brought forth in an unhampered freedom, for the beauty of the bleffing of human and Chriftian liberty, in its due and true boundaries. This was the subject of a difcourfe, as fome may remember, on that text whence this title is taken, Gen. xlix. 21. "Naphtali is a Hind let loofe." In profecuting of which, the fpeaker, with feveral others, falling at the fame time into the hands of the hunters, (to learn the worth of that interrupted subject from the experience of the want of it) an occafion was given, and interpreted by the author to be a call to study more the preciousness of that privilege predicated of Naphtali, which is the right and property of the wrestling tribe of Ifrael, the perfecuted witneffes of Chrift now every where preyed upon. And now, providence having opened a door for delivering himself as a roe from the hand of the i "hunter," he thought it his duty, and as neceffa. ry a piece of fervice as he could do to the generation, to bring to light his lucubrations thereupon; with an endeavour to difcover to all that are free born, and are not contentéed flaves, mancipated to a stupid fubjection to tyrants abfoluteness, that this character of Naphtali, "fatisfied with favour, and full with the "bleffing of the Lord," that he is a "hind let loofe" from the yoke of tyrannical flavery, is far preferable, in the account of all that understand to be Chriftians or men, to that infamous ftigma of Iffachar (the fin, fhame, and mifery of this age) to be "a ftrong ass, "couching under two burdens; and he faw that reft "was good, and the land that it was pleasant, and "bowed his fhoulder to bear, and became a fervant

unto tribute." But to all that are not altogether ftrangers in our Ifrael, it will appear, that this title is not inaptly applied to the fubject and defign of this treatise. The party whose case and caufe, and contendings are here. treated of, being known to have the fame fituation of refidence in Scotland that Naphtali had in Ifrael, viz. the weft and the fouth (Deut. xxxiii. 23.) will be found, among all our tribes,

moft

moft appofitely to bear the fignature of Naphtali, who, in their wrestlings for the intereft of Chrift and the liberties of his Ifrael, have moftly jeoparded their lives in the high places of the fields; and chiefly to deferve his elogy, being a "hind", (called wild by nickname in the fcorn of them that are at eafe, but) truly weak in their present wilderness condition, to wrestle against the force and fraud of their cruel and cunning hunters, who cease not (when they have now got the reft of the roes and hinds of the field made fait afleep, under the bondage of the lions dens and mountains of leopards, by a pretence of a falfely fo called liberty of confcience) to feek and purfue the chace of them for a prey; yet really they are "let loofe," and not only fuffered to run loofe, as a prey to the hunters, by the unwatchfulness of their keepers, but made to escape loose, by the mercy of the Mighty One of Jacob, from the nets of the hunters and fnares of the fowlers, and from the yoke of the bondage of these beafts of prey, to whofe authority they will not own a willing fubjection; and being fuch" hinds," fo "let loofe," they make it their work to give goodly words, for the worth and honour, and royalties of their princely mafter, and for the precious liberties wherewith he hath endoted and entrufted his fpouse and children, and to keep the goodly words of his patience, until he return" as a roe or a young hart up"on the mountains of Bether." This being the party who are reprefented as the wild folk of Scotland, the defign of this treatife is to hold forth the hiftory of their manifold chaces, the craft, keeness, and cruelty of their hunters, and the goodliness of the words of their teftimony, which, by reason of the likeness of the teftimony of former periods with the prefent, and that the latter may be vindicated by the former, is refumed from the beginning of the Church of Scotland's wrestlings against the enemies of Chrift, and deduced through all the most signal steps of this long propagated and hereditary war. And, left my words

