perform'd how could such Persons examine nice Questions about Church-Government according to Scripture which have divided the learned World and yet the Vulgar were to judge of such seeing by those Rules they swore to proceed Nor do I see any shift unless we allow them to resign their Judgment by an implicite Faith in their Teachers which makes no decent Evasion for a Reformed Church The second Article was lyable to the same Exceptions with the former They swore To extirpate Popery Prelacy Superstition Heresy Schism Profaneness and whatsoever should be found contrary to sound Doctrine and the Power of Godliness This I take to have been a very hard Task for every one to perform and more certainly than ought to be required of any Man in Things which are not plain beyond controversy as all such Points were not then amongst them for we find that one Minister did often inveigh against Opinions as savouring of Popery which another as positively deny'd charging the contrary Opinions as leading to Schism and ignorant Persons who under pain of Perjury were equally engag'd against Schism and Popery must have found strange Storms raised in their Minds and their tender Consciences dreadfully rack'd while they could not understand which of the opposite Opinions they might safely embrace Tho the former Part of the third Article concern'd Things of a quite different Nature yet the Objections are much of the same kind by that all were engag'd to defend the Rights and Priviledges of Parliament But alas who could expect that common People should be put to determine such when we hear of Debates started frequently concerning Priviledges which the Wisdom of our greatest Senators is scarce able to accommodate and seldom is it so done as to answer all Objections or satisfy every Member Suppose a Parliament so divided that it comes to a Breach to what Party must the People then adhere who are not able to judge which of the two really maintains their Priviledges where both with Confidence pretend it and back their Pretences with plausible Reasons Nothing could have been more for the Peace of the World than that a greater Reverence had been kept up for Vows and Oaths by not making them too common But seeing our Fathers would not be satisfied without engaging Persons of all Ranks in Oaths 't is to be wish'd that ordinary People had only been bound to live peaceably in their Stations to obey those who by the Laws of the Land were set over them not to countenance Division and Faction nor turn States-men and Censurers of their Superiours for in these and the like Engagements there had only been a further Ty laid upon them to perform easy plain and necessary Duties suitable to their Capacities without medling in Matters beyond their reach Whereas our late Covenants did unadvisedly raise such Persons above themselves injoin'd them Things they could not discharge and contrary to all reason spurr'd those on to be troublesome who stood more in need of a Bridle to check their natural Fierceness and the ill-grounded Opinion they had of their own Sufficiency By the latter Part of the third Article the Subjects Allegiance to the King was limited to the Preservation and Defence of the true Religion as if Princes Rights whatever they are ought not to be maintain'd without any manner of Restriction this was a clear Diminution of the King 's just Power and Greatness and consequently inconsistent with what they swore before in the National Covenant But how ill they intended from the Beginning to maintain the King's Power and Greatness their Positions as well as their Practices do declare If we look critically into the History of that Time we see manifest Gradations in their Encroachments upon the Royal Authority At their first entring into the National Covenant it was alledg'd that the Body of the Nation consisting of Church and State might unite to resist the King Some Years after when the Union betwixt the two Kingdoms was so vehemently carried on it was declared lawful to assist our Neighbours in extorting from our Soveraign the same Terms for them which of his Royal Bounty he had formerly vouchsafed to grant us At last we advanced a Step higher and boldly maintain'd That a few Associate Counties might take Arms against the Authority both of King and Parliament and that having Power they wanted not Right upon all Occasions to curb the Excesses of Government Now here we may observe that the extravagant Proceedings of some Western Counties upon these seditious Principles fix'd upon them the Name of Whigs which contemptible Mark of Distinction was for many Years appropriated to us till of late that to the Grief of all Men it is become more universal and has now unluckily crept into the next Kingdom and notwithstanding its infamous Rise is there too liberally bestow'd upon some and too much gloried in by others Thus the Barbarous Name of Guelphs which had for a long Time been given to those in Germany that oppos'd the Emperour was at length fatally transplanted from its native Soil into Italy a warmer Climate where it took deeper Root and became for many Ages the Fomenter of terrible Disorders But I hope our Prince's Wisdom will think fit to give an early and effectual Check to this and all other Names of Faction which insensibly undermine the Government alienate Mens Affections from one another make wicked Men more desperate when they see themselves discover'd especially when by the same Means they are enabled to discover the Strength and Number of their Party besides many other unforeseen Inconveniences which may help to bring us back into our former dreadful Confusion The fourth Article did in the Judgment of many set up a new Inquisition sufficient to make all tremble that were disaffected to the Cause and 't is plain their violent Courses gave too much ground for this Complaint such as out of real Conscience towards God or Sense of Duty towards their Prince refused to sign the Covenants were after a strange manner declared Enemies to God and the King proceeded against as Traitors and forced either to undergo Banishment or languish in Prison while their Estates became a Prey to those who appeared most zealous in persecuting them This inevitable Danger obliged many to disguise themselves into a seeming Compliance to what in their Hearts they did detest And these Methods being then made use of to settle the Purity of the Gospel among us no wonder if there were more of Hypocrisy than of the Power of Godliness in our Profession or if God were thereby provok'd to disown us and our Cause and to leave the Nation for many Years to groan under an heavy Bondage The fifth Article which was for executing Justice upon all wilful Opposers falls under the same Exceptions with the former and might be illustrated with too many Instances of Cruelty which those Times afford us How were our Scaffolds dy'd with the Blood of our Nobility and Gentry who oppos'd
A Serious EXPOSTULATION With that Party in SCOTLAND Commonly known by the Name of WHIGS Wherein is modestly and plainly laid open the inconsistency of their Practices I. With the Safety of humane Society II. With the Nature of the Christian Religion III. Their two Covenants are historically related and prov'd to be no sufficient Warrant for what they do IV. Their new Doctrine of a pretended Forfeiture is prov'd to be groundless LONDON Printed by J. D. for Richard Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-yard MDCLXXXII A serious Expostulation with that Party in Scotland commonly known by the name of Whigs WITH what horror must one look back upon the deplorable state of this wretched Kingdom these 45 years since the unhappy Principles of Subjects taking Arms against the Lawfull Magistrate under pretence of Religion first prevailed among us Should I here impartially set down the strange Distractions that tore us in pieces the Rivers of Blood that were shed and the manifold Miseries that we and our Fathers for many years groaned under I might seem perhaps to affect the writing a Tragedy or the raising transports of passion in my Readers breast But alas the dismall effects of those Convulsions are still so visible that as they will justify all that can be said upon this Subject so at the same time they make it needless When we had fought our selves into Bondage in the late unnatural War and had no way left to remove the just Scourges of Rebellion besides our prayers and tears which at length obtain'd of God the recovery of our ancient Government Rights and Properties it was to be hop'd that the fresh remembrance of what we had felt would have frighted at least the present Generation from all thoughts of renewing our Sufferings and have kept our Soveraign's Reign as free from Blood as God was pleased to make his Restauration But wofull experience has prov'd how soon so great a deliverance was forgotten before the cicatrice of the late Wound was well closed we made haste to open it