Relation of the Sufferings of Ministers in Scotland Since 1660, Errata
Courteous reader, ere thou read, amend these Errata as followeth.
PAg. 4. l. 18. followers, pag. 6. l. 24. Scotos, p. 8. l. 9. ridiculous, ib. l. 34. be. p. 10. l. 34. he. p. 14. l. 6. first r. fift. p. 16. l. 34: effect. p. 22. l. 30. dederent. p. 24. l. 30. effectuall. p. 29. l. 36. of. p. 37. l. 22. this realme p. 42. l. 19. worthies, r. worthy nobles. p. 45. l. 36. of, r. for p. 59. l. 14. be, r: the. p. 64. l. 29. chearfully. p. 67. l. 31. overcometh. pag. 73. lin. 5. specious, ibid. lin. 29. effects. pag. 78. lin. 20. there, r. their p. 80. l. 12. gentlemen, ib. l. 20. perceive. p. 85. l. 30. understood p, 88. l. 22. & 271. l. 26. this, r: his. p. 91. l. 23. & 132. l. 11. were, r. where. p. 109. l 13. scripture. p. 110. l. 21. & 202. l. 33. notion. p. 125. l, 21, together. p. 135. l. 33. decrees, r. doores. p. 137. l. 30. Sect. 22. p. 145. l. 25. r. 1572, p, 159. l. 31. they▪ r. them. p. 176. l. 27. belonging. p. 183. l. 5. essentiall. p. 186. l. 17, one r. once. p. 187. l. 28. guiltlesse …. 191. l. 11. …. p. 193. l. 22. taking. p. 207. l, 28. prohibition, ib l. 32. pastours. p. 224. l. 9. length. p. 225. l. 1. be beleeved. p. 239. l. 20. yeelded. p. 248. l. 4. pastor. p. 260. l. 5. is, r. as. ib. l. 16. ever, r. over. p. 280. l. 31. wrestle. p. 289. l. 26. known. p. 293. l. 21. civis. p. 305, l. 5. …all, r. call. ib. l. 6. omce, r. come. p. 312. l 26. further. p. 322. l. 31. though. p. 331. l. 32. should. p. 349. l. 18. which. p. 350. l. 19. & I will p. 351. l. pe…lt. how the Carthaginians. p. 362. l. 16. they r. their acts. p. 364. l. 25. it is, r. its. p. 366. l 3. his, r. this. ib. l. 8. twice here r. her. p. 372. l. 34. way, r. may. p. 373. l. 30. his, r. is. p. 382. l. 9. his r. this p. 383 l. …3. made, r. make. p. 385. l. 8. the, r. he. p. 386. l. 22. countrey. p. 387. l. 22. & ib. l. 35 worldly. p. 404. l. 9. no, r. on. pag. 419. …. 10. ever, over.
P. 126. l. 2. close the other parenthesis after, Agust 22. p. 304. l. 6. in …ome copies, r. & may be most free, Pag. 329. l. 21. & 330. l. 8. & 324. l. 25. & 353. l. 10. dele lib. 5.
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An▪ Apologeticall Relation, Of the particular sufferings of faithfull Ministers & Professours of the Church of Scotland, since Agust 1660.
IT hath been the common lot of all the afflicted & persecuted people of God, in all ages to meet with sad & bitter reproaches, as a constant concomitant of their other sufferings: Satan thinking it for his advantage to adde affliction to the afflicted, & to use his outmost endevour to break them with one sad exercice, at the back of, or together with another, is not satisfied with stirring up sore persecution against them, but endevoureth likways to load them with such reproaches & calumnies, as are able to break the heart of ingenuous & single hearted persons. And for this cause, the Lords people in all ages have been put to intreat that he would clear & vindicat them, & their actions from such foule aspersions, & make their innocency breake forth as the noon-day; & would direct them unto such ways & means, as might tend through his blessing, to their rationall vindication befor the world. Hence have proceeded the many Apologies & defences, which have been used of purpose, to clear to the world the true ground & cause of their sufferings, & to discover how groundless & unjust those reproaches & calumnies were, which men, whose hearts were full of wickedness, & tongues dipt in gall, had vented for this end alone, to render both them, & their just & righteous cause, odious to strangers.
