A TRUE REPRESENTATION OF THE RISE PROGRESSE AND STATE OF THE PRESENT DIVISIONS OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND LONDON Printed in the yeere 1657. A TRUE REPRESENTATION OF THE Rise Progress and State OF THE PRESENT DIVISION IN THE Church of SCOTLAND § 1 AS the Division and rent that is now in our Church once beautifull and strong in its unity and harmony as a City compact together is matter of sad lamentation to us so it is a sharp and bitter pain to our spirits to be making any mention thereof or laying out the same before any except in mourning and supplications before the Lord our God acknowledging his righteous and holy judgement therein confessing our provoking him to give us up to dash one against another by not humble prizing of his mercy but rather carnally glorying and confiding in our former unity and not improving it as we ought for his glory and the promoving of his interests and deprecating his wrath therein lying so heavy upon us We could heartily wish that our breach had it been the Lords good pleasure being removed ere now our differences had been buried in silence and perpetual oblivion rather then that we should be necessitated yet to give an account thereof to the world and we are so much the more averse from representing these our differences divisions and the consequences which have followed thereupon and the effects they have produced that this cannot be done without some yet too just reflection upon brethren and their practices with some of whom we have walked to the house of God in company and whom we do still love and respect sincerely wishing from our hearts as the Lord knoweth that we might with them serve the Lord with one consent Neverthelesse considering how much we and the truth through our sides have suffered through mis-representations that are made of the state of our differences and the foul asperosins cast upon this Church and the servants and Ministers of Jesus Christ who adhere to the publike judicatories thereof and contend for the preservation of the government of the Church in the due authority and subordination of judicatories as by the good hand of our God in his great mercy they have been settled amongst us according to the Word of God And perceiving that it is our Brethrens design in all this either that they may find wayes to prosecute some extraordinary and irregular course for remedying of evils amongst us or at least may keep matters in the confusion and disorder wherein they are that men may do as seemeth good in their own eyes in matters Ecclesiastick without controulment from the Authority of the Ecclesiastick judicatories We are necessitated for the undeceiving of these who desire information and for the exoneration and freeing of our selves of all consequences that may follow in this Church upon the continuance of our confusions through their misinsformations to give a true information and lay open the state of our differences and present case of our Church § 2 For this end we shall hold forth 1. The Rise of our Division and what were the matters of our differences that so the true state of the controversie betwixt us and our dissenting brethren may be known 2. Some of the irregular courses they have run into and do practice for strengthening of their party and faction 3. What means we have used and what we have condescended unto to gain them to union and conjunction with us in the judicatories of the Church but without any successe Sect. 3. As for the first head We shall not trouble men with ripping up the secret actings of that spirit of Division which at last appeared in its own colours openly amongst us in some of them while as we were yet going along together and there was no breach between our brethren and us Albeit it is most certain that before even long before that godly understanding men who were upon publike judicatures and had occasion to observe more neerly the wayes of some of our brethren discerned therein principles and designs tending to that which afterward brake forth But we shall not rip up these things The conception of the spirit of Division was too long a being looked to that it might have been crushed it was now come to such maturity that it wanted but an opportunity to break forth which for the punishment of the provocations of a sinful generation was by the holy dispensation of divine providence quickly brought to pass For shortly after the flroak upon this Nation at Dumbar cometh forth that Remonstrance entituled The Remonstrance of the Gentlemen Officers and Ministers attending the Western Forces containing matters of great importance and which was the first matter of our publike Church-differences and did produce the first open rupture and Division in the judicatures Concerning which these things would be observed and considered § 4 1. It is from this evident to all impartial observers That the Church judicatories were far from beginning this Division by any resolutions of theirs which are now charged upon us as a defection and whereof our Brethren do make so much use to carry on their dâ—signs yea they were not so much as an occasion of this rupture But while they are about their duty and in the simplicity of their hearts wrestling with the difficulties of the time on all hands Our Brethren with some others did contrive and bring to light this Remonstrance desiring the concurrence of the Commissioners of the Assembly in presenting it to the State And albeit it did contain