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by four brethren;

With a DIALOGUE upon it by fix who have as good a right to judge of what is teftified by Jefus Chrift.the Lord, in the fcriptures, as the Affociate Prefbytery, or any other prefbytery:

A nation, and a church of nations shall be of thee! Gen.

XXXV. II.

Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, I have made thee à father of many nations. Rom. iv.

16. 17. There be fome that trouble you, and would pervert the goSpel of Chrift. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accurfed. As we faid before, fo fay I now again, If any preach any other go Spel unto you, than that ye have received, let him be as curfed. Gal. i. 6.—9.

First published in the year 1737.]

Unto the moderator and remanent members of the presbytery affociated in the caufe of the covenanted work of reformation, and testifying against the Several steps of defection from the fame,

The Representation and Petition of the perfons fubfcribing,

TH

Humbly Sherweth,

HAT whereas you must be looked on as the fittest men to convince gainfayers, by the word of God, and the VOL.

3 F 2

readient

readiest to render to every one that asketh you a fcriptural reafon of the cause for which you contend with so much zeal, as if your hope depended upon it, we judge it most proper to lay before you fome difficulties we have, as to that covenanted work and ftate of the church, to which you are bearing witness, earneftly defiring you may take them under your ferious confideration, and do your beft to fatisfy us and all others of the truth of your testimony by the word of God. For, who can be heard teftifying concerning the covenant and church of God, without the fcriptures? Or, who can oblige us to ferve the Lord Jefus Chrift without his ław ?

Though this may juftly claim the preference to any other thing about which your time may be employed; yet, to fave your time, we chufe to propofe our difficulties as briefly as we can, in the manner following.

1. We even find it difficult to reconcile thefe nations of Britain and Ireland, being all Chriftians, or difciples of Christ, and ruled by Chriftian magiftrates, as his covenanted kingdom, to these words of his, Mark x. 42-45. "Ye "know that they which are accounted to rule over the na"tions, [rar 8vv] exercife lordship over them, and their great ones exercife authority upon them. But it shall not "be fo among you; but whofoever will be great among you, "fhall be your minifter; and whofoever of you will be the "chiefeft, fhall be fervant of all: For even the Son of man "came not to be miniftred unto, but to minifter, and to give "his life a ransom for many." And, Luke xxii. 24—30 "For whether is greater he that fitteth at meat, or he that "ferveth? Is not he that fitteth at meat? But I am among 86 you as he that ferveth. Ye are they which have continued "with me in my temptations: and I appoint unto you a "kingdom, as my father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and fit on "thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Ifrael."

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The more we think on this difcourfe, with the occafion of it, the lefs are we able to reconcile it with the nations made Chriftian, and brought or kept in fubjection to the minifters of the gospel, by fecular power.

2. Nor do we perceive how the following exhortations can apply to a nation of this world, fuch as Scotland, or how it could remain a nation in obeying it, viz. Luke xii. 29. to 34. "And feek not ye what'ye fhall eat, or what ye shall "drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind: for all these

"things do the nations of the world feek after; and your "father knoweth that you have need of these things; but "rather feek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things "fhall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock, for it is

your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell "that ye have, and give alms: provide yourselves bags "which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth "not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupt "eth: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be "alfo."

As a nation of this world, fubfifting in the pursuit of the defign of this exhortation would be a thing very extraordinary, we cannot wonder at our Lord's making fuch distinction as he here makes betwixt his little flock, and the nations of this world.

3. We have not yet feen any thing that is fufficient to fhew us the confiftency betwixt the covenanted kingdom, concerning which you teftify, and our Lord's good confeffion that he witnessed before Pontius Pilate, concerning his kingdom, John xviii. 36. 37. And here, for the fake of brevity, we refer you to the things offered in the explication of that text, in the book, intitled, The teftimony of the King of martyrs, which, no doubt, you have seen.

4. Nor can we understand how our Lord's words to the Jewish nation, Matth. xxi. 43. as applied by Peter, 1 Pet. ii. 9. 10. can be applicable to the ftate of the nation of Scotland, under the national covenant, or of Britain and Ireland, under the folemn league and covenant.

His words are: "Therefore I fay unto you, the kingdom "of God fhall be taken from you, and given to a nation "bringing forth the fruits thereof." And Peter fays to the elect, ftrangers and pilgrims fcattered throughout many countries, "Ye are a chofen generation, a royal priesthood, "an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye fhould fhew "forth the praises of him who hath called you out of dark"nefs into his marvellous light; which in time past were "not a people, but are now the people of God; which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." And if you please to compare this with Exod. xix. 5. 6. and Rom. xi. 17.-20. and tell us how the nations were ingrafted in the days of the apostles, and how they were to ftand, it would ferve much to clear this whole matter.

