his holy temple? Was ever the like of this heard? Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this; be horribly afraid, and be very desolate, for we have not only forsaken the fountain of living waters, but we have done it with all the indignity and effrontery imaginable. Pass over the isles of Chittim and see, and send unto Kedar and consider diligently, and see if there be any such thing. Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But we have changed our glory for that which doth not profit.' Will not the Lord plead with us and with our children, yea, and with our children's children, upon this account? Will not the Lord deal with us, as we have done, who have thus despised the oath, in breaking the covenant? Will he not judge us with the judgments of a woman that breaketh wedlock, and give us blood in fury and jealousy? May we not fear that the righteous and jealous God shall punish us, till he make his fury towards us to rest, that all lands may be taught, not to do after our lewdness: and because we have forgotten him, and cast him behind our back, make us bear our lewdness and our whoredoms? Can this wickedness be paralleled in any history, divine or human? Where shall we read that the same individual persons who had so solemnly (what solemnity could be imagined to contribute to give a deeper impression of the weight and worth of the matter?) sworn and covenanted with God, upon no temptation, have so resolutely, deliberately, and wickedly, not only renounced the same, but also done it with such circumstances of solemnity as might bear a declaration to all the world, that this was no rash or inconsiderate deed, but deliberate rather, and such as they would own, avow, and stand to? What more could be devised to declare our open doing despite unto the Lord, and putting him, who is blessed for ever, to open shame? And where shall we find, that a people so solemnly engaged to God, have so quickly, so solemnly, and so formally renounced their interest in, and relation to Jehovah; and not only so, but also in their public and authoritative capacities compelled by laws, declarations, and penalties, all under them, to run with them to the same excess of perjury and wickedness; and not only materially break their vows, oaths, and covenants made to and with the living God, but even formally to renounce and abjure the same;—that so the whole land, from the highest to the lowest, may come under this formal guilt of whoredom and apostasy, and lie under all the curses, plagues, and judgments denounced in the word against revolters from God, covenant-breakers, inquirers after vows, oathviolaters, treacherous dealers, perfidious backsliders, and forsakers of God? Should not this so heinous iniquity be testified against by all, who would not be charged with the guilt thereof, in the day of their appearance before the tribunal of Jesus Christ? And should not all, who have not utterly sinned away all the faith and fear of God, mourn, because of this abomination, and because of all the acts, declarations, or proclamations made by parliaments or councils to this end, and for carrying on of this design, lest they be charged with the guilt, and partake of the plagues that will undoubtedly fall upon the lands, because of this iniquity ?-of which, if any doubt, let them weigh in the balance of judgment and of the sanctuary, these few of

many passages, pointing forth both the heinousness of the sin, and the dreadfulness of the judgments attending it :-Deut. iv. 23-28. Ezek. xvi. throughout. Ezek. xvii. 11-22. Deut. xxix. throughout. 1 Kings xix. 10, 14-17. Psal. lv. 19, 20, 23. and lxxviii. 37, 56-64. Jer. xi. 2-4, 8-12. Jer. xxii. 5-12. and xxxiv. 8. to the end. Hos. iv. 2, 3. and x. 4. Zech. v. 3, 4. Rom. i. 31. 1 Kings xi. 11. Josh. ix. 15, 19. compared with 2 Sam. xxi. 1— 10. 2 Kings xvii. 14-18, &c. Judg. ii. 20, 21. Amos i. 9, 10. Josh. xxiii. 16. Hos. vi. 7-10. and viii. 1. Deut. xxiii. 21, 23. Prov. xx. 25. Eccles. v. 4. Levit. xxvi. 25.

