holily and peaceably under them and might be maintained in their Rights and Liberties from injury and wrong but hath also walked contrary to it So that it can no more be called a Government but a lustful Rage exercised with as little right reason and with more cruelty then in Beasts and they themselves can be no more called Governours but publick Grassators and publick Judgments which all Men ought as earnestly to labour to be free of as of Sword Famine or Pestilence raging amongst us and besides hath stopped instead of punishing the course of Law and Justice against Idolaters Blasphemers Atheists Murderers Incestuous and Adulterous and other Malefactors and instead of rewarding the Good hath made Butcheries and Murthers on the Lords People sold them as Slaves Imprisoned Forfaulted Banished and Fined them upon no other account but for maintaining the Lords Right to rule Consciences against the usurpations of Men for fulfilling their Vows and repelling unjust Violence which innocent Nature allows to all of all which and moe particulars we can give we speak as before God innumerable and sure Instances Neither can it be thought that there is hope of their returning from these Courses having so often shewed their Natures and Enmities against God and all Righteousness and so often declared and renewed their Purposes and Promises of persevering in these Courses And suppose they should dissemble a Repentance of these Evils and profess to return to better Courses being put to Straits or for their own Ends for upon no other account can we reasonably expect it and though it might be thought that there might be Pardon for what is done which we cannot yet see to be without the violation of the Law of God and a great guiltiness on the Land from which guiltiness the Land can never be free but by executing of Gods righteous Judgments upon them for omitting of so greatly deserved and so necessarily requisite a Justice yet they cannot be believed after they have violated all Tyes that Humane Wisdom can devise to bind Men and beside there will be something of folly found to think to bind a King that pretends to absoluteness and our Fathers or rather our selves at first judged it not warrantable to receive Him without consenting to and swearing of the Covenant And if so the renouncing and disclaiming thereof we ought at present to judge to be a just and reasonable ground of rejecting Him upon these Grounds being assured of Gods approbation and Mens whose Hearts are not utterly byassed and their Consciences altogether corrupted and knowing assuredly that the upholding of such is to uphold Men to bear down Christs Kingdom and to uphold Sattans and the depriving of Men of right Government and good Governours to the ruining of Religion and undoing of Humane Society We then seeing the innumerable Sins and Snares that are in giving obedience to their Acts on the other hand seeing if we shall acknowledge their Authority and refuse obedience to their sinful Commands the endless Miseries that will follow and siding with God who we hope will accept and help us to a liberation from their Tyranny against his stated and declared Enemies do reject that King and these associate with Him from being our Rulers because standing in the way of our Right free and peaceable serving of God propagating His Kingdom and Reformation and overthrowing Satans kingdom according to our Covenant And declares them henceforth to be no lawful Rulers as they have declared us to be no lawful Subjects upon a ground far less warrantable as Men unbyassed may see and that after this we neither owe nor shall yield any willing obedience to them but shall rather suffer the outmost of their Cruelties and Injustice until God shall plead our Cause and that upon these Accounts because they have altered and destroyed the Lords established Religion overturned the fundamental and establish'd Laws of the Kingdom taken altogether away Christs Church and Government and changed the Civil Government of this Land which was by King and free Parliaments into Tyranny where none are associat to be partakers of the Government but only those who will be found by Justice to be guilty of Criminals and all others excluded even those who by the Laws of the Land by Birth had a right to and a share in that Government and that only because not of the same guiltiness and mischievous Purposes with themselves And also all free elections of Commissioners for Parliaments and Officers for Government are made void by their making those the Qualifications of admission to these Places which by the Word of God and the Laws of this Land were the cause of their exclusion before so that none can look upon us or judge us bound in Alledgeance to them unless they say also we are bound in Alledgeance to Devils they being his Vicegerents and not Gods V. We then being made free by God and their own doings He giving the Law and they giving the Transgression of that Law which is the cause that we are loosed now from all Obligations both Divine and Civil to them and knowing that no Society of Men that hath corruption in them which alwayes is ready to beget disorders and do injuries unless restrained and punished by Laws and Government can be without Laws and Government and withal desiring to be governed in the best way that is least lyable to Inconveniencies and Tyranny We do declare that we shall set up over our selves and over all that God shall give us Power Government and Governours according to the Word of God and especially according to that word Exod. 18. v. 21. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the People able Men such as fear God men of Truth hating Gâ—vetousness and that we shall no more commit the Government of our selves and the making of Laws for us to any one single Person and lineal Successor we not being tied as the Jews were by God to one Family Government not being an Inheritance but an Office which must be squared not to the interest and lust of a Man but to the good of the Commonwealth and this kind of Government by a single Person c. being most liable to Inconveniencies as sad and long experience may now teach us and aptest to degenerate into Tyranny Moreover we declare that these Men whom we shall set over us shall be engaged to govern us principally by that Civil or Judicial Law given by God to His People of Israel especially in matters of Life and Death and in all other things also so far as they teach excepting only that Law viz. anent Slaves which does not agree with that Christian Liberty established in all Christendom only violated by our Tyrants and some others of late and that of Divorces and Poligamy the one being not a Law but a Permission granted upon the account of the hardness of their Hearts the other being a sinful custom contrair to the first institution of Marriage crept in
