Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A59964
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The history of Scotch-presbytery being an epitome of The hind let loose / by Mr. Shields ; with a preface by a presbyter of the Church of Scotland.
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Shields, Alexander, 1660?-1700.; Shields, Alexander, 1660?-1700. Hind let loose.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing S3432; ESTC R3536
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61,532
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66
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Country without distinction of Free and Unfree they gather about Fifty four Horsemen march to Dumfreâ—â— take Sir Iames Turner Prisoner and disarm the Souldiers without any more violence Being thus by Providence engag'd without any hope of retreat and getting some Concurrence of their Brethren in the same condition they come to Lanerk where they renew the Covenant and thence to Pentland-Hills where by the Holy disposal of God they were routed many killed and 130 taken Prisoners of which 35 were afterwards hanged who had much of the Lords Presence at their deaths and assurance of his Love strengthening them to Seal a noble Testimony After this conflict many were forefaulted of their Estates and Intercommuned Souldiers are permitted to take free Quarter in the Country to Examine Men by Tortures to strip them who did so much as resist the Fugitives and thrust them into Prisons c. Hence we may see the Righteousness of God how justly at that time he left us in such a damp that like Asses we couched under all Burdens and few came out to the help of the Lord against the Mighty drawing on them Meroz's Curse and the Blood of their butchered Brethren But the King having now brought his only opposites the few Faithful Witnesses of Christ to a low pass he went on by Craft as well as Cruelty to advance his own in promoting Antichrist's Interest And therefore having gotten the Supremacy devolved upon him by Law he would now exert that usurped Power and work by insnaring Policy to effeâ—tuate the End which he could not do by other means Therefore seeing he was not able to suppress the Meetings of the Lord's People for Gospel-Ordinances in Houses and Fields but that the more he laboured by violent courses the greater and more frequent they grew hâ— fell upon a more crafty Device not only to overthrow the Gospel and suppress the Meetings but to break the Faithful and to divide between the Mad-cap and the Moderate Fanaticks as they phrased it that he might the more easily destroy both to confirm the Usurpation and to settle People in a sinful silence and stupid submission to all the Incroachments made on Christ's Prerogatives and more effectually to overturn what remained of the work of God And knowing that nothing could more fortifie the Supremacy than Ministers their homologating and acknowledging it Therefore he offered the first Indulgence Anno 1669 signifying in a Letter dated that Year Iune 7. His gracious Pleasure was To appoint so many of the outed Ministers as have lived peaceably and orderly to return to Preach and exercise other Functions of the Ministry in the Parish-Churches where they formerly served provided they be vacant to allow Patrons to present to other vacant Churches such others of them as the Council should approve That all who are so indulged be enjoyned to keep Presbyteries and the Refusers to be confined within the bounds of their Parishes and that they be enjoyned not to admit any of their neighbour Parishes unto their Communions nor Baptize their Children nor marry any of them without the allowance of the Minister of the Parish and if they Countenance the People deserting their own Parishes they are to be silenced for shorter and longer time or altogether turned out as the Council shall see causeâ— And upon complaint made and verified of any Seditious Discourse or Expressions in the Pulpit uttered by any of the Ministers they are immediately to be turned out and further punished according to Law And seeing by these Orders all pretences for Conventicles were taken away if any should be found hereafter to preach without Authority or keep Conventicles His Pleasure is to proceed with all severity against them as Seditious Persons and Contemners of Auhtority To salve this in point of Law and to make the Kings Letter the Supreme Law afterwards and a valid ground in Law whereupon the Council might proceed and enact and execute what the King pleased in matters Ecclesiastick He therefore caused frame a formal Statutory Act of Supremacy of this Tenor That his Majesty hath the Supreme Authority and Supremacy over all Persons and in all Causes Ecclesiastick within his Dominions and that by vertue thereof the ordering and disposal of the External Government of the Church did properly belong to him and his Successors as an inherent right to the Crown and that he may Settle Enact and Emit such Constitutions Acts and Orders concerning the Administrating thereof and Persons employed in the same and concerning all Ecclesiastical Meetings and Matters to be proposed and determined therein as He in His Royal Wisdom shall think fit which Acts Orders and Constitutions are to be observed and obeyed by all His Majesties Subjects any Law Act or Custom to the Contrary notwithstanding Whereupon accordingly the Council in their Act Iuly 27. 