again Pentland Hills and Bothwell-Bridge will stand for lasting Monuments both of our Ingratitude to God and of our Disloyalty to his Vicegerent Nor do we only adhere to those wicked Principles which have already cost the Nation so dear but even outdo them by new and more dangerous Positions Our Fathers without casting off all reverence for the Government insisted only upon some pretended Excesses which they pretended to redress But some among us of late by taking upon them to lay aside Him who had undoubted right to govern do strike at the very Root and endeavour to destroy the whole ancient Constitution at one blow They set up for a further degree of Sanctity and Reformation which we have unhappily brought into such a corruption of Morals as has not been hitherto known among Christians Are not Assassinations taught as well as practis'd among us and those who suffer for the basest of Murders are they not cry'd up for Martyrs Are not the minds of many debauch'd to that strange degree as to glory in Opinions and die for Doctrines which others cannot hear mention'd without horror Do not men pretending to no ordinary measure of Christianity every day commit and allow of actions whereof Heathens would be asham'd and in one word Can any thing be so wickedly contriv'd by those of the Party as not to be cloak'd with the specious title of Zeal for Christ Hence it is that Atheists and Profane persons take occasion to scoff at our holy Religion a reproach is hereby brought upon the Reformation which always charg'd Popery with Rebellion The rest of Mankind look upon us as Enemies and Contemners of the most sacred ties of Religion and Society Nor is it to be doubted but if we go on in such brutal tenets and practices our Land will again become a field of Blood For can we expect that the Government will thus give way to its own Dissolution or suffer us to go on in courses so inconsistent with the publick safety When softer Methods prove ineffectual will it not be forced to defend it self by proceeding to the utmost severities And I dread to think how when the wrath of God and of our injur'd Prince shall at length pursue us for our unaccountable obstinacy we cannot any where expect either refuge or pity This terrible prospect of what is most likely to come to pass has so wrought upon me in my retirement that notwithstanding the Circumstances of my present condition which secure me as much from any share in my Native Countrey 's danger as my Conscience doth from its guilt I am resolv'd to discharge the duty of a sincere Christian and of a faithful Patriot in laying open my thoughts upon this occasion Now that those for whose sakes this discourse is undertaken may both the better understand and the less partially read it I shall endeavour to fit my stile to the meanest capacities and to avoid as much as possible all sharpness of expression being of my self most inclin'd to Lenitives and having often observ'd that gentle treatment is most apt to affect Noble Tempers I shall therefore beg of my Countreymen that they will be pleased to lay aside prejudice for a little while and consider fairly with me these four things I. If such courses be not really inconsistent with the safety of any Government II. If they be not contrary to the nature of the Christian Religion III. If what is alledged from the obligation lying upon us by the late Covenants be a sufficient warrant for what we do IV. If there be any ground for the new Doctrine of a pretended Forfeiture which some among us insist upon First Consideration It is necessary in all Civil Constitutions that the Actions of Particular Persons be directed towards the Publick Good But most men being apt to steer their course only by the compass of Interest the Wisdom of no Government has hitherto found out a better way to support it self than by establishing such an Authority as might see to every man performing his part in relation to the Publick This last resort of Power as the very life of the Government has still been accounted sacred and inviolable has had all the advantages of Laws in its behalf has every where been arm'd against the attempts of Malice Faction or Ambition nor has any thing been wanting that might enable it to answer the great ends of its Institution either to administer Justice secure Property or maintain Peace and Order In whatever hands this Soveraign Power is lodg'd as with us it is undoubtedly in the King 's there all must be ready to pay an humble deference not only to countenance Authority when it promotes our Private Interest but even when it seems least favourable to us to own that it has power to punish as well as reward there being no less reason for mens submitting to what Authority thinks proper to inflict upon their
breach of the Laws than for their laying claim to Protection and other benefits while they observe them No severity in the Prince can cancel the obligation that lies upon Subjects nor put them in Commission to make violent Resistance seeing this were a taking upon them to reject that Judge and deny that Authority which the Laws the Government and they Themselves as Members of it have already own'd to be Supream upon Earth Nothing here below can be so perfectly contriv'd as not to retain some inconveniences and I shall grant a probability or a possibility at least of Particular Persons suffering sometimes unjustly to be an inconvenience which necessarily accompanies the chief Authority in all Governments But if there be no other way to shun it than by allowing violent resistance to be lawfull in such cases the remedy will questionless prove much worse than the disease If with the many Laws in the Prince's behalf there were but one to countenance resisting him this one would in a short time destroy all the rest and reduce his Authority to an empty name Or if it were declared lawfull for Subjects only to resist in some cases who must judge when these fall out The Prince could hardly be brought to give Sentence against himself to wound his Power by releasing men from their Allegiance And if it were left to the judgment of Subjects it is to be feared that the Determination would be highly partial on their side the case of lawfull Resistance would then turn frequent Obedience would be rare unless supported by Interest and Subjects would at this rate only be such to whom and when they pleased This Principle of Resistance being once allow'd it necessarily opens a door to subvert all Authority and renders the whole design of Government ineffectual How could the Publick Peace be secur'd if there were ways left for Particular persons lawfully to rebel Differences could never be decided but by granting a Sentence from which there is no appeal back'd with a power of executing without danger of opposition There could be no order were it left to Private men to desert their stations to turn Judges where they are Parties and to call Rulers to an account of their Administration If we leave Kingly Government and look upon the most Popular Constitutions which are raised but one step above Anarchy even there the chief Magistrates are only accountable to the whole Body for their actions nor can any part of this Body without the concurrence of the rest meddle with those that have their Authority from all Let us suppose Authority in some cases may be mistaken or biass'd in its decisions without doubt we might expect much greater errors and partiality were every man left to judge of his own performances If we think it inconvenient that the Prince should be enabled by his Power to injure any Particular Person much worse would it be to put it in every Particular Person 's power to be unjust to the Prince To be short the Supream Power falling sometimes into no good hands doth not frustrate the chief ends of Government but if discontented spirits may find ways lawfully to make opposition nothing can keep it from being dissolved It is most plain that Subjects Rights are rather secur'd than endanger'd by the Princes not being accountable for his Actions and that they would soon find themselves at a loss by being allow'd to resist for as men are naturally apt to complain and are allways partial enough to think themselves most hardly dealt with so if they were at liberty to fall upon the Government in helping to weaken that they would wound their own Security The whole Body must feel the blow which the Head receives Life may be preserved with the hazard or loss of several Members but when the Head is affected every part languishes and with it all dies The great foundation then of the Subjects Safety being shaken by violating the Prince's Rights Interest it self should teach us to be very tender of them and never to offer at destroying that which appears perhaps inconvenient in one respect but is useful and necessary in many If it trouble us to be at the Prince's Mercy we may remember we are likewise under his Protection and so need apprehend none