I

Subjoined to this, in M.SS. Vol. XXXIV. No. 20. Ex Libris Bibliothecæ Facultatis Juridicæ, Edinburgi, are eight and a half sheets of remarks not of the most Christian nature. insert the first as a sample, and decidedly the best."Some remarks upon a decretal epistle sent over from Batavia into this land, for rooting up and finale ruining of the remains of Christ's interests here, dated October 7, 1678." "Remark J. The author of this epistle is a person of good worth, no doubt, for, 1. He was once a lawfully ordained minister of the Church of Scotland. 2. One who stood when many fell, not being among the number of these stars whom the dragon, drawed with his tail, made fall to the ground. 3. Is one who, for a long time, hath been under sad sufferings for kind, for not only did he taste of imprisonment, as many before and since have done; but also now for many years hath been under exile. 4. He is one who hath not spent his time idly, under his suffering lot, but by a commendable diligence, hath improven it, through God's blessing, with good success, as appeared from several pieces bearing his name, which I have seen. But all these things being granted, and which I do acknowledge, yet I cannot think that there can be any such virtue or merit in any of them, or in all of them, or in any thing that he can pretend unto, as to entitle him, or formalize him into the capacity as some arch-prelate, primate, or pope, especially seeing he knows very well that there is nothing of that kind of divine warrant or institution, or to act at the rate he acts at, in this and others of his decretal epistles, for in this, without any the least word of the word of God, without any the least show of proof therefrom, without any one reason, drawn from any principle whatsomever, solid or unsolid, (things that the most supercilious of popes have stooped unto, in their decretals and bulls) without the concurrence and judgment of any of his suffering brethren, in this land, so far as I can discern, without the judgment and determination of any church judicature whatsoever; (and he knows that Christ's faithful ministers in this land, have not left their intrinsic capacity of making up these) without regard to the institutions of Christ, as that Matthew xviii. 15; yea, without sufficient information, as himself acknowledges, he sits down in a pontifical chair, as it were, and therefrom censures, determines, judges, condemns, and in a manner curses, or anathematises all the faithful ministers in Scotland, whether outed or unouted, whether indulged or not indulged, and brings them all under his papal decree and sentence.

I would have this author, considering seriously if this his practice can agree with the word of God, (if it were but upon this account, that it is a judging before the time, and so cannot be righteous judgment,) or with his professed principles, or with the doctrine and government of this Church, unto which he stands sworn in the solemn league and covenant, or unto the acts of our general assemblies, or unto that oath or solemn promise before the Lord, of submission unto his brethren of the ministry, which he made at his admission into the ministry, from none of which either paction or subscription can free him. It is considerable also, that none of the renowned worthies in the foregoing age did even presume such a practice, to wit, those who came under the sentence of banishment at Linlithgow, January 1606, Mr Melville, or Mr Calderwood, men far beyond any in this age, in the like condition, both for grace and gifts. They were always most tender of their faithful brethren, most tender as to the humbling of the Lord's people, and most tender of the remains of the Lord's work. But it may be this author will say, that they had not such a ground as he hath, and yet I shall make it appear that he hath no ground, and palpable it is that they had some ground. O what a sad age are we fallen into! O where are the Melvilles, the Forbeses, the Welshes, the Calderwoods, of the foregoing generation. Alas, instead of the humility, mortification, self-denial, and real zeal for Christ that were in these men, we have pride, prejudice, passion, and self-interest, vented under a pretence of zeal for Christ and his interests. The author speaks much against an usurped spiritual supremacy, though not so much as there is reason for, and yet he brings no reason against it. Is it not strange then, that he should usurp it in his own person? For me I do not acknowledge a spiritual supremacy over the Church in any save in our Lord Jesus Christ, and I do alike abjure the usurpation thereof in all other, whether prince, pope, prelate, or presbyter."

This seems to us to need no remarks. Mr John Dickson was minister of Rutherglen, was ejected, and preached much at conventicles; along with the brave Blackadder, was banished to the Bass, and, surviving the Restoration, died minister in Ruglen. The unknown but indulged author of these remarks has said so much that more need not be added except in the Notes. There are other three letters in the same volume and same number, and same date, which follow one another without any general remarks, the special annotations or particular passages, being thrown into the end of the

volume. None of them were ever before printed. They are copied on the same paper by Mr Brown himself, for it is evident that he intended they should be transmitted to posterity.

Letter to Mr John Welsh, Oct. 7, 1678.

M.SS. Vol. LIX. No. 90.

