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.

VI. How Prejudicial this is unto the good of the Church.

THe discovery of this will serve for another head of Arguments against the law∣fulness of this Indulgence: for certainely that cannot be a way approven of God, which is not for the Edification of the Body; much less that, which is for its hurt & prejudice. Now that the Indulgence is of this nature, may hence appear.

1. Church-Historie sheweth, what hurt came to the Church by such a course as this, when Arian Emperours, by their own sole power thrust-out faithful, zealous and Orthodox Ministers, and put-in Arian hereticks in their places; and now by this Indulgence, the way is paved for the same Course: so that now the Magistrate hath no more to do, to get all the Ministery on his side, and to carry on some corrupt & erroneous designe, but to thrust-out honest faithful men, and put-in brevi manu, whom he will. Who will scruple at this now, after the Indulged men have thus broken the ice? and who will once question the Magistrates power to do this, seing they have so sweetly submitted, in the beginning: Turpius ejicitur quam non admitii∣tur hospes, it is better holding-out, than thrusting-out.

2. Our own History sheweth us, how noxious it was to our Church, when K. Iames obtained but so much, as to have an eminent and active hand, or a negative voice, directly or indirectly, in the planting of all the eminent places of the Land, especially of Edinburgh; though he never had the confidence to seek a liberty to do it brevi manu; but did it by collusion with the Commission of the Kirk, which was made to his mind: How quickly had he overturned all, if he had assumed the po∣wer to have transplanted Ministers, as he pleased; and if Ministers had complied with him therein, and upon his sole call, or act of Councel, had left their own Char∣ges, and gone to places, whither he sent them? And what would these worthies, who opposed all his designes, in maintainance of the Established Order of the Church, and of her Power and Privileges, if alive, now say, to see so many Ministers, under so many obligations to maintaine the Liberties of the Church, willingly obeying the Councils Call and Act?

3. If according to this Method, and the way now laid down, & put in practice, our Magistrates, in all time coming, should follow this course, and put away what Mi∣nisters they pleased from one place, and thrust others in where and when they pleas∣ed; and in all this should meet with nothing but sweet submission; how long should our Church enjoy purity? And how long should the Gospel be preached in power, in any eminent place in the Land? How long should Gospel freedom be keeped up, & the Gospel flourish? And if all this should be, whom have we to thank therefore, but the Indulged? Would not they have all doing, as they have done? Are not they a sad preparative? May not their example prove noxious to the following Generations? And whither shall we then cause our shame to go?

4. According to this Example, the Magistrate might quickly banish all purity out of the Kingdom, and turne all the Land over into Popery, by sending all the Or∣thodox Ministers to the Highlands, or to some one small and inconsiderable corner of the Land (according as in the late Act of Indulgence so many scores were canto∣nized to one or two Diocies) and suffering Papists to preach where they pleased, or fixing Popish Priests, in every Paroch. And if such a thing were intended, hath not the Indulgence broken the ice thereunto?

5. Nay, we see that in the very Indulgence, some such designe is carried on; fo•• by it, the far greatest part of the Non-conforme Ministers were Cantonized and shut-up in twoes or threes together, in one Corner of the Countrey, and all the rest of the Land was given over to the will of Prelates, Papists, or Quakers: And if all the Ministers named, had followed the example of others, what had become, ere this day, of the greatest part of the Land? Was then this Indulgence the thing, which the General good of the Church and Kingdom called for? Were the Indulged put in best capacitie by the Indulgence, to serve their Generation, according to the ne∣cessity of the day? Was this the only duty of the day? Or did the Lord call for nothing else? Well is it, that we have such a proof of the contrary, this day, legible upon the face of that Land; and that the very prisones can declare some other thing.

6. It being beyond all doubt now, that the Assemblies of the Lord's people in Houses, or Fields, to partake of pure Ordinances, with full freedom of Consci∣ence, hath been signally owned and blessed of the Lord; and hath proven a mean to spread the knowledge of God beyond any thing that appeared, in our best times, whereby the Lord preached from heaven to all, who would hear and understand it, that this way of preaching, even this way, was that wherein the Soul of God took pleasure, and to which he called all, who would be co-workers with him, this day, to help forward the Interest of his Crown and Kingdom. Now, when in despight of this signal appearance of God, and out of enmitie to the good done in these meetings, wayes of cruelty are fallen upon, to suppress utterly all these Ran∣dezvouzes of the Lord's Militia; and these coming short of effectuating the thing, Midianit ish wiles are fallen upon, of which this of the Indulgence was the chiefe, of purpose to keep the Countrey free of these solemne occasions of the Lords Ap∣pearances; can it be thought to be the duty of the day, and that which the Lord is calling to, to contribute our concurrence unto these stratagemes of Satan, & welcome an Indulgence, devised of purpose to destroy the work of God? I leave the thoughts of this to themselves, when they are thinking of appearing before their judge.

