1661. Before the synod had formally of Rothes, in the king's name. Him the voted the supplication, and finished commissioner had appointed inspector, visithe warning, they were interrupted by the earl tor, or commissioner, I do know what name dross and corruption, exercising his servants and people in a holy contending for truth and piety, against the speat (flood) of evils that hath been always running in the world, and for the greater advancement of the glory of his power and goodness, in preserving and giving outgate in end to his afflicted people tossed with tempest. And now (right worthy, and dearly beloved in the Lord) the concernments of religion, and the work of God in this land, being under apparent hazard, sad trials likely to ensue, unless the mercy of God, and piety and justice of our dread sovereign, using his authority for God, avert the same, we were most unfaithful, if we should not at such a time (when prelacy, with the dangerous attendants thereof, (of which this church hath had sad experience) is like to be introduced again amongst us) declare our constant resolutions, according to the tie that lies upon us, by the authority of God, and our engagements to him, and give timeous warning to you the people of God, to keep your garments clean, and that ye may not be led away to any measure of accession to these evils, whereunto many may be turning aside. We know perfectly, that in our so doing we shall not escape the common lot of faithful humble contenders for the truth, and be represented as intending reflections on the lawful authority God hath set over us, or as going about to raise jealousies and disaffections in the people towards them, or to move sedition and trouble; and it may fall out that none be more ready to cast black colours upon our actions, than men of our own order and rank. In giving this our faithful admonition and declaration, we have laid our account with all that such persons can load us with, and much more, being confident, that the constant tenor of our deeds hath sufficiently wiped, and shall wipe off all such unjust aspersions. We have our witness in heaven, and a witness every one of us within us, how much our souls did long to have our present sovereign established upon the throne of his kingdom among us, (after the horrible barbarous murder of his royal father, of blessed memory, by the English sectaries) and it is great joy to our hearts, that God blessed us with fidelity to the king's majesty, in a very dark and dangerous time, in the year 1650, when we, with other faithful subjects through the land, followed our duty to his majesty, when our land was half subdued, and the rest under the saddest pressures; and we bless God that at that time, and until this day, we have not been following after the unwarrantable principles and practices of sundry in this land, not a little injurious to his majesty's just right. It is also our joy, that under ten years' bondage, neither the real cruelty, nor seeming civilities of usurpers, have prevailed to debauch our loyalty to our dread sovereign, in whose absence we sat on the ground, as a widow mourning for the loss of her husband. In our darkness we wished for the dawning of that day, when the Lord shall bring back our captivity, and restore our sovereign, that under his shadow we might rest; and how greatly we were affected with that signal work of God, (who is wonderful in counsel, and excel lent in working) in that happy restoration of his majesty, what praises were rendered to God with signal cheerfulness, will not soon be forgotten by the Lord's people. But our hearts were more confirmed in loyalty, when, at our last meeting, we received his majesty's gracious letter to the presbytery of Edinburgh, to be communicated: a letter worthy to be engraven in marble or in gold, wherein his majesty declares himself not only well satisfied with the carriage of the generality of the ministers of Scotland, in the time of trial; but also, to prevent jealousies which any might create in the minds of well-meaning people, is pleased to give us assurance, that, by the grace of God, his majesty resolves to discountenance profanity, and all contemners and opposers of the ordinances of the gospel, and to protect and preserve the government of the kirk of Scotland, as it was then settled by law, without violation. Which letter, so graciously sent to us by our sovereign, preventing our desires to express his royal resolution, as to the maintenance of the work of God amongst us, we look upon and esteem as a kind of magna charta, given by our gracious king for our church-order and privileges. And as in our letter, directed from us at our last meeting, to his majesty's noble secretary for Scotland, to be humbly presented in our name to his majesty's own hands, we did express our sense of God's mercy to us, in putting such a thing into the king's heart; so shall we be most loath to suffer such thoughts to take place in our hearts, as if so pious and royal a resolution were