besides And this I humbly conceive is a Condition much more desirable than by renouncing our Allegiance unhinging the Government and getting thus without the reach of an imaginary danger to draw upon our selves the violence of every one that hath strength or wickedness enough to hurt us And truly our Countrey is at little beholden to us for resisting Authority as we are to our selves for in shaking off all duty to our Prince we encourage others to do the same this must involve the Government in constant trouble and deprive us of the blessed fruits of Peace upon which we cannot set too high a value If every one of us be resolv'd to make good our petty Rights can we imagine our Prince will tamely pass from His which are so great And at this rate there is no avoiding a Civil War with all its fatal Consequences which will fall much heavier upon the Publick than any thing that any Particular Man or Sort of Men can suffer The Government of the worst of Princes is infinitely preferable to Anarchy and Confusion where Guilty and Innocent are equally obnoxious to Danger where no Man's Prudence Vertue or Merit can give him Sanctuary Rome felt it self much more at ease under a Caligula a Nero a Domitian or a Commodus than amidst the terrible Alarms of a Civil War This in a few Days spilt more of Rome's best Blood banish'd more Senators and ruin'd more Families than any of those Tyrants did in several Years But if it went better with the Publick while such Monsters sate at the Helm who were themselves govern'd and govern'd others by no better Laws than what Cruelty Avarice Ambition and the rest of their unbridled Passions suggested I am willing still to believe That none of us are so much our own and our Countrey 's Enemies to prefer Anarchy before the easy Yoke of our Indulgent Prince who 's Reign has never yet been stain'd with one Act of his Cruelty Whom Envy it self cannot charge as gratifying his Avarice or Ambition at the Expence of his Subjects Fortunes or Lives but who on the contrary has hitherto made good what he has been pleased both in Publick and Private often to declare That he intends to govern according to the established Laws of his Kingdoms And truly we must allow it reasonable that all his Subjects follow this Royal Pattern and make the Laws likewise the Sandard of their Actions or if they cannot be brought this length it is fit that at least they learn patiently to submit without taxing their Prince of Severity or Injustice for requiring them to observe those Rules by which he himself vouchsafes to be govern'd But if nothing besides our own private
could never be wanting in so great a Body it was in the Christians Power at any time to have shaken the Empire This we may learn from Tertullian who boasts much of their Numbers in his excellent Apology Those who by deserting their Countrey must have depopulated it might certainly by fighting have broken the Government In Cities where there were two Christians to one Heathen as in many then in Africk they needed not have suffer'd themselves to be so cruelly butcher'd had not their Consciences disarm'd them of all Weapons of Defence against the Emperour The same we may gather from St. Cyprian in that Discourse of his addrest to Demetrianus where he fairly lays down the Grounds upon which Christians then walked But granting there had been five Heathens to one Christian yet as Tertullian observes Christians readiness to sacrifice their Lives might have made up their Disproportion in Number had not their Religion obliged them rather to dy than by Drawing their Swords to kill others And sure if the Christians were considerable so early as in Tertullian's and St. Cyprian's time no Question in the latter and of the third and the beginning of the fourth Century they wanted not Strength to defend themselves against the Violences then offer'd them under Dioclesian and his Colleagues had their Religion given them leave to resist I cannot finish this Discourse without observing that many finding violent Practices in Matters of Religion utterly condemned by the Examples of Christ of his Apostles and of the primitive Christians retire to the old Testament as more favourable to their Design but they never consider that as many Actions are there rather recorded than commended and which are not to be imitated tho there be no Censure an next to the Relations there delivered so several Things were Lawful under that Dispensation which the Gospel cannot admit The Government instituted by Moses was a Theocracy where besides the establish'd Laws God did by immediate Inspiration give Commission to private Persons to turn Magistrates and to punish offenders without tying them to any formal procedure such was Phineas Numb 25. and after him the Zealots whose Actions were accounted most Heroical among the Jews Yet when Christ's Disciples would have assumed this Priviledge in Imitation of Elias they met with a Check as I have already observ'd from their Master And if according to the Opinion of some learned Men Peter's Action was of this kind we have still a further Testimony of Christ's Discountenancing such Methods as too violent for the meek Spirit of the Gospel And tho the Actions of Phineas of Elias and of other Prophets while immediately directed by God were laudable yet afterwards when their Zealots were acted by heat of Passion and private Resentment more than by Divine Inspiration to what Excess of Cruelty and Injustice did they rise Fury and Rage under a Cloak of Zeal pretended to an Authority to commit the worst of Actions And Josephus informs us how those that went under the Name of Zealots then were the chief Instruments in the Ruin of the Jewish Nation and in the Destruction of Jerusalem Now as no Religion nor Government could be safe under this latter Sort of Zealots so the former were never design'd as Paterns for Christians who have settled Rules to walk by who expect no other Revelations than the Oracles of God contain'd in the holy Scripture and must therefore condemn those that in our Days pretend to new Lights and extraordinary Commissions to curb Magistrates and reform Governments as seduced by a Spirit of Enthusiasm savouring more of Anti-Christ than of the blessed Author of our Religion But tho we should allow Men were still at liberty to imitate those holy Zealots the publick Peace will not be much endanger'd by their Example for by what can be gather'd from most of their Actions they were rather terrible Neighbours to notorious Transgressors of the Law than undutiful Subjects to wicked Princes they had only Permission to do Justice upon meaner Offenders but as for the Sins of their Kings these were reserved Cases of such God himself thought fit to be the immediate Avenger or at least to ty Subjects up from medling with them until they had his particular Commission which was never granted against their Prince till God by the Authority he reserv'd to himself in that Government had first degraded him In a Word let us consult the Jewish Annals and see if we can bring any good Authority thence for rising up in Arms against Magistrates upon the account of Religion or whether any of the Instances that are alledged to this Purpose be first in themselves justifiable and next If they be clear evidences in a Matter of so great Importance for where the Question is If Subjects are to obey or resist the Proofs for Resistance ought to be as plain as those for Obedience before they venture to act and this I presume will hardly be made appear from Scripture When Jeroboam placed his Calves in Dan and Bethel and made Israel sin we find the Prophets condemn his Idolatry and foretell the ruin of his House 1 Kings 13. v. 14. but they stirr'd not up his Subjects to Rebellion against him Elias as a Prophet took upon him to reprove Ahab but as a Zealot he gave him no further Disturbance in his Government Against all the wicked Kings of Israel and Judah who were enemies to the pure Religion and Worship which God had established the Prophets boldly denounced the Wrath of God but seldom help'd to execute it tho under the harshest Treatment when they were hid by fifties in a Cave they never employ'd their Popularity to raise Sedition or to involve their Countrey in a Civil War either in their own Defence or in that of their Religion When from Idolatrous they fell under the Yoke of Heathen Princes and Strangers they preached up Duty and Allegiance to such being persuaded that these also derived their Power from God And tho the Maccabees in opposing Antiochus are commended as the Restorers of the ancient Worship and of the Liberties of their Countrey yet I conceive it may be prov'd that he was an Usurper and had no just Title to Judea and that the Jewish Nation had never by any Legal Act own'd him for their Prince If notwithstanding all that has been said any among us should still insist upon some Actions of the Zealots which give countenance to Resistance as that of Elias in calling down Fire from Heaven to destroy the King's Commissionate-Officers I shall only answer that they also may be allow'd to resist when Heaven appears as visibly in their behalf as it did here in the Prophet's The World is uncharitable enough to believe that our Zealots would shew some Instances of their Severity had they the same Power with Elias to command Fire from Heaven and that the King's Troops that have at any time march'd against them had then died without Mercy after the same
