anomia ergapiria the very shops or Laboratories of rebellion The Church is not dissolv'd where dissipline's not executed if it were it should be where it is at the pleasure of the Magistrate suspended To imagine a final ineapacitie of meeting by perpetual succession of Tyrants hath litle either of reason or conscience it assaults the certitude of fayth in Gods promises advanceth infidelitie in his providence But to give you at length your passe from this paragraph Such as you in a schismatical Assemblie may have frequentlie in Scotland pinn'd the character of erroneous upon an upright Magistrate a Disciplinarian rebell to save his credit call'd a Royal moderate proclamation a tyrdnous edist The Bishops third allegation you finde too heavie therefore let fall halfe of it by the way You have too good a conceit of your Parliaments bountie though had they been as prodigal as you make them it litle becomes you to proclaime them bankrupts by their favour Their Acts were allwayes ratified by your Princes any which whom tell me one wherein this right Royal was renounc'd of suspending seditious Ministers from their office or if cause were depriving them of their places It were a senselesse thing to suppose that the Bishop would denie to the Church a proprietie to consult determine about religion doctrine haeresie c. Yet its likelie His Lordship allowes it not in that mode which makes her power so absolute as to define consummate authorize the whole businesse by her selfe He hath heard the King to be somewhere accounted a mixt person thinkes it may be that the holie oyle of his unction is not onelie to swime on the top be sleeted off at the pleasure of a peevish Disciplinarian Assemblie but to incorporate with their power The lawes of England have not been hitherto so indulgent of libertie to our Convocation but that the King in the cases alledged did ever praedominate by his supremacie And the Parliament hath stood so much upon priviledge that if Religion fetch'd not her billet from West-minster the could have but a cold lodging at St. Pauls The booke of Statutes is no portable manual for us whom your good brethren have sent to wander in the world yet I can helpe you to one An. 1. Eliz. that restor'd the title of supreme to the Queen withall provided that none should have authoritie newlie to judge any thing to be haeresie not formerlie so judged but the High Court of Parliament with the assent of the Clergie in their Convocation Where the Convocations assent by the sound should not be so determinative as the Parliaments judgement which right or wrong here it assumes As touching appeales because you will have somewhat here sayd though it must be otherwhere handled No law of Scotland denies an appeale in things Civile or Ecclesiastike to the King One yet in force enjoines subjection unto them the Act of Parliament in May 1584. which was That any persons either spiritual or Temporal praesuming to decline the judgement of His Majestie His Councel shall incurre the paine of treason What you call a complaint is in our case an appeale what taking order is executing a definitive judgement without traversing backe the businesse to Ecclesiastike Courts or holding over the rod of a coercive power to awe them into due regular proceedings I confesse this the Presbyters in Scotland never made good by their practice Their appeales were still retrograde from the supreme Magistrate his Councel to a faction of Nobles or a seditious partie of the people Such is that of Knox printed at large Or which in effect is the same The Scotish Assemblies when they had no power appeald to providence when they had whereupon they might relie unto the sword In case of Religion or doctrine if the General Assemblie which is not infallible erre in judgement determîne any thing contrarie to the word of God the sense of Catholike Antiquitie the King may by a court of Orthodoxe Delegates consisting of no more then two or three Prelates if he please receive better information of truth establish that in his Church Or which often hapens in Scotland If the Presbyters frame Assemblie Acts derogatorie to the rights of his Crowne prejudicial to the peace of his people the King may personallie justifie his owne praerogative and keep the mischiefe they invented from becoming a praecedent in law This doth not the word of God nor any aequitie prohibite The judgement of causes concerning deprivations of Ministers in the yeare 1584 you would have had come by way of appellation to the General Assemblie there take final end but this you could not make good within yourselves nor doe I finde upon your proponing craving it was then or at any time granted you by the King Two yeares before you adventurd not onelie for your priviledge in that … but against the Magistrates puting preachers to silence…hindering staying or disannulling the censures of the Church in examining any offender Rev. In the Scotes Assemblies no causes are agitated but such as the Parliament hath agreed to be Ecclesiastike c. Ans If any Parliament have agreed all causes of what nature soever to be Ecclesiastike by reduction so of the Church cognizance you have that colour for your pragmatical Assemblies but if you admit of any exception you have for certaine transgressed yourlimits there being no crime nor praetended irregularitie whatsoever that stood in view or came to the knowledge of the world that hath escaped your discussion censure not been serv'd up in your supplicates to be punished Rev. … No processe about any Church rent was ever cognosced upon in Scotland but in a Civile Court Ans. Your imperious though supplicatorie prohibition 1576. I allreadie mention'd In the Assemblie at Edenburgh April 24. 1576. You concluded…That you might proceed against unjust possessours of the patrimonie of the Church…by doctrine admonition last of all if no remedie be with the censures of the Church In that at Montrosse June 24. 1595. About setting Benefices with diminution of the rental c. you appointed Commissioners with power to take oaths call an-inquest of men of best knowledge in the Countrey about to proceed against the Ministrie with sentence of deposition Master Tho. Craig the Solicitour for the Church to pursue the Pensiionars in Caitnes for reduction of their pensions If in no particular you actuallie proceeded to Church censures It was because you foresaw they would not restraine the corruption no more of the laitie then the Clergie then your menasing petitions sometime obtein'd strength from some partial or pusillanimous Parliament or when you praevail'd not you wrapt this up with the rest of your discipline put all to the processe of a warre And this was you know the mysterious sense of Knox's method upon good experience praescrib'd on his death bed First
confesseth that somewhat Blacke had sayd though he hath no great minde to take notice what nor when He complaines of Rutherfort his accuser because oblig'd for private courtesies who deserves to be commended for praeferring publike dutie in that appeares to have been one of the most honest hearers there The Courtiers can not be blamed for intending to stop the mouthes of such Ministers as layd the Devil with his bairnes at their doores put them in afright that they should afterward be charg'd with keeping all the blacke brats of the Assemblie The advice of the Brethren was adjudg'd treason by the law of Scotland produc'd against the Aberdene Ministers your Edenburgh Bibles have not one text to justifie that appeale The words layd to Mr. Blackes charge I hope will be confessed to be trulie seditious All the quaestion you make is whether he spake them or no which though doubtfull as it is not being proved before the Assemblie who gave this reason for his exemption from punishment They knew not with what spirit he was overruled must be acknowledg'd a mater of civile cognizance because no point of religious aswell as the punishment if prov'd Constat Episcopos Presoyteros forum legibus non habere nec de aliis causis … prâ—…eter religionem posse cognoscere The Brethrens reason or rather mis-apprehension must not be made the measure of the lawes If the King yeided so much toward an amicable conclusion what can justifie the Presbyters in continuing the breach who say what you will were bound to subscribe a band for that silence which was required Pessimus est mos suggestum in scenam vertere dulcisâ—…imam Euangelii vocem in Comaediam veterem What the learned Grotius enlargeth upon this subject I will not transcribe but call upon you to answer being that which I assume to make good upon the same texts proofes he produceth The truth was you durst neither have advised Blacke to appeale nor your selves have shew'd such contumacie to the King but that you had felt the pulse of the people made it beate high in your behalfe This your brother confesseth though in Gypsie language calling it the great concord authoritie in the Church such as made the Courtiers to tremble though never so much in favour with the King Which concord when so magnified in your storie we know was ever a covenant to rebell awe the King aswell as the Court by your usurp'd authoritie of the sword Yet whatsoever is your practice profession by sits sometimes you are more serious though seldome more loyal the result of your councel apparels it selfe in such a sentence as this Our obedience bindeth us not onelie reverentlie to speake write of our Soveraigne but also to judge thinke Which if the Edenburgh Ministers had practis'd they had not come under that severe sentence pronounced against them for raising a dangerous mutinie among the people If I would like you turne diviner I might easilie guesse out of what un printed register you have that prettie legend that followes which yet is not so decentlie dress'd as to make good the chast credit of the discipline Who was this villaine By whom was he Suborn'd Avillaine They suborne without particular instance of either will not passe upon publike fayth If the Commotion was innocent why not approv'd If not approv'd how appeares it to be innocent The best way to have quit the Ministrie from being authours or approvers had been to be censurers but here they could keep silence without a band I can not yet let goe this singular storie my dutie forbids my charitie any where to favour you with my silence And because you are so praejudic'd against unprinted traditions I will give it you for the most part out of some printed registers I have met with King Iames desirous to set off his Court with what luster he could to foraigne Ambassadeurs had in a provident magnificence retrench'd some allowance formerlie issued for his Courtiers attendants contracted their tables to enlarge his owne entertainments For the managing of this somewhat else concerning his revenue he had appointed eight officers of State where of some were Papists but of know'n intergritie The Resormado Courtiers by way of scorne call'd these Octavians made an easie impression into their Ministrie by suggesting that they had a designe to introduce Poperie subvert the whole discipline of the Church After private conference a fast for the smiting with the fist of wickednesse soon after was kept at Edenburgh Balcanqual preacheth spares neither King nor Councel in his virulence infuseth all the unpleasing particulars he could thinke of to imbitter his Satyr humblie beseecheth the Edenburgh Citizens at a certaine houre to meet in the New Church tells them how much it concern'd their reformed Euaugel His reservednesse sharpend their expectation caus'd their punctual assembling almost to a man where they found their Ministers in a formal Synod having chosen a violent Presbyter Mr. Robert Bruce their Moderator Here Mr. Blackes sufferings were aggravated the Kings violating the praerogative of the Church One Watson comes in addes oyle to the flame remonstrates his late repulse at Court denial of accesse to the King being sent with some Rebell-supplicate from the Brethren The Moderator with as much malice as my be comments at large upon every instance in a speach Makes it Gods cause engageth the people to assert the libertie of his Gospel if not by petition by power Some Commissioners are sent to the King then in the Tolbuith who receiving some checke for their unjustifiable proceedings come backe with their angrie account to the Assemblie One Alexander Vaux being as the Presbyters had praedesign'd mounted up above the congregation by a pillar with stretched out arme cries The sword of God of Gideon bid them to follow him in the vinaication of God his Church They take it out of his mouth in confusion clamour Arme Arme for God the Church They doe accordinglie rush violentlie into the streets beguirting the place where His Majestie was Mr. Thomas Hamilton afterwards Earke of Haddington takes an halberd in his hand with some of his friends keepes the multitude from entring Alexander Hume of Northborvick for the time Provest of Edenburgh Roger Mackmath whom the King ordinarilie called his Baylisse raise what power they can upon a sodaine the honest Hammermen come in to their assistance They demand first whether the Kings person be in safetie then by a mixture of faire words menaces make the rowt quit the place but not their riot for they by by rallie in the Mercate place The Captaine of the Castle turnes some canon upon the Towne by that militarie argument praevailes with rhem to disband The King is safelie guarded to his palace at Halyrud Howse For all this Brucc sends abroad his
Presbyterians tolerate more libertie on their Sabbath then the Bishops on our Sunday 50. 125 The hypocritical superstition of the Sc. Presbyters in the sanctification of their Sabbath 81 Offenders quitted to be admitted to the H. Sacrament without publike satisfaction in the Church 126 False measures c under colour of scandal not to be brought into the cognizance of the Church 66 All civile causes are brought before the Presbyterie under the pretense of scandal 170 The Pr. Scotish partie inconsiderable 2 They gave beter language to our Bishops heretofore then of late 8 Carefull Christians will finde litle leisure on weeke dayes to heare many sermons 157 Sermons not to exceed an houre 158 Those that are Rhetorical may be as usefull as many meerlie Textuarie 159 St. Claud Somais no Countenancer of the late Kirke proceedings Ans. to Ep. Ded. 4. 111 The Sc. Presbyterians coordinate two Soveraignities in one State 113 Two Scotish Kings at one time avouched by A Melvin 114 Capt. Iames Stuart vindicated at large 87 Superintendents aequivalent to Bishops 23 Imperious supplicates from the Presbyterie 26 Rebellion the subject of most 165. 179 The Kings supremacie impaired by Presbyterie 27. 195 Placed upon the People 29 Scotish Presbyterie overthrowes the right of the Magistrates convocating Synods 10. 30 Synods where the Magistrate prohibited them 31. 36 Receiving appeales not the principal end of calling Synods 132 Noblemen to have no suffrages in them but when sent thither by the King 134 T. THe by-tenets of the Discipline 3 The Texts of Scripture urged against Episcopacie for Presbyterie answered 105 c The Presbyterians treason at Ruthuen 88 At Striveling 89 V. FAmilie visitations commendable aswell in orthodoxe Priest as Presbyters 173 The Reviewer much in love with the uncleanlie metaphore of a vomit 176 W. ACcording to the Word of God a more dubious and frivolous limitation in the Covenant them heretosore in the oath for Episcopacie 181 FINIS 1 Sâ—…n Gâ—…r 16. 7. Dâ—…ar Parl. 1648. c. Assemb Gâ—… Aâ—…no 1556. Can. 50. Ench. cand S. min. ex decrâ—…o sal The Edit Gron. 1645. pag. 161. Los ordiuâ—… Eccles. printed at Geneva 1562. pag. 66. pag. 20. Pagin 20. Pag 9. Pag 11. Octob. 20. 1597. Assâ—… Abberd 1600 1 Book dise 1. held Ass Dun. 1580. Patl. 1584 1 Book discip 4. and 6. head Anno 203. 1606. Ass. Glasg 1610. Parl. Edenb 1612. Ass. Edenb 1590. 2 Book disc Chap. 9. 1 Book disc 6. head Ibidem Ibidem Ibidem Ass. Edenb 1 6 4 7. Ass. Glasg 1 5 8 1 Ass. Edenb 1 5 9 0 Ass. Edenb 1 5 9 1. 1 〈◊〉 Book disc Chap. 7. 2 Chap. 12. 3 Ass. Edenb 1 7 0. a Book disc Chap. 7. Chap. 12. 2 Book disc Chap. 1. Theoremaâ—… III. imp Edenb 1 6 4 7. decreto Synodi Theor. 4 Theor. 8. Theâ—…r â—…2 Information from Sâ—…t â—…nd p. 19 Theor 98. Theor. 82. Theor. 96. Tâ—…r 50. 5â—… Ibid. 2 Book of disc châ—… 10. Theor. 84. and 85. Ibidâ—… Theor. 43. Theor. 97. Theor. 88. Theor. 82. 2. Theor. 82. 3. Theor. 91. 92. 2. 1582. Ass. Saint Andrâ—…ws 1582. Ass. Saint-Andrâ—…ws 1582. 〈◊〉 Eccl. Ord. pag. 14. Dâ—…c 15â—… a Book diâ—…c châ—…p 11. At Edâ—… 1587. Minster â—…vid Bâ—… 1596. 4 1 Book dâ—… 7 heâ—…d 2 Book dâ—…c Chap. 〈◊〉 Thâ—… 〈◊〉 9 1 Book disc â—…d 9. Ibid. Ass Edenb 1594. Parl. Ed. 1594. Gen. 79. 7. Vindication of Commissioners Jun. 6 1648. 6 1 Book dise 7. head 2 Book dise Chap. 7. 1 Book disc 〈◊〉 head and Thâ—…r â—…3 Theor. 47. 4â—… Vindicat. com p. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 knowledge 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1648. Theor. 63. vindication p. 5. Humble advise Edchb. Iune 10. 2â—…48 vindication p. 8. Ass. Dund 1593. Ass. Fdâ—…b 1567. 〈◊〉 Book dise â—…h 7. Vindication pâ—…g 11. 〈◊〉 10. 1582. 1583. Ass. Edenb 1582. Sept. 27. 1648. Ar. 3 Theor. 84. Ann. 1562. Ass. Edenburg 1593. An. 1596. 1 Cor. 1â—… 1. 1 Kin. 3. 25. 1582. Febr. 16. At Saint Giles Church March 22. Declar. Scot. Leit p. 57. 58. 1 Book dis 7. head Theor. 63. 1 Book 9. head p. 44. Scot lit 48 47. 1 Book dis 7. h aâ—… 55. Articl 1596. Scot. Liâ—… 49 Motus Brtanici 171 1 Book dis 9. head 1 Book dis 9 head The Authorâ—… reasons of his wryting The Praelats are unable by reason to defend Episco pacy Cheir strongeâ—… 〈◊〉 are 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 The 〈…〉 in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The only crane of the Covenant is that it extirpate praelacy The Bishops are most justly cast out of England The Scots were never injurious to their King The Scotes selling of the King is a most false calumnie The reason of the dediâ—…ation The unseasonablenes of Doctor Brambles warning The irrational way of the warners writing The most of his stuffe is borrowed and long agoe confuted The conâ—… bitternes of the warners spirit The warner stricks at the Scotes discipline through the Kings sides In the threshold hee stumbles on the Kings conscience The Scots never offered to impose any thing uâ—… on England The elder praelats of England were Erastians and more but the younger are as much an i-Erastian as the most riged of the Presbytery The Scotes first and greatest crime is irreconciliablenes with Rome The Scotes were ever anti episcopall The Praelates lately were found in the act of introducing Popery into the Church and Tiranny into the Kingdom No controversie in Scotland betwixt the King and the Church about the convocating of Synods The warners Erastian and Tirannick principles hated by the King The Warners ignorant and false report of the Scotes proceedings Bishops were abolished and Presbyteries set up in Scotland with King Iames consent The innocency of the much maligned assembly of Aberdeen Christmas and other superstitious festivals abolished in Scotland both by Church and State The friends of Episcopacy thryves not in Scotland The second book of disciplin why not al ratified in Parliament The Warners hipocrisy calling that a crime which himselfe counts a virtue The Warner a grosse Erastian Praelatical principles impossibilitate alsolid peace betwixt the King and his Kingdoms Erastian praelats evert the legall foundations of all government The finall determination of all Ecclesiastick causes by the Lawes of Scotland is in the generall assembly The divine right of discipline is the tenet of the most of praelats All the power of the Church in Scotland is legall and with the Magistrats consente The prelats rather then to lay aside their owne interest will keepe the King and his people in misery for ever Appeals in Scotland from a generall assembly were no lesse irrationall then illegall The Churches just severity against Montgomery and Adamson was approven by the King and the parties themselfe The pride of prelats lately but never the Presbitery did exempt their fellows from punishment for their civil faults The Warner is injurious to the Ministers of Holland The pretended declaration of King Iames was
