thus yielding another practical proof, that | and continuous, as to imprison for an hour civil and religious liberties perish or exist and a-half the parliament which had pertogether. petrated this act of treason against the [1621.] Trusting that the spirit of the King of kings, by subjecting His Church nation was now subdued, after three years to an earthly monarch. This dark and of High Commission tyranny, the parlia- disastrous day was long known in Scotment was summoned to meet in Edin- land by the designation of "BLACK SATburgh on the 25th of July 1621, chiefly | URDAY,"—"black with man's guilt and for the ratification of the Five Articles with the frowns of heaven."* of Perth. The faithful ministers who We have now reached the close of still survived to watch over the welfare another period of the Church of Scotof the Church, endeavoured to move the land's eventful history,-a period full of parliament by earnest remonstrances, but instruction for the thoughtful Christian in vain; the course was predetermined, reader. It is painful to peruse the records and the result prepared. At length all of a crafty monarch's fraud and tyranny, preliminary arrangements being com--of aristocratic selfishness and avarice, pleted, the parliament proceeded to vote of the perjury and deceit of ambitious for the ratification or rejection of the Five Articles, without deliberation, and as if they had formed but one topic. Even then the opposition was very strong. Fifteen lords and fifty-four commissioners of shires and burghs voted; against the measure, and it was carried by a small majority. On Saturday the 4th of August 1621, this vote, subversive of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, was thus carried, chiefly by means of men who had solemnly sworn to maintain what they had thus conspired to overthrow. This day, sadly memorable in the annals of the Church of Scotland, was marked also by a singular coincident event, recorded by the historians of that time. The morning had been lowering and gloomy, and as the day advanced the gloom waxed deeper and deeper, as the gathering clouds seemed to concentrate their huge voluminous masses around over the city. At the very moment when the Marquis of Hamilton and the Lord High Commissioner rose to give the formal ratification to the acts, by touching them with the sceptre, a keen blue flash of forked lightning blazed through the murky gloom, followed instantaneously by another and another, so dazzingly bright as to blind the startled and terrified parliament, in the act of consummating its guilty deed. Three terrific peals of thunder followed in quick succession, appalling the trembling conclave, as if the thunder-voice of heaven were uttering denouncements of vengeance against the insulters of the dread majesty on high. Then descended hailstones of prodigious magnitude, and sheeted rains so heavy

and sycophantic churchmen, longing for prelatic pre-eminence in wealth and power, and of the sufferings to which the true-hearted and noble-minded defenders of the Church of Scotland were exposed, as they strove faithfully, though ineffectually, to maintain her principles and defend her rights. Yet it affords a signal illustration of the great truth, that the Church of Christ and the world are each other's natural antagonists, and that the more closely a Church cleaves to its Divine Head and King, obeying His precepts and following His example, the more certain is it to incur the hostility of crafty, irreligious, and wordly-minded men of every rank and station. It shows also, that the greatest danger a Church has to encounter is that arising from internal corruption. King James could not overthrow the Church of Scotland till he had gained over some of its ministers, and thereby succeeded in corrupting its courts, so as to obtain its own apparent sanction to his successive invasions of its rights and privileges. And it deserves. also to be remarked, that even when zealously working the ruin of the Church, there was in all the crafty despot's measures a strange tacit recognition of one of the leading principles which he sought to overthrow, the independent right of the Church to regulate its own procedure. on its own authority. Every one of the destructive acts by which Presbytery was overthrown and Prelacy introduced, was so contrived as to have its origin in some court or commission of the Church,never first in a civil court; thereby prac

* Calderwood, p. 783; Spotswood, p. 542.

tically admitting, not only that the Church | ratification by the parliament of 1621, courts were possessed of complete co-ordinate jurisdiction, but even that they were supreme in ecclesiastical matters. When the parliament even seemed to take the primary step, it was only in affairs manifestly civil, such as the restoration of the civil emoluments and civil jurisdiction to prelates; but the existence of the prelatic function itself, and the elevation of ministers to the prelacy, were matters with which the parliament did not interfere, till the Church had been induced to pass the acts which were competent alone to her jurisdiction. The hatred shown by the king to declinatures of civil jurisdiction in matters ecclesiastical, may be regarded as a proof that he was aware how constitutionally sound and religiously just was the claim of the Presbyterian Church; and that he, as a tyrant, detested it the more, because of its constitutional and sacred character.

CHAPTER V.

FROM THE RATIFICATION OF THE FIVE ARTI-
CLES OF PERTH, IN THE YEAR 1621, TO THE

NATIONAL COVENANT IN 1638.