many points of highest concernment and contrary unto the constant resolutions of both Church and State as is after to be cleared yet they would not lay it aside for any intreaty and join with their Brethren and the rest of the Nation but did prosecute it with eagernesse and insolence and upon that account did act in a separate way from the judicatories and Forces of this Nation till themselves were broken and the Church and State cast upon all the difficulties which after followed and particularly upon these resolutions which our Brethren do so much condemn § 9 2. If we consider the matter of that Remonstrance it will yet further appear that they began this rupture in the Church and that not upon the account of the publike resolutions which were not then in being For in that Remonstrance they do condemn and propund that there might be an overturning of all the resolutions of the Church and State taken by them for securing of Religion in reference to the Supreme Magistrate and that not only all along since the beginning of our late Reformation but more especially in the years 1649. and 1650. after the State had been purged by the secluding of the Malignants and the conclusions agreed upon were more strict then any formerly yea and these who had a chief hand in that Remonstrance were very active in carrying on these publike conclusions and determinations From which it is evident that
they did begin a rent by departing from the received principles of this Church yea and from what themselves did formerly judge a sufficient security to the cause of God and a great mercy to obtain it and accordingly some of them were but a little before chiefly active in closing Treaties and Transactions upon these principles who afterward endeavoured to overturn them This may discover to the world what a spirit it is which leads our Brethren in their way seeing they can not only not acquiesce in the determin ations of the Supreme Authority of a Church or State concerning matters of greatest concernment to both nor content themselves with the exoneration of their own consciences if they be not satisfied but when themselves have agreed to these things and have been chief contrivers of them there can be no security given but they will retract their judgements and overturn them again Which principle and way is inconsistent with the safety or standing of any humane society whatsoever It is true in their Remonstrance and since in their emissions to the world in print they would lay the great stress of this alteration in their judgement and way upon after discoveries of crooked wayes in managing of Transactions in pursuance of these principles and of some particulars in these Transactions which were kept up from the judicatories upon the knowledge whereof they did see the evil and sin of these conclusions of Church and State But if it were to any purpose to trouble the world with stories of matters of fact we could easily demonstrate what a gaining trade they have made of misrepresentations of this kind and in particular that it is more then evident to all who are acquainted with these affairs that these resolutions were faithfully managed and full satisfaction obtained in all that was required previous to a conclusion and that no particular though in matters only upon the by and that whereof they make so much noise was only a person who was bred in the Church of England his taking the Communion once kneeling after he had entred on a Treaty was kept up from these who now complain of it nay or from the Assembly it self as will appear from the report given in to the Assembly and is now in publike record But waving all these it is clear from their Paper emitted to the world Entituled The Causes of the Lords wrath against Scotland that they do hold out the very resolutions and determinations of Church and State in these matters previous to any conclusion as the cause of the Lords controversie against the Land So that assert what they please to gloss the matter they have made a defection from the principles of this Church and prosecuted the same with a rupture and separation § 6 3. What ever may be said of Supreme judicatories and their power to recognosce and re-examine their own conclusions yet it would be considered that the contrivers presenters and prosecuters of that Remonstrance were but private men or did it in a private capacity They were some inferiour Officers Gentlemen and Ministers attending some Forces who took upon them to condemn acts and conclusions of Supreme judicatories unanimously concluded many of themselves as hath been said being present and not contradicting but positively consenting thereunto and that concerning matters of State and civil Government of greatest importance Which any unbyassed and sober spirit will perceive to be a matter above their reach and station especially to have condemned them by way of remonstrance publikely emitted to the world and presented to the State without so much respect had to these judicatories as once to desire them first to re-examine and take into consideration these acts and conclusions yea refusing to apply themselves to such a way as that when advised and earnestly pressed thereunto as more orderly by some to whom they did communicate their design And albeit the Commissioners of the general Assembly were then sitting to whom the management of publike affairs of the Church were committed and who ought to have been consulted with in all weighty