meeknef, courteoufnefs, and humblenefs of mind. Surely fuch a declinature, and fuch a sentence as theirs, would feem to import no less than the unchurching the the whole church, and unministering her whole miniftry, faithful body and all, as if they were all given up to fome dreadful apoftafy or fundamental errors. Now, we are pretty fure there are few judicious orthodox divines in the world that will adventure to unchurch the church of Scotland, or declare her no church of Christ, for all the faints fhe hath. They have owned others as the churches of Chrift, who have been as corrupt as fhe, if not more. Nay, the glorious Head of the church, the best Judge, hath owned fome no lefs corrupt, as gelden candlesticks, walked in them, and held communion with them; fuch as the church of Corinth, fome of the churches of Afia, Galatia and other places. And is it thank-worthy in any of the members to outrun the Head, or to be more forward to unchurch his churches, or to unminifter his minifters, than he himself inclines. to be. 4. We cannot juftify the brethren in refusing to return to affift thefe whom they owned to be a body of faithful minifters, to promote a work of reformation; when by a furprifing providence they had got the upperhand in the Affembly 1734, and were doing all they could to remove the evils they complained of, and had got the door opened for them, and the act 1732 repealed, which was the great occafion of their protefting and feceding; and were moft willing to do every thing in their power to fatisfy them and all the friends of reformation. But after they had continued for two or three years to struggle even above their strength, and thereby had got many good things done, fill hoping their brethren would return to their affiftance; they were grievoufly difcouraged when they faw them still bent upon their begun fchifm, so as to fet at nought all they had been doing, and mifconftruct their molt honeft defigns; yea, they were at length so disheartened by their measures, that many of them gave over travelling, and attending the Affemblies, who thereupon, alas! foon returned to their old bias. So that it is manifeft manifeft the brethrens wilfulnefs in their dividing way, put a stop to a begun national reformation, which, if they had favoured and ftruck in with, might have been advanced very far through the bleffing of God, and many difmal confequences of their fchifm prevented. 5. We muft difapprove the brethren in feceding not only from the church, but also from their old Chriftian temper and difpofition, and from that royal law of love and charity which they once preached up: this appears in their excluding from the room they once had in their charity and communion, all their old friends and acquaintances, though never fo found and piou, or willing to spend or be spent for Chrift and fouls, if they have not light to fecede and join with them. Whatever efteem of them they had before, they must now no longer employ them, hear them, nor preach for them. Now, why thould they treat the body of faithful ministers, they once took fweet counsel with, as if they were grofs apoftates, when it is notour they continue the very fame men they were before, when the brethren fat with them in judicatories? They still witnefs and contend for reformation principles, as well as they; they give testimony against licensing or ordaining corrupt men, and againft all errors and intrufions; against countenancing patronages, and accepting prefentations; against all encroachments made upon the rights of the church and Chriftian people, and upon the Headship of Chrift over the church, against the preaching up a fort of Heathen morality, and the neglect of the true preaching of Chrift and gofpel holinefs, &c. Now, what must be the reafon for the brethrens feparating and departing from their old friends, as if they were become Papifts or Mahometans? Is it a good reason, because they continue to witnefs against the evils of the time in the judicatories as they did before, and not in conjunction with the eight feceders? Why must it now become fuch a deadly fin for worthy men to go with Jofeph and Nicodemus to backfliding judicatories, to plead with their mother, to testify a gainft corruptions, to do all they can to hold out Englith prelacy and ceremonies, and maintain the national VeL. IV eftablishment 3 M eftablishment of prefbytery, and a found Confeffion of Faith, and to ftrive to do all the good in their power, while waiting for better times, when God will open the eyes of men to fee the evil of their ways? Now, when honeft men think these ends may be better an fwered by going to judicatories than by joining a few feceders, ought not their brethren to forbear them, and allow them the fame place in their charity and communion they had before? 6. We cannot approve of their marking fo narrowly the failings, mistakes, and wrong fteps of their fincere godly brethren, as they do; and, inftead of covering and forgiving their weakneffes (as Chrift injoins) aggravating and magnifying them fo, as to make every mistake a dangerous error and defection; and not only doing this in private converfation, but going to the pulpit, and proclaiming them at times of greatest concourfe, fuch as facrament occafions, which fhould be feafts of love and charity among Chriftians, and not engines of ftrife and debate. Such an uncharitable course we judge the ready way to mar the usefulness of many of Chrift's faithful fervants in his vineyard, tending both to break their miniftry, and break their hearts at once; to scatter their poor flocks, and do great harm to many precious fouls. 