The laft Teftimony of James Robertfon.

Dear Friends, true lovers of Zion's righteous cause, FI could fpeak or write any thing to the commendation of the covenanted God of the church and kingdom of Scotland; I havé furely many things to do it for. 1, That he tryfted my lot to be in a nation where he hath fet up his pure worship, whereas he might have letten my lot be among the pagans and heathen nations that know nothing of the true God. Or, 2dly, He might have ordered it to be among these that are worshipping Antichrift, that whore of Rome, that monftrous beaft, that fitteth upon many waters; whofe fentence may be read, Rev. xiv. 9. And the third angel followed them, faying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beaft and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, ver. 10. The fame fhall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture, into the cup of his indignation; and he fhall be tormented with fire and brimftone, in the prefence of his holy angels, and in the prefence of the Lamb: ver. 11. And the fmoke of their torment afcendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no reft day nor night, who worship the beaft and his image, and whofoever receiveth the mark of his name, &c. So that it is as fure as God is God, and the holy fcriptures are his word, according to which all men that have heard or feen it, fhall be judged, having the fentence of abfolution or condemnation paft according thereto. Rom. ii. 12. For as many as have finned without law, fhall alfo perifh without law; and as many as have finned in the law, fhall be judged by the law. So that it is clear, that the first will furely perifh, viz. All infidels, Atheists, and Pagans, that know not the true God, nor his law. And as many as have finned in the law, fhall be judged by the law, &c. So that whatever vain hopes Papifts, may have of being faved, living and dying Papists, or whatever charity loose Proteftants have upon that account to give them, they are as far from being faved in that unconverted condition, as devils, which are eternally caft out of his prefence. 3dly, I have him to blefs for this, that my lot is not in and among the corrupt proteftant churches abroad, Lutheranifm, and other corruptions and abound

ing errors, both in doctrine, worship, difcipline, and government fectarian, epifcopal, or eraftian; but in the reformed church of Scotland, where all these things have been caft over the hedge, as not plants of his planting and where Chrift hath been owned in all his three offices, King, Prieft, and Prophet; though, alas! he may fay of us, in a great measure, as the church of Ifrael of old, I have planted her a noble vine, but how is fhe become a degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me! In that day of planting, we could have fung that fong, Ifa. xxvi. 1.We have a ftrong city, falvation will God appoint her for walls and bulwarks, &c. Lam. iv. 11. The Lord hath accomplished his fury, he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof. Ver. 12. The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adverfary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerufalem. Ver. 13. For the fins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the juft in the midst of her : Ver. 14. They have wandered like blind men in the ftreets, they have polluted themfelves with blood, fo that men could not touch their garments, &c. This may be our regret before God, as it is in the feventh verfe here in this chapter, Her Nazarites were purer than fnow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy inbody than rubbies, their polishing was of fapphire. Ver. 8. Their vifage is blacker than a coal, they are not known in the streets; their fkin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick; &c. And O! how unnatural like were it for the mother to let her child, the fon of her womb, perish for lack of the breafts; were she free of the child's blood, it perishing for want of its natural food? And O! how many are this day perishing for want of the lively preached gofpel; ver. 3. Even the fea monsters draw out the breafts, they give fuck to the young ones; the daughters of my people are become cruel like the oftriches in the wilderness. 4thly, I have him to blefs for this, that I am not this day fighting a gainst him in an open war; and fo bearing arms against him, his work and people, for there is no more in me as of myself, than these that are deepliest imbruing their hands in the blood of the faints. 5thly, I have him to blefs for this, that ever he hath opened my eyes to fee

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the mystery of iniquity that abounds and hath its feat in the heart, and alfo in fome measure hath given me a fight of the remedy in the blood of Jefus Christ, with his Spirit engaging me to himself, letting me fee himself to be altogether preclous, making me fee that it is better to be a door-keeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the tabernacles of fin: Pfal. lxxiii. 24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory. Ver. 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I defire befides thee. 6thly, I have his holy name to blefs, that ever he made me to know any thing, how fmall foever, of his controverted truth, viz. The privileges of his crown and kingdom, now when by their acts and laws they have taken his crown and fceptre, and royal robe, and fettled the whole. government of his house upon a man that is but a worm : But this I believe, his decree will stand, oppose it who will; Pfal. ii. 6. Yet have I fet my king upon my holy hill of Zion, &c. Ifa. xlii. 8. I am the Lord, that is. my name, my glory will I not give to another, nor my praise to graven images, &c. Now, is not that his declarative glory, which that ufurper hath taken to himfelf? yea, he that leadeth captivity captive, according to his royal word, will reclaim his own glory; he it is alone that hath given Chrift to be the fure foundation whereon all the building is fitly framed: That ftone which the builders rejected is made the head of the corner. Ifa. xxviii. 16. Thus faith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried ftone, a precious corner-ftone, a fure foundation: he that believeth, shall not make hafte. Ver. 17. Judgment alfo will I lay to the line, and righteoufnefs to the plummet, and the hail fhall fweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 7thly, I blefs and magnify the holy name of my God, that hath called me to be a fufferer for his work and intereft, counting it not my fhame, but a high privilege and dignifying of me, when many famous in this generation have been denied of it, though indeed most of this generation have brought up an ill report upon the crofs, endeavouring by their practice to render it of none effect; but I have this fcripture for my encouragement, 1 Pet. iii. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? &c. 8thly, I have this great and

