and taking ungodly and unlawful Oaths and Bonds whereby the Consciences of many have been polluted and seared and many ruined and oppressed for refusing and not taking them There hath also been a great neglect of the Worship of God too much in publick but especially in Families and in secret The wonted care of Religious sanctifying the Lord's Day is gone and in many places the Sabbath hath been and is shamefully prophaned The Land also hath been full of bloody Crimes and Cities full of Violence and much innocent Blood shed so that Blood touched Blood yea Sodoms sins have abounded amongst us Pride fullness of Bread Idleness Vanities of Apparel and shameful sensuality filled the Land And alas how great hath been the Cry of Oppression and Unrighteousness Iniquity hath been established by a Law there hath been a great perverting of Justice by making and executing unrighteous Statutes and Acts and sad persecutions of many for their Conscience towards God It is also matter of Lamentation that under this great Defection there hath been too general a fainting not only amongst professors of the Gospel but also amongst Ministers yea even amongst such who in the main things did endeavour to maintain their Integrity in not giving seasonable and necessary Testimony against the Defectons and Evils of the Time and keeping a due distance from them and some on the other hand managed their Zeal with too little Discretion and Meekness It is also matter of Humiliation that when Differences fell out amongst these who did owne Truth and bear witness against the Course of Defection they were not managed with due Charity and Love but with too much heat and bitterness injurious Reflections used against pious and worthy men on all hands and scandalous Divisions occasioned and the success of the Gospel greatly obstructed thereby and some dangerous Principles drunk in And after all this there were shameful advances towards Popery the Abomination of the Mass was set up in many places and Popish Schools erected and severals fell to Idolatry And though the Lord hath put a stop to the Course of Defection and of his great mercy given us some reviving from our Bondage yet we have sad cause to regrate and bemoan that few have a due sense of our mercy or walk answerable thereto few are turned to the Lord in truth but the wicked go on to do wickedly and there is found amongst us to this day shameful ingratitude for our mercies Horrid impenitency under our sins yea even amongst those who stand most up for the Defence of the Truth and amongst many in our Armies there is woful Prophaneness and Debauchery And though we profess to acknowledge there can be no pardon of Sins no Peace and Reconciliation with God but by the Blood of Jesus Christ yet few know Him or see the Necessity and Excellency of the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ few see their need of Him or esteem desire or receive Him as he is offered in the Gospel few are acquainted with Faith in Jesus Christ and living by Faith on Him as made of the Father unto us Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption and few walk as becometh the Gospel and imitate our Holy Lord in Humility Meekness Self-denial Heavenly-mindedness Zeal for GOD and Charity towards Men But as there is even until now a great contempt of the Gospel a great Barrenness under it so a deep Security under our Sin and Danger a great want of Piety toward God and Love towards Men with a woful Selfishness every one seeking their own things few the things of Christ or the publick Good or one anothers welfare And finally the most part more ready to censure the sins of others than to repent of their own Our Iniquities are increased over our heads and our Trespasses are grown up into the Heavens they are many in number and hainous in their nature and grievously aggravated as having been contrair to great Light and Love under signal Mercies and Judgments after Confession and Supplication and notwithstanding of our Profession Promises and solemn Vowing and Covenanting with God to the contrair Have we not then sad cause of deep Sorrow and Humiliation And may we not fear if we do not repent and turn from the evil of our ways and return to the Lord with all our hearts that He return to do us evil after he hath done us good and be angry with us until He hath consumed us Let us therefore humble our selves by Fasting and Praying let us search out our sins and consider our ways and confess these and other our sins with Sorrow and Detestation Let us turn unto the Lord with Fasting and weeping and with mourning Let us firmly Resolve and sincerely Engage to amend our ways and doings and return unto the Lord our God with all our heart and earnestly pray that for the blood of the Lamb of God our sins may be forgiven and our back-slidings healed and we may yet become a righteous Nation keeping the Truth that Religion and Righteousness may flourish and Love and Charity abound and all the Lord's People may be of one mind in the Lord and in order to all these that the Word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified and that the Preaching of the Word and Dispensing of the Sacraments may be accompanied with the wonted presence Power and Blessing of the Spirit of the Lord That the Lord would preserve and bless our gracious King and Queen William and Mary and establish their Throne by Righteousness and Religion and grant to these Nations Peace and Truth together and for that End bless and prosper His Majesties Councils and Forces by Sea and Land and those of the Princes and States his Allies for God and his Truth that Inferior Rulers may rule in the fear of God and Judges be clothed with Righteousness and that many faithful Labourers may be sent out into the Lord's Vineyard and they who are sent may find mercy to be faithful and be blest with Success that Families may be as little Churches of Christ and that the Lord would pour out His Spirit on all Ranks of People that they may be holy in all manner of Conversation and God may delight to dwell amongst us and to do us good And while we pray for our selves let us not forget our Brethren in Forreign Churches with whom alas we had too little Sympathy Nay let us pray that all the ends of the Earth may see the Salvation of God and that He would bring his antient people of the Jews to the acknowledgment of Jesus Christ and that he would hasten the ruine of Romish Babylon and advance the Reformation in Christendome and preserve and bless the Reformed Churches That he would pity His oppressed People the French Protestants and gather them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day and that he would be the Defence Strength and Salvation of any of his
