and a good number of minifters in the provinces of Perth and Fife, as appears by their teftimonies publish ed in the year 1659.

Soon after this, the yoke of the oppreffor was broken, and the king peaceably reftored in the year 1660, to the joy of the whole land, who thereupon expected good days both to church and flate. (And, alas, the moft part went to dreadful excefs in jollity and drunkenness upon this event) But, ah! foon was their joy tarned to mourning, foon was their oppreffion in conscience doubled, the late glorious work of reformation razed, and all its carved work broke down with axes and hammers, as it were, all at once. For king Charles II. after his restoration, having called a Parliament in England, they restored abjured Prelacy with the fervice book and ceremonies, which had been laid afide: whereupon about two thousand minifters there, who could not in confcience conform thereunto, were caft. out at Bartholomew day, August 24th 1662. He like wife called a Parliament in Scotland, who in the years. 1661 and 1662, removed all the legal fecurities of the Church of Scotland, and work of reformation therein. By that unparalleled act reciffory, they annulled all the Parliaments which had met from 1640 to 1654; they afferted the king's fupremacy in all caufes, civil and ecclefiaftic, and declared all meetings and affemblies, leagues and covenants, without the king's authority, to be unlawful and unwarrantable, and devolved the power of fettling the government of the church upon the king; they declared the national covenant, as fworn in the year 1638, and the folemn league and covenant to be unlawful oaths, and all men to be free from the obli gation of them; and they declared all that was done from 1638 to 1650, in profecution of a covenanted reformation, to be rebellious and treasonable.

The king's prerogative and supremacy in church-affairs being thus fcrewed up, he by a proclamation declared his royal pleasure to be for reftoring the government of the church by archbishops and bishops, as it was exer cifed in the year 1637. In the mean time Mr James Sharp, minilter at Crail (who had formerly been en

trufte d

trusted to act for the church, but now betrayed her) went to London with other three minifters, and were confecrated bishops in the Prelatic fenfe, having first been ordained deacons, and after that Prefbyters, according to the form of the church of England, (This the Prelates fet up by king James VI, would not submit to). Thereafter thefe, returning from London to Edinburgh, confecrated the rest of the bithops. Then they all took their feats in parliament, where they got new acts made in their favours, commanding all minifters to obey them, and attend their Diocefan meetings. A little before this, the meetings of Synods, Prefbyteries, and Kirk-feffions, had been discharged by the privy council, until they should be authorifed by the bishops, who were foon to enter upon the goverament of their respective fees: Whereupon, at the time of the meeting of provincial fynods in April thereafter, feveral noblemen and gentlemen were fent to raise them. by force. It is to be regretted, that fynods at this time fo readily difmiffed, and that Prefbyteries and kirk-fef fions were deferted alfo, without any fuitable teftimony or remonstrance against thefe fearful encroachments and alterations.

One thing that contributed much to hinder any joint teftimony, and to strike terror into many, was the fevere treatment which fome faithful minifters met with, when effaying a teftimony of this fort: For Mr James Guthrie, minifter at Stirling, with fome few other ministers, having met in a private house in Edinburgh, foon after the king's return, to draw up a fupplication to him, wherein, after congratulating his return, they humbly put him in mind of his oaths unto and covenants with God, for maintaining the true Protettant religion, as established by acts of parliament and gene. ral affembly, &c. for this they were apprehended and imprifoned 23d August 1660, and all fuch meetings and petitions were discharged as feditious. And, to strike the greater terror, Mr James Guthrie was indicted before the parliament of high treafon; and, being fingularly faithful and zealous for carrying on reformation, he was condemned to die, and his head to be fet upon

one

one of the ports of the city of Edinburgh. He was accordingly execute the ft of June 1661, and his head fet up on the Nether-bow port, which continued there till the revolution, as a public witnefs against the woeful defections of a cruel perfidious generation. Likewife the worthy and renowned marquis of Argyle was five days before executed upon the fame account, and his head fet up upon the tolbooth of Edinburgh, to the great reproach of the nation; and fometime after Lord Wariftoun fuffered in the fame manner; three eminently great and good men, who died with the refolution and Christianity of the ancient martyrs. Now, what could be expected from a reign and a government whofe foundation was laid in cruelty, and foaked with the precious blood of God's faints?

