his word, his Spirit witnessed to my heart, saying, Fear not, • he hath accepted my suffering, and the out gate should not be matter of prayer but of praise.' He said also, Thy word 'was found, and I did eat it, and it was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.' A little before his death, after some fainting, he said, "Now I feel, I believe, I enjoy, I rejoice.' Turning to his colleague Mr Blair, he said, I feed on * manna, I have angels food, mine eyes shall see my Redeemer. I know that he shall stand, at the latter day, upon the earth, and I shall be caught up in the clouds to meet him in the air. Afterwards he had these words, I sleep in Christ, ' and when I awake I shall be satisfied with his likeness. O for arms to embrace him!' And to one speaking of his painfulness in the ministry, he cried out, I disclaim all, the port I would be in at, is redemption and forgiveness of sins through his blood.' His last words were, Glory, glory, dwelleth in Immanuel's land.' He regretted, when near his end, that he had not the honour of giving a public testimony to the work of reformation since the year 1638, and against the lamentable defections of the present times.

Thus lived the great Mr Rutherford a life of communion with God, and died in full assurance. The letters which he left behind him discover what manner of spirit he was of; and, however, they are the ridicule of the graceless and profane, like pearls before swine, yet they breathe an uncommon spirit of piety and seraphic love to his Lord and Master, and are much calculated for the support, encouragement and com fort of serious Christians, under their sorest afflictions.

CHAP. III.

Of the proceedings of the Council and the regal erection of Prelacy, together with the Sufferings of Gentlemen and Ministers during the rest of the year.

THE

HE day after the parliament rose, his majesty's privy council met at Holyrood-house. The following is a list of them, the Earl of Glencairn, chancellor, Earl of Crawford, treasurer, Earl of Rothes president of the council, the Dukes of Lenox and Hamilton, the Marquis of Montrose, Earls Lauderdale, secretary, Errol, Marschal, Mar, Athole, Mortoun, Eglinton, Cassils, Caithness, Murray, Linlithgow, Hume, Perth, Dunfermline, Wigtoun, Kelly, Roxburgh, Haddington, Tullibardin, Weems, Southesk, Hartfield, Callender, Tweeddale, Middleton, Dundee, Newburgh, Lords Sinclair, Halkertoun, Duffus, Sir Archibald Primerose, Sir John Fletcher, Sir William Bannantyne, Sir Robert Murray, Sir

John Gilmour of Craigmillar, Sir William Fleming, laird of Blackhall, Sir John Wauchope of Niddrie, knight, Gibson of Durie, Sir George Kinnaird of Rossie, Alexander Bruce brother to the Earl of Kincairdin, and Sir William Scot of Airdie. After the public reading of their commission, and their powers, all present took the oath of allegiance, formerly mentioned, and then the oath of council. They had now the whole executive power in their hands, and accordingly, at their first meeting, they ordered the citadels built by the English, during the usurpation, to be demolished-But as the point of the greatest importance, at that time, was the getting prelacy established-I shall first give some account of that

matter.

We have seen how the parliament, by their 6th act, put the whole power, as to church affairs, into the king's hands, by which he was to settle the ecclesiastical government, as he thought most proper; but then the parliament had by no act as yet established prelacy, consequently it does not appear to have any proper parliamentary settlement in Scotland, but to be brought in by a mere act of the king's prerogative, as we shall presently see.

When the parliament was up, Middleton and the courtiers repaired with all speed to London, and, when they had the government of the church of Scotland under their consideration, the commissioner and chancellor were strenuously for bishops. Lauderdale, Crawford and Duke Hamilton, for some time opposed them. The Earl of Middleton, says Burnet, assured the king, that episcopacy was desired by the greater and honester part of the nation. One synod had as good as petitioned for it and many others wished for it, though the share they had in the late wars made them think it was not fit or decent for them to move for it. Sharp assured the king, that none but the protestors, of whom he had a very bad opinion, were against it: and that, of the resolutioners, there would not be found twenty that would oppose it.—On the other hand, the Earl of Lauderdale, and all his friends, assured the king, that the national prejudices against it were still very strong, that those who seemed zealous for it ran into it only as a method to procure favour, but that those who were against it would be found stiff and eager in their opposition to it; that, by setting it up, the king would lose the affections of the nation, and that the supporting it would grow a heavy Load on his government;' which indeed came to pass. The bishop farther observes, that upon this diversity of opinion, the thing having been proposed in a Scots council at Whitehall, the Earl of Crawford declared himself against it, but the Earl of Lauderdale, Duke Hamilton and Sir Robert Murray

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were only for delaying till the king should be better satisfied concerning the inclinations of the nation. All the rest were for the change.'

These debates are said to have lasted for some days, and that here the foundation of discord was laid between Middleton and Lauderdale, which issued in the ruin of the former. A little after the chancellor, in a conversation with Lauderdale, desired him not to mistake his conduct in that affair, for he was not for lordly prelates, such as had been formerly in Scotland, but only for a limited, sober and moderate Episcopacy. To which Lauderdale is said to have replied, My lord, since you are for bishops, and must have them, bishops you shall have, and higher than ever they were in • Scotland, and that you shall find.' It being thus agreed to alter the government of the church of Scotland, a letter was sent from his majesty to the privy-council there, declaring his royal pleasure to have Episcopacy established in this ancient kingdom. He did not demand their advice upon it, says Bishop Burnet, but even required thoir obedience to it, as appears from the letter itself, which is as follows.