matters especially when our Brethren did call in question the conclusions of the preceding Assembly yet it pleased them not to own them in this matter but of themselves did by positive determination contrary to the acts of the Assembly prevent their advice It is true indeed after thy had concluded the matter they who were entrusted by the rest did present the Remonstrance to the Commissioners of the general Assembly desiring their concurrence in presenting it to the State but withal it is to be remembred that when it was enquired if they had any power to change any thing in it They answered that though some expressions might be changed yet they had no power and were not to alter any thing of the matter of it which was in effect to obtrude their determinations upon the Church-judicatorie As these things did evidence their small respect to the government of this Church and their stretching themselves beyond their line by determining in their private capacity not only antecedently but contrary to the conclusions of the Supreme judicatories so divers of these who went a long with them in it at first perceiving shortly after how divisive and destructive to al order that course was did quickly withdraw from them repenting that ever they had engaged with them Sect. 7.4 What ever charity might have been allowed them in presenting their thoughts upon these Transactions or of other faults for a testimony and exoneration of their own consciences and desiring to have them redressed in an orderly way by the competent judicatories yet this can no wayes be justified that not only they second their Testimony with a separation but in the close of the Remonstrance they hold forth a Declaration and avowing of engagements upon their hearts these are the very words before God if he shall lengthen their dayes and take pleasure in them to make them any way instrumental in his work and for his peoples good and safety That they shall to the utmost of their power endeavour to get these things remedied according to their places and callings Which was a real and plain engaging and banding of themselves together to prosecute the matter of their Remonstrance by arms and force it being certain that the most part of the Remonstrators then were in a military place and calling And this several passages in their carriage before they were broken did clearly enough evidence to be their purpose and intention And the judgement of this Church of such divisive bandings of parties hath been so well known especially since the general Assembly 1642. That our Brethren cannot free themselves of walking contrary to the established order of this Church in that their practic § 8 5. Albeit our Brethren by this Remonstrance and the prosecution thereof had made a broach upon our sweet harmony and unity and laid the foundation of all our following breaches yet the Commission
another extremity did assert that it was sinful and unlawful for any honest and godly Subjects to go forth and joyn in an Army constitute according to the resolution albeit called and required thereunto by the Civil Magistrate in the case of necssary defence of the Nation and every particular interest in it And in several papers did positively maintain this assertion and by many arguments laboured to bear it in upon people The grosse absurdity of both which assertions may be clearly seen in these few particulars § 16 First If we look upon all Nations and States through out the world it may justly seem a strange Paradox and of dangerous consequence if once admitted amongst them That it is not lawful for the Civil Magistrate in the case of forraign invasion to raise an Army as is qualified in the Resolution for defence of the Nation and much more that it is not lawful for godly subjects to joyn with an Army so constituted Yea albeit that resolution was more limited and straight upon grounds and reasons of expediency yet we doubt not but that in the case of the invasion of a Nation by forraign force and when the whole Nation is in common hazard all Subjects and compatriots as well these that are Orthodox Christians as others though they were Idolaters Jews Turks or Heathens may be called sorth and that a conjunction of them in Armes for the defence of the Commonwealth and their own mutual preservation is lawful yea and a necessary duty to which the Magistrate ought to call them and wherein they ought to concur especially when their conjunction altogether is in rational prudence a mean necessary in ordinary providence for their preservation from the violence of the invading powers § 17 As this is the universal and constant principle and practice of all States and Kingdoms wherein there are such differences amongst Subjects as most part of Nations have some one or other of these mixtures and where there is most unity in Religion yet most of the Subjects are carnal and prophane and without which it were no great difficulty for an iavader to make a prey of any such Kingdomes as suppose the Turk should invade Germany so we sind Christians and godly men in all ages and times have never questioned the truth of it but by their practise have gone along with it To passe the example of the primitive Church where in Christians were so far from making question of this that a great part of the forces of the Roman Empire consisted of Christians as Tertullian doth affirm As also of Orthodox Christians in other Nations who being joyned in civil Society with others corrupt