as well Noble-men as Barons and those of other estates to meet and give their personal appearance at Edenburgh the 20 of Iuly ensuing for giving their advise and concurrence in matters then to be proponed especially for purging the Realm of Popery establishing the policy of the Church and restoring the patrimony thereof to the just possessours Assuring such as did absent themselves that they should be esteemed dissimulate professours unworthy of the fellowship of Christs flock who thinks your Scotish Disciplinarians know not how to ruffle it Upon this ground they assume a power to abrogate and invalidate Laws and Acts of Parliament if they seem disadvantagious to the Church Church Assemblies have power to abrogate and abolish all statutes and ordinances concerning Ecclesiastical matters that are found noysom and unprofitable and agree not with the times or are abused by the people So the Acts of Parliament 1584. at the very same time that they were proclaimed were protested against at the market crosse of Edenburgh by the Ministers in the name of the Kirk of Scotland And a little before whatsoever be the Treason of impugning the authority of Parliament it can be no Treason to obey God rather than man Neither did the General assembly of Glasgow 1638 c. commit any treason when they impugned Episcopacy and Perth-Articles although ratified by Acts of Parliament and standing laws then unrepealed He saith so far true that we ought rather to obey God than man that is to suffer when we cannot act but to impugn the authority of a lawfull Magistrate is neither to obey God nor man God commands us to die innocent rather than live nocent they teach us rather to live nocent than die innocent Away with these seeds of sedition these rebellious principles Our Master Christ hath left us no such warrant and the unsound practise of an obscure Conventicle is no safe patern The King was surprized at Ruthen by a company of Lords and other conspirators this fact was as plain Treason as could be imagined and so it was declared I say declared not made in Parliament Yet an Assembly Generall no man gain-saying did justify that Treason in order to Religion as good and acceptable service to God their Soveraign and native Countrey requiring the Ministers in all their Churches to commend it to the people and exhort all men to concurre with the actors as they tendred the glory of God the full deliverance of the Church and perfect reformation of the Common-wealth threatning all those who subscribed not to their judgement with Excommunication We see this is not the first time that Disciplinarian Spectacles have made abominable Treason to seem Religion if it serve for the advancement of the good Cause And it were well if they could rest here or their zeale to advance their Ecclesiasticall Soveraignty by force of Armes and effusion of Christian blood would confine it self within the limits of Scotland No those bounds are too narrow for their pragmaticall spirits And for busie Bishops in other mens Diocesses see the Articles of Sterling That the securing and setling Religion at home and promoting the work of Reformation abroad in England and Ireland be referred to the determination of the General Assembly of the Kirk or their Commissioners What is old Edenburgh turned new Rome and the old Presbyters young Cardinals and their Consistory a Conclave and their Committees a Juncto for propagating the faith Themselves stand most in need of Reformation If there be a more in the eye of our Church there is a beam in theirs Neither want we at home God be praised those who are a thousand times fitter for learning for piety for discretion to be reformers then a few giddy innovators This I am sure since they undertook our cure against our wills they have made many fat Church-yards in England Nothing is more civill or essentiall to the Crowne then the Militia or power of raising Armes Yet we have seen in the attempt at Ruthen in their Letter to the Lord Hamilton in their Sermons what is their opinion They insinuate as much in their Theorems It is lawfull to resist the Magistrate by certain extraordinary wayes or meanes not to be ordinarily allowed It were no difficult task out of their private Authors to justifie the barbarous acts that have been committed in England But I shall hold my selfe to their publike actions and records A mutinous company of Citizens forced the gates of Halyrood-house to search for a Priest and plundâ—…r at their pleasure Mr. Knox was charged by the Councell to have bin the author of the sedition and further to have convocated his Majesties Subjects by Letters missive when he pleased He answered that he was no preacher of Rebellion but taught people to obey their Princes in the Lord I fear he taught them likewise that he and they were the competent judges what is obedience in the Lord. He confessed his convocating of the Subjects by vertue of a command from the Church to advertise the brethren when he saw a necessity of their meeting especially if he perceived Religion to be in peril Take another instance The Assembly having received an answer from the King about the tryall of the Popish Lords not to their contentment resolve all to convene in Armes at the place appointed for the tryall whereupon some were left at Edenburgh to give timely advertisement to the rest The King at his return gets notioe of it calls the Ministers before him shewes them what an undutifull part it was in them to levy Forces and draw his Subjects into Armes without his Warrant The Ministers pleaded That it was the cause of God in defence whereof they could not be defieient This is the Presbyterian wont to subject all causes and persons to their Consistories to ratifie and abolish civill Lawes to confirm and pull down Parliaments to levy Forces to invade other Kingdoms to do any thing respectively to the advancement of the good cause and in order to Religion CHAP. VIII That the Disciplinarians challenge this exorbitant Power by Divine Right BEhold both Swords spirituall and temporall in the hands of the Presbytery the one ordinarily by common right the other extraordinarily the one belonging directly to the Church the other indirectly the one of the Kingdome of Christ the other for his Kingdom in order to the propagation of Religion See how these hocas pâ—…cases with stripping up their sleeves and professions of plain-dealing with declaiming against the tyranny of Prelates under the pretense of humility and Ministeriall duty have wrested the Scepter out of the hand of Majesty and jugled themselves into as absolute a Papacy as ever was within the walls of Rome O Saviour behold thy Vicars and see whither the pride of the servants of thy servants is ascended Now their Consistories are become the Tribunalls of Christ. That were strange indeed Christ hath but one Tribunall his Kingdome is
dayes did sue for aid and assistance from the Crown and Kingdom of England they did not go about to obtrude their owne Discipline upon them but left them free to choose for themselves The grounds which follow are demonstrative First no man can dispose that by vow or otherwise either to God or man which is the right of a third person without his consent Neither can theâ—…nferiour oblige himselfe to the prejudice of his Superiour contrary to his duty without his Superiours allowance God accepts no such pretences to seem obsequious to him out of the undoubted right of another person Now the power of Armes and the defence of the Lawes and protection of the Subjects by those Armes is by the Law of England clearly invested in the Crowne And where the King is bound in conscience to protect the Subject is bound in conscience to assist Therefore every English Subject owes his Armes and his Obedience to his King and cannot dispose them as a free gift of his owne nor by any act of his whatsoever diminish his Soveraignes right over him but in those things wherein by Law he owes subjection to his Prince he remaineth still obliged notwithstanding any Vow or Covenant to the contrary especially when the subject and scope of the Covenant is against the known Lawes of the Realm So as without all manner of doubt no Divine or Learned Casuist in the world dissenting This Covenant is either void in it selfe or at least voided by his Majesties Proclamation prohibiting the takirg of it and nullifying its obligation Secondly It is confessed by all men that that an Oath ought not to be the bond of iniquity nor doth oblige a man to be a transgressour The golden rule is in malis promissis rescinde fidem in turpi voto muta decretum To observe a wicked engagement doubles the sinne Nothing can be the matter of a Vow or Covenant which is evidently unlawfull But it is evidently unlawfull for a Subject or Subjects to alter the Lawes established by force without the concurrence and against the commands of the Supreme Legislator for the introduction of a forraign Discipline This is the very matter and subject of the Covenant Subjects vow to God and swear one to another to change the Lawes of the Realm to abolish the Discipline of the Church and the Liturgy lawfully established by the Sword which was never committed to their hands by God or man without the King against the King which no man can deny in earnest to be plain rebellion And it is yet the worse that it is to the main prejudice of a third order of the Kingdom the taking away whose rights without their consents without making them satisfaction cannot be justified in point of conscience Yea though it were for the greater convenience of the Kingdom as is most falsely pretended And is harder measure then the Abbots and Friers received from Henry the eight or then either Christians or Turkes do offer to their conquered enemies Lastly a supervenient oath or covenant either with God or man cannot take away the obligation of a just oath precedent But such is the Covenant a subsequent oath inconsistent with and destructive to a precedent oath that is the oath of Supremacy which all the Church men throughout the Kingdome all the Parliament men at their admission to the house all persons of quality throughout England have taken The former oath acknowledgeth the King to be the onely supreame hâ—…ad that is civill head to see that every man do his duty in his calling and Governour of the Church of England The second oath or covenant to set up the Presbyterian Government as it is in Scotland denieth all this virtually makes it a politicall papacy acknowledgeth no governours but onely the Presbyters The former oath gives the King the supream power over all persons in all causes The second oath gives him a power over all persons as they are subjects but none at all in Ecclesiasticall causes This they make to be sacriledge By all whiâ—…h it is most apparent that this Covenant was neither free nor deliberate nor valide nor lawfull nor consistent with our former oathes but insorced dâ—…ceitfull invalide impious rebellious and contradictory to our former ingagements and consequently obligeth no man to performance but all men to repentance For the greater certainty whereof I appeâ—…le upon this stating of the case to all the learned Casuists and Divines in Europe touching the point of common right And that this is the true state of the case I appeal to our adversaries themselves No man that hath any spark of ingenuity will denie it No English-man who hath any tolerable degree of judgement or knowledge in the laws of his countrey can denie it but at the same instant his conscience must give him the lie They who plead for this rebellion dare not put it to a triall at law they doe not ground their defence upon the lawes But either upon their own groundlesse jealousies and fears of the Kings intention to introduce Popery to subvert the lawes and to enslave the people This is to run into a certain crime for fear of an uncertain They who intend to pick quarrels know how to feign suspicions Or they ground it upon the successe of their arms or upon the Soveraigne right of the people over all lawes and Magistrates whose Representatives they create themselves whilest the poor people sigh in corners and dare not say their soul is their own lamenting their former folly to have contributed so much to their own undoing Or lastly upon Religion the cause of God the worst plea of all the rest to make God accessary to their treasons murthers covetousnesse ambition Christ did never authorise Subjects to plant Christian Religion much lesse their own fanâ—…ticall dreams or fantasticall deviles in the blood of their Soveraigne and fellow subjects Speak out is it lawfull for Subjects to take up arms against their Prince meerly for Religion or is it not lawfull It ye say it is not lawfull ye condemn your selves for your Covenant testifieth to the world that ye have taken up arms meerly to alter Religion and that ye bear no Allegiance to your King but onely in order to Religion that is in plain terms to your own humours and conceits If ye say it is lawfull ye justifie the Independents in England for supplanting your selves ye justifie the Anabaptists in Germany Iohn of Leyden and his câ—…ue Ye break down the banks of Order and make way for an inundation of blood and confusion in all Countreys Ye render your selves justly odious to all Christian Magistrates when they see that they owe their safety not to your good wills but to your weaknesse that ye want sufficient strength to cut their throats This is fine doctrine for Europe wherein there is scarce that King or State which hath not Subjects of different opinions and communions in Religion Or lastly if ye say it is lawfull for
to meet when an erroneous Magistrat by his Tyrannous edict commands them to doe so let him call up Erastus from the dead to be disciplined in this new doctrine of the praelats impious loyalty The third principle is that the judgment of true and false doctrine of suspension and deprivation of Ministers belongeth to the Church Ans. If this be a great heresie it is to be charged as much upon the state as upon the Church for the acts of Parliament give all this power to the Church neither did the lawes of England or of any Christian state popish or protestant refuse to the Church the determination of such Ecclesiastick causes some indeed doe debate upon the power of appeales from the Church but in Scotland by the law as no appeale in things civill goes higher then the Parliament so in matters Ecclesiastick none goes above the generall assembly Complaints indeed may goe to the King and Parliament for redresse of any wrong has been done in Ecclesiastick Courts who being custodes religionis may by their coercive power command Ecclesiastick Courts to rectifie any wrong done by them contraire to Scripture or if they persist take order with them But that two or three praelats should become a Court of delegats to receave appeales from a generall assembly neither Law nor practise in Scotland did ever admit nor can the word of God or any Equity require it In the Scotes assemblies no causes are agitat but such as the Parliament hath agreed to bee Ecclesiastick and of the Churches cognisance no Processe about any Church rent was ever cognosced upon in Scotland but in a civill Court it s very false that ever any Church censure much lesse the highest of excommunication did fall upon any for robbing the Church of its patrimony Our fourth challenged principle is that wee maintain Ecclesiastick jurisdiction by a divine right Ans. Is this a huge crime is there divine in the world either Papist or Potestant except a few praelaticall Erastians but they doe so If the Warner will professe as it seemes hee must the contradiction of that which he ascribes to us his avowed tenet must bee that all Ecclesiastick power flowes from the Magistrat that the Magistrat himself may execute all Church censures that all the Officers appointed by Christ for the governement of his Church may bee laid aside and such a kind of governors bee put in their place as the Magistrate shal be pleased to appoint that the spirituall sword and Keies of heaven belong to the Magistrate by vertue of his supremacy al 's wel as the temporall sword and the Keies of his earthly Kingdome our difference heere from the Warner will not I hope be found the greatest heresie Our last challenged principle is that wee will have all our power against the Magistrat that is although hee dissent Ans. It is an evill comentare that al must be against the Magistrate which is done against his consent but in Scotland their is no such case for all the jurisdiction which the church there does enjoy they have it with the consent of the Magistrat all is ratified to them by such acts of Parliament as his Majestie doth not at all controvert Concerning that odious case the Warner intimats whither in time of persecutiō when the Magistrat classheth with the Church any Ecclesiastick disciplin be then to be exercised himselfe can better answer it then we who with the auncient Christians doe think that on all hazards even of life the church may not be dissolved but must meet in dens and caves and in the wildernes for the word and Sacraments and keeping it selfe pure by the divine ordinance of discipline Having cleered all the pernicious practises and all the wicked Doctrines which the Warner layes upon us I think it needles to insist upon these defenses which he in his aboundant charity brings for us but in his owne way that he may with the greater advantage impugne them only I touch one passage whereupon he make injurious exclamations that which Mr. Gilespie in his theoremes wryts when the Magistrate abuses his power unto Tyranny and makes havock of all it is lawfull to resist him by some extraordinary wayes and meanes which are not ordinarily to bee allowed see the principles from which all our miseryes and the losse of our gracious Master have flowed Ans. Wee must heere yeeld to the Warner the great equity and necessity that every doctrine of a Presbyter should be charged on the Presbytery it selfe and that any Presbyter teaching the lawfulnesse of a Parliaments defensive armes is tantamont to the Churches taking of armes against the king These small unconsequences wee must permit the Warner to swallow downe without any stick however wee doe deny that the maxime in hand was the fountaine of any our miseryes or the cause at all of the losse of our late Soveraigne Did ever his Majestie or any of his advised counsellers declare it simply unlawfull for a Parliament to take armes for defence in some extraordinary cases however the unhappines of the Canterburian Prelats did put his Majestie on these courses which did begin and promote all our misery and to the very last these men were so wicked as to refuse the lousing of these bands which their hands had tyed about his misinformed conscience yea to this day they will not give their consent that his Majestie who now is should say aside Episcopacy were it for the gayning the peaceable possession of all his three Kingdomes but are urgers of him night and day to adhaere to their errours upon the hazard of all the miseries that may come on his person on his family and all his people yet few of them to this day durst be so bold as to print with this Warner the unlawfulnes of a Parliaments armes against the Tyranny of a Prince in any imaginable case how extraordinary soever CHAP. III. The Lawes and customes of Scotland admitte of no appeal from the generall assembly IN this chapter the challenge is that there are no appeales from the generall Assembly to the King as in England from the Bishops Courts to the King in Chauncery where a Commission uses to be given to delegats who discusse the appeales Ans. The warner considers not the difference of the Government of the Church of Scotland from that which was in England what the Parliament is in the State that the generall assembly is in the Church of Scotland both are the highest courts in their owne kind There is no appeale any where in moderat Monarchies to the Kings person but to the King in certaine legall courts as the Warner here confesseth the appeale from Bishops lyes not to the King in his person but to the King in his court of Chauncery As no man in Scotland is permitted to appeale in a civil cause from the Lords of Session much lesse from the Parliament so no man in an Ecclesiastick cause is permitted by
