Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 3.djvu/211

Rh Christ, without inquiring into its validity, or presuming to give an opinion respecting it? The synod, however, hasted to perform the duty assigned them, and on the second of July, 1734, met at Perth, when, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, they took off the sentences from all the four brethren, restoring them to their standing in the church, ordered their names to be placed upon the presbytery and synod rolls, as if there had never been act, sentence, or impediment in their way. The seceders had too much penetration to be gulled by this invention, and too much honesty to accept of the seeming boon; but it answered the main purpose that it was intended to serve, it afforded a handle for reviving a popular clamour against them, and proved an excellent excuse for their summer friends to desert them. The reforming fit was past in the meeting of next assembly in 1736, which was as violent in its proceedings as any that had preceded it. Mr Erskine and his friends now despairing of any speedy reformations in the judicatories, published their reasons for not acceding to these judications, and proceeded to prepare the judicial act and testimony, which, after many diets of fasting and prayer, was enacted at their twenty-fourth presbyterial meeting, in the month of December, 1736. Mr Erskine continued all this time to occupy his own parish church, and was attended with the same respectful attention as ever. In the year 1738, the assembly began to persecute Mr Erskine and his friends, who were now considerably increased. In the year 1739, he, along with his brethren, was served with a libel to appear before the general assembly, where they appeared as a constituted presbytery, and by their moderator gave in a paper, declining the authority of the court The assembly, however, delayed giving sentence against them till next year, 1740, when they were all deposed, and ordered to be ejected from their churches. On the sabbath after this, Mr Erskine retired with his congregation to a convenient place in the fields, where he continued to preach till a spacious meeting-house was prepared by his people, all of whom adhered to him, and in this house he continued to officiate when ability served till the day of his death. In the year 1742, Mr Erskine was employed, along with Mr Alexander Moncrief, to en- large the secession testimony, which they did by that most excellent and well known little work, entitled an act anent the doctrine of grace. About this period he had also some correspondence with Mr George Whitefield, which terminated in a way that could not be pleasing to either party. Along- with the doctrines of grace, the associate presbytery took into consideration the propriety of renewing the national covenants. An overture to this purpose was approved of by the presbytery on the twenty-first of October, 1742, the same day that they passed the act anent the doctrine of grace. That a work of so much solemnity might be gone about with all due deliberation, the presbytery agreed that there should be room left for all the members to state freely whatever difficulties they might have upon the subject, and it accordingly lay over till the twenty-third of December, 1743, when the overture, with sundry amendments and enlargements, was unanimously approved of and enacted. A solemn .acknowledgment of sins being prepared for the occasion, and a solemn engagement to duties, on the twenty-eighth of December, Mr Erskine preached a sermon at Stirling, the day being observed as a day of solemn fasting and humiliation, after which the confession of sins was read, and the engagement to duties sworn to and subscribed by fifteen ministers, of whom Ebenezer Erskine was the first that subscribed. Shortly after, the same thing was done at Falkirk, where five ministers more subscribed. In this work no man of the body was more hearty than Mr Ebenezer Erskine; and it went through a number of congregations, till a stop was put to it by the question that arose respecting the religious clause of some burgess oaths, which it was alleged were utterly incou-