leading them (as he does the blind in ways they kno not) by these difficulties, or elfe in paving to them a pa fage through the fame. So that as the mountains ar round about Jerufalem, the Lord's holy attributes, as many high and impregnable mountains have been roun about the church of Scotland, loving, and not leaving helping and preferving, ftrengthening and comfortin her. Her privileges have been great, fingular, and ma ny; for no church under the New Teftament difpenfati on hath had greater gofpel light, nor hath attained unt fuch a reformation, not only from Heathenifm, whic she attained unto even at the first planting of the gofpe among the nations, but alfo from Romish idolatries, af ter the gofpel light had risen again in our dark horizon even more and purer than any of her fifter churches though they had caften off the fame yoke; and not onl fo, but from Prelacy and Eraftianifm; and was brough into the ftricteft and folemneft of covenants, that ever people came under: and although fhe has never wanted enemies, and thefe oftimes very formidable, many and mighty, to contend with, and wrestle against, yet all a Iongft through every period, fhe hath had valiant cham pions for truth, even when fallen in the streets, and faithful and zealous contenders for the liberties and pri vileges Chrift her Head and King had endowed and endoted her with; fo that from the firft begining of the Reformation from Antichriftian darknefs, until this very time, there hath been a conftant teftimony for Chrift carried on, and kept up, though fometimes it hath had more, and fometimes fewer owners, and avouchers thereof, yet as one link of a chain depends upon another, fo it hath done, and hath been preferved unbroken, or uncut off to this day. But as great fins and multiplied tranfgreffions, after great light, and multiplied mercies, are very provoking to the Lord, to bring on a people guilty of the fame, före judgments, and terrible defolating ftrokes; fo the mentioning of our many and manifold mercies, and great and gracious privileges, fhould be fo far from puffing us up, that they fhould humble us, and lay, us low, even in the duft. And as the remembrance of what once we were, and from whence we are fallen, fhould fill our hearts with forrow; fo the confideration of what we are now, and the fears of what we may meet with, if repentance prevent it not, fhould fill our eyes with tears. We may take up a bitter lamentation, and fay, How doth the city fit folitary that was full of pro ple ple? How is fhe become a widow that was great among the nations and princes among the provinces? How is fhe become tributary? Alas! our crown is fallen from our head, wo unto us that we have finned. We that were once the head, are now become the tail. As there is a cloud of darkness, and deadnefs this day over the face of all the reformed churches; fo in a particular manner, Scotland hath a great fhare of the fame, and the cloud is fo thick that our prayers cannot pafs through. It hath been a long, weary, and dark night, and it yet continues a night of perfecution, divifion and desertion, as the punishment of our defection and apostacy, WHEN the glorious work of Reformation which was built at the expence of fo much pains and labour, prayer, tears and blood, was overturned and broken down, these folemn covenants broken and burnt, Chrift's ministers ejected, and hirelings put in their room, and abjured Prelacy established, and the fupremacy over the church (only proper to Chrift as Mediator) fettled upon the head of a monster; it might have been expected that this would have been the height of the nations revolt from the Lord, and that here they would ftand. But Oh! thefe who had broken the bonds of a facred covenant, and caft away thefe cords from them, and had proven fo perfidious and treacherous to God and man, could not be thought to have any tie upon them to restrain them from running the greateft length in wickedness that ever mortals arrived at: fo the generality of the bulk and body of the nation hath gone on in a continued course of rebellion against the Lord, and from one degree of backfliding unto another, until now they are near the borders of Babylon; yet notwithstanding this! dreadful and almost univerfal apoftacy, fince the laft fatal and fearful Revolution, even in the beginning thereof, the Lord preferved a remnant of faithful minifters and profeffors from faying a confederacy, and going along with thefe iniquous courfes: though their witnefs and teftimony was not so public as afterward it was, yet at Pentland there was a party who openly owned his cause and covenant: But for the punishment of former fins, and for future trial, they fell before their enemies, many of whom were murdered both in fields and on fcaffolds. Albeit this ftroke was both fore and deep, yet the wound thereof in a few years thereafter was near healed, and the dint thereof almoft forgotten for note with A 2 but of the fame nature with particular Chriftian facieties, gathered together in their general correfpondencies, in the time of extreme perfecution, by mutual advice and common confent, endeavouring jointly to know the fins and duties of the day, that fo they might be helpful and encouraging to one another in concluding what was neceffary for their prefervation, and the propagation of the testimony, according to the word of God, the law of nature, and the fundamental conftitutions and laudable practices of this antient covenanted church and nation of SCOTLAND, acting jointly and harmonioufly by way of confultation, deliberation and admonition. 2dly, Thefe refolutions, confented unto, and agreed upon by these prefent at the meeting, reprefenting the fociety or focieties they were fent from, though they neither were, nor are looked upon as formal ftatutes of either civil or ecclefiaftic judicatorics, yet they were underftood to be of an obliging force upon all who were confenters, partly by reafon of the nature of the thing, and partly by virtue of their confent; but no ways obtruding the fame, as extending over the whole land, because coming from us, tho' there lieth upon them alfo a moral obligation to perform fuch neceffary duties. ⚫ matters. 