only the Presbyters it gives the King power over all persons as subjects but none at all in Ecclesiastick causes Ans. Is there in all this reasoning any thing sound First what article of the covenant beares the setting up of the Presbyterian government in England as it is in Scotland II. If the oath of supremacy import no more then what the Warners expresse words are here that the King is a civil head to see every man doe his duty in his calling let him be assured that no Presbyterian in Scotland was ever contrary to that supremacy III. That the Presbytery is a papacy and that a politicall one the Warner knowes it ought not to be graunted upon his bare word IV. That in Scotland no other governors are acknowledged then Presbyters himselfe contradicts in the very nixt words where he tells that the Scots Presbytery ascribes to the King a power over all persons as subjects V. That any Presbyterian in Scotland makes it sacriledge to give the King any power at all in any Ecclesiastick cause it is a senselesse untruth The Warners arguments are not more idle and weake then his triumphing upon them is insolent for he concludes from these wise and strong demonstrations that the poor covenant is apparently deceitfull unvalide impious rebellious and what not yea that all the learned divines in Europe wil conclude it so that all the covenanters themselfes who have any ingenuity must grant this much and that no knowing English man can deny it but his owne conscience will give him the ly Ans. If the Warner with any seriousnesse hath weighed this part of his owne write and if his mind goe along with his pen I may without great presumption pronounce his judgment to be none of the most solide His following vapours being full of aire we let them evanish only while he mentioneth our charging the King with intentions of changing the Religion and government we answer that we have been most willing alwayes to ascribe to the King good intentions but withall we have long avowed that the praelaticall party have gone beyond intentions to manifest by printed declarations and publick actions their former designe to bring Tiranny upon the States and popery upon the Churches of all the three Kingdomes and that this very write of the Warners makes it evident that this same minde yet remaines within them without the least shew of repentance So long as the conscience of the court is mannaged by men of such principles it is not possible to free the hearts of the most understanding from a great deale of Jealousy and feare to have Religion and lawes still overturned by that factione But the Warner commands us to speake to his Dilemma whither we think it lawfull or unlawfull for subjects to take armes against their prince meerly for Religion We answer that the reasons whereby he thinks to conclude against us on both sides are very poor if we shall say it is unlawfull then he makes us to condemne our selfes because our covenant testifies to the world that we have taken up armes meerly to alter Religion and that we beare no alleadgance to our King but in order to Religion which in plaine tearmes is to our owne humours and conceits Ans. There be many untruthes here in few words first how much reality and truth the Warner and some of his fellowes beleeves to be in that thing which they call Religion their owne heart knowes but it can be no great charity in him to make the Religion of all covenanters to be nothing but their owne humours and conceits Secondly it is not true that Covenanters beare no alleadgance to the King but only in order to religion III. The Parliament of England denied that they took up armes against their King though to defend themselves against the popish praelaticall and malignant faction who were about to destroy them with armes IV. They have declared that their purpose was not at all to alter Religion but to purge it from the corruptions of Bishops and ceremonies that to long had been noxious unto them V. They have oft professed that their armes were taken for the defence of their just liberties whereof the preservation and reformation of Religion was but one The other horne of his Dilemma is as blunt in pushing as the former If we make it lawfull saith he to take up armes for Religion we then justify the independents and Anabaptists wee make way for any that will plant what ever they apprehend to be true Religion by force and to cut the throat of all Magistrats who are in a contrary opinion to them that it is a ridiculous partiality for any to priviledge their own Religion as truth and Gospell Ans. Whether will these men goe at last the strength of this reason is blak atheisme that their is no realty of truth in any Religion that no man may be permitted to take his Religion for any thing more but his owne apprehension which without ridiculous folly he must not praeferre to any other mans apprehension of a contrary Religion this is much worse then the pagane Scepticisme which turned all reality of truth into a meer apprehension of truth wherein their was no certainty at all this not only turnes the most certaine truths even these divine ones of Religion into meer uncertaine conceptions but which is worse it wil have the most orthodoxe beleever so to think speake and act as if the opinions of Independents Anabaptists Turks Jews Pagans or grosse Atheists were as good true and solide as the beleefe of Moyses or Paul were of the truths revealed to them from heaven Secondly we say that subjects defence of their Religion and liberties established by Law against the violent usurpation of Papists Praelats or Malignants is not the planting of Religion by arms much lesse is it the cutting of the throats of al Magistrats who differ in any point of Religion III. In the judgement of the praelaticall party the defensive armes of the Protestants in France Holland and Germany must be al 's much condemned as the offensive armes of the Anabaptists in Munster or of the sectaries this day in England Can these men dreame that the World for their pleasure will so farre divest themselves of all Religion and reason as to take from their hands so brutish and Atheisticall maximes He concluds with a wish of a generall counsel at least of all protestant Churches for to condemne all broatchers of seditious principles Ans. All true covenanters goe before him in that desire being confident that he and his fellowes as they have declined al ready the most solemne assemblies of their owne countries upon assurance of their condemnation so their tergiversation would be al 's great if they were to answer to an oecumenick Synod What I pray would the Warner say in a counsel of protestants for the practise of his party pointed at in his last words I meane their
writs to callâ—…in the Nobilitie to their succour some of whom had in zeale abetted the late tumult The Lord Forbes payd his sine for going into the street The Lord Hamilton hath an invitation to be General should have had his commission from the Synod no quaestion if he had signified his acceptance He very noblie loyallie delivers up his letter to the King detects the Rebellious project of the Discipline Some of the Ministers are sent for convicted obtaine pardon of the King but no actual oblivion from any his good subjects who ever after detested that disloyal sect branded the 17. day of December with the indeleble infamie of that prodigious attempt How like this lookes to an halfe houres tumult or petie fray How Ignorant were the People how innocent the commotion How free the Ministrie from being authours or approvers Let the Reviewers aequitablâ—… tomparers determine CHAPTER V. The Discipline exempts not the supreme Magistrate from being excommunicate TVatim agis The Bishop argues about excommunicating Kings you answer about censuring officials that pronounce sentence for non-payment of money wherein yet you are not more impertinent then malicious For you know well enough that sentence was not executed for that but for obstinacie against the power commands of the Church Wherein if any officials inconsideratelie proceeded it must not bring in quaestion the more deliberate prudence of them that made the constitution to that purpose The rash praecipitancie of the Scotish Presbyterian rule practice though many times very reprovable in the later I sinde not heere in the Bishops allegation nor of what magnitude the sinnes are for which they excommunicate though we have know'n a desertion of the Brethren in conspiracie against their Prince or a glance through their fingars an interpretative neutralitie hath been made the great sinne threatned with this censure Neither the Praelatical partie nor any orthodoxe Christians in the world come into your communion in the point of excommunicating their Kings nor comprehend them within the object of their Discipline by which though they have kept the sonnes of the Church in a filial awe yet ever reserv'd a paternal priviledge for their Kings the Nursing Fathers of the same Imperatoria unctione toâ—…stur poenitentia And the learned Grotius assures us that the Kings of France for many ages have expresselie challenged this exemption for themselves No poâ—…sint excommunicatâ—…i Rev … did never so much as intend the beginning of a processe against their King c. Ans. Christian prudence admits no such charitable glosses upon the Scotish intentions where is no colour of ambiguitie in their words In which if the King be a man or a Magistrate he must be necessarilie included made subject aswell to Church animadversion as admonition If Mr. Baylie hath a perspective for the thoughts of all his praedecessours he may enjoy the pleasure of such spiritual reviewes or revelations to himselfe but can have no demonstrative evidence to propagate the like confidence among others True causes of citation of Princes to an Assemblie is the peculiar language of the Discipline no such truth is implied in this truer text of Scripture Where the word of a King is there is power who may say unto him what dost thou The beginning of the next verse is not the Scotish Assemblie in answer to that quaestion What these true causes have been I have partlie manifested out of their storie their owne Registers justifying their successive meeknesse indulgence wherein though no King may be found excommunicateâ—… because their spiritual sword wanted luster and brightnesse to strike such amazement into Princes as to make them let fall the temporal one out of their hands yet not any one of them hath there been since the Assemblies were possess'd of their infernal commission but have been personallie threatned imprison'd depos'd or murdered they should have tasted the meeknesse of the Discipline in them all if the season had served they could have catch'd or kept them in their power Against which universal experience whether Mr. Baylie's single word may be taken for the future securitie of His Majestie his successours I submit with silent reverence to be debated in their Councel Rev. We love not the abused ground c. Ans. We are as litle in love with the Reviewers affronting of Kings as they with what he calls the Warners flatering of Princes To the quaestion he so magisteriallie propounds St. Ambrose notwithstanding his Act to Theodosius makes answer upon that speach of David cited by the Bishop addes the reason in such language as Mr. Baylie will not heare from any Canterburion-Praelate Quod nullis ipsi Reges legibus tenebantur quia liberi sunt Reges a vinclis delictorum The same is to be found in Isiodore Pelus And Tertulian to this purpose many hundred yeares before Presbyterie was hatch'd Sciunt Imperatores quis illis dederit imperium … sentiunt Deum esse solum in cujus solius potestate sunt a quo sunt secundi post quem primi ante omnes super omnes Deos homines And because the Reviewer calls this doctrine Episcopal let him take St. Hieroms note too by the way Rex ipse David alium non timebat This Catholike doctrine praeserves the Majestie of Princes de jure inviolable from the insolencle of Assemblies Where the abuse of it spurres them on to any dangerous praecipiâ—…es they are to stand or fall unto themselves The poor oppressed people would many times worke out their deliverance by prayers patience if the outragious Presbyters did not thrust them downe with the hazard if not destruction of their persons dash all civile government in pieces CHAPTER VI. Kings may sometime pardon capital offenders which the Disciplinarians denie As they doe their Royal right to any part of the Ecclesiastike revenue WEre your reasoning as methodical as the Bishops I should not be so in every Chapter at a losse to find out more to what then what to answer having hitherto met with none but Socrates's three darke principles in your booke tò chaos touti kai tas nephelas kai ten glottan confusion clouds tongue which among them have made such a mist in your own eyes such a clatering in your eares as you can neither see nor heare a good logical argument brought before you We that are above this disturbance at a distance observe his Lordship laying out the doctrine of your Discipline for so I 'll speake for once received by you all then illustrates it by your practice wherein if he had roome enough he would muster up so many particulars as with an c. might conclude an inductive universal Though the other way of acconsequential arguing hath been thought tolerable in Mr. Baylie no Doctour as I take it as not long since in his uncharitable mention made of Bishop
onelie of the other title supreme head and accept his explication of it which yeilding you in your contracted sense that might securetie afford him more capital priviledges without encroachment upon Christ or his Holie Curch supreme Governer takes in what your Presbyterie will never grant him all power imperative Legislative judicial coactive all but functional imediate and proper to the ordination or office of the Minister which for ought J know if he finde an internal call 〈◊〉 a supposition drawing neare a possibilitie then likelihood and assurance to have a double portion of Gods gracious power and assistance in both administrations he not onelie may but must exercise as did Moses and Melchisedech saving that without a divine institution in this spiritual function his supremacie exempts him not from submitting his head under the hands of holie Church and taking our Saviours commission with the benediction from her month That Scotish Presbyterie is a Papacie the Bishop requires not to be granted upon his word but to be taken before Publike notaries upon your owne the political part whereof consists in the civile primacie which at least by reduction you very considentlie assume The Bishops contradiction which is searce so much as verbal will be easilie reconciled by the words of the oath which he reflects on and his argument good against you untill without reserves limitations or distinctions you simplie acknowledge the King supreme over all persons in all causes which would be a contradiction to this clause in your booke of Discipline The poâ—…er Ecclesiastical stoweth immediatelie from God and the Mediatour Iesus Christ and is spiritual not having a temporal head in the earth but onelie Christ the onelie spiritual King and Governer of his Kirke Lasthe No Presbâ—…terian is there in Scotland but counts it sacriledge to give the King what belongeth unto the Church And whatsoeu'rit is they quit in Ecclesiastike causes is not unto the King but to King and Parliament and the power in both when it informes an Act or statute call'd but accessorie by the Aderdene Assemblers and that we may no longer doubt whom they account supreme dutie and subjection from the Prime which though spoken by them but of their meeting must be meant of all causes consultable in their Synods and is as sensibie a truth as words without ambiguitie can render it Our of all which hath been sayd it must necessarilie follow that your Covenant hath all the good qualities computed which needs no arithmetical proofe by weight or measure the praemises over being coextended with and counterpoiz'd by the conclusion What you rathlie if not praesumtuouslie pronounce of the Bishops judgement doth but vilisie your owne Qui citò deliberant sacile pronunâ—…iant Had you brought a judgement to the contrarie of any learned Casuist to whom his Lordship appeales or any Divine of note in Europe which he calls for your answer had been somewhat more serious and solide But here your oracles of learning are all silent We sinde it not avowed by your especial brethren of Holland and France by no approbatorie suftrages of Leyden and â—…trecht…Omnium flagitiosorum aâ—…que facinorosorum circum se tanquant stipatorum catevâ—… habet A guard is hath but a blake one such as Catilines league and how can it have beter wherein is sworne a conspiracie as bad The Bishops following vapours meeting with no suneshine of law or reason to dissipate them will not so vanish upon a litle blast of your breath but that they 'll returne in showers of confusion upon your head Your secret will to asteribe good intentions to the King hath by some of your packe been very straâ—…gelie revealed in their expressions touching Kings whoss very nature they have declared originallie antipathetical to Christ. This Didoclave avowes as planilie as he can And when objected by His Grace of Saint Andrewes with your proverbial yet mystical appendix of their obligation to the Creatuor not to Christ the Redecmer for their crownes is so slovenlie answered by Philadelphs Vindicatour as any man may reade your good wil in his words measure the sense of your Synods by his lines your good opiniâ—…n of the intentions of K. Charles 1. Beside what you imputed to his Praelates may be guested by what sometimes in print you have assiribâ—… unto his person An unworthie fellow your Countrey man that comes runing in hast with the message of your good meaning in his mouth sayth His infamous Barbarous intentions were executed by â—…eathing his sword in the bowels of his people And this not onctic himselve not impeding conniving at and giving full Commission for in Scotland and Ireland but in England looking upon with much delight while it was done And that so faire were negotiations and treaties from retracting him that it was in publike declared he sayth not byany Praelatical partie that he would never defist from this enterprise of persecuting Church and Commonwealthso long as he had power to pursue it Concerning the good intentions of Charles the second beside what jealousies you expresse by the scrupulous conditions in your proclaemation your Haghe papers are instancies of your willing asseriptions which call his answer strange whereby the distance is made greater then before and farre lesse offered for religion the Covenant and the lawes and liberties of your Kingdome then was by his Royal Father even at that time when the difference between him and you was greatest…So that it will constraine you in such an extremitie to doe what is incumbent to you I have allreadie told you the usual consequences of that cursed word and what good intentions you are in hand with when you utter it Tyrannie and poperie are twinnes engendred between your jealousie malice to which Independencâ—…e is more likelie to be the midwife then Praelacie and if by that hand they get deliverie at last will besure to pay Presbytesie their dutie when they can speake The painted declarations caries beter sense to them that rightlie understand them which I am sure is not prajudicâ—…d by any paraphrase of the Bishops Though agere pocniuntiam Be good councel where well placed ' yet egisse non paniundum requires it not If the conâ—…ience of the Court continue to be managed by the principles of the Prâ—…lates the hearts of the mist understanding shall if they will be satisfied withall moral and siducial assurance to have that Religion praeserved which shall by reason and authoritie aswell divine as humane in every particular justifie it selse against all right or left handed sects and factions guiltie of superstition or prosanâ—…sse those lawes observed which appeare now to have constituted the most indifferent mnoâ—…uous government in the world Whereas if the conscience of the Court be deluded once into Presbyters hands it will need none of our angrie wishes to be made sensible of the change when to be sure it must take religion like a desperate patient from a sullen physician
in plures divisum ectas eos expulit Buchan Hist. lib. 4 Episcopacie intirelie authorized in the Synod of Glasgow Vind. Epist Hitr. Philadelph Superintendents aequivalent to Bishops Presbyters not to have Synods as often as they list nor doe in them what they please The King consented not to the second booke of Discipline K. Ch. 1. Larg Declar 1633. pag. 411. Refutat libel De Regim Eccl. Sâ—…ot The Bishop no hypocrite in his chalenge about the patrimonie of the Church 1. Book Disc. 6. head which be longs not by haereditaire right to the Presbyters Let. of K. Ph. Q. Mar. Ann. 1559. The Reviewer is the hypocrite Mainten of the sanstatie pag. 10. The Disciplinarians declaration of their judgements in their impudent imperious supplicats They anticipate the law in the exercise of the Discipline Hieron Philadelph de Regim Eccles. Scot. Epist. Iren. Philaleth Narrat mot Scotic Their doctrine as destructive as their practice Ovid. Met. lib. 3. sub 4 2. Book of Disc. ch 7. 2. The Bishops Super-Erastianisme the doctrine of the Reformed Churches Ad Dissert De Epise Constant. M. Ph. Par. Vindic. propos 8. D. Par. N. Vedel De Epise Const M. q. 5. The practice of the good primitive Emperours Har. Syn. Belgic c. 10. Altar Damasc. pag. 15. Renounced by none of the Scotish King The Reviewers malice not any Prelatical principles doth impossibilitate as he speakes the peace betwixt the Kiag his Kingdomes Conf. at Hampt Court The Disciplinarian doctrine practice against the Kings power to convocate Synods Pag. 41. DeEpiscop Constanstin M. 2. B. of Disc. ch 10 Cap. De primat Reg. Epist. 43. De Imper sum Pot. cap. 8. Constantin De Ario. The ultimate determination of Ecclesiastike causes by the lawes of Scotland is not in the general Assemblie No more then in the Convocations of England Appeales to the King in Scotland Court of Delegates against neither word of God nor aequitie All causes agitated in Scotish Assemblies Processe about Church rent Letter to the Gen. Assembli at Sterling Aug. 3. 1571. Reviewer declines answering about the legislative power Danger in asserting the divine right of Ecclesiastike jurisdiction Hug. Groti De Imper. Sum. Pot. Scotish Donatist Polit. Anglic Ad Reg. Iac. Sozomen Eliens De Episcopat Constant M. Disciplinariam call resistance against the person obedience to the office of the Magistrate The Reviewer too bold with his Majestie The Disciplinarians no compartie for the Primitive Christian The Reviewers cunning in passing over what he dares not can not answer His unkindnesse to his brother Gilespie whose theoremes are the doctrine of the whole Presbyterie Harm Syn. Belg. cap. 1 Gilespie's theoreme the rule of the late Disciplinarian practice a Nec enim dissimulabant foederati nimis diu apud Scotos regnatum esse Monarchis nec recte cum illis agi posse Stuarto vel uno superstite Hist. M. Montisros No defensive armes for subjects Episcopacie no obstruction to His Majestics peace See the leâ—…rned judicious Digges upon this subjects Appeale in Scotland from a General Assemblie neither irrational nor illegal Altar Damascen 3. Paper An. 1574 The Rebellious insolent disciplinarian proceedings against the too Rt. Reverend Arch-Bishops Montgomerie Adamson Answ. to the Prosession Declar made by Marq. Hamilt 1638. Vindic. Epist Hier. Philad Supplicum libellorum Magister Se posse salvo Regis imperio de causa tota cognoscere â—…arg D clar pag. 308. Marg. not upon Potest of the Gen. Assemb at Edenb Crosse Decemb 18. 1638. Quioccasione laeti palinodiam â—…i per vim expressam sed in numeris a se locis inter-polatam typis publicarunt The Bishops Appeale not derogatorie to the Kings personal Prâ—…rogative The Reviewer mistakes the scope of the Bishops warning Ch. 5. v. 1. Sedition rebellion not censur'd by the Discipline Hift. of Reform 4. booke Scotish Presbyters mounting in halls schooles c. An. 436. Ancient Canons against Ministers accusers of their brethren Reviewer no competent witnsse against Bishops He will not be at peace charitie with the dead Gualth Epist. Erast. Aug. 3. 1570. Nor speake any truth of the living Spanheims speach about English Bishops The Kings booke of recreations farre short of what other Reformed Churches tolerate on the Lords day Vindic. Chr. Philaed Blaire his companions justlie banished K. Ch. 1. larg Dec. 1639. pag. 324. The Discipline in Scotland different from Geneva King Iames Declaration 1584. Part. 3. An. 1684 The Bishops consequence good from Commissaries to Civite Magistrates Fucus ad fallendum simpliciores vel potius illudendum Ecclesiis pag. 404. Altar Damase The Assemblie jugling in Gibsons case The Bishops relation of Mr. Blackes case vindicated enlarged Hamp Court Conf. Rom. 6. 1. Ephes. 6. 16. Hebr. 11. 33. Nescio quid nec quando sed multo ante Vind. ep Philad L. 1. c. The od de Relig De Impersum Potestcirc sacr cap. 9 Nam co repore summaÌ„ fuit Ecclae concordia authoditas ut aulici ab ea tametsi Regia gratia niterentur timerent Vindic. Ep. Chr. Philad Let to the Q. of Engl. Iul. 16. 1561. The Ministers guiltie of the tumult Decemb 17. 1596. * Vasius The Rev. impertinencie or cunning in altering of the state of the quaestion Let of the Congreg to the Nobles of Scotland 1559. De Imper sum Poâ—… cap. 9. Disciplinarian intentions never better then their words Eccles. 8. 4. No thankes due to them for not excommunicating their Kings The Ancient Fathers quit peccant Kings of all humane censure Apos Gent. adv The Bishops reasonning not unconsequential Aristophâ—… Nubes Bloud the seed of the Discipline Esai 1. 15. Mercie Gods attribute so the Kings 〈◊〉 Book Discipl 9. head Presbyters sollicite pardon for murder * Rigour to be preached c. under nonâ—… but implous or nâ—…ligent Magistrates so exâ—…ommunication for impunitie E. Huntleys case wholie minted in the Assembiiâ—… Bothwells notorious crimes R Bruce's speach against E. Huntley First fruites c. witheld from the King as much by the Presbyters as Pope An. 1587. Contradiction about tithes pag. 57. Patronages Presbyterian rebellion tyrannie Rejoycing at the sequestring the Church patrimonie Qui jactare non dubitârunt se Episc plygin kairian inflixisse Aitar Damasc. p. 3. K. Iames anti-presbyterie No Donaâ—…ist Ep. lector Aitar Damascen Georg. Con. De Dupl Stat. Relig. apud Scot. lib. 2. Their latitude of scandal 8. 9. Malefactours pardoned not to be excommunicated False measures c. maters of civile cognizance The Reviewers 30. yeares experience no argument of Presbyterian henestie Their Canons not the same with those of the ancient Church Victorem Romanum Epum circa annum Dui 200. legimus Coenae usuâ—… interdixisse injurias condonare nolentibus Th. Erast. thes 7. No canon against rebellion nor deprivation of rebellious Ministers Presbyters as peccant as Bishops Ch. 2. 11. 29. 9. Revel 17. 5. 9. 2. 3. 2 S. Pet. 2. 13. Their exercing civile
