For Mr George Young. October, 1645.
Our hearts here are oft much weighted and wounded by many hands. Our wrestlings with devils and men are great. However the body of this people be as good as any people, yet they that rule all are much opposite to our desires. Some very few guide all now at their pleasure, only through the default of our army. For this long time they have not trusted us; but have had their secret fear of our colluding with the King.
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The faction that here prevails, minding liberty of conscience, and finding it impossible to gain us to oversee that so great a fault, have made that their work be to quit of us. They have occasioned many provocations, to vex us, and make us vex others. I cannot write the half of their unjust, proud, and unjust dealings.
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The assembly is much discouraged; they find their advice altogether slighted; a kind of presbytery set up; sects daily spreading over all the land, without any care at all to restrain them; a clear aim in the prevailing party to have a liberty universal; an utter dislike of our nation for opposing their designs, and driving it so high, that ways are studied, if no better may be, to break the union of the nations, and have us, for the carriage of our army, declared the first breakers to them, and dealt with us as such. We do what we are able to prevent mischief. We cry to God, who knows the honesty of our hearts, and the dishonesty of theirs; the cause of our engagement, and our huge suffering; their great ingratitude to us, and our great patience to them. It is gone already very high. We fear that they make Digby seem to deal with us, while they in truth know how to get the King from us to themselves on their own terms; and if we be not willing to compone in what terms, both for religion and state, they please, to cast us off; and for the recompence of all our labours, to turn on our poor, broken, distressed country the armies of both. The best way we know to prevent this, is to haste up our army, well recruited and disciplined, to Newark, having cashiered all who are the known instruments of debauchery, or can be proven to have kept correspondence with the enemy. This, in spite of the Independent plots, would help all: for the body of the parliament, city, and country, are for the presbytery, and love us, and hate the sectaries; but are all overwitted and overpowered by a few, whom the service and activeness of our army would undo.
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A Publick Letter. November 25, 1645.
In the assembly, we are going on with the Confession of Faith. We had long and tough debates about the decrees of election; yet thanks to God all is gone right according to our mind. That which has taken up much of the assembly’s time and mind, these six or seven weeks, is their manifold petitions to the parliament, for a full liberty to keep from the holy table all scandalous persons. The parliament calls this an arbitrary power, and requires the assembly to make an express enumeration of all the sins for which they intend to censure. After many returns, we gave them in an enumeration of many particulars, but withal craves a general clause to be added. We have some more hope to attain it by God’s help than before. This has been the only impediment why the presbyteries and synods have not been erected; for the ministers refuse to accept of presbyteries without this power. Had it been God’s will that our army this summer had done any service, we had long before this obtained all our desires: or yet, if we could send any considerable strength to Newark, we would have great influence in their counsels. All good men here desire the continuance of the union of the nations, and know, as well as we, that in that union the happiness of both doth consist, and in the breach of it the lasting miseries of both are certain ruin.
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The city, both magistrates and ministers, are now engaged, blessed be God, in very home and earnest petitions for the erection of general and provincial assemblies, of presbyteries and sessions, and all with their full power. The Independents in their last meeting of our grand committee of accommodation have expressed their desires for toleration, not only to themselves but to other sects. The parliament has no great inclination to satisfy either. What may come of this, we know not; only it were our heart’s desire that our army at Newark were recruited. Nothing is better for the good of Scotland, for the welfare of the whole isle, and the Protestant religion. If God make us either unable or unwilling to this, the loss will be great to us and all.