ministerial corruptions; which will condemn the present course of covering and countenancing them, and commend the contendings of a poor reproached party against them, in their conscientious abstracting from them. Of which determinations, I shall rehearse some. Among the enormities and corruptions of the ministry, in their callings, this is one, sect. 4, 5. Silence in the public cause--some accounting it a point of wisdom to speak, ambiguously--whereof the remedy is sect. 15. 'That beside all other scandals, silence or ambiguous speaking in the public cause--be seasonably censured, general assembly, at Edinburgh, June 13. 1646.' There is indeed an act against withdrawers from ministers: but in the self same act they are charged to be diligent in fulfilling their ministry, 'to be faithful in preaching, declaring the whole counsel of God, and as they have occasion from the text of scripture to reprove the sins and errors, and press the duties of the time, and in all these to observe the rules prescribed by the acts of assembly, wherein if they be negligent, they are to be censured, general assembly Edinburgh, Aug. 24. 1647. sess. 19.' Then there is that act, Aug. 3. 1648. sess. 26. for censuring ministers for their silence, and not speaking to the corruptions of the time; 'calling it, a great scandal, through some ministers their reserving and not declaring themselves against the prevalent sins of the times; appointing, that all that do not apply their doctrine to these corruptions, which is the pastoral gift, and that are cold or wanting of spiritual zeal, dissembling of public sins, that all such be censured even to deprivation; for forbearing or passing in silence the errors and exorbitancies of sectaries in England, or the defections current at home, the plots and practices of malignants, the principles and tenets of erastianism; and if they be found too sparing, general, or ambiguous in their applications and reproofs, and continuing so, they are to be deposed, for being pleasers of men rather than servers of Christ, for giving themselves to a detestable indifferency or neutrality in the cause of God for defrauding the souls of people, yea for being highly guilty of the blood of souls, in not giving them warning.' And in that seasonable and necessary warning of the general assembly, Edinbugh July 27. 1649. sess. 27. we are taught how they resented the unfaithfulness of ministers continuing in defections, and how we are to look upon them and carry to them: where they say, it is undeniably true, that many of the evils, 'wherewith this church and kingdom hath been afflicted in our age, have come to pass because of the negligence of some and corruptions of others of the ministry; and the course of backsliding was carried on, until it pleased God to stir up the spirits of these few, who stood in the gap, to oppose and resist the fame, and to begin the work of reformation in the land; since which