The History of the Indulgence, Part 1 (2 of 2)
The faithful Ministers and people, desireing still to follow the Lord, in the duty of the day, and finding so many and so great Difficul…ies, in their Assembling in Houses, where they were so easily attraped, and could with so great hazard meet, and with difficultie escape the hands of these Burrioes, were constrained at last to keep their Meetings in the fields, though without all shelter from Cold, Winde, Snow, and Raine: Whereupon the rage and fury of the Rulers, instigated by the Prelates, did break forth into more excessive and boundless Flames: Whence came severe Acts of Councel and Parliament against the same; and all wayes of cruelty imaginable taken, to suppress these House and Field meetings; field meetings being discharged under the paine of death unto the Minister and Convocater, and other grievous penalties unto such as did meet: Which course of severity and rigour hath continued unto this day: But to mention the several Steps, Methods, Means, Consequences and Effects of this Tragoedie, would make too long a digression,
It is sufficient for us to notice, that the Suppressing of these Meetings hath been the butt, a… which a great part (if not the far greatest) of the Acts and Actings of the Rulers have been levelled, ever since they began to appear; and the onelyonly occasion of so many Acts of Cruelty, and of Enormitie in point of Justice and Legality▪ they being the onelyonly eye-sore of these Enemies to Christ and His Interest, and that which they had been hitherto, both with cruelty and craft, seeking to destroy, by Tyrannical Acts and Lawes, and by more Tyrannical and illegal Executions; as if these Assemblers had been no more lawful Subjects, but open Traitours, and the Worst of Rebels. Hence came the filling of P…isons with such as were apprehended, the sending of such Ministers as were taken into the Basse; the setting of a great summe of Money upon the Heads of some; liberty granted to Souldiers to wound and kill, in seeking to apprehend Ministers, and to apprehend and trouble any person they found on the high-wayes; the selling of honest people, as Slaves, unto the French Captains, and unto Persons going to America; the Banishing of the Wives and Children of the outed Ministers, that were come to Edinburgh for shelter, commanding them to dislodge within the short day prefixed, under the paine of being forcibly shut up, or dragged out; the appointment of a Major in Edinburgh, with command over the Town Guards, and a good salarie for this very end, to apprehend, at all times, all such Ministers or people, as he could finde Assembling together; the out-lawing of several Ministers, and many hundereds of Professors, discharging all supply, were it but of bread or water or of a nights lodging, to be given unto them; and what not?
In the midst of all this furie, and after the quashing by blood, illegall & most falsly patcht up for saltures, of severall estates escheating and confiscating of goods, of that trouble Anno 1666., occasioned through the Barbarous Executions of illegal Commands, against simple Non-complyers with the course of Prelacy, the King (at whose instigation, or in compliance with whose Desire and Request, I know not; but that it was not of God, nor of Christ, nor of the Spirit, that I know) essayeth other meanes, and taketh other measures; (but all tending unto the same destructive end designed, to wit, the suppressing and banishing out of the Land all these Memorials of the Lords Covenanted Interest, and of his presence in the Land, the Assemblies, (I mean) of his Servants, to serve and Worshipe him; according to the pure Order of the Gospel, after the example of Christ and his Apostles, & those primitive Christians, which willingly followed and heard them,) when by cruelty the Rulers saw they were not able to attaine their end, but the more they laboured that way, to suppress these meetings, the greater and more frequent they grew, the craftie device of an Indulgence to some certaine select persons of the whole outed Ministers is fallen upon; which if it had been more General or Universal, than it was, had in all probability, proven an effectual meane for attaining of that, which they were so earnestly labouring for, viz. the extinction of the whole Remnant.
Being now to discourse of this Indulgence, as it is called, we shal beginne where it began to appear; that is at the Kings Letter to the Councel hereanent, dated at W…it…hal the 7. of Iuny 1669. which was as followeth.