"The government of their kirk we despised" not, but their impofing of that government upon us; not prefbytery, but archprefbytery, claffical, provincial, and diocefan prefbytery, claiming to itself a lordly power and fuperintendency both over flocks and paftors, over perfons and congregations no way their own. But thefe debates, in his judgment, would have been ended better "by the beft divines in Chriftendom in a full and free fynod." A most improbable way, and fuch as never yet was used, at least with good fuccefs, by any protestant kingdom or ftate fince the reformation: every true church having wherewithal from Heaven, and the affifting fpirit of Chrift implored, to be complete and perfect within itself. And the whole nation is not eafily to be thought fo raw, and fo perpetually a novice, after all this light, as to need the help and direction of other nations, more than what they write in public of their opinion, in a matter fo familiar as church-government. In fine, he accuses Piety with the want of Loyalty, and Religion with the breach of Allegiance, as if God and he were one mafter, whofe commands were fo often contrary to the commands of God. He would perfuade the Scots, that their "chief intereft confifts in their fidelity to the crown." But true policy will teach them, to find a safer intereft in the common friendship of England, than in the ruins of one ejected family. XIV. Upon the Covenant. UPON this theme his difcourfe is long, his matter little but repetition, and therefore foon answered. First, after an abufive and ftrange apprehenfion of covenants, as if men "pawned their fouls" to them with whom they covenant, he digreffes to plead for bifhops; firft from the antiquity of their" poffeffion here, fince the first plantation of chriftianity in this ifland;" next from "a univerfal prescription fince the Apoftles, till this laft century." But what avails the most primitive antiquity against the plain fenfe of Scripture? which, if the laft century have best followed, followed, it ought in our esteem to be the firft. And yet it hath been often proved by learned men, from the writings and epiftles of moft ancient chriftians, that epifcopacy crept not up into an order above the prefbyters, till many years after that the apoftles were deceased. He next "is unfatisfied with the covenant," not only for "fome paffages in it referring to himself," as he fupposes, "with very dubious and dangerous limitations,' but for binding men "by oath and covenant" to the reformation of church-difcipline. First, thofe limitations were not more dangerous to him, than he to our liberty and religion; next, that which was there vowed, to caft out of the church an antichriftian hierarchy which God had not planted, but ambition and corruption had brought in, and foftered to the church's great damage and oppreffion, was no point of controversy to be argued without end, but a thing of clear moral neceffity to be forthwith done. Neither was the "covenant fuperfluous, though former engagements, both religious and legal, bound us before" but was the practice of all churches heretofore intending reformation. All Ifrael, though bound enough before by the law of Moses "to all neceffary duties; yet with Afa their king entered into a new covenant at the beginning of a reformation and the Jews, after captivity, without confent demanded of that king who was their mafter, took folemn oath to walk in the commandments of God. All proteftant churches have done the like, notwithstanding former engagements to their feveral duties. And although his aim were to fow variance between the protes tation and the covenant, to reconcile them is not difficult. The proteftation was but one step, extending only to the doctrine of the ehurch of England, as it was dif tinct from church difcipline; the covenant went further, as it pleased God to difpenfe his light and our encouragement by degrees, and comprehended church-government: Former with latter fteps, in the progrefs of welldoing, need not reconcilement. Nevertheless he breaks through to his conclufion, "that all honeft and wife men ever thought themselves fufficiently bound by former ties of religion;" leaving Afa, Ezra, and the whole church church of God, in fundry ages, to fhift for honefty and wisdom from fome other than his teftimony. And although after-contracts abfolve not till the former be made void, yet he first having done that, our duty returns back, which to him was neither moral nor eternal, but conditional. Willing to perfuade himself that many good men❞ took the covenant, either unwarily or out of fear, he feems to have bestowed fome thoughts how thefe " good men," following his advice, may keep the covenant and not keep it. The firft evafion is, presuming "that the chief end of covenanting in fuch men's intentions was to preferve religion in purity, and the kingdom's peace." But the covenant will more truly inform them, that purity of religion and the kingdom's peace was not then in ftate to be preserved, but to be restored; and therefore binds then not to a prefervation of what was, but to a reformation of what was evil, what was traditional, and dangerous, whether novelty or antiquity, in church or ftate. To do this, clafhes with "no former oath" lawfully