Glasgow But before they went to it a written citation of the Bishops was ordered to be read through all the Churches of Scotland wherein they were chaâ—ged as guilty of all the crimes imaginable which as an Agape after the Lords Supper was first read after a Communion at Edinburgh and upon it orders were sent every where for bringing in the privatest of their escapes And you may judge how consonant this was to that Royal Law of charity which covers a multitude of sins nor was the Kings Authority any whit regarded all this while Was ever greater contempt put on the largest offers of grace and favor And when at Glasgow His Majesty offered by his Commissioner to consent to the limiting of Bishops nothing would satisfie their zeal without condemning the order as unlawful and abjured But when many illegalities of the constitution and procedure of that Assembly were discovered their partiality appeared for being both Judg and Party they justified all their own disorders Upon which His Majesties Commissioner was forced to discharge their further sitting or procedure under pain of Treason but withal published His Majesties Royal intentions to them for satisfying all their legal desires and securing their fears But their stomachs were too great to yield obedience and so they sate still pretending their authority was from CHRIST and condemned Episcopacy excommunicated the Bishops with a great many other illegal and unjustifiable Acts. And when His Majesty came with an Army to do himself right by the Sword GOD had put in his hands they took the start of him and seised on his Castles and on the houses and persons of his good Subjects and went in a great body against him Now in this His Majesty had the Law clearly of his side For Episcopacy stood established by Act of Parliament And if this was a cause of Religion or a defence of it much less such as deserved all that bloud and confusion which it drew on let all the World judg It is true His Majesty was willing to settle things and receive them again into his grace and upon the matter granted all their desires but they were unsatisfiable upon which they again armed But of this I shall not recount the particulars because I hope to see a clear and unbyassed narration of these things ere long Only one Villany I will not conceal at the pacification at Berwick seven Articles of Treaty were signed But the Covenanters got a paper among them which passed for the conditions of the agreement though neither signed by his Majesty nor attested by Secretary or Clerk and this being every where spread his Majesty challenged it as a Forgery and all the English Lords who were of the Treaty having declared upon Oath that no such paper was agreed on it was burnt at London by the hand of the Hangman as a scandalous paper But this was from the Pulpits in Scotland represented as a violation of the Treaty and that the Articles of it were burnt These and such were the Arts the men of that time used to inflame that blessed King 's native Subjects against him But all these were small matters to the following invasion of England An. 1643. For his Majesty did An. 1641. come to Scotland and give them full satisfaction to all even their most unreasonable demands which he consented to pass into Acts of Parliaments But upon his return into England the woful rupture betwixt him and the two Houses following was our Church-party satisfied with the trouble they occasioned him No they were not for they did all they could to cherish and foment the Houses in their insolent Demands chiefly about Religion and were as forward in pressing England's uniformity with Scotland as they were formerly in condemning the design of bringing Scotland to an uniformity with England I shall not engage further in the differences betwixt the King and the two Houses than to shew that His Majesty had the Law clearly of his side since he not only consented to the redress of all grievances for which the least color of Law was alledged but had also yielded to larger concessions for securing the fears of his Subjects than had been granted by all the Kings of England since the Conquest Yet their demands were unsatisfiable without His Majesty had consented to the abolishing of Episcopacy and discharge of the Liturgy which neither his Conscience nor the Laws of England allowed of so that the following War cannot be said to have gone on the principles of defending Religion since His Majesty was invading no part of the established Religion And thus you see that the War in England was for advancing a pretence of Religion And for Scotlands part in it no Sophistry will prove it defensive for His Majesty had setled all matters to their hearts desire and by many frequent and solemn protestations declared his resolutions of observing inviolably that agreement neither did he so much as require their assistance in that just defence of his Authority and the Laws invaded by the two Houses though in the explication of the Covenant An. 1039. it was agreed to and sworn That they should in quiet manner or in Arms defend His Majesties Authority within or without the Kingdom as they should be required by His Majesty or any having his Authority But all the King desired was that Scotland might lie neutral in the quarrel enjoying their happy tranquillity yet this was not