regret, that" in every thing we offend, and come fhort of the glory of God. Ah! we and our fathers have finned," and we have great caufe to be deeply humbled both for their fins and our own.

But behold how the mercy of God appeared for us, after innumerable provocations, and when all ranks had made fearful defections from God and their engagements to him. And after this church had lien under fad oppreffion for near twenty eight years, and Popery was far advanced, and the civil power in the hands of Papifts, and there was but little wanting to accomplish the ruin both of our civil and religious liberties; the mighty Lord ftept in, and made a wonderful appear ance for us, by fending over the Prince of Orange (afterwards proclaimed king in November 1688, to rescue us from Popery and tyranny, and that at a time after feveral attempts for our relief had mifgiven, and the hearts of all true Proteftants were beginning to faint within them, and the Popish faction had a numerous army to fupport them. Yet, now, when God's time was come, our deliverance was brought about with great facility, through the wonderful working and concurrence of Divine Providence: So that "it was not our own arm, but the Lord's right hand, that wrought this falvation" for us; a falvation never to be forgotten by the friends of religion and liberty. In particular, the church of Scotland ought always to commemorate the glorious deliverance and revolution in 1688, whereby the was raised out of the dust, and to be thankful to the great God the Author thereof, and to have a favoury remembrance of the name of king William, the happy inftrument of it under God. Since which time the Lord has granted her fifty five years freedom from perfecution, and peaceable enjoyment of gofpel ordinances and church judicatories, fuch as she never had fince the reformation. Though, alas! we must acknowledge with fhame, that we have not improven fuch noble opportunities for God and his glory, as we ought to have done.

The Prince of Orange having, in his declaration for Scotland, fhewn a great concern for our religious and

civil liberties, and for the perfecuted Prefbyterians in Scotland, whofe fufferings he was well informed of by our refugees in Holland from time to time; the Prefbyterian ministers met and addreffed him, congratulating his arrival in Britain, and thanking him for his declaration; wherein they complain of the overturning of Prefbyterian government, which was generally received as of divine right, andof the establishing of Prelacy contrary to folemn engagements. When the prince came to the throne, and had the government in his hands, he acted agreeably to his declaration: And though he did not all for us we could have wifhed, yet we have good ground to be affured of king William's hearty inclinations to ferve the church of Scotland, and his willingness to have done much more for her than he did. But it was our unhappiness, as well as his, that he had a Prelatic church in England to manage and gratify, among whom the Scots Prelatifts wanted not abundance of friends to agent daily for them; These proved great clogs and hindrances to the king's gracious intentions yet notwithstanding he did a great deal to raife up a poor linking church from imminent ruin, which we ought never to forget.

Through the encouragement of his declaration, and call to our states, a convention of ftates met at Edinburgh in April 1689, who formed a claim of right, fetting forth the grievances and privileges of the nation, and among the reft declaring, that " Prelacy, and the fuperiority of any office in the church above Prefbyters, is and hath been a great and infupportable grievance and trouble to this nation, and contrary to the inclinations of the generality of the people ever fince the reformation (they having reformed from Popery by Pref byters) and therefore ought to be abolished." And the faid convention being afterward turned into a parlia ment, the king and queen, with their advice and confent in July 1689, did formally abolish Prelacy, and refcind all acts and itatutes formerly paft in favours of it. There was alfo the draught of an act brought in, and twice read in parliament, for excluding all thofe from places of public truft, who had a share in the oppreffions of

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the former reigns: but the more zealous part in the parliament bad not strength to carry it, and therefore it was dropt, to the great prejudice of both church and ftate. The earls Melvil, Crawfurd, and several others, were very friendly to Preflyterians: yet they could not this feflion of Parliament carry an act for reftoring Prefbyterian government, partly becaufe feveral leading members were either inclined to Epifcopcy, or pretended to dread the tyranny of Prefbytery; and partly be cause the enemies of this church had fo much interest in feverals about the king to caft remora's in the way. Yet a good many Epifcopical minifters were by the council turned out of their churches, for not praying for king William and queen Mary, and for other acts of difloy alty.