After this the parliament and council went on in their cruel and perfecuting defigns against faithful minifters who would not conform to antiferiptural Prelacy, take prefentations from patrons, and collations from bishops, and alfo take an oath to the king, which they called an oath of allegiance, wherein they behoved to own his fupremacy in all cafes civil and ecclefiaftic: fome of thefe minifters they banished out of all his Majefty's dominions: these generally went to Holland, and were kindly received there. Befides thefe, feveral hundreds were fummarily ordered to leave their churches, and remove from their congregations: With which orders (it must be owned) they did too easily comply, merely upon prociamations by the council, before they were thruft out by force; thereby leaving their poor flocks to corrupt teachers that were afterwards thruft in upon them, and not giving a due tef timony against fuch a tyrannical act and incroachment upon the fpiritual kingly power and headship of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who is the only Lord of our minif try, and of the exercife thereof. Likewife, by act of parliament, all the fubjects were required to attend thofe who were thrust into their parithes, and other conformists, in their meetings for worship, and that in acknowledgment of, and hearty compliance with his Majefty's government ecclefiaftic; which indeed the far

greateft

greatest part did, whereby all degrees of perfons through the land were miferably involved in the breach of covenant, and defections of the time. Nay, the wickednefs of this period came to fuch a pitch, that our national covenant, and the folemn league, were ordered by public authority to be moft ignominiously burnt at feveral market-croffes, to the fearful difhonouring of the great tremenduous God, with whom these covenants. were made.

After fome time's filence, the ejected minifters began to be convinced it was their duty to preach the gofpel, at the earnest defire of their people, who declined to hear the curates who were thruft in upon them, though forely harraffed for it; and that they ought to preach, notwithstanding the prohibitions of the magiftrate, efpecially when they faw what fort of men were thrust in upon the people. At first they had worship only in private houfes in the most peaceable and harmless manner; but the cruel prelates and rulers would not bear with any fuch meetings; fo that at length, by their feverities, they were driven from houfes to the fields for more fafety. But ftill feverer laws were made against all fuch meetings, whether in the houfes or fields.. Nay, they came even to that height to enact, Charl. II. Parl. 2. Seff. 2. 1670, "That if any man fhall preach or pray in the fields, or in any houfe, where there fhall be more hearers than the houfe contains, fo as some of them be without doors, he thall be punifhed with death and confifcation of goods." So that, by this terrible law, two or three hearkening at honeft men's doors or windows in time of family-worship, though pofted there out of malice or mere curiofity, did expofe the worshippers of God to a cruel death. Thefe and fuch like laws tended to banish family worship out of the land, and were too fuccefsful that way. Likewife fevere punishments were enacted against the hearers of ejected ministers, and these who did not hear the parish minifters, or employed others to baptife their children. And they proceeded to incredible barbarities against non conformifts, both minifters and people. Yet, in thefe cruel perfecuting times, the Lord gave teftimony

to the word of his grace, and bleffed his ordinances (though prohibited by men) with very remarkable fuccefs; and the more pains the perfecuting Prelates and their inftruments were at to fupprefs thefe affemblies, the more numerous they grew, and the parish-churches were the more deserted.

:

And

When methods of force and cruelty could not prevail to ftop thefe affemblies, they fell upon more crafty. ways, by granting indulgence to fome of the ejected minifters to preach in vacant churches, under certain limitations such as, Their being confined within their parishes, and not encouraging thofe of other congregations to refort to them; their forbearing to lecture before fermon; their not preaching in church yards; their not admitting minifters who were not indulged to affift them, &c. This indulgence, and prefcribing rules to ministers, being ordered by the king and his counsel, by virtue of his ecclefiaftic fupremacy, now established by law, was on the magiftrates part a finful encroachment upon Chrift's headship over his church. though poor haraffed minifters might be glad of any little breathing time for the exercise of their miniftry in the midst of heavy fufferings, yet, if any of them did accept of the magiftrate's indulgence upon the con. ditions and reftrictions prefcribed, they cannot be juftified therein; but for those worthy minifters who left all for Chrift and their confcience, and fuffered greatly for not complying with Prelacy, and other defections of their time, and who always refused that they accepted the indulgence upon the terms of the king and council (though they preached in the churches they affigned) neither did obferve these terms while they enjoyed the benefit, and were afterwards turned out again upon that account; it were hard to charge them with approving of the king's ufurped fupremacy: Though, at the fame time, we wish they had given a more full and explicit teftimony against the Eraftian encroachments of the magiftrate, than we can learn they did. Yet, notwithstanding hereof, God was pleafed to giorify his fovereign grace, in giving remarkable fuccefs to the labours and miniftry of thofe indulged in churches,