And at this time there may be just cause to fear that the malice of that old enemy is not asleep, & that he is leaving no mean un-essayed to make the suffering Church of Scotland & her cause odious, in the eyes of forraigne protestant Churches, to the end she may not onelyonly misse & be disappointed of that Christian sympathy & fellow feeling which is expected of all the true membres of Christs body, but also (which is far worse) be condemned, & through her sides, the cause & truth of God (which ought to be more pre…ious to Christians then any thing else) be put to suffer, & by this means the great works of God, wherby he (convincingly even to enemies) did testify his approbation of the work of Reformation, begun, & caryed on there, these yeers bygone, be called in question, & fathered upon the Devill, which would be the hieght of iniquity, being (or at least bordering upon) that unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost, charged upon the Pharisees, Math. 12.
But notwithstanding of all this travail which this old enemy & his indefatigable under-agents are or have been at, according to their custome, to get the prejudices against that Church, which they have laboured to beget in the mindes of strangers, fomented, & so deeply rooted, as that there'shall be no place …or her, or any in her name, to publish to the world any Apology or defence, or a justification of her cause & ground of present suffering; It is expected that Christian Churches abroad, have reserved one eare open to Christ & his suffering followers & that a true representation of the present case & condition of that suffering Church, shall be heartily welcomed by them, whose eares have been hithertill filled with the clamorous outcry…s of men who make no conscience of oaths, let be of words, & who have learned exactly that lesson Ca…umniare audacter, semper aliquid h…rebit, Heap up many slanders & vent them with boldness & audacity, & something will slick.
Though there be no ground for any to thinke that nighbour protestant Churches have so far drunken in prejudices against that Church, or rec…eived such an impression from the misreports & misrepresentations which her malitious adversaries have made, as that an attempt of this nature shall seem altogether useless: Yet this is certaine that the most lively demonstration & representation of the present case & condition of that Church, that can be fallen upon, shal not hold forth unto strangers & forraigners such convincing light, & evidence of all maters there, as a few days being ear & ey-witnesses to all her present calamities, compared with the days of old, when the glory of the Lord appeared in the midst of her, would do. And therefor, though as to such who are indeed strangers unto the great things which the Lord hath wonderfully begun, & carryed on, in that Church, small successe can be expected, to follow such an interprise; yet as to others whether Churches or persons (of whom it cannot be, but that there is a great number, who have both heard, & wondered at the works of the righthand of the most High there, & have received much soul-refreshment from the report, wishing & earnestly supplicating for the like unto themselves, & longing for the day; wherin they might see the Lords arme streached out with the like Reformation & salvation unto other Churches about) this undertaking will have its own use & advantage. And, without all question, silence at such a time as this, might do much both to sadden the heart, & to stumble such as would be glad to hear of the stedfastness of the faithfull followers of Christ in that land, for if there were none to open a mouth for her now, nor any to plead her cause, it might be thought that all had so far changed with the times, as to condemne their own former proceedings, & to intertaine strange & unbeseeming thoughts of the wonderfull works of the righthand of the most High, wrought among them: & so become ashamed of their cause, & durst not adventure to speake in their own justification.
Therefor being consident of the good acceptance, which this undertaking shall meet with from compassionate & Christianly affected churches & people about, & persuaded that God, whose interest & Cause this is, will, in his own good time, arise & plead the same, & vindicate his work from all the aspersions, & calumnies of men, by a reviving therof in the middest of the years, & a best irring of himself for the carying on of the same, untill the copstone be put on, & therby give such ane unanswerable Apologie as shall be sufficient to stop the mouths of all adversaries, & to confirme his followers, & comfort the saddened hearts of his sufferers; This present piece of worke was the more chearfully undertaken, to the end (beside what use the present suffering members, of that church might make hereof for their own satisfaction incouragement & strengthening in the Lord) that such of the nighbour churches about whose ears have been filled with the slanderous reports, to the vexing of their souls, raised by the adversaries of that church, & caryed on by all the art of hell to the strengthening & confirming of their ill cause, may be undeceived, & rightly informed touching the truestate of affaires in that church.
And to this end, it will be sufficient in the first place, to give a short & clear Historicall relation of the troubles, which the former Prelats, which were in that church, did creat unto her, both in their rising, & when they did come unto their hieght, & of the wonderfull maner of the Lords bringing them down & casting them out of that land & church, with shame & disgrace: And then to give some vieu of the present state of that church, by mentioning some particulars, which are the grounds of the present sufferings of the people of God there, & clearing the equity & justice of their cause, who have choysed affliction, rathen then sin, & when by this means it shall be seen, from what an exellent & desirable state that church is now fallen, as in a moment, & into what a condition of wo & lamentation, she is now plunged, all who are Christianly affected with the afflictions of Joseph, may be moved to compassionat her case, & to sympathize with her, & if they can do no more, be stirred up to minde that bleeding, swooning & almost expiring church of Scotland at the throne of grace.