terrible Manner that King Ahaziah's did which were sent against the Prophet But hitherto those that have appear'd in Arms against the King have been so far from giving any evidence of God's Fighting for them or authorizing their Proceedings by Miracles that he rather has seem'd to disown them by casting a Damp upon their Spirits when they stood most in need of some extraordinary Assistance I appeal to those who were at any of those unhappy Engagements against their Prince whether they did not find that Heat and Flame which upon other Occasions they were able to express suddenly quencht when they were just about to act have not some of their Teachers upbraided them in the Psalmist's Words that like the Children of Ephraim Psal 78. v. 9. Being armed and carrying Bows they turn'd back in the Day of Battel Have not the Troops that were sent against them confess'd they could not much glory in their Victories because they were so easily obtain'd To be plain I am afraid we are become equally the Object of the World's Contempt and of its Hatred our late Behaviour having brought upon us the Imputation of Cowardise as well as Disloyalty Third Consideration If the Persons for whom I undertook this Argument think fit to reade what has been said upon the first two Points I hope they will not give over here but will vouchsafe to consider with me in the third place whether any Obligation lying upon us from the late Covenants be a sufficient Warrant for what we do Now the best Method I can propose in this is to give a brief Account of the Rise and Progress of both Covenants with some impartial Reflexions upon them in which if my Reader will not rest satisfied he shall have no occasion at least given him to think me tedious Our late Soveraign being fully persuaded that no Church did approach so near the Primitive Purity in Worship and Discipline as that of England was resolved to make his Native-Countrey share in what he judg'd so great a Blessing and in order to it had a Liturgy and a Book of Canons published for the use of Scotland where he was unhappily made believe he should meet with Approbation from the better sort and with Complyance from all But the Peoples insolent and mutinous Behaviour in affronting and disturbing the Persons who were ordered to read the Service in the Churches of Edenburgh did shew how ill they were disposed to receive it This Popular Tumult the first Sunday was soon after back'd with Petitions and other Marks of their Dislike which obliged the Council to advance slowly until they gave the Court advice of what had past And before the King could come to a Resolution in a Business of so great Importance such as were no Friends to the Government not only ventur'd to publish their Dissatisfaction and to enflame the Kingdom with strange Jealousies of Popery and Arbitrary Power but likewise formed themselves into several Tables as they called them of Noblemen Gentlemen Ministers and Citizens and by a new Authority took upon them to sum up all the Grievances which they intended should be redressed and tho his Majesties not urging the Liturgy upon that Kingdom when he saw it could not be done in a peaceable way might have quieted all their Minds yet finding their Party strong beyond Expectation they were loth to let slip so favourable a Juncture but boldly resolved to secure themselves against all Attempts of this kind by entering into a National Covenant in which they pretended only to renew that which had been sworn in the Reign of King James Those who adhered to the King's interest could by no means allow of this manner of proceeding which appeared equally disingenuous and undutiful The discontented Party alledged in their own behalf the President given them in the late Reign which the others thought did no ways favour their Cause seeing the Covenant then taken was stampt with Royal Authority whereas theirs now seem'd directly opposite to it for there could not be the least Pretence to the King's consent which they never so much as desired 'T is true it was upon the humble Motion of a general Assembly that the former King's Council had order'd the National Covenant to be taken the last time with a Bond to maintain the true Religion and the King's Person But this instance of the General Assemblies Motion which they laid hold on was so far from justifying that it rather condemned their Proceedings in regard that the General Assemblies not enjoyning the Covenant till they had first obtained his Majesties Consent made it evident that in the Assemblies Judgment the Oath could not be renewed without that Authority which first imposed it Nor could they expect any Sanctuary from the Acts of Parliament for it had been declared by more than one that all who leagu'd themselves together without the knowledg of their Soveraign were to be punished as Movers of Sedition and Disturbers of the Publick Peace Besides their want of Authority they laid themselves open to another most dangerous Censure while under colour of copying a Covenant and Bond allowed of in the late Reign it plainly appear'd they had not taken their measures by that Standard but had explain'd many things rather according to their own than King James's Mind and had also added several new Articles of most pernicious consequence both to the King's Person and the establish'd Government The King's Person was endanger'd in so far as by their new Bond they enter'd into a mutual Defence of one another against all Persons whatsoever without excepting his Majesty This the Royal Party said was in Effect to declare that if he offer'd to thwart them they must then oppose him by adhering to their Covenant Nor were they more favourable to the established Government in which they made a wide Breach by taking upon them to cancel all the Acts of Parliament and of General Assemblies that authorized the high Commission the five Articles of Perth or the sitting of Bishops in Judicatures Now by these and several other Instances of this kind it seem'd strange with what face they could make their Covenant and Bond pass for the same with the former Kings seeing it was not to be presum'd that the Father design'd to lessen either his own or his Son's Authority Nor to teach his Subjects how to combine without being Rebels nor yet to favour the extirpating the Articles of Perth and other Things after his Death which in his Life he had so industriously promoted Whatever Influence these Pretences might have upon undiscerning People or such as gave an implicite Credit to whatever their Pastors taught them the World abroad had much different Thoughts Nor could all the Endeavours that were used to win many of the Reformed Religion in France to a good Opinion of such Courses for they having long inveighed against that wicked Association at home call'd the Holy League found their Mouths now stop'd when the Protestants contrary
to the Principles of our Religion did exactly follow so ill a Pattern set them by Papists Besides they knew not what to think of Men who setting up for some further degrees in Reformation thought sit to communicate their Counsels with Cardinal Richelieu whom they in France look'd upon as the most dangerous Enemy then alive to the Protestant Interest and indeed how that Cardinal's Creature a bigotish Fryar whom he employ'd at that time in Scotland could go along in their Counsels and be so much in the Confidence of Men that pretended to root out all the Seeds of Popery is a Thing yet unaccountable and the more to alienate Peoples Hearts from the new Liturgy they did maliciously give out that it was forg'd at Rome and approv'd of by the Pope Yet the King's Friends might have defied them to shew so much of Popish Counsel in the framing or introducing that mistaken Book as did appear in the Methods they made use of to oppose it The King perceiving how successfully they carried on their Designs and gain'd many of his Subjects to their Party by frighting them with Popery and Arbitrary Power dispatch'd the Marquess of Hamilton into Scotland in Quality of Commissioner with Order to issue out a Declaration containing all the Assurances which could be desired of his Majesty's firmness to the Protestant Religion together with his Engagement upon his Royal Word not to enjoin the Liturgy nor think of any Innovation unless in such a fair and legal way as none could reasonably except against Whereupon those of the other Party being apprehensive lest this