A

CLOUD of WITNESSES,

FOR THE

Royal Prerogatives

O F

JESUS CHRIST:

OR, THE

Laft Speeches and Teftimonies

Of thofe who have fuffered for the

TRUTH in SCOTLAND,

Since the Year 1680.

Together with

An APPENDIX containing the Queensferry Paper, Torwood Excommunication, a relation concerning Mr RICHARD CAMERON, Mr. DONALD CARGIL, and HENRY HALL; and an account of those who were killed without process of law, and banithed to foreign lands: With a thort view of fome of the oppreffive exactions

REV. vii. 14. These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

The

The Tenth Edition, corrected and Enlarged with the Teftimonies of John Nisbet younger, John Nifvet of Hardbill, Robert Miller, Thomas Harkness, etc. A Letter of John Semple's, and of Archibald Stewart's. Paper found upon Mr. CAMERON at Airfmaßs, and an Acroftick upon his name. The Teftimony of John Finlay in Kilmarnock. The Epitaphs upon the Grave-Bones of Mr Samuel Rutherford, Mr. John Welwood, and the noble Patriots who fell at Pentland-hills, etc.

ABERDEEN:

Printed and fold by J. BOYLE, Head of the Broadgate. M.DCC.LXXVIII.

40,10 1906

THE

PREFACE

TO THE

REA DE R.

CHRISTIAN READER,

T

HE glorious frame and contrivance of Religión, revealed by the ever-bleffed JEHOVAH in the face or perfon of Jefus Chrift, for the recovery of loft Mankind into a state of favour and reconcilement with himself, is to excellently ordered in the counfels of infinite wildom, and exactly adjusted to the real delight, contentment and happiness of the rational world; that it might juftiy be wondered, why so many men in all ages, otherwife of good intellectuals, have not only had a fecret difguft thereat themselves, but laboured to rob others of the comfort and benefit of it and make the world a chaos of confusion by Perfecutions raised against it; had not the holy Spirit in the Scriptures laid open the hidden fprings of this malice and en mity, which exerts itfelf in fo many of the children of men We are told in thefe divinely inspired writings, that the firt. fourse of this oppofition that the true

world, flows originally from Satangion meets with in the

Phi

that inveterate enemy o God's glory, and man's happiness; who having himfeif, let his original state of obedience to, and enjoyment of God hi Creator, hath no other Leavamen of his inevitable miferies but to draw the race of mankind into the like ruin, which i the only fatisfaction that malicious fpirit is capable of. reftlets adversary perceiving, that, through the grace and love of God manifested in Chrift, a great number of these whom hi thought he had fecured to his flavery, are redeemed, and called by the gospel out of that intolerable fervitude, into glorious liberty, and fecured by faith to falvation; labour by two great engines, open force, and fecret fraud, to keep

them in, or regain them in his obedience; hence the facred Scriptures defcribe him, both as a Dragon for cruelty, and a Serpent for fubtility: But becaufe he either cannot, or thinks not fit to do this visibly in perfon; therefore he does it more invifible and fo more fuccefsfully by his agents, in whom he works, who, becaufe of their unreafonable unbelief, are called children of imperfwafion': Thefe he acts and animates, as it were fo many machines, to endeavour by crafty feduction, or violent perfecution, to draw, or drive the followers of the Lamb from their fubjection, obedience and loyalty to the captain of their falvation, that he may drown them in perdition and deftruction This is the latent origin of all perfecution, the mint where all the other more visible causes of the bloody violence the people of God meet withal, are struck and framed. This is the grand defign to which they tend, to root out the obedience of faith out of the world, and deprive the Son of God of his rightful dominion over his fubjects, whom he hath chofen, redeemed and fanctified for himself

As this holds true of all the perfecutions, raised against the church and truths of God, whether in the perfons of the Jews or Chriftians, by whatever hands, Pagan or Antichriftian, fo 'tis eminently verified of the perfecutions of the Church of Scotland, profecuted by a profane wicked generation of malignant Prelatifts, during the reigns of the late King Charles II. and James VII. For as the other perfecutions were all levelled against fome point of truth or or other, wherein the obe dience of faith was concerned, refpecting either the existence and worship of the true God, or the perfon. natures or offices of Jefus Christ etc. So this perfecurion was directly bended against that office and authority of Jefus Chrift, whereupon his formal claim to the obedience of his church is founded, viz. his headship over his church. This was the peculiar de politum concredited to the church of Chrift in Scotland, and her diftinguishing dignity to have the royal fupremacy of the King of Zion to defend against the kings of the earth, who not content with the princely authority of ruling the perfons of their subjects, according to the laws of God, and the realm, would needs ufurp a blafphemous facrilegious prerogative of ruling the church and confciences of men in room of the Mcdiator by what laws and ftatutes they pleased, and found most fubfervient to their luft, for advancement of Popery and arbitrary government.

Jefus Chrift the only begotten of the Father, having received the Church of Scotn 1, as one of the utmost ifles of the earth for his poffeffion, by folemn grant from Jehovah, was pleated, as to call her from the dep orable state of Pagan, and reform

I

her from the ruinous condition of Antichriftian darkness; fo
to dignity her in a peculiar manner, to contend and fuffer for
that truth, "That he is King and Lawgiver to his Church,"
having power to inftitute her form of government, to give
her laws, offices and cenfures, whereby the fhould be govern
ed and hath not left it ambulatory and uncertain, what govern-
ment he will have in force for the ordering of his house, but
hath exprefly determined in his word every neceffary part
thereof, and hath not put any power into the hands of any
mortal, whether Pope, Prelate, Prince or Potentate, as a vi-
carious head in his perfonal abfence, whereby they may alter
the form of government at their pleafure, and make what kind
of officers, canons and cenfures they pleafe; but all the power
that this king hath left in his church, concerning her govern-
ment, is purely and properly ministerial under the direction
and regulation of his fovereign pleasure, revealed in his writ

ten word.

This, this is the most radiant pearl in the church of Scotland's garland; that the hath been honoured valiently to ftaud up for the headship and royal prerogative of her king and hufband, Jefus Chrift, in all the periods of her reformation. For no fooner had the thrown off the yoke of the Pope's pretended jurifdiction and authority, but prefently, while the was labouring by means of thefe cenfures, which Chrift had inftitute, to root out the damnable herefies which that enemy had fown, all on a fudden king James VI. naturally ambitious and initigate by intereft and projecting counfellors, attempts a rape upon her chastity and loyalty to her husband and Lord, and by his royal order ftops her freedom' of fitting, yoting and acting in her fupreme courts, imprisons some of her most zealous and fathful ministers, calls them before his council, indicts them of treason and leefe Majefty, for their making use of the freedom Chrift had given them, and after their declining his and his councils ufurped authority in fpiritual matters, and fo witneffing a good confeffing for the royal dig nity of their Master, banish them their native country, (See Calderwood's hiftory, from Page 491, to Page 536, and downward) upon the fame bottom of a pretended royal jurifdiction over the church, he attempted, and in a great measure effected the establishment of Popith hierarchy and Romifh ceremonies, by fetting up Prelates, and bringing in the Perth articles, flattring fome, and overawing others of the miniftry into a complyance therewith, perfecuting the zealous and faithful contenders for Chrift's headthip, and the government of his divine institution, with vexatious profecutions before high commiffion courts, suspensions from their office, wandrings, confine

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