to be altered upon any instance whatsomever; and we would count it a most undutiful part in us, to be ready to suggest or express to the people of God, the subjects of the king, any fears of that sort: but as our loyalty in former times hath appeared, so we trust that our carriage upon all occasions, shall argue in us indelible evidences of unstained loyalty and love to our sovereign, whom we honour as a man next unto God, inferior to none but God, who is his only judge, invested by God with a peerless supremacy over all persons and ranks of persons, within his majesty's dominions, the chief nurse-father of the church, and keeper of both tables of God's law, the sovereign protector and defender of the worship and ordinances of God, God's vicegerent, sent by him to bear the sword, with imperial power to punish all evil deeds, and evil-doers trespassing against religion and piety, or moral honesty, and duties that man doth owe to man, and to put every one in his dominions to the doing of their duty to God and man, the supreme civil governor of all persons, and in all causes civil and ecclesiastic; though the power of the keys of spiritual government belongs to the officers of the church, appointed by Christ: in a word, we do willingly yield whatsoever that pious and learned divine, Dr. Usher, attributes to the king, in the exposition of the oath of supremacy. for which he was solemnly thanked, in a letter yet extant in print, by that learnedest of princes, king James of blessed memory, who knew the bounds of royal supremacy, as well as any king on earth: no less do we acknowledge to be due to our sovereign lord king Charles, that we to give to this new and erastian usurpation, to watch over the actings of that synod; and he came in, while they were in the midst of may for ever stop the mouths of these who seek occasion against us in this matter, and may clear our loyalty as with a sunbeam. And we appeal to the great God, in the point of hearty loyalty to our sovereign, though we dare not (and we know he wills us not) in the least thing depart from the known mind of our God, in the matters concerning his house and worship. And having premised this as a guard against mistakes, we aver it to be the true zeal of our hearts, towards the matters of our God, his house and worship, that hath laid a necessity on us thus to declare ourselves, and to admonish the people of God in our charge, without any intention of wronging lawful authority, whom, if in any thing to be enjoined, we cannot please with active obedience, we hope they will be pacified by our passive obedience, which we resolve to yield, as our God calleth us, rather than to sin against him. Therefore, we declare 0 to you the Lord's people in our charge, whom he 5 hath appointed us as ministers to instruct, that we are convinced, that prelacy of any one, with majority of power and jurisdiction over presbyteries and churches, hath no warrant from Christ in his written word, which we are persuaded is a perfect sufficient rule of religion, holding forth all the fundamentals of church 15 government, whereunto belong the offices and officers, by which the Lord's people are to expect his blessing; it being certain and undoubted, that no spiritual efficacy can be in faith expected by any office in the church, or any other religious ordinance, but that which is appointed by God in his word, but is contrary thereto, it being evident that our Lord Jesus Christ hath discharged and inhibited all such majority among the ministers of his church, having committed the whole parts of the spiritual government thereof, to one united company of rulers, and never to one alone; neither did his apostles, when they are purposely mentioning, in their writings, the officers given by Christ to his church, ever make mention of any such prelates over many pastors and churches, nor of his priority and power, or work, as distinct from the presbyters; but do always speak of the presbyter and bishop, as of one office under divers names. And it being so that this office hath no footing in divine scripture, it ought to be refused and rejected by those who know themselves to be bound to follow the rule, not of human but of divine wisdom, in the government of the church of Christ. And although those who stand in opposition to us in this point, do make a great noise (to amaze the simple) about antiquity, and the primitive times of the churches and fathers, as if they all stood on their side, it ought not to stumble the people of God, seeing that (were it so) christian consciences, wanting the warrant of the word to bottom faith upon, can have no consistency nor establishment upon human constitutions; and yet we dare plead with them at the bar of purest antiquity, nearest the times of the apostles, whilst the church remained a chaste virgin, and are confident, that for some hundreds of years after the apostles, there is no evidence of such a bishop as we reject and plead against; and from history we can make appear, that there was no such bishop in our own church, more than three hundred years after receiving of the christian religion among us; but whenever that office did creep in, we are bold to affirm, as our Lord said in another case, it was not so from the beginning. 