might remove most of the Peoples Prejudices against the Government used their utmost Endeavours to hinder the Marquess from publishing the King's Declaration and when this could no longer be done got time enough to form a most bold Protestation by which they labour'd to evade all that was alledged against them and to justify their whole Conduct declaring roundly towards the Conclusion That if his Majesty did not allow of their Proceedings they were resolv'd of themselves to call a General Assembly which would be more favourable to them The King's Declaration being thus in a great Measure rendred ineffectual and their Obstinacy in adhering to the Covenant growing still greater a way was thought on how Things might be accommodated without great Prejudice to the Crown and the Covenant be rendred tolerable The Royal Party therefore proposed that in the Bond of mutual Defence against all Persons whatsoever the Covenanters who stood so much upon their Loyal Intentions would vindicate them to the World by excepting his Majesty and declaring that in their Bond they never design'd any Opposition to his Authority But this most reasonable Demand the Heads of that Party could by no means be brought to grant and no wonder if their rejecting so fair and so easy a Proposal gave those who were Enemies to their Covenant occasion to complain that their Practice now began to discover it self inconsistent with what they at first pretended for whereas in the Covenant they declared from their Heart before God and Man that they had no intention nor desire to attempt any Thing which might turn to the diminution of the King's Greatness and Authority it seem'd hard now to reconcile this and other such Expressions with their Threatning to assume the King 's undoubted Prerogative in calling an Assembly and with their refusing to give the King the Satisfaction of excepting him in their mutual Bond even when by his Commissioner he so earnestly desired it There remain'd yet one expedient for the King to ruin all they had done and this was to renew his Father's Covenant and by this means for ever to defeat their malicious Suggestions of his Inclinations to Popery which was there so plainly renounced or at least to make the whole World see how disingenuous they were if they offer'd to oppose that Covenant which from the Beginning they pretended to have sworn His Majesty accepting of this Motion was pleased to give his Commissioner Authority that at the same time he recommended the Covenant he should absolutely revoke the Liturgy the Book of Canons and the high Commission forbid the Practice of the five Articles of Perth after a general Pardon to such of his Subjects as having been misled were willing to return to their Allegiance and lastly that for examining all their just Grievances he should declare his Majesty's gracious intentions to call a General Assembly and a Parliament where neither Bishops nor others were to be exempted from Censure but proceeded against in a due and legal Form according to their Misdemeanors Upon the news of the King's Covenant which came thus accompanied with so many and so large Expressions of Kindness and with such undeniable Marks of his gracious Inclinations to purchase his Subjects Affections at any rate some who before despair'd of a good Issue and others who began to shake in their Allegiance were again confirmed nothing doubting but that the Way to heal the dangerous Breach was now found out and that the Jealousies of Popery and Innovation being sufficiently remov'd all Parties would henceforth concur in expressing their Duty to his Majesty But it proved much otherwise with those who were deeply engaged in the Covenant whom no Indulgence could sweeten nor Concession satisfy with Contempt did they reject the proffer of Pardon because accepting thereof might have perhaps argued Guilt and a tacite yielding the Point when they were resolved to insist upon the Merits of their Cause the King's Covenant which had been so dear to the Nation in the former Reign and under the shadow of which their new Covenant had first taken Root was now cryed down as an hellish Contrivance to destroy Religion and the Power of Godliness and all that subscribed it were declared perjur'd tho they had made their own hitherto pass with the common People for the same to be short all being now at stake and they like to be ruined by their own Arts it was high time to pull off the Mask Finding then that they could no longer pretend the late King's Authority they fled to a greater protesting their Adherence to the new Covenant as immediately sealed from Heaven Had they been able to give any Evidence for that Seal no wonder if they still made good their Party but when their prevaricating was already so plain People were extreamly credulous to rest satisfied in this upon their bare Word I shall only adventure to say it was no Argument of their having the Seal of God because they wanted that of his Vice-gerent which was indeed a strong Presumption against them and questionless the most zealous Espousers of that Interest whatever Assurances they seemed to have of God's approving what they then did will be so ingenuous as to own it a Thing of dangerous Consequence for all established Governments to give Encouragement to Pretences of this Nature seeing at this rate all who design to impose upon the
World may easily seign a Warrant from God and so set up in Opposition to Authority That very Resolution of adhering to their Covenant which made them fiercely oppose the King's and reject his Act of Grace prompted them to join with his Motion for a General Assembly because from thence they were sure to draw some Advantage and tho the King might justly have refused to make good his Proffers when they had so undutifully rejected the greatest Part of them yet being willing to gratify his Subjects in every Thing the Commissioner had Order to appoint the Time and Place No sooner were they sure of an Assembly at Glasgow the 21st of November 1638. but Engines were set on work to dispose Things for the Advancement of the Cause The Marquess of Hamilton being to preside there for his Majesty proposed some Preliminaries to regulate Elections and to prevent such Disorders and Disputes as were like to arise if they observed not one and the same Method every where these the Tables would not hear of alledging that nothing of this kind could be done without encroaching upon the Liberties of Christ and of his Church While at the same Time that the King's Commissioners Preliminaries were rejected they themselves durst adventure to agree upon eight Articles or Directions to Presbyteries wherein they determin'd the Members that were to be chosen the Matters that were to be handled and the Manner they were to proceed in the Assembly in every one of which all indifferent Persons thought the Tables guilty of a more open Encroachment upon Christ and the Liberties of his Church than could be charg'd upon the Marquess for his modest and reasonable Proposals Amongst other unwarrantable Methods none was more remarkable than their directing Lay-elders from every Parish to be present at the several Presbyteries to vote in the Election of Members for the Assembly Nor could these ruling Elders fail to carry the Elections as they pleased if we consider that six Ministers being declared Candidates in every Presbytery were obliged to retire as having no Vote in choosing or rejecting themselves and then the remaining Ministers being lessen'd after this Manner in Number were plainly out-voted everywhere by the Elders Surely this was the first Time that ever Secular Men had the naming an Ecclesiastical Assembly nor needed they have questioned the Success where the Business was to be manag'd by no other than their own Creatures yet contrary to the Practice of former Assemblies in Scotland contrary to the Practice of all Churches and Ages they took upon them to go and sit Members themselves in the Assembly not only to advise in Matters of Discipline for which they might perhaps have brought a President but also to decide controverted Points in Divinity for which to say no worse many of them were very ill qualified by their Education And now let the whole World judge if it were not an Act of Partiality not to be paralell'd for them to cry out upon Bishops and Clergy-men's medling in Secular Affairs and do now raise such an outery against the King's Supremacy pretending that it is inconsistent with the Nature of Spiritual Things to bring them under the Government of the Secular Power When they themselves who were Secular Persons did so manifestly invade the most undoubted Prerogative of the Ministry heavy Complaints were given in of the insupportable Yoke of Prelacy but in truth that of Secular Men lording it then over God's Inheritance was much more grievous than the former Nor were the wiser Sort of Ministers among them insensible of this Usurpation only they were