3dly, At the time when thefe meetings were firft frequented, it could not be expected that such order was in them as could have been wifhed, seeing the darkness and confufions of the time were great, and the weakness of those prefent at them not fmall, nor their oppofition from all hands defpicable; yet by degrees they afterward attained to a more exact method in managing of And though the word Convention, at firft was ufed to diftinguifh thefe meetings by, and fome refolutions therein concluded, may at firft view, seem to favour of authority; yet as the fame is not to be understood in that fenfe, which the ftrict acceptation of the word may import, fo the Chriftian charity and brotherly love of any not too rigidly cenforious will cover the fame, imputing it to weaknefs, feeing whenever they came to fee fuch things, or any other to be wrong or offenfive, they did forbear them and reforın. 4thly, Though the word Prefer was, and may be used ftill, yet that is not to be underftood of one having authority, but only of one for order, and avoiding of confufion in the meeting; and the word Commiflioner or Commiffioners, yet they are not to be looked upon as perfons clothed with authority, to act judicially in the meet ing they are delegate unto, but only as perfons reprefenting the refpective focieties they were fent from, that at the meeting with their brethren, they might unanimouf ly confent and conclude upon what was incumbent and neceffary for them; and that when they went home, they might acquaint the fociety which fent them, with what paft at these meetings. 5thly, Though those who will be at the pains to read over this account, may fee fome refolutions concluded on at these meetings, which had small,or no effects following upon the fame, yet this need not be thought strange, if it be confidered that as fometimes difpenfations may fall out, betwixt the falling upon the 'conclufions, and the performance of what was concluded or refolved upon, (which at the time of the refolution was not thought upon) that may be the caufe of counting it expedient to alter the fame; and the want of ability may hinder the performance of what was intended: So the refolutions complied unto, and agreed upon at these meetings, are to be looked upon, not fo much what they did, as what they were willing to do, in their station, for the advantage of the caufe, if opportunity and ability had corref ponded to their defire: However they cannot be altogether freed from forgetfulness and laiznefs, things incident to them as well as others. Having premised these things, I fhall give the relati on of what I promised. THE firft of thefe General Meetings was kept upon the 15th of December, 1681, at the Logan house, in the parish of Lifmahagow and thire of Clidefdale. Before, or at which time, the condition of the country was tamentable, the cruelty and malice of the enemy was come to a great height; they were preffing conformity to their iniquitous courses, and alas ! they were much complied with. Defection was growing, fin was abounding, and the love of many was waxing cold, fnares and temptations were increafing; and which was fad, people wanted faithful warning of the fin and danger of the time, for miniiters (as if change of difpenfations could give a difcharge from indifpenfible duty) were lying bye from the public preaching of the gofpel, and did not (as becomes watchmen) fet the trumpet to their mouth, to give a certain found of what was duty and what was fin, in fuch B a time a time of great danger and extreme neceffity: But efpecially the cafe of the fcattered, reproached, perfecuted, and yet contending party was fad; for upon the one hand enemies rage was keen against them, fo that they were reduced to very great ftraits, of hiding, chafing, wandering, imprisonment and killing: So upon the other, as the want of the faithfully preached gofpel was very wounding to them, the enjoying of which in purity and power, would have been refreshing, encouraging and watering to them in their weary wilderness condition : So the fad reproaches and odious calumnies, particularly being of Gib's principles, which were caft upon them by many, especially by fome minifters and profeffors, was not eafy to bear. Notwithstanding of which, and many more difcouragements, the forefaid day and place, A meeting did conveen, confifting of perfons fent from feveral focieties up and down the country, who owned and adhered to the Teftimony of the day. The occafion of which meeting, is a little hinted above; in thort, it was this: To confider about, and determine upon giving a Public Teftimony against the wicked acts of the late Parliament, efpecially that wretched Teft, and for settling a correfpondence thereafter among all them of one judgment in owning the teftimony.-After they were met, and prayer ended, it was thought convenient that a certain number fhould be chofen out of the whole, for the more speedy and eafy refolving upon what they were met about; which being done, the first thing they did, in reference to the making of any conclufion, was the revising and rectifying of an Act and Declaration, (the form whereof being drawn up before) wherein, after they have related how the late deceaft tyrant, Charles the II. was legally caft off by the Declaration published at Sanquhar, they give reafons of their revolt from, and difowning of his authority; and in the end they fhew their adherence to the Rutherglen and Sanquhar declarations. So they declare against whatever hath been done by Charles Stuart and his accomplices, in prejudice to our antient laws and liberties, in all his feveral pretended parliaments fince the year 1660, and particularly the late parliament holden at Edinburgh, July 28, 1681, by a Commiflioner profeffedly Popish, and for villainy exiled his native land, with all the acts therein enacted; as that abominable, ridiculous, unparalleled, and foul-perjuring Test, and the reft. After this was done, the fame was pub-` licly read in the audience of all prefent at the meeting, and |