knowingly to sound a false alarm. But whether is it safer for the city to have a false alarm sounded upon an apprehended danger, or to have the mouth of the watchman stopt, that he cannot sound an alarm when the danger is real, and the city falling into the hands of the enemy.

"3tio. The reverend synod judge the appellant censurable for his expressions, without condescending upon any part of the word of God, standards of doctrine, or what branch of the government of the church he had receded from, as is evident from the paper of remarks itself. Yea, so far were they from pretending that he had departed from the standards of the church, that when a brother, in the course of reasoning, had asserted that the appellant had departed from the standards of the church, the synod allowed him, to wit, the appellant, to protest against that brother, that he should be obliged to make good his charge, and accordingly the said brother was called to the bar, and the appellant allowed to insist by his proxy against him, until he had satisfied for the offence, which the synod would never have done, if they thought that Mr. Erskine had emitted any thing inconsistent with the word of God, or our approven standards. Yea, though Mr. Erskine frequently insisted, in open synod, that they should condescend upon the errors he had vented, or the articles of our standards he had departed from; yet this was never done, as appears from the extract of the synod's procedure. And I submit it to the venerable assembly, to judge if it is just and equal dealing to condemn any man in cumulo, without shewing the particular rules which he has transgressed. 'Tis true, it was cast up in the course of reasoning, that the appellant had transgressed the law of love and charity, by taking notice of some of the particular evils of the day. But this is a very unjust allegeance, if it be considered that a minister of Christ discovers the greatest love to his own soul, and to the generation, when he gives faithful warning from God, that people may not rush upon God's neck, and the thick bosses of his buckler.

"4to. What is above advanced will be yet more clear, if it be considered, that when my expressions are viewed abstractly from the committee's remarks and inferences, which the synod disowned as none of theirs, they appear to be inoffensive even

as the committee states them; but when viewed as stated in my written defence, or as they stood in the delivery, they are not only inoffensive, but either scriptural or natively founded on scripture. For instance, Imo. When speaking of the corruptions of the Jewish church, what was there criminal in leaving it to hearers to judge whether any such corruptions were to be found in our day? Yet this is adduced as a proof that I run the parallel between the corrupt teachers of the Jewish, and the present ministry of the church of Scotland, though it be declared in my written defence, that I know there is a body of faithful ministers in this church, with whom I do not reckon myself worthy to be compared. I was far from making such an application of my text to the synod of Perth, as Peter did to the Jewish Sanhedrim, Acts iv. " The stone which is rejected by you builders, the same is become the head stone of the corner." 2do. Another of my expressions was, "That mistaken notions of the kingdom of Christ lie at the bottom of many things wrong in our day." And is this censurable? when we find the disciples themselves in the mist about Christ's kingdom, and falling into mistakes from this principle. 3tio. Am I censurable for saying, "That the Jewish builders trampled upon the people who attended Christ's ministry as an unhallowed mob?" when 'tis plain from the scripture I adduced, they pronounce an anathema against them, saying, 'that this people who know not the law are accursed.' I hope the reverend synod will never justify them in this matter. 4to. I am quarrelled for saying, as it is stated in the Remarks, "That they who come into the ministry without the call of the church, are but thieves and robbers." But let the whole period be put together, as I uttered it, and as it is exprest in my written defence, and I believe it will abide the touchstone. 5to. Of the same nature is the next expression, to wit, That it is the natural right of every family, or society of men, to choose their own servants or stewards, &c. as in my paper of defence, to which I refer. 6to. Was it a thing criminal or censurable in me, to say that I did not remember of any particular act since the revolution, asserting the headship of Christ in opposition to the innovations and encroachments that were made upon it in the times of persecution and tyranny? I do not deny but the headship

of Christ is asserted in our Confession of Faith, and en passant, in some other acts of assembly; but these, I humbly conceive, were not acts apropos, and did not answer the design in oppo. sition to the open indignities and affronts done to the sovereignty of the Son of God over his church, in these times, when the crown was sacrilegiously taken off his head, and set upon the head of a persecuting apostate. The parliament of England and Scotland, at the restoration of king Charles, judged it necessary to assert his right and prerogative, in opposition to the usurpations of Oliver Cromwell, by particular and express acts. And had not our assemblies much more reason to assert the prerogative and headship of our dear Redeemer, in opposition to the sacrilegious usurpations of king Charles, who, by act of parliament, had been declared supreme head, not only of all causes civil, but ecclesiastic, and thereupon the oath of supremacy imposed and taken?