asham'd to complain much of the Uneasiness of those Chains wherewith they had help'd to fetter themselves If the brevity which I propose would allow me it might be suitable enough with my Design to give a full Account of what past in that memorable Assembly and shew how they confirm'd the Covenant there by the same Methods by which it was at first set on foot and had hitherto been carried on But it is sufficient at present to observe that the certain Prospect of a fatal Issue both to King and Government if not timely prevented obliged the King's Commissioner to dissolve the Assembly within a few Days after their Meeting And when he expected Compliance he found them ready with a Protestation to continue their Sessions till such Time as they had finished the glorious Work for which they met however their refusing to obey the King's Commands signified to them by his Commissioner was perfectly inconsistent with what the most eminent among them had said some days before at the opening the Assembly for then they exprest in several Harangues their Sense of the King's Bounty and Tenderness in bringing them thither and who can deny but he who only had Authority to call them could also dissolve them at Pleasure and tho both are equally Royal Prerogatives yet undoubtedly our Princes have Reason to set the highest Value upon their Power of Dissolving which has been useful to them upon many Occasions nor did ever the Crown receive so deep a Wound as when our late Soveraign parted with this choice Prerogative and so lay at the Mercy of a Parliament which the Fears of Dissolution could only have bridled and kept them within some Compass But to return to the Assembly When so great a Contempt was put upon the King they went on in a most violent and illegal Manner to excommunicate some of the Bishops and to depose all the rest many Acts of Parliament were rescinded the Determinations of forty Years Assemblies were declared void all Persons were enjoin'd to take the Covenant under pain of Excommunication and to give the World a lasting Instance of their Modesty they concluded with a Letter to his Majesty justifying their whole Procedure and entreating him that he would look upon them as good and dutiful Subjects and be satisfied with what they had done No wonder if Provocations of so high a Nature did beget suitable Resentments in the King who after so much abus'd Indulgence had no Way left to maintain his Right but by Arms nor did the Covenanters decline a Breach having made early Preparation for it so that before the King came to any Act of Hostility they seized upon his Castles levied Troops impos'd Taxes and cast off all manner of Allegiance and even when his Majestie 's Aversion from shedding his Subjects Blood made him upon the Head of a brave and numerous Army yield to terms of as great Condescension as Necessity could have extorted and send them home gratified in all their Demands without fighting yet new Grievances arm'd them again and whereas at first they stop'd on the Borders now most boldly they march into England force their Passage at Newburn and refuse to return until the King agreed to come into Scotland there to pass all his Concessions into Acts of Parliament His Majesty failed not to make good what he promised and having purchas'd their Allegiance
at so dear a rate might justly have challeng'd their entire Obedience upon the Principles of Gratitude as well as Duty but upon the woful Rupture which soon after followed betwixt him and his English Parliament the Spirit and Temper of our Covenanters did discover it self more than ever Far from being satisfied with the great Trouble they had occasion'd at home or with the Settlement procur'd to their Hearts Desire they cherish the two Houses in their unreasonable Demands about Religion and as it is most ingenuously observed by a late Writer of our Nation shew themselves now as violent in pressing England's Uniformity with Scotland as they were formerly in condemning the Design of bringing Scotland to an Uniformity with England 'T is not my Task to meddle with the Differences betwixt the King and his English Parliament which I leave to the excellent Pens of that Nation but sure I am there was not the least Reason for Scotland's espousing the Parliaments Quarrel or for fomenting their Jealousies of a Prince who had so lately given us such undoubted Marks of his transcendent Bounty in yielding to all that our Covenanters demanded besides by the Explication of the Covenant we obliged our selves to assist his Majesty in every Cause that concern'd his Honour and so ought to have been thankful for his Majesty's Condescension in suffering us to continue neutral yet notwithstanding these Obligations The Parliament's Interest was so dear to our Commissioners then at London that forgetting the Quality of Mediators in which they first appear'd they sided openly with the Houses against the King Nor were our Ministers at home less partial our Pulpits did ring with Curses against some who were for a Neutrality as Enemies to the Cause of Christ and the Reformation of England all were invited to join in so meritorious a Work and at length all Sense of Duty was so entirely cast off that the chief Promoters of those Designs adventur'd to assume to themselves a most undoubted Prerogative of the Crown in summoning a Convention of Estates without the King's Leave From a Convention call'd without Authority there was no reason to expect any legal Proceedings or Complyance to the King who yet vouchsafed to approve of their Meeting upon Condition they would observe such Limitations as were prescrib'd in his Letter But the Business of England and the raising an Army being the only Things which he forbid them to meddle with were the first which fell under their Consideration and Commissioners being sent from the Parliament of England to treat about an Army our Convention of Estates notwithstanding the King 's special Command to the contrary received them with open Arms agreed readily to their Demands and exprest such an hearty Desire of a strict Union betwixt the two Kingdoms that their warm Consultations did in a few Days hatch the solemn League and Covenant It was strange to see a League which so highly concern'd a King two Kingdoms differing much in Laws and Constitutions and two Churches differing no less in Worship and Discipline so easily and suddenly concluded It was first seen afterwards approved and lastly sworn in the General Assembly all within the short Period of three Days The Ministers made this wonderful Unanimity pass with the People for an undeniable Testimony of the Divine Approbation tho others who could never be convinced that the former Covenant received its Seal from Heaven entertain'd no better Opinion of this but did attribute their Agreement only to the dexterous Management of the Leaders who had such a powerful Influence and Authority over the rest that they seldom fail'd in any Thing they proposed The whole Negotiation ended without any Debates Yet there was apparent jugling on both Hands for the English Commissioners had a great mind to carry with them a Scotish Army but had no liking at all to our Presbytery and therefore consenting to a Reformation according to the Word of God told one another that they understood well enough what to make of that at home the Scotish on the other Hand designing to get Presbytery establish'd in England cast in the Words of Reforming according to the Practice of the best reformed Churches hoping this made sure for theirs as the most perfect Model that could any where be found our Ministers were likewise for abjuring Episcopacy as simply unlawful but neither the English Commissioners then in Scotland nor the Parliament or Assembly of Divines at Westminster thought fit afterwards to declare that Institution unlawful whereupon the Article was conceived to import only an abolishing of Episcopacy as it was then in England without condemning what the Primitive Church had allow'd in all its Purity To describe all the subtile Arts which were used the manifest Elusions and Breaches wherewith we charged England and England us together with the fatal Consequences of this Covenant in both Nations would require much pains and leisure It will suffice at present to make some brief Reflections which may serve to cool our too great Fondness of it All that could be alledg'd against the National Covenant was of force against this besides many Material Circumstances to render it yet more inexcusable for if we never find Subjects lawfully united among themselves without the Prince's leave much less could the Subjects of one Nation take upon them to make a League with those of another contrary to the King's Command and in Prejudice of his Authority Ought we not to have been contented with the Enjoyment of all we could desire at home without medling in the Concerns of another Nation who generally did not appear fond of an Alteration