Ruf. It might as well be asked, why is an oath, by which witnesses in civil courts engage to speak the truth, and nothing but the truth, insisted on? For they are under the highest obligation to do so from the law of God. It is true, nothing can be added to the obligation of the Divine law in point of authority: but the obligation of an oath is of another kind, and is appointed by the Divine law itself, as a proper means of impressing the mind with a deeper sense of its authority and obligation.

The public and joint engagement of church members to adhere to the truths and ordinances of Christ, is one of the appointed means of promoting their steadfastness, amidst manifold temptations to lukewarmness and wavering. Hence the Israelites were solemnly charged to "remember the day on which they stood before the Lord in Horeb," as a preservative against relapsing into idolatry.*

In public covenanting, a professing people declare in the most express and solemn manner, that Jehovah is their God. They avouch

"their testimony with their blood: though they declared, that they were not under an "obligation from these covenants to defend the king or to maintain the privileges of the "parliament, when both were prostituting the power, they claimed, to the destruction of "true religion, and of the liberty of the subject."

Mr. Logan, having thus shewn how the covenants of our ancestors or predecessors in the church ought to be renewed, gives it as his judgement, that the practice of public govenanting is seasonable at present, and confirms this judgement by various weighty

reasons.

"I confess," says he, "I cannot give a satisfactory answer to such as inquire why the "synod does not proceed to public explicit covenanting with God. Public covenanting is a duty suited to every generation of church members. Vow and pay unto the Lord, is an express precept. But if this duty is to be omitted, except in very singular emergen"cies of the church, or what church officers deem to be such; it may not be attended to "for many generations; though still confessed to be a moral duty. Public covenanting "has been eminently countenanced by God, and been a singular mean of bringing about c6 a revival in the churches. It was the glory of the British and of the Irish Presbyterian "churches. It is a duty which many professors of religion seem industriously to shun. "But, in so doing, they are far from being suitably exercised. It is a duty as really be"longing to the church as baptism and the Lord's supper; and bears a special reference "to the covenant of grace. Deut. xxvi. 17. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be "thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments and "his judgements, and to hearken to his voice. We ought to avouch the Lord to be our "God, with all the solemnity possible; even with the solemnity of an oath. This appears "from precepts, promises and prophecies of scripture, and from reason. That it is sea"sonable at this time, appears from various considerations. Temptations are many and strong, whereby professors of religion are in hazard. Infidelity and irreligion are pre"valent. Heresies and delusions abound, whereby the doctrines of the gospel are clouded. "There appears to be a general restraint of the influences of the Holy Spirit. The Lord "has been justly displeased: we, with our fathers, have sinned; therefore, we ought to "turn unto the Lord. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, "Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be "forgotten. If it be objected, that we profess the truth at large in our systems of truth; "to this it may be answered, that we do not confess in as explicit a manner as we are "warranted to do, even with the solemnity of an oath; nor are we giving others that "assurance which we have in our power to do: an oath for confirmation is to men an "end of all strife: nor do we honour God so explicitly as we might by solemn explicit "covenanting, in confessing the being, the perfections, the cause and interest of the living "God."

From this extract it appears, that this pious minister died a hearty friend to a testimony for the obligation of the covenants of our forefathers on posterity, and for the seasonableness of public covenanting in the present day. To this case, the words of the poet are applicable:

him to be their God* upon the ground of his promise, I will be your God, and ye shall be my people. They acknowledge, in this peculiarly solemn and impressive manner, their new covenant relation to God in Christ, both as the most engaging motive to obedience, and as the most powerful plea, that they can use in prayer.

Public covenanting is an eminent mean of promoting mutual confidence among people engaged in the same cause. It is the native expression of zeal for the truths and ways of Christ; particularly, when they meet with remarkable opposition. Some have represented covenanting as tending to discourage free inquiry in matters of religion. But the truth is, it excites christians to search the scriptures: for when they are convinced that it is their duty to promise, with the solemnity of an oath, a steadfast adherence to the various articles of their religious profession, they find, that if they would not awfully profane the name of God, by swearing ignorantly or falsely, they must have a clear and distinct understanding of these articles, as contained in the word of God.

Our joining in public covenanting, has a manifest tendency to give the world in general, and especially other churches, a deep impression of the importance of those truths, that are specified or particularly referred to, in our solemn engagement. Who can read or hear the declaration of one of the ancient fathers, Gregory Nazianzen, concerning his belief of the doctrine of the Trinity, without being affected with the infinite importance of that doctrine?

