The Acts of the General Assemblies of the Church of Scotland

by Church of Scotland. General Assembly

XII. Act anent a Solemn National Fast and Humiliation, with the Causes thereof.

The General Assembly, Having taken into their most serious Consideration, the late great and general Defection of this Church and Kingdom; Have though fit to Appoint a Day of Solemn Humiliation and Fasting, for Confession of Sins, and making Supplication to Our Gracious GOD, to Forgive and Remove the guilt thereof; In order whereunto, they have Ordained the Confession of Sins, and Causes of Fasting following, to be duely Intimate and Published; Recommending it most earnestly to all persons, both Ministers and Others, That every One of us may not only search and try our own Hearts and Wayes, and stir up Ourselves to seek the Lord; But also in our Stations, and as we have access, Deal with one another, in all Love and Tenderness, to prepare for so great and necessary a Duty, that we may find mercy in God's sight, and He may be graciously Reconciled to our Land in the Lord Jesus, and take delight to dwell among us.

Although our gracious God hath of late, for His own Name sake wrought great and wonderful things, for Britain and Ireland, and for this Church and Nation in particular; Yet the Inhabitants thereof have cause to remember their own evil wayes, and to loath themselves in their own sight for their Iniquities. Alas! [pg 520] Alas! We and our Fathers, our Princes, our Pastors, and People of all Ranks have sinned, and have been under great Transgression to this day: For though our gracious God shewed early kindness to this Land, in sending the Gospel among us, and afterward in our Reformation from Popish Superstition and Idolatry; and It had the Honour, beyond many Nations of being after our first Reformation, Solemnly devoted unto God, both Prince and People; yet we have dealt treacherously with the Lord, and been unstedfast in His Covenant, and have not walked suitably to our Mercies received from Him, nor obligations to Him. Through the mercy of God this Church had attained to a great purity of Doctrine, Worship and Government, but this was not accompanied with suitable personal Reformation, neither was our Fruit answerable to the pains taken on us by Word and Work; We had much Gospel-preaching, but too little Gospel-practice, too many went on in open wickedness, and some had but a form of Godliness, denying the power thereof: Many also who had the Grace of God in truth fell from their first love, and fell under sad languishings and decays; and when for our sins the Anger of the Lord had divided us, and we were brought under the feet of strangers, and many of our brethren killed, and others taken captive and sold as slaves; yet we sinned still, and after we were freed from the yoak of strangers, instead of returning to the Lord, and being led to Repentance by His Goodness, the Land made open Defection from the good ways of the Lord: Many behaved as if they had been delivered to work abomination, the flood-gates [pg 521] of Impiety were opened, and a deluge of wickednese did overspread the Land. Who can without grief and shame remember the shameful debauchery and drunkenness that then was? And this accompanied with horrid and hellish cursing and swearing, and followed with frequent Filthiness, Adulteries and other Abominations, and the Reprover was hated, and he that departed from Iniquity made himself a Reproach of Prey. And when by these, and such like corrupt practices, mens Consciences were debauched, they proceeded to sacrifice the Interest of the Lord Jesus Christ, and priviledges of his Church to the lusts and will of Men; The Supremacy was advanced in such a way, and to such an height, as never any Christian Church acknowledged; The Government of the Church was altered, and Prelacie (which hath been always grievous to this Nation) introduced, without the Churches consent, and contrary to the standing Acts of our National Assemblies, both which the present Parliament hath (blessed be God) lately found; And yet nevertheless, of the then standing Ministry of Scotland, many did suddenly and readily comply with that alteration of the Government, some out of Pride and Covetousness, or Man-pleasing, some through infirmity or weakness, or fear of Man, and want of Courage and Zeal for God; many faithful Ministers were thereupon cast out, and many Insufficient and Scandalous Men thrust in on their Charges, and many Families ruined, because they would not own them as their Pastors.

And alas! It is undenyable, there hath been under the late Prelacie, a great decay of Piety, so that it was [pg 522] enough to make a man be nicknam'd a Phanatick, if he did not run to the same excess of Riot with others.

And should it not be lamented, for it cannot be denied, that there hath been in some a dreadful Atheistical Boldness against God, some have disputed the Beeing of GOD, and His Providence, the Divine Authority of the Scriptures, the Life to come, and Immortality of the Soul, yes and scoffed at these things.

There hath been also an Horrid Prophanation of the Holy and Dreadful Name of GOD, by cursing and swearing: Ah! there hath been so much Swearing and Forswearing amongst us, that no Nation under Heaven hath been more guilty in this than we; some by swearing rashly or ignorantly, some falsly, by breaking their Oaths. And imposing and taking ungodly unlawful Oaths and Bonds, whereby the Consciences of many have been polluted and seared, and many ruined and oppressed for refusing and not taking them.

There hath also been a great neglect of the worship of God, too much in publick, but especially in Families and in secret.

The wonted care of Religious sanctifying the Lord's Day is gone, and in many places the Sabbath hath been and is shamefully prophaned.

The Land also hath been, full of bloody Crimes, and Cities full of Violence, and much innocent Blood shed, so that Blood touched Blood, yea, Sodoms sins have abounded amongst us. Pride, fulness of Bread, Idleness, Vanities of Apparel, and shameful sensuality filled the Land.