and never were fitted for our Church-discipline Was there no more regard due to a Soveraign who had deserv'd so well at our hands than even to pursue him out of his native Countrey and grudge him that Liberty of Conscience in England which he had graciously yielded to us in Scotland We read of many Nations that engag'd in Wars for the Enlargement of their Soveraign's Empire or Authority over Strangers we alone shall be known to Posterity as guilty of helping Strangers to shake off the Allegiance due to a Prince born among our selves But besides these general Reflexions every one of the six Articles whereof this Covenant consisted lay open to several Exceptions As I. It seem'd hard that every ignorant Person in Scotland should be obliged by Oath to endeavour the Reformation of England according the Word of God and the Practice of the best reformed Churches What knowledg alas could Persons of so mean Capacity or Education be presumed to have of Differences among reformed Churches of which they were to judge upon Oath how could they weigh the Advantages of Holland above Geneva of France above Holland or of Scotland above France and accordingly endeavour the Reformation of England truly 't is to be doubted that more was here required of the meanest and weakest of the People than many of our ablest Ministers could well have
the Torrent and stood up for the Royal Interest How were Prisoners of War most unhumanely sentenc'd and put to Death and all that were like to create them any trouble destroy'd without Mercy I need not descend to any Particulars which are still too well known and indeed as I am loth to make Strangers acquainted with them so I wish there could be a Curtain drawn to hide such Tragical Pieces from the View of After-Ages Their sixth and last Article was a Bond of mutual Defence against all Opposers without excepting the King and this alone might serve to render the whole void for if the Oaths of Subjects without the Prince's Consent in Things relating to the Publick can never bind much less then if they directly encroach upon his Authority If a Vow could absolve Subjects from their Duty or deprive the Prince of his Right then we should only be Subjects till we vow'd the contrary and thus the World might find a compendious Way to shake off all Dependance But as the Vowing the Violation of any Man's Property doth not give us a Title to do it but only renders our Oath unlawful so where it is in Prejudice of the Prince every Circumstance helps to condemn us When those who retain'd any Principles of Loyalty insisted upon this they did fly to their sincere Intentions towards the King but nothing can so well explain their Meaning as their Practices afterwards which for the Honour of our Nation ought either to be buried in eternal Oblivion or else so clearly manifested to the World that the Guilty might only be infamous to Posterity while the sounder Part of the Kingdom recover'd to it its native tincture of Honesty and Loyalty Having given some short Hints of the manner of entering into both Covenants of their Nature and Design I am persuaded there needs no further Evidence of their Unlawfulness from the Beginning or of their many other Nullities to prove that they could lay no Obligation upon those very Persons who subscrib'd them and if not upon them much less upon us who are their Children to stand to what they then did Nor do I indeed find any formal Ty upon Posterity mention'd in either Covenant for what is alledged from the former where 't is declared That they are convinced in their Minds and confess with their Mouths that the present and subsequent Generations in this Land are bound to keep that National Oath and Subscription inviolable may prove perhaps that such was the Opinion of our Fathers but can never make it obligatory with us seeing the granting this were to put it in every Man's Power to entail his Opinions upon those who come after him to which none of us I presume will be willing to yield But allowing matter of fact and that there had been a positive Oath made by them in the name of their Posterity Yet this Oath being by Authority declared unlawful and we forbidden to observe it the Compliance we ow to those whom God has set over us cancels all Obligations of this kind that our Parents could lay upon us I shall therefore conclude that seeing our Covenants were in so many respects unlawful from the Beginning and seeing there was neither any formal Obligation laid upon us by our Parents to obscure them nor yet their Authority in this Case allowable as interfering with the Laws of the Land there the least shadow of Reason cannot be brought in behalf of any that presume now to renew those Covenants when the contrary is so plainly enjoin'd us by our rescissory Act of Parliament but as such Persons proceed not upon rational Grounds so it is in vain to think of reclaiming them by Force of Arguments the Government must deal with this frenzy and in its Wisdom find out a Cure suitable to so dangerous a Distemper before the Infection spreads it self wider Fourth Consideration I should be glad to make an end here without mentioning the last Objection not that I apprehend any Difficulty in undertaking to answer it but because I really blush to publish the pernicious and traiterous Principles which some among us have of late taken up and are not now asham'd to own That our Soveraign has forfeited all Right to his Crown and that his Subjects are absolv'd them their Allegiance 'T is plain that Princes Persons and Authority are more effectually secur'd by the Christian Religion than by all the Contrivances of humane Policy Fear or Interest among Heathens were the chief Motives to keep Subjects within the Bounds of their Duty and made them submit because they durst not rebel Princes had outward Obedience pay'd them which was all they could then either challenge or expect But the Doctrine taught by our blessed Saviour and his Apostles did fasten their Crowns much surer gave them a new Title to reign in their Subjects Hearts made Subjects dutiful more out of Conscience than Fear and by forbidding Resistance under pain of Damnation laid a much stronger Ty upon Men than the Hazard of Lives and Fortunes or all other humane Penalties could ever have done And no question had the Roman Emperours understood how much they were beholden to Christianity instead of endeavouring to extirpate it they would have protected and encourag'd it for as long as Christians suffer'd themselves to be govern'd by the Maximes which Christ left them Princes were truly happy in such Subjects Christ did indeed put a Sword into his Ministers Hands to punish notorious Sinners when he gave them Power to excommunicate or cut Men off from being Members of the Church in depriving them of the Benefits and publick Exercise of their Religion and there being no Exemption granted to any Person Kings and Emperours themselves were to fall under this heavy Censure when their Offences deserv'd it But tho Ministers had the Courage to shut them sometimes out of Church as St. Ambrose did Theodosius the Great yet they did not pretend to thrust them off their Thrones or wrest their Scepters out of their Hands They knew that their Authority was only Spiritual and did not therefore meddle with those Priviledges which they enjoy'd as Princes but readily obey'd in all other Cases those whom they excluded from their Assemblies and thus they kept within the Limits prescrib'd by Christ for near a thousand Years When the Spirit of Christianity was afterwards quite spent and Religion had put on a new Face the Riches and Ambition of the Roman Hierarchy made them stretch their Authority further than Christ design'd it and then did they begin to declare that Princes falling under the Censure of Excommunication did forfeit their Crowns and all other their Temporal as well as Spiritual Priviledges The great Advances Gregory the seventh and his Successors made in several attempts of this kind and their Vanity to see themselves on a sudden raised to an universal Monarchy made them vigorously pursue such Courses and thunder their Sentences of Excommunication and Forfeiture so liberally that