1669 do nominate several Ministers and appoint them to Preach and exercise the other Functions of the Ministry at their respective Churches there specified with consent of the Patrons The same day also they Conclude and Enact the forementioned Restrictions conform to the King's Letter and ordain them to be intimate to every person who is by Authority foresaid allowed the exercise of the Ministry These indulged Ministers having that Indulgence given only upon these terms that they should accept these Injunctions and having received it up these terms also as ane Essential part of the Bargain and Condition on which the Indulgence was granted and accepted as many following Proclamations did expresly declare do appoint Mr. Hutcheson one of the number to declare so much In acknowledging His Majesties Favour and Clemeâ—cy in granting that Liberty after so long a restraint and howevâ—â— they had received their Ministry from Iesus Christ with full Preâ—â—â—â— from him for regulating them therein yet nothing could be more refâ—eshing on Earth to them thâ—â— to have free liberty for the exercise of their Mâ—nistry under the Protection of Lawful Authority In the mean time tho cruel Acts and Edicts were made against the meeting of the Lord's People in Houses and the Fields after all these Midianitish Wiles to suppress them such was the Presence of the Lord in these Meetings and so powerful was his Countenance and Concurrence with the Labours of a few who laid out themselves to hold up the Standard of Christ that the number of Converts multiplied daily to the great encouragement of the few Hands that wrestled in that work through all humane discouragement Therefore King and Council was put to a new shift which they supposed would prove more effectual to wit Because there was a great number of Nonconformed Ministers not yet Indulged who either did or might hereafter hold Conventicles therefore to remede or prevent this in time coming they appoint and ordain them to such places where Indulged Ministers were settled there to be confined with Allowance to Preach as the Indulged should employ them thinking by this means to incapacitate many to hold Meetings
Yea not so much as to say God save the King which was offered at the price of their Life but they would not accept Deliverance on these Terms Now remained Mr. Donald Cargil deprived of his faithful Collegue destitute of his Brethrens Concurrence who prosecuted the Testimony against the Universal Apostasie of the Church and Nation Tyranny of Enemies Backsliding of Friends and all the wrongs done to his Master on all hands And considering in the Zeal of God and Sense of his holy Jealousie provoked and threatning Wrath against the Land for the Sins especially of Rulers that notwithstanding of all their Testimonies given against them by publick Preachings Protestations and Declarations remonstrating their Tyranny and disowning their Authority yet not only did they persist in their Sins and Scandals but were owned also by Professours not only as Magistrates but as Members of the Christian and Protestant Church and that however both the Defensive Arms of Men had been used against them and the Christian Arms of Prayers and the Ministerial Weapon of Preaching yet that of Ecclesiastical Censure had not been Authoritatively exerted against them Therefore that no Weapon which Christ allows his Servants under his Standard to manage against his Enemies might be wanting tho' he could not obtain the Concurrence of his Brethren to strengthen the Solemnity and Formality of the Action yet he did not judge that Defect in this broken Case of the Church could disable his Authority nor demur the Duty but that he might and ought to proceed to Excommunication And accordingly in Sept. 1680. at the Torwood he Excommunicated some of the most scandalous and principal Promoters and Abettors of this Conspiracy against Christ as formally as the present Case could admit After Sermon upon Ezek 21. 