enough for your Churches zeal but they remonstrated that Prelacy was the great Mountain stood in the way of Reformation which must be removed and they sent their Commissioners to the King with these desires which His Majesty answered by a Writing yet extant under his own Royal hand shewing That the present settlement of the Church of England was so rooted in the Law that he could not consent to a change till a new form were agreed to and presented to him to which these at Westminster had no mind but he offered all ease to tender Consciences and to call a Synod to judg of these differences to which he was willing to call some Divines from Scotland for bearing their opinions and reasons At that time Petitions came in from several Presbyteries in Scotland to the Conservators of the Peace inciting them to own the Parliaments quarrel upon which many of the Nobility and others signed a Cross Petition which had no other design but the diverting these Lords from interrupting the Peace of Scotland by medling in the English quarrel upon which Thunders were given out against these Petitioners both from the Pulpits and the Remonstrances of the Commission of the General Assembly and they led Processes against all who subscribed it But His Majesty still desired a neutrality from Scotland and tho highly provoked by them yet continued to bear with more than humane patience the affronts were put on his Authority Yet for animating the people of Scotland into the designed War the Leaders of that Party did every where
of an oath upon their consciences and not being able to examine thâ—ngs to the bottom were entangled thus and engaged which way the leading Church-men pleaâ—ed and the guilt of this as it was great in those who without due consideration engaged in those oaths so it was most fearful in them who against the clear convictions of conscience were prevailed upon by the thunders of the Church or the threats of the State to swear what they judged sinful I confess their crime was of a high and crying nature who did thus for the love of this present world not only make shipwreck of a good conscience but persisted long in a tract of dissembling with GOD and juggling with men But the wickedness of this comes mainly to their door who tempted them to prevarication by their severities against all refused a concurrence in these courses And the sin of all this was the greater that it was carried on with such pretences as if it had been the cause and work of GOD with fasting prayers tears and shews of devotion For these things the Land mourns and GOD continues his controversie against us To which I must add the great impenitence of those who being once engaged in that course of Rebellion have not yet repented of the works of their hands For even such as own a conviction for it do not express that horror and remorse at their by-past crimes which become penitents But think if by rioting drinking and swearing they declare themselves now of another mind than formerly they were of that they are washed free of that defilement In a word none seem deeply humbled in the presence of GOD for the sinfulness of these practices into which they entered themselves and engaged others And till I see an ingenuous spirit of confessing and repenting for these great evils for all that rebellion that bloud oppreson and vastation which these courses drew on I shall never expect a National pardon for that National guilt For when on the one hand many are still justifying these black Arts and not humbled for them nor owning their penitence as openly as they committed their sins And on the other hand these who confess the faultiness of their courses do it in a spirit of traducing others of railing and reviling perhaps not without Atheistical scoffings at true Religion but not in a spirit of ingenuous horror and sorror for their own accession to these courses it appears we are still hardened either into a judicial blindness of the one hand or of obduration of heart on the other That profanity doth much abound I must with sorrow confess it in the presence of my GOD And I know there are many who roll themselves in the dust daily before GOD and mourn bitterly for it But when I enter in a deeper inquiry what may be the true causes of it those that occur to me are first a judicial stroke from GOD upon us for our by-past abominations and chiefly for our hypocritical mocking of GOD fastning the designs or humors of a Party on him as if they had been his Ordinances interests and truths And therefore because we held the truth of GOD in unrighteousness his wrath hath been revealed against us Next the frequent involving the Land in reiterated Oaths subscriptions and professions of repentance under severe Censures which prevailed with many to swallow them over implicitly and made others yield to them against their Conscience hath so debauched and prostituted the Souls of people that it is no wonder they be now as seared with a hot Iron and incapable of reproofs or convictions Besides is it any wonder that these whose hearts naturally led them to Atheism when they see what juggling was used about some pretences of Religion and how the whole Land was involved in so much bloud about such trifling matters come thereupon to have a jealousie of Preachers and preaching as if all they said was but