5. Wee cannot forgett how some amongest your Lops: quho haue wowed to the Lord, in the day quhen the frinds of the causse wer low, and quhen some of your Lops: also wer brought werey low; that ze should trust and imploy, and cleaue to suche persons in the land as feared God, and wer treulie religious, and should neuer dewyde from thosse; zet for all that, some amongest you haue lookit vpone all ore most of thesse on quhome the pouer of godlines hath appeired, with ane eiuell and jelous eye, and haue not onlie neglected to countenance and encourage suche, bot rather haue randered them and ther actions odious and suspected. For wich thinges the wrath of God is gone oute, and is lyke to continew till your Lops: and wee shall learne to putt a difference betuix the pretious and vile, and to haue the power of godliness in grater estimatione.
Wee wold not haue your Lops: to thinke that wee looke vpone thesse thinges wich wee haue remonstrated to you, as the onlie causes of the sade thinges that are vpone the kingdome, or that wee thinke ourselues not guilty or accessorey to the drawing one and procuring thesse bitter thinges that are wpone ws. The Lord knowes that wee are so far from suche thoughts, that althoughe your Lops: wer innocent of all thesse transgressions, wee ar conuinced that in ws ther is als muche guiltines as makes ws feare it is the worse with the Lords people, that wee are amongest them, and with His worke, that our handes are aboute it; in the sense quherof, as wee haue desyred to humble ourselues, so wee purposse to take new occasions for a free acknouledgement of our sins, and to be humbled for them, and to renew our ingagements to the Lord to be more reall and sincere in persewing all the endes of the Couenant, and dewties therin conteind, accordinng to our vocation.
Nather wold wee haue your Lops: to thinke that in our free dealling with you, wee haue beine led with the spirit of bitternes, or desyre to discouer your nakednes to the world, or to strengthen the hands of the adwersaries. He quho knoweth our hartes, knoweth that wee desyre to carrey ourselues respectiuely and deutifully to the publicke judicatories, and to tender ther authoritie and crydit as our liues; nor is it in our heartes to prowoke your Lops: to wnlawfull courses, bot earnistly to desyre you to awoyde them; nor haue wee the least deseinge to follow the foottstepes of the sectarian partie, and change the fundamentall gouerniment of this kingdome, by king and parliament, or aney lewelling way, as wee heir some wold calumniat falsly our honest intentions. The Lord, befor quhom all thinges are naked, manifestly knowes wee detest and abhorre suche coursses; onlie we hold ourselues bound humblie to hold suche the corruptions of persons in the gouerniment, and desyre to be more tender of the guide of the causse and kingdome, than of aney persone quhatsomeuer; and to chusse rather to displeasse men, then to incurre Gods wrathe, throughe our conniuence at ther corrupte wayes in ther places of power. Zet wee shall freelie tell your Lops: quhence this hath proceided, wee being persuaded, in our consciences, of the vnrighteous dealling of thosse quho haue inwaded and wasted our land, and troden doune the pretious ordinances of Jesus Christe, and shed the blood of his saintes; and the necessity of the lamenting people of God, calleth ws to the wtermost adwenturing aganist the enimey; being also sensible of our auen conditione and disproportionable thoughtes for attempting of aney thing, except wee be mightilie helped, assistit and countenanced by the Lord. Bot aboue all thinges, being affrayed of sin and wrathe, least that should meitt with ws, now quhen wee are resolued, according ta our capacitey, and as God shall giue ws opportunity, in his strenth to wenture our liues aganist the enimey; and not knowing wither some of ws, ore aney of ws, shall see your Lops: in the face, or heireafter haue aney occasione to speike for the discharge of our consciences, wee haue therfor, and for our auen exoneratione thought it necessarey to leaue this testimoney [of] our sincere detestation of thesse sinns, and of our desyre to be found free of them, if the Lord shall suffer aney of ws to perishe in our deutie, and to lay thesse thinges at your dore, as in the presence of the Lord, quho can onlie make you and ws repent and reforme our wayes.
Declaring to your Lops: that wee shall desyre you wnfaniedly to mourne for thesse sins, and that ther are ingagements one your heartes befor God, if he shall lenthen our dayes, and take pleasure in ws, to make ws aney wayes instruments of His worke, and for His peoples good and saftie, that wee shall, to the wttermost of our power, endewor to gett thesse thinges remedied according to our places and callinges.
22 Octobris, 1650.—Producit by Sʳ George Maxwoll, and red in presence of the Comittee of Estaites at Stirlinge.
4 Nov: 1650.—The 4 of Nowember the northerne rebelles layed doune armes, and accepted of the acte of indemnitie, by a trettey with L. Generall Dauid Lesley at Strathbolgie.
The L. Generall being at Aberdeine, in his returne southe, after the northerne armeyes laying doune armes; he wes wisited by Mr Androw Cants, elder and zounger, ministers of Aberdein, quho, amongest maney other discoursses, told the L. Generall that wee could not in conscience asist the King to recouer his croune of England; bot he thoughte one kingdome might serue him werey weill, and one croune was aneuche for aney one man; one kingdome being sufficient for one to reuell and gouerne. A number of suche discoursses wer wented to him, bothe by the father and the sone, to the same purpois. The L. Generall told this to the minister of Newbrughe, Mr Laurence Oliphant, and to the L. of Ferney and Londors, one Monday the 11 of this instant of Nouember.
Cromwells Letter to the Committee of Estaites, 9 Octobris, 1650.
My Lordis,
The grounds and endis of the armeyes entringe Scotland, haue beine heirtofor oftin and cleirlie made knowen wnto you, and hou muche wee haue desyred the same might be accomplished without blood; bot according to quhat returns wee haue receauid, it is euident your hearts had not that loue to ws, as wee can trewly say wee had towards you: and wee are persuaded thosse difficulties in wich you haue inwolued yourselues by espousinge your Kinges intrest, and taking into your bosome that persone, in whom (notwithstanding quhat hath or may be said to the contraire) that wich is really malignancey and all malignants doe center, aganiste quhosse familey the Lord hath so eminently withestood for blood guiltines, nor to be done away with suche superficiall and formall shewes of repentance as are expressed in his laite declaratione; and your strange preiudice aganist ws, as men of hereticall opinions, (wich, throughe the grate goodnes of God to ws, haue beine wniustlie charged vpone ws,) haue occasioned your reiecting of thosse ouertours, wich, with a Christian affection, wer offred to you befor aney blood was spilt, or your people had suffred damnage by ws. The daylie sence wee haue of the calamitie of warre laying vpone the poore people of this nation, and the sade consequences of bloode and famine lykly to come vpone them; the aduantages giuen to malignants, profaine and popeische partey by this warre; and that reality of affection wich wee haue so often professed to you, and concerning the treuthe of wiche wee haue so solemly appealled, doeth againe constraine ws to send wnto you, to lett you know, that if the contending for that persone be not by you preferred to the peace and weillfair of your countrey, the blood of your people, the loue of men of the same faith with you and wich is aboue all, the honor of that God wee serue; then giue the staite of Ingland that satisfaction and securitie for the peaceable and quyet liuing by you, that may in justice be demandid from a nation giuing so iust a ground to aske the same from thosse quho haue, as you, takin ther enimey wnto ther bosome, whilst he was in hostility aganist them; and it will be made good to you, that you may haue a lasting and durable peace with them, and the wishe of a blissing vpone you in all religious and ciuill thinges. If this be refussed by you, wee are persuaded that God, quho hath borne his testimoney, will doe it againe one the behalffe of ws his poore seruants, quho doe appeale to him wither thesse desyres flow from sincerity of heart or not. I rest,