CHARLES R.

RIGHT trusty and well beloved cousins and counsellors, we greet you well. Whereas in the month of August 1660, we did by our letter to the presbytery of Edinburgh, declare our purpose to maintain the government of the church of Scotland settled by law; and our parlia. ⚫ment having, since that time, not only rescinded all the acts since the troubles began referring to that government, but also declared all those pretended parliaments null and void, and left to us the settling and securing of church govern⚫ment: therefore, in compliance with that act recissory, according to our late proclamation, dated at Whitehall the 10th of June, and in contemplation of the inconveniencies from the church-government, as it hath been exercised these twenty-three years past, of the unsuitableness thereof to our ⚫ monarchial estate, of the sadly experienced confusions which ⚫ have been caused, during the late troubles, by the violences 'done to our royal prerogative, and to the government, civil and ecclesiastical, settled by unquestionable authority, we, from our respect to the glory of God, and the good and interest of t Protestant religion, from our pious care and 'princely zeal for the order, unity, peace, and stability of that church, and its better harmony with the government of the churches of England and Ireland, have, after mature deli'beration, declared to those of our council here our firm resolution to interpose our royal authority for restoring of

that church to its right government by bishops, as it was by law, before the late troubles, during the reigns of our royal father and grandfather, of blessed memory, and as it now stands settled by law. Of this our royal pleasure, concerning church-government, you are to take notice, and to make intimation thereof in such a way and manner as you shall judge most expedient and effectual. And we require you and every one of you, and do expect, according to the trust and confidence we have in your affections and duty to our service, that you will be careful to use your best endeavours for curing the distempers contracted during those • late evil times, for uniting our good subjects among themselves, and bringing them all to a cheerful acquiescing and • obedience to our sovereign authority, which we will employ,' by the help of God, for the maintaining and defending the 'true reformed religion, increase of piety, and the settlement and security of that church in her rights and liberties, according to law and ancient custom. And, in order thereto, our will is, that you forthwith take such course with the rents, belonging to the several bishoprics, and deanries, that they may be restored and made useful to the church, and that according to justice and the standing law. And, moreover, you are to inhibit the assembling of ministers in their * several synodical meetings through the kingdom, until our farther pleasure, and to keep a watchful eye over all who, upon any pretext whatsoever, shall, by discoursing, preaching, reviling, or any irregular or unlawful way, endeavour to alienate the affections of our people, or dispose them to ill opinion of us and our government, to the disturbance of the peace of the kingdom. So, expecting your cheerful obedience, and a speedy account of your proceedings herein, we bid you heartily farewell. Given at our court at • Whitehall, August the 14th, 1661, and of our reign the 13th

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On the last of August, the Earls of Glencairn and Rothes, with Mr Sharp, returned from court; and next council day, September 5. the lord-chancellor presented his majesty's letter, which being read, the clerk was ordered to draw up an act in obedience thereunto to be proclaimed and made known to all the lieges. Accordingly next day the draught was presented and approved of, and proclaimed over the cross, with great solemnity, by the lyon king at arms, with all the trumpets and the magistrates of Edinburgh in their robes. This act of council is the echo of his majesty's letter. The

council, the same day, ordered a just copy of their act and proclamation to be transmitted to the king; for which his imajesty returned them his thanks. And thus prelacy was again brought into Scotland; from which I cannot but make the following remarks.

As his majesty's letter and the council's act and proclamation in consequence of it, was the foundation upon which prelacy was at this time established, so it is apparent, 1. That the king intended to deceive the ministers of the church of Scotland, by his letter to the presbytery of Edinburgh, wherein he declared his resolution to protect and preserve the government of that church, as it is settled by law; for in his last letter, these words, as it is, are artfully omitted, that there might be a fairer pretence för introducing bishops, upon that very ground which so many took to be an assurance given against them. When his majesty wrote to the presbytery of Edinburgh, prelacy stood abolished, and presbyterian government established by law, and the king's solemn oath was engaged to preserve the same inviolable. But, 2. It is apparent, that prelacy, in Scotland, was now restored entirely by virtue of the regal supremacy, of which the king was so tender, that he neither advised with his council, nor sought their consent, but required them to publish his pleasure in this point; for, though the parliament had rescinded all the acts passed since the year 1633, yet, they had by no act as yet, established diocesan Episcopacy; only the king interposed his authority for restoring that church to its right government by bishops, as it was by law before the late troubles; so that prelacy was one of the first fruits of absolute and arbitrary power. 3. The reasons given for this remarkable change were absolutely false. Inconveniencies are first mentioned, though not one instance is given. It is plain that profaneness was greatly suppressed, piety flourished, and many were converted, while the church of Scotland enjoyed her just and Jawful liberties; and, perhaps, these were looked upon as inconveniencies by the present managers. It is also alleged, that presbytery, though never named, was unsuitable to his mo, narchical estate. How soon had his majesty forgot that the presbyterians stood by him during his exile, and that they restored him to his crown! The confusions of the late times are also most unjustly laid to their charge, since they were al most the only body in the three kingdoms that stood out against Cromwell. And though his majesty pretended he was now moved from a regard to the glory of God, who, that observe him now interposing his royal authority for overturning that constitution, which upon his knees, and with his hands fifted up to heaven, he swore to maintain only a few years be