We have been confidering the feveral things ordinarily infift ed on to fhew a 'scripture-warrant for the covenanted work

to

to which you are bearing witnefs; and we judge it not amifs to lay before you the exceptions which we are not able to remove, being willing, by your help, to fee the weakness of them, if poffible.

ift, The first argument, taken from the covenant the Lord made with Ifrael at Sinai, renewed by the kings and people of that nation, after their backflidings from it, and by the captives returned from Babylon, we are not capable to re concile with Gal. iv. 24.-31. and Heb. viii. 6.—13.

The argument ftands on this foundation, That the new covenant is not another covenant than the covenant at Sinai, but that they are two difpenfations of one and the self-fame covenant; contrary to the exprefs words of the apostle, and to his whole defign in these texts.

And when we confider his defcription of the people related to God in the new covenant, in distinction from the people to whom he stood related in that old covenant, we cannot apply it to any nation of this world; at least it never was applicable, fo far as we have heard, to the bulk of the people in Britain and Ireland, far less to the whole, no not when they took the folemn league and covenant.

And further, when we think of Christ in the loins of Ifrael, the children of Abraham according to the flesh, as the foundation of the relation betwixt God and that nation; and when we view the law or covenant wherein God declared himself their God, as given to that nation of which Chrift was to come, with a design that it should be fulfilled by him, as the end of that law for righteoufnefs to every one that believeth; we have a question, If these who are preffing upon us a national covenant with God, according to that, be not thereby deny. ing that Chrift is come in the flesh? John iv. 3.

2dly, The next argument from the prophecies of the Old Teftament concerning the nations, feems to us to serve a gainst the apoftolic explication of these prophecies, whereof we offer you one remarkable inftance, Acts xv. 14.- -17. "Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the na. ❝tions, to take out of them [vav] a people for his name. "And to this agree the words of the prophets, as it is "written, After this I will return, and will build again the "tabernacle of David which is fallen down, and I will build "again the ruins thereof, and I will fet it up, that the refi"due of men might seek after the Lord, and all the nations “ [xavтa тa s8vn] upon whom my name is called, faith the "Lord, who doth all these things."

If the word that is translated nations, in the Lord's commiffion to the apoftles to go and teach all nations, [xavea Ta

] had been fo tranflated where-ever it is used in the apoftolic writings, which shew us how they executed that commiffion according to the prophecies, every reader of the Eng. glish bible would easily fee, that national churches were never intended in the commiffion " to teach all nations," nor in the prophecies of the Old Teftament about the nations.

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As all these prophecies go upon the footing of that promife to Abraham, " In thy feed fhall all the nations of the

earth be bleffed," the Apoftle explains them quite away from national churches, by his application of that grand promife, Gal. iii. 13. 14. "Chrift hath redeemed us from the "curfe of the law, being made a curse for us ;- That "the bleffing of Abraham might come on the nations “ [Ei6 Tα e&m] through Jefus Chrift, that we might receive "the promise of the Spirit through faith."

We cannot but look on every interpretation of the prophets that is not brought from the New Testament, nor directed by it, as a "private interpretation ;" and therefore, if we should take up with an application of the Old-Teftament prophecies to national churches and covenants, so very different from the apoftolic application of them, we might fear our becoming fome way partakers in that cenfure, which is infinuated by the Apoftle, when he is directing Chriftians how to take heed to the word of Old-Teftament prophecy, which was confirmed on the mount of transfiguration, 2 Pet. i. 16.-21. and ii. 1. He fays, "Knowing this firft, that "no prophecy of the fcriptures is of any private interpreta "tion for the prophecy came not in old time by the will "of man: but holy men of God fpake as they were moved "by the Holy Ghoft. But there were falfe prophets also among the people, even as there fhall be falfe teachers a"mong you, who privily fhall bring in damnable herefies, " even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon "themselves fwift deftruction. And many fhall follow their "pernicious ways, by reafon of whom the way of truth shall "be evil spoken of."

We are of opinion, that not only thefe who deny his Godhead, and deny him as the alone Lord of the church, are to be accounted deniers of the Lord that bought them, but they alfo who deny his dying teftimony concerning his kingdom, and his redeeming a peculiar people out of every nation, according to the prophecies, Titus ii. 14. Rev, v. 9. and who

deny