February - the Free Presbyterian church of Scotland

52
The Free Presbyterian Magazine
overruled all the events of his life, asked himself: “But why does God delight
to keep us at uncertainties in our spiritual allowances?” And he answers his
own question thus: “Surely it is to convince us of His sovereignty, to train
us up in the life of faith, to prevent our building tabernacles here, and make us
think highly of our mercies from the danger of losing them; finally, it may
be to stir up in our hearts a longing desire for celestial glory, where we shall
never lose the enjoyment of God.” 6
It was a sore trial for Heywood to be ejected from his church. When his
wife died not long before then, he described his loss as “sharper than any
trial I have met with before”. Yet he described his ejection as “more bitter”
still. He went on to describe the conditions imposed by the Act of Uniformity
as “too hard to be accepted”, and he added, “Woe be to us if we preach not
the gospel! But a double woe to us if we enervate the gospel by legal ceremonies.
Our people’s souls are precious, and we ought to take care of them;
but our own souls are precious also, and we must not destroy them under
pretence of saving those of others. Our work is dear to us; but God is dearer,
and we must not do the least evil to obtain the greatest good.
“There are worldly advantages enough to sway us to conformity, if conscience
did not answer all the pleas of flesh and blood. Should we forsake
our Christian liberty and put our necks under such a yoke as neither we nor
our fathers were able to bear? Should we build again what we have destroyed
and make ourselves transgressors? Should we violate solemn covenants, leave
the work of reformation and return to Egypt? It is surely better to suffer affliction
with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
The bargain would be too hard, to provide our livelihood by making shipwreck
of faith and a good conscience. God can advance His work without our sinful
shifts, and rear up monuments to His glory without our complying prevarications;
suffering may benefit the gospel as much as service, when God calls
to it. . . . It is no pleasure for us to be idle; fain would we be labouring in the
Lord’s vineyard; but alas we are hindered, and woe be to them by whom the
offence comes!” Then Heywood quotes the verse: “Verily there is a reward
for the righteous: verily He is a God that judgeth in the earth”. 7
Joseph Alleine had been minister, from 1655, of Taunton in Somerset. His
wife Theodosia gives an account of his thoughts about how he should act in
the changed circumstances following the Restoration and goes on to describe
his subsequent activity: “Before the Act of Uniformity came forth, my husband
was very earnest day and night with God that his way might be plain
to him, that he might not desist from such advantages of saving souls, with
6 The Whole Works of Oliver Heywood, London, 1827, vol 1, pp 87-8.
7 Works, pp 92-3.