Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A29750
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The history of the indulgence shewing its rise, conveyance, progress, and acceptance : together with a demonstration of the unlawfulness thereof and an answere to contrary objections : as also, a vindication of such as scruple to hear the indulged / by a Presbyterian.
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Brown, John, 1610?-1679.
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1678
(1678)
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Wing B5029; ESTC R12562
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180,971
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159
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Multitudes of the Non-conforme Ministers were ejected and cast-out of their Places and Congregations because they would not acknowledge the Power and Interest of Patrons nor accept of their Presentations unto Flocks But in this Indulgence as we saw above the Interest of Patrons is reserved entire Though they should say That they sought no Presentations from Patrons nor had they any active hand therein it will not much avail For even several of the ejected Ministers might have been free of ejection if they could in Conscience have yeelded to so much and acquiesced in this that the Patron should have signified to the Bishop his presenting of such a Person and that without his express Consent or Formal Acceptance thereof Yea how many had the Presentation willingly and cheerfully offered unto them undesired 3. It is the chiefe Corner stone of our Reformation and the fundamental point whereupon all the wrestlings and sufferings of our Church from the beginning have been stated viz. That Christ is the alone Head of the Church But by the Indulgence another head is acknowledged beside Him when thereby it was declared that the Indulged held not their Ministrie of Christ alone as we saw above on the first head and first particular thereof 4. So by the rest of the Particulars mentioned under that head we see how many wayes there was in this Indulgence a defection from former Principles and a falling off from our grounds all which we need not here repeat 5. We fall from our Principles and from the cause upon which our sufferings are stated when we cede and yeeld to Adversaries seeking to overthrow the pillars and grounds of Presbyterian Government And in how many Particulars Presbyterian Principles are by this Indulgence receded from we have seen above in the 2 head 6. It hath been the Lot of the Church of Scotland from the very beginning to be put to wrestle against the Powers of the Earth encroaching upon the Prerogatives of Jesus Christ and the Privileges of his Church and in contending for the same against all such Usurpation did the faithâ—ulness and steadfastness of our worthie renowned Predecessours appear and shine forth and upon the account of their faithful adhering to the Truth and bearing witness against all Usurpations made upon the Rights of the Church and on the Jurisdiction of Christ sole King of Zion and for declining Judicatories acting by usurped Authoritie were they all alongs put to suffer in their Freedom Persons Goods c. by Tossings Citations Letters of Horning Confinements Imprisonments Confiscation of goods Relegations Sentences unto death and Banishments But now what a falling off this ground ceding to Usurpations Homologating of the Supremacie Establishment of Erastianisme is in the Indulgence is manifest from the Particulars mentioned under the 3. and 5. head 7. We need not forget what was one maine ground of the actings of our worthie and valiant Predecessours in the yeers 1637 and 1638. viz. That Ecclesiastick causes should be determined by Lawful Ecclesiastick Judicatories and Civil causes by Parliaments and other Civil Judicatories But to Homologate a Power in the Civil Magistrate as such to cognosce upon and judge in Church affairs immediatly and formally is to condemne all these actings and all the actings of Church and State since upon that ground and a plaine relinquishing of that foundation And that by the accepting of the Indulgence such a power is acknowledged to be competent to the Civil Magistrate as such hath been manifested above in several Particulars Let us here but name that one Instance of the Councils sole judging of the fitness and Qualifications of a Person for such or such a charge in reference to his setling there as Pastor of the place which is an Ecclesiastick cause and hath been alwayes so accounted But it will be said No man needs question their abilities some having been Ministers in the most eminent places of the Kingdom For answer I shall not question their abilities though it may be the carriage of some of them hath been such since this defection began as would make a Conscientious Church-Judicatory not a little averse from admitting of them within their bounds if the Acts of our General Assemblies by which they stand censurable were in any regarde But however the Civil Magistrate is here made sole competent judge of this fitness and by what right he hath appointed these to go to the places particulary designed he may appoint others to go to such places for which no Church-Judicatory acting conscientiously would judge them Qualified And who can challenge them upon this account seing they are sole judges themselves 8. In King Iames his dayes several faithful and honest Ministers were banished from their own Churches and confined in other places of the Land and seeing no hope of getting the Civil Sentence taken off were necessitate to accept of a call to serve the Lord in the places where they were confined but we never finde that they took the Charge of such or such a Flock upon the Edict or Act of Council enjoining them thereunto 9. Who ever heard before in our Church Ministers compeating before the Privie Council and there receiving Directions Instructions Rules and Canons directing them how to regulate themselves in the exercise of their Ministerial Function And when the Indulged Persons did thus who can assoile them from a plaine Defection from our Cause and Principles Put the case that some Ministers had done so in the Year 1649. how would they have been looked upon by our General Assembly Or if our Parliament and Council Anno 1648. had turned out such as were against the Duk 's Engagment and thereafter had ordered them to go to such and such places of the Land as they thought fit giving them withall such Instructions as here were given to the Indulged if these Ministers had carried but just as our Indulged did I leave to all to judge whether or not they had been looked upon as Deserters of our Cause 10. We know what sufferings those faithful men underwent when after so long imprisonment they were at length condemned at Linlithgow Anno 1606. for declining of the Privie Council when about to judge them in the matter of a meeting keeped or offered rather to be kept at Aberdeen But now we finde severals Indulged called before the Privie Council there to be judged concerning their Baptizing of some Children within the Covenant a matter no less unquestionably Ecclesiastick than was that meeting at Aberdeen and in stead of giving-in a Declinature we heard of nothing but of a simple excuse that they had not seen those Orders plainly showing that if they had seen them they had obeyed them was not this a manifest defection from our Principles and Cause 11. I might mention under this Head the Indulged persons their forsaking and laying aside at the command or desire of the Council that useful and commendable piece of our Reformation I mean the Lectures or