"By the eternal Word I swear, even by that great Divinity, who, "being the brightness of his Father's glory, and in nature equal to "him, came down to us from his eternal kingdom. I solemnly swear, "that I will never embrace any evil opinion, repugnant to the truth; "that I will never exchange the true God for another-particularly, "the eternal Word for one of inferior dignity; and that, by no appli❝cation, shall I ever be induced to divide the Divine honour due to "the ever blessed Trinity."+

Hence, public covenanting is a proper mean of handing down to posterity, what the church of Christ has attained in doctrine, worship, discipline and government, as a sacred trust to future generations.

In fine, public covenanting has been eminently countenanced by Heaven. It has been attended by the remarkable outpouring of the Divine Spirit. Mr. Livingston was an eye-witness of the covenanting of Scotland, in the year 1638. "I was present," says he, "at "Lanerk, and in several other parishes, when on a Sabbath, after the "forenoon's sermon, the covenant was read and sworn :—And I may "truly say, that in all my life-time, excepting one day at the kirk of "Shots, I never saw such motions from the Spirit of God; the people "generally and most willingly concurring. I have seen more than a ❝ thousand persons, all at once, lifting up their hands, and the tears "falling down from their eyes."‡

This work went on prosperously, though there were many adversaries, till the friends of reformation saw the good cause, for

*Deut. xxvi. 17.

† As quoted by Voetius, Theolog. Disput. selectis, parte prima, page 484.

See Mr. Livingston's Memoirs.

which they had suffered long, acknowledged, in the swearing of the solemn league and covenant, by persons of all ranks in the three kingdoms.

$53. Alex. Do not mistake me, as if I were an enemy to covenanting. No, I think it both a duty and a privilege, when rightly performed, and in agreeableness to the word of God. But I reprobate the new oath and covenant of the associate presbytery, which I mentioned before; because, as Mr. Willison declares, in the appendix to his Testimony, having adopted and approved a confession of sins, prefixed to it, they swore by the great name of the Lord God, with their hands lifted up to the Lord, that they will testify against the evils named in that confession;-while thousands join in their oath, who cannot say, that they know the truth of many things contained in that confession of sins, from their own proper knowledge: but only have them from hearsay, or by information from others; and yet they must swear to the truth of them as fully, as if they had been eye or ear witnesses of them, or had read all the histories concerning them. Now, what is this, but to make people swear rashly or inconsiderately, or upon implicit faith ?

Ruf. This, I know, is a common objection against the bond agreed on by the associate presbytery. I have often heard it repeated, as if it demonstrated the Seceders to be perjured. But for my own part, I could never see it in any other light, than as a remarkable instance of the power of prejudice. In other cases, every one must allow the supposition, on which this objection proceeds, to be most absurd. If a minister, for example, mentions the sickness of a person in the public prayers, whilst he knows nothing of the person's case, but by the information of one who desires him to be recommended in the public prayers, the minister is just in as great danger of the guilt of lying to the congregation, and even to his Maker, as a swearer of the bond above-mentioned, is in of perjury. Nay, is not his danger far greater? because he has not such testimony to proceed upon, nor such opportunity of deliberation, as the swearer of that bond must be acknowledged to have.

Again, when a person comes forward to partake of the Lord's supper, it is allowed, that he renews his baptismal engagements; and his doing so, implies a confession of his breaches of these engagements. Now, supposing him to belong to a church that practises infant baptism; he may be in the same danger with the swearer of the bond in question; since he may know nothing of his own baptism, but by the information of others? As the Lord, in the second commandment, threatens to visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation; so the children, in these generations, are to confess their own iniquities, and those of their fathers.*

But, according to the principle of this objection, we are not to give glory to God, by confessing the iniquity of our fathers, or even that of others in our own day, unless we have been eye and ear witnesses of it. At this rate, there is no worshipping assembly that can warrantably join in the confession of the public sins of the former, or even of the present generation: for it is not supposable, that all the

Levit. xxvi. 40.

individuals of such an assembly have been eye and ear witnesses of every public sin. After all, it is a bare-faced falsehood, that, in confessing public sins, or in engaging to contend and testify against them, it is at all intended to ascertain the truth of the facts, as in the depositions of witnesses. In this case, as in the public prayers for the sick, in a person's professing to renew his baptismal engagements at the Lord's table, and in similar cases, the truth of the facts is proceeded upon, as what is otherwise sufficiently ascertained.

The professions, which we make on such occasions, respect our duty with regard to the facts, on the supposition that they exist. We have a Divine warrant for considering the testimony of other men as a sufficient ground to proceed upon in most important duties: In the mouth of two or three witnesses, shall every word be established.* With regard to the reference in the bond to the preceding confession of sins, it is surely agreeable to the general tenor of scripture, that, having confessed public sins, we should resolve, through grace, to contend and testify against them; and that, having acknowledged the necessity of reformation in various instances, we should engage, in our several places and stations, to promote that reformation.

