mean the continued complaints of the growth of Deism and infidelity through the land? It is a juft obferve, That, when moral preaching in a Christless way doth much abound, it makes way for the increase of Deism and infidelity: For when perfons do long hear moral fermons, and little of Christ in them, or the peculiar doctrines of Christianity, they are tempted to think there is but little difference between them and the discourses of Seneca and other heathen moralifts; and therefore, that they may be safe enough, and win to heaven, without Christianity at all, and that every moral man is a good enough Chriftian. Oh! this is a fundamental defection, of moft heinous guilt; it is a God-provoking and unchurching evil, which all the minifters and lovers of Christ should be deeply concerned about: For if we fuffer ourselves and others to fall from our regard and love to glorious Chrift, neglect to exalt him in our fermons, and to preach falvation to men only through Chrift's furetiship and facrifice, and to tell the world, and inculcate it daily upon them, that this, and this only, is the way for them to obtain pardon, peace, grace, glory, and every good thing; Ifay, if we turn careless and negligent in what so nearly concerns Chrift's glory, and our own office as Chriftian preachers, may he not justly plead a controverfy with our church, fmite us with the most awful judgments, fuffer a flood of infidelity, error and profani y to invade us, withdraw his spirit from ordinances and judicatories, infatuate our counfels and conduct, mingle a perverse spirit in the midst of us, and give us up to the moft unnatural divifions and mournful breaches among ourselves? Ah, how much is this the cafe with us at this day! And no wonder, feeing Chrift's glory is so little minded, notwithstanding of the forefaid excellent act of Affembly, and many other good acts, that are fadly neglected this day by minifters and preachers among And how can we expect that any individual man fhould pay regard to them, and particularly to the 7th act of. Affembly 1736, concerning preaching, when he fees whole judicatories pay no refpect to the 14th act of that affembly against intrufions, nor to the roth act of VOL. I. Affembly us. U u 4 Affembly 1712, and the 9th act of Affembly 1715, concerning the ufurpation of patronage upon the church, and her right of calling her own ministers; which acts are conform to other ancient acts of this church, and to our reformation-principles declared in fecond book of Difcipline (Jee chap. 3. Par. 4. and 5. chap. 12. Par. 9. and 10.) and which are sworn to in our national covenant, and ratified by many acts both of church and ftate. Now, how strange and furprizing is it, to fee men deliberately going contrary to thefe excellent acts and deeds of the church, both ancient and modern, (which are well founded upon the word of God and found reason) by drawing on the yoke of patronage upon the church without neceffity, voluntarily ftrengthening the hands of patrons in their spiritual tyranny, and encouraging men in that vile church-breaking and foul-deftroying practice of accepting prefentations, (which no law doth require) and adhering to them in oppofition to the people's choice? And yet this way is continued, even after conviction, by long dear-bought experience, of the pernicious effects of it. I well remember the time (yea, it is not above twenty years ago) when it was thought to be the univerfal opinion, that accepting of presentations was inconfiftent with Prefbyterian principles, and the rights and rules of this church, which we are folemnly engaged to maintain by our Formula 1711, and otherwife: At that time, prefentation-hunters among Prefbyterians would have appeared as monsters, and their fociety frightful; but now, alas! they are become tame and familiar creatures to us. It is this woful practice, together with the itch of pleafing great men, that hath of late been the great fuare to draw in judicatories to go crofs to our declared principles maintained in this church everfince the Reformation, (which we fhould have firmly cleaved to, and never declined from in any cafe) by making intrufions and violent fettlements in Chriftian congregations, to the ruin, alas! of the glorious gofpel, and of precious fouls therein: And upon that account alone, tho' we had no acts nor declared principles against intrusions, it is aftonishing to think how any man, man, that hath the glory of his mafter and the faving of fouls at heart, fhould ever concur in a violent fettlement that is manifeftly deftructive to both. That is an awful threatening to minifters, Jer. xxiii. "Wo be unto the paftors that destroy and featter the sheep of my pafture, faith the Lord :" And yet, notwithstanding, we fee many, who go under the character of wife men, ftill perfifting in that miferable infatuation and deftructive courfe, driving multitudes of hearty friends and ferious Christians out of the church, and never gaining any to it of thofe they intend to gratify; yet acting as . if they were joined in confpiracy against the Commons of Scotland, and were carrying on a plot to ftrengthen the feceflion front the church. But let me tell these wife brethren, if our conventions and parliaments had paid fo little regard to the inclinations of the people of Scotland, as our judicatories do now, we would not have had thefe courts at this