Covenant is a new Thing never heard of by his Majestie 's Royal Ancestors who did all take an Oath at their Instalment and as his Title to the Crown differ'd in nothing from his Father's and his Grandfather's so ought his Coronation Oath to have been likewise the same But if we took upon us to alter it or to add the Covenant as a new Clause no wonder if his Majesty question'd what we did without Authority and refus'd to confirm since what was extorted from him during the Rebellion This is certain that had our Representatives in Parliament considered the Covenant either as a part of his Majestie 's Coronation Oath or as an Oath lawful in it self and lawfully impos'd upon the King and his Subjects they would never have order'd it to be abjur'd nor have declar'd that there lay no Obligation either upon Prince or People to observe it Secondly a Forfeiture of the Crown doth not follow upon a Breach of the Coronation Oath because as I already observ'd the King has his Crown by Inheritance not by Election and his Right being of a more ancient Date can never depend upon what followed The King was oblig'd to be a just Prince and we to be dutiful Subjects before that pretended Agreement at his Coronation and if he should have fail'd in his part yet we were bound to make good ours even before we swore any Oath of Allegiance I confess the King's Oath is a further Confirmation of his Duty and if he were guilty of any such Breach it would much aggravate his Sin but God before whose Tribunal he must stand can only call him to an Account for it He is the Minister of God acts by his immediate Commission and he alone can cancel it To God he forfeits his Crown if he should be found to manage it ill and in this Case we were patiently to wait till Heaven thought fit to remove him remembring that the greatest Injury and Breach of Trust was to God who employ'd him But supposing a Forfeiture how come the People to claim the Benefit of it or to pretend themselves his Heirs In some extraordinary Cases such as Frenzy or the like the Safety of the Kingdom may require an extraordinary Remedy as at present in Portugal yet even where the King's insufficiency makes him unable to govern Subjects are not freed from their Allegiance if there remain any that have Right to govern as Administrators in his Name their Station is still the same no personal Fault nor Defect in the Prince can dissolve the Government nor leave People to an entire Liberty of choosing whom they will obey Now after all we are as little able to prove a Breach upon the King's Part as we are able thence to infer a Forfeiture His Majesty did swear to govern according to the fundamental Laws of the Kingdom nor can we shew where ever he has broken them Has he not in Matters of Difficulty vouchsafed to recur to his Great Council has he not suffer'd the Laws to have their free course has he ever invaded any Man's Property or deny'd any Man Justice has he ever delighted in Bloodshed or given us one Instance of his Cruelty So far has he been from giving Occasion to these cursed Aspersions of Tyranny and Oppression which the Enemies of our Peace do with equal Malice and Falsehood cast upon his Government that if without Breach of Duty we durst complain of our Prince it should be of his too great Indulgence which has hurt both himself and us for 't is plain that factious Spirits have adventur'd to disturb our quiet out of hopes of Impunity But he has arrogated to himself say some King Jesus's Right in offering to meddle with Spiritual Affairs After this manner did Gregory the seventh charge the Emperour Henry the fourth when he only maintain'd the Prerogatives of his Crown Has he meddled more with Spiritual Affairs than other Princes have done Eusebius thought it for the Honour of Constantine to set down his Words in an Assembly of Bishops where he called himself a Bishop appointed by God to see to the outward Settlement of the Church and must it be an Encroachment upon Christ in his Majesty to do what was so much commended in that great Emperour Did his Majesty arrogate to himself Christ's Right in rejecting that Form of Government which was brought in by Rebellion or in restoring that Order and Decency which were then banish'd did he arrogate too much to himself in being zealous to perform his martyr'd Fathers Will or to suppress Schism In these Things sure he acted rather in the quality of a nursing Father and discharg'd no small Part of his Trust for what more acceptable Service could he have done to Christ than to interpose his Royal Authority in promoting a blessed Uniformity amongst us There remains yet one strange Article against his Majesty such an one as I 'm confident the World has not hitherto been acquainted with and that is the Sentence of Deposition lastly past upon him in a pretended Convention of Estates as we learn from the Lanrick Declaration But seeing we have so lame an Account of this Business I hope they will be pleased to tell us when where and by what Authority that Assembly was call'd of whom it consisted what Lords Spiritual and Temporal sate there for without them in our Government there can be no Convention of Estates who presided there in his Majestie 's Name it being also necessary that he should have had his Representative In the mean Time before an Answer be returned to these Enquiries we are fully satisfied that as they met without the King's Authority and upon a most wicked Design so their Rebellious Conventicle must not be called a Convention of Estates It was a second high Court of Justice and another Bradshaw no doubt was their President this arraign'd the King as the former did his Father nor could he have escap'd their barbarous Cruelty had he been within their Reach The extravagant Proceedings at Westminster against our late Royal Martyr have neither been so much for the Glory of our Neighbours nor for our own Interest as to tempt any among us to follow their black Example and act the second Part of a Tragedy which nothing in Modern nor Ancient History can parallel and upon which it was hop'd Posterity would have look'd back with Horrour But the Members of the late mock-Convention among us have to their eternal Infamy approv'd of what was done in the high Court of Justice by their attempting to renew it and when all true Protestants and good Subjects would be willing to buy off the Guilt and Ignominy of that atrocious Crime at any rate these Men would help to transfer it upon us or at least would have us engag'd in a Villany of the same kind Our own History furnishes us already with too many Instances of Kings either assassinated poison'd or kill'd in open Rebellion but never till of late were we known to put off all Sense of Modesty as well as Duty and in Contempt of Divine and Human Laws to trample upon the Throne arraign our Soveraign before us as a Criminal and by a sacrilegious Usurpation of God's Right pass Sentence of Deposition upon him What Apprehensions must the moderate Protestants abroad have of our Zeal when they hear of this dreadful Sentence of Deposition and that of Excommunication issu'd out by Cargil in the Name of the true Presbyterian Kirk of Scotland the former forbidding us to obey the King and the latter to pray for him With what Amazement will it strike them when they see the utmost Extent of these Sentences which begin with the King but bring in the best Part of the Kingdom all Officers of the Crown Privy Councellors Judges Magistrates Officers of the Army Guards and other Souldiers who are more immediately mark'd out for Destruction as being either Persons in trust or Adherers to the Government Nor are the Orthodox Clergy men everywhere sacred by their Profession to be here exempted with them they have begun and shew'd in the Person of our late most reverend Metropolitan what the rest may expect if the Malice of that Party be once arm'd with Power so that before these Sentences be executed according to their full extent we are like to be in the lamentable Condition of the Egyptians we shall not have an House without some one or other dead in it only in this we differ the Angel of the Lord destroy'd their First-born whereas we are design'd to destroy one another It is really strange how Men that have thus shaken off all the Ties of Religion and Nature and own such bloody and desperate Principles are not sometimes afraid lest our Neighbours when these Things are published abroad should take the Alarm and join with those in danger at home to cut them off as avow'd Enemies to their Native Prince their Country and their Friends and consequently to all Mankind But as they appear yet to be only Persons of mean Quality and not very numerous in respect of the rest of the Kingdom so the Pitch of extravagance which they are now arriv'd at secures them in a great Measure from Vengeance and makes them the Objects of Pity as Persons distemper'd with a violent Phrenzy and who for the publick Safety are to be kept in Chains rather than destroy'd and treated as brainsick Persons till they recover And truly it may be worth our Governours Time to consider whether any so proper Method has been yet thought of for such as to remove them from Prisons to Houses of Correction not to do them the Honour to bring them before Judicatures to revile the higher Powers nor to Pillories nor Scaffolds to confirm the rest of their Party by their obstinate Sufferings not to condemn them to dy as Martyrs but to continue under severe Task-masters till Time hard Labour and the seasonable Discourses of discreet Persons appointed for this Purpose may by God's Blessing prove the effectual Means to cool their Heats remove their Scruples and restore them again to their right Wits FINIS