which we are so far from pleading our own innocency that we do unfainedly desire to acknowledge our accession to be very great and to be deeply humbled for the same before God And we do earnestly intreat in the Lord Jesus Christ who came into the World to save sinners that you would seriously ponder the things that are therein represented without taking prejudice against them because they come from us If the Lord shall be graciously pleased to put it into your hearts with fervent Prayer and deep Humiliation to consider the Covenants and Engagement which you and all of us have sworn to the most High with uplifted hands and to peruse and ponder the many faithfull Warnings and Declarations of this Kirk in former times anent the present Differences and to call to minde the tentations which you met with the snares which were laid in your way the straits which you were driven into and all the motives and inducements which ingaged you in that way you are now upon and to look upon the sad Judgements which have come upon the Land since the first declining from the former way we are hopefull that the Lord shall discover unto you the sinfulnesse of that Treaty in Holland and of the Publick Resolutions following thereupon in particular how greatly his Holy Name was abused in prostituting the Ordinance of publick Repentance to the lusts and designes of corrupt men by receiving the Malignant Party to the fellowship of all Church Ordinances to make way for entrusting them as Captains and Rulers over the Lords People and his Interests while they were notoriously walking in their accustomed prophanenesse and enimity to the Work of the Lord and to his People and had not given evidences of Repentance and who as was then often foretold have now again by their wicked deeds proclaimed to the World their Hypocrisie and dissimulation we would much rather desire to hear that your selves did search then that we should need to put you in minde what sinfull courses were taken to promote and establish these Resolutions and what Censures have been imposed upon Ministers and Acts made against Professors for giving Testimony against the same How gracious and well qualified Elders are removed and keeped out from Church Judicatories and ignorant and prophane persons brought in and moe endeavoured to be brought in to their rowm How gifted and gracious young Men are debarred from entring into the Ministry and a door is opened to others whereof some are loose and-profane and many are ignorant and strangers to the Work of the Lord upon their own hearts And here we cannot forget to desire you seriously to consider how unwarrantably you did proceed in that Meeting at Forfar in August 1651. in the midst of so many warnings and sad dispensations from the Lord even to that height and animosity of spirit as to pronounce the heavy Curse of God against all these that did withdraw their counsells from your Judicatories and to ordain the same to be Read in every Congregation publickly on the Lords Day and to spread Declarations at home and send Printed Informations abroad into England grievously traduceing your Brethren as Separatists as Enemies to the Work of Reformation and promoters of their designes who Invaded this Land with many other reproaches of the like kind Notwithstanding you have had long experience of their faithfulnesse in the Lords Work Oh that you would lay these things to heart and remember how greatly the Lord was thereby provocked and his wrath increased how ye have made the heart of the righteous sad whom the Lord hath not made sad and strengthned the hands of the wicked that he should not return from his wicked way and how the Work of Reformation hath not only been interrupted thereby but dangerously shaken and a foundation laid for conjunction with all Parties whatsoever both at home and abroad which hath been the cause and fountain of these sad rents and divisions that are among the Lords precious People But of all things it is most grievous to us that after all the evills and miseries which the Lord hath brought upon this poor Land you should yet continue to justifie and maintain these things and so tenaciously adhere unto them which you would well examine from what principle the same doth flow We know that it is commonly said that a satisfactory answer was returned to the Propositions delivered in by us to the late meeting at Edinburgh in July last but it is only a seeming satisfaction in some things by reason of the hidden way of expression that is used in that answer for the matter is so conveyed in words as the two late Assemblies and their Acts which comprehended all the things in question betwixt us are included in your specious concession and so in effect what seemeth to be granted there is wholly overturned to other things no answer is returned and for these things which are laid down in that answer as uncontraverted betwixt us we do not hear nor can we learn that they are begun to be practised by any of your number though it be in the power of their hands but the great bensill of the zeal of most part is turned against us We may further say that wayes of Peace and healing were so little studied by the most part at that meeting in July last as we fear the contrary was too much endeavoured for not only Synods and Presbyteries were warranted and encouraged to proceed against Ministers Elders and