2. Next, we declare to you our dear people, our own resolutions, by the strength of divine grace, to adhere constantly, all the days of our life, to the doctrine, worship, and present government of the kirk of Scotland, by presbyteries, without the foresaid prelacy in any degree, under the name of a constant moderator, or what else soever, which we have renounced upon the strongest enforcements of scripture authority upon our consciences, and are in that matter under an indispensable tie of a solemn oath to God; and although we cannot, for our conscientious resolutions, expect trouble, being under the protection of so gracious a sovereign, (to whom we would not doubt to justify the sincerity of our hearts, in cleaving to that which is good, had we the opportunity to represent our faithfulness to God, and loyalty to his majesty) yet, however, in this our distance from his majesty, we should meet with extremities in our duty, we shall with quietness commit ourselves and cause to him that judgeth righteously. resolving, in so honourable a cause, to endure, through God's strength, whatsoever trial and hardship it may please the Lord to exercise us with. 3. We do, in the name of the Lord Jesus, exhort you the people of God in our charges, (which we shall also endeavour, through grace, for our parts) speedily to renew our repentance for our unthankfulness under the means of grace, neglect and contempt of the gospel, ungospel-like conversation, for the which the Lord may justly remove all his gospel ordinances from us, and plague us with sundry sorts of judgments, pursuing us as dry stubble, until we were consumed. As also we entreat that ye would stand fast to the profession of the truth of Christ, and to every part of it, and to love the order of the house of Christ, which is so well grounded on his word, and tends so much to the advancement of godliness, and the glory of God, not making light accounts of that which is a part of the truth of the gospel and of the kingdom of Christ, after the lukewarm indifferency of too many, in the holy things of God. We are persuaded better things of you, than that ye should be removed from your steadfastness, after the shining of so much light, after so strong engagements to the Lord: what horrible guiltiness should this draw on us? How great should our infamy be among all the churches of Christ? Whether should we not cause our shame to go for our unsteadfastness in the solemn oath of God which is on our spirits, in a matter not only lawful, but also necessary for us to adhere to, having so much light in it? Remember how dangerous backsliding is; what better fruits can be looked for from that way of government than appeared among us? How loath are we to suffer it to enter in our hearts, that this land 1660. was before them, and immediately the reformed religion, and inclinable to de to depart. Obedience was given, sire, endeavour, or embrace the introducing and they dismissed themselves presently. again of the renounced, abjured, prelatical The case was new, they were perfectly sur- government, with its unwarrantable attendprised, and in confusion; but it was matter ants, have thought it our duty to express of regret to many of them afterwards, that our sense and judgment thereof, in sincerity they had not protested against so plain an of heart, as becomes the servants of God, invasion of the liberties of Christ's house. and in his presence; and accordingly all and every one of the brethren, severally, and with one consent, profess, as in the sight of God, that we are thoroughly persuaded, and fully satisfied in our consciences, by the clear light of the scriptures of God, touching the divine truth of the reformed religion, as it is at present, and hath been for divers years, received, professed, and practised in the church of Scotland, in doctrine, worship, government, and discipline; and that we are convinced in our consciences, that prelacy of any one, with majority of power and jurisdiction over presbyteries and churches, under the name of constant moderator, or any other name or notion whatsomever, hath no warrant from Jesus Christ in his written The synod being thus violently raised, the presbyteries at their first meeting did approve of what they got not finished in synod; and all of them, in a very solemn manner, did record, and declare their adherence to the principles of this church, in their several presbytery books. I have only seen an extract of the declaration to this purpose, by the presbytery of Cupar; probably they were all much of a piece, and so I insert it here. At Cupar, April 18th, 1661. "The brethren of this presbytery, after serious consideration of a grievous scandal, raised upon the ministers of Scotland, as if they were