A Hind Let Loose. Shields Alexander

hath been heard say, that if he might have his wish, he would have them all turn rebels and go to arms.) Yet it was no predetermined design of that poor handful. For Sir James Turner, pursuing his cruel orders in Galloway, sent some soldiers to apprehend a poor old man; whom his neighbours compassionating, intreated the soldiers to loose him as he lay bound, but were answered with drawn swords and necessitated to their own defence: In which they relieve the man, and disarm the soldiers, and further attacked some others oppressing that country, disarming ten or twelve more, and killing one that made resistance. Whereupon, the country being alarmed, and fearing from sad experience Sir James would certainly avenge this affront upon the whole country, without distinction of free and unfree, they gather about 54 horsemen, march to Dumfries, take Sir James Turner prisoner, and disarm the soldiers, without any more violence. Being thus by providence engaged without any hope of retreat, and getting some concurrence of their brethren in the same condition, they came to Lanark, where they renew the covenant, and thence to Pentland hills; where, by the holy disposal of God, they were routed, many killed, and 130 taken prisoners, who were treated so treacherously and truculently, as Turks would have blushed to have seen the like. Hence now on the one hand, we may see the righteousness of God in leaving that enemy to him, whom we embraced, to make such avowed discoveries of himself, without a blush to the world, and to scourge us with scorpions that we nourished and put in his hands: And also, how justly at that time he left us into such a damp, that like asses we couched under all burdens, and few came out to the help of the Lord against the mighty, drawing on them Meroz's curse, and the blood of their butchered brethren; after we had sat, and seen, and suffered all things civil and sacred to be destroyed in our fight, without resentment. And though the Lord, who called out these worthy patriots who fell at Pentland to such an appearance for his interests, did take a testimony of their hands with acceptance by sufferings, and singularly countenanced them in sealing it with their blood; yet he would not give success nor his presence to the enterprise, but left them in a sort of infatuation, without counsel and conduct, to be a prey to devourers, that by a sad inadvertency they took in the tyrant's interest into the state of the quarrel. Which should have warned his people for the future to have stated the quarrel otherwise.

      II. By this time, and much more after, the king gave as many proofs and demonstrations of his being true to antichrist, in minding all the promises and treaties with him, as he had of his being false to Christ, in all his covenanted engagements with his people. For in this same year 1666, he, with his dear and royal brother the duke of York, contrived, countenanced, and abetted, the burning of London, evident by their employing their guards to hinder the people from saving their own, and to dismiss the incendiaries, the papists, that were taken in the fact. The committee, appointed to cognosce upon that business, traced it so far, that they durst go no further, unless they would arraign the duke, and charge the king, and yet before this, it was enacted as criminal for any to say the king was a papist. But having gained so much of his design in Scotland, where he had established prelacy, advanced tyranny to the height of absoluteness, and his supremacy almost beyond the reach of any additional supply, yea above the pope's own claim, and had now brought his only opposites, the few faithful witnesses of Christ, to a low pass; he went on by craft as well as cruelty, to advance his own in promoting antichrist's interest. And therefore, having gotten the supremacy devolved upon him by law (for which also he had the pope's dispensation, to take it to himself for the time, under promise to restore and surrender it to him, as soon as he could obtain his end by it, as the other brother succeeding hath now done) he would now exert that usurped power, and work by insnaring policy to effectuate the end which he could not do by other means. Therefore, seeing he was not able to suppress the meetings of the Lord's people for gospel ordinances, in house and fields, but that the more he laboured by violent courses, the greater and more frequent they grew; he fell upon a more crafty device, not only to overthrow the gospel and suppress the meetings, but to break the faithful, and to divide, between the mad-cap and the moderate fanatics (as they phrased it) that he might the more easily destroy both, to confirm the usurpation, and to settle people in a sinful silence, and stupid submission to all the incroachments made on Christ's prerogatives, and more effectually to overturn what remained of the work of God. And, knowing that nothing could more fortify the supremacy than minister's homologating and acknowledging it; therefore he offered the first indulgence in the year 1669, signifying in a letter, dated that year June 7, his gracious pleasure was, 'to appoint so many of the outed ministers, as have lived peaceably and orderly, to return to preach and exercise other functions of the ministry, in the parish churches where they formerly served (provided they were vacant) and to allow patrons to present to other vacant churches, such others of them as the council should approve: That all who are so indulged, be enjoined to keep presbyteries, and the refusers to be confined within the bounds of their parishes: And that they be enjoined not to admit any of their neighbour parishes unto their communions, nor baptize their children, nor marry any of them, without the allowance of the minister of the parish, and if they countenance the people deserting their own parishes, they are to be silenced for shorter or longer time, or altogether turned out, as the council shall see cause; and upon complaint made and verified, of any seditious discourse or expressions in the pulpit, uttered by any of the ministers, they are immediately to be turned out, and further punished according to law: And seeing by these orders, all pretences for conventicles were taken away, if any should be found hereafter to preach without authority, or keep conventicles, his pleasure is, to proceed with all severity against them, as seditious persons and contemners of authority.' To salve this in point of law, (because it was against former laws of their own) and to make the king's letter the supreme law afterwards, and a valid ground in law, whereupon the council might proceed, and enact, and execute what the king pleased in matters ecclesiastic; he therefore caused frame a formal statutory act of supremacy, of this tenor, 'That his majesty hath the supreme authority and supremacy over all persons and in all causes ecclesiastic, within his dominions, and that by virtue thereof, the ordering and disposal of the external government of the church, doth properly belong to him and his successors, as an inherent right to the crown: And that he may settle, enact, and emit such constitutions, acts, and orders, concerning the administrating thereof, and persons employed in the same, and concerning all ecclesiastical meetings and matters, to be proposed and determined therein, as he in his royal wisdom, shall think fit: which acts, orders, and constitutions, are to be observed and obeyed by all his majesty's subjects, any law, act, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.' Whereupon, accordingly the council, in their act July 27, 1669, do nominate several ministers, and 'appoint them to preach, and exercise the other functions of the ministry, at their respective churches there specified, with consent of the patrons.' The same day also they conclude and enact the forementioned restrictions, conform to the king's letter above rehearsed, and ordain them to be intimate to every person, who is by authority foresaid allowed the exercise of the ministry. These indulged ministers, having that indulgence given only upon these terms, that they should accept these injunctions, and having received it upon these terms also (as an essential part of the bargain and condition, on which the indulgence was granted and accepted, as many following proclamations did expressly declare) do appoint Mr. Hutcheson, one of the number, 'to declare so much; in acknowledging his majesty's favour and clemency, in granting that liberty, after so long a restraint; and however they had received their ministry from Jesus Christ, with full prescriptions from him for regulating them therein, yet nothing could be more refreshing on earth to them, than to have free liberty for the exercise of their ministry, under the protection of lawful authority; and so they purposed to behave themselves in the discharge of their ministry, with that wisdom that became faithful ministers, and to demean themselves towards lawful authority, notwithstanding of their known judgment in church affairs, as well becometh loyal subjects; and their prayer to God should be, that the Lord should bless his majesty in his person and government, and the council in the public administration, and especially in the pursuance of his majesty's mind in his letter, wherein his singular moderation eminently appears.'—Afterwards they issued out proclamations, reinforcing the punctual observation of the forementioned injunctions, and delivered them into the indulged. In the mean time, though cruel acts and edicts were made against the meetings of the Lord's people, in houses and the fields, after all these Midianitish wiles to suppress them, such was the presence of the Lord in these meetings, and so powerful was his countenance and concurrence with the labours of a few, who laid up themselves to hold up the standard of Christ; that the number of converts multiplied daily, to the praise