possession of the favour did not only interpretativly but plainly and expresly in the sight of the whole Nation say they were satisfied with the termes and would rather submit unto them than lose the benefite they had received in and by the Indulgence Upon which account possibly it was that the Councel seeing that they had attained their end in granting the Indulgence and had found the Indulged so calme and pliable to submit to any termes they pleased to propose did mitigate within two moneths thereafter the severitie of the last Act in so far as concerned the stipends for Octob. 5. 1677. this Act was made with which I shall end this historical Relation Edinb Octob. 5. 1677. The Lords of Council thought fit of that the Indulged Ministers shall not be put to a necessity of seeking yearly warrands for their stipends But authorizeth and appointeth the Heretores of the Paroches where they serve to pay them their stipends according as they serve the cure in whole or in part And do declare that if any of these Indulged Ministers shall be found to contraveen their Instructions the Council will proceed against them as they shall see occasion And recommends to the respective Commissioners appointed by the Council for putting the Decreets of Council c and Acts against Conventicles and others in execution to see them keep their confinements and to report if they finde them transgreâ—s We have thus deduced this Business of the Indulgence unto this period and as occasion offered have hinted all alongs such remarks as might suffice to give understanding in the matter and to clear up the true state of the question unto the understanding and unprejudged Reader And from what is said the judicious may see what is to be said of the Indulgence of those Ministers who have thus accepted thereof though no more were said Yet that fuller satisfaction may be given in this matter I shall according as I promised turn back a little and take notice of some things that fell out Anno 1673. when severals of the Indulged were as we heard called before the Councel for not observing the 29. of May and the Instructions that had been given to them where by we may be helped to some further clearness in this affaire And in this examination I shall as to the ground I go upon be favourable to the Indulged beyond all exceptions for I shall only take notice of the relation of what passed as made by one of themselves in a Narrative as it is called concerning the carriage of some Ministers who appeared before the Councel in July last to wit 1673 written in answere to afriend who deâ—ired to be informed about that affaire and truth or falshood was in that Paper scattered up and down among the People concerning the same And I suppose no man will blame me for grounding my discourse against the Indulgence and Indulged upon this Narration seing it may be supposed that this would be made as favourable to them and their cause as truth would suffer and I shall be loath to question matters of fact nor shall it be necessary for â—e to examine every word in that Paper it being sufficient for my present business to touch upon those things which are most material and which concerne our present question This Author tels us that there were a considerable number of Ministers who had obtained liberty from the Magistrat to preach publickly without hazard of that legal restraint under which they lay before cited before the Councel But not to exaggerat that word obtained which would import that these Ministers had been too active in procuring to themselves that liberty as it is called which whether it was so or not I cannot determine though this expression would give the Reader ground to suppose that indeed it had been so I only observe that his Construction of the Indulgence and his Description thereof here given appeareth too favourable and more favourable than true for sure there was more than this in the Indulgence Matters had been thus if the Act of Glasgow had been simply repealed and every man permitted to returne home to his own Charge But when that is not done but every one of them sent to such places as the Council thought meet and appointed and ordained there to abide and to exerce the function of the Ministry with such and such limitations and upon certaine Conditions held forth and made known and as the Councel saith accepted and submitted to it is manifest that the matter had a far other face Beside that the granting of liberty to preach publickly without hazard needed no such Act of Parliament as is the Act of Supremacy to salve the granters in Law and make the grant to stand good in Law But what for a Possession this liberty is the Charter by which it is confirmed may tell us It can be no lawful Possession before God which must have such a de Novo damus and Charter to secure it And that the Indulgence could not stand without this we have seen above and how notwithstanding of all that liberty the Indulged could not be secure in point of Law untill this explanatory Act of the Supremacy had past in Parliament Anno 1669. whereby not only what was done by King and Councel in licensing of so many before that Act was declared to be legal because of the Kings Supremacy in Church-Affairs never before so amply and fully declared and explained but way made for prosecuting the same designe in time coming according as it came to passe When the Indulgence standeth engaged thus unto and under the favourable aspect of that unparalleled Supremacie who that is not wholly devouted unto the Supremacy can give such a favourable verdict of the Indulgence as this Author did Beside that impartial On-lookers will judge that there was much more in this Indulgence seing it is obvious enough how the contrivance was made to break the honest suffering party and as some of the chiefe Contrivers said to divide betwixt the Mad-Cap Phanaticks and the more sober to confirme the Usurpation to strengthen the hands of Adversaries to suppress and keep down the glorious and blessed Assemblings of the Lords people and to settle people in a Sinful silence and stupide Submission to all the Incroachments made on the Prerogatives of the Crown of Christ and on the Privileges of his Church and to the overturning of the whole Work of God and not only the Intentio Operantium which Wise men so circumstantiated as they were were called to eve and consider was obvious and clear but also the Intentio Operis was undeniable however we may please ourselves in devising terms of mincing and extenuating whereby to paint it forth as well as we can if not so as that it shall appear beautiful yet so as that it may not appear so deformed as indeed it is and will be to all that view it in a just and upright mirrour He saith