with, as her loyal fubjects. As alfo they petitioned her, that their declarations of loyalty to the queen, their renouncing the Pretender, and engagements to fupport the fucceffion to the crown in the Proteftant, line in the family of Hanover, as contained in their addrefs, might be accepted by her as their fenfe of the faid oath, without refpect to the condition fcrupled at. In answer thereto, the queen, in her letter to the affembly, declared that the addrefs of the commiffion did fo much manifest their loyalty to her, and their true concern for the fucceffion in the Proteftant line by law eftablished, that it could not but be acceptable. This answer did very much confirm thofe who judged that the AS in the oath did not reduplicate upon the qualifications of the fucceffor, and gave freedom to many to take it.

After king George I. came to the throne, and underflood our difficulties, by the reprefentation of Affembly 1715, and former addreffes, he interpofed for the relief of those who fcrupled at the oath, and got the parliament to turn the AS into WHICH, as alfo to declare that the oath was not meant to oblige his majesty's fubjects in Scotland to any thing inconfiftent with their church establishment according to law. This removed the fcruples of many; but nevertheless there were not a few worthy minifters who remained uneasy and scrupulous upon account there was ftill mention made in the oath of the act of parliament that required the conditions of the fucceffor, and therefore wanted to have it wholly taken out of the oath. Which, upon application, the king was fo good as to grant, by act of parliament in the 5th year of his reign. Thus did the Lord in his mercy fettle the great commotions that were in the church by reason of that oath, and extricate her out of fome of her difficulties; yea, so far, that the most strict and zealous minifters in Scotland were brought to declare, both from the pulpit and the prefs, that the embracing or refusing the oath of abjuration did not afford the leaft ground for feparation.

It is remarkable, that, in the midst of all these grievances and preffures which the church groaned un

der,

der, the Lord did not fuffer her to fink. The times indeed became very cloudy and dark; the church's friends were turned out of place, and her enemies were exalted in power; Jacobites were put in places of highest truft, and many of them became fo infolent, as to maltreat and abuse the ministers of the gofpel, and fometimes to caufe burn at market croffes the acts of fynods for fafts, because in them they appointed prayers to be made for maintaining the Proteftant fucceffion, and for defeating the defigns and plots then forming for overturning it, and for bringing in a Popish pretender. Yet even then the Lord infpired the commiffion with courage and refolution to emit their famous seasonable warning at their meeting 19th August 1713, which was read from the pulpits; wherein they obteit all Proteftants and lovers of their country to look to themselves, that they be not deluded by the fubtile devices of a Jacobite party, who would bring us under the yoke of a Popith Pretender. Here the commission mention their articles at large; one whereof is, "They, with great appearance of zeal, efpouse and promote the English liturgy through the land, tho' neither they nor their fathers would receive it heretofore; and at the fame time they omit all the prayers for queen Anne and princefs Sophia. Likewife they make a great outcry, efpecially in diftant places, of their having fuffered grievous perfecutions because of their being of the Epifcopal perfuafion, though without ground. Bleffed be God (fay they) we can appeal to the confciences of all who know our conduct, that we have never, fince the late happy revolution, in the leaft returned the feverities, and unparalleled cruelties, which we met with when they had the afcendant; and which we from their present temper, as well as from their former behaviour, may reasonably conclude they want nothing but power to renew against the minifters and members of this church. Wherefore they seriously obteft and defeech all ranks of perfons to humble themselves deeply under the many fad caufes and tokens of the Lord's anger, and turn to him with all their hearts, and flee to the blood of fprinkling for reconciliation, and pray earnestly to God to difappoint the defigns and

hopes

hopes of a Popish and Jacobite party, preferve the Proteflant fucceffion in the houfe of Hanover, fan&ify the troubles which have afflicted our Zion, and turn us from all these fins which have procured them, &c.

And glory be to a prayer hearing God, who foon blafted all the Jacobites plots and hopes, and made the Proteftant fucceffion take place, by the acceffion of K. George I. within less than a year, to the joy of this poor oppreffed church, and of all true Proteftants.