falling from their steadfastness in shall make the fruit of their loosing from ten through a long life, maintained an unceasing years' bondage, a shakeloose of the government struggle with them, from the pulpit up to of Christ? or, that good patriot or people, will the council board, and from the general assemembrace that which hath been so bitter to them- bly down to the kirk session; but he was grapselves and their antecessors? How sad a thing pled with, by the Blacks, the Bruces, the will it be to lie in chains of our own making, Calderwoods, the Davidsons, the Melvilles, and and in end conclude with the simple repentant, the Johne Rosses of that day, in a very different non putaram? Be exhorted to avoid that evil of manner, than his grandson was now by the prelacy, and all attendants to it, under what-synod of Fife. The truth of the matter seems soever colours, as ye would have the Lord regard you. 4. Finally, we exhort you to all loyalty and obedience in the Lord, to our sovereign the king, not only for wrath, but for conscience' sake, and to due obedience to all who have authority from him, judicatories and persons. We have the Lord to be our witness, that neither the matter of our present administration, nor our purpose, hath any tendency to make trouble; we have done this merely for our own exoneration, and with respect to your good and the honour of Christ. The Lord establish you with us, by his free spirit. This pusillanimous conduct on the part of the members of this synod, as well as that of many others, forms a melancholy contrast to what had been the practice of the ministers of the Scotish church, on almost all former occasions of a like kind; and the apology offered for them by our historian, we cannot but regard as ill-timed and not at all corresponding with the fact of the case. It was unhappily no new thing in Scotland, for the government to interfere with ministerial freedom, and the liberties of the church in almost every possible form. James VI. of wisdom-affecting and power-loving memory, left nothing in this respect for any of his successors to achieve, having to be, that the Covenanters generally cherished throughout a romantic attachment to Charles II., and were exceedingly reluctant to change their opinion of him; while the greater part of the ministers of the church of Scotland, and the synod of Fife in particular, in their zeal against Cromwell, and the sectaries as they were called [the independents], and the remonstrators, had wrought themselves into a state of phrensy, under which they had so committed themselves that now they dared not utter a word in defence of their own principles, lest it might be interpreted as favouring the notions of these now totally proscribed classes, the tide of prejudice against which they had weakly contributed to swell, and so intemperately united to condemn. This, while it has excited painful regret among all who have been friendly to their cause, has often drawn forth the bitterest sarcasm from their enemies; and it must be confessed gave too good ground for the bitter taunt of the gossipping Burnet, when speaking of their submitting to the managements of the traitor Sharp, after his character was manifested to all the world. "The poor men were so struck, with the ill state of their af fairs, that they either trusted him, or at least seemed to do it, for, indeed, they had neither sense nor courage left them."-Burnet's History of his Own Times, Edin. ed. vol. i. p. 171.-Ed. 1661. At Dumfries, the synod was upon the same design with that of Fife, and had agreed to an act, censuring all ministers who complied with prelacy, by deposition; but they were interrupted, and summarily dissolved by Queensberry and Hartfield, pretending orders from the commissioner. I find it remarked, that they were both miserably drunk, when they came in to their work. word, to be received in his church: and we | vincial assemblies, presbyteries and do from our hearts the more abhor and de- sessions, during the king's pleasure." test any motion or purpose of apostatizing And I cannot guess how they came to be to that way; not only because of many sin- set up, unless it was by the paramount power ful errors in doctrine, and corrupt practices of the commissioner, exerting his privilege in in worship, which formerly did, with and by his commission, by Mr. Sharp's importunity, the foresaid prelacy, creep into this church; to do whatever the king might do, if present. but also because of the sacred and indispensable ties of the oath of God thereanent, under which we are before the Lord. And further, we all declare, that we are not a little encouraged and strengthened in this our duty, and comfortably borne up against the fear of sinistrous designs, in prejudice of the present government of the church, by that refreshing declaration of our sovereign, the king's majesty, in his letter directed to the presbytery of Edinburgh, and by them to be communicate to the rest of the presbyteries of this church, dated