murtherer of her owne husband; confound her faction and their subtile enterprises of what estate and condition soever they be; and let them and the world know, that thou art a God that can deprehend the wise in their own wisdome, and the proud in the imagination of their wicked hearts, to their everlasting confusioun. Lord, retain us that call upon thee in thy true fear. Let us grow in the same. Give thou strength to us to fight our battell, yea, Lord, to fight it lawfullie, and to end our lives in the sanctification of thy holy name. * * * * * {404} Nº XVIII. [Buik of the Universall Kirk, p. 45. Advocates’ Library.] My Lord Regent’s letter to the Assembly. After our maist heartie commendationes, seing we are not able to [be] present [at] the assembly now approachand, as our intentioun was, we thoght it convenient brieflie to give you significatioun of our meaning in wryte, of the qlk we pray you take good consideration, and accordinglie to give you advertisement. Ye are not ignorant, as we suppose, what hes bene the estate of the kirk of God within this realme, baith before we accepted the burdein of regment, and sensyne. How first the thrids of benefices were grantit and the ministrie thereby partly releivit and sustainit in sick sort, that nothing inlaikit that our travells could procure. The first ordour indeed was diverse ways interruptit and broken, bot chieflie in that yeir when we were exylit in Ingland, quherthrough the haill ministers that year were frustrate of their living; shortlie the estate of government altering at Gods pleasure, and the king our soveraine being inaugurate with the crowne of this kingdom, the first thing y{t} we were carefull of was, that the trew religioun might be established, and the ministers of the evangell made certaine of their livings and sustentation in tyme comeing. Ye knaw, at the parliament we war maist willing that the kirk should have been put in full possession of the proper patrimonie. And toward the thrids, we exped in our travels, and inlaikit only a consent to the dissolution of the prelacies, whereunto althogh we were earnestly bent, yet the estates delayit, and wald not agrie therunto. And sen that tyme to this houre, we trust ye will affirme, that we have pretermittit nothing that may advance the religione, and put the professors thereof in suretie, whereanent the haill and only inlaik hes been in the civill troubles that God hes suffered the countrey to be plaguet with: now the matter being after so great rage brocht to some stay and quyetnes, it was convenient that we return where matters left, and prease to reduce them to the estate they stood in. Ane thing we man call to remembrance, that at sick time as we travellit in the parliament to cause the estates to grie that the thrids should be discernit to pertaine to the ministrie,