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glorious Prince to praife for this; and O! let all the true children of Zion laud and praife this only praise-worthy God, that hath not only called me to bear witness to the truth, but hath helped me not to deny his name, titles and attributes; for that is the thing that the enemies and ufurpers of my lovely Lord's crown are feeking, to deny allegiance to him, who is given of the Father to be a leader and commander to the people, even he, on whofe fhoulders the government is laid, committing the ordering of his house to faithful stewards, to order his affairs according to his own appointment in his holy word, and hath not left it to the prudence of men, how learned foever. Gamaliel that learned Pharifee and doctor of the law, erred in the expofition of the law, not knowing Chrift to be the end of the law for righteoufnefs to every one that believeth. And feeing thefe great learned rabbies erred every one in that which was the great and main end of the law, viz. Chrift, to whom Mofes and all the prophets bear witnefs; now much more shall they err where it is left to their own wifdom, having no plat: form to walk by, as the maintainers of the prelatic hierarchy would be at. Solomon was as wife as any, yea the wifest man that ever was, or ever fhall be, and he erred, having the rule of the law to walk by: Were not all the laws and forms of the house given by God to Mofes, as well for manner of worfhip, as the matter thereof?

And further, as to that which is fo much pleaded for by this generation, his authority in civil matters, which as matters now ftand, cannot be given, neither will they have it without the other: For by their acts of parliament they have made them equally effential to the crown: Likewife there cannot be an authority without a foundation. If any fhall fay, He hath it from that which he received at his admiffion to the government, as he entered upon the terms of the coronation oath. To this I anfwer, He hath refcinded that, in and by that act refciffory in his firft parliament; for when he annulled and refcinded that, from which he had his power and autho rity, he thereby refcinded his own authority alfo : So that from this he hath no juft power, having oftener than once burnt the covenants, which were his coronation oath, .without which he could not enter the government, If it fhall be faid, That the foundation of his power is built

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upon the teft, wherein he is made abfolute fupreme judge, over all matters and perfons, as well ecclefiaftical as civil: That is fo far from giving him a right, that it maketh him a complete monfter, having one head and two bodies; and if that authority fhould be owned by me, being a free-born member of the church of Scotland, which is Chrift's myftical body, and in my baptifmal oath given away to him, and having given iny oath of allegiance to him as King and head of his own house; fhall I own that authority, without being guilty of leefemajefty against the King of Zion; and fo of the highest degree of facrilege? 2dly, I fhall thereby deny my allegiance to God Creator, under whom the magistrate fhould rule in a direct line; he ruling by his own arbitriment, which is contrary to our obligations in covenant, we being bound in covenant to defend the civil rights and liberties of the crown and kingdom, as we are born fubjects thereof. 3dly, That which they have done in condemning the true fons of the church, and fubjects of the kingdom, to death, which is open murder under the colour of law: Now that it is fuch, these whom they have proceeded against, being adherers to the word of God, which is the only rule of faith and manners, own ing God as God, Chrift as Redeemer, the Holy Ghoft as Sanctifier and they having nothing to charge them with, but their adherence to the true Chriftian principles, and they fentenced upon the fame heads; this must be the deepest of murder. 4thly, Thefe being owners of the true reformed religion, and all the fundamental laws of the church and kingdom; and they refufing to judge and fentence according to the word of God, according to which all fentences of life and death ought to pafs, as alfo refufing to judge according to the laws, as they received them at their admiffion to the government; which was, not to rule the law, but it to rule them, and they to rule the people according to that law, and the people remaining in fubjection to the law of God, and the an cient and fundamental laws of the land, and the perfons of lawful governors, being made treafon; this must certainly not only be a murdering of men, yea, true Chrif tian men, but also a murdering of juftice. And thus the land is defiled with blood. Read the fentence of fuch, Num. xxxv. 33. So ye fhall not pollute the land wherein ye are ; for blood it defileth the land; and the

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