at Whitehall, August 10th, 1660, of his royal resolution, to protect and preserve the government of the church of Scotland, as it was then established by law, without violation, and to countenance, in the due exercise of their functions, all such ministers who shall behave themselves dutifully and peaceably; which also we purpose, in the Lord's strength, carefully to endeavour. All which the brethren present unanimously consented unto, and ordained to be recorded in the presbytery register, ad futuram rei memoriam." In other parts of the church ministers were not idle, when their all was at the stake; but generally they were interrupted by those whom the managers named for commissioners and inspectors; and it would seem some such were directed to every suspected synod; an office never before used, and I hope shall never more be tried. Upon the north side of Tay, they had no great fears of public appearances against their procedure; but on the south of it, they had their spies in most synods, clothed with, I do not know, whose or what authority. I can find no act of parliament constituting them, nor any commission from the king; yea, from the forecited account of the proceedings of parliament, I find, March 28th," there was likewise presented and agreed unto, a paper, bearing, that ministers shall have power to exerce their ministerial functions in pro The synod of Galloway met this same month, and were drawing up a petition to the parliament, against episcopacy, and for the preservation of the liberties of this church, (and under all regular governments, subjects are allowed humbly to supplicate) the copy of which is added. * But when at this, the * Supplication of the Synod of Galloway, against the intended change of government, 1661. May it please your honours, We the ministers of Jesus Christ, within the synod of Galloway, laying seriously to heart the wonderful mercies of God, manifested from time to time to this poor nation, first, in the days of our forefathers, many hundred years ago, in which time, a little after the rising of the Sun of righteousness to give light to the gentiles, the Lord was graciously pleased to visit this land with the light of the glorious gospel, and to bless and honour the whole nation, both with purity of doctrine and government, for sundry generations together: During which time, until the incoming of Paladius, ordained bishop by pope Celestine, the Scots knew not the teachers of the faith, administers of the such a thing as a prelate-bishop, but had, for sacraments, and exercisers of discipline, presbyters only, (called culdees, or colidei, because of their piety) of whom some were appointed overseers or superintendents, but had no pre-eminence or rank of dignity above the rest, neither were they of any distinct order from the rest of their brethren. Next, in the days of our fathers, when the nation was involved in the darkness of popish superstition, and idolatry, it graciously pleased the Lord to ransom the land from the bondage of popish tyranny and and liberty of the gospel, and with discipline superstition, and again to bless it with the light and government established according to the pattern showed in the mount: the beautiful lustre of which glorious reformation, remained for many years unstained, until some ambitious and covetous men-pleasing churchmen, imboldened with the smiles of authority, not only marred and eclipsed the beauty and glory of 1661. earl of Galloway came in, and in | John Park, author of the excellent essay the king's name dissolved their upon patronages, modestly, and yet very meeting. The moderator of the synod, Mr. pointedly, protested against the encroach Christ's government by presbytery, but almost overthrew the government itself, in obtruding upon it, and setting over it a lordly government in the persons of prelates. Which course of defection, to the great grief of the godly, and not without the constant reluctancy, counteract ing, protesting, and witnessing of the most learned and faithful pastors in the land to the contrary, was tyrannically carried on for the space of thirty-eight years or thereby. Yet, in the third place, even in our own day, the outgoings of the Lord, in the year 37, and the years following, has appeared so glorious and conspicuous, to the dashing and execrating of that lordly prelacy, and to the replanting and re-establishing of Christ's own government by presbytery, in its integrity, that it were superfluous for us to make mention of these things, which many of your lordships' eyes have seen, wherein many of your lordships have been honoured to be eminent actors, and whereof all our hearts have been joyful and glad. The serious consideration of these things, speaking the Lord's unwillingness to depart, fixes a strong (and we trust) well grounded persuasion on our spirits, that our covenanted Lord has thoughts of peace, and not of evil, towards this poor land, so often, so deliberately, so seriously, and so solemnly, by oath and