whole Articles of the Libel complexlie than which there is nothing more false as will appear by the Libels and Depositions if they were produced And yet thereupon Mr. Heriott is first suspended by the Presbytery and referred by them to the General Assembly for further Censure as if great Immoralities in Life and Errors in Doctrine had been proved against him And the Synod to which the Assembly remitted him following the steps of the Presbytery deposed him Now when Presbytery and Synod have acted thus contrary to express Law and have done open and manifest Unjustice and whereof all that heard of it are convinced and sensible And having stated themselves Parties against him there can be no Remedy expected from the said Unjustice Injury and Oppression unless the Lords of Their Majesties Privy Council interpose their Authority If it be alleaged That the late Act of Parliament The Act of Supremacy in Church matters is Repealed It is answered That the Act of Parliament 1669 is Rescinded which extended the Supremacy to the Ordering and Disposal of the External Government and Policy of the Church and to the Enacting of Constitutions Acts and Orders in the Church But the foresaid Act of K. Ja. 6. his 8 Parliament is not Rescinded which is only as to the Judging of Ecclesiastick Persons in matters complained upon and which power is inherent in the Crown otherways there should be Regnum in Regno and Church Judicatories should have arbitrary Power without Redress or Control as said is In Regard whereof The Lords of Their MAJESTIES Privy Council are Judges Competent to this Injurie Vnjustice and Oppression And the Desire of the Petitions ought to be Granted ACT of the General Assembly anent a Solemn National Fast and Humiliation with the Causes thereof At Edinburgh November 12. 1690. Postmeridiem Sess 25. THE General Assembly Having taken into their most serious Consideration the late great and general Defection of this Church and Kingdom have thought fit to Appoint a Day of Solemn Humiliation and Fasting for Confession of Sins and making Supplication to our Gracious God to forgive and remove the guilt thereof In order whereunto they have Ordained the Confession of Sins and Causes of Fasting following to be duly Intimat and Published Recommending it most earnestly to all persons both Ministers and others That every one of us may not only search and try our own hearts and ways and stir up our selves to seek the Lord But also in our Stations and as we have access Deal with one another in all love and tenderness to prepare for so great and necessary a Duty that we may find mercy in God's sight and He may be graciously reconciled to our Land in our Lord Jesus and take delight to dwell among us Although our gracious God hath of late for his own Names sake wrought great and wonderful things for Britain and Ireland and for this Church and Nation in particular Yet the Inhabitants thereof have cause to remember their own evil ways and to loath themselves in their own sight for their Iniquities Alas We and our Fathers our Princes our Pastors and People of all Ranks have sinned and have been under great Transgression to this day For though our gracious God shewed early kindness to this Land in sending the Gospel amongst us and afterward in our Reformation from Popish Superstition and Idolatry and it had the Honour beyond many Nations of being after our first Reformation solemnly devoted unto God both Prince and People yet we have dealt treacherously with the Lord and been unstedfast in his Covenant and have not walked suitably to our Mercies received from him nor obligations to him Through the mercy of God this Church had attained to a great purity of Doctrine Worship and Government but this was not accompanied with suitable personal Reformation neither was our Fruit answerable to the pains taken on us by Word and Work We had much Gospel-preaching but too little Gospel-practice too many went on in open wickedness and some had but a form of Godliness denying the power thereof many also who had the Grace of God in truth fell from their first love and fell under sad languishings and decays and when for our sins the anger of the Lord had divided us and we were brought under the feet of strangers and many of our Brethren killed others taken Captive and sold as slaves yet we sinned still and after we were freed from the yoke of strangers instead of returning to the Lord and being led to Repentance by his goodness the Land made open Defection from the good ways of the Lord many behaved as if they had been delivered to work abomination the flood-gates of Impiety were opended and a deluge of wickedness did over-spread the Land Who can without grief and shame remember the shameful debauchery and drunkenness that then was And this accompanied with horrid and hellish cursing and swearing and followed with frequent Filthiness Adulteries and other Abominations and the Reprover was hated and he that departed from Iniquity made himself a reproach or prey And when by these and such like corrupt practices mens Consciences were debauched they proceeded to sacrifice the Interest of the Lord Jesus Christ and Priviledges of his Church to the lusts and will of men The Supremacy was advanced in such a way and to such an height as never any Christian Church acknowledged the Government of the Church was altered and Prelacy which hath been always grievous to this Nation introduced without the Churches consent and contrair to the standing Acts of our National Assemblies both which the present Parliament hath blessed be God lately found And yet nevertheless of the then