change the whole Ecclesiastical pollicy of a Common-wealth to alter the Doctrine and Religion established to take away the legall rights and privileges of the Subjects to erect new tribunalls and courts of Justice to which Sovereigns themselves must submit and all this of their own heads â—…ue of a pretended power given them from heaven contrary to kâ—…own laws and lawfull customs the Supreme Magistrate dissenting disclaiming Synods ought to be called by the supreme Magistrate if he be a Christian c. And either by himself or by such as he shall please to choose for that purpose he ought to preside over them This power the Emperours of old did challenge over General Councels Christian Monarchs in the blindnesse of Popery over National Synods the Kings of England over their great Councels of old and their Convocation of later times The Estates of the united Provinces in the Synod of Dort this power neither Roman Catholick or Protestant in France dare denie to his King None have been more punctual in this case then the State of Geneva where it is expressely provided that no Synod or Presbytery shall alter the Ecclesiastical pollicy or adde any thing to it without the consent of the civil Magistrate Their elders do not challenge an uncontrolable power as the Commissioners of Christ but ate still called the Commissioners of the Signiory The lesser Councel names them with the advise of the Ministery their consent is not necessary The great Councel of 200 doth approve them or reject them At the end of the year they are presented to the Signiory who continue them or discharge them as they see cause At their admission they take an oath to keâ—…p the Ecclesiastical Ordinances of the civil Magistâ—…ate The finall determination of doctrinal differences in Religion after conference of and with the Ecclesiasticks is referred to the Magistrate The proclamations published with the sound of trumpet registered in the same book do plainly shew that the ordering of all Ecclesiastical affairs is assumed by the Signiory But in Scotland all things are quite contrarie the civil Magistrate hath no more to doe with the placing or displacing of Ecclesiastical Elders than he hath in the Electoral Colledge about the Election of an Emperor The King hath no more legislative Power in Ecclesiastical causes than a Cobler that is a single Vote in case he be chosen an Elder other wiâ—…e none at all In Scotland Ecclesiastical persons make repeal alter their Sanctions eyery day without consent of King or Councel King Jonâ—…s proclaimed a Parliament to be held at Edenburgh and a little before by his letter required the Assembly to abstain from making any Innovatioâ—…s in the Policy of the Church and from prejudging the decisions of the States by their conclusions and to suffer all things to continue in the condition they were until the approcâ—…ing Parliamâ—…nt What did they hereupon They neglected the Kings letter by their own Authority they determined all things positively questioned the Arch-Bishop of St. Andrews upon their own Canons For collating to benefices and Voting in Parliament according to the undoubted Laws of the Land Yea to that degâ—…ee of sawcines they arrived and into that contempt they reduced Sovereign power that twenty Presbyters no more at the highest sometimes but thirteen sometimes but seven or eight dared to hold and maintain a General Assembly as they miscalled it after it was discharged by the King against his Authority an Insolence which never any Parliament durst yet attempt By their own Authority long before there was any Statute made to that purpose they abolished all the Festivals of the Church even those which were observed in memory of the Birth Circumcision Resurrection and Ascension of our Saviour By their own Authority they decreed the abolition of Bishops requiring them to resign their offices as not having any calling from Gods word under pain of Excommunication And to desist from preacbing until they had a new admission from the General Assembly And to compleat their own folly added further that they would dispose of their possessions as the Churches Patrimony in the next Assembly which ridiculous Ordinance was maintained stifly by the succeeding Synods notwithstanding the Statute that it should be Treason to impugn the Authority of the three Estates or to procure the innovation or diminution of any of them Which was made on purpose to control their vain presumption Notwithstanding that themselves had formerly approved and as much as in them lay established Superintendents to endure for term of life with their numbers bounds salaries larger than those of other Ministers indewed with Episcopal power to plant Churches ordain Ministers assign Stipends preside in Synods direct the censures of the Church without whom there was no Excommunication The world is much mistaken concerning Episcopacie in Scotland for though the King and Parliament were compelled by the clamours and impetuous violence of the Presbyters to annex the temporalities of Bishops to the crown yet the Function it self was never taken away in Scotland from their first conversion to Christianity until these unhappy troubles And these very temporalities were restored by the Act of restitution and their full power was first established Synodically and afterwards confirmed by the three Estates of the Kingdom in Parliament By their own Authority when they saw they could not prevail with all their iterated indeavours and attempts to have their book of discipline ratified they obtruded it upon the Church themselves ordaining that all those who had born or did then bear any office in the Church should subscribe it under pain of Excommuication By their own Authority or rather by the like unwarrantable boldnesse they adopted themselves to be heirs of the Prelates and other dignities and orders of the Church suppressed by their tumultuous violence and decreed that all tythes rents lands oblations yea whatsoever had been given in former times or should be given in future times to the service of God was the patrimonie of the Church and ought to be collected and distributed by the Deasons as the Word of God appoints That to convert any of this to their particular or profane use of any person is detestable Sacriledge before God And elsewhere Gentle-men Barons Earls Lords and others must be content to live upon their just rents and suffer the Kirk to be restored to her libertie What this libertie is follows in the same place all things given in hospitalitie all rents pertaining to Priests Chanteries Colledges Chappelries Frieries of all orders the Sisters of the Seens all which ought to be retained still in the use of the Kiâ—…k Give them but leave to take their breath and expect the rest The whole revenues of the temporalities of Bishops Deans and Arch-Deans lands and all rents pertaining to Cathedrall Kirks Then supposing an objection that the Possessours had Leases and Estates
they answer That those who made them were theeves murtherers had no power so to alienate the common Good of the Kirk They desire that all such Estates may be anulled and avoided that all Collectours appointed by the King or others may be discharged from intermedling therewith and the Deacons permitted to collect the same yea to that height of madnesse were they come as to define and determin in their Assembly judge whether it be not a modest constitution for a Synod That the next Parliament the Church should be fully restored to its Patrimony and that nothing should be past in Parliament until that was first considered and approved Let all Estates take notice of theâ—…e pretensions and designs If their project have not yet taken effect it is onely becauâ—…e they wanted sufficient strength hitherto to accomplish it Lastly by their own Authority under the specious title of Jesus Christ King of kings and Lord of lords the onely Monarch of his Churcâ—… and under pretence of his Prerogative Royal they erected their own Courts and Presbyteries in the most parts of Scotland long before they were legally approved or received as appeareth by their own Act alledging that many suites had been made to the Magistrate for approbation of the Policy of the Kirk which had not taken that happy effect which good men would crave And by another act acknowledging that Presbytertes were then established Synodically in most parts of the Kingdom And lastly by the Act of another General Assembly at Edenburg ordaining that the Discipline contained in the acts of the General Assembly should be kept as well in Angus and Mernis as in the rest of the Kingdom You see sufficiently in point of practice how the Disciplinarians have trampled upon the Laws and justled the civil Magistrate out of his Supremacy in Ecclesiastical affairs My next task shall be to shew that this proceeds not from Inanimadvertence or Passion but from their Doctrine and Principles First they teach that no persons Magistrates nor others have power to Vote in their Synods but onely Eccl siâ—…tical Secondly they teach that Ecclesiastical persons have the sole power of convening and convocating such Assemblies All Ecclesiastical assemblies have power to convene lawfully together for treating of things concerning the Kirk They have power to appoint times and places Again National Assemblies of this Countrey ought alwayes to be retained in their own liberties with power to the Kirk to appoint times places Thus they make it a Liberty that is a Priviledge of the Church a part of its Patrimony not onely to convene but to convocate whomsoever whensoever wheresoever Thirdly for point of Power they teach that Synods have the judgement of true false Religion of Doctrine Heresies c. the election admission suspension deprivation of Ministers the determination of all things that pertain to the Discipline of the Church The judgement of Ecclesiastical matters causes beneficiary matrimonial and others Jurisdiction to proceed to excommunication against those that rob the Church of its patrimony They have legislative Power to make rules and constitutions for keeping good order in the Kirk They have power to abrogate and abolish all Statutes and Ordinances concerning Ecclesiastical matters that are found noisom and unprofitable and agree not with the time or are abused by the people And all this without any reclamation or appellation to any Jâ—…dge Civil or Ecclesiastical Fourthly they teach that they have these priviledges not from the Magistrate or People or particular Laws of any other Countrey The Magistâ—…ate can not execute the censares of the Church nor prescribe any rule how it should be done but Ecclesiastical power floweth immediatly from God from the Mediatour Jesus Christ And yet further The Church cannot be governed by others than those Ministers and Stewards set over it by Christ nor otherwise than by his Laws And therefore there is no power in earth that can challenge to it self a Command or Dominion upon the Church And again It is prohibited by the Law of God and of Christ for tho Christian Magistrate to invade the Government of the Church and consequently to challenge to himself the right of both Swords spiritual and temporal And if any Magistrate do arrogate so much to himself the Church shall have cause to complain and exclaim that the Pope is changed but the Papacy remains So if Kings and Magistrates stand in their way they are Political Popes as well as Bishops are Ecclesiastical Whatsoever these men do is in the Name of our Lord Jesus and by Authority delegated from him alone Lastly they teach that they have all this Power not onely without the Magistrate but against the Magistrate that is although he dissent send out his prohibitions to the contrary Parliamentary ratifications can no way alter Church canons concerning the worship of God For Ecclesiastical Discipline ought to be exercised whether it be ratified by the civil Magistrate or not The want of a civil Sanction to the Church is but like Lucrum cessans non damnum emergens As it addes nothing to it so it takes nothing away from it If there be any clashing of Jurisdictions or defect in this kind they lay the fault at the Magistrates door It is a great sin or wickednesse for the Magistrate to hinder the exercise or execution of Ecclesiastical Discipline Now we have seen the pernicious practices of their Synods with the Doctrines from which they flow it remains to dispel umbrages wherewith they seek to hide the uglinesse of their proceedings principles from the eyes of the world We say they do give the Christian Magistrate a political Power to convocate Synods to preside in Synods to ratifie the Acts of Synods to reform the Church We make him the keeper of both tables Take nothing and hold it fast here are good words but they signifie nothing Trust me whatsoever the Disciplinarians do give to the Magistrate it is alwayes with a saving of their own stakes not giving for his advantage but their own For they teach that this power of the Christian Magistrate is not private and destructive to the power of the Church but cumulative and onely auxiliary or assisting Besides the power which they call abusively authoritative but is indeed ministerial of executing their decrees contributing to their setlement they ascribe to the Magistrate concerning the Acts of Synods that which every private man hath a judgement of discretion but they retain to themselves the judgement of Jurisdiction And if he judge not as they would have him but suspend out of conscience the influence of his political power where they would have him exercise it they will either teach him another point of Popery that is an implicite faith or he may perchance feel the weight of their Church censures and find quickly what manner of men they be as our late gracious King Charls
and before him his Father his Grandmother his great Grandmother did all to their cost Then in plain English what is this political Power to call Synods to preside in Synods and to ratifie Synods which these good men give to the Magistrate and magnifie so much I shall tell the truth It is a duty which the Magistrate ows to the Kirk when they think necessary to have a Synod convocated to strengthen their summous by a civil Sanction to secure them in comming to the Synod returning from the Synod to provide them good accommodation to protect them from dangers to defend their Rights and Priviledges To compel obstinate persons by civil Laws and punishments to submit to their censures and decrees What gets the Magistrate by all this to himself He may put it all in his eye and see never a whit the worse For they declare expresly that neither all the power nor any part of the power which Synods have to deliberate of or to define Ecclesiastical things though it be in relation to their own Subjects doth flow from the Magistrate but because in those things which belong to the outward man mark the reason the Church stands in need of the help of the Magistrate Fair fall an ingenuous confession they attribute nothing to the Magistrate but onely what may render him able to serve their own turns and supply their needs I wish these men would think a little more of the distinction between habitual and actual Jurisdiction After a School-master hath his license to teach yet his actuall Jurisdiction doth proceed from the Parents of his Scholars And though he enjoy a kind of Supremacy among them he must not think that this extinguisheth either his own filial duty or theirs Like this power of presiding politically in Synods is the other power which they give him of reforming the Church that is when the State of the Church is corrupted but not when it is pure as they take it for granted that it is when the Jurisdiction is in their own hands Although godly Kings and Princes sometime by their own Authority when the Kirk is corrupted and all things out of order place Ministers and restore the true service of the Lord after the example of some godly Kings of Judah and divers godly Emperours and Kings also in the light of the New Testament yet where the Ministery of the Kirk is once lawfully constituted and they that are placed do their office faithfully all godly Princes and Magistrates ought to hear and obey their voice and reverence the Majesty of the Son of God speaking in them Leave â—…his jugling who shall judge when the Church is corrupted the Magistrates or Church-men if the Magistrates why not over you as well as others If the Church-men why not others as well as you here is nothing to be answered but to beg the question that they onely are the true Church Hear another witnesse in evil and troublesome times and in a lap ed state of affairs when the order instituted by God in the Church is degenerated to Tyranny to the trampling upon the true Religion and oppressing the Professours of it when nothing is sound the godly Magistrate may do some things which ordinarily are not lawfull c. But ordinarily and of common right in Churches already constituted if a man flie to the Magistrate complaining that he is injured by the abuse of Ecclesiastical Discipline or if the Sentence of the Presbyteries displease the Magistrate either in point of Discipline or of Faith he must not therefore draw such causes to a civil tribâ—…nal nor introduce a Political Papacy And as the Magistrate hath power in extraordinary causes when the Church is wholly corrupted to reform Ecclesiastical abuses so if the Magistrate shall Tyrannize over the Church it is lawfull to oppose him by certain wayes and means extraordinary how ever ordinarily not to be allowed This is plain dealing the Magistrate cannot lawfully reform them but in cases extraordinary and in cases extraordinary they may lawfully â—…eform the Magistrate by means not to be ordinarily allowed that is by force of arms See the principles from whence all our miseries and the losse of our gracious Master hath flowed and learn to detest them They give the Magistrate the custody of both tables so they do give the same to themselves they keep the second table by admonishing him he keeps the first table by assisting them they reform the abuses of the first table by ordinary right of the second table extraordinarily He reforms the abuses against the second table by ordinary right and the abuses against the first table extraordinarily But can the Magistrate according to their learning call the Synod to an account for any thing they do can he remedy the errours of a Synod either in Doctrine or Discipline No if Magistrates had power to change or diminish or restrain the Rights of the Church the Condition of the Church should be worse and their liberties lesse under a Christian Magistrate than under an Heathen For say they Parliaments and supreme Senates are no more infallible then Synods and in matters of Faith and Discipline more apt to errâ—… And again the Magistrate is not judge of Spiritual causes controverted in the Church And if he decrâ—…e any thing in such businesses according to the wisdom of the flesh and not according to the rule of Gods Word and the wisdom which is from above he must give an account of it unto God Or may the supreme Magistrate oppose the execution of their disciplin practised in their Presbyteries or Synods by Laws or prohibitions No it is wickednesse If he do so far abuse his authority good Christians must rather suffer extremities than obey him Then what remedy hath the Magistrate if he find himself grieved in this case He may desire and procure a review in another National Synod that the matter may be lawfully determined by Ecclesiastical judgement Yet upon this condition that not withstanding the future review the first sentence of the Synod be executed without delay This is one main branch of Popery and a grosse incrochment upon the right of the Magistrate CHAP. III. That this Discipline robs the Magistrate of the last appeal of his Subjects The second flows from this The last appeal ought to be the Supream Magistrate or Magistrates within his or their Dominions as to the highest Power under God And where it is not so ordered the Common-wealth can injoy no tranquillity as we shall see in the second part of this discourse By the Laws of England if any man find himself grieved with the sentence or consistoriall proceedings of a Bishop or of his officers he may appeal from the highest judicatory of the Church to the King in Chancery who useth in that case to grant Commissions under the great Seal to Delegates expert in the Laws of the Realm who have