5to. "As to the expressions I emitted in relation to the act of assembly, 1732, which the synod find fault with, as I said in my answers, I cannot, nor dare not retract my testimony against the said act; and that, Imo. Because the synod, according to the method of their procedure against me, seemed to look upon this act as a term of ministerial communion, which it can by no means be, in regard it had no being when the appellant, or any other minister admitted to the ministry before its enactment, were ordained; and if this act be a term of ministerial communion, why not other acts? and so we shall have as many terms of communion, as there are acts of assembly.

"There is no act of assembly declaring this present act a part of our standards, or declaring it unlawful for ministers to preach against it. Our form of church government is no doubt a badge of distinction between our church and episcopacy or independency, to which form I adhere; but to imagine all acts of assembly to be standards of discipline, is to enslave our consciences to the humours or rash decisions of men, who sometimes, as in the present case, outwearied with contentious debates, seem to agree to regulations contrary to the mind of their constituents, and the deliberate opinion of the diffused church, given in by their instructions to the assembly. It is alleged, that by subscribing the formula, I am engaged not to

preach against any act of assembly; but this can have no manner of weight, in regard it cannot be supposed that any thinking man ever engaged to be subject (as was said) to all acts of assembly that might take place after his subscription, unless they were agreeable unto, and founded upon the word of God; for this were to take it for granted that the church is infallible, and were a binding the consciences of men to an implicit obedience, which I am very sure was never the intendment of our engagements by the formula. Our subjection to judicatories is only in the Lord, from which no argument can be drawn for a sinful silence as to acts and constitutions, which seem to us to be against Christ's interests and authority over his church. This will be further evident, if it be considered, 2do. That this act, for preaching against which I am quarrelled by the synod, appears to me not only to have no warrant from the authority of the great Head and King of the church, but is inconsistent with the method of elections in the apostolical church, recorded Acts i. vi. and xiv. chapters inconsistent with the power and talent of trying the spirits of true and false prophets, and of discerning the voice of the shepherd, given by Christ, not simply to the wise, and noble, and mighty, but even to the poor of this world, whom he hath generally chosen rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom; inconsistent with that impartiality which the Lord requires of his ministers and courts in the affairs of his kingdom, where the rich man, or the man with the gay clothing, hath no manner of precedency to the poor man, or him with the vile raiment, James ii. at the beginning. What a dangerous thing is it for any church to cast out, or to cast off any of the Lord's little ones, and give their rights and privileges to the world's great ones as such? In fine, I think it inconsistent with the principles and practice of the best reformed churches, declared in their public confessions of faith, and particularly with the known principles of this church since the Reformation, and asserted in her books of discipline, which we are bound by solemn covenant to maintain. I shall only add, I am firmly persuaded, if a timely remedy be not provided, this act will very soon terminate in the utter ruin of a faithful ministry in the church of Scotland; in regard, that the power of electing ministers is thereby lodged in the hands of a set of men,

who are generally disaffected to the power of godliness, and avowed enemies to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the church of Scotland, as well as professed enemies to the government of our sovereign king George, and the succession in his family.

"For all which reasons, it is expected, from the equity of the venerable assembly, that they will reverse the sentence of the synod, and declare I am not censurable for any of these expressions quarrelled in my sermon.--Ebenezer Erskine."❤ To the above appeal, the Rev. Mr. James Fisher also signed his name, as adhering. But besides adhering to the above, he also gave in additional reasons for appealing from the sentence, which included among others the following pointed paragraph: -"4to. The only ground upon which Mr. Erskine could be found censurable, with any show of reason, was his speaking against the act of assembly, 1732; but I beg leave to say, that the reverend synod did considerable injury to truth, and to our constitution founded thereon, when they judged Mr. Erskine censurable on that score. For, Imo. They hereby declare Mr. Erskine censurable for speaking against a human constitution, which was never pretended, even by the patrons of it, to have the least shadow of a warrant from the word of God, but is plainly contrary thereto, as appears by all the arguments quoted by Mr. Erskine in his last reason of appeal, which have been enlarged upon with great evidence by most eminent hands, both ancient and modern, and were never called in question by any of this church till of late. 2do. By this sentence of the synod, finding Mr. Erskine censurable for speaking against an act which is not pretended to be founded on the word of God, it is impossible for any man to subscribe the Confession of Faith with a safe conscience. For, chap. xxvi. sect. 3. we subscribe our belief of this proposition, That the decrees and determinations of synods and councils, (N. B.) if consonant to the word of God, are to be received with reverence and submission; from whence it undeniably follows, that if these decrees are not consonant to the word, they are not to be received or submitted unto, as is plain from the next paragraph of the

* True State of the Process, &c. pp. 36-45.