Despotic Letter from the King.-Conduct of his Ma

jesty and the Prelates.-John Welch.-Robert Bruce.
-Proceedings of the Court of High Commission
against the Ministers, Universities, Probationers,
and People.-David Dickson.--Robert Boyd.-Rob
ert Blair.—The People and Magistrates of Edinburgh.
per and proceedings of Charles.-Changes in the

-Death of King James.-Charles I.-Despotic Tem-
Courts of Session and Justiciary.-Commission of
Teinds.-Proposed Act of Revocation.-Intention to

land.-Ambition and Rashness of the younger Pre

there had been a continual struggle between the prelates and the Presbyterian ministers; the former endeavouring to enforce obedience to these articles by the authority of the Court of High Commission; the latter protesting, refusing obedience, and resisting, notwithstanding the sufferings to which they were exposed. But still something was wanting to complete the power of the prelates, and to give a more legal aspect to their aggressions; for the minds of men in general revolted against the glaring tyranny of the High Commission,-a court depending solely upon the arbitrary will and command of the sovereign, but not recognised by constitutional law. The act of parliament ratifying the Five Articles of Perth supplied what had been wanting, and gave a constitutional sanction to the despotism and the treachery of these subversive measures. It was not the intention of either the king or the prelates to allow this power to remain unemployed. A short time after the passing of the act, Spotswood, archbishop of St. Andrews, received a letter from the king, not merely giving full warrant to proceed to extremity in the enforcement of the Five Articles, but even urging forward men who were already abundantly disposed to tyrannize over and persecute their brethren. "The greatest matter," said the king, in this remarkable letter, "the puritans had to object against the church government was, that your proceedings were warranted by no law, which now, by this last parliament, is cutted short; so that hereafter that rebellious, disobedient, and seditious crew must either obey or resist God, their natural king, and the law of the country. It resteth therefore to you to be encouraged and comforted by this happy occasion, and to lose no more time to procure a settled obedience to God, and to Us, by the good endeavours of our commissioner, and our other truehearted subjects and servants. The sword is now put into your hands: go on therefore to use it, and let it rust no longer, till ye have perfected the service entrusted to you. Such were the instructions of the infatuated king to his not less infatuated prelatic minions, for the destruction of a Church which he had termed “the * Calderwood, p. 784.

11

sincerest Church in the world," and had | if in the act of receiving her husband's repeatedly sworn to defend. And the decolated and falling head, "I would enormity of these instructions is certainly rather kep [receive] his head there !"not diminished, if, as Calderwood sug-James would not even permit the dying gests, and other authors more distinctly man to preach, till, hearing that he was assert, this letter was actually a mere at the point of death, he in mockery sent transcript of one sent to the king by permission then, when he believed it Spotswood, to be copied and returned to could not be accepted. But Welch joyScotland, stamped with the royal author- fully hastened to embrace the opportunity ity, a procedure which it appears, was of once more proclaiming the glad tidoften adopted by the treacherous and ings of salvation; and having preached tyrannical Scottish prelates.* A letter long and fervently, returned to his chamof a similar import was also sent to the ber, and within two hours rested from his privy council, commanding all the offi- labours, and escaped from the cruel and cers of state to conform, under pain of insulting tyranny of his oppressors. dismission; and enjoining them to see that all persons filling any subordinate official station, members of the Courts of Session and Justiciary, advocates, sheriffs, magistrates of burghs, and even clerks and sheriff-officers, should render im-gressing the bounds of his confinement. plicit obedience, or be declared incapable of holding office.

About the same time Robert Bruce, who had been residing for some years in his own house at Kinnaird, having been permitted to return from Inverness, was accused of seditious conduct, and of trans

He was imprisoned for a time in the Castle of Edinburgh, and then sentence. The Court of High Commission was passed that he should again be sent to not composed of men likely to let the Inverness, and restricted to that town and sword of double despotism which had four miles around it during the king's been put into their hands rust for want of pleasure; this sentence being accompabeing used. Its freshly, whetted edge nied by the sneering expression, "We was directed keenly against the faithful will have no more popish pilgrimages to ministers, and against all who refused to Kinnaird,"-in allusion to the frequent mould their faith according to acts of par- intercourse between Bruce and the most liament. And, as if for the very purpose pious people of the surrounding country, of proving that the cruelty of the king who resorted to Kinnaird to enjoy the and of the prelates was equally fierce and benefit of his instructive conversation. implacable, its effects were exhibited al- The prelatic party exulted in the oppormost simultaneously by his majesty and tunity of inflicting their mean malicious by them. The celebrated John Welch, vengeance upon a man whom the king, who had suffered a banishment of four-in an unwonted fit of truth and gratitude, teen years duration on account of the part he took in the prorogued Assembly of Aberdeen in 1605, had fallen into such a state of ill health, that a return to his native country was recommended, as the only means of saving his life. By great solicitations he obtained permission to return to London; but when his wife, a [1622.]-Not contented with these se-daughter of John Knox, obtained an vere proceedings against the venerable interview with the king, and requested fathers of the Church, the prelates directthat her dying husband might be allowed ed their attention to every minister of to breathe once more his native air, his eminence throughout the kingdom, remajesty, with coarse oaths, refused, un-quiring from each submission to the Perth less she would persuade her husband to submit to the bishops. "Please your majesty," replied the heroic matron, lifting up her apron, and holding it forth as