day to fit in. I fhall not infift here upon this melancholy subject, having said fo much on it elfewhere: Only let me add this word, if leading men go on in thefe methods, though they may enjoy their eafe, power and preferments, for a while; yet upon their grave-ftone it is too likely it may be written, "Here ly the men, who did deftroy the most beautiful national church and conftitution that was in the world." But, alas! we have caufe not only to lament our departing from reformation-principles, and weakening the establishment, but alfo fhameful defection from vital and practical religion. The power of godliness is at a very low ebb among us, and little of God's fpirit is to be found in our adminiftrations: God is angry, and threatens to caft us off. Ah! great ground have we to bewail our mournful cafe, and cry with the prophet, under the fearful tokens of God's anger, Jer. xiv. Lam. v. "Haft thou utterly rejected Judah? Hath thy foul loathed Zion? Why haft thou fmitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble. We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: For we have finned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy name's fake; do not U u 2 difgrace difgrace the throne of thy glory: Remember, break not thy covenant with us. The anger of the Lord hath divided us. The crown hath fallen from our head: Wo unto us that we have finned. Wherefore doft thou forget us for ever, forfake us fo long time? Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned: Renew our days as of old." There are many other paffages in Jeremiah's writings very fuitable to our prefent cafe, fuch as Jer. xii. 10. 11. "Many paftors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a defolate wildernefs. They have made it defolate, and, being defolate, it mourneth unto me." Well, what can the fons of Zion do for their mother in fuch diftrefs? They must even bring her cafe to the phyfician of Ifrael, when it is wholly defperate and incurable as to human help, and cry, as in Pfal. lx. 2. "O God, give us help from trouble; for vain is the help of man." Let us fall in with Chrift's call to the man with the lunatic child, whom his difciples could not cure, Matt. xvii. Bring him hither to me, faith our Lord. Let us bring the cafe to Chrift, when it is defperate and incurable by all others. The church's extremity is Chrift's opportunity: He can help her, even then when all her friends are going with their hands on their loins in the greatest anguish and trouble; according to that word, Jer. xxx. 6. 7." wherefore do I fee every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travel, and all faces are turned into palenefs? Alas! for that day is great, fo that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob's trouble." Yet even them, when Jacob's trouble comes to that extremity that none can match it, the Lord pities and adds that word, " But he fhall be faved out of it." A matchlefs trouble cannot nonplus his faving fkill. Now, how doth he fave Jacob out of fuch extremities? Not by human might or power, but by his own fpirit, Zech. iv. 6. O that God would help all Zion's friends pleading with him for an out-pouring of his fpirit upon minifters, preachers, ftudents, and all ranks, for faving his covenanted land out of extreme diftrefs, and reviving primitive Chriftianity among us! This, and nothing elfe, elfe, will do it. O that he would fpeak fuch a comfortable word to Scotland, as that he said to the Jews when their state was low, Hag. ii. 5. "According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, fo my Spirit remaineth among you :" Fear ye not! He hath remembered his covenant with Scotland in former times, and furprised our fathers with gracious effufions of his Spirit: Let us steadily look up to him, who hath ftill bowels of pity, and can help us as well as others in diftrefs. We have heard of the wonderful goodness of the Lord of late, in pitying other nations and countries, when under great darknefs, deadness and distress, by fending down his Spirit to revive his work among them in an extraordinary manner, which may be ground of hope to others. How glorious was the appearance of his fovereign grace about eight or nine years ago in Saltzburg in Germany, in determining about twenty thousand of the inhabitants to embrace the reformed religion, merely by reading of the bible; yea, and to become fo zealous for it, as to be willing to forfake houfes, lands, temporal goods, and relations, and all they had in the world, that they might enjoy the preaching of the gospel. How marveloully did he difplay the riches of his grace, and the work of his Spirit, in the wonderful converfions of great numbers in Northampton, and other parts of New England, by the ministry of Mr Jonathan Edwards, and others in that country, about five or fix years ago, of which we had a well attested narrative published among us? Nay, within these two years we have moft furprising accounts of the goings of our God, and the effufions of his Spirit on feveral places of Old England and Wales, our neighbouring countries, where, by the miniftry of Mr George Whitefield, Mr John Wefley, and others (who infilt mainly on the doctrine of the new birth, and juftification by faith in Chrift) great numbers, even of the most profligate, are convinced and pricked in their hearts, and brought to cry out, "What fhall we do |