power to give him remedy and to see Justice done In Scotland this would be taken in great scorn as an high indignity upon the Commissioners of Christ to appeal from his Tribunal to the judgement of a mortal man In the year 1582 King James by his letter by his messenger the Master of Requests and by an Herald at Arms prohibited the Assembly at Saint Andrews to proceed in the case of one Mongomery and Mongomery himself appealed to Cesar or to King and Councel What did our new Masters upon this They sleighted the Kings letter his Messenger his Herald rejected the Appeal as made to an incompetent Judge and proceeded most violenlty in the cause About four years after this another Synod held at Saint Andrews proceeded in like manner against the Bishop of that See for Voting in Parliament according to his conscience and for being suspected to have penned a Declaration published by the King and Parliament at the end of the Statutes notwithstanding that he declined their judicature and appealed to the King and Parliament When did any Bishops dare to doe such acts There need no more instances their book of Discipline it self being so full in the case from the Kirk there is no reclamation or appellation to any Judge Civil or Ecclsiastical within the Realm CHAP. IV. That it exempts the Ministers from due punishment THirdly if Ecclesiastick persons in their Pulpits or Assemblies shall leave their text and proper work to turn incendiaries trumpeters of sedition stirring up the people to tumults and disloial attempts in all well ordered Kingdoms and Common-wealths they are punishable by the civil Magistrate whose proper office it is to take cognisaâ—…ce of treason and sedition It was well said by a King of France to some such seditious Shebas that if they would not let him alone in their Pulpits he would send them to preach in another climate In the united provinces there want not examples of seditious Oratours who for controlling their Magistrates too sawcily in the Pulpit have been turned both out of their Churches and Cities without any fear of wresting Christs Scepter out of his hand In Geneva it self the correction of Ecclesiastical persons qua tales is expresly reserved to the Signiory So much our Disciplinarians have out-done their pattern as the passionate writings of heady men out-do the calmer decrees of a stayed Senate But the Ministers of Scotland have exempted themselves in this case from all secular judgement as King James who knew them best of any man living wirnesseth They said he was an incompetent judge in such cases and that matters of the Pulpit ought to be exempted from the judgement and correction of Princes They themselves speak plain enough It is an absurd thing that sundry of them Commissaries having no function of the Kirk should be judges to Ministers and depose them from their rooms The reason holds as well against Magistrates as Commissaries To passe by the sawcy and seditious expressions of Mr. Dury Mr. Mellvill Mr. Ballcanquall and their impunity Mr. James Gibson in his sermon taxed the King for a persecutor and threatened him with a curse that he should die childlesse and be the last of his race for which being convented before the Assembly and not appearing he was onely suspended during the pleasure of his brethren he should have been suspended indeed that is hanged But at another Assembly in August following upon his allegation that his not appearing was out of his tender care of the rights of the Church he was purged from his contumacy without once so much as acquainting his Majesty The case is famous of Mr. David Blake Minister of St. Andrews who had said in his sermon that the King had discovered the treachery of his heart in admitting the Popish Lords into the countrie That all Kings were the devils barus that the devil was in the Court and in the guiders of it And in his prayer for the Queen he used these words we must pray for her for â—…ashion sake but we have no cause she will never do us any good He â—…aid that the Queen of Englanâ—… Queen Elisabeth was an 〈◊〉 eist that the Lords of the Session were miâ—…creants and bribers that the Nobility were degenerated godless dissemblers and enemies to the Church that the Councel were holly glasses cormorants and men of no Religion I ap eal to all the Estates in Europe what punishment could be evere enough for such audacious virulence The â—…ish Ambassadour complains of it Blake is cited before the Councel The Commissioneâ—…s of the Church plead that it will be ill taken to bring Mâ—…ers in question upon such trifling delations as inconsistent with the liberties of the Church They conclude that a Declinatour should be used and a Protestation made against those proceedings saying it was Gods cause wheâ—…ein they ought to stand to all hazards Accordingly a Declinatour was framed and presented Blake desires to be remitted to the Presbytery as his Oâ—…dinary The Commissioners send the copie of the Declinatour to all the Presbyteries requiring them for the greater corroboration of their doings to subscribe the same and to commend the cause in hand in their private and publick prayers to God using their best credit with their flocks for the maintenance thereof The King justly incensed herewith dischargeth the meeting of the Commissioners Notwithstanding this Injunction they stay still and send Delegates to the King to represent the inconveniences that might insue The King more desirous to decline their envy than they his judgement offers peace The Commissioners refuse it and present an insolent petition which the King rejects deservedly and the cause was heard the very day that the Princâ—…sse Elisabeth now Queen of Bohemia was Christened The witnesses were produced Mâ—… Robert Ponte in the name of the Church makes a Protestation Blake presents a second Decliâ—…atour The Councel decree that the cause being treasonable is cognoscible before them The good King still seeks peace sends messengers treats offers to remit But it is labour in vain The Ministers answer peremtorily by Mr. Robert Brace their Prolocutor that the liberty of Christs Kingdom had received such a wound by this usurpation of the rights of the Church that if the lives of Mr. Blake and twenty others had been taken it would not have grieved the hearts of good people so much as these injurious proceedings The King still woos and confers At last the matter is concluded that the King shall make a Declaration in favour of the Church that Mr. Blake shall onely make an acknowledgement to the Queen and be pardoned But Mr. Blake refuseth to confesse any fault or to acknowledge the King and Councel to be any judges of his Sermon Hereupon he is convicted and sentenced to be guilty of false and treasonable slanders and his punishment referred to the King Still the King treats makes propositions unbeseeming his Majesty once or twice The
this without and before any Parliament must be very consistent with conscience honor and all good reason Yea to bind up the soule of the most sweet and ingenuous of Princes in their chaines of their slavery for ever they have fallen upon a most rare trick which hardly the inventions of all their praedecessors can pararel They rest not satisfied that for the upholding of their ambition and greed they did harden our late Soveraigne to his very last in their Errours and without compassion did dryve him on to his satal praecipice unles they make him continue after his death to cry loud every day in the eares of his Son in his later will and testament to follow him in that same way of ruine rather then to give over to serve the lu◅ts of the praelaticall clergy They have gathered together his Majesties last papers and out of them have made a book whereupon their best pens have dropped the greatest eloqution reason and devotion was among them by way of essayes as it were to frame the heart of the Son by the fingers of the dying Father to piety wisedome patience and every virtue but ever anone to let fall so much of their own ungracious dew as may irrigat the seeds of their praelaticall Errors and Church interest so farre as to charge him to perseveer in the maintainance of Episcopall governement upon all hazards without the change of any thing except a little p. 278. and to assure that all Covenanters are of a faction engaged into a Religious rebellion who may never be trusted till they have repented of their Covenant and that till then never lesse loyalty justice or humanity may be expected from any then from them that if hee stand in need of them hee is undone for they will devoure him as the Serpent does the dove These and the like pernicious maximes framed by an Episcopall hand of purpose to separat for ever the King from all his covenanted subjects how farr they were from the heart language and wrytings of our late Soveraigne all who were aquainted with his carriage and most intime affections at New-Castle in the Isle of Wight and thereafter can testify But it is reason when the Praelats doe frame an image of a King that they should have liberty to place their owne image in its forheade as the statuary of old did his in the Boss of Pallas targe with such arti◅ice that all her worshipers were necessitat to worship him and that no hand was able to destroy the one without the dissolution and breaking in peeces of the other yet our Praelats would know that in this age there be many excellent Engyneers whose witty practicks transcend the most skilfull experiments of our Auncestors and what ever may be the ignorance or weaknes of men wee trust the breath of our Lords mouth will not faile to blow out the Bishop from the Kings armes without any detriment at all to royalty Allwayes the wicked and impious cunning of these craftsemen is much to be blamed who dare be bold to insert and engrave themselfes so deeply in the images of the Gods as the one cannot be intended to be picked out of the other more then the Aple from the eye unles the subsistance of both be put in hazard The other matter of his rayling against us is the solemne league and covenant when this nimble and quick enough Doctor comes assisted with all the reasons the whole University of Oxford can afford him to demonstrat it as he professes in his last Chapter to be wicked false void and what not wee find his most demonstrative proofes to be so poor and silly that they infere nothing of his conclusion To this day no man has shewed any errour in the mater of that covenant as for our framing and taking of it our adversaries drave us thereunto with a great deale of necessity and now being in it neither their fraud nor force may bring us from it againe for we feare the oath of God After much deliberation we found that covenant the soveraigne meanes to joyne and keep together the whole orthodox party in the three Kingdomes for the defence of their Religion and Liberties which a popish praelaticall and malignant faction with all their might were overtarning who still to this day are going on in the same designe without any visible change in the most of their former principles And why should any who loves the King hate this covenant which is the straytestty the world can devise to knit all to him and his posterity if so be his Majestie might be pleased to enter therein but by all meanes such a mischiefe must be averted for so the roote of Episcopacy would quickly wither without any hope of repullulation an evill farr greater in the thoughts of them who now mannage the conscience of the Court thē the extirpation of Monarchy the eversion of all the three Kingdomes or any other earthly misery As for the third subject of the Warners fury against us our unkindnes to the late King if any truth were in this false challenge no other creature on earth could be supposed the true cause thereof but our unhappy praelats all our grievances both of Church and State first and last came principally from them had they never been authors of any more mischiefe then what they occasioned to our late Soveraigne his person family and Dominions this last dozn of yeares there is abundant reason of burying that their praeter and Antiscripturall order in the grave of perpetuall infamy But the truth is beside more auncient quarrels since the dayes of our fathers the Albigenses this limb of Antichrist has ever been witnessed against Wickleif Huss and their followers were zealous in this charge till Luther and his disciples got it flung out of all the reformed world except England where the violence of the ill advised princes did keep it up for the perpetuall trouble of that land till now at last it hath well neare kicked downe to the ground there both Church and Kingdome As for the point in hand we deny all unkindnes to our King whereof any reasonable complaint can be framed against us Our first contests stand justified this day by King and Parliament in both Kingdomes When his Majestie was so ill advised as to bring downe upon our borders an English army for to punish our refusing of a world of novations in our Religion contrary to the lawes of God and of our country what could our land doe lesse then lie downe in their armes upon Dunce law for their just and necessary defence when it was in their power with ease to haue dissipat the opposit army they shew themselves most ready upon very easy conditions to goe home in peace and gladly would have rested there had not the furious Bishops moved his Majestie without all provocation to breake that first peace and make for a second invasion of Scotland only to
second their unreasonable rage was it not then necessary for the Scots to arme againe when they had defeate the Episcopall Army and taken New-castle though they found nothing considerable to stand in their way to London yet they were content to lie still in Northumberland and upon very meane tearnes to returne the second time in peace For all this the praelats could not give it over but raised a new Army and filled England with fire and sword yea well neere subdued the Parliament and their followers and did almost accomplish their first designes upon the whole Isle The Scots then with most earnest and pitifull entreaties were called upon by their Brethren of England for helpe where unwilling that their brethren should perish in their sight and a bridge should be made over their carcasses for a third warre upon Scotland when after long tryall they had found all their intercessions with the King for a moderat and reasonable accommodation slighted and rejected they suffered themselves to be perswaded to enter in covenant with their oppressed and fainting brethren for the mantainance of the common cause of Religion and liberty but with expresse Articles for the preservation of royalty in all its just rights in his Majestie and his posterity what unkindnes was heer in the Scots to their King When by Gods blessing on the Scotes helpe the opposit faction was fully subdued his Majestie left Oxford with a purpose for London but by the severity of the ordinances against his receivers he diverted towards Linn to ship for Holland or France where by the way fearing a discovery and surprise he was necessitate to cast himselfe upon the Scotes army at New-wark upon his promise to give satisfaction to the propositions of both Kingdomes he was received there and to New-castle here his old oathes to adhaere unto Episcopacy hindred him to give the expected satisfaction At that time the prime leaders of the English army were seeking with all earnestnes occasion to fall upon the Scots much out of heart and reputation by Iames Grahame and his Irishes incursions most unhappy for the Kings affaires Scotland at that time was so full of divisions that if the King had gone thither they were in an evident hazard of a present war both within among themselfes and without from England our friends in the English Parliament whom we did and had reason to trust assured us that our taking the King with us to Scotland was the keeping of the Sectarian Army on foot for the wracke of the King of Scorland of the Presbyterian party in England as the sending of his Majestie to one of his houses neer London upon the faith of the Parliament of England was the only way to get the Sectaryes disarmed the King and the people settled in a peace upon such tearmes as should be satisfactory both to the King and the Scots and all the wel-affected in England This being the true case was it any either unjustice unkindnes or imprudence in the Scots to leave the King with his Parliament of England was this a selling of him to his enemies the monyes the Scots received at their departure out of England had no relation at all to the King they were scarce the sixth parte of the arreares due to them for bygon service they were but the one halfe of the sume capitulat for not only without any reference to the King but by an act of the English Parliament excluding expresly from that Treaty of the armies departure all consideration of the disposall of the Kings person The unexpected evills that followed in the Armies rebellion in their seasing on London destroying the Parliament murthering the King no mortall eye could have forseen The Scots were ever ready to the utmost of their power to have prevented all these mischiefes with the hazard of what was dearest to them notwithstanding of all the hard measure they had often received both from the King and the most of their friends in England That they did not in time and unanimously stur to purpose for these ends they are to answer it to God who were the true Authors the innocency of the Church is cleered in the following treatise Among the many causes of these miseries the prime fountaine was the venome of Episcopall principles which some serpents constantly did infuse by their speaches and letters in the eares and heart of the King to keep him of from giving that satisfaction to his good subjects which they found most necessary and due the very same cause which ties up this day the hands of covenanters from redressing ali present misorders could they have the King to joyne with them in their covenant to quit his unhappy Bishops to lay aside his formall and dead Liturgie to cast himselfe upon the counsels of his Parliaments it were easy to prophecie what quickly would become of all his enemies but so long as Episcopall and malignant agents compasseth him about though all that comes neer may see him as lovely hopfull and promising a prince for all naturall endowments as this day breaths in Europe or for a long time has swayed a Scepter in Britaine yet while such unlucky birds nest in his Cabin and men so ungraciously principled doe daily besiege him what can his good people doe but sit downe with mournfull eyes and bleeding hearâ—…s till the Lord amend these otherwise remediles and insuperable evills but I hold heer least I transgresse to farr the bounds of an Epistle I account it an advantage to have your Lordship my judge in what heere and in my following treatise I spake of Religion the liberties of our country and the Royall Family I know non fitter then your Lordship both to discerne and decerne in all these matters Me thinks I may say it without flattery which I never much loved either in my selfe or others that among all our Nobles for constancy in a zealous profession for exemplary practise in publick and privat duties the mercy of God has given to your Lordship a reputation second to none And for a rigid adhaerence to the Rights and Priviledges of your Country according to that auncient disposition of your most Noble Family noted in our Historians especially that Prince of them Georg Buchanan the Tutor of your Grand-Father I know none in our Land who wil pretend to goe before you and for the affairs of the King your interest of blood in the Royall Family is so well known that it would be a strange impudency in me if in your audience I durst be bold wittingly to give sinistrous information Praying to God that what in the candid ingenuity true zeale of my spirit I present under your Lordships patrociny unto the eye of the World for the vindication of my mother Church and Country from the Sicophantick accusations of a Stigmatised incendiary may produce the intended effects Hague this 28 May 7 Iunie 1649. I rest your Lordships in all Christian duety R. B. G.