Expectants according to the Acts made at Dundee which for the substance were renewed but also Letters were written and Published in Print directed to the Noblemen and Gentlemen of the Land whereby the Malignant Party was stirred up to exercise all the Power they had against us which in some places they have not been slack to put in execution We are much unsatisfied that advantages are sought and taken against us in a very ungaining way to say no worse not only to slight misconstrue and reject all our indeavours for healing the breach that is amongst us but likewise in your Letters to Presbyteries and other Papers you do misrepresent our proceedings Beside diverse other strange expressions in your late Letter of the date the 25. Febr. last wherein we hope you will not upon serious examination allow your selves we do not a little wonder why it should be said that the conference for reconciliation and Union was altogether slighted and deserted by us when some of our number had carefully attended about three weeks for promotting the same and were not at all advised with nor so much as daigned with any Answer at all untill after you had dissolved your meeting and when the Answer was given it was in effect a refusall of all our previous desires without satisfaction to which you very well knew there could be no profite in conference We are also greatly stumbled at the Fasts and Humiliations which you do appoint from time to time the Causes
any part of the Christian World And we do not doubt but there are many able men in this Church who will maintain the beauty necessity and usefulnesse of these Truths against all the reproaches they are aspersed with Believe us it is from this Principle that we adhere unto those so much contradicted and reproached Truths Ye complain of severall things in our late Assemblie at Edinburgh 1. That they did not give you a satisfactory answer and that because in their specious concessions was included the approbation of the two late Assemblies and of their Acts To which we Answer we believe ye will not affirme that the Assemblie did require an Approbation from you either unto Assembly or Acts And will not this think ye be thought reasonable satisfaction by indifferent Judges that nothing was required of you which did necessarily infer the alteration of your Judgement But it seemeth no thing will satisfie some so long as we do approve of these Assemblies and do not alter our Judgement in relation to the maine things in controversie And if so we apprehend such shall not receive a satisfactory answer in haste 2. Ye complain that things laid down by the Assemblie as uncontroverted amongst us are not yet practised by any of our number what these things are should have been instanced and if we could we should have given an answer 3. Ye professe your fear that the most part of that Assembly did endeavour to marre Peace and wayes of healing Because 1. Synods and Presbyteries were encouraged to go on against Ministers and others according to the Acts of Dundee 2. Because of the Act sent to Noble-men Gentle-men and all pious Persons within the Land whereby the Malignant Party was stirred up to exercise their whole power against you and this ye hold forth as the native scope of that Letter not as the naked event only for that is after mentioned while ye adde that in some places the Malignant Party hath not been slack to Act accordingly To which we Answer what was the intentions of any or most part of that Assembly in relation to Peace we cannot infallibly determine but if we may judge of intentions by actions we conceive they have endeavoured Peace more than ye would make the World believe For the thing required by them from you in the Overture of Peace is not that ye should alter your Judgement either in the matter of Publick Resolutions or yet concerning the Authority of the Assembly Only because the holding up of Debates did tend to increase the fire of strife It was required that those unnecessar and unbrotherly Contests should be laid aside And because a standing Protestation would prove afterwards inevitably the seed of new contention and strife it was required in like manner that ye should passe from your Protestations also Both which as we conceive ye might have done reserving your Judgement concerning the sinfulnesse of the resolutions and Nullity of the Assembly except ye affirme that the publick venting of any thing which we conceive to be Truth may not be forborn no not for the Churches Peace or that none can esteem an Assembly Null except they appear in a publick Protestation against it none of which as we conceive ye will assert for Truth Now this being all which was required let any judge if this was not a comming up a good length towards Peace upon the Assemblies part especially if it be compared with what ye have since made publick in your Printed Papers tending as we conceive to make Peace and Union desperate viz. The justifying of the second reason of the Protestation given in at St. Andrews wherein is asserted that these who have been Active for carrying on the Publick Resolutions are Men Scandalous and so not to be admitted to voice in a Generall Assembly together with what ye hold out in your fyft Reason against choosing Commissioners to the late Assembly at Edinburgh That it is unlawfull to joine in an Assembly made up for the most part of those who acted