The History of the Indulgence, Part 1 (1 of 2)
THE HISTORY OF THE INDULGENCE.
AFter the unexpected Alteration (which proved indeed a Convulsion falling-out so suddenly) that came upon the Church, after the Kings restauration, when beside many other sad passages, (and too many here to be commemorated) the memorie of which may make tears trickle down from our eyes, so many of the able, painful, faithful and succesful labourers in the Vineyard of the Lord were by one Act of Councel at Glasgow Anno 1662. put from their work; and by violence thrust out of the Vineyard, where the Lord had set them to labour; even to the number of Three hundered and above. Nor was it enough to the Rulers to banish all those by an Act from their own Parishes; but to make this banishment yet more grievous, and the life of those faithful Servants of Christ yet more bitter and less vital, they thereafter did command them to remove from their own Paroches twentie miles, six miles from a Cathedral Church, and three miles from a Brugh. After (I say) this surprizing and astonishing blow, tending so directly to the overthrow of the Lords Ministrie, in that Church, and the Introduction afterward of abjured Prelacie, whereby the Church became suddainly filled with aswarme of locusts; and the many Acts made to enforce a compliance among the people with this defection, and actual conformity thereunto, and that so violently and rigorously, as even simple withdrawing was made seditious and criminal, and severely punished: the ejected Ministers began to think with themselves, that this tyrannical ejection did not, nor could not, unminister them, or make them no more Ministers of Christ; so as they might not preach the Gospel, wherever they were, as Ambassadours of Christ; but, on the contrary, they saw, that they lay under the wrath and displeasure of God, if they should not preach Christ; and that a necessity was laid upon them, yea and wo was unto them, if they preached not the Gospel; according to that 1 Cor. 9: v. 16. and they observed likewise, that the necessity was now great, yea greater than ever, upon many accounts: And on the other hand, the people being more and more alienated from the Swarm of Curats, as being not only prodigiously profane, and lascivious, vaine and ignorant (enough to demonstrate, that they were never the authorized Messengers of Christ) but also highly guilty of perjurie and defection, in their compliance with, receiving their commission immediatly from, acting in subordination to, and by a power derived from the abjured Prelates, contrare to the Word of God, the Primitive Pattern and our own Reformation, confirmed by Oaths, solemne Vowes and Covenants; and being sensible of an obligation still lying upon them to owne the outed Ministers, as the faithfull Servants of Christ, and therefore under a necessity to hear them, and to receive the Ordinances of Christ, as dispensed by them: both the one and the other saw themselves called to some other exercise, both to restifie their adherence to their former avowed Profession, their abhorrence of the abjured re-introduced Prelacie, and their willingness to keep Christ, in his pure Ordinances, in the Land.
Wherefore not a few of the more serious Ministers, bethinking themselves, and considering the many obligations lying upon them, to preach, and to be instant in season and out of season, and considering the urgent necessitie, and withall the cheerful readiness and willingness of the people to hear, saw themselves called of God to preach as Ministers of the Gospel, wherever providence ordered their abode; and thereupon, as occasion offered, preached unto all such as were willing to hear; but at first (that they might as little displease the Rulers, as possible) only in privat houses, and that for the most part, (if not altogether) at such times, when there was no publick Worshipe in the publick meeting places. (A superplus of caution.)
But such was the rage of the new installed Prelates, and such was their Indignation at, and Enmitie against those outed Ministers, and chiefly at and against the work they were about, as knowing that if Christ were keeped in the Land, and a memory only of him were reserved, they could enjoy no quiet in their usurpations; that they ceased not to stirre up the Rulers, to all extravagancies of Cruelty, for suppressing of the Innocent, Peacable and Harmeless Assemblings. Hence came severe prohibitions, discharging all such meetings under exorbitant Penalties, both upon the Masters of the houses, where these Assemblies were found, and upon the Minister found there exercising, and upon all and every one present, without exception, Hence were houses forced and searched, and many hailed to prisons, and several necessitate to escape at windowes with the hazard of their lives; Officers and Spies sent unto and set in several suspected places, to seize and fall upon such, as they found at such meetings, or but suspected to have been there: whence it came to passe that many, both men and women, young and old, have been dragged to Prisons, and there closs keeped, as if they had been the worst of Malefactors, besides several other outragious and illegal Acts of Violence and Oppression committed against them, contrarie to all Law, Equitie and Conscience.