the verie civil Law of Scotland to appeale from the general assembly According to the Scots order practise the King in person or else by his high Commissioner sits al 's usually in the generall assembly as in Parliament But though it were not so yet an appeale from a generall assembly to be discussed in a Court of delegats were unbeseeming and unreasonable the one Court consisting of above two hundred all chosen men the best and most able of the Kingdome the other but of two or three often of very small either abilities or integrity who yet may be more fitt to decerne in an Ecclesiastick cause then a single Bishop over his officiall the ordinary trusted in all acts of jurisdiction for the whole dioces But the Scots way of managing Ecclesiastick causes is a great deale more just safe and Satisfactory to any rationall man then that old popish order of the English where all the spirituall jurisdiction of the whole dioces was in the hand of one mercenary officiall without all reliefe from his sentence except by an appeale as of old to the pope and his delegats so therafter to the King though never to be cognosced-upon by himselfe but as it was of old by two or three delegats the weakest of all courts often for the quality and ever for the number of the judges Two instances are brought by the Warner to prove the Church of Scotlands stopping of appeals from the generall Assembly to the King the cases of Montgomery and Adamson if the causes and events of the named cases had been wel knowne to the Warner as he made this chapter disproportionally short so readily he might have deleted it al together Both these men were infamous not only in their Ministeriall charges but in their life conversation both became so insolent that contrary to the established order of the Church Kingdome being suborned by wicked statesmen who in that day of darknes had wel neer brought ruine both to King and country would needs take upon them the office of Arch-Bishops While the assembly was in proces with them for their manifold and high misdeameanors the King was moved by them and their evill patrons to shew his high displeasure against the assemblyes of the Church they for his Majesties satisfaction sent their Commissioners and had many conferences whereby the pride and contempt of these prelats did so encrease that at last they drew the sentence of excommunication upon their own heads the King after some time did acknowledge the equity of the Church proceedings and professed his contentment their with both these unhappy men were brought to a humble confession of their crimes and such signes of repentance that both after a renunciation of their titulare Bishopriks were readmitted to the function of the ministry which they had deserted Never any other before or after in Scotland did appeale from the generall assembly to the King the late excommunicat praelats in their declinatour against the assembly of Glasgow did not appeale as I remember to the King but to another generall assembly to bee constitute according to their own Popish and Tyrannical principles CHAP. IV. Faulty Ministers in Scotland are lesse exempted from punishment then any other men THE Warner in his fourth Chapter offers to prove that the Scottish discipline doth exempt Ministers from punishment for any treason or sedition they can act in their pulpits Ans. This challenge is like the rest very false The rules of the Church discipline in Scotland obliges Churchmen to bee subject to punishment not only for every fault for which any other man is lyable to censure but ordaines them to bee punished for sundrie things which in other men are not at all questionable and what ever is censurable in any they appoint it to be much more so in a Minister It is very untrue that the pulpits in Scotland are Sanctuaries for any crime much lesse for the grievous crimes of sedition and treason Let the Warner remember how short a time it is since an Episcopall chayre or a canonicall coate did priviledge in England and Ireland from all censure either of Church or State great numbers who were notoriously knowne to be guilty of the foulest crimes Was ever the Warners companion Bishop Aderton challenged for his Sodomy so long as their commune patrone of Canterbury did rule the court did the warner never heare of a prelate very sibb to Doctour Bramble who to this day was never called to any account for flagrant scandals of such crimes as in Scotland are punishable by the gallows the Warner doth not well to insist upon the Scots Clergie exempting themselfe from civill punishments no where in the world are Churchmen more free of crimes deserving civil cognisance then in Scotland and if the ears and eyes of the world may be trusted the popish clergy this day in Italy and Spaine are not so challengeable as the praelaticall divines in England and Ireland lately were for many grosse misdemeanors But why does the Warners anger run out so farre as to the preachers in Holland is it because he knoweth the Church disciplin in Holland to be really the same with that he oppugnes in the Scots and that all the reformed Churches doejoyne cordially with Scotland in their rejection of Episcopacy is this a ground for him to slander our Brethren of Holland Is it charity for him a stranger to publish to the world in print that the ministers in Holland are seditious oratours and that they saucily controll the Magistrats in their pulpits Their crime seemes to be that for the love of Christ their master they are zealous in their doctrin to presse upon the Magistrat as well as upon the people the true practise of piety the sanctification of the sabbath day the suppression of heresy and shisme and repentance for the sins of the time place wherein they live This is a crime whereof few of the Warners friends were wont to be guilty of their shamefull silence and flattery was one of the great causes of all the sins and calamities that have wracked the three Kingdomes the streame of their sermons while the enjoyed the pulpit was to encourage to superstition and contempt of piety to sing asleepe by their ungracious way all that gave eare unto them The man is impatien t to see the Pastors of Holland or any where to walk in another path then his own and for this cause would stirre up their Magistrats against them as it was his and his Brethrens custome to stirre up the Magistrats of Britan and Ireland to imprison banish and heavily vex the most zealous servants of God only for their opposition to the praelats profanity and errours The Warner I hope has not yet forgotten how Doctor Bramble and his neighbour Lesly of Down did cast out of the Ministry and made flee out of the Kingdome men most eminent for zeale piety and learning who in a short time had
to the end people might be brought back to their old licentiousnes and ignorance by which the Episcopall Kingdome was advanced It was visible in Scotland that the most eminent Bishops were usual players on the Sabbath even in time of divine service And so soone as they were cast out of the Parliament the Churches supplications were granted and acts obtained for the carefull sanctification of the Lords day and removing of the mercats in all the land from the Munday to other dayes of the week The Warners nixt challenge of our usurpation is the assembly at Edinburgh 1567 their ratifying of acts of Parliament and summoning of all the country to appeare at the nixt assembly Ans. If the Warner had knowne the history of that time he would have choysed rather to have omitted this challenge then to have proclaimed to the world the great rottennesse of his own heart at that time the condition of the Church and Kingdome of Scotland was lamentable the Queen was declared for popery King James's Father was cruelly without any cause murthered by the Earle of Bothwell King James himselfe in his infancy was very neare to have been destroyed by the murtherer of his Father there was no other way conceivable of saftie for Religion for the infant King for the Kingdome but that the Protestantes should joine together for the defence of King James against these popish murtherers For this end the generall assembly did crave conference of the secrete counsel and they with mutual advise did call for a meeting of the whole Protestant party which did conveen at the time appointed most frequently in an extraordinary and mixed assembly of all the considerable persons of the Religion Earles Lords Barrons Gentlemen Burgesses and Ministers and subscribed a bond for the revenge of King Henryes death and the defence of King Iames his life This mixed and extraordinary assembly made it one of the chiefe articles in their bond to defend these Actes of the Parliament 1560 concerning religion and to endeavour the ratification of them in the nixt ensuing Parliament As for the assemblies letter to their Brethren for so frequent a meeting at the nixt extraordinary assembly it had the authority of the secret counsel it was in a time of the greatest necessity when the Religion and liberties of the land were in evident hazard from the potent and wicked counsels of the popish party both at home and abroad when the life of the young King was daily in visible danger from the hands of them who had murthered his Father and ravished his Mother Lesse could not have been done in such a juncture of time by men of wisedom and courage who had any love to their Religion King and country but the resolution of our praelats is to the contrary when a most wicked villaine had obtained the connivance of a Queen to kill her husband and to make way for the killing of her Son in his Cradle and after these murders to draw a nation Church from the true Religion established by Law into popery and a free Kingdome to an illegall Tyranny in this case there may be no meeting either of Church or State to provide remedies against such extraordinary mischiefes Beleeve it the Scotes were never of this opinion What is subjoined in the nixt paragraph of our Churches praesumption to abolish acts of Parliament is but a repetition of what is spoken before Not only the lawes of Scotland but equity and necessity referres the ordinary reformation of errours and abuses in Religion to the Ecclesiasticall assemblies what they find wrong in the Church though ratified by acts of Parliament they rectify it from the word of God and thereafter by petition obtaines their rectification to be ratifyed in a following Parliament and all former acts to the contrary to be annulled This is the ordinary Methode of proceeding in Scotland and as I take it in all other States and Kingdomes Were Christians of old hindred to leave paganisme and embrace the Gospell till the emperiall lawes for paganisme and against Christianity were revoked did the oecumenicall and National Synods of the auncients stay their reformation of heresies and corruptions in religion till the lawes of State which did countenance these errors were cancelled Was not popery in Germany France and Britaine so firmely established as civil lawes could doe it It seems the Warner heer does joyne with his Brother Issachar to proclaime all our Reformers in Britaine France and Germany to be Rebells for daring by their preachings and Assemblies to change these things which by acts of Parliaments had been approven before new Parliaments had allowed of their reformation Neverthelesse this plea is foolishly intended against us for the Ministers protestation against the acts of Parliament 1584 establishing in that houre of darknes iniquity by a law and against the acts of the Assembly of Glasgow declaring the unlawfulnesse of Bishops and ceremonies which some Parliaments upon Episcopall mis-information had approven both these actions of the Church were according to former Lawes and were ratified afterward by acts of Parliament yet standing in force which for the Warner a privatman and a stranger to challenge is to contemne much more grossly the law then they doe whom here he is accusing of that crime By the nixt Story the Warner will gaine nothing when the true case of it is knowne In King Iames minority one Captaine Iames Stuart did so farre prevail upon the tender and unexperienced yeares of the Prince as to steale his countenance unto acts of the greatest oppression so farre that Iames Hamelton Earle of Arran the nixt to the King in blood in his health a most gallant Prince and a most zealous professor of the true Religion in time of his sicknes when he was not capable to commit any crime against the State was notwithstanding spoiled of all his lively hood and liberty his Lands and honour with the dignity of high Chancelor of Scotland were conferred on that very wicked Tyrant Captain Iames a number of the best affected and prime nobility impatient of such unheard-of oppressiones with meere boasts and no violence at the road of Ruthven chased away that unhappy chancelor from the Kings persone this his Majestie for the time professed to take in so good part that under his hand he did allow it for good service in his letters to the most of the Neighbour princes he dealt also with the secrete counsel and the chiefe judicatories of the land and obtained from them the approbation of that act of the Lords as convenient and laudable promising likewise to ratify it in the nixt ensuing Parliament When the Lords for their more abundante cleering required the Assemblies declaration there upon the Ministers declined to medle at all with the case but the Kings Majestie sent his Commissioners to the Assembly entreating them withall earnestnesse to declare their good liking of that action which he assured them was for his
of Scotland were the first and only framers thereof but they who gave the life and being to it in England were the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament at West-Minster by the Kings call and at that time acknowledged by his Majestie without any question about the lawfullnes of their constitution and authority these men and that Court were not I hope great strangers in England The covenant was not imposed upon the King but the Parliaments of both Kingdomes made it their earnest desire unto his Majestie that he would be pleased to joyne with them in that Covenant which they did judge to be a maine peece of their security for their Religion and liberties in all the three Kingdomes As for their imposing of it upon the subjects of England an ordinance of Parliament though the King consent not by the uncontroverted lawes of England is a sufficient authority to crave obedience of all the subjects of England during the continuance of that Parliament The last part of the demonstration is dishonorable indeed to the English Nation if it were true it was no dishonour to England to joyne with their brethren of Scotland in a Covenant for mantainance of their Religion and Liberties but for many of the English to sweare a covenant with their lippes from which their heart did dissent and upon this difference of heart and mouth to plead the nullity of the oath and to advance this plea so high as to a cleer demonstration this is such a dishonour and dishonesty that a greater cannot fall upon a man of reputed integrity Especially when the ground of the lie and perjury is an evident falshood for the covenant was not extorted from any flesh in England by feare of any unjust suffering so far was it from this that to this day it could never be obtained from the Parliament of England to enjoyne that covenant upon any by the penulty of a two pence The Warners second demonstration is no better then the first the ground of it is that all oathes are void which have deceipt and errour of the substantiall conditions incident to them This ground had need to be much better cautioned then heere it is before it can stand for a major of a clear demonstration but how is the minor proved behold how much short the Warners proofes are of his great boastings His first argument is grounded upon an evident falshood that in the Covenant we sweare the lately devised discipline to be Christs institution Ans. There is no such word nor any such matter in all the Covenant was the Warners hatred so great against that peece of write that being to make cleare demonstrations against it hee would not so much as cast his eye upon that which he was to oppugne Covenanters sweare to endeavour the reformation of England according to the word of God and the best reformed Churches but not a word of the Scotes Presbytery nor of any thing in any Church even the best reformed unlesse it be found according to the paterne of Gods holy word The second ground of his demonstration is also an evident errour that the covenant in hand is one and the same with that of King Iames. Ans. Such a fancy came never in the head of any man I know much lesse was it ever writen or spoken by any that the Covenant of King Iames in Scotland 1580 should bee one and the same with the Covenant of all the three Kingdomes 1643 whatsoever identities may appeare in the matter and similitude in the ends of both but the grossest errors are solide enough grounds for praelaticall clear demonstrations Yet heere the Warner understands not how hee is cutting his own vines his friends in Scotland will give him small thanks for attributing unto the nationall Covenant of Scotland that Covenant of King Iames these three properties that it was issued out by the Kings authority that it was for the maintenance of the Lawes of the realme and for the maintenance of the established Religion tyme brings adversaries to confesse of their own accord long denyed truthes But the Characters which the Warner inprints upon the solemne league and Covenant of the three Kingdomes wee must bee pardoned to controvert till he have taken some leasure to trie his wilde assertions First that the league is against the authority of the King secondly that it is against the Law and thirdly that it is for the overthrow of Religion The man cannot think that any should beleeve his dictats of this kind without proofe since the expresse words of that league do flatly contradict him in all these three positions His gentle memento that Scotland when they sued for aid from the crowne of England had not the English discipline obtruded upon their Church might heer have been spaired was not the English discipline and liturgy obtruded upon us by the praelats of England with all craft and force did we ever obtrude our disciplin upon the English but when they of their owne free and long deliberate choice had abolished Bishops and promised to set up Presbytery so far as they had found it agreable to the word of Cod were wee not in all reason obliged to encourage and assist them in so pious a work In the nixt words the Warner for all his great boasts finding the weaknes of all the former grounds of his seconde demonstration he offers three new ones which doubtles will doe the deid for he avowes positively that his following grounds are demonstrative yet whosoever shal be pleased to grip them with never so soft an hand shall find them all to be but vanity and wind The first after a number of prosyllogismes rests upon these two foundations first that the right of the militia resides in the King alone secondly that by the covenant the militia is taken out of the Kings hands and that every covenanter by his covenant disposes of himselfe and of his armes against the right which the King hath into him Ans. The Warner will have much adoe to prove this second so that it may be a ground of a clear demonstration but for the first that the power of the militia of England doth reside in the King alone that the two houses of Parliament have nothing at all to doe with it and that their taking of armes for the defence of the liberties of England or any other imaginable cause against any party countenanced by the Kings presence against his lawes must be altogether unlawfull if his demonstration be no clearer then the ground where upon he builds it I am sure it will not be visible to any of his opposits who are not like to be convinced of open rebellion by his naked assertion upon which alone he layes this his mighty ground Beleeve it he had need to assay its releefe with some colour of ane argument for none of his owne friends will now take it of his hand for ane indemonstrable principle since the King for
