ranks might mourn for the prevailing evils and defections of the church and land; which they did immediately after the rifing of the Affembly. This Affembly 1734 was a fingularly faithful and reforming Affembly, who did very much in a fhort time, against great oppofition, to rectify what was wrong, and put matters upon a better footing. They gave remarkable checks to violent fettlements, and relief to feveral parishes oppreffed by them; for at this Affembly, methods were concerted to get fealing ordinances to thofe perfons who fubmitted not to them, from other minifters they chufed to apply to. As this Affembly turned out one minifter violently settled, fo they were ready to have cast out others, if complaints had been regularly tabled before them. Their time of fitting did not allow them to confider and provide remedies for every thing amifs, and particularly for that wrong act of Affembly 1733, concerning the prefbytery of Dunfermline, and their behaviour toward the minifter that was forcibly fettled at Kinrofs, wherein the faid Affembly threaten high cenfures against those who refuse to own him as minifter of Kinross, or who admit of any of that parish to fealing ordinances without his confent. This was plainly oppreffion, and a very high ftrain of churchauthority, to fettle minifters contrary to the rules of the word and of the church, and then oblige prefbyteries to receive them, and people to fubmit to them But the Affembly 1734 gave a feasonable check to fuch oppreffive courfes; and for the people of Kinrofs, it was afterward referred to the fynod of Fife, to do what was proper for their relief, who thereupon allowed them the benefit of church privileges wherever they fhould think fit to afk them. And letters were written to prefbyteries in other places, to indulge people in fuch circumftances in the like manner.

Thus did the faithful body of minifters (of whom Mr Ebenezer Erfkine did fpeak) ufe their utmost ftrenuous endeavours in the Affembly 1734, and in the meetings of their commiffion, and in after Affemblies, to get the door opened, ftum bling blocks removed, and the way paved for the return of their four brethren to

communion

communion with them as before. Yea, they got minifters fent up year after year to London, to folicit the King and Parliament for relief from patronages. And when honeft minifters were in this manner travelling, fweating, labouring and struggling, even above their ftrength, to get things that were wrong reformed and rectified; it was extremely afflicting to them, that the four brethren, with whom they had formerly taken fweet counfel, would by no means return to their affiftance, though invited and preffed to it; but, inftead of that, would be ftill difparaging their actings, and mifconftructing their most fincere intentions. Notwithstanding of this difcouragement, they continued ftruggling, and doing all they were able, to promote refor mation in the Affembly 1735 and Affembly 1730: ftill hoping the four brethren would bethink themselves, and cease from their dividing course. And though that honest body of minifters could not get all done which they defigned, yet they got several good things carried; fuch as an act for better regulating the commiffion, and limiting their powers; an act against intrusion of minifters, and declaring it to be the principle of this church, "That none should be intruded into any parish contrary to the will of the congregation." How happy were it if this act were obferved, and the forefaid principle maintained and adhered unto! Some things alfo were done at this time for the relief of thofe parishes that had been intruded upon; and an excellent overture was agreed upon, with respect to evangelical preaching, which was tranfmitted to Prefbyteries, and their confent to it was obtained; fo that after long dependence it was got enacted by Affembly 1736, May 21. act 7. in which "they recommend to ministers and preachers to warn their hearers against any thing that tends to Atheism, Deifm, Arianifm, Socinianifm, Arminianifm, Bourignianifm, Popery, Superftition, Antinomianifm, or any other errors: And that they infift in their fermons upon our finful and low eftate by nature, the neceffity of fupernatural grace, and of faith in the righteoufness of Chrift, without which the belt works cannot please God: And that they make it the

great

great scope of their fermons to lead finners from a cove nant of works to a covenant of grace for life and falvation, and from fin and felf to precious Chrift our Surety and Saviour. And as they are to prefs the practice of all moral duties, fo alfo to fhew the nature and excellency of gofpel-holinefs, without which no man can see the Lord and, in order to attain it, they are to thew men the corruption and depravity of their nature by the fall, their natural impotence for, and averfion to, what is fpiritually good; and to lead them to the true and only fource of all grace and holiness, viz. Union with Chrift by the Holy Spirit's working faith in us, and renewing us more and more after the image of God and that they must count all their beft performances and attainments but lofs and dung, in point of juftification before God, and to make it their great defire only to be found in Chrift their Surety, clothed in his righteousness, which is infinitely perfect and lawbinding; and to make gospel subjects their main theme and study, &c. And they recommend to all profeffors of divinity, to ufe their beft endeavours to have the ftudents under their care well acquainted with the true method of preaching the gofpel as directed by this act; and appoint Prefbyteries at their privy cenfures to enquire concerning the obfervation of this act." This is a fhort abstract of that excellent act, which godly minifters had been intent about for many years paft, in order to give some check to the legal way of preaching, and the loofe moral difcourfes of feveral preachers, to the neglect of the true preaching of "Chrift and him crucified," introduced by many of the younger clergy. However long this act had been delayed, yet it was most seasonably paft in 1739, when a little before there had been a great noife of Deifm fpreading among the ftudents of divinity at Edinburgh; and one of them, Mr William Nimmo, had delivered a discourse in the divinity hall, March 1735, to the prejudice of the Chriftian revelation; for which he was excluded by the mafters, and excommunicated by the Prefbytery of Edinburgh..

