The General Assembly understanding the scandall and prejudice of practices and carriage of some Expectants and students, attenders of families, for performance of religious duties by their private or publick opposing Publick Resolutions: For removing whereof, they do extend the Act of the Assembly 1640, Sess. 10, against expectants, refusing to subscribe the Covenant and the censure therein specified, against all expectants, students in Divinity, and attenders upon families for religious duties, that shal not acknowledge the General Assemblies of this Kirk, and this present General Assembly, and that shal not acquiesce to the Acts and Constitutions thereof; and do ordain them to be removed from Bursaries, and to be discharged from publick preaching and catechising in Congregations and families, and from all other privileges and liberties allowed to expectants; appointing Presbyteries and Provincials to proceed against them accordingly.
1651.
Excerpts from The Waters of Sihor, or the Lands Defectione; By James Guthrie.[448]
[Page 66.]
The Comissione of the Generall Assemblie, in their answer to the Letter of the Presbytrie of Stirline, from Pearth, Jan. 6, 1651, plead—“That it is not only lawful but a necessar duety, to raise these men in airms, pag. 7; That they must be called and allowed to rise in airms for their own defence, and for the defence of the country, pag. 11; That we may warrantablie associate with them, pag. 11, 12; That it is not against the solemne ingadgment to deuties; that being but a humane law and Resolutione, which must yeeld to this case that is warranted by the law of nature, pag. 13, 14; That it gives no incouradgment to sectaries, pag. 16, 17; That there is no cause to be affrayed of God’s indignatione upon the account of imploying such, p. 17; That, what ever be the event, there will be more peace and comfort to us by making use of such means, than any furder calamity should come upon the land, they not being made use of, p. 18; That it were a tempting of God and transgressing against warrantable Christian prudence, not to make use of them in the case wherein we then stood, p. 6; That the danger of making use of such is not certain and inevitable: That it is not so apparent and great, page 18; That yᵉ scandall is not given but taken, p. 16.” The same things are repeated in the Solemne Warning to all the Members of this Kirk. Pearth, Jan. 11, 1651.
That these things doe inferr and contradict the things cited before these resolutions, I think, is manifest and obvious:—what the one makes sin the other makes duety. And then the writer goes on to contrast the documents and point out their inconsistency.—[Page 75.]
The Comissione, in their warning at Pearth, Jann. 7, 1651, and in their Remonstrance at Pearth, Jann. 25, 1651, doe clearly insimulate them of complying with the adversaries. In the 4 pag. of the Warning, they give this advertishment: “We exhort, and, as the servants and messengers of Jesus Christ, doe, in his name, charge the Kirk and people of God in this kingdome, to avoid all sorts of complying with the enemy, whither by speaking favourablie of them and their wayes, or speaking disrespectively of the publick just and necessary Resolutions and proceedings of Kirk and State, for opposing their wicked design.”
Now these Resolutions are the same in questione, against which sundrie Presbytries had then begun to give testimony; and, in the 8 pag. of their Remonstrance, they give this advertishment to the King and Comitee of Estates:—“Yee would carefully take head that scrouple of conscience be not, by some, pretended unto unwillingnes of acting, for preservatione of the indangered cause and sinking kingdome, and taken on as a mask to cover the designe of underhand advancing the intrest of the Sectarian Army.”
In a Letter writen from Pearth, Jan. 16, 1651, they give this order concerning such:—“We doe hereby require and exhort you to take notice of them, of whatsoever place or statione, who doe obstruct, speak against, dissuade, privatly or publickly, from the present levy, or who, having a calling to speake for it, are silent therein, and to make report thereof at the nixt meeting of our Commissione at St Andrews, Jan. 21.”