in Religion do make no scruple of joyning in Armes with them and who may justly resent the scandal cast upon Protestant Churches by the starting of such a debate We shall only mention the example of our own worthy Reformers who in the case of forraign invasion made no scruple to joyn in Armes with those who had been in bloody opposition to the people of God so soon as they were willing to come off from the contrary party and professe repentance for their former courses Witnesse their joyning with the Duke of Chattellarault and his followers who had been in opposition to the Congregation as they were then called Yea after some disaster received by the French at Lieth after that conjunction they did not look upon the receiving of him as a cause of that sad stroak as some would make the world believe from Mr. Knoxes Sermon at Sterlin For in the heads of that Sermon Printed in the History of the Church of Scotland Page 217. Edit Edinburgh 1644. in 4. there is no mention of any such thing but only of their carnal considence that possibly they had not sincerely repented their former opposition and that they who were late come in were made to feel in their own hearts how bitter a cup they had made others to drink before them nor doth he as our Brethrens Tenets now lead them presse them to purge out such as were lately admitted but doth only presse repentance upon all of them § 17 But we need not insist on this to instruct what was the judgement of our first Reformers in this matter seeing before that time they invited even the very Papists remaining yet Papists to conjunction in Armes with them against the Queen Regent and the French party as will appear from the Declaration recorded in the History of the Church of Scotland Page 179. c. Wherein as there are many things remarkable to our present purpose so their exhortatory close speaketh thus Page 182 183. If you tender true Religion i.e. if ye be Protestants ye know her Majesty beareth her self plain enemy thereunto If Religion be not perswasive unto you i.e. if ye be Papists yet cast not away the care ye have over your Commonwealth which ye see manifestly and violently ruined before your eyes If this will not move you remember your dear Wives Children and Posterity your ancient heritages c. Then Brethren let us joyn our Forces and both with wit and manhood resist their beginnings let no man withdraw himself and if any will be so unhappy and mischievous as we suppose none to be let us altogether repute hold and use him as he is indeed for an enemy to us and to himself and to his Commonwealth All which doth make it clear that they made no scruple of joyning with Papists being their Country men and compatriots and that even when the quarrel with the enemy was complexe both for the liberty of the Country and the interest of true Religion they were content and desirous that their Country men though disaffected to Religion should joyn with them upon the account of their common civil in terest as they also afterward expresse in another Declaration recorded in the same History Page 197. at the beginning § 18 Unto this judgement of our worthy Ancestors speaking so clearly to the point in controversie we shall only add the Testimony of a late learned Writer who in his Treatise Entuled Lex Rex Quest 37. pag. 379. speaking of their opinion who think if the King command Papists and Prelates to rise against the Parliament of England That we are obliged in conscience and by our oath and Covenant to help our native Prince against them He subjoins To which opinion with hands and feet I should accord if our Kings cause were just and lawful And a little after in the same page he adds I see no reason but the civil Law of a Kingdom doth oblige any Citizen to help an innocent man against a murthering Robber and that he may be judicially accused as a murtherer who faileth in his duty c. And afterward page 382. after this supposition and assertion If an Army of Turks and Pagans would come upon Britam one part of Britain would help another which includes more then the conjunction of fellow-subjects of one Kingdom He
against the judicatories and their proceedings From which it is clear that the Commission used more tendernesse in that case then was usual and approven formerly in this Church If our brethren as they do recurre to this that the proceedings of the Commission 1648. were right upon the matter as these in the 51. were not and so the cases are different We hope what hath been said of these resolutions will refute that imputation and clear there is a parity still And however we believe that matters of formality in constituting judicatories must be still the same in all matters and what ever may be concluded from the matter as to one act of the judicatorie yet it cannot be simply null if it proceed in form but according to former approven practices 3. It would be impartially considered what effect that Letter had as to prelimit the assembly in the election of its members wherein we hope the nullity of the allegeance will sufficiently appear For 1. It is known that Letter was sent but to a very few Presbyteries these most of them after their elections were past 2. It needed not to be sent to many for that end they mention viz. to prelimit them in their elections for many Presbyteries had none at all of their judgement among them and others very few and however they have emitted to the world an account of some in most of Presbyteries of their judgment