commission of the general
assembly, considering that there may be just ground of stumbling,
from the king's majesty refusing to subscribe and emit the
declaration, offered to him by the committee of estates and the
commission of the general assembly, concerning his former carriage
and resolutions for the future, in reference to the cause of God
and the enemies and friends thereof; doth therefore declare, That
this kirk and kingdom doth not own or espouse any malignant party,
or quarrel, or interest, but that they fight merely upon their
former grounds and principles, and in the defence of the cause of
God and of the kingdom, as they have done these twelve years past:
And therefore, as they disclaim all the sin and guilt of the king
and of his house, so they will not own him nor his interest,
otherwise than with a subordination to God, and so far as he owns
and prosecutes the cause of God, and disclaims his and his father's
opposition to the work of God, and to the covenant, and likewise
all the enemies thereof; and that they will with convenient speed
take unto consideration the papers, lately sent unto them by
Oliliver Cromwel, and vindicate themselves from all the falshoods
contained therein; especially in these things wherein the quarrel
betwixt us and that party is mistated, as we owned the late king's
proceedings, and were resolved to prosecute and maintain his
present majesty's interest, before and without acknowledgement of
the sin of his house and former ways, and satisfaction to God's
people in both kingdoms.'

'A. KER.'

'_August 13, 1650._ The committee of estates, having seen and
considered a declaration of the commission of the general assembly,
anent the stating of the quarrel wherein the army is to fight, do
approve the same, and heartily concur therein.'

'THO. HENDERSON.'

In the third place: It is specified in the Causes of Wrath, as one of the steps of defection, Art. 9. Step. 5. 'That a treaty should have been closed with him, upon his subscribing demands, after he had given many clear evidences of his disaffection and enmity to the work and people of God: That these demands, which he was required to subscribe, did not contain a real security, a real abandoning of former malignant courses and principles, and cleaving to the work of God; it was not a paper or verbal security which we were bound to demand of him, but a real one; and to entrust him without this, was but to mock God, and to deceive the world, and to betray and destroy ourselves, by giving up all the precious interests of religion and liberty unto the hands of one, who was in a course of enmity to them: That both before, and in the mean time of the treaty, he had given evidences of his enmity in many instances there condescended upon particularly; that he authorized James Graham to invade this kingdom, and encouraged him by letters to go on in that invasion, even whilst he was in terms of a treaty with us, as appeared by bringing into our hands the authentic commission itself, and sundry letters under his own hand.' Next, in the same Causes of Wrath, among the sins of the ministry, in relation to the public, sect. 10, 11, 12, 13. 'That they agreed to receive the king to the covenant, barely upon writing, without any apparent evidences of a real change of principle: That they did not use freedom, in showing what was sinful in reference to that treaty, but went on therein when they were not satisfied in their consciences, for fear of reproach, and of being mistaken: That they were silent in public, and did not give testimony, after a discovery of the king's commission to James Graham for invading the kingdom: That they pressed the king to make a declaration to the world, whilst they knew by clear evidences that he had no real conviction of the things contained therein.'

PERIOD VI.

_Containing the Testimony through the continued tract of the present deformation from the year 1660 to this day._

Now comes the last catastrophe of the deformation of the church of Scotland, which now renders her to all nations as infamously despicable, as her reformation formerly made her admired and envied; which in a retrograde motion hath gradually been growing these 27 years, going back through all the steps by which the reformation ascended, till now she is returned to the very border of that Babylon, from whence she took her departure, and reduced through defection, and division, and persecutious to a confused chaos of almost irreparable dissolution, and unavoidable desolation. Through all which steps notwithstanding, to this day, Scotland hath never wanted a witness for Christ, against all the various steps of the enemy's advancings, and of professed friends declinings: though the testimony hath had some singularities, some way discriminating it from that of former periods; in that it hath been more difficult by reason of more desperate and dreadful assaults of more enraged enemies, more expert and experienced in the accursed art of overturning than any formerly; in that it hath been attended with more disadvantages, by reason of the enemies greater prevalency, and friends deficency, and greater want of significant asserters, than any formerly; in that it hath been intangled in more multifarious intricacies of questions, and debates, and divisions among the assertors themselves, making it more dark, and yet in the end contributing to clear it more than any formerly; in that it hath been intended and extended to a greater measure, both as to matter and manner of contendings against the adversaries, and stated upon nicer points; more enixly prosecuted and tenaciously maintained, and sealed with more sufferings, than any formerly; in that it hath had more opposition and contradiction, and less countenance from professed friends to the reformation, either at home or abroad, than any formerly. And yet it hath had all these several speciallties together, which were peculiar to the former testimonies, in their respective periods: being both active and passive, both against enemies and friends; and _in cumulis_ stated against atheism, popery, prelacy, and erastian supremacy, which were the successive heads of the former testimonies, and also now extended in a particular manner against tyranny. And not only against the substance and circumstance, abstract and concret root and branch, head and tail of them, and all complying with them, conforming to them, or deduced from them, any manner of way, directly or indirectly, formally or interpretatively. This is that extensive and very comprehensive testimony of the present period, as it is now stated and sealed with the blood of many: which in all its parts, points and pendicles is most directly relative, and dilucidly reducible, to a complex witness for the declarative glory of Christ's kingship and headship over all, as he is Mediator, which is the greatest concern that creatures have to contend for, either as men or as Christians. The matter of this testimony, I shall give a short manuduction to the progress and result of its management.