a long time was willing to acknowledge the Parliaments jointe interest in the militia yea to put the whole militia in their hands alone for a good number of yeares to come so farre was his Majestie from the thoughts that the Parliaments medling with a parte of the militia in the time of evident dangers should be so certainly and clearly the crime of rebellion The Warners second demonstrative ground wee admit without question in the major that where the matter is evidently unlawfull the oath is not binding but the application of this in the minor is very false All that hee brings to make it appeare to be true is that the King is the supreame Legislator that it is unlawfull for the subjects of England to change any thing established by Law especially to the prejudice of the Praelats without their own consent they being a third order of the Kingdom otherwise it would be a harder measure then the Friers and Abbots received from Henry the eight Ans. May the Warner be pleased to consider how farre his dictats heere are from all reason much more from evident demonstrations That the burden of Bishops and ceremonies was become so heavy to all the three Kingdomes that there was reason to endeavour their laying aside he does not offer to dispute but all his complanit runnes against the manner of their removall this say I was done in no other then the ordinary and high path-way whereby all burdensome Lawes and customes use to be removed Doth not the Houses of Parliament first begin with their ordinance before the Kings consent be sought to a Law is not an ordinance of the Lords and Commons a good warrant to change a former Law during the sitting of the Parliament The Lawes and customes of England permit not the King by his dissent to stoppe that change I grant for the turning an ordinance to a standing Law the Kings consent is required but with what qualifications and exceptions wee need not heere to debate since his Majesties consent to the present case of abolishing Bishops was obtained well neere as farre as was desired and what is yet lacking wee are in a faire way to obtaine it for the Kings Majestie long agoe did agree to the rooting out of Episcopacy in Scotland he was willing also in England and Ireland to put them out of the Parliament and all civil courts and to divest them of all civil power and to joyne with them Presbyteries for ordination and spirituall jurisdiction yea to abolish them totally name and thing not only for three yeares but ever till he and his Parliament should agree upon some setled order for the Church was not this Tantamont to a perpetuall abolition for all and every one in both houses having abjured Episcopacy by solemne oath and Covenant the Parliament was in no hazard of agreing with the King to re-erect the fallen chaires of the Bishops so there remained no other but that either his Majestie should come over to their judgement or by his not agreing with them yet really to agree with them in the perpetuall abolition of Episcopacy since the concession was for the laying Bishops aside ever till hee and his houses had agreed upon a settled order for the Church If this be not a full and formall enough consent to the ordinance of changing the former Lawes anent praelats his Majestie who now is easily may and readily would supply all such defects if some of the faction did not continually for their own evill interests whisper in his eares pernicious counsel as our Warner in this place also doeth by frighting the King in conscience from any such consent for this end he casts out a discourse the sinshews whereof are in these three Episcopall maximes First that the legislative power is sollie in the King that is according to his Brethrens Cōmentary that the Parliament is but the Kings great counsel of free choyce without or against whose votes hee may make or unmake what Lawes he thinks expedient but for them to make any ordinance for changing without his consent of any thing that has been or instituting any new thing or for them to defend this their legall right and custome time out of mind against the armes of the Malignant party no man may deny it to be plaine rebellion II. That the King and Parliament both together cannot make a Law to the praejudice of Bishops without their own consent they being the third order of the Kingdome for albeit it be sacriledge in the Lords and Commons to clame any the smallest share of the legislative power this i◅ them were to pyck the chiefest jewel out of the Kings Crowne yet this must be the due priviledge of the Bishops they must be the third order of the Kingdome yea the first and most high of the three far above the other two temporall States of Lords and Commons their share in the Legislative power must be so great that neither King nor Parliament can passe any Law without their consent so that according to their humble protestation all the Lawes and acts which have been made by King and Parliament since they were expelled the house of Lords are cleerly voide and null That the King and Parliament in divesting Bishops of their temporall honour and estats in abolishing their places in the Church doe sin more against conscience then did Henry the eight and his Parliament when they put down the Abbots and the Fryers Wee must beleeve that Henry the eight his abolishing the order of Monks was one of the acts of his greatest Tyranny and greed wee must not doubt but according to Law and reason Abbots and priours ought to have kept still their vote in Parliament that the Monasteryes and Nunryes should have stood in their integrity that the King and Parliament did wrong in casting them down and that now they ought in conscience to be set up againe yea that Henry the eight against all reason and conscience did renounce his due obedience to the Pope the Patriarch of the West the first Bishop of the universe to whom the superinspection and government of the whole Catholick Church in all reason doth belong Though all this be heere glaunced at by the Warner and elsewhere hee prove it to be the declared mind of his Brethren yet we must be pardoned not to accept them as undenyable principles of cleare demonstrations The last ground of the Doctors demonstration is that the covenant is ane oath to set up the Presbyterian government in England at it is in Scotland and that this is contrary ◅o the oath of Supremacy for the oath of Supremacy makes the King the only supreame head and governour of the Church of England that is the civil head to see that every man doe his duty in his calling also it gives the King a supreame power over all persons in all causes but the Presbytery is a politicall papacie acknowledging no governours but
purging the Pope of Antichristianisme of purpose to make way for a reconciliation yea for a returne to Rome as this day it lyes under the wings of the Pope and Cardinals Also what could they answer in a Christian counsel unto this charge which is the drift of this whole Book that they are so farre from any remorse for all the blood and misery which their wickednes most has brought on the former King and all his Kingdomes these eleven yeares that rather then they had not as the Covenant and generall assembly in Scotland destroyed as an Idoll and Antichrist they wil chuse yet still to imbroyle all in new calamities This King also and his whole Family the remainder of the blood and Estats in all the three Kingdomes must be hazarded for the sowing together of the torne mytres and the reerecting of the fallen chayres of Praelats If Bishops must lie still in their deserved ruines they perseveer in their peremptory resolution to have their burials sprinckled with the ashes of the royall Family and all the three Kingdomes FINIS ERRATA GOod Reader the Authors absence from the Presse the whole time of the impression and the Printers unacquaintance with the English language has occasioned not onely many mispunctations and literall faults but also diverse grosser Errata such as the following which thou art intreated to mend with thy Pen PAg. 4. lin 23. for had read hath pag. 9. lin 8. for Provincionall read Provinciall p. 11. l. 30. for whereby r. where p. 15. l. 19. for pairt r. part p. 20. l. 19 for can r. doth l. 30. for potestant r. Profestant pag. 22. l. 19. for these r. the. p. 23. l. ult for over r. or for trusted r. trustee p. 27. l. 4. for impatien t r. impatient l. 18. dele and. p. 28. in marg for commissarie r. commissaries l. 14. for and r. or l. 29. for chardge r. charge p. 31. l. 1. for chardges r. charges l. 25. for citation r. irritation p. 32. l. 10. for praecipies r. praecipices p. 35. in tit of chap. 7. for paritie r. part p. 36. l. 2. for scandals r. scandal p. 37. l. 2. for benefiter benesice p. 38. l. 10. for nation r. souldier l. 11. for their souls r. his soule p. 48. c. 8. l. 4. dele Ans. p. 49. l. 18. for Warner r. Doctor p. 51. l. 13. for the r. his p. 52. l. 16. for treasure r. Bishop p. 55. in tit of chap. 9. for their r. the. p 56. l. 31. for Christ r. Christ his l. 32. for point blank to r. point blanck contrare to p. 59. l. 1. dele and. l. 1. for unpoureth r. vapoureth l. 17. for where r. heere p. 65. l. 5. for continues r. continue l. 6. for are r. is p. 66. l. 3. for to r. so l. 9. for warned r. warmed p. 67. l. 16. for in r. to p. 68. l. 5. for or r. which l. 16. for last r. nixt p. 70. l. 18. for lest r. best l. ult for null the Church and r. the verie being of p. 71. l. 1. for Reformed r. Reformed Churches p. 73. l. 23. for charge r. chaire p. 74. l. 6. for service r. service book l. 28. dele and. p. 75. l. 16. dele and to the gift p. 76. l. ult for haths r. hath p. 78. l. 24. for doszen r. dozen p. 82. l. 5. for inprints r. imprints p. 84. l. 9. for complanit r. complaint p. 85. l. 7. for aside ever r. aside for ever l. 16. for sinshews r. sinews ΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΟΣ OR A SECOND FAIRE WARNING To take heed of the SCOTISH DISCIPLINE In vindication of THE FIRST Which the Rt. Reverend Father in God THE Ld. BISHOP OF LONDON DERRIE Published A. 1649. Against a schismatical seditious REVIEWER R. B. G. One of the bold Commissioners from the REBELLIOVS KIRKE IN SCOTLAND To His Sacred MAJESTIE K. CHARLES the SECOND when at the HAGE BY RI. WATSON Chaplane to the Rt. honble THE LORD HOPTON HAGH Printed by SAMUEL BROUN English Bookeseller 1651. To the R. Honorable the LORD HOPTON Baron of Straton c. One of the Lords of His Majeties most honourable Privie Councel Mr LORD VPon discoverie of a late motion in some sheetes I found my booke to have been hitherto but in a trance which receiving as I thought but knew not from whence a mortal wound before it appeared in the encounter I gave over long since for downe right dead buried in the presse When it recovered spirits enough to crave my hand I could not denie it so small a courtesie as to helpe it up In that it lookes not so vivide and fresh complexioned as heretofore it might it shares but in the ordinarie effects of such misse-fortune If resuming what it was speaking a twelve-moneth since be censured for impertinencie to these times it may be laughed at by some for prophesying of things past the possibilitie of their successe the fault may be theirs that disordered the leaves when well suited and the failing not mine who undertoke not against all changes of mindes or alterations of counsels or preventions of causes running on then visiblie to the same issues I assign'd them in my conjecture But these exceptions My Lord though they clip the fringe neither unshape nor shorten the garment I intended as the proper guise for Scotish Presbyteric to be seene in the very same with that wherein the Rt. Reverend Bishop of London Derrie had well clad her soone afterward not onelic undecentlie discompos'd but rent in pieces by the rudenesse of an angrie furie one of those sixc evil spirits that haunted in the night of sorrow with both tempting and torrisying apparitions His Royal MAjESTIE and your H. H. at the Hage From whose praevailing violence no rescue could be offered but by repelling the tempest of his language wherewith he thought to keepe all Antagonists at a distance and by blowing in his face the fire stinking sulphure of his breath If your Lordship please to passe a litle through the smoke and take no offense at the smell which in a neare approach will be found to be litle of my making Truth reason will be beter discerned in a readinesse to entertaine you as some longer traine of Authoritic had likewise if Fathers Councels in this pilgrimage of ours had been to a just number within my reach and some later Writers at the pleasure of my call The stand or at least some impediment in the march of these Bloudie Presbyters which this forlorne hope will in some likelihood cause for a time may by your Lordship unpraejudic'd be taken for an hapie augurie of the absolute defeate unquaestionablie to follow if occasion require by a greater strength and that under the conduct of beter experience in these polemical affaires In the interim though I humblic crave the honour and power of your patronage wherof from your integritie and constancie in Gods cause the Kings I praesume I assume not the boldnesse to
see a bargaine was driving between craftie merchants till having clapt hands the one brought his rich commoditie to Holmebie the other pay'd his money at New-Castle The unexpected evil for I must alter the number admit of none but the murder of the King that followed which no mortal eye could foresce any mortal heart might fore scare the well affected brethren have prevented if they pleas'd The Armies rebellion is very nonsignificant language from your pen unlesse figurativelie expressing the vengeance of God upon that rebellious citie which with her golden cup had made the Land drunke the Nations mad with the abundance of her wine What you call destroying the Parliament was but the plucking up throwing out of the way that rotten root the stocke fairest branches whereof had been cut downe by the keen axe of a violent vote long before How readie these Scots which the Reviewer must vindicate were to the utmost of their power to have prevented the mischiefe in the murder of the King what hazard they ran of what was dearest to them appeares by their hast to come in to Duke Hamiltons partie the large contributions they gave toward the raising an armie to that purpose To make good the proverbe Murder will out the next words implie the Reviewers confession The hard measure they had often receiv'd from the King stucke then in their stomakes would not out till now with their malice impostumated in his bloud That they did not in time unanimouslie stirre to purpose for that end they are indeed to answer it to God who were the true authours thereof And who they were let the Scotish pulpits I meane not their Presbyters speake out The innocencie of the Church is not cleard in the following treatise to be so much as Pilates they can not wash their hands in it nor their mouth They made the tumults they never asked what evill he had done this Royal bloudwill be upon them upon their children But here comes up a second part of their venemous vomit for though they cast the temptation upon the serpent they charge the original sinne upon the King The King gave not his good subjects satisfaction by granting all their demands which they found most necessarie due This they say by the mouth of the Reviewer was the cause of the many miseries if there be any connexion was the cause why they stirred not in time what 's the meaning of this but Caiphas's expedit It is very expedient very necessarie he die for these people thankes good Presbyter Scot pay this debt of satisfaction in his bloud Which conclusion is no sooner dispatched but like very logical Rebells they fall presentlie on making a new syllogisme prepare a second argument of the axe The very same cause ties up this day the hands of Covenanters could they have that is they can not have the young King to joyne with them in their covenant to quit his unhappie Bishops to lay aside his formal dead liturgie the satisfaction to his good subjects which they finde necessarie due He hath drawn some what beside his limbes from the loynes of his father though the serpent hath not reach'd him the fruit of the forbiden tree he hath transmitted as much malignance in the barke Ergo when they get him into their hands which God forbid t is but talking a litle with the Pharisees Priests taking the money according to the covenant They have made the premises may then sit at home with their hands in their pockets being well assur'd the conclusion must follow quia expedit It is very expedient another man because another King which the hand of heaven powerfullie prevent To draw him into the net this decoy ducke courts His Majestie with more truth then good meaning for he puts it into a parenthesis I'observe that when hereafter it shall be left out the Scotish Reviewer Remonstrances may not jarre in their expressions A lovelie hopefull promising Prince for all naturall endowments as this day breathes in Europe or for a long time has sway'd a Scepter in Britaine And yet this lovelie Prince without taking the Covenans c. shall not breath nor sway the scepter in Scotland With which some other ungracious principles a nest of these unluckie Northerne birds did latelie besiege him not in his cabin for his fathers worke lay upon their hands when he was there they wanting then the iron instrument to cut the silver cord of his life but in his Royal bedchamber at the Hague And going home it should seem by the weeping crosse they the good people because they can doe no more sit downe with mournsull eyes till occasion be administer'd that by Dunce law which holds as well against the sonne as the Father they can doe no lesse then lie downe in their armes for their just necessarie defense But they hold here 't is time I thinkâ—… for they have transgress'd too farre the bounds of an epistle CHAPTER I. The Scots bold address with the Covenant to K. Ch. 2 Their partie inconsiderable The Bishops method language matter asserted The quaestion in controversie unawares granted by the Reviewer WHile Sixe walking Images the pretended Commissioners of the Church Kingdome of Scotland that is to say a selected packe of the most zealous disciplinarian faction which had fairlie wrought the destruction of both were with the greatest impudence that ever was heard of pressing into His Majesties sad most disconsolate retirement at the Hague when he held backe the face of his throne had spread his cloud upon it When his face was foule with weeping on his eyelids the shadow of death While with the highest crueltie that could be instead of condoling his most lamentable afflictions beyond the tyrannie of Jobs comforters they were going about not onelie to lay open in his sight but to thrust violentlie that bloudie axe the Covenant I meane which had cut off his Royal Fathers head into his hands This reverend resolute Prelate steps in between them the Court throwes in their eyes the guilt not onelie of their late actions but of their old Antimonarchical as well as Antiprelaticall government it selfe not so much hoping to amuze them or stop them in their progresse to the King whose adamantine face elephantine feet he knew would breake through all the briars thornes that the hand of truth could cut out of that Northerne wildernesse of errour lay though ne'r so thicke in their way as to set the marke of that beast in their forhead which destroyes root branch of Religion Lawes of Regall Apostolical government yea of the libertie of the people that all well affected to any of these or themselves might have seasonable warning to get out of their way or gather strength to hunt