7. Likewife we must witness against their exciting and stirring up poor people plainly and directly to leave their godly paftors, by whom many of them have been brought to Chrift; and doing fo at the very time while they are feeding and profiting under their miniftry; and for no other reafon but because these ministers have not freedom to join in their feceffion and testimony, &c. yea, perfuading the people to leave these, and come to them, as they would not fall under the curfe of Meroz, &c. and doing this both when they preach at home, and when they invade the parithes of others abroad. We cannot but teftify against fuch flock-fcattering doctrine and practices, as moft finful; and judge it to be a counterfeiting of our Lord's words, "He that defpifeth you defpifeth me," and alfo great cruelty to go and pluck weak children from the beafts, while fucking ftrength and nourishment from pure ordinances, and to tell them (as feceders do) that some few occafional meals, like their itinerant fermons, will be better for them, though perhaps they are not fo good as their daily fare. This doctrine tends to ruin fouls, by fostering ignorance, error, infidelity, loofenefs, carnality, worldlinefs, Sabbath breaking, and all forts of profanity through the land; for thus many thousands of ignorant Chriftlefs fouls, if they obey them, muft fit at home on the Lord's day, and live without the gofpel, except when they get a tranfient fermon of this kind now and then from a feceder. 8. We must also bear witness against the brethren, their narrowing the terms both of minifterial and Chriftian communion, so as no reformed church ever did. I. As to ministerial, they have come the length to refuse communion with the most ftrict and holy minifter in Scotland, if he do not fecede and approve of their long act and testimony, notwithstanding of the many visible blemishes that are in it. And this they do in contradiction to their proteftation at their first feceffion, Nov. 16. 1733, by which they profefs ftill to hold communion with all true Prefbyterians, who groan under the evils of the time, and wreftle against them: and again, they say the fame in their firft teftimony, page 95. But they continued fhort while in that moderate difpofition; for they foon came to refuse communion with all minifters but thefe of their own prefbytery. 2. As to Chriftian communion, they go a prodigious length in excommunicating from the Lord's table all who hear or communicate with any other minifters, although these minifters might poffibly be the instruments of their converfion, and fignally bleffed to them; and men upon whom they can charge no defection or fault, but their not feceding from the church, and acceding to their long teftimony in all points. Surely, for men to prescribe fuch new terms of communion to God's children before they can get their bread, terms not appointed by the Head, is both to incroach upon the headship of Jefus Chrift, and 3 M 2 break break in upon that article of our Creed, The communion of faints. 9. We must regret their cafting flanders on their worthy ancestors and on their mother-church, in their A and Teftimony, and other papers emitted or adopted by them; particularly by alledging, that the Affembly 1690 (which confifted of many confeffors and old fuerer)" made no particular acknowledgment of the backflidings of the land under prelacy; and that they declared the perfidious prelates were not to be depofed for their treacherous defections: That the parliament which met at that time impofed the oath of allegiance, to exclude the oath of the covenant : That Profeffor Simfon and Profeffor Campbell's errors, and these favoured by the Affembly's Shorter Catechifm revised, have overfpread this church like a flood: That the judicatories have overturned the foundations of the doctrine and government of Chrift's church: That they have fubverted both her doctrine and worfhip: That they have done what in them lay to pull the crown off Chrift's head: That they have refufed to give him the glory of his fupreme Deity, and involved themselves in denying the Son of God, which is one fpecial mark of Antichrift: they have made finful terms of communion, &c. For all which fee Teftimony, firft Edit Pages 51, 53, 59, 105, 109, 144, 144, 145, 148. befides others of their papers. Thefe are but a swatch of the many falfe afperfions contained in their writings, befides thofe which they daily caft upon their brethren in their sermons. Alas! that brethren, who are concerned for the fame gospel intereft, fhould take fuch methods to flander their own mo. ther's fons, to difcredit their perfons and blaft their miniftry; efpecially when God is pleafed to countenance feverals of them remarkably in their work. There are indeed many evils in the national church; but it is finful to calumniate her, and make her defections greater than they are. But not withstanding of all these extravagant steps and accufations of our feceding brethren, occafioned through their intemperate party zeal; we ftill have re gard |