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<DATE>2010-01-02</DATE>
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<NAME>Megan Marion</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B091112.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<STC T="W">L3083B</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">47012516</BIBNO>
<VID>174483</VID>
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<HEAD>The EARL of LOTHIAN'S SPEECH TO THE General A&s;&s;embly, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Right Reverend Mini&s;ters and Elders of this General A&s;&s;embly,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>I Shall not take up your Time with any thing concerning my &s;elf, being &s;en&s;ible of &s;o many Natural Unfitne&s;&s;es for the Character I bear, that it were no little Di&s;ingenuity, to endeavour by an Apo|logy to extenuate them; But being very unexpectedly Commanded by the King, who&s;e Orders I Di&s;pute not, to meet you at this A&s;&s;em|bly, I choo&s;ed rather to expo&s;e my Reputation which hitherto I have been tender enough of, with this Di&s;advantage to come after a Per&s;on &s;o well Qualified and Fitted for this Affair; then to decline any thing wherein His Maje&s;ty may think I could in the lea&s;t be Serviceable to Him, or have any Pro&s;pect of being any manner of way In&s;trumental in &s;ettling the Peace of the Church, which hath for &s;o long a time been Rent, without any great appearance hitherto of an effectual ways for its Healing.</P>
<P>And indeed the known Inclinations of His Maje&s;ty to go the greate&s;t length can con&s;i&s;t with Royalty, to effectuate &s;o good a Work, are no le&s;s Encouragements to your Well-wi&s;hers, then they &s;hould be Incite|ments to make you go all the Lengths and Advances on your parts, that &s;uch a Pious and Prote&s;tant King deserves at your Hands, who is willing to do more voluntarly, than what could ever be extorted from His Royal Pre|dece&s;&s;ors, even in their lowe&s;t Condition; And which can in Rea&s;on never be expected from any &s;hall &s;ucceed in the Royal Throne. But as no le&s;s was to be look'd for from the Return of your Prayers, and your &s;incere Endeavours in the work of the Mini&s;try in the mid&s;t of &s;harpe&s;t Tryals, than the ble&s;&s;ing of &s;uch a King, your Deliverer, who in following the Steps of his Renowned and Noble Predece&s;&s;ors the Princes of <HI>Orange,</HI> the Bulwark and Deliverers of the Prote&s;tant Intere&s;t throughout the world, hath now in a manner put it in your own Hands, to &s;ettle the Peace, and Unity of our Church; &s;o upon the other hand, if there &s;hould be any Shy|ne&s;s or Remi&s;ne&s;s in coming up the length to give His Maje&s;ty a &s;utable Re|turn, as it will be ju&s;tly thought by your Friends, a Stroke from Heaven, from hidden Cau&s;es of GODS un&s;earchable Decrees, as the De&s;truction of the Primitive Churches were; So the Opportunity lo&s;t, will be an Advan|tage and Rejoicing to your Enemies, probably not to be regained. But I &s;hall wi&s;h and hope for better things from this Reverend and Wi&s;e A&s;&s;em|bly, who have in your own Hands, to make your &s;elves a more general one, by uniting the Church, removing Error and Scandal, &s;topping the Mouths of your Adver&s;aries, and make the Church of <HI>Scotland</HI> more Fa|mous than any Church, or Church-men I know, who in no Age were much commended for Charity towards their Brethren; though no Chri|&s;tian Duty is &s;o much recommended by Holy Scripture.</P>
<PB N="2" REF="2"><!-- PDF PAGE 66 -->