But

But feeing there is no great reafon to fear that the forefaid excellent act concerning preaching, is but little. noticed and obferved by many, and that there is in this church and land very much of a legal or moral way of preaching, exclufive of Chrift, and to the neglect of the peculiar doctrines of Chriftianity; and feeing the church of God, and the fouls of men, appear to be in the greatest danger from this airth: we judge it our duty to give plain and open teftimony against this fort of preaching, and to declare for the true gofpel way of preaching Chrift and him crucified, which ought to be the great study of every gofpel-minifter, as it was of the apostle Paul, Cor. ii. 2.

We grant that morality, or obedience to the moral law, is an excellent thing, and abfolutely neceffary to be studied by every true Christian, feeing God requires it, and without morality and "true holiness no man can fee the Lord," but then it must be preached otherwife by a gospel-minister than by a moral philofopher : Why? It must flow from gospel-principles, be performed in a gospel manner, and be preffed mainly by gofpelmotives and arguments. But it must be fad indeed, when there is almoft as little of Chrift or an evangelical ftrain to be found in the fermons of Chriftian preachers, as in the difcourfes of Seneca, Plato, Socrates, or other Heathen moralifts.

This Christlefs way of preaching morality, is an inlet to Deism and Infidelity: for, when men are accuftomed to hear moral fermons with little of Christ in them, they are apt to think there is but little difference between them and the difcourfes of moral Heathens; and therefore they may be good enough, and win to heaven by their morality, without Chrift or his righteoufnefs. how natural it is for men to go about to establish a righteousness of their own, with a view to be faved by it, and to neglect that new righteoufnefs which the eter nal wisdom of God hath established as alone fufficient for it! And therefore they need often to be called, after their utmoft lengths in moral attainments (which are but poor and wretched at beft) to renounce them all, and go to the imputed righteoufnefs of Chrift, viz.

1

the

the obedience of his holy life, and his fufferings unto death, for juftification and falvation.

Morality is a defirable thing, when kept in its due place; but, when allowed to poffefs the place of Chrift's righteoufnefs imputed to us, it is a foul-ruining thing, and the greatest hindrance of the foul's coming to Chrift, and of its entering into heaven. God will have us come entirely off from the old bottom of a covenant of works, and from refting upon any thing done by us, or wrought in us, for acceptance with God; and look only for attaining to it by believing on whom God hath fent, and refting upon his righteousness only: nothing of ours must be added to it, otherwife we mar it. Though faith be required of us as the mean or inftrument whereby we receive and apply Chrift and his righteousness, and alfo true repentance and fincere obedience are required as evidences and fruits of our faith; yet neither faith, repentance, or obedience, nor all of them together, are any part of our juftifying righteoufnefs in the fight of God, nor are they the foundation of our acceptance, or of our title to eternal life: Chrift must be all our righteoufnefs, or nothing. So that none must think to be faved partly by his own obedience, and partly by Chrift's in order to make up his defects; but we must be faved wholly by the complete morality and obedience of Chrift imputed to us. Our proud natures must be humbled and changed, and must be brought to fubmit to accept of an entire new clothing, instead of our own righteousness; for the glory of God will not allow the leaft place to this in our juftification, he will have all boafting excluded for

ever.

Queft." Seeing morality and the duties of the moral law are to be preached and preffed, in what manner then must we do it ?"

Anf. If we would do it in an evangelical ftrain, and with fuccefs, we muft, 1. Prefs duty as the natural and neceffary fruit of faith in a crucified Chrift, and love to him, who fuffered thus to fatisfy for our fins, to purchase to us the image of God and holiness which we had loft; and therefore let us reprefent the love

and