Next year, April 1690, an act of parliament was paft for restoring all the furviving Prefbyterian minifters to their churches, who had been thruft from them fince January 1661, for not conforming to Prelacy and the courfes of the time. Likewife, they refcinded the act for the king's fupremacy in ecclefiaftic caufes. June 7th 1690, they past an act for ratifying the Confeffion of Faith, now received among us, after it was read in their prefence: alfo they established Prefbyterian government and difcipline, as it was fettled by 14th act, James VI. Parl. 12. 1592. except that part of it relating to patronages; they refcinded many acts which were made against Prefbytery, and for Prelacy, and for the five articles of Perth, the teft, &c. and appointed the first meeting of the general affembly to be in October 169c. It is to be observed, that, in the act establishing Prefbyterian government, they establish it, not only as agreeable to the inclinations of the people as in the claim of right, but also as agreeable to the word of God, and moft conducive to the advancement of true piety and godlinefs. And by that act they exprefsly refcind all other acts, laws, ftatutes and proclamations, in fo far as they are contrary to, or inconfiftent with, the Protestant religion and Prefbyterian government now established; which includes all the unrighteous acts of the late reigns against the church.

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By their 23d act they abolished patronages, and gave liberty to parishes to call their own minifters. By act 27th and 28th, they refcinded the perfecuting laws of the former period; whereby mens confciences were delivered from the thraldom of enfnaring oaths, and of attending any worship against their light. Likewife, they paft an act for refcinding the fines and forfeitures of the former reigns; which was a public condemnation of the oppreffion and cruelty thereof. Surely then we must own that these were not small things which king William and his parliament did for this poor church when lying in the duft. Some at a diftance may make light of them, because every thing was not done they would have had; but furely Chriftians of folid judgment, and those who groaned fo long under the heavy bondage and fufferings of those times, were made to acknowledge with thankfulness, that it was the Lord's right hand that turned again the captivity of our Zion. Our reftored captives were then furprised with their liberty; they were like men that dreamed, amazed at the works of the Lord, and obliged to fay, "The Lord hath done great things for us."

In confequence of the act of parliament, the first general affembly met at Edinburgh October 16th 1690, after about forty years interruption, where was a great gathering of old banished fuffering minifters, who had furvived the long ftorm of perfecution that lay upon this toffed and afflicted church. Thefe minifters had feveral general meetings before this: In one of them they agreed that the first day of the Affembly's meeting fhould be kept as a day of folemn fafting and humiliation, which was obferved accordingly by prayer and preaching both before and afternoon, their majefties high commiflioner Lord Carmichael joining with them in that good work. Afterwards king William's letter to the Affembly was prefented, in which he expreffes his affection to them, but preffes calmnefs and moderation in their proceedings in very ftrong terms; yea, tells them, that his authority should never be a tool to their irregular paflions. In anfwer to this letter, the Affembly fay," They received this letter with all the joy

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and thankfulness that the rifing and fhining again of the royal favour upon this long afflicted and diftreffed church could poffibly infpire. The God of love, the Prince of peace, with all the providences that have gone over us, and circumftances that we are under, as well as your majesty's obliging pleafure, require of us a calm and peaceable procedure. And if, after the violence for confcience fake, that we have fuffered and fo much detested, and thofe grievous abuses of authority in the late reigns, (whereby, through fome mens irregular paffions, we have fo fadly fmarted) we ourselves hould lapfe into the fame errors, we fhould certainly prove the most unjust towards God, foolish towards ourfelves, and ungrate towards your majefty, of all men upon earth." Afterwards they fay, "Defiring in all things to approve ourselves unto God, as the true dif ciples of Jefus Chrift, who, though most zealous a gainft all corruptions in his church, was moft gentle towards the perfons of men." But, notwithstanding of all this moderation of the Affembly, the Prelatical party raifed great clamours against them at court, and through England, for their feverity. But, as the affembly obferve in their forefaid answer to the king, "Great revolutions of this nature must be attended with occafions of complaint; and even the worst of men are ready to cry out of wrong for their justest deservings.”

This affembly was much concerned to get Prefbyterians united among themselves, who under the late perfecution had been wofully divided by means of the indulgences and toleration granted by the civil government; and, to compafs this defign, they received into fellowship with this church and her judicatories, three minifters, Masters Linning, Shields, and Boyd, who had carried the point of feparation on the forefaid accounts to too great a height; but now promifed to live in union with, and subjection to the judicatories of the church for the future; having at the fame time given in a long paper for the exoneration of their confciences, bearing testimony to what they judged right, and against what they took to be wrong. Thefe three miniiters afterwards proved eminently useful in the church

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