in and approved of the late Assembly at Dundee Of which sort are without all controversie the Body of Ministers and Elders within this Church from which grounds we cannot see any probable way for Peace except the Body of the Ministers and Elders do willingly lye by at your meer desire suffering you to erect your selves in an Assembly and then to attend with patience the Authoritative result from your already known principles whereby all of us are judged men highly scandalous guilty of foul defection and Church-ruining sins together with an high degree of pertinacie in them against so many testimonies such clear and evident light and in the midst of so many fearfull judgements Now let indifferent men judge who requireth most of others and whose principles are most obstructive to peace 2. That the most part of the Generall Assembly did encowrage Synods and Presbyteries to go on with Censures against Ministers and Elders it is hardly probable considering that not one Minister hath been hitherto so much as processed for any thing relating to differences and if the bensall of their zeal was so much towards censure then ye would show what hath interveened to blunt the edge of their zeal so much since 3. That such an out-cry should be made against the Assemblies Letter to Noblemen c. as bewraying unpeaceable spirits we cannot imagine the Reason sure we are they are known to be men very peaceable in whose breasts the motion of sending such a Letter did first bread And for the matter of it we are confident indifferent Judges will approve of it as savouring much of Peace The sum whereof was to shew what length the Assembly had come towards Peace in the Overture of Peace therewith sent and to entreat them to deal with you to embrace the famine And 4. We wonder most by what Art ye can make it appear that the native scope of that Letter was to stir up the Malignant Party to exercise all their power against you Was the Letter direct unto any but unto Noblemen Gentlemen and all pious Persons within the Land We cannot conceive those to be the Malignant Party ye do so much speak of Or is there the least hint in that Letter exciting to exercise any power against you further then exhortations perswasions desires and entreaties What then is there in that Letter which ye can load justly with such an invidious sense If we were going about as the manner of some is to charge you with being guilty of the Kingdoms ruine and were turning over all your opinions and practises whereby ye differ from us into causes of Gods wrath stirring up the People of the Land to mourn for the same denouncing you guilty of high pertinacie for your maintaining of them and prophecying the continuance and increase of wrath untill those were acknowledged and taken with If our way were such ye might justly challenge us indeed for stirring up not only
the Malignant Party to exercise their power against you but also for making your own people abhorre you and truly though we were aiming at your shame and disgrace we could hardly imagine a more compendious way for bringing of it about but the uprightnesse of the upright will preserve him Lastly ye professe your dissatisfaction with the present Commission and that for severall things 1. For their slighting and misconstruing all your endeavours for Peace 2. For misrepresenting your proceedings to Presbyteries particularly in their Letter of the Date Febr. 25. To which we Answer 1. The Commission did appoint a Conference at St. Andrews in order to Union and Peace which was the grant of your desire for the maine and if some words expressing their appointment did make you slight the offer it would appear ye have not had mind to the thing it self 2. That the Commission did misrepresent your proceedings is more then can be proved as to the passage of their Letter pitched upon we answer 1. If the Conference appointed by the Commission was not slighted by you then whose default was it that it was not keeped 2. That those of your number was not advised with in drawing up of the Commissions Answer will not be thought strange unto those who know ye advised with none of our Judgement when ye did draw up your demand though there was severalls present mediating with you for Peace 3. That some at least of your previous desires were refused by the Commission will be thought as little strange unto those who knew what ye did desire viz. that the Commission should uncommissionat themselves by a Publick Declaration that they should Act nothing as a Commission during the Conference though the necessity of the Church should never so much require it And how could we as ye alledge imagine that the refusing of this desire would marre the good of the Conference except we had first imagined that your proponing of such a previous desire did argue that ye intended no good at all in order to the Churches Peace should be reaped by the Conference Lastly ye professe your selves greatly stumbled at the Fasts and Humiliations appointed by the Commission from time to time and that because the Causes thereof are General and ambiguous For Answer 1. If we were to shew unto you all wherewith we are dissatisfied in your way we conceive we have greater reason to be dissatisfied with your selves but our intent being mainly herein to clear our selves we shal only Propone this Question If ever ye read in any Church Story in any