During the exile of the royal brothers, it is undeniably known that they were, by their mothers caresses and the jesuits allurements, seduced to abjure the reformed religion (which was easy to induce persons to, that never had the sense of any religion) and to be reconciled to the church of Rome: and that, not only they wrote to the pope many promises of promoting his projects, if ever they should recover the power into their hands again, and often frequented the mass themselves; but also, by their example and the influence of their future hopes, prevailed with many of their dependents and attendants abroad, to do the like. Yet it is unquestionably known, that in the mean time of his exile, he renewed and confirmed, by private letters to presbyterians, his many reiterated engagements to adhere to the covenant, and declared that he was and would continue the same man, that he had declared himself to be in Scotland, (wherein doubtless, as he was an expert artist, he equivocated, and meant in his heart he would continue as treacherous as ever) which helped to keep a loyal impression of his interest in the hearts of too many, and an expectation of some good of him, of which they were ashamed afterwards. And immediately before his return, it is known what promises are contained in that declaration from Breda (from whence he came also the second time, with greater treachery than at the first) to all protestants that would live peaceably under his government; beginning now to weigh out his perfidy, and perjury, and breach of covenant, in offering to tolerate that in an indulgence, which he swore to maintain as a duty. But in all this he purposed nothing, but to ingere and ingratiate himself into the peoples over credulous affections, that they might not obstruct his return, which a jealousy of his intended tyranny would have awakened them to withstand. And so having seated himself, and strengthened his power against the attemptings of any, whom his conscience might suggest an apprehension that they ought to resist him, he thought himself discharged from all obligations of covenants, oaths, or promises, for which his faith had been pledged. And from the first hour of his arrival, he did in a manner set himself to affront and defy the authority of God, and to be revenged upon his kingdoms for inviting him so unanimously to sway their sceptre; in polluting and infecting the people with all debaucheries and monstrous villanies; and commencing his incestous whoredoms that very first night he came to his palace, wherein he continued to his dying day outvying all for vileness. Yet he went on deluding our church with his dissimulations, and would not discover all his wickedness hatched in his heart at first, till his designs should be riper; but directed a letter to the presbytery of Edinburgh, declaring he was resolved to protect and preserve the government of the church of Scotland, as it is settled by law without violation: wherein it was observed he altered the stile, and spake never a word of the covenant, our _Magna Charta_ of religion and righteousness, our greatest security for all interests intrusted to him, but only of law; by which, as his practice expounded it afterwards, he meant the prelatical church, as it was settled by the law of his father, since which time he reckoned there was no law but rebellion. This was a piece and prelude of our base defection, and degeneration into blind blockish, and brutish stupidity; that after he had discovered so much perfidy, we not only at first tempted him to perjury, in admitting him to the crown, upon his mock-engagement in the covenant, whereby God was mocked, his Spirit was grieved, his covenant prostituted, the church cheated, and the state betrayed; but after the Lord had broken his yoke from off our necks, by sending him to exile ten years, where he was discovered to be imbibing all that venom and tyrannical violence, which he afterward vented in revenge upon the nation; and after we had long smarted for our first transaction with him; yet notwithstanding of all this, we believed him again, and Issachar-like couched under his burdens and were so far from withstanding, that we did not so much as witness against the re-admission and restoration of the head and tail of malignants, but let them come in peaceably to the throne, without any security to the covenanted cause, or for our civil or religious interests, and by meal, at their own ease, leisure and pleasure, to overturn all the work of God, and reintroduce the old antichristian yoke of absurd prelacy, and blasphemous sacreligious, supremacy, and absolute arbitrary tyranny with all their abominations: which he, and with him the generality of our nobility, gentry, clergy, and commonality by him corrupted, without regard to faith, or fear of God or man, did promote and propogate, the nation was involved in the greatest revolt from, and rebellion against God, that ever could be recorded in any age or generation; nay attended with greater and grosser aggravations, than ever any could be capable of before us, who have had the greatest privileges that ever any church had, since the national church of the Jews, the greatest light, the greatest effects of matchless magnified love, the greatest convictions of sin, the greatest resolutions and solemn engagements against it, and the greatest reformation from it, that ever any had to abuse and affront. O heavens be astonished at this, and horribly afraid! for Scotland hath changed her glory, and the crown hath fallen from off her head, by an unparalelled apostasy, a free and voluntary, wilful and deliberate apostasy, an avowed and declared and authorized apostasy, tyrannically carried on by military violence and cruelty, a most universal and every way unprecedented apostasy! I must a little change my method, in deducing the narration of this catastrophe, and subdistinguish this unhappy period into several steps; shewing how the enemies opposition to Christ advanced, and the testimony of his witnesses did gradually ascend, to the pitch it is now arrived at.