II." Next,―That work of reformation, public and private, in church and in state, which was intended by the covenant obligation, and in the same sworn to be endeavoured by all ranks of people, in their several places and capacities, was, so long as we remained faithful and singlehearted in prosecuting the ends of the covenant, owned and countenanced of the Lord;-endeavours to promove it were blessed, and the work was carried on with signal demonstrations and appearances of the Lord from heaven, to the comfort and establishment of his people, and to the conviction and terror of enemics. The Lord was with us and for us, fighting our battles, so long as we were with him, and abode faithful in our engagement. And this work, thus owned, countenanced, and carried on by the signal hand of divine providence with remarkable success and great glory, did lift us up in the eyes of the nations, who looked upon us with amazement, wondering at the great things the Lord was pleased to do for us and among us, and drew all their eyes upon us, when they observed such an extraordinary dispensation of divine power, love, and grace among us. And as we were thus looked upon by other reformed churches, as a pattern worthy to be imitated, and as the measure of their desires and wishes; so, we became the greater terror unto the kingdom of antichrist, and all the followers of the beast and of the false prophets; being so closely knit and united in such a sure bond and covenant, and obliged by sacred oaths to extirpate that abomination, root and branch; and against every thing that might countenance the same, or contribute the least to its approbation or establishment. But, oh! now how are the tables turned, all of a sudden! How is this whole work overthrown! How are the bulwarks of our defence against popery removed! And how is the work of reformation, that had cost no small expense of blood, watchings, tears, prayers, and fastings, overturned in a moment, yea, and razed to the very foundations! How are we now become a laughing stock, the reformed churches wondering and amazed at our inconstancy; and papists rejoicing in the hope of reducing again under the yoke of the Roman antichrist, all these lands, once sworn away and solemnly devoted unto the Lord! How are these locusts now, finding this advantage, strenuously playing their game, and diligently plying their time, and that with such success, that, if the Lord prevent it not, they cannot miss their end, and fail of their intentions, and so at length come again unto their wonted cruelty and bloody practices, even to imbrue their hands in the blood of protestants, and re-act their former bloody tragical massacres, to the establishing of the

abominations of that abominable whore, which hath been long drunk with the blood of the saints! That matters now are already at this pass, and running in this cursed channel, who cannot see that have eyes in their head, and see about them? Since our covenant-obligations (our strongest bulwark against prelacy, papacy, superstition, will-worship, error, and idolatry) were shamefully taken away, and this first stone of Babel was laid, hath it not been obvious to all tha would not wilfully shut their eyes, what a tendency all acts, conclusions, consultations, ways, and courses taken, have had hereunto? To speak nothing of public and authoritative acts and actings, giving countenance and encouragement to Jesuits, mass-priests, popish assemblies, and open masses, and suppressing, persecuting, and bearing down the lovers of truth and zealous owners of the reformed religion, and other things of that nature, that clearly demonstrate the genius of this raging spirit, and the native tendency of this course of apostasy and defection which hath been and is thus violently carried on; the inundation of irreligion, profanity, blasphemy, atheism, and all sort of wickedness that attended this woful catastrophe, and came in, as a flood, overrunning the whole land, carrying multitudes away who formerly seemed at least outwardly religious and sober, and wheeling many into that woful and destructive gulf of indifferency and neutrality in all matters of religion, yea, and blunting the edge of not a few who formerly seemed zealous for religion and the cause of Christ,-is a direful but too evident and plain demonstration of a spirit prone and strongly inclining to a returning unto Egypt: and this quickly appeared in the kindly reception and setting up of those abjured prelatical captains, the first foundation of the Romish apostolical hierarchy, and is a presage of blackness of Egyptian darkness at hand. A man was famous, according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees, but now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers!' Who knoweth not, that as, such a profane and godless frame that is now the epidemic temper, or distemper rather, of this generation hath a thorough compliance with, and encouragement, by that gaudy, superstitious, and idolatrous vanity and abomination of popery,-so it maketh way for it, and prepareth unto a kindly reception thereof, and submission thereto, as being a device so well suited every way to carnal humours, and no way contrived to the restraining from whatsoever wickedness the debauched heart delighteth in, and would run after, but rather to the encouraging thereunto. And, oh! to this pass is all our reformation now come, through our profane casting off the Lord, and renouncing our obligations to him, as our God,-laying aside all sense and consideration of our vows, promises, oaths, declarations, protestations, solemn engagements, and covenants. And where can such fix a stand who have thus shamelessly and with a high hand revolted from God? What wicked course will not such willingly comply with, who have thus audaciously and effrontedly banished Christ, his rights, power, authority, work, ordinances, interest, and all, so far as they can, out of the land? 'Behold, O Lord, and see, and plead thine own cause. O spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage

Wherefore

How long,

to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them. should they say among the people, Where is their God? O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth.'