to maintain and advance their own interests and greatness and thereupon turn Scoffers at all Religion because of the base and irreligious practices of some who yet vouched GOD and CHRIST for all they did And on remark I shall offer on the way that the sin of your Church was legible in your judgment their sin was the animating the people to Rebellion upon colors of Religion and their judgment was not only to be subdued and oppressed by another rebellious Army who were not wanting to pretend highly to the cause of GOD in all their actings but that they brake in pieces among themselves about a decision who might be imployed to serve in the Army which at first disjointed and afterwards destroyed your Church and the schism is still among us which is like to eat up the power of Religion is but the dreg and genuin effect of these courses and so all the prejudice it produceth to Religion and the true interests of Souls is to be charged upon that same score Isot. Really I am much scandalized with this Discourse which if it were heard abroad I know would much offend the hearts of the LORD's people And indeed I think it ought not to be answered no more than Rabshaketh's railings were by Eliakim I wish I could with good Hezekiah spread it out before the LORD and mourn over it and for you who do so blaspheme GOD and his Cause But whatever you may say in the point of Resistance yet you cannot deny but we are all from the highest to the lowest bound in our stations at least to withstand Prelacy against which we did so formally swear in that Oath of GOD which most of you are not only content to break but must needs despise and mock at Phil. GOD is my witness how little pleasure I have in this severe Discourse into which the petulancy of these Writers hath engaged me but examine what I said from Religion and Reason and you will perhaps change your verdict of it For my part I say none of these things in a corner neither do I expect that they shall not fly abroad and if they do I will look for all the severities which the censures and malice of many can amount to But I will chearfully bear that cross and will be content to be yet more vile for declaring freely what I judg to be GOD's Controversie with the Land I live in If for this love to Souls many be my Adversaries I will betake my self to prayer and shall only add this that few who know me suspect my temper guilty either of flattery or bitterness And the searcher of hearts knows that I neither design by this freedom to commend my self to any nor to disgrace others but meerly to propose things as they are If this produce any good effect I have my design if not I have discharged my conscience and leave the issue of it with GOD who can out of the mouths of babes and sucklings ordain strength and perfect praise As for any obligation you may suppose the
not deeper in the knowledge of Affairs than any of us however since you expect News from me I was just now reading some Books lately printed at Holland and particularly an accurate and learned Confutation of these virulent Dialogues you were wont to magnifie so much and it doth my heart good to see how he baffles the writer of them on every occasion for he hath answered every word of them so well and so home that I believe we shall not see a reply in haste Philarcheus I suppose we have all seen the Book but it is like you are singular in your opinion of it I shall not deny its Author his deserved praises he hath been faithful in setting down most of the Arguments used in the Dialogues and no less careful to gather together all the vulgar answers to them and truly hath said as much as can be said for his Cause Neither writes he without art for when he is pinched he drives off the Reader with a great many preliminary things to make him forget the purpose and to gain a more easie assent to what he asserts I confess his Stile is rugged and harsh so that it was not without pain I wrestled through it but of all I have seen he hath fallen on the surest way to gain an Applause from the Vulgar for he acts the greatest Confidence imaginable and rails at his Adversary with so much contempt and malice that he is sure to be thought well of by these who judge of a man more by his voice and the impresses of earnestness and passion he discovers than by the weight of what he saith Eud. These things may well take with the ignorant Rabble with whom it is like he designs to triumph but truly such as understand either the civilities of good Nature or the meekness of a Christian will be little edified with them Indeed I am amazed to see so much indiscretion and bitterness fall from any mans Pen who hath read S. Paul condemning railings evil surmisings and perverse disputings Isot. Who begun the scolding The truth is there are some who think they may rail with a priviledge and if any in soberness tell them of their faults they accuse them of bitterness but was there ever any thing seen more waspish than these Dialogues whose design seems to have been the disgracing of a whole Party and all their actions for many years If then the Atheism the blasphemy the mockery the enmity to GOD and Religion the ignorance the malice the folly and arrogance of such a confident Babler be discovered you are so tender der hooffed forsooth as to complain of railings Eud. It seems these