age of the Church that when difference of Judgement did fall out among Prime and Eminent Church-members that ever the one Party being the fewer and no Church Judicatorie did take upon them to turn over the one side of the Controversie into Causes of Gods Wrath upon the Church and by the Sole Authority of Church Sessions hold them forth to Congregations to be mourned for at Solemn Fasts and this all before the Rent did turn remedilesse yea and while the same Party is pretending unto Peace and charging the other with slighting all Overtures for Union and healing so often Propounded and so much pursued by themselves 2. If ye had instanced any of these Causes of our late Fasts which are either ambiguous or generall we should have answered But sure we are it is an unjust charge no Causes can be more clear nor needeth to be more particular nor the Causes of the very last Fast are as is obvious unto any who without prejudice will peruse them But we gather from that which followeth in yours what it is ye misse most in these Causes viz. That we do not acknowledge a Land-destroying guiltinesse in the Publike Resolutions It seemeth unto us ye hint at this while ye say ye do finde in Gods ordinary way of dealing with his People that there hath usually been some publick sins and breaches of Covenant preceeding such sad judgements For Answer 1. We are deceived if we have not found the contrary Psal 44. The People of God are put unto shame given as sheep appointed for meat scattered among the heathen they were broken in the places of Dragons their bellies made to cleave unto the dust and yet vers 17. for all this they had not forgotten God nor yet dealt falsely in his Covenant Ye know also what sad judgements were brought upon the whole Catholick Church visible in the time of the first Persecutions by the heathen Emperors and afterwards by the Arrians and yet there is nothing extant of any publicke break of Covenant going before those terrible stroaks and sad sufferings But 2. Granting that some breaches of Covenant had gone before our sad stroake must it therefore follow that those were the Publick Resolutions May there not be found other breaches in relation to those who are our Rod or some other things But 3. Though ye were perswaded that the breach is in these yet do ye think it indeed a sin before the Lord for us who are not so perswaded to mourn for other Land-destroying sins which are upon all hands uncontroverted May not Joshua and the Elders mourn for their stroak and their known sinnes procuring it though yet they knew nothing of Achan who had procured Gods Wrath against them most Or did Job sin while he acknowledged his known iniquity Job 7. 21. Although he himself apprehended there was some further prime cause of this stroak nor any thing he had yet seen as appears from Job 10. 2. Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me But lastly as to this purpose ye adde that we would not look upon it with a light eye that so many Godly in the Land cannot join in our fasts and that all the wicked and prophane in the Land do carefully attend such dyets For Answer 1. We know there are both Godly and prophane within the Church but for our selves we never liked the making use of that distinction for strengthning of interest and faction by ranking all the prophane and wicked upon the one side and so none but the Godly yea and the generality of the Godly upon the other We know such a method hath been followed by some but the vanity of it hath still at last been discovered how long it will hold up with you we do not know 2. Though we are not able from our own exact knowledge to order Professors through the whole Land in their severall ranks yet our information faileth us if the generality of noted professors of any old standing do not join with us in our Fasts and Humiliations 3. That any doth not joyn with us is not looked on with a light eye by us we professe we look sadly upon it as a piece of that spirit stirring in the times The intent whereof is to make professors first lightly to scruple and then to separate without any reason upon meer gainstanding of minde first from some Ordinances in the hands only of some and
next in the hands of others that so in progresse of time they may cast at all Ordinances We do verily believe so much is not intended by them but so far as we can judge the Spirit stirring in the times driveth at no lesse and this is a thing which neither we nor ye ought to think lightly of farre lesse do any thing by Word or Writ which may strengthen peoples hands or encourage them in such a way 4. Ye mistake while ye affirme all the prophane in the Land do join with us We know in some places that severalls of the most prophane have separated from us and gone to hear some of your Judgement at those dyets and that only because they conceived such a way would be acceptable to some whom they have dependance upon If ye knew the men we conceive ye would not think us uncharitable though we said it was nothing of conscience which moved them 5. Though many prophane men should joyn in our Fasts as they usually did in years by-past countenance all such Fasts as were appointed by Publick Judicatories yet there is no reproach to us nor the way of God which we maintain the contrary to which ye seeme to insinuate ye know by whom the same hath been objected as a matter of reproach against