7. I shall not insist on that yoke of bondage, in the matter of stipends, which

was hereby begun to be wreathed about the necks of Ministers; to the inexpressible hurt and prejudice of the Church. See what was remarked in the 4. place on the Kings Letter.

8. It will be more to our purpose, as in it self it is of greater moment, to consider how hereby a Path-way was made, to make all the Ministers of the Land, in all time coming, wholly subject unto the Council, even in all Matters Ecclesiastick, whether concerning Doctrine, Discipline, or Manners; For hereby they became wholly subject unto the Council, as being accountable only to them; and were so wholly at their Devotion, that they were to stay in the places, where they were set, only dureing their pleasure; and so might be couped from Kirk to Kirk (as some of them were) no otherwayes, than the Prelates Curates are, at the pleasure of the Prelate: Thus was the yce broken to the bringing of the Ministrie under perpetual Slaverie; and what should then become of the glorious Liberty of our Church?

9. Nay, as we saw above attested by open Printed Proclamations of the Council, there was, in this Indulgence, a base and sinful compacting for the same, which, to me, is the basest of Simoneie. A conditional accepting of the supposed favour, and, as it were, a formal barganing for it, by taking the liberty to preach and performe the work of the Ministrie, on sinful Conditions, even such Conditions, as con∣tained a giving up of the Cause to the Supremacy, and the Erastian Designe, as hath been shown above. And what a preparative this was, let any judge. I know, the Indulged themselves will say, they are free of all compacting: And I shall not ac∣cuse them further than I know, or have ground: Yet this is certaine, that the Kings Letter mentioned such and such Instructions to be given to all the Indulged; & it is also certaine, that this Letter was not altogether unknown to them, And when the Instructions (which the Council, in plain Expressions, calleth, termes on which they granted the Indulgence, & the samine was accepted) were tendered unto, and put in the hand of each of these in particular, who were called before the Coun∣cel Anno 1673. I heard not of their expressing their Dissatisfaction with these Termes, so as to quite the benefite, or, as we say, to cast the bargane there∣upon; And if all the Ministers, that shall ever hereafter be admitted to preach the Gospel, in Scotland, must follow this example, and give but an implicite consent unto these, or the like termes, imposed by the Council, where shall then our Gospel Liberty be? And what shall then become of the Liberty of our Church? And how shall the Ministers then be called the Servants of Christ, and not the Servants of Men?

10. By the very subjecting to the Councils Instructions, to regulat them in the ex∣ercise of their Ministrie; they become thereby as formally subject unto them, in Mat∣ters Ecclesiastick, as any inferiour Civil-Officers, such as Sheriffs, Justices of Peace Baylies &c. who yet, it may be, shall as little observe all their Instructions, as the Indulged haue observed theirs this subjecting of the Ministrie, in its exercise, unto the Magistrate, is a manifest enslaving of the same, to the unspeakable prejudice of the Gospel, and hurt of the Church.

11. What prejudice it is to the Church, to want the free and full exercise of Dis∣cipline, & that in the lawful Courts of Christ, needeth not here to be told: And yet, in this Indulgence, there was an accepting of the exercise of the Ministrie, without the full exercise of Discipline, save what was to be had in a sinful way, by compli∣ance

with Prelacie; and so a tacite (at least) consent given unto this want. It will not be of advantage here to say, that the Field-Preachers or Non-indulged Mini∣sters, have no Discipline, & yet preach: For all their preaching is sub cru••e, not having so much as fr••edome to exerce any part of their Ministrie, and so are allowed of God to do all they can▪ when they cannot do all they would: and beside, it is al∣ledged without ground; for with no lesse signal countenance, they exercise some Acts of Discipline, such as receiving of penitents, than they preach, and in both are countenanced as His ••mbassadours. But the indulged are under the lee sheet of the Supremacie, having full peace, countenance and protection, as much, as in our best times, and when our Church was most flourishing; and yet dispense calmely with the want of Church-Discipline, in Presbyteries and Synods; and how some of their Sessions guide, and are constitute, is none of our Glory.

12. Nor needeth it be told, what prejudice will inevitably follow upon the want of Ordination, whereby a Succession of the Ministrie is keeped up, and the word committed to faithful men, according to Christs Appointment, who may serve the Lord in the Work of the Gospel, in their Generation: How quickly, upon the want of this, a faithful Ministri•• shall of necessitie cease, every one may see: And yet the Indulged have accepted of the exercise of their Ministrie, on such termes, or in such a way, as doth utterly incapacitate them for going about the Necessary Work of Ordination. Their Transgressing their Bounds, and violating the In∣junctions upon their peril (if so be they do so, that they may ordaine some) in or∣der to the keeping up of this Ordinance, is in so far commendable; but is not suf∣ficient to expiat the guilt of accepting the Indulgence, which was thus clogged; as their whole relinquishing of the Indulgence, & betaking themselves to the Fields, with the rest of their Brethren, would prove a commendable after-wit; but would not say, that there was no evil, in their accepting of the Indulgence, but the contrary rather.