writings have made a deep Impression on you you have got so exactly into their stile bâ—t this is a place where Passion is seldom cherished therefore we will expect no more of that strain from you But to deal freely with you there were some Expressions in these Dialogues with which I was not well satisfied but the whole of them had such a visage of Serenity that I wonder how they are so accused It is true the Conformijt deals very plainly and yet ere we part I can perhaps satisfie you he said but a little of what he might have said But withal remember how severely he that was meekness it self treated the Scribes and the Pharisees and he having charged his Followers to beware of their leaven it is obedience to his Command to search out that leaven that it may leaven us no more And when any of a Party are so exalted in their own conceit as to despise and disparage all others the love Ministers of the Gospel owe the Souls of their Flocks obligeth them to unmask them As to these poor simple Reproaches that are cast on the Person of that Author as they are known to be false and unjust so they are done in a strain that seems equally void of Wit and Goodness But we shall meddle no more in these â—â—â—sonal differenceâ— afteâ— I have told you what I heard the Author of that Conference say upon this subject he said He was so far from being displeased with the Author of this Answer that he was only sorry he knew not who he was that he might seek an opportunity of obliging him For the things charged on him if he was guilty of them he needed very many prayers but if innocent the other needed no fewer who so unjustly accused him but a day comes wherein a righteous judge will judge betwixt them and this was the utmost displeasure he expressed adding That he had another sense of the account he must give for his hours than to engage in a Counter scuffle or to play at such small game as a particular examen of that Book would amount to And he judged it unworthy of him to turn Executioner on that man's Reputation by enquiring into all the escapes of his Book which are too obvious But he is willing to stand or fall by the decision of rational and impartial Minds only where he was either too short or where the Answerer hath raised so much Mist as might obscure a less discerning Reader he will when he gets out of the throng wherein his Employment doth at present engage him offer a clearer account of the matters in question without tracing of that pâ—or Creature who it is like expects to be recorded among the Learned Writers of the Age and the Champions of Truth Bas. We have nothing to do with what is personal among these Writers But since so many of us have met so happily and seem a little acquainted with these Questions let us according to our wonted freedom toss these debates among us without heat or reflections which signifie nothing but to express the strength of his Passions and the weakness of his Reasons who makes use of them And indeed the matter of the greatest Importance is the point of Subjects resisting their Sovereigns in the defence of Religion which deserves to be the better cleared since it is not a nicety of the School or a speculation of Philosophers but a matter of Practice and that which if received seems to threaten endless Wars and Confusions Crit. I am no great Disputer but shall be gladly a witness to your debate and upon occasions shall presume to offer what I have gleaned among the Critical Writers on Scripture and I hope Ijâ—timus's Memory is so good that he will carefully suggest the Arguments used by the Patrons of defensive Arms. Isot. I will not undertake too much but shall take care not to betray this good Cause yet I will not have the Verdict passed upon my defence of it however I shall not sneak so shamefully as the Nonconformist did in the Dialogues Eud. I hope I shall not need to caution you any more against reflections but as for the alledged treachery of your friend the Nonconformist it may be referred to all Scotland if what he saith be not what is put in the mouths
of Kings be also asserted And indeed your Friend by this ingenuity of his hath done that Cause a prejudice of which many are sufficiently sensible for this was a secret Doctrine to be instilled in corners in the hearts of Disciples duly prepared for it but not to be owned to the World For if that place prove any thing it will prove that when a King turns from following the LORD his Subjects may conspire and slay him how this would take among the Fifthâ—Monarchy Men I know not but I am sure it will be abhorred by all Protestants and particularly by these who made it an Article of their Confession of Faith That infidelity or difference of Religion doth not make void the Magistrates just power Therefore this being a direct Breach of both fifth and sixth Commands though it be neither marked as condemned nor punished in that short account there given yet it will never warrant the resisting the Ordinance of GOD upon which GOD hath entailed Damnation And whereas your Friend alledgeth the justice of this may be evinced from Scripture it shews that in his Judgment not only Tyranny but the turning from following GOD is a just cause for conspiring against and killing of Kings But I cannot see where he finds what the cause of this Conspiracy was since the Text