ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN Production Note Project Unica Rare Book & Manuscript Library University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign 2015 •{fry-' n? M9SW? SOME OBSERVATIONS, New COVENANT. By A ndrewWaddel Soldier in Edinburgh Caftle. Prov. XXX. 12. There is a Generation that are Pure in their own Eyes, yet are not wafted from their Filthineft. Pfai. Ixxviii. io. They kept not the Covenant of God} QPc. Gentlemen SSceders, I Have perufed your New Covenant, which accidently fell into my hand; I was the more curious to read it, That I might know the Nature of that Oath, which you call a Renewing of the Old National, and 5o-lemn League and Covenant. For certainly, to covenant with GQJD, has been (at fome certain L IN A E C ET) UPON THE Seaions)C 1 ) Sea Tons) the laudable Pradice of the Church in former Ages; and alfo of this Nation in later Times. _ But is a Work not to be gone about, fare with the outmoft Sincerity, Truth and Honefty : J1 is highly Irreligious for men to be falfe, or hypocritical, in order to impoie upon People in an affair of fuch Moment; efpecially when Men go about to periwade others of the Reality of that they do not at all believe themfelves: You are the Men who proclaim loudly, that you renew the Old Covenants, iworn fometimes by the People of all Ranks within theie Lands. And yet one would think, and that not without good Evidence, that even you yourfelves, do not believe what you declare fo openly to be Fait: For how is it pofifible, do ye imagine, That your Covenant or Oath, can be a renewing of the National and Solemn League and Covenant ? Can four deposed Minifters, with their Creature?, and Followers, be the Body repreientative of a Nation ? Or can a National Deed be renewed, u'hen that repreientative Body, who firft afted the Thing is wanting ? With what Shadow of Reafon, will ye-perfwade that what ye Ad herein to be National? Whatever can be alledged, for your Juftifi-cation, as to this, yet ftill the Thing is ineradicable to every intelligent Perfon; for even confi-der it as an Oath that ye renew, and laying aiide the Notion or Idea of a National Oath] and let Os iuppoie, (which indeed is not the cafe with you) That theie Oaths be repeated by you ver-x ¿rtf tc* ?e>(a ( 3 ) verbatim, and (worn ; yet this is not fufficient to make your Covenant tiie lame with Thar, nor far Icis can it be laid to be a renewing of it*: * Except you be of the very lame Sentiment and Principle with them who {wore it formerly ; for then you behove to take the words and phrafes in another ienfe, than they, and fo can never be tied t© the very lame Duties; thus judge, bow you endeavour to impoie on your People, and every Body elfe, in forcing the Belief of That which (in your iituation) is impoiiible : For your Cove- nant agrees not with theie, neither as to the Matter, nor Manner, nor are ye of the lame Principle, In a word, you neither (wear the fame Words, nor do ye mean the fame Thing, which any Man may lee by comparing : Your Oath is rather adjufted to your picfent Meridian, than to that of our Fore-Fathers ; theie fwore againft Scbifnt; which Claufe you have no regard to, and has purpofely overlook^; bcfiaes your Principles, as to Point of Civil Government, are quite different from theirs; for they own no King or Government to be Lawful, nor to be obeyed as fuch, but who a<5ted in Conformity to tbcfe Covenants they had (worn ; ns their Principles, are plainly fet down in that Book call’d, the Hind Let Loofe, and other Writings in that Period. Hear what the Good-man of the Whig» fays on the Subjed, when Addreiling the King, Sir, vce your Loyal StrvjcEls are, *To ferae you baith in Peace and War j Baith( 4 ) Jniith with our Fortunes and our Lives} But ij our Confcieme or our Wives ft) any Man be meddled with, We'll lailh defend with a9 our Pith. Thefe Kings, who sded not conform to theie Covenants, they would not allow them to be Kings de jure\ and chooied rather to iuifer, than own their Authority, or pay them Tribute ; yet the Old Covenanters, in the ftrongeft Terms bound themfelves, in Conformity to their Oath| to be loyal to their Sovereign ; but nothing of this is to be ieen in your Covenant; yet you fav, you renew thefe Covenants, while your Principles are the very Reverie to theirs: For you own, you fay, my Matter to be a Lawful King ; who, to uie your own Words, has iworn to maintain the Hierarchy of the Englijh Church; how far you differ from the Old Covenanters herein, your Proceis with Mr. Nairn, and Excommunication of David Lefty, are ftanding Evidences. You \AOUid fain adi in Difguife, and fo hai'e kept that Article out of your Covenant, and mutt ttand unrenewed; and that in regard of your hoodwinked hearers, left unhappily they fnould pel” ceive your Cloven foot. ’Lis true you iwear that you will reform England, and Ireland, but one fnou d oe worthy of Bedlam to believe you ferinus; or that ye ever intend to fet abouc'the Work : but it behoved you to imitate the Old Covenanters, in iome Thing ; efpecially where there is no danger» Otherwife, your Child could not be „ called ' ***’**!