The covenant, which was entered into in Nehemiah's time, had a like reference to a preceding acknowledgment of sins, which concludes with these words; "Because of all this, we make a sure covenant." Such a reference to evils confessedly prevailing, belonged to the bond, by which the national covenant of Scotland was renewed in the year 1638. There is a passage to the same purpose in the engagement to duties, which was used in the renewing of the solemn league and covenant, by the people of Scotland, in the year 1648.‡ But it is probable, that the two last mentioned examples of public covenanting, will soon be forgotten amongst us; as in our new edition of the Westminster confession, the copies of these public deeds, which used to be annexed to that confession, are left out. In this designed omission, we have acted, I fear, more like the foes than the friends of public covenanting; with whatever forwardness some of us may profess to think it both a duty and a privilege.

There can be no ground for alleging, that they who entered into the bond, proposed by the associate presbytery, did so rashly, inconsiderately, or upon implicit faith, on account of the reference in it to the preceding confession of public evils; unless we can suppose, that they had no opportunity of being acquainted with such human testimony, concerning the existence of these evils, as may warrantably be proceeded upon in such cases. But no such supposition can be justly made, with regard to facts which might easily be found in the most public and authentic histories and records of the kingdom, Nay, the inost serious people in Scotland, lovers of the covenanted reformation, had been complaining, for many years before, of the very evils that are enumerated in the associate presbytery's confession of sins.

* Deut. xxvii. 6. 2 Corinth. xiii. 1. † Nehem. ix. 38.

The words of the passage referred to, are as follows:-" Because it is needful, for "those who find mercy, not only to confess, but also, to forsake their sin: therefore, that "the reality and sincerity of our repentance may appear, we do resolve, and solemnly engage ourselves before the Lord, carefully to avoid, for the time to come, all these offences, whereof we have now made solemn public acknowledgment."

1

Besides, when it is proposed to set about covenanting in any particular congregation of the Secession, a public intimation of it is made a considerable time before; during which time, various meetings of session are held, for conversing with and receiving such as offer themselves to join in the bond.

Alex. Mr. Willison asserts, that some articles of the associate presbytery's acknowledgment of public sins, are false in fact, calumnious, unjust and uncharitable.*

Ruf. He has indeed quoted some articles of that acknowledgment, which, he says, are instances of falsehood. But his publishing this assertion without any reason or proof, was not doing justice either to the associate presbytery or to his readers. The associate presbytery state most of these instances more fully, and give the grounds of their statement in the Judicial Testimony; and if there had been any falsehood in their statement, Mr. Willison might have easily detected it in a satisfactory manner. This he has not done. We have, however, examined every one of his instances; and have found no reason to charge the associate presbytery with falsehood, or any sort of misrepresentation.

Alex. Supposing the facts stated in the associate presbytery's confession of sins were sufficiently ascertained; they are, in a great measure, antiquated, and have comparatively little influence on present conduct.

Ruf. As the Lord threatens to visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, so people are called to confess the iniquity of their fathers; that is, not only of their immediate parents, but of their other predecessors in the particular church of which they are members. In the prayers of God's people, recorded in scripture, we find them often confessing the sins of their fathers. We have sinned, says the church, with our fathers. For our sin, says Daniel, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.|| On occasion of the covenanting in Nehemiah's time, many sins of Israel were confessed, as having then great influence on the state of the church, though they had been committed a thousand years beforeWhereas, the date of the first of the public sins of the church of Scotland, specified in the associate presbytery's acknowledgment, was not an hundred years before the framing of that acknowledgment. The view we took, in a former conversation, of these public evils, as they are stated in the judicial testimony, leads us to consider them as having great influence upon the conduct of the present generation. For example, the laxness, which now prevails with regard to church communion, was begun among presbyterians, in the public resolutions, in the acceptance of indulgencies, and other sinful compliances with the civil powers: the denial of the obligation of the covenants, entered into for the advancement of religion and reformation, was begun; first, in various backsliding courses, contrary to these engagements; and then, in the acts rescissory, declaring them treasonable. It is easy to trace the connexion of other public evils, mentioned in the presbytery's acknowledgment of sins, with various corruptions in the present day. No length of time will free a church or nation from the guilt of such

· Imp. Test. page 221.

Levit. xxvi. 40. + Psal. cvi. 6. || Dan. ix. 16.