<P>There is one thing I cannot forbear to mention, much talk'd of, being much in the Heads, and in Controver&s;ie in this Age, which is <HI>Church-Government,</HI> and which I cannot deny to be Material, it being the Hedge about the Vine|yard, without which the tender Plants cannot be rai&s;ed, neither the mature Fruit well pre&s;erved; Yet in compari&s;on of &s;everal others, it appears not to be of &s;o great Con&s;equence, being that which &s;o many Learned, Pious and Orthodox Divines differ &s;o much upon, who would &s;uffer Martyrdom be|fore they would yield to <HI>Points,</HI> that make not &s;o great Noi&s;e, and tho that <HI>Fence</HI> be of very good u&s;e, it cannot be &s;uppo&s;ed, it is rai&s;ed to keep out Fel|low-labourers, who are willing to work in the Vineyard; <HI>Since tho&s;e came in the la&s;t hour, were made equal with tho&s;e that came in at the fir&s;t hour, who had born the burden, and heat of the day;</HI> So it would &s;eem rea&s;onable, that &s;ince the Bi&s;hops, who were look'd upon as your Per&s;ecutors, being laid a&s;ide by Act of Parliament, and of whom, tho it cannot be &s;aid, they did come up the length of the Piety, or Moral Virtues, of tho&s;e Bi&s;hops of the Primitive Times, or of tho&s;e in our Neighbour Nation of <HI>England,</HI> who have given &s;o recent a Te&s;timony of their Faithfulne&s;s; Yet that &s;hould be no hinderance, why tho&s;e &s;hould not be cordially received into the Government, who are already in the Exerci&s;e of the more E&s;&s;entials, with this double Advantage, both to &s;trengthen you con&s;iderably, and leave the others without &s;o much as the hopes of either Party, or Abettors.</P>
<P>What can after this be the Grounds of rational Apprehen&s;ions or Jealou|&s;ies? Since Epi&s;copacy is now Aboli&s;hed, and Presbytary E&s;tabli&s;hed by an Act of Parliament, which his Maje&s;ty &s;ince, hath given repeated A&s;&s;uran|ces, not to alter; Sure then the mo&s;t Prudent, whereof, I am per&s;waded, there are many in this Grave and Wi&s;e A&s;&s;embly, will not &s;tand upon Ni|ceties and Punctilio's, &s;o extrin&s;ick to Men of your Profe&s;&s;ion, which even to Laicks, Princes or States, where Points of Honour have got &s;o unrea&s;on|able Footing upon, are at be&s;t but blameable Formalities, which neither an&s;wers the Laws of GOD, nor Men; nor Biggottry, which I hope, you need not be guarded again&s;t, though incident to Church-Men; And the Character of the Erroneous, is found to be oftne&s;t lodged in the narrowe&s;t Heads and Capacities, and frequently mi&s;taken for Zeal.</P>
<P>But I forbear, being loath to take up your time; Only this, that I think it a Stretch to Rea&s;on, to comprehend how Royal Authority, in a Prote|&s;tant King, can Cla&s;h with a Prote&s;tant Church, in his own Dominions, no Articles of Faith being controverted; So I &s;hall only lay before you, what His Maje&s;ty, with &s;o much Rea&s;on expects, and which both your Friends and Enemies, looks upon with &s;uch different Eyes and Expectations, and is, what I &s;uppo&s;e, your real Intere&s;t, in the fir&s;t place, cheerfully to receive your Brethren with open Arms, who are willing to Join, and who have never been made appear to be either Scandalous or Erroneous, and who are ready to &s;ubmit to the Government, and leave tho&s;e things of &s;maller moment, until that great Ble&s;&s;ing of a Chri&s;tian Charitable Union be perfected, without which, all endeavours el&s;e, will be to &s;mall purpo&s;e; But upon the other hand, if there &s;hall be any Mini&s;ters, that Preached under Epi&s;copacy, &s;hould now have any Remi&s;ne&s;s to imbrace the Offer of your accepting of them as it will di&s;cover what Spirits they are of, and what Mea&s;ures &s;hould be taken, &s;o it &s;hould not retard, nor render &s;u|&s;pect; tho&s;e who freely offer them&s;elves.</P>
<P>But I &s;hall hope, that henceforth, the only Endeavour &s;hall be, in an holy Emulation, who &s;hall &s;hew mo&s;t readine&s;s, to be Unite; That they may join their Labours, in the work of the Mini&s;try; And that my part may on|ly be that of a <HI>Witne&s;s,</HI> with the Satisfaction of having the Honour to Ac|quaint his Maje&s;ty of what I am confident he will be very well plea&s;ed with.</P>
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<P><HI>Edenburgh,</HI> Printed by the Heir of <HI>Andrew Ander&s;on,</HI> and Re-printed at <HI>London</HI> by <HI>G. Croom,</HI> 1692.</P>
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