fhould

1

fhould not be goodly enough, nor my notions grate. ful to the critics of this age, who caft every thing as new and nice, which is fomeway fingular, and not fuited to their fentiments; that it may appear the caufe here cleared and vindicated is not of yefterday, but older than their grandfathers who oppofe it, I dare avouch, without vanity, there is nothing here but what is confirmed by authors of greateft note and repute in our church, both ancient and modern, namely, Buchanan, Knox, Calderwood, Acts of General Affemblies, Caufes of Wrath, Lex Rex, Apologetical Relation, Naphtali, Jus Populi, Hiftory of the Indulgence, Banders Difbanded, Rectius Inftruendum, and fome other authors much respected, whofe authority, more always repelled by rage than ever yet refifted by reafon, though I value more than all the vain oblatrations of the oppofers of this teftimony, and think it fufficient to confute all imputations of its novelty, and to counterbalance the weight that may be laid on the contradictions of the greatest that treat on this fubject, yet I do not lay fo much ftrefs on the reafon of their authority as on the authority of their reason, which is here reprefented with that candour and care, that, left any fhould cavil that they are wrested or wronged when made to speak fo patly to the prefent controverfies, I have chofen rather to tranfcribe their words, than to borrow their matter dreffed up in my own, except where the prolixity and multiplicity of their arguments, as clearly demonftrating that which I adduce them for, as that for which they were primarily intended, did impofe the neceflity of abridging them, which yet is mostly in their own words, though reduced into a follogiftical form. But this obloquy of novelty being anticipated, when I reflect on the helps I have collected from fo many hands, I am rather afraid the truths here delivered be contemned as obfolete and antiquate, than caft at for new fpeculations. However, I am content, yea it is my ambition, that nothing here be

looked

looked upon as mine, but that it may appear this is an old plea, and that the party here pleaded for, who are ftigmatized with many fingularities, are a people who afk the old paths, and the good way, that they may walk therein; and though their paths be not now much paved, by the frequency of paffengers, and multitude of profeffors walking therein, and albeit it must indeed be confeffed the word of their tef timony is fomeway fingular, that the fame things were never the word of Chrift's patience, ftated as heads of fuffering before, yet they are not untrodden paths, but the fame way of truth which hath been maintained by the witneffes of Chrift in all the periods of our church, and afferted by the greatest confeffors, though never before fealed by martyrs. As for the arguments I bring to clear and confirm them, whether they be accounted mine, or borrowed from others, I am very indifferent, if they prove the point they are brought for, which I hope they will be found to do; but of this I am confident, there is nothing here can be condemned until fome one or more of these grave authors be confuted; and, when that is done, (which will be never, or against the thirtieth of February), there is something befides here, which will challenge confideration.

The defign then of this work is of great importance, even no less than to essay the difcuffing the difficulties of all our conflicts with open enemies, about the prefent state of the teftimony; the vindicating of all the heads of fufferings fuftained thereupon thefe twenty-feven years paft; the propofing of the right ftate of the teftimony for the intereft of Chrift, not only of this, but of all former periods, with an account of the propagation and profecution of the witneffes, wrestlings, and fufferings of it from time to time, to the end it may appear, not only how great the fufferings have been, fince this fatal catastrophe and overturning of the covenanted reformation, and unhappy restoration of tyranny and prelacy; but

that

that the grounds upon which they have been ftated, are not niceties and novelties, (as they are reproached and reprobated by many), but worthy and weighty truths of great value and validity, and of near af finity unto, and conformity with the continued feries and fucceffion of the teftimonies in all former periods. So that in this little treatise must be contained a compendious hiftory of the Church of Scotland, her teftimony in all ages, a vindication of the present state of it; yea, in effect, a fhort epitome of the fubftance of thofe famous forecited authors, as far as we need to confult them, concerning the controverfies of the prefent time with adverfaries; which is much, and perhaps too much, to be undertaken in fo fmall a volume. But confidering that many who are concerned in this cause, yea the most part who concern them. felves about, are fuch who have neither accefs, nor time, nor capacity to revolve the voluminous labours of these learned men for light in this cafe, I have done best to bring them into one body of portable bulk with as great brevity as could confift well with any my measure of perfpicuity, not meddling with any thing but what I thought might fome way conduce to clear fome part of the prefent teftimony.

Every undertaking of this nature cannot but be liable to feveral difadvantages that are unavoidable: this hath many discouraging and difficult. One is, that it fhall be expofed to the common fate of fuch reprefentations, to be ftigmatized as a feditious libel, and fo may be sent to the flames to be confuted; and, to inflame the fury of these fire-brands, already hell-hot, into the utmost extremity of rage against the author, that ever cruelty itself at its fulleft freedom did exert against truth and reafon arraigned, and cast for fedition and treafon: the only fanctuary in fuch a cafe, is, in profpect of this, to have the greater care that nothing be spoken, but what the speaker may dare to affirm in the face of cruelty itfelf. A fecond common difadvantage is obvious from the confideration of the

humour