Excerpts from The Secret and true History of the Church of Scotland from the Restoration to the year 1678, by the Rev. Mr James Kirkton. [Mr C. K. Sharpe’s edition, 1817. p. 47, et seq.]
The Scots, immediatly upon the news of his [King Charles I.] death, proclaim his eldest son King, upon the 5th of February 1649, providing alwayes that he was not to be admitted to the exercise of his government till he should give satisfaction for religion and peace; nor could they make warr upon England for their King, till he and they were at a point, which was not for two years after; but these two years, in my opinion, were the best two years that Scotland ever saw.
For though alwayes since the Assembly at Glasgow the work of the gospel hade prospered, judicatories being reformed, godly ministers entered, and holy constitutions and rules daily brought into the Church; yet now, after Duke Hamilton’s defeat, and in the interval betwixt the two Kings, religion advanced the greatest step it hade made for many years: now the Ministry was notablie purified, the Magistracy altered, and the people strangly refined. It is true, at this time, hardly the fifth part of the Lords of Scotland were admitted to sit in Parliament, but those who did sitt were esteemed truely godly men; so were all the rest of the commissioners in parliament elected of the most pious of every corporation. Also, godly men were imployed in all offices, both civil and military; and about this time the General Assembly, by sending abroad visitors into the countrey, made almost ane entire change upon the Ministry in several places of the nation, purgeing out the scandelous and insufficient, and planting in their place a sort of godly young men, whose ministry the Lord sealed with ane eminent blessing of success, as they themselves sealed it with a seal of heavy sufferings; but so they made full proof of their ministry. Scotland hath been, even by emulous foreigners, called Philadelphia; and now she seemed to be in her flower. Every minister was to be tried five times a year, both for his personal and ministerial behavior; every congregation was to be visited by the presbyterie that they might see how the vine flowrished, and how the pomegranate budded. And there was no case nor question in the meanest family in Scotland, but it might become the object of the deliberation of the General Assembly, for the congregational Session’s book was tried by the presbyterie, the presbyterie’s book by the synod, and the synod’s book by the General Assembly. Likewayes, as the bands of the Scottish church were strong, so her beauty was bright: no error was so much as named, the people were not only sound in the faith, but innocently ignorant of unsound doctrine; no scandalous person could live, no scandal could be concealed in all Scotland, so strict a correspondence there was betwixt ministers and congregations. The General Assembly seemed to be the priest with Urim and Thumim, and there were not ane 100 persons in all Scotland to oppose their conclusions; all submitted, all learned, all prayed, most part were really godly, or at least counterfitted themselves Jews. Than was Scotland a heap of wheat set about with lilies, uniform, or a palace of silver beautifully proportioned; and this seems to me to have been Scotland’s high noon. The only complaint of prophane people was, that the government was so strict they hade not liberty enough to sin. I confess I thought at that time, the common sort of ministers strained too much at the sin which, in these dayes, was called Malignancie, (and I should not paint the moon faithfully if I marked not her spots,) otherwayes I think if church officers could polish the saints on earth as bright as they are in heaven, it were their excellencie and the churches happiness. But this season lasted not long.
[This poetical historian afterwards makes statements of a similar character, referable to a period a few years later; but it may not be much out of place to subjoin them here.—P. [52].]
Immediatly upon the king’s landing, Cromwel invaded Scotland, and the Scottish army levyed for the king being entirely beaten at Dumbar by the English, division entered both state and church, which is not as yet even to this day removed. Here the staff of bands was broken. The cause of this rent was this: After the defeat of Dumbar, the king required a new army to be levyed, wishing earnestly it might be of another mettall than that which hade been lossed. So he desired that sort of people who were called Malignants, his darlings, might be brought into places of trust both in council and army, though they hade been secluded from both by their own consent. And this request was granted both by committees of estates and commission of the church sitting at Perth. But there was a party in both these councils, which alleadged confidently, that though the malignants were content to profess repentance for their former practices, yet they should be found to be men neither sincere in their professions, nor successfull in their undertakings. This was the beginning of the fatal schism in the Scottish Church.
