A FRAGMENT ON EZRA IX.

OUR joys and griefs are the pulse of our hearts, and tell the temper of them. Earthly joy and sorrow take deep with an earthly heart, but little affect that which is spiritual and heavenly; and in this, those prayers and griefs are strong that arise from spiritual causes, which most of men scarcely feel at all: yea, a holy heart stays not in its own interest, in its mourning or rejoicing, but hath more sense even of other men's sins, than commonly they themselves who are guilty. Rivers of waters, says David, run down mine eyes, because they keep not Thy Law. Psal. cxix. 136. Of this same temper was this holy man. Oh! how would a few, how would one such person in a congregation, advance the work of a public fast, more than hundreds of us! And such an one's silence speaks more than all our noises; his sitting astonished till the evening sacrifice. Little, shallow griefs find the tongue more readily, but the greater are not of so easy vent but stop a while though pressing to be out, as a full vessel with a narrow mouth. It was so with Ezra's sorrow for the people's sin; but when it gets out, it springs upward with the greater force, even up to heaven. I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, and said, Oh! my God, I am ashamed, our iniquities are increased over our heads. q. d., These cover me with shame, and 1 blush to lift up my face to those heavens whither our iniquities are gone up before: when I would look to thee, I spy our horrible transgressions got thither first, and munity of the people, thereby engaging such droves of poor ignorant persons to they knew not what, and (to speak freely)

sta ding before Thee and accusing us. Our transgression is grown up to heaven. It hath had a long time to grow in, and all that time hath been incessantly growing, and therefore grown so high. Since the days of our fathers, we have been in this trespass. Generations pass, but yet your sins abide. When the succeeding generation follows on in it, the former sins are reserved, and the latter added to them, and so, they are kept alive. Thus they grow. This fills up the measure, and ripens a people for judgment, that is filling and growing all the while suitable to the sin, till it be poured out. Hence, public calamities, and long-lasting judgments on people.

Now these two things aggravate: great judgments inflicted, and great deliverances granted. Yet after both, this people had forsaken God's commandments. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that Thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this. Is not this just our case? Have we not been sharply scourged, though indeed far less than our iniquities, and have we not been seasonably and wonderfully delivered in our extremities? And yet have we not again broken His commandments? And do we not still generally and grossly continue so doing! Oh! what shall we say to our God? We cannot stand before Him, because of this. Let us, therefore, fall down before Him, and confess, and supplicate; and there is yet hope that He will be gracious.

CHARGES

TO THE

CLERGY OF THE DIOCESAN SYNOD OF

DUNBLANE.

1. Bishop Leighton's Charge to his Clergy, Sept. 1662.

FOR DISCIPLINE.

FIRST, That all diligence be used for the repressing of profaneness, and for the advancement of solid piety.

Secondly, That not only scandals of unchastity, but drunkenness, swearing, cursing, filthy-speaking, and mocking of religion, and all other gross offences, be brought under church

censure.

Thirdly, That scandalous offenders be not absolved, till there appear in them very probable signs of true repentance.

Fourthly, That inquiry be made by the minister, not only into the knowledge, but the practice and track of life, of those who are to be admitted to the holy communion; and all profane and evidently impenitent, persons be secluded, till their better conversation, and obedience to the gospel, be more apparent.

Fifthly, That family prayer be inquired after; and they that can, be exhorted to join with it reading of the Scriptures

FOR WORSHIP.

First, That instead of lecturing and preaching both at one meeting, larger portions of the Holy Scriptures, one whole chapter at least of each Testament, and Psalms withal, be constantly read; and this not as a by-work, while they are con

vening, but after the people are well convened, and the worship solemnly begun with confession of sins and prayer, either by the minister or some fit person by him appointed.

Secondly, That the Lord's Prayer be restored to more frequent use; likewise, the Doxology and the Creed.

Thirdly, That daily public prayer, in churches, morning and evening, with reading of the Scriptures, be used, where it can be had conveniently, and the people be exhorted to frequent them; not so as to think that this should excuse them from daily private prayer, in their families and in secret, but rather as a help to enable them and dispose them the more for both these: and let the constant use of secret prayer be recommended to all persons, as the great instrument of sanctifying the soul, and of entertaining and increasing in it the love of God.

Fourthly, That the younger sort and the ignorant be diligently catechised, at fit times, all the year through; and that work not wholly laid over on some days or weeks before the celebration of the communion; but that the inquiry at that time, be rather of their good conversation, and due disposition for partaking of that holy ordinance, as was said before in an article touching discipline.

Fifthly, That ministers use some short form of catechism, such as they may require account of, till a common form be agreed on.

Sixthly, That preaching be plain, and useful for all capacities; not entangled with useless questions and disputes, nor continued to a wearisome length; the great and most necessary principles of religion, most frequently treated upon; and oftentime larger portions of Scripture explained, and suitable instructions and exhortations thence deduced; and let that be the sermon at that time; which will doubtless be as truly preaching, and as useful, if not more so, than insisting, for a whole sermon or more, upon one short verse or sentence.

The Bishop propounded to the Brethren, that it was to be remembered, by himself and them both, to how eminent degrees

of purity of heart and life their holy calling doth engage them; to how great contempt of this present world, and inflamed affections toward Heaven, springing from deep persuasions within them of those things they preach to others, and from the daily meditation of them, and fervent prayer: And that they consider how ill it becomes them to be much in the trivial conversation of the world; but, when their duty or necessity involves them in company, that their speech and deportment be exemplarily holy, ministering grace to those with whom they converse: And, (to add but this one thing, so suitable to ministers of the gospel of peace,) that they be meek and gentle, and lovers and exhorters of peace, private and public, amongst all ranks of men; endeavouring rather to quench, than to increase, the useless debates and contentions that abound in the world; and that they be always more studious of pacific than polemic divinity, that certainly being much diviner than this, for the students of it are called the sons of God. Matt. v. 9.

II. The Bishop's Address after the business was over, October 1665.

AFTER the affairs of the Synod were ended, the Bishop shewed the Brethren he had somewhat to impart to them that concerned himself, which, though it imported little or nothing, either to them or the church, yet he judged it his duty to acquaint them with; and it was, the resolution he had taken of retiring from this public charge; and that all the account he could give of the reasons moving him to it, was briefly this: the sense he had of his own unworthiness of so high a station in the church, and his weariness of the contentions of this church, which seemed rather to be growing than abating, and, by their growth, did make so great abatements of that Christian meekness and mutual charity, that is so much more worth than the whole sum of all that we contend about. He thanked the brethren for all their undeserved respect and kindness mani