25 26 27. And thou profane wicked Prince of Israel whose Day is come c. The Persons Excommunicated and the Sentence against them was given forth as follows I being a Minister of Iesus Christ and having Authority and Power from him do in his Name and by his Spirit Excommunicate cast out of the Church and deliver up to Satan Charles the Second King c. The Sentence was founded on these Grounds For 〈◊〉 great Perjury in breaking and burning the Covenant for his rescinding all Laws for establishing the Reformation end enacting Laws contrary thereunto For commanding of Arms to destroy the Lords People For his granting Remissions and Pardons for Murderers which is in the power of no King to do c. Next by the same Authority and in the same Name he Excommunicated James Duke of York for his Idolatry and setting up in Scotland to defile the Land and enticing and encouraging others to do 〈◊〉 With several other rotten Malignant Enemies But about this time when some in zeal for the Cause were endeavouring to keep up the Testimony of the day in an abstraction from Complying Ministers others were left to fall into fearful extravagancies and delirious and damnable Delusions being overdriven with ignorant and blind Zeal into untroden Paths which led them into a Labyrinth of Darkness When as they were stumbled at many Ministers their unfaithfulness so they came to be offended at Mr Cargill his Faithfulness who spared neither left-hand Declensions nor-right hand Extreams and left him and all the Ministers not only disowning all Communion with those that were not of their way but Execrating and Cursing them and kept themselves in desart places from all Company where they persisted prodigiously in Fastings and singing Psalms pretending to wonderful Raptures and Enthusiasms And in fine Iohn Gib with 4 more of them came to that height of Blasphemy that they burnt the Bible and Confession of Faith These were the Sweet Singers as they were called led away into these Delusions by that Impostor and Sorcerer Iohn Gib of which destructive way the approached Remnant adhering to the foresaid Testimony had always an Abhorrence of Wherefore that ignorant and impudent Calumny of their Consortship with Gibs Followers is only the vent of viperous Envy For they were the first that discovered them and reclaimed them and were always so far from partaking with them that to this day these that have come off from that way and have offered the Confession of their Scandal do still complain of their over-rigid Severity in not admitting them to their select Fellowships Shortly after this Mr. Donald Cargill finished his Testimony being apprehended with other two faithful and zealous Witnesses of Christ Mr. William Smith and Mr. Iames Beeg who with two more were altogether at Edinburgh 27 Iuly 1681. Crowned with the Glory of Martyrdom Then came the Day of the Remnants vexation the Persecution vaxing on the one hand and a violent Spirit of defection carrying down the most part of Ministers and Professours before it driving them to Courses of sinful and scandalous Conformings with the Times Corruptions Compearings before their Courts Complyings with their Commands paying of their Cesses and other Exactions taking of their Oaths and Bonds and countenancing their Prelatical Church-Services which they were ashamed to do before And thereupon on the other hand the Divisions and Confusions were augmented and poor People that desired to cleave to the Testimony were more and more offended and troubled at the Ministers who either left the Land or lurked in their own retirements But the remaining Contenders fell upon the expedient of corresponding in General Meetings to consult inform and confirm one another about common Duties in common Dangers Laying down this General Conclusion for a foundation of Order to be observed among them in incident doubtful Cases and emergent Controversies that nothing relative to the publick and which concerns the whole of their Community be done by any of them without harmonious consent sought after and rationally waited for and sufficient deliberation about the best means and manner In the mean time the Duke of York as Commissioner from his Brother held a Parliament in which he is declared legal and lineal Successour and a Test is framed for a Pest to Consciences which turned out of all Places of Trust any that had any remaining measure of common Honesty And to all the Cruel Acts then and before made against the People of God there was one superadded regulating the Execution of all the rest whereby at one dash all Civil and Criminal Justice was overthrown That the Right of Iurisdiction both in Civil and Criminal Matters is so inherent in the Crown that his Majesty may judge all Causes by himself or any other he thinks fit to Commissionate Here was a Law for Commissionating Souldiers to take away the Lives of Innocents as was frequently exemplified afterwards Against which encroachments on Religion and Liberty the faithful thought themselves obliged to emit a Testimony And therefore published a Declaration at Lanerk Ian. 12. 1682. Confirming the proceeding at Sanquhair and adding reasons of their Revolt from the Government of Charles the Second For his arrogantly arrogated