yet when they reckon again they will find they have wronged some whom they name as theirs and yet to this day they continue opposite to their course and that they could not make such an account then of many as they may do now since divers taking advantage of the times and seeking their own interests have fallen to them 3. Whatever they say of the Commissions deed or their active prelimitations thereby yet if they shall assert there was any passive prelimitation either of Presbyteries in electing or the Assemblies admitting of such to be members in which case only it can plead the nullity of the Assembly we may boldly declare that they speak against clear truth for nowithstanding that letter the most part of the most active opposers were chosen by Presbyteries and admitted and acted in that assembly till it pleased themselves to protest and leave it Yea further to assert this passive prelimitation of Presbyteries will strike not only against the Commission but against all the Presbyteries of the Land as unfaithfull and betrayers of their trust which were too heavy a charge against a Nationall Church The truth is the carriage both of the Commission Presbyteries and Generall Assemblie doth make it clear there was no prelimitation intended nor practised in electing members to nor admitting them to sit in the Generall Assembly for they not onely might but were actually chosen and admitted in it Only as is said the Commission thought it fit they should be cited thither and that however they might act and vote in other things yet the Commission and they should be tried together in that debate which we believe any unbyassed Christian will judge to have been their duty and very far from prelimiting of the Assembly and an irrelevant ground on which they should have made a rent and such an inlet of confusion upon this Church as hath followed thereupon § 33 Having so briefly as might consist with perspicuity laid open the true State of the controversie betwixt our Brethren and us and the progresse of our publique differences till it came to a stated rupture by their Protestations we shall now in pursuance of the second head propounded give a brief account of some consequences and practices that have followed upon this rupture It may be and is the matter of our sad lamentation before the Lord and we might pour out abundance of complaints in the bosomes of sympathysing Christians who ever were sensible of the mercy of a Churches enjoying the sweet of harmony that by these divisions sad prejudices have redounded to the Kingdom of Christ among us that the work of the Gospel is exceedingly retarded thereby Atheism and irreligion increased true Religion and godliness exposed to hatred and reproach because of the carriage and way of many who professed it the authority of Church-judicatories enervate and rendred contemptible their meetings which some times were a reviving now turned into occasions of grief to the lovers and friends of Church-Government and order yea and the work of purging which our Brethren do so much call for exceedingly retarded and obstructed But leaving these before the Lord who alone can apply an effectual remedy thereunto we hold it our duty to give an account of some of our Brethrens irregular practices following upon their renting from the Judicatories whereby as by the effects it may appear what their spirit and way in these differences is and it may be discerned what accession they have to these sad distempers formerly mentioned § 34 Their first course taken for carrying on their design and strengthning their faction and which they set on foot shortly after their first protestation was the convening of great numbers of Ministers Elders Professours and Expectants from all parts of the Land in extrajudicial meetings Wherein after confession of sins and prayer performed indifferently by Ministers Elders or others in these great meetings they did and do proceed to determination of particulars tending to the strengthening of their cause and engaging of others in it and do give equall power to all present in voicing and determining in these matters of most publique concernment The Lord knoweth that we do from our hearts approve of the duties of private mutual edification as they are enjoined in the word and are recommended and bounded by the acts of our general Assemblies with the conseat and to the good liking then of all our Brethren and we do account it not sutable to the nature of these duties to make a noise of professing our own practise thereof accordingly But we do not see that our Brethrens way in these is at all agreeable to the Rule nor consistent with the peace of any constitute National Church And particularly we cannot but resent in their way 1. That they should make use of these religious exercises as a subservient mean for carrying on these courses which we hope by what is said will appear to be most unlawful in themselves 2. That by giving out themselves in these meetings as the generality of the godly throughout the Land or delegates in a sort from them they do cast an imputation upon the bulk of the National Church beside who are against their way and do not joyn with them in these courses as not only wrong in that matter but as not godly some very few excepted Which as we know to be a most false imputation not many of these of any rank who owned the cause from the beginning going along with them So it is an evidence of a strange divisive and separating