fworn either to God or the king, and rightly understood. In general, he brands all "fuch confederations by league and covenant, as the common road ufed in all factious perturbations of ftate and church." This kind of language reflects, with the fame ignominy, upon all the proteftant reformations that have been fince Luther; and fo indeed doth his whole book, replenished throughout with hardly other words or arguments than papists, and especially popish kings, have ufed heretofore againft their proteftant fubjects; whom he would perfuade to every man his own pope, and to abfolve himself of thofe ties," by the fuggeftion of falfe or equivocal interpretations too oft repeated to be now answered. be " The parliament, he faith, "made their covenant like manna, agreeable to every man's palate." This is another of his gloffes upon the covenant; he is content to let it be manna, but his drift is that men fhould loath it or at least expound it by their own "relifh," and "latitude of fenfe;" wherein, left any one of the fimpler fort should fail to be his craftsmafter, he furnishes him with two two or three laxative, he terms them " general claufes, which may ferve fomewhat to relieve them" against the covenant taken : intimating, as if "what were lawful and according to the word of God," were no otherwise fo, than as every man fancied to himself. From fuch learned explications and refolutions as thefe upon the covenant, what marvel if no royalift or malignant refuse to take it, as having learnt from these princely inftructions his many falvoes, cautions, and refervations," how to be a covenanter and anticovenanter, how at once to be a Scot, and an Irish rebel. He returns again to difallow of "that reformation which the covenant" vows, 66 as being the partial advice of a few divines." But matters of this moment, as they were not to be decided there by thofe divines, fo neither are they to be determined here by effays and curtal aphorifins, but by folid proofs of Scripture. The reft of his discourse he spends, highly accufing the parliament," that the main reformation by" them "intended, was to rob the church," and much applauding himself both for "his forwardnefs" to all due reformation, and his averfeness from all fuch kind of facrilege. All which, with his glorious title of the "Church's Defender," we leave him to make good by "Pharaoh's di vinity," if he please, for to Jofeph's piety it will be a task unfuitable. As for "the parity and poverty of minifters, which he takes to be fo fad of "confequence," the Scripture reckons them for two fpecial legacies left by our Saviour to his difciples; under which two primitive nurses, for fuch they were indeed, the church of God more truly flourished than ever after, fince the time that imparity and church-revenue rushing in, corrupted and belepered all the clergy with a worfe infection than Gehazi's; fome one of whofe tribe, rather than a king, I fhould take to be compiler of that unfalted and Simonical prayer annexed: although the prayer itself strongly prays against them. For never fuch holy things as he means were given more to fwine, nor the church's bread more to dogs, than when it fed ambitious, irreligious and dumb prelates. XV. Upon XV. Upon the many Jealoufies, &c. TO wipe off jealoufies and fcandals, the best way had been by clear actions, or till actions could be cleared, by evident reasons; but mere words we are too well acquainted with. with. Had " his honour and reputation been dearer to him" than the luft of reigning, how could the parliament of either nation have laid fo often at his door the breach of words, promifes, acts, oaths, and execrations, as they do avowedly in many of their petitions and addreffes to him? Thither I remit the reader. And who can believe that whole parliaments, elected by the people from all parts of the land, fhould meet in one mind and refolution not to advise him, but to conspire against him, in a worse powder-plot than Catefbie's, "to blow up," as he terms it, "the people's affection towards him, and batter down their loyalty by the engines of foul afperfions:" Water-works rather than engines to batter with, yet thofe afperfions were raised from the foulness of his own actions: whereof to purge himself, he ufes no other argument than a general and so often iterated commendation of himfelf; and thinks that court holy-water hath the virtue of expiation, at least with the filly people; to whom he familiarly imputes fin where none is, to feem liberal of his forgiveness where none is afked or needed. What ways he hath taken toward the profperity of his people, which he would feem " fo earneftly to defire,' if we do but once call to mind, it will be enough to teach us, looking on the smooth infinuations here, that tyrants are not more flattered by their flaves, than forced to flatter others whom they fear. For the people's" tranquillity he would willingly be the Jonah;" but left he fhould be taken at his word, pretends to forefee within ken two imaginary "winds" never heard of in the compafs, which threaten, if he be caft overboard, "to increase the ftorm;" but that controverfy divine lot hath ended. He had rather not rule, than that his people should be ruined" and yet, above these twenty years, hatlı been |