standing Ministry of Scotland many did suddenly and readily comply with that alteration of the Government some out of Pride and Covetousness or Man-pleasing some through infirmity or weakness or fear of Man and want of Courage and Zeal for God many faithful Ministers were thereupon cast out and many Insufficient and Scandalous men thrust in on their Charges and many Families ruined because they would not own them as their Pastors And alas It is undenyable there hath been under the late Prelacie a great decay of Piety so that it was enough to make a man be nicknam'd a Phanatick if he did not run to the same excess of riot with others And should it not be lamented for it cannot be denyed there hath been in some a dreadful Atheistical Boldness against God some have disputed the Being of God and his Providence the Divine Authority of the Scriptures the Life to come and Immortality of the Soul yea and scoffed at these things There hath been also an horrid Prophanation of the Holy and Dreadful Name of God by Cursing and Swearing Ah! there hath been so much Swearing and Forswearing amongst us that no Nation under Heaven have been more guilty in this than we some by swearing rashly or ignorantly some falsly by breaking their Oaths and imposing
People who are in War or Danger by Infidel or Popish adversaries in Europe or America And in particular that the Lord would be Gracious to Ireland and sanctifie to his People there both their distress and deliverance and perfect what concerneth them that he would convert the Natives there to the Truth and reduce that Land to Peace and appoint Salvation for Walls and Bullwarks to Brittain For all these Causes and Reasons The General Assembly hath appointed the Second Thursday of January next to be Observed in all the Congregations of the Church and Nation as a day of Solemn Fasting and Humiliation and Prayer Beseeching and Obtesting all both Pastors and People of all Ranks to be sincere and serious in Humilitation and Supplication and universal Reformation as they would wish to find mercy of the Lord and have deserved wrath averted and would obtain the Blessing of the Lord upon themselves and Posterity after them and that the Lord may delight in us and our Land may be as Married to him And Ordains all Ministers either in Kirks or Meeting houses to read this present Act publickly from the Pulpit a Sabbath or two before the said Day of Humiliation and that the several Presbyteries take care that it be carefully Observed in their respective bounds And where in regard of Vacancies the Day hereby appointed cannot be observed the Assembly appoints the said Humiliation to be kept some other Day with the first convenient opportunity And appoints the Commission for Visitation to apply to the Council for their Civil Sanction to the Observation thereof Extracted out of the Records of Assembly by JO. SPALLING Cls. Syn. National A PROCLAMATION Anent a Solemn National Fast and Humiliation WILLIAM and MARY by the Grace of God King and Queen of Great Britain France and Ireland Defenders of the Faith To Macers of our Privy Council or Messengers at Arms our Sheriffs in that part Conjunctly and severally specially constitute Greeting Forasmuch as the General Assembly of this Church by their Act of the date the twelfth day of November instant hath appointed a Solemn National Fast and Humiliation to be Observed in all the Kirks and Meeting-Houses of this Our Antient Kingdom and appointed their Commission for Visitation to apply to the Lords of Our Privy Council for Our Civil Sanction to be interposed thereto And they having Applyed accordingly Therefore We with Advice of the Lords of our Privy Council Do hereby Command and Enjoyn That the said Solemn Fast and Humiliation be Religiously observed by all Persons throughout this Kingdom both in Kirks and Meeting-Houses at the Dyets and in the manner as by the above-mentioned Act of Assembly hereto prefixed is appointed And that the same be read by all the Ministers in manner therein mentioned And to the end that so Pious and necessary a Duty may be punctually performed and Our Pleasure in the Premisses fully known Our Will is herefore and We Charge you straitly and Command that incontinent these Our Letters seen ye pass to the Mercat-Cross of Edinburgh and the remanent Mercat-Crosses of the Head-Burghs of the several Shires and Stewartries within this Kingdom and in Our Name and Authority make Publication of the Premises that none may pretend ignorance And we do Ordain Our Solicitor to dispatch Copies hereof to the Sheriffs of the several Shires and Stewarts of the Stewartries or their Deputs or Clerks to be by them Published at the Mercat-Crosses of the Head-Burghs upon receipt thereof and immediately sent to the several Ministers both in Kirks and Meeting-Houses to the effect they may read and intimat the same from their Pulpits and may seriously exhort all Persons to a sincere and devout observance thereof as they Regard the Favour and Blessings of the Almighty God the Safety and Preservation of both Church and State and would avoid the Wrath of God upon themselves and their Posterity and as they will be answerable at their peril And Ordains these Presents to be Printed with the said Act of Assembly and these Presents to be Published in manner foresaid Given under Our Signet at Edinburgh the twenty first day of November And of Our Reign the second year 1690. Per actum Dominorum Sti. Concilii GILB ELIOT Cls. Sti. Concilii God save King WILLIAM and Queen MARY Edinburgh Printed by the Heir of Andrew Anderson Printer to the King and Queens most Excellent Majesties 1690. FINIS * Except the Contributions of the Sisters which were something to one who knew no other ways how to live * At thâ— end of this Leâ—ter vidâ— Informâ—tion givâ— in by Mâ— Heriot â—â— the Privâ— Council * This Exposition of the Fathers Words you may find in the 169 p. of his pretended Answer to Dr. Stillingfleet's Vnreasonableness of Separation †Coliness * Ten or Twelve of which are said in a Morning one after another * That is to turn all the Episcopal Clergy out of the Church Vide the first Paper ‖ Vid. second Paper Vide the last Paper