taxeth only the time but not the cause of it And for the instance of Uzziah the Priests indeed withstood him as they ought to have done as the Ministers of the Gospel ought yet to do if a King would go and consecrate the LORD'S Supper but their withstanding of that imports no violent Opposition the strict signification of the word being only that they placed themselves over against him and so it is rendered by the LXX Interpreters and remember that S. Paul withstood S. Peter to his face Gal. 2.11 Yet I do not apprehend you will suspect he used force As for what follows that the Priests did thrust him out it will not prove they laid hands on him that word signifying only that they made him haste out of the Temple and is the same word which Esther 6.14 is rendered hasted where none will think that the Chamberlains laid violent hands on Haman so all that the Priests did was to charge Uzziah when his Leprosie appeared to get him quickly out of the Temple and some Copies of the LXX have it so rendered and the following words shew there was no need of using force since himself made haste And for the word rendered valiant or sons of valor that word is not always taken for valor but sometimes for activity so Gen. 47.6 sometimes for riches so Ruth 2.1 It is also rendered wealth Gen. 34.29 so this will not prove that Azariah made choice of these men for the strength of their Body but for the Resolution of their Mind that they might stoutly contradict Uzziah and thus you have drawn a great deal more fâ—om me than I intended or these misapplied places needed for clearing of them from the design you had upon them Isot. But is it not clear from 1 Sam. 14.45 that the people of Israel rescued Jonathan from his fathers bloody sentence against him and swore he should not die See pâ—â— â— 5 Crit. That will prove as little for no force was used in the matter only a solemn Protestation was made Next the word rendered rescued is redeemed which is not used in a sense that imports violence in Scripture but rather for a thing done by contract and agreement And the LXX Interpreters render it the people intreated for Ionathan nor need we doubt but Saul was easily prevailed upon to yield to their desire Besides any King that would murder his eldest Son and heir of his Crown upon so bare a pretence after he had signalized his courage so notably as Ionathan did may well be looked upon as one that is furious and so the holding of his hands is very far different from the case of defensive Arms. Isot. But David a man according to GODS heart gathered four hundred Men about him and stood to his defence when cruelly persecuted by Saul 1 Sam. 22.2 Basil. Many things meet in this instance to take away any colour of an argument might be drawn from it for David was by GODS command designed successor to the Crown and so was no ordinary Subject Next Saul was become furious and an evil spirit seized on him so that in his rage he threw Javelins not only at David but at his Son Ionathan Now all confess that when a Sovereign is frenetick his fuâ—y may be restrained Further we see how far David was from resistance he standing on a pure defence so that when he had Saul in his power twice he would do him no hurt yea his heart smote him when he cut off the hem of his garment 1 Sam. 24.4 5. This was not like some you know of who set Guards about their King for the security of his Person forsooth when he had trusted himself into their hands And it is very doubtful if David's gathering that force about him was lawful for these who came to him were naughty Men and discontented and broken with debt whereas had that been a justifiable practice it is like he should have had another kind of following And his offering his service to the Philistins who were Enemies to GOD to fight for them against the people of GOD is a thing which can admit of no excuse But after all this if the actions even of renowned Persons in the Old Dispensation be Precedents you may adduce the instances of Ehud to prove that we may secretly assassinate a Tyrant and of Iael to prove that after we have offered protection to one who upon that trusts to us we may secretly murder him Isot. But what say you to the resistance used by Mattatbâ—as and his Children who killed the Kings Officers and armed against him which resistance as it was foretold by Daniel so it is said by the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews That by faith they waxed valiant in fight and turned to flight the Armies of Aliens which by all is applied to the Maccabees And who are you to condemn that which the holy Ghost calls the work of faith in them See p. 18 19. Basil. I see Criticus is weary of speaking and therefore will relieve him for this once and tell you that the title Antiâ—â—hus had to command the Iews is not undoubted for Iosephus lib. 12. cap. 7. and 8. shews how the Iewish Nation was tossed betwixt hands and sometimes in the power of the Kings of Egypt and sometimes of Syria and that the factions among the Iews gave the occasion to their being so invaded for ambitious pretenders to the High Priesthood sought the favour of these Kings and so sacrificed the interests both of Religion and their Country to their own base ends which was the case in Antâ—ochus Epiphanes his time who after his attempt upon Egypt came