"Wodrow's Collection of Lives, particularly the lives of Gladstanes and Spotswood.

had pronounced worth the quarter of his kingdom. But what was meant as a punishment to him, became a precious blessing to the people of Inverness and its vicinity, who acquired then a relish for the pure gospel, which there is reason to believe, has never since been lost.

Articles. They had a twofold purpose in demanding urgently the compliance of such men by far the majority of the people regarded these articles with extreme dislike; and the prelates were well aware, that if they could prevail upon the

The tyranny of the prelatic party fell not less heavily on the people than on the ministers; for the people were every where as much opposed to compliance with the Perth Articles as their pastors could be, and in some places much more so; for in every parish where the minister was prelatic the opposition was of course made by the people alone. In such instances the prelatic ministers strove to persuade, or to force, the people to comply with the Five Articles of Perth; and

best ministers to subscribe, those ministers was banished to Turriff, in the synod of would either bring with them the people Aberdeen, where, however, he continued who were strongly attached to them, or to exercise his ministry, greatly to the adthey would lose that popular influence vantage of the inhabitants of that district, which they possessed. There was an- till he was afterwards permitted to return other alternative which they seem not to to Irvine. The other ministers, whose have taken into their calculation; they names were mentioned above, were also do not appear to have thought it probable subjected to similar penalties, some being that those ministers would continue to re- banished to one part of the country, others sist, braving the terrors of the Court of to another, and only one, so far as appears, High Commission, and by their suffer- permitted to remain in his own parish, ings increasing the popular detestation of but strictly prohibited from passing bethe prelatic system, much more than all yond its boundaries.* their arguments could have done. They were aware that they would themselves have yielded to any measure, when, by so yielding, they would both escape personal suffering and obtain the prospect of personal wealth, rank and power; and they could not conceive nor credit the higher principles of their antagonists. But it has often been the lot of cunning men to overreach themselves; and such was the lot of the Scottish prelates. The prelates held a Court of High Commission early in January 1622, and com- as the article which commanded kneeling menced their despotic course by summoning before them the Rev. Messrs. Dickson of Irvine, Dunbar of Ayr, Row of Carnock, Murray of Dunfermline, and Johnstone of. Ancrum. All these were men of great piety, much beloved by their people, and highly respected in the districts of the country where they respectively resided. Their submission was therefore earnestly desired by the prelates; or, at least, their forcible removal to distant parts of the country, where, being unknown, they would possess little influence, and their oppressors would the more easily carry forward their pernicious designs.

Of all these ministers, the case of Mr. David Dickson of Irvine seems to have excited the most attention. This eminent man was assailed by the prelates at one time in the language of entreaty, at another in that of fierce vituperative threats, to induce him to submit. His own congregation employed every effort for his protection; and the earl of Eglinton personally entreated the prelates not to remove him from his charge. But all entreaties were ineffectual; he had declined the jurisdiction of that despotic court, the High Commission, and this was an offence which could not be forgiven. He

at the communion was that which was most exposed to public observation, it gave rise to the greatest part of the contentions by which the peace of the country was destroyed. Many most disgraceful scenes of strife and confusion took place, even at the communion-table, in consequence of the prelatic party attempting forcibly to compel the people to submit to what they justly regarded as an attitude not warranted by Scripture, and bearing a close resemblance to the idolatrous service of the Church of Rome. Notwithstanding all their exertions, they could not prevail upon the people to comply. A few, and those in general the least respectable in character, did gratify the prelates by adopting their superstitious ceremonies; but by far the greater number either ceased to communicate at all, or resorted to the churches of those ministers who continued to follow the simple and scriptural customs of their fathers.

The universities did not escape the vigilance of the prelates, who were aware of the influence which the opinions of eminent professors naturally exercise upon the minds of their students. The celebrated Robert Boyd of Trochrigg was first obliged to leave Glasgow College,

Calderwood, pp. 792-794: