Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies) / A Brief Historical Account of the Lives, Characters, and Memorable Transactions of the Most Eminent Scots Worthies

by John Howie

2. Because it was extended, not only to prelacy, but to popery, quakerism, and all idolatry, blasphemy, and heresy, which was highly provoking to the Lord Jesus, and prejudicial to the peace and purity of his church; contrary to the scriptures of the old and new Testament; contrary to the confession of faith and catechisms, chap. xx. § 1. and chap. xxiii. § 3. Being placed also among the sins of the second command, in the larger catechism; contrary to the principles of the church of Scotland; being condemned, warned of, and witnessed against by acts of assembly, anno 1649. And by her faithful pastors preaching, writing, and protesting against such tolerations; (and sometimes even when papists were excluded, as that, against which the ministers of Fife and Perth did testify). And contrary to our covenants, wherein we are bound to preserve reformation, and uniformity in doctrine, worship, discipline and government, to extirpate popery, &c. to free our souls from the guilt of other men's sins, defend our liberties; and consequently never to comply with a toleration, eversive of all these interests we are sworn to maintain, and productive of these things we are sworn to endeavour the extirpation of.

3. Because it was clogged with such conditions and limitations, as did exceedingly hamper the freedom of the ministry, being offered (in proclamations) and accepted (in addresses and obedience) with restrictions to persons who might preach, (allowing some, and discharging others, who had as good authority as they, to exercise their ministry) to places where they should preach (only where intimation was given of the name of the place, and of the preachers, to some of the lords of the council, &c.) and to the matter what, or at least what they might not preach, to wit, nothing that might have any tendency to alienate the hearts of the people from a popish and tyrannical government; and consequently nothing against the wickedness, or of the misery of tyranny; nothing against the toleration, and the open sins proclaimed therein, and wicked ends designed thereby; nothing against disabling the penal statutes, or for the obligations of them, and ties of national covenants strengthening them.

4. Because of the manifold scandal of it, we cannot but witness against it, because so disgraceful to the Protestant religion, and prejudicial to the interest thereof. It was reproachful to our religion, sometimes established by law, then only tolerate, under the notion of an evil to be suffered: How confounding and consternating was this to all the reformed churches, that sometimes admired and envied Scotland's establishments, now to see her so dispirited and deceived, as to accept and address for a toleration, without a testimony, whereby instead of all the laws and covenants securing her reformation, the only tenor and security for it she had now remaining, was, the arbitrary word of an absolute prince, whose principles obliged him to break it? What occasion of disdainful insulting, did it give to the prelatical party, then pleading for the nation's laws, to observe presbyterians, acquiescing in that which suspended and stopped the penal statutes? Yea, what matter of gloriation and boasting was it to papists, to see presbyterians sleeping and succumbing, and not opposing, when, at this opened gap, they were bringing in the Trojan horse of popery and slavery?

V. Moreover, with respect to some things, at present, which we account corruptions, and are offensive to many, we cannot forbear to remonstrate and plead, That consideration may be taken, of the sinfulness of the too universal defect and neglect of zeal and faithfulness, in receiving the buried national covenants, when now they seem to be laid aside, and many ministers forbear to preach plainly the obligation of them, and discover particularly the breaches of them, and to mention them in engagements which they require of parents, when they present their children in baptism, according to the continued custom of faithful ministers, these many years bygone. And it is stumbling to many, that in all addresses to king and parliament, the renewing of them hath not been desired. This we think very grievous,

1. Because in the scriptures, as we have many precepts, promises, and precedents for renewing them, and demonstrations of their perpetual, indissoluble obligation, being in their matter and form agreeable with the word of God; so we have many denunciations and certifications of unavoidable threatenings of all evils, rational, personal, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, against forsaking or forgetting them.

2. Because as there is no other way to prevent the curse of the covenants, and this threatened wrath imminent upon the land, for breach of covenants, but to acknowledge the breaches of them, and engage again to the duties of them; so these omissions cannot consist with that faithfulness required of ministers in such a case.

3. Because it is a plain defection from first love, and former attainments of our fathers, who commenced all reformations with renovation of the covenants; And in their ecclesiastic constitutions, enjoined all ministers to preach up the covenants, and witness against all defections from them, and indifferency or lukewarmness to them; which also is a breach of covenant in itself.

VI. Hence, more particularly, we cannot but signify how much we and many others are offended, at the too general keeping silence at, or very ambiguous speaking against, and omitting the plain, impartial, doctrinal rebuking of such crying sins and scandals of the times, as cannot be controverted among presbyterians; such as the imposing and taking many bonds and oaths, repugnant to the covenants and work of reformation; which many complied with to shift persecution, and many others to purchase preferments unto places of trust; the accession of nobles and rulers to the wicked establishments and framing mischiefs into laws in former times; the manifold involvements of great and small, in the guilt of persecution, by delating and informing against honest suffering people, riding with armed force to pursue and apprehend them; appearing under displayed banners for the defence of tyranny, on expeditions against them at Pentland, Bothwel bridge, &c. sitting in courts, juries and assizes, to condemn them; putting them out of houses and tenements under them, because they would not comply with sinful impositions: And especially, the defiling of the land with blood, which hath yet a cry in the ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth: All which the servants of the Lord are obliged, by the word of God, and the constitutions of this church, to cry against, and not to spare, and to reprove and rebuke in season and out of season.

VII. Finally, We must presume to lay open our own, and the general complaints through several corners of the land, of the sad slackness and remissness of discipline: The report fama clamosa whereof, at least, doth wound our ears and pierce our hearts, viz. That some who had gone a great length in the above-mentioned compliances, even to the swearing the test itself, besides other wicked oaths, and to the prosecuting of the godly sundry ways, are admitted to the sacrament of the Lord's supper, and to present their children to baptism: And that others are admitted to the charge of elders, who had not only habitually complied with prelacy, and had borne the name of that office under that government, but had taken these scandalous forementioned oaths; yea, and that of late, some are admitted to the ministry, that constantly followed episcopacy, and were trained up to be curates, and were deeply involved in the foresaid compliances, without due trial of their past conversation, and requiring of their public profession of repentance, and resentment of these respective scandals; whereby the precious are not taken from the vile, and a little of that old leaven, may quickly leaven the whole lump, and offenders are not like thereby to be gained to repentance, but rather hardened in, and tempted to think little of these destroying sins.

We plead not here, that every one of the defects, or every degree of these offences should be, in the case of this epidemic involvement, proceeded against by disciplinary censure; nor do we urge, that all chargeable with these offences above taxed, especially such as are in controversy, should be either personally rebuked in public, or obliged publicly to confess their own degree of the guilt of them; though it would give glory to God, and comfort to the church, and peace to their own consciences, for all to confess their offences, that have been most stumbling to the godly; so far as from the word of God, and known principles of this reformed church, they may be convinced. Nor do we propose, that the condemnation of every one of these steps of defection, that are questioned, should be so far stretched quoad momentum rei, as either to be stated by us, as a ground of separation formerly, or now required as a necessary condition of communion; though still, we conceive the complication of them together, when they stood, was a ground that necessitated our withdrawing from many in the same circumstances.