"Right Rev. and D. B.-Blessed be that God who hath made use of you and others, to lay the foundation of a new building in that Church, after so great a desolation and inundation of ignorance, wickedness, and all profanity, together with apostacy and unparalleled defection from former professions, vows, covenants, and engagements, which to me hath been, and yet is, a ground of hope of great and good things which He purposeth to do and bestow upon that Church, which is so much despised, and not much inquired after by other churches abroad, nay, not much sympathised with. He is the Lord, who will remember his covenant, and build up the walls of Jerusalem, even in troublous times. The thoughts of this are sweet, and yield matter of joy and confidence. But how sad is it, on the other hand, to observe the crafty devices and subtile workings of Satan, seeking to undermine and destroy all again, what by cruel persecution, prosecuted by his instruments, what without, what with some show of iniquous and unjust laws, more suitable to a Turkish power, than to such as call themselves Christians, (which howbeit fierce, sore, and terrible, yet hath not wrought us most woe, nor prejudged our cause most,) and what by this late (to me at least, who hath not heard much thereof till of late,) woful breach and division among the builders, and upon what occasion, I can understand little that is yet aboveboard, except about the indulgence, and how this should occasion any division or debate among the non-indulged, is, I profess, a mystery to me, unless many are become weary of the cross of Christ, and of preaching for him in the fields (though since the apostles' days, I doubt ever men had more encouragement and more live and real testimonies of God's approbation of their way and manner of preaching, though condemned by the laws of men, in that rich blessing of conviction, conversion, and establishment, and confirmation in the ways of God, that hath accompanied the same) and therefore would now have ease, und a mittimus that they may repose themselves in some quiet nest or other, under the wings of a like indulgence. What else can now principle so many into a compliance with that curse, which I had thought was sufficiently discovered in its rise, not to be of God, nor conso

nant to our former principles, but a manifest receding from former truths, and from Presbyterian and Anti-erastian principles, for which our Church did contend from the very beginning, and in suffering for which, to the sentence of death and banishment, your grandfather, with other worthies of blessed memory, did account themselves highly honoured of the Lord, as standeth on record to this day, yea, and confirmed not to be of the Lord, by the said effects and consequences attending it, and visible in all the places where that unhappy plant was set, in the general deadness, formality, lukewarmness, and indifference as to the work and way of God, in comparison, at least, with the glorious contrary effects that followed, when preaching with God's sole and immediate warrant. Whence is it come that many cannot hear the same mentioned as a sin before God, far less that any should preach within their bounds, except when called by them (which I should least of all approve,) and least of all that any should declare their entry so sinful, as that people must bear witness against it, by withdrawing to countenance such assemblings as are richly blessed of the Lord? I must profess these are the things I never expected, nor, (to speak my mind freely,) can I reconcile this with the readiness and willingness of those same persons to preach in field-meetings, is a wall to me, and a material condemning of the indulgence, and a real and actual counteracting of king and council in the contrivance; for it was expressly said to be done, to put down and hinder these field-meetings, and to take them away, wherefore, whosoever speaketh this in favours of the indulgence, and neither will themselves speak against it, nor suffer others (if they can hinder it) to speak their mind freely, must thereby upon the matter, and (as I apprehend it) before God condemn all field-meetings, the eye-sore of king and council, the destruction of which was the butt aimed at, by the wicked device of the indulgence. We may think to abstract the things in our mind, but when we are thinking to appear before God, who weigheth actions, such subtle abstractions and distinctions will not be found satisfactory. My dear brother, I was likewise surprised to hear that you were among those who would not speak against that piece of defection, nor preach, if the tent were but set one length of your staff within their bounds, and that even upon a week-day, when called to countenance a fast. This looked so unlike you, and your usual way of following the call of God, and looking over many things that others possibly would look upon as inconveniences, that I

could not but impute it more to some others influencing you than to your own genius and inclination. I shall not think that you went to bed that night with much peace. I am in this mind, that if you and others had gone in among the tribe of the indulged men, and preached there more frequently, the Lord should so have countenanced you, to the conviction of the indulged men themselves, that they should have been made to reflect upon their own way of entry and call, and, through the Lord's blessing, brought to a thorough conviction of their error, and thereby made to relinquish the same, whereby the Church had been for ever after delivered from the hazard of that evil, and I am afraid that all the sad consequences to the Church, and poor remnant that have flowed from that indulgence, shall be charged on some non-indulged, who, by not discountenancing of them, have confirmed them. But all that will not do. When the Lord returneth, its blackness shall be so discovered, that no orthodox faithful man shall open his mouth in the patrocinie of it. I am loth to tell you my fears, that if you go on in this course, now when people are calling for your declaring of yourself, your testimony is near an end, and you shall quickly fall into their hands, who shall show you no favour; and I am persuaded that you will wish for one day in the fields, to declare yourself against that evil that shall be hateful to your soul, as it is to the soul of God. It is good to be found about duty, and not shifting it in this day, especially when it is the casus confessionis of the day, whether Christ be sole head and king of his Church or not; and to refuse a testimony to this truth, were it but indirectly, is dangerous, when we know not how soon we shall appear before Him who will judge as king, and how such as favour the indulgence, but so far as that they desire silence anent it, can be in case to give a full, free, and plain, faithful testimony against the cursed supremacy. I do confess, such is my blindness I do not see it. I shall trouble you at present, my dear and worthy brother, no further, but shall leave these things to your serious thoughts, and wish the spirit of counsel and courage to be given you; and rest," &c.

Letter to Mr Richard Cameron.-October 7, 1678.

"Worthy and dear Brother,

Though I have no acquaintance, yet the report I have heard of your appearing for Christ and his cause, now when so many are not so zealous as sometimes they were thought to have been, and partly the report I have heard of the Lord