III. "Thirdly,—I must in the next place take notice, that as it was the great honour and advantage of the church of Scotland, acknowledged by such abroad as had any Christian concernment in these matters, so it was a signal evidence of the special favour of God unto, and blessing upon her, that, together with purity of doctrine, and renouncing of antichristian and heretical error, he granted unto her reformation in worship, discipline, and government, so that she had purity of gospel-worship, according to the pattern of the New Testament; and also, according to the same pattern, gospel-discipline, and government: and the Lord set the beauty of his ornament in majesty among us. Hence at the very beginning of reformation in doctrine and worship, we had the gospel-discipline of the house of God duly exercised, and presbyterial government, in its principal part set up, in general assemblies, held twice a year: and, as truth did spread through the land, popish abominations were abandoned, and faithful reformed ministers planted and settled,—the same government and discipline was carried on, and more and more confirmed, as the difficulties and injuries of these times would suffer; so that with much travail, pains, labour, fastings, and wrestlings in prayer, it was established in all its parts, at length, through the whole land, in kirk sessions, presbyteries, provincial synods, and national assemblies, in that comely order and subordination that the house of God requireth: and together with this, the nature, end, and extent of church discipline and power was, after no small pains, fully cleared in the second book of discipline, which, after free disputes and debates, was unanimously agreed upon and established; and all this was sweetly carried on and put in exercise without trouble or opposition, until licentious court parasites, in love with papists, and not loving the wholesome and gentle yoke of Jesus Christ, but desiring rather to follow their lusts without any curb or control, did bring the king first into a dislike thereof, and thereafter unto a manifest opposition thereunto. So that by tyranny, force, and fraud of the court, the free exercise of this useful and necessary ordinance of Jesus Christ was much obstructed, weakened, and resisted; and at length, when this could not fully effectuate the end intended, a way was devised to ruin both discipline and government, by churchmen influenced of the court; who, not only suffered corruption to enter into the church, but piece and piece carried it on by treachery, falsehood, double-dealing. indirect courses, and manifest perjury;-during all which time, the faithful and zealous servants of the Lord opposed this wicked course of defection, and stood stedfastly, so long as they were able, to the maintenance of the discipline and government which Christ had appointed, and which, through God's great mercy, had been established by acts of parliament, and confirmed by a solemn oath and covenant; and in defence thereof, endured much tossing, hardship, and persecution, and many affronts, injuries, and indignities. And after that course of defection had been in the ascendant for

a considerable time, and had at length come to the height of tyranny,after all the gospel-discipline and government had been subverted and ejected, and gospel worship begun to be corrupted with popish-English ceremonies and men's inventions; it pleased the Lord, in his rich mercy, to visit our church, that had been long oppressed and borne down with hollow-hearted, treacherous church-men, who, for their own ambitious ends, and lustful, covetous designs, complied with all court projects, to destroy all the gospel liberty and privileges which our church had enjoyed, and to bring about, in an unexpected and wonderful manner, our deliverance from that yoke of bondage, in the year 1638, and to re-establish our former church-government and discipline with purity of worship, in glory and splendour, bringing the whole land again into the bond of the covenant for the asserting, vindicating, and maintaining of the same; whereby, at length, the church of Christ became, with us, terrible unto evil-doers, as an army with banners, and was preserved from error, heresy, and other evils, which prove noxious and destructive to churches. Now was this government and discipline, in the maintenance and vindication whereof after that it had been by the treachery of perfidious apostates overturned, the Lord had so wonderfully appeared ;;-so countenanced and blessed of the Lord, that it could not but be manifest to all, that it was the true appointment and institution of Jesus Christ; which afterward, in the assembly of divines at Westminster (called together by the parliament of England, to search after a government and discipline most agreeable to the primitive pattern, in prosecution of the ends of the solemn league and covenant) was found to be the only government and discipline that came nearest to the primitive pattern, instituted by Christ and his apostles, of all that offered any pretence thereunto. But now, notwithstanding all this, this government and discipline of the house of God, instituted by Jesus Christ, countenanced and confirmed by his signal appearances in the behalf thereof, and against its enemies and opposers,-blessed with much saving fruits and effects on church members,-confirmed and ratified by all acts requisite, whether in church or state,—and received with an universal approbation and satisfaction, is now again with wicked hands overturned and razed to the very foundations, contrary to all acts, vows, covenants, solemn promises, and engagements;-the precious institutions of Jesus Christ are irreligiously and profanely hated, condemned, destroyed, and shamefully thrust away; the authority of Christ maligned and rejected; his laws despised and trampled under foot; his wisdom undervalued ;-bis fidelity and faithfulness called into question ;-his ordinances vilipended and contemptuously slighted;-his sceptre despitefully thrown out of his hand; his crown pulled from his head; his church robbed of her privileges, and exposed to all the wild beasts of the forest; his ministers shamefully misused, and thrust from their pastoral work and government;-his kingdom invaded, plundered, and pillaged;—and his assemblies, that once looked forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as with banners, now changed into despicable and disorderly routs !! O Lord God of hosts, thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt, thou