into the Church We know that Men of Malignant and perverse Spirits that has not a higher God than a wicked King which suits only with their lustful licentiousness and it may be others with them that seemed to be of better Principles will raise an ignorant clamour upon this that it is a Fifth-Monarchy and we Fifth-Monarchy-men and will labour to amuse the People with strange terms and put odious names on good things to make them hateful as their way is but if this be their Fifth-Monarchy we both are and ought to be such and that according to His Word VI. It being the work of the Ministers of the Gospel to preach propagate and defend the Kingdom of God and to preserve the Doctrine Worship Discipline Government Liberties and Priviledges of the same from all corruptions and incroachments of Rulers and all others And seing that the Ministers of the Church of Scotland at least the greatest part of them before not only were defective in preaching and testifying against the Acts of these Rulers for overthrowing Religion and Reformation abjuring our Covenant made with God establishing a Government in the Church which that King calls His own Government and so not Gods contrair to our Covenant Against inacting of that blaspemous so Calvin calls that Supremacy of Henry the Eight upon which this Prerogative is founded and from which it is derived and is no less if not more injurious to Christ and inslaving to His Church and sacrilegious Prerogative given to a King over the Church of God and against the other Acts and Incroachments of His Church and hindered others also who were willing and would have testified against them and censured some that did it for which together with the other Causes in their trust and administration we may say God hath left them to do worse things but also hath voted in that Meeting which they are pleased to call an Assembly of Ministers but how justly let Men judge an acceptation of that Liberty founded upon and given by vertue of that blasphemously arrogated and usurped Power and hath appeared before their Courts to accept of that Liberty and to be enacted and authorized there as Ministers and so hath willingly for this is an elicit act of the Will and not an act of Force and Constraint translated the Power of sending out ordering censuring for as they accept of their Liberty from them so they submit to their Censures and Restaints at least all of them who were yet tried with it and others of them appeared and acknowledged before their Courts that they would not have done these things that they were charged with if they had thought it would have offended them Ministers departing from the Court of Christ and subjection to the Ministry to the Courts of Men and subjection to the Magistrate which had been impious and injurious to Christ and His Church though they had been righteous and lawful Rulers and by their changing of Courts according to Common Law hath changed their Masters and of the Ministers of Christ are become the Ministers of Men and bound to answer to them as oft as they will and as by the acceptation of this Liberty in such manner they have translated the Power so they have given up and utterly quit the Government and a succession of a Presbyterian Ministry for as these were not granted them of their Masters so they exercise their Ministry without them and so by this as the Ecclesiastick Government is swallowed up in the Civil if the rest had followed them the Ministry should have also been extinct with themselves and the whole Work of Reformation had been buried in Oblivion not so much as the remembrance of it kept up These together with the other of their Commissions in Preaching the lawfulness of paying that Tribute declared to be imposed for the bearing down of the true Worship of God which they falsly termed Seditions Conventicles and their advising these poor Prisoners to subscribe the Bond and consequently could not but so advise all others if put to it for the hazard that Men were in will not make a real change of the morality of that Action and beside the rest may be put to it upon the same hazard and so if the one should advise which consequently they must do and the other should subscribe this would altogether close that door which the Lord hath made use of in all the Churches of Europe for casting off the Yoke of the Whore and restoring the truth and purity of Religion and Reformation and freedom of the Churches and should have stopped all ingress for Men when once brought under Tyranny to recover their Liberty again These Ministers then not being followers of Christ who before Pontius Pilate gave a good Confession which was that he was a King and no King if he have not power to order his House and Subjects and they not following him nor his Ministers if not asserting and maintaining of this his kingly Power against all Incroachers and Usurpers of it and besides we being commanded If any Brother walk disorderly from such to withdraw and although in the capacity we now are in we neither have nor assumes to our selves Authority to give out definite and authoritative sentences of Deposition and Supension against these Ministers yet we declare which is proper for us to do that we neither can