covenant, engaged to the most high God, and that he will be graciously pleased to fix his tabernacle amongst us, and rest in his love and though on the contrary, he should, in his righteousness, threaten a departure from us, and denounce also wo unto us when he departeth from us, (the fears whereof, as swelling waves, overwhelm the spirits of the Lord's people at this present time, who, for the most part, are trembling under the sad apprehensions of a change) yet the thoughts of his ancient and late love to this land, should persuade all, in their respective stations, to lay hold on the skirts of his garments, and not to let him go: and therefore, the earnest desire of our hearts is, to plead in secret with the Lord, that he would mercifully preserve his staves of beauty and bands, in their beauty and strength amongst us: so (Christ commanding, necessity urging, and duty calling for it at our hands, to be faithful office-bearers in the house of God) we trust that it will not be offensive to your lordships, that (keeping within our own sphere, and holding ourselves within the bounds of that christian moderation which becomes godliness) we do in all humility exhort your honours, that with all singleness of heart, with all love and zeal to the glory of God, with all tender compassion to this yet panting kirk, faintly lifting up the neck from beneath the yoke of this late exotic tyrant of perfidious men, that with all pious respect to your posterity in the generations to come, whose souls will bless your remembrance, for transmitting a pure reformation to them, and that with all prudent and christian regard to prevent the stumbling, and provoke the holy emulation of the nations round about, whose eyes are upon your lordships, ye would see unto the exact and faithful keeping of the engagements, oaths and vows of the Lord, lying on your lordships and the whole land, to preserve the reformed religion in the church of Scotland, in doctrine, worship, discipline, and government, against all the enemies thereof: and that the Lord's people, his majesty's loyal subjects, may be delivered from the present fears of a change, which they are groaning under, we humbly supplicate your lordships would be pleased to ratify all former acts of parliament, in favours of the reformed religion in this church, in doctrine, worship, discipline, and government: and that, as his majesty has been pleased, in his gracious letter directed to the presbytery of Edinburgh, and by them to be directed to the rest of the pres byteries in this kirk, to declare his resolution to protect and preserve the government of the church of Scotland, as it is settled by law, without violation; so your lordships would be pleased to declare your fixedness to the present settled government, without the least purpose of ever altering the same, or overcharging it with lordly episcopacy: and that (besides the considerations already hinted at) for the reasons following, partly relating to the terminus a quo of such a change, which we pray the Lord to avert, partly relating to the terminus ad quem, and partly relating to the change itself. First, If your lordships will consider the terminus a quo of this change we supplicate against, to wit, the government of the church of Scotland by presbytery; First, It is the true government of Christ's kirk, who being faithful to him that appointed him, yea, and faithful as a Son over his own house, Heb. iii. 2, 6. has not left his house to confusion, without government, but has appointed the same as to be fed by doctors and pastors, so to be overseen and ruled by seniors or elders, in their lawful assem blies in Christ's name, where he has promised to be in the midst of them; the whole platform of which government, erected in Christ's church in this nation, as to all the essentials, is so clearly warranted in the holy scriptures, that we may confidently say, it is the only government according to that pattern showed in the mount. Secondly, Albeit in the reformation of religion, whether in doctrine, worship, discipline, or government, the example of the best reformed churches is not to be contemned, but to have its due respect; yet we have good ground to assert, that the present government of the church of Scotland by presbytery, was not inconsiderately borrowed from any other as the pattern, nor headily obtruded on this kirk, (a calumny frequently cast on our government by the adversaries thereof (but that it is the fruit of the many prayers, and the result of the faithful pains and labours of cur pious predecessors, who, by the space of six or seven years, did, in free and full assemblies, deliberately debate every point and article of the said government and discipline, and so did in end, by the good hand of God upon them, determine and conclude the same according to the word of God, by the common votes and uniform consents of the whole assembly of this church. Thirdly, This government, clear in scripture, deliberately closed with by our progenitors, has |