■* ■ yiUC ( 5 ) called afier that name, and io come ihort o£ due reiped from poor People, who, had they known its Natural Parents, would not have entertain’d it with the fame Reipect. If you had only covenanted againft the Sins and Backflidings of your own Day, and iworn a future Reformation of Life, herein would you been worthy of Commendation, and might have produced, for your precedent, ancient and latter Times; who in ieafon of great Defe&ion, Persecution, or the like, bound themfelves to be for GOD, and to ffand againft the prevailing Corruptions of their Day; and this itfelf would have been to your Honour to have performed: But herein, you fully all the Glory of what you have done, and that by your Hypocrify; in affirming, you renew theie Covenants, in order to raife your finking Reputation, by making forne filly Witlefs People believe you ad a Part you never yet intended ; fince to renew, is to ad the 1 hing over again: And Oaths are more iacred, than to ad- mit of Acceffion,or Detraction, otherwife it muff: be a different Oath, or Covenant. And as was laid, tho’ you had fworn the fame Words, yet being of a different Principle, makes yours a different Covenant; and coniequently, in this Cafe there can be no renewing. Often have ye. complained of others, for being guilty of burying thefe Old Covenants, but you aie the only People who have attempted to do it, effedually, and that while ye iubftitute your own in their Place, in order to render theie obfoletc : And if this be not an attempt to bury them, let youifelvcs ber « ) be judges. And this is the more evident to any who has the very leaftdifeerning, from the Procedure of your Presbytry, by their Aft, February 4th, 1744 : Wherein you refufe the fealing ordinance of the Lord s Supper to all who* have not the freedom to fwear your Covenant, and at the iameXime, believe, in fo doing, he is renewing the Old Covenants, while yet it appears plain, he does no inch thing. Now what is this, but in-duftrioufly burying tbeie, and tying People to your own, the better to keep up your Se& and Party; but to debar all from that holy Ordinance, who dare not do fo much Violence to their underilanding, as to believe a Contradiction, to fay no worfe, is that, for what you have neither Rule nor Precedent from your Bibles; n®r do I know where you can have any, if you do not borrow' it from His Holineis; for GOD never commanded any fuch Terms of Communion. Hereby, you make the holy Sacraments but drudges and crois to your Party; it hath been your way of Jare. to cry out againft others, as Men of Lax, and Lantudinarian Principles ; but had great need to look into your own, left they be not too Pha-nfaical and Narrow; for my parr, were I to choofe, I would Join w'irh Chanty fide, calling my Eye upon your publick acknowledgments of Sins, antecedent to your fwearing your Covenant. I could not but notice how pun&ual and particular ye are, when confefiing the Sins of others, and that to the lead Aggravation : Yet at the fame time, how general, defective and fupperfi- ciai( 7 ) cial in regard of your own. No word there how far you afted with the Revolution Kirk, (as you call it) and were as iilenc about the Covenants, as iome of your Neighbours, nor how far untempered Zeal prompts you to refleft on every Body ; but would take no Reproof yourfelves: No word there of what finful Hand you have had in making a rent in the Kirk, without any other cauie, lave meer Pride ; iince many of thofe you have feparate from, are known to be Men of as found Principles, and holy Lives, as any of you can pretend to : No word there of your go- ing about induftriouily, through the whole Country, and fowing the Seeds of Diviiion in Pariihes betwixt Minifters and their People ; nor do you confefs your great Hypocrify, in crying aloud a-gainft Patronages, and yet fettle your own Creatures within other Men’s Cures, without the conient of either Heritor or Elder. No word of your oppreffing the poor People of Scotland, by perfwading them to pay another Stipend to you ; as if, otherwife, their Salvation were in danger .* No word there of your uncharitable and malicious Speeches againft all who have any appearance of Piety j if fo be they follow not you; giving out that they are under Sacanical Influence, and believe in an Imaginary Chrift. Nor, in a Word, how you have placed Mr. G~I’s malicious, lcandalous, and I may fay, blafphe-mous^ Invective, among your pious conrendings for iruth: He lays indeed, for his Juftification, That what he wrote, was out of the Fullnefs of( 8 ) of his Heart, but tis thought, by many of good Judgment, 'J hat it was rather out of the Empci-neis of his Scull • I wifh Gentlemen you would oblige the World with a Confeffion of your Faith, that we might know in what Category to put you : For as yet, as faith the Old Proverb, You appear to be neither good Wig nor Whey. finis. Trinted in the Tear, 1745.