Towards the end of the queen's reign the Jacobites turned fo uppifh, that they encouraged Epifcopal minifters to intrude into vacant churches, and minifters and preachers, who were fent to preach in them, were rabbled. They and their preachers did publicly folemnize the Pretender's birth-day, fet up bonfires, drink his health as king before great multitudes, and confufion to all the Prefbyterians. But, upon the acceffion of king George I., these riots and infults were fuppreffed, and the laws and good order began again to take place. The church reprefented her grievances from the laws lately made; but the breaking out of the rebellion in 1715 put a stop to defigns of that fort for a time. Until then, there were a good number of Epifcopal minifters continued in churches through the North; but they, joining with others in that rebellion, were foon afterwards turned out. The Lord was pleafed again to pity us, and work a great deliverance for us: for though the Jacobite and Popish party rofe of a sudden, and gathered together in great numbers, threatening to carry all before them, to cut off our fovereign king George and all the friends of the Proteftant fucceffion, attacked the king's forces, and killed many; yet the Lord foon brake all their meafures, poured fhame upon their attempt, and made many of them flee their native country: fo that in a wonderful manner God delivered us from the bloody fword, and the cruel defigns of Papifts and Jacobites, and reftored peace in all our borders, in the year 1716.

It might have been expected, that such astonishing mercies and deliverances would have produced humility and thankfulness to God, have led us to repentance

and

and reformation, and have animated our zeal for God and his truths, and our activity to get the church's grievances redreffed, when fuch a fit opportunity feemed to offer. But, alas! we became unthankful to God, and foon forgot his goodness; we turned fecure and confident under king George's protection and favour, and began to lofe that zeal for preferving the purity of doctrine and worship, for fuppreffing error and immor ality, and for the advancement of religion and godlinefs, which former Affemblies manifefted. Now our old zealous fuffering minifters were generally gone off the ftage, and a woful lukewarmnefs and indifferency began to feize upon the following generation.

The

At this time there was a great noife of Mr John Simfon, Profeffor of Divinity at Glasgow, his venting and teaching Arminian doctrine and grofs errors. worthy Mr James Webfter, one of the minifters of Edinburgh, having converfed with him thereupon, was the first that complained of him: And he was therefore appointed to procefs him before the prefbytery of Glafgow; though it feems hard that Mr Webster fhould have been burdened with an affair which was the common caufe of the church. But Mr Webster's appeal, the libel he gave against Mr Simfon, and Mr Simfon's anfwer thereto, came before the affembly 1716, who remitted the fame to a committee to confider the whole process, and to make a full and distinct report to the next affembly. In Mr Simfon's answer to this libel, and his letters to Mr Rowan, there were found several very dangerous errors, contrary to the word of God, and our Confeffion of Faith and Catechifms; fuch as, "That there is nothing to be admit ted in religion, but what is confonant to reafon. That regard to our own happinefs, in the enjoyment of God, ought to be our chief motive in ferving him; and that our glorifying God is fubordinate to it. That the Heathen may know, by the light of nature, that there is a remedy for fin provided; and if they would pray fincerely for the difcovery of the way of falvation God would grant it to them. That if men would with diligence, fincerity and faith uf, the means for obtaining

faving grace, God has promised to grant it; and that the ufing of the means in the forefaid manner is not above the reach of our natural powers. That there was no proper covenant made with Adam for himself and his pofterity; and that he was not our federal head. That it is inconfiftent with God's juftice and gooodness to create fouls wanting original righteousness; and that the fouls of infants fince the fall are created pure and holy

That it is probable there are more of mankind faved than damned; And it is more than probable that baptized infants, dying in infancy, are all faved. That there is no finning in hell after the laft judgement," &c. All which erroneous scheme of doctrine is fully refuted and expofed by the reverend Mr John Flint and Mr. John M'Claren, both miniflers of Edinburgh, in two different books, the one written in Latin, and the other in English, to which Mr Simfon never offered any reply. Mr Simfon, when before the Affembly and their committee, declared his adherence to our Confeffion of Faith, and ftudied to put fenfes upon his doctrine to make it feem to agree therewith, and made ufe of very fubtile diftinctions for that end: but fuch hath been the zeal fometimes of our Affemblies against error, and for purity of doctrine, that they would have had no great difficulty to have agreed that Mr Simson, or any man that vented or taught fuch doctrine as above, was not fit to be continued a profeffor of divinity, to inftruct and train up young men for the holy miniftry. But, when his procefs came to be finifhed by Affembly 1717, there were so many members in it, who either had been his scholars, or were his relations, comrades or aquintances, who stood up for faving him, that the Affembly were brought to dismiss him with a very gentle cenfure, by their 9th act; wherein they only fay, " He hath given offence, and hath vented fome opinions not neceffary to be taught in divinity, and that hath given more occafions to strife, than to the promoting of edification : That he hath used fome expreffions that bear and are ufed by adverfaries in a bad and unfound fenfe, though he doth difown that unfound fense. And, for answering more fatisfyingly, (as he fuppofeth) the cavils and objections

VOL. IV.

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