while fucking ftrength and nourishment from pure ordinances, and to tell them (as feceders do) that, fome few occasional 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 foftering ignorance, error, infidelity, loofenefs, carnality, worldlinefs, Sabbath breaking, and all forts of profanity through the land; for thus many thousands of ignorant Chriftless 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 witnefs against the brethren, their narrowing the terms both of minifterial and Chriftian communion, so as no reformed church ever did. 1. As to minifterial, they have come the length to refufe communion with the most strict 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 protestation at their firft 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 wrestle against them: and again, they fay the fame in their firft teftimony, page 95. But they continued fhort while in that moderate difpofition; for they foon came to refufe 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 ministers, although these ministers might poffibly be the inftruments 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 com munion of faints. 9. We must regret their cafting flanders on their worthy ancestors and on their mother church, in their Act and Teftimony, and other papers emitted or adopted by them particularly by alledging, that the Affembly 1690 (which confifted of many confeffors and old fuerers)" 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 thefe 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 Christ'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 refused 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 false 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 thefe extravagant steps and accufations of our feceding brethren, occafioned through their intemperate party zeal; we ftill have re gard gard to feveral of them, as good men upon the main, and ufeful preachers of a crucified Jefus; and upon that account we with well to them; not doubting but they have as good title to our charity as the Donatifts and Novatians of old, and the Brounifts and M'Millanites of later years. And we pray God to incline their hearts to unite with other godly mini ters. As we have thus endeavoured to give our impartial testimony against the defections and wrong fteps of the national church, and likewife of these who have of late feparated from her; fo we do alfo bear our testimony against the defections of the Epifcopal clergy in meeting-houfes through Scotland. Ah, how wo. fully have they degenerated from the principles and practice of their fathers! Of old their fathers did not differ much from the established church-government, their doctrine and worship being very much the fame: but now they are generally faid to be Arminian and erroneous in their doctrine. And upon our incorporating union with England, and the Toleration in 1712, they changed their way of worship, and fell in with the English fervice and ceremonies, which their fathers would never receive, and which many Prefbyterian writers have refuted to excellent purpofe. Tho' this was a very great and remarkable change in the Scots Epifcopal clergy, yet now it appears to have been introductive to a greater: for, being strongly attached to Jacobite principles and a popith Pretender, they were thereby induced to entertain favourable thoughts of other Popish fuperftitions and errors, which at length many of them began to vent and stand up for 5 fuch as, A middle ftate for fouls after death, and prayers for the dead: The making the facrament of the Lord's fupper a proper facrifice or propitiatory oblation for fin, and mixing the facramental wine with water: Pleading for the neceffity of abfolution by a prieft, and confeffion of fins to him, in order to the forgiveness of fin: The anointing with oil in baptism and other cafes: The neceffity of Epifcopal ordination and baptifm to falvation: And the practice of bowing towards the altar, and at the name of Jefus, with other Popish practices, for which they have no foundation nor warrant in the Bible, but to the contrary. Wherefore they do not much encourage their people to read the Scriptures, unless it be with fuch commentaries as they recommed to them; telling them that they must only receive the fenfe and meaning of the Scriptures from the church or clergy, and they must have a special regard to ancient liturgies, fathers, councils, traditions, &c. And, becaufe the English prayer book doth not favour fome of their new uf ages, they would have fome places of it altered, or a new liturgy compofed. In the prayers for the church, they leave out the words in the English Liturgy, Church militant here in earth, to favour prayers for the dead; and alfo they begin to favour the Arians, by paffing over the Athanafian Creed in their public worship. Thefe innovations have occafioned in feveral places very great divifions both among the clergy and people: but fill the innovating clergy gain ground against thofe who are more orthodox: and when they find people offended, or ready to leave them, upon account of their innovations, they either deny them, or artfully palliate them, until they get the people (who are but too tractable) reconciled to them; and thus they are gradually drawing nearer to the fuperftitions and idolatry of Rome from time to time. Yea, fome of them begin to preface and recommend Popish books, which contain devotions and prayers to the virgin Mary, and to the faints, besides other errors. May the Lord ftop their career, and preferve the land from an inundation of Popery, that Antichriftian, tyrannical, bloody, blafphemous, idolatrous and damnable religion ! In fuch a time of general defection and degeneracy in this and other churches, when infidelity, error, fu perftition, lukewarmnefs, deadnefs, carnality, profanenefs, fchifm and divifions were on the growing hand; what might have been expected from a holy and just God, thus dreadfully provoked, but that he would remove our candlestick out of its place, or come against us with fome defolating judgment? But, behold! inftead thereof, God is pleafed to glorify his fovereign mercy mercy and free grace in pitying his forlorn remnant, and to arife and maintain his own caufe, by pouring out his Spirit from on high in feveral parts, to renew the decayed face of the earth. Amazing goodness! when the enemy was coming in as an overflowing flood, and God in juftice might have given us all up for a prey to him, the Spirit of God was pleased to lift up a ftandard against him in a very surprising manner, for reviving his own work in many places through the world, and in this land in particular. In or about the years 1732 or 1733, the Lord was pleased to pour out his Spirit upon the people of Saltzburg in Germany, who were living in Popish darkness, in a most uncommon manner; fo that above twenty thousand of them, merely by reading the Bible, which they made a fhift to get in their own language, were determined to throw off Popery, and embrace the reformed religion; yea, and to become fo very zealous for the truth and gofpel of Jefus Chrift, as to be willing to fuffer the lofs of all things in the world, and actually to forfake their houses, lands, goods, and relations, that they might enjoy the pure preaching of the gofpel. And O with what earneftnefs and tears in their eyes did they befeech Proteftant minifters to preach to them in the places where they (when banished from their own country) came in different bodies! For it pleafed the Lord to ftir up Proteftant princes and states to receive them, and provide for them, in many different places. Near to the fame time, or about the year 1735 or 1736, the Lord poured out his Spirit on many in Moravia, another country in Germany, to enlighten them in the knowledge of Jefus Chrift, and inspire them with extraordinary zeal to propagate it to others; infomuch that Count Zinzendorf bishop of the Moravian church hath fent forth his miffionaries to preach the gospel, not only in Germany and other parts of Europe, but in many places of the Heathen world, where they call the Indians, the Negroes, the Hottentots and Greenlanders, to the knowledge of a crucified Chrift; and we are told of the great fuccefs of their miniftry: and the Count |