the Presbyterian way and how ye your selves have often answered it That the rise of your Writing is from love to us and not from a purpose to render us odious we shall not Question only we stumble much that doubles of yours were spread unto others before it came to our hands what hath been the purpose of those who did so we cannot well imagine As for the matter of your exhortation that we should quite the Publick Resolutions ye have our Answer to it in what is already Written Only your method stumbleth us not a little that the quyting of our Judgement in those is required as previous to our joyning with you if ye hold this as necessarily previous to our Union we desire to know surely if so ye are not so cordiall for Union as some of you pretend And now since we have spoken our heart freely unto you in answer to yours wherein we presume ye will finde that we have obeyed at least your last desire having Written nothing which may evidence our putting of a hard construction upon your intentions or upon any of your words or expressions which may seem harsh we have only answered to the matter held forth by them we shal not take upon us to speak our sense of that way wherein ye have walked this time by-past the Generall Assemblie having spoken so much to that purpose whom if ye do not hear we conceive neither will ye hear us Only Sir let us with all due respect take the boldnesse to propound unto you some few Questions concerning some things in your way and the way of those other Reverend Brethren who join with you To which we earnestly crave and as we conceive in equity may expect an Answer The things we question being such as your clear and distinct answer will satisfie the minds of many much concerning the sincerity of your endeavour for healing and your willingnesse to remove these things which in the apprehensions of many are reall impediments and stumbling blocks cast in the way of Union and Peace The Questions are those following QUEST 1. Do ye indeed conceive that ye can have no Union with us untill we obey the contents of your Letter and professe an alteration of our Judgement in these things wherein we differ from you Besides other things the exhortation proponed in your Letter unto us giveth us ground thus to Question where our forsaking of the way of Publick Resolutions is required as previous unto our joining together for carrying on the Work of Reformation If ye so conceive we are at a poynt we must either come over the belly of our Light and call good evill else ye will not hear of Peace QUEST 2. If ye look on us as men scandalous and unworthy to sit in Church Judicatories the second Reason of your Protestation against the Assembly at S. Andrews gives us ground to imagine thus for there do ye decline that Assembly because the most eminent men of our Church was not casten by as scandalous though nothing either was or could be alledged against them but their accession to the Publike Resolutions If ye so judge still we cannot understand how ye minde peace QUEST 3. Do ye really think it unlawfull to joine in an Assembly made up for the most part of these who acted in and approved of the late Assembly at Dundee as your fift Reason against choosing Commissioners to the late Assembly at Edinburgh doth expresse If thus ye judge then you must decline not only the Generall Assemblies but all Synods and Presbyteries yea and shake off your Ministers also if they be not of your judgement as continuing in a course which you think defection and the main cause of GODS wrath QUEST 4. How is it many of your judgment refuse to join with us in the publike Acknowledgment of uncontroverted guiltinesse and that only because we cannot go over our light to acknowledge that for a sin which we do esteem to have been a duty We desire to know any passage of Scripture warranding a separation from such a necessary duty for that only cause QUEST 5. Seeing ye do so much cry out against us for retarding the work of Purging how is it ye do not cordially join and excite to the censuring of erroneous Ministers who have avowedly spit upon their Mothers face and are daily stirring up others to do the like QUEST 6. How is it some Ministers of your judgement take upon them to intimate Fasts read forth Causes of Wrath unto the people to be humbled for appoint particular diets for going about this work and this all without the Authority of any Church Judicatorie no not so much as of their own Sessions if this were done by others it would seem somewhat Prelaticall like QUEST 7. How is it some of your judgment take upon them to debarre from the Lords Table the third part or half the number of their Church-members come to age This seemeth unto us a great step towards separation QUEST 8. We desire to know what are these positive signes of reall repentance which ye require in those who are to be received after scandall unto the fellowship of the Church and why the same may not be required in the admission of Church-members QUEST 9. How is it the practise of many of your number to cast out of Sessions under one pretence or other all those almost who are of our judgment and yet cry out so much against the Act of the late Assembly ordaining not those who differ from us in the matter of Publike Resolutions but only such as adhere to the Protestation against the Assemblies to be laid aside only from voicing in Presbyteries and