nor will hear Preaching nor receive Sacraments from these Ministers that hath accepted of and voted for that Liberty and declares all who have encouraged and strengthened their Hands by hearing and pleading for them all those who have traffiqued for an union with them without their renouncing and repenting of these things all those that do not testifie faithfully against them and after do not deport themselves suitably to their testimonies and all who joyn not in publick with their Brethren who are testifying against them we declare that we shall not hear them Preach nor receive Sacraments from them at least till they stand in Judgment before these Ministers and be judged by them who have followed the Lord and kept themselves free of these Defections And as our Hearts hath cleaved to these Ministers while they were on the Lords side and subjected our selves to them so we shall still cleave to those that abide following Him and shall be subject to them in the Lord. VII Then we do declare and acknowledge that a Gospel-Ministry is a standing Ordinance of God appointed by Christ to continue in the Church until the end of the World and that none of us shall take upon him the preaching of the Word or administring the Sacraments unless called and ordained thereto by the Ministers of the Gospel And as we declare that we are for a standing Gospel-Ministry rightly chosen and rightly ordained so we declare that we shall go about this Work in time to come with more Fasting and Praying and more careful Inspection into the conversation and holiness of these Men that shall
be chosen and ordained the want of which formerly hath been a great sin both in Ministers and People which hath not been the least cause of this Defection THE DECLARATION and TESTIMONY OF THE True-Presbyterian Anti-prelatick AND ANTI-ERASTIAN PERSECUTED-PARTY IN SCOTLAND IT is not amongst the smallest of the Lords Mercies to this poor Land that there hath aways been some who hath given a Testimony of every course of Defection which we were guilty of which is a token for Good that he does not as yet intend to cast us off altogether but that He will leave a remnant in whom he will be glorious if they through His Grace keep themselves clean still and walk in His Way and Method as it hath been walked in and owned by Him in our Predecessors of truly worthy Memory their time in their carrying out of our noble Work of Reformation in the several steps thereof from Popery and Prelacy and likewise from Erastian-Supremacy so much usurped by him who it is true so far as we know is descended from the Race of our Kings yet he hath so far deborded from what be ought to have been by his Perjury and Vsurpation in Church-matters and Tyranny in matters Civil as is known by the whole Land that we have just reason to believe that one of the Lords great Contraversies against us is that we have not disowned him and the Men of his Practices whether inferiour Magistrates or any others as Enemies to our Lord and His Crown and the true Protestant and Presbyterian-Interest in their hands our Lords espoused Bride and Church Therefore although we be for Government and Governours such as the Word of God and our Covenants allows yet we for our selves and all that will adhere to us as the Representatives of the true Presbyterian-Church and covenanted Nation of Scotland considering the great hazard of lying under such a sin do by these presents disown Charles Stuart who hath been reigning or rather we may say tyrannizing on the Throne of Scotland or Government thereof forfaulted several years since by his Perjury and breach of Covenant with God and His Church and usurpation of his Crown and Royal Prerogatives therein and many other breaches in matters Ecclesiastick and by his Tyranny and breach of the very Leges Regnandi in matters Civil for which Reasons we declare that several years since he should have been denuded of being King Ruler or Magistrate or having any Power to act or to be obeyed as such As also 〈…〉 of Christ Captain of Salvation we declare War against such a Tyrant and Vsurper and all the Men of his Practices as Enemies to our Lord Jesus Christ His Cause and Covenants and against all such as have strengthened him sided with him or any ways acknowledged him in his Vsurpation and Tyranny Civil and Ecclesiastick yea and against all such as shall strengthen side with or any ways acknowledge any other in the like Vsurpation and Tyranny far more against such as would be tray or deliver up our free reformed Mother Church into the Bondage of Antichrist the Pope of Rome By this we Homologat the Testimony given at Rutherglen the twenty ninth of May 1679. and all the faithful Testimonies of these that have gone before us as of these also that have suffered of late and we do disclaim that Declaration published at Hamiltoun June 1679. chiefly because it takes in the Kings Interest which we are several years since loosed from because of the foresaid Reasons and others which may after this if the Lord will be published As also we disown and by this resente the reception of the Duke of York a profest Papist as repugeant to our Principles and Vows to the most High God and as that which is the great though alace too just reproach of our Church and Nation We also by this protest against his succeeding to the Crown and whatever hath been done or any are essaying to do in this Land given to the Lord in prejudice to our Work of Reformation And to conclude We hope none will blame us for or offend at our rewarding these that are against us as they have done to us as the Lord gives the opportunity This is not to exclude any that hath declined if they be willing to give satisfaction to the degree of their offence Given at Sanqhuair the 22. of June 1680. These are the True and Exact Copies of the Fanaticks New-Covenant and Declaration Collationed with the Originals which are kept amongst the Records of His Majesties Privy-Council and attested by AL. GIBSON Cl. Sti. Concilij And WILL. PATERSON Cl. Sti. Concilij FINIS