was made to others, as to the abbot of Cosragnel, the parson of Sanquhar, and such, that they should neither complain to the Queen nor council, but should execute the punishment that God has appointed to idolaters in his law, by such means as they might, wherever they should be apprehended.' Upon this the Queen sent for Mr. Knox, and dealt with him earnestly, that he would be the instrument to persuade the people not to put hand to punish. He perceiving her craft, willed her Majesty to punish malefactors according to law, and he durst promise quietness, upon the part of all them that professed Christ within Scotland: but if her Majesty thought to delude the laws, he feared some would let the papists understand, that without punishment they should not be suffered so manifestly to offend God's majesty. Will ye (quoth she) allow they shall take my sword in their hand? 'The sword of justice (said he) Madam, is God's, and is given to princes and rulers for one end; which, if they transgress, sparing the wicked, and oppressing the innocents, they that in the fear of God execute judgment, where God hath commanded, offend not God, although kings do it not: the examples are evident, for Samuel spared not to slay Agag the fat and delicate king of Amalek, whom king Saul had saved; neither spared Elias Jezabel's false prophets, and Baal's priests, albeit that king Ahab was present; Phineas was no magistrate, and yet feared he not to strike Zimri and Cozbi in the very act of filthy fornication; and so, Madam, your Majesty may see that others than magistrates may lawfully punish, and have punished the vice and crimes that God commands to be punished.' He proved it also at more length in his appellation, from Deut. xiii. "If thy brother solicit thee secretly, saying, Let us go serve other gods, consent not to him, let not thine eye spare him, but kill him; let thy hand be first upon him, and afterward the hand of the whole people." Of these words of Moses, two things appertaining to our purpose are to be noted: 'The first is, that such as solicitate only to idolatry ought to be punished to death, without favour or respect of person; for he that will not suffer man to spare his son, wife, &c. will not wink at the idolatry of others, of what state or condition soever they be: it is not unknown that the prophets had revelations of God, which were not common to the people; now, if any man might have claimed any privilege from the rigour of the law, or might have justified his fact, it should have been the prophet, but God commands, that the prophet that shall so solicitate the people to serve strange gods, shall die the death, notwithstanding that he alledge for himself, dream, vision, or revelation, because he teacheth apostacy from God: hereby it may be seen, that none, provoking the people to idolatry, ought to be exempted from the punishment of death. Evident it is, that no state, condition, nor honour can exempt the idolater from the hands of God, when he shall call him to an account: how shall it then excuse the people, that they according to God's command, punish not to death such as shall solicitate or violently draw the people to idolatry? The second is, that the punishment of such crimes, as idolatry, blasphemy, and others that touch the majesty of God, doth not appertain to kings and chief rulers only, but also to the whole body of the people, and to every member of the same, according to the vocation of every man, and according that possibility and occasion which God doth minister, to revenge the injury done against his glory: and that doth Moses more plainly speak in these words of the same chapter, "If in any city which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt hear this brute, there are some men sons of Belial."—Plain it is, that Moses speaks not nor giveth charge to kings, rulers, and judges only; but he commands the whole body of the people, yea and every member of the same, according to their possibility. And who dare be so impudent as to deny this to be most reasonable and just? For seeing God had delivered the whole body from bondage, and to the whole multitude had given his law, and to the twelve tribes had distributed the land of Canaan: was not the whole and every member addebted to confess the benefits of God, and to study to keep the possession received? which they could not do, except they kept the religion established, and put out iniquity from amongst them. To the carnal man this may seem to be a rigorous and severe judgment, that even the infants there should be appointed to the cruel death; and as concerning the city and spoil of the same, man's reason cannot think but that it might have been better bestowed, than to be consumed. But in such cases, let all creatures stoop, and desist from reasoning, when commandment is given to execute his judgment. I will search no other reasons than the Holy Ghost hath assigned; first, That all Israel should fear to commit the like abomination; and, secondly, That the Lord might turn from the fury of his anger: which plainly doth signify, that, by the defection and idolatry of a few, God's wrath is kindled against the whole, which is never quenched, till such punishment be taken upon the offenders, that whatsoever served them in their idolatry be brought to destruction,' &c. I have enlarged so far upon this period, that it may appear, there is nothing now in controversy, between the suffering and reproached party now in Scotland, and either their friends or enemies, which could fall under our reformers inquiry; but they have declared themselves of the same sentiments that are now so much opposed; and therefore none can condemn the present heads of suffering, except also they condemn the reformers judgment; and consequently the imputation of novelty must fall.
PERIOD IV.
Containing the Testimony of the first Contenders against Prelacy and Supremacy, from the Year 1570, to 1638.
Hitherto the conflict was for the concerns of Christ's prophetical and priestly office, against paganism and popery. But from the year 1570, and downward, the testimony is stated, and gradually prosecuted for the rights, privileges and prerogatives of Christ's kingly office; which hath been the peculiar glory of the church of Scotland, above all the churches in the earth, that this hath been given to her as the word of her testimony; and not only consequentially and reductively, as all other churches may challenge a part of this dignity, but formally and explicitly to contend for this very head, the headship and kingship of Jesus Christ, the prince of the kings of the earth, and his mediatory supremacy over his own kingdom of grace, both visible and invisible. This is Christ's supremacy, a special radiant jewel of his imperial crown, which as it hath been as explicitly encroached upon in Scotland, by his insolent enemies, as ever by any that entered in opposition to him, so it hath been more expressly witnessed and wrestled for by his suffering servants in that land than in any place of the world. This was in a particular manner the testimony of that period, during the reign of King James the 6th; as it hath been in a great measure in our day, since the year 1660. Which, as it is the most important cause, of the greatest consequence that mortals can contend for; so it hath this peculiar glory in it, that it is not only for the truth of Christ, of greater value than the standing of heaven and earth, but also it is the very truth for which Christ himself died, considered as a martyr; and which concerns him to vindicate and maintain as a monarch. The witnesses of that day made such an high account of it, that they encouraged one another to suffer for it, as the greatest concern; 'being a witness for Christ's glorious and free monarchy, which, as it is the end of the other two offices, so the testimony is more glorious to God, more honourable to his Son, and more comfortable to them, than the testimony either for his prophetical office, or for his priesthood, because his kingdom was especially impugned at the time;' as Mr. Forbes and Mr. Welch wrote in a letter to the Ministers at court. The corruptions and usurpations wronging this truth, that they contended against, were prelacy and the King's supremacy in ecclesiastical matters; which will be useful to hint a little, how they prosecuted the conflict. When Satan (whose kingdom was then declining) by several instruments and means, both by force and fraud, did endeavour to put a stop to the reformation, by reintroducing the antichristian hierarchy of prelacy, when he could not re-establish the antichristian doctrine of popery; he left no means unessayed to effectuate it. And first he began to bring the name Bishop in request, that was now growing obsolete and odious, by reason of the abuse of it (as it ought to be still, for though the name be found in the scriptures, yet neither is that catechestical application of it to prelates to be found, nor was there any other reason for the translation of it after that manner, except it were to please princes; seeing the native signification of it is an overseer, proper and common to all faithful pastors.) And indeed his first essay reached little further than the bare name, for they were to be rejected to, and tried by assemblies, and hardly had so much power as superintendants before. But it was a fine court juggle for noblemen to get the church-revenues into their hands, by restoring the ecclesiastical titles, and obtaining from the titulars either temporal lands, or pensions to their dependers; so they were only Tulchan bishops, a calf-skin to cause the cow give milk. Yet, though this in our day would have been thought tolerable, the faithful servants of Christ
