as he was an expert artist, he equivocated, and meant in his heart he would continue as treacherous as ever) which helped to keep a loyal impression of his interest in the hearts of too many, and an expectation of some good of him, of which they were ashamed afterwards. And immediately before his return, it is known what promises are contained in that declaration from Breda (from whence he came also the second time, with greater treachery than at the first) to all protestants that would live peaceably under his government; beginning now to weigh out his perfidy, and perjury, and breach of covenant, in offering to tolerate that in an indulgence, which he swore to maintain as a duty. But in all this he purposed nothing, but to ingere and ingratiate himself into the peoples over credulous affections, that they might not obstruct his return, which a jealousy of his intended tyranny would have awakened them to withstand. And so having seated himself, and strengthened his power against the attemptings of any, whom his conscience might suggest an apprehension that they ought to resist him, he thought himself discharged from all obligations of covenants, oaths, or promises, for which his faith had been pledged. And from the first hour of his arrival, he did in a manner set himself to affront and defy the authority of God, and to be revenged upon his kingdoms for inviting him so unanimously to sway their sceptre; in polluting and infecting the people with all debaucheries and monstrous villanies; and commencing his incestous whoredoms that very first night he came to his palace, wherein he continued to his dying day outvying all for vileness. Yet he went on deluding our church with his dissimulations, and would not discover all his wickedness hatched in his heart at first, till his designs should be riper; but directed a letter to the presbytery of Edinburgh, declaring he was resolved to protect and preserve the government of the church of Scotland, as it is settled by law without violation: wherein it was observed he altered the stile, and spake never a word of the covenant, our
Magna Charta of religion and righteousness, our greatest security for all interests intrusted to him, but only of law; by which, as his practice expounded it afterwards, he meant the prelatical church, as it was settled by the law of his father, since which time he reckoned there was no law but rebellion. This was a piece and prelude of our base defection, and degeneration into blind blockish, and brutish stupidity; that after he had discovered so much perfidy, we not only at first tempted him to perjury, in admitting him to the crown, upon his mock-engagement in the covenant, whereby God was mocked, his Spirit was grieved, his covenant prostituted, the church cheated, and the state betrayed; but after the Lord had broken his yoke from off our necks, by sending him to exile ten years, where he was discovered to be imbibing all that venom and tyrannical violence, which he afterward vented in revenge upon the nation; and after we had long smarted for our first transaction with him; yet notwithstanding of all this, we believed him again, and Issachar-like couched under his burdens and were so far from withstanding, that we did not so much as witness against the re-admission and restoration of the head and tail of malignants, but let them come in peaceably to the throne, without any security to the covenanted cause, or for our civil or religious interests, and by meal, at their own ease, leisure and pleasure, to overturn all the work of God, and reintroduce the old antichristian yoke of absurd prelacy, and blasphemous sacreligious, supremacy, and absolute arbitrary tyranny with all their abominations: which he, and with him the generality of our nobility, gentry, clergy, and commonality by him corrupted, without regard to faith, or fear of God or man, did promote and propogate, the nation was involved in the greatest revolt from, and rebellion against God, that ever could be recorded in any age or generation; nay attended with greater and grosser aggravations, than ever any could be capable of before us, who have had the greatest privileges that ever any church had, since the national church of the Jews, the greatest light, the greatest effects of matchless magnified love, the greatest convictions of sin, the greatest resolutions and solemn engagements against it, and the greatest reformation from it, that ever any had to abuse and affront. O heavens be astonished at this, and horribly afraid! for Scotland hath changed her glory, and the crown hath fallen from off her head, by an unparalelled apostasy, a free and voluntary, wilful and deliberate apostasy, an avowed and declared and authorized apostasy, tyrannically carried on by military violence and cruelty, a most universal and every way unprecedented apostasy! I must a little change my method, in deducing the narration of this catastrophe, and subdistinguish this unhappy period into several steps; shewing how the enemies opposition to Christ advanced, and the testimony of his witnesses did gradually ascend, to the pitch it is now arrived at.
I. These enemies of God, having once got footing again, with the favour and the fawnings of the foolish nation, went on fervently to further and promote their wicked design: and meeting with no opposition at first, did encourage themselves to begin boldly. Wherefore, hearing of some ministers peaceably assembled, to draw up a monitory letter to the king, minding him of his covenant engagements and promises (which was though weak, yet the first witness and warning against that heaven-daring wickedness then begun) they cruelly incarcerate them. Having hereby much daunted the ministry from their duty in that day, for fear of the like unusual and outrageous usage. The parliament convenes January 1, 1661, without so much as a protestation for religion and liberty given in to them. And there, in the first place, they frame and take the oath of supremacy, exauctorating Christ, and investing his usurping enemy with the spoils of his robbed prerogative, acknowledging the king 'only supreme governor over all persons and in all causes, and that his power and jurisdiction must not be declined.' Whereby under all persons and all causes, all church officers, in their most properly ecclesiastic affairs and concerns of Christ, are comprehended: And if the king shall take upon him to judge their doctrine, worship, discipline, or government, he must not be declined as an incompetent judge. Which did at once enervate all the testimony of the 4th period above declared, and laid the foundation for all this Babel they have built since, and of all this war that hath been waged against the Son of God, and did introduce all this tyranny and absolute power, which hath been since carried to its complement, and made the king's throne the foundation of all the succeeding perjury and apostacy. Yet, though then our synods and presbyteries were not discharged, but might have had access in some concurrence to witness against this horrid invasion upon Christ's prerogative and the church's privilege, no joint testimony was given against it, except that some were found witnessing against it in their singular capacity by themselves. As faithful Mr. James Guthrie, for declining this usurped authority in prejudice of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus, suffered death, and got the martyr's crown upon his head: And some others, for refuting that oath arbitrarily imposed, were banished or confined, when they had gained this bulwark of Christ's kingdom; then they waxed more insolent, and set up their ensigns for signs, and broke down the carved work of reformation with axes and hammers. In this parliament, 1661, they past an act rescissory whereby they annulled and declared void the national covenant, the solemn league and covenant, presbyterial government, and all laws made in favour of the work of reformation since the year 1643. O horrid wickedness! both in its nature so atrocious, to condemn and rescind what God did so signally seal as his own work, to the conviction of the world, and for which he will rescind the rescinders, and overturn these overturners of his work, and make the curse of that broken covenant bind them to the punishment, whom its bond could not oblige to the duty covenanted; and in its design and end so base and detestable, for nothing but to flatter the king in making way for prelacy, tyranny, and popery, and to indulge the licentiousness of some debauched nobles, who could not endure the yoke of Christ's government, and to suppress religion and righteousness under the ruins of that reformation. But O holy and astonishing justice, thus to recompence our way upon our own head! to suffer this work and cause to be ruined under our unhappy hands, who suffered this destroyer to come in before it was so effectually secured, as it should not have been in the power of his hand (whatever had been in his heart, swelled with enmity against Christ) to have razed and ruined that work as now most wickedly he did, and drew in so many into the guilt of the same deed, that almost the whole land not only consented unto it but applauded it; by approving and countenancing another wicked act framed at the same time, by that same perfidious parliament for an anniversary thanksgiving, commemorating every 29th of May, that blasphemy against the Spirit and work of God, and celebrating that unhappy restoration of the rescinder of the reformation; which had not only the concurrence of the universality of the nation, but (alas for shame that it should be told in Gath, &c!) even of some ministers who afterwards accepted of the indulgence (one of which, a pillar among them, was seen scandalously dancing about the bonefires.) And others, who should have alarmed the whole nation quasi pro aris & focis, to rise for religion and
