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I know how lazy soever, and tediously longsome, they be here, yet that they will be impatient of any long delay there in this work. If ever ye did God or your country, or the whole isle, service in your life, haste up these recruits to our army. There is no other way to make the King take reason in patience, also to bridle the insolency of wicked men.
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For Glasgow. June 17, 1645.
Since my last, June 3d, there is, by God’s mercy, a great change of affairs here. Our progress in the assembly is but small. We fell in a labyrinth of a catalogue of sins for which people must be kept from the sacrament, and ministers be deposed. When we had spent many days upon this, we found it was necessary to have an ________ and a general clause, whereby the presbyteries and synods behoved to be intrusted with many more cases than possibly could be enumerated. This retarded us so much, that yet it will be some days before the body of our government go up to the Houses. We have sent down the last fifty of the psalms. We wish they may be well examined there, that we may have your animadversions and approbation. Doubtless these new psalms will be a great deal better than the old.
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All would go well if it might please God to blink upon Scotland, to remove the three great plagues we hear that continue there, hardness of heart, the pestilence, and the sword. Our fasheries here are great and many; we wish, from our heart, to see a happy end, and to be at home.
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Publick Letter. July 1, 1645.
Little more progress is made in church-affairs. The assembly has been forced to adjourn on five divers occasions of fastings and thanksgiving lately, every one whereof took from us almost two days. When we sat we had no real controversy; only petty debates for alterations of words, and transposition of propositions, in the whole body of government, took up our time. Our luck will be very evil, if once this week, by God’s help, we do not at last put out of our hands to the Houses all that we have to say of government, the whole platform there really according to the practice of our church. Farther, order for the directory, after many debates, at last is passed the House of Commons; very near as severe an ordinance as that against the neglect of the service-book. Wednesdays and Fridays are set apart by the Houses for church-affairs, so we hope very shortly to see presbyteries and synods erected; yet what retardment we may have from this great victory, obtained most by the Independent party, and what that model of government, whereupon Thomas Goodwin and his brethren, these three months have been sitting so close, that they very rarely, and he never at all has yet appeared, we do not know; only we expect a very sharp assault, how soon we know not, for a toleration to we wot not what.
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July 8, 1645.—All the ministers in London now without exception are for our presbytery. Thomas Goodwin and Burton, that were against it, are put by the parliament from their places. Some other few preachers are but lecturers. The Independents yet present not their model. We suspect their domestick divisions, or their perplexity, whether to take in or hold out from amongst themselves the rest of the sectaries. If our army were in good case, by God’s blessing, all would settle quickly in peace; else, we are but in the beginning of confusions and troubles. The troubles in Scotland are but secondary evils. Your right eye would be on the affairs here, if you have either wisdom, or any love to yourselves. Mr Henderson is much tenderer than he wont. He and Mr Rutherford are gone this day to Epsom waters. So long as any thing is to do here, he cannot be away. I hope the rest of us ere long may be well spared, if once we had through the Catechism and a part of the Confession.