Upon the 20 of March 1651, they did emitte a Warning at Pearth, to the Ministers and professors, of this kirk, in qᶜʰ they not only characteriz the opposers of these Resolutions as Malignants, by applying unto them the characters that were formerly given by this Kirk, whereby to know Malignants, but also (beside insinuations made to the Civill Magistrate, concerning civill censures to be inflicted upon them, as appears from the 2 and 5 pages of their Warning,) they doe inhibit all speaking, preaching, writing against these Resolutions, and stirr up Presbytries to censure all such in their bounds as so doe, and that by vertue of former Acts of Assemblies against Malignants, for clearing of which I shall set down a pairt of this warning:—
“Let faithful1 ministers, as messengers of the Lord, stir up others, both publickly, by free preaching, and privately, by admonishing every one of his duety, as there shall be occasione, considering that silence in the publick cause, especially in publick persons not labouring to cure the dissaffectione of people, not urging them to constance and patience in bearing of publick burdens, nor too forwardness in the publick cause, that, speaking ambigously, inclining to justify the wicked cause, uttering words which savor of dissaffectione, complaining of the times, in such a way as may steall the hearts of people from liking good instruments in this work, and, consequently, from Gods cause; yea, that some read publick orders, and speaks against them in private conference, are reckoned up among the corruptions and enormities of ministers in their callings by the Gen: Assem: 1646, Sess: 10; and because the Commissione of the Gen: Assemb: in their Remonst: to the Comitee of Estates, July 6, 1643, teaching all true patriots and professors of religione, that they may learn to discern and know the Enemies of the Kirk, among other marks of Malignants, give this, their offering to Presbytries, in all the quarters of the land, peapers contrair to the Declaration of the Comissioners of the Gen: Assem: The Gen: Assem: 1645, in their seasonable Warning, 12 Feber: gave these characters of secret malignants and dis-covenanters, their slighting and censuring of the publick Resolutiones of this Kirk and State; their labouring to raise jealousees and divisiones to retard the executione of what is ordained by the publick judicatories; their slandering these whom God hes used as his chief instruments in his work; their drawing of factiones for weakning of the common unione; their endeavours, solicitationes, and informations, tending to weaken the hearts and hands of others, and to make them withhold their assistance from this work, enjoyning such to be weel marked, timeously discovered, and cairfully avoided, least they infuse their counsels in the minds of others; wherein they require ministers to be faithfull, and Presbytries to be vigilant and impartiall, as they will answer the contrair to God and to the Gen: Assemb: or their Comissioners. The Gen: Assemb: 1646, Sess: 10, ordains, that, besid all other scandals, silence, and ambigous speaking in the publick, much more detracting and disaffected speeches be censured seasonablie. The Gen: Assemb: 1647, Sess: 27, doeth, in the name of God, inhibite the spreading and dispersing of erroneous books or peapers, pamphlets, lybells, and letters, requiring all ministers to warn their flocks against such books in generall, and particular against such as are most plausible, insinuating, and dangerous; and ordains Presbytries and Synods to try and process such as shall transgress, recomending to Civill Magistrate, that they may be pleased to be assisting to ministers and Presbytries in the executione of this Act, and to concurr with their authority to that effect. Therefore, for executione of the foresaid Acts of the Assem: and preventing the eminent danger of Religione, the people of God, and the kingdome, by practices leading to encourage the hearts and strengthen the hands of enemies in prosecuting their wicked purposes, to make faint the hearts and enfeeble the hands of Gods people, and to seduce their minds with divisive and separating counsels and principles, according to the power and trust committed to us, and according to the practise of former Comissiones of the Gen: Assemb: we doe, in the name of God, inhibite and discharge all ministers to preach, and all ministers and professors to detract, speake, or write against the late publick Resolutiones and peapers of the Comissione of the Gen: Assem: in order to the calling furth of the people for necessary defence of the cause and kingdome against the unjust invasione of these enemies to the cause of God and to yᵉ goverment of this Kirk and kingdome, or to spread letters or any other peapers against the same, or in any other way to obstruct the service tending to the preservatione and defence of religione, King, and kingdome: Requiring ministers to warne their flocks of these peapers in generall, and particularly such as are most plausible, insinuating, and dangerous. And we doe seriously recomend to Presbytries, that, with all vigillancy, they take speciall notice and tryall of such persons within their bounds, whither such as have their statione there, or such as, in the troublesome time, have their present residence, ministers or others, and impartially proceed against them, as they will be ansurable.”