[P. [54].—After the battle of Worcester, September 3, 1651.]
The King escaped into France, and the English became peaceable masters of Scotland for nine years following. So, after all the counties of Scotland hade formally acknowledged the English for their sovereigns, they appointed magistrates and constitute judicatories to govern the land for their time. They did indeed proclaim a sort of toleration to dissenters amongst protestants, but permitted the gospel to have its course, and presbyteries and synods to continue in the exercise of their powers, and all the time of their government the work of the gospel prospered not a little, but mightily. It is also true, that because they knew the generality of the Scottish ministers were for the King upon any termes, therefore they did not permit the General Assembly to sitt, (and in this I believe they did no bad office) for both the authority of that meetting was denyded by the protesters, and the Assembly seemed to be more sett upon establishing themselves than promoving religion: also the division of the church betwixt protesters and resolvers continued in the church for six or seven years with far more heat than became, and errors in some places infected some few; yet were all these losses inconsiderable in regard of the great successe the word preached hade in sanctifying of the people of the nation. And I verily believe there were more souls converted to Christ in that short period of time than in any season since the Reformation, though of treeple its duration. Nor was there ever greater purity and plenty of the means of grace than was in their time. Ministers were painfull, people were diligent; and if a man hade seen one of their solemn communions, where many congregations mett in great multitudes, some dozen of ministers used to preach, and the people continued as it were in a sort of trance (so serious were they in spiritual exercises,) for three dayes at least, he would have thought it a solemnity unknown to the rest of the world.
[In reference to the year of the King’s return, Kirkton thus describes the state of the country and Church.—P. [64].]
Now before wee speak of the alteration court influences made upon the church of Scotland, let us consider in what case it was at this time. There be in all Scotland some 900 paroches, divided into 68 presbytries, which are again cantond into fourteen synods, out of all which, by a solemn legation of commissioners from every presbterie, they used yearly to constitute a national assembly. At the King’s return every paroche hade a minister, every village hade a school, every family almost had a Bible, yea, in most of the countrey all the children of age could read the Scriptures, and were provided of Bibles, either by the parents or their ministers. Every minister was a very full professor of the reformed religion, according to the large confession of faith framed at Westminster by the divines of both nations. Every minister was obliedged to preach thrice a-week, to lecture and catechise once, besides other private duties wherein they abounded, according to their proportion of faithfulness and abilities. None of them might be scandalous in their conversation or negligent in their office, so long as a presbterie stood; and among them were many holy in conversation and eminent in gifts; the dispensation of the ministry being fallen from the noise of waters and sound of trumpets to the melody of harpers, which is, alace! the last messe in the banquet; nor did a minister satisfy himself except his ministry hade the seal of a divine approbation, as might witness him to be really sent from God. Indeed, in many places the spirit seemed to be powred out with the word, both by the multitude of sincere converts, and also by the common work of reformation upon many who never came the length of a communion; there were no fewer than sixty aged people, men and women, who went to school, that even then they might be able to read the Scriptures with their own eyes. I have lived many years in a paroch where I never heard ane oath; and you might have ridde many miles before you hade heard any: Also, you could not for a great part of the countrey have lodged in a family where the Lord was not worshipped by reading, singing, and publick prayer....
Now, in the midst of this deep tranquility, as soon as the certainty of the king’s return arrived in Scotland, I believe there was never accident in the world altered the disposition of a people more than that did the Scottish nation. Sober men observed, it not only inebriat but really intoxicate, and made people not only drunk but frantick; men did not think they could handsomely express their joy, except they turned brutes for debauch, rebels and pugeants; yea, many a sober man was tempted to exceed, lest he should be condemned as unnatural, disloyal, and insensible.