on He sayth not That statute of treason waâ—… in being in the yeare 1580. And his Printer you might see had done him so much right as to set a number 4. yeares older directlie against the place where it is mention'd His Lordships words are these Which ridiculous ordinance was maintain'd stiffelie by the succeeding Synods notwithstanding the statute That it should be treason to impugne the authoritie of the thrce Estates The plaine sense whereof is this The succeeding Synods to the yeare 1584. maintain'd it stisfclie And not onelie they but likewise the succeeding Synods afterward notwithstanding the statute then made That c. Yet not to be too literal That there should be three Estates to whom your brethren presented their Assemblie Acts as they did by the King them to be confirmed even before the yeare 1580. yet That to impugne the authoritie of the three estates or to procure the innovation or diminution of any of them should have no statute nor law to make it at least interpretative treason is a peice of politikes that Iapan nor Vtopia will never owne nor any man that is civiliz'd in submission to government beleeve The businesse of appeales we are to meet with in the chapter following so farre you shall have leave to travaile with the counterfeit credit of that untruth What you make here such a positive consent of Lundie the Kings Commissioner in that Assemblie even now went no farther then a suspense in silence where all you found was That it appear'd not he apposed And how that might be I there gave you my conjecture In the next Assemblie 1581. the Kings Commissioner Caprington was not so hastie to erect in His Majesties name Presbyteries in all the land The businesse was this The King sends him Cuningham with letters to the Assemblie at Glasgow to signifie That the thirds of the Ecclesiastical revenues upon the conference had between his Commissioners those which they had before sent from Dundee were not found to be the safest maintenance for the Ministrie they having been so impair'd in twentie yeares before that nothing of certaintie could appeare That thereupon had been drawn a diagrame of several Presbyteries whereby a division of the greatest parishes was to be made a uniting of the lesse to the end that the Ministers might be with more aequalitie maintained and the people more convenientlie assemble'd That His Majestie had determined to sent letters to several of his Nobilitie in the Countrey to command their meetings and counsel here about This he did not till the next summer nor was any thing effected diverse yeares after The conventions of the Ministrie were to be moderated by every Bishop in his Dioecesse who was by agreement to praeside in the Presbyteries with in his limits So that the modelling Presbyteries was onelie for setling a convenient revenue upon the Ministers so farre was it from abolishing Episcopacie that the Bishops were to have the managing the affaire It would not have cost you nor your printer much paines to have put in what hapened before the yeare 1584 The opposition against your abuse hereof by the Bishops Montgoinerie Adamson His Majesties discharging by proclamation the Ministers conventions Assemblies under paine to be punished as Rebells publishing them to be unnatural subjects seditious persons troublesome unquiet spirits members of Satan enemies to the King the Commonwealth of their native Countrey charging them to desist from preaching in such sort as they did viz. against the authoritie in Church causes against the calling of Bishops c. removing imprisoning inditing them c. Which put you upon the desperate attempts of surprizing and restraining His Majestie 's person whereof otherwhere So that the King you see had very good preparatives to purge his Kingdome of such turbulent humours before Captain Stuart put him in minde to make use of that physike Which Captaine Iames was no such wicked Courtier when the saints in behalve of the Discipline set him up to justle with Esme Stuart Lord Aubignie for the nearest approach unto Royal favour This Parliament 1584. was summon'd with as loud a voyce as any other was as open as the sun at Edenburgh could make it Nor was Captain Stuarts crime about it such as to denominate his exile the vengeance of God which was wrought in the eyes of the world by your rebellion Nor his death by Dowglasse's high way murder aveng'd afterward in alike terrible destruction that in Edenburgh high street where sanguis sanguinem tetigit bloud touched bloud though I dare not as you doe judge for reward nor divine such ambiguous cruelties for money being no Priest nor Prophet as you are to the heires of those bloudie soulders in Micah chapt 3. I dare not say that it either was the fingar of God though he imploy not the hand of his power to restraine them Rev. … these acts of his Parliament the very next yeare were disclaimed by the King c. Ans. They were not disclaimed the 21 of December the next yeare when James Gibson being question'd for dis loyal speaches about them before His Majestie his Councel very impudentlie told the King he was a persecutour for maintaining them and compar'd him to Ieroboam threatned he should be rooted out conclude that race His confidence was in the returne of the banish'd Rebel-Nobles who forced all honest men from the Court possessed themselves of His Majesties person acted all disorder in his name This was the regular restoring of Presbyterie Which to say was never more removed to this day in that sense you must speake it is to abuse the ignorance of some new convert you have got in the Indies who it may be at that distance know not that Bishops had the visible Church government in Scotland for about theirtie yeares together since that time Rev. The Warners digression to the the perpetuitie of Bishops in Scotland c. Ans. The perpetuitie of their order in that Kingdome is no disgression in this place where His Lordship shewes your practical contradiction in pulling downe Episcopacie with one hand yet seting it up though under the name of Superintendencie with the other The sequestring their revenue altering their names pruning off some part of their power he takes to be no root branch ordinance for the deposition of their office or utter extirpation of their order This he asserts to be the greatest injurie your malice could ever hitherto bring about therefore goes not one step out of his way to let you know That Bishops have been perpetual in your Church Nor doe you out of yours but keep the same path of truth you began in in acquainting us with the antiquitie of Presbyters who it should seem are terrae filii that sprung up in Scotland like so many mushromes the next night after Christianitie came in Though
to their brethren yet keeping backe whole viols of vengeance and wrath unto themselves For the many causes of Ministers deprivation cognosced upon in your Presbyteries you have the good liking of neither Papists nor Prae lates who finde no canon that gives commission to such a mungrel socitie of lay-Clerical Presbyters to take away what they have no power to conferre If I give but not grant your usurped tyrannie a priviledge by many yeares rebellious precedent to cognosce of such cases I must except against clipping of canons the coyne that beares the Majestike image of the Primitive Church such as is the 67. in the fourth Councel of Charthage Seditionarios nunquam ordinandos Clâ—…ricos sicut nec usurarios nec injuriarum ultores The first of the three had met with your vertous Fore-Father Knox in the Castle of St. Andrewes sav'd all the mischiefe we have reap'd by his call from abetting the murder of Cardinals to rebelling against Princes renting the Church the Commonwealth into Congregational Covenanting parties The last which was your injust praetense if not in your banners at least in the Remonstrances which you brought in your hands when you invaded England Canons holding aswell for depriving as ordaining had rid us of all the rable of Rebellious revengefull Presbyters without a stroke For the businesse of usurie I shal not draw up my charge till I discover the Scottish Presbyterian Cantores Yet you were best have care whatsoever becomes of the ancient Canons that you be not too severe in depriving for that lest you get a rebuke from your brethren abroad who it may be desire not to shake hands with you in that point of the Discipline The Bishop neither tooke out nor put in any causes of Church-mens deprivation but merelie transcrib'd what he thought more concern'd a Civile Court then a Synod If he had been at the charge of reprinting all whereof your booke of Discipline makes mention he must have left an c. to bring up a reserve though yov will not owne it of preaching penning practizing schisme sedition Rebellion against moderate just pious Kings aswell as what your Assemblies were solicitous to prohibite under the terme of Schisme or Rebellion against the Kirke For the first last of the three sinnes you draw out because you will have the pleasure at least of licking your lips at the naming His Lordship knowes no Bishop nor Doctour but may finde a namelesse Scottish Presbyter to give place to If he should be mistaken which he hath not so much reason to hope as charitie to wish he sees in St. Iames the guilt of murder aequivalent to adulterie made as great a transgression of the law He heares of Isaiah's triel in Scotland which deserves the same wonder crie of the Prophets Ye are drunken though not with wine ye stagger though not with strong drinke c. And since your last returne out of England beholds sitting at Edenburgh aswell as London the great whore instead of her blew arrayed in purple scarlet colour decked with gold pretious stones pearles having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations filthnesse of her sornication And upon the forhead of the woman drunken with the bloud of the Saints with the bloud of the Martyrs of Iesus a name written with a beame of the sunne Mysterie Babylon the Great The Mother of harlots abominations of the earth For the third sinne of gluttonie which you will have produc'd because in your canon though not much for your credit that your excessive gossiping comes to be cognosced by your Church all Bishops Doctours may freelie bid desiance to your sect of whom so manie are so often known to be as fed horses in the morning though you flatter your selves into a conceit that the noyse is not heard are neighing as much as those in Isai. So that you may in due time have what you better deserve the same curse with the Priests in the Prophet Malach which will spoyle your reviewing singling out other mens crrours or secret sinnes to the shame of Christianitie among the Nations when your selves are spiloi kai momoi the principal spots blemishes that are in it God may corrupt your seed spread dung upon your saces soleunitatum stercus even the dung of your solemne feastes you more likelie then they may be taken away with it The Bishops third chalenge mounts somewhat higher then your answer which pleades onelie for preaching upon texts concerning the Magistrates dutie resolving from Scripture their doubts both which reach up onelie to a judgement of direction but his Lordâ—…hip cites the clause in your theorem which makes difficult cases between King people subjects of cognizance judgement before the Assemblies of the Kirke And this he sayth riseth to a judgement of jurisdiction Your second booke of Discipline is more modest in language though as mischievous in meaning The Ministers exerce not the Civile jurisdiction but teach the Magistrate how it should be exerciz'd according to the word whereas if you take cognizance of pronounce judgement in these difficult cases Or call before you such as may be more easie but should be heard otherwhere this is no other but exercing civile jurisdiction as spiritual as you make it If you with the terrour of your excommunicating Maozin overaw the Magistrate into a servile submission to what you praescribe this I take to be no teaching but commanding instead of resolving by deliberate advice Christian moderation cutting in sunder with this sword of your spirit no word of Gods the knots perplexities of his conscience What doubt-resolvers you are commonlie between Master servant husband wife your licentious demeanour in many families may informe us where it is too well know'n you have made your selves judges of the trivial oeconomical causes in the hall dispensers of or with more private duties in the chamber So that they say the good man hath many times met with a consistorian censure at his table if not with a Presbyter a Presbyterian prohibition in his bed I beleeve you mistake preaching Praelates Doctours for some babling Puritanical Pastours Lecturers in England who have made these things their care gone about them as the uncontroverted parts of their Ministerial function The Bishops negligence herein was the silent reverence he payd which you owe to Majestie at a distance And His Lordships modest declining domestike curiosities a civile diversion from that wherein the word is so cleare as to need no interpreter the Husband or Masters authoritie so absolute as admits no superintendencie to praedominate Your license to preach personallie against Princes I finde given to your Fore-fathers in an answer to the Queenes proclamation 1559 Your tradition still continues the same touching which for brevities sake
not a proposition is there in prosyllogisme or syllogisme that is seemes you can denie though you scarce any where shew ingenuitie to grant For the second which you thinke so hard to prove let it be adventur'd thus He that by covenant disposeth of himselfe and armes contrarie to the established lawes which by the Kings right in him he is obliged to maintaine disposeth of them against that rights But every Covenanter disposeth c. For the established lawes enjoine him to defend the Kings person without limitation or reference to religion at least not to fight against it which the Covenant by your practike interpretation doth oblige to Where the power of the Militia resides His Maâ—…esties unanswerable Declaration for the Commission of array will best satisfie you And himselfe tells you trulie it is no lesse his undoubted right then is the crowne In the exercise of it though the Parliament be not excluded yet their power is never legallie considerable but when they are as the bodie with the soul in stain conjunctâ—… with the King Defense of liberties hath no law to arme them against praerogative nor is there a cause imaginable impowering them to take up armes against a partic countenanced by the Kings praesence which can be according to no law but what is call'd such by rebellious people that offer violence to Royal right If any such there be let us have but one impraegnable instance and we 'll shake hands I beleeve you are not much in love with that old custome of the Frisians long before they became Presbyters who chose their Earle carying him upon their bucklers and crying alowd Haecest potestas Frisiae You can now adayes beter indoctrinate them according to the custome of yourfaction when praevalent which is to admit no new King but at the swords point and there to keepe him crying after this maner or somewhat like it in your proclamational libells Haec est libertas Presbyteriales Scotiae Yet your Commissioners when in the mood can praesent the hilt to his hand and argue with both houses as they did upon the new propositions why the power of the militia should be in the crowne asking How Kingâ—… otherwise can be able to resist their enemies and the enemies of the Kingdome protect their subjects keep friendship or correspondence with their allies … asserting that the depriving them of this power rootes up the strongest foundations of honour and sasctie which the crowne affords will be interpreted in the eyes of the world to be a wresting of the scepter and sword out of their hands So that the Bishops friends may take from yours aswell as from him the same demonstrable conclusion he layd downe And this for all the Kings acknowledgement which was never any of the Parliaments joint interest in his authoritie against his person which is the true case though you shamefullie conceale it Nor did His Majestie so put the whole Militia in their hands as to part with his right when he bound his owne from the exercise Nor was he sure he was not or might not seeme to be perjur'd for his courtesie which all Kings will not hazard though he layd the guilt or dishonour at their doores whither God hath brought allreadie a portion of their just punishment that constraind him saying I conceive those men are guiltic of the enforced persurie if so it may seem who compell me to take this new and strange way of discharging my trust by seeming to desert it of protecting my subjects by exposing my selfe to danger or dishonour for their safetie and quiet Therefore what thoughts he had of your parties medling with the Militia may be best judg'd by his words How great invasion in that kinde will state rebellion in a Parliament when there 's any as there was none at that time nor since shall be told you when the Bishop gives you occasion to demand it Or if you can not stay so long I must send you againe to the judicious Digges to satiate your too curious and greedie appetite of such fare as will not well be digested in many stomackes To the nulling yourCovenant by His Majesties proclamation you say nothing because it separates him from the partie to which you attribute all malignance and you know you can not securelie medle with him but in a croud In the Bishops second demonstration we must be beholding to you for giving what you can not keep with any credit which more awes you then conscience That where the mater is evidentlic unlawfull the oath is not binding The application of which up to your covenant will be justified when brought to the touch by Gods lawe or the Kingdome 's But you first summon it before reason which helpes you with no rule To lay aside what might be otherwise rectified were there cause for 't Nor any evidence that the burden of Bishops and ceremonies was so heavie as to presse you into the necessitie of a Covenant This his Lordship need not offer to dispute since the King ever offerd a regulation of that order and those rites by the primitive paterne wherein it otherwise differed then in a necessarie innocent compliance with the politike constitution of his Kingdome And the Church had render'd all rational satisfaction aswell for the ceremonies reteined as those abolish'd And both by particular men most eminent in learning and judgement had been unanswerablie maintained in every graine or scruple that could be quaestion'd or complaind of Yet the praesent government how light soever is burdensome especiallie to men that looke for advantages by the change And the worst of men can seeme as serious in complaint as if their vertues had been the onelie martyrs to crueltie and the very common hackneyes for oppression Quid reliqui habemus praeter miseram animam came out which a sad sigh from Catiline before his bankrupt Comrades who had left no such subject for rebellion to thetoricate on if their lives had been as good pawnes in the midst of their prodigalitie as their lands This your method of reformation whereof the Bishop complaines for which you plead custome failes not onelie in the maner but of the power the most material requisite to effect it And the high path way is not so ordinarie as you can name the Parliament that ever trod in it before We in England having no such custome nor indeed any where the true Churches of God as to alter religion and government without the King To your quaestion which ever shelters fraud in universals I particularlie answer and to our purpose 1. That the Houses of Parliament are not to begin with an ordinance for a covenant or oath to change the lawes of the Realme to abolish the Discipline of the Church and the Liturgie lawfullie established by the sword which are the Bishops words before the Kings consent be sought to that beginning much lesse when his dissent is foreknow'n of that
enthusiasmes who give out for Michael the Archangels revelations what counterfeit impostures Morpheus puts of to them in their dreames Touching a general Councel with a wish for which His Lordship piouslie concludes No Covenanters goe before him nor will set one step after him in that desire who most uncharitablie make three parts of fower in the Christian world Antichristian and so no constitutive members of such a meeting An occumenicke Synod of Protestants would un doubtedlie condemne them which is most shamefullie praejug'd to approve of the rebellion and murder in their Covenant Nor can their Principals in honour be silent at such an horrid impious praesumption publickelie printed imputed to them The Bishops ae his brethren have declined no solemne assemblies of their owne countreyes those so called were factious schismatical conventicles illegallie gatheâ—…ed composed of such mushromes as how numerous soeuer durst noe admit of twentie Praelatical Divines into debate lest they should be squeez'd into a litle spungie earth winde their originals having no substantial worth or abilities to support them You need not pray the Warner to speake unto the question you put since you have his answer before hand without asking viz. That its worth the enquiring even in such an Oecumenicke synod whether the markes of Antichrist doe not agree as eminentlie to the Assemblie General of Scotland as to the Pope He mentions some that plainlie doe meanes it may be as much of all the rest To the charge in a Christian Councel they would answer That they are able to evidence before God the World That all bloud miserie drawn from brought upon the former King his Kingdomes must be cast upon the Covenant General Assemblie in Scotland who will never cease to embroyle all in new calamities untile they be destroyed That if this King his whole familie resolve not to prosecute Gods cause which the former did with much Christian courage unto the death they hazard the tearing their crownes into more peices then the miters the demolition of their thrones beneath that of the Praelates chaires To conclude all The Reviewers breath though violent enough becomes in vaine so definitive as to perpetuate persecutions against the providence of God whom the Bishops looke upon as a potent Protectour of Kings a mercifull repairer of the breach made in his Church by their owne ruines Their resolutiâ—… may be justlie peremptore to persevere in their opinion of the Scotish Presbyterian crueltie to be such That as they have burjed their Bishops alive conniv'd at if not countenancd the Massacring their Kings so their endeavour will not be wanting to scater the ashes of tâ—…e Royal familie three Kingdomes on their graves Though their consistorian fourmes repenting stooles with other luggage be next cast into the flames first kindled by themselves The mysteries of their religion being murder dead monuments such as never made those heathen the summe of whose devotion Clemens of Alexandria comprehended in two words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 FINIS Errours to be amended Epist. Ded. pag. 3. line 18. Reade she or her Ancients Ans. to Ep'Ded p. 2. l. 8. for common shoare r. com fewer Ibid. l. 9. for power r. paper p. 3. l. 6. for and r. c. p. 6. l. 16. for comfort r. confort l. 38. for burning r. warning p. 7. l. 18. for both r bold l. 36. for must r. most p. 8. l. 20. r. deceitfull lovers of themselves there are p. 9. l. 35. r. two or three such words as p. 11. l. 32. for late r. babe p. 16. l. 13. for Reviewer r. Reviewes Acolut p. 8 l. 13. for own r. owned p. 13. l. 30. for otherguede r. otherguesse p. 19. l. 37. for literal r. liberal p. 20. l. 8. for apposed r. opposed p. 21. l. 15. it delcatur p. 22. margin for Chaldaeos r. Culdaeos p. 26. l. 10. for then r. they l. 11. for all r. a. p. 29. l. 1. for Hierambieorum r. Hierarchicorum l. 25. for buselie r. basilie p. 31. l. 30. for in that r. that is l. 41. for anomia ergapiria r. anomias ergasteria p. 37. l. 17. for stake r. sticke p. 38. l. 19. for acknowledge r. acknowledged p. 40. l. 2. for reasonable r. treasonable p. 45. l. 19. for Vnitglupteu r. Vuygeastein p. 48. l. 36. After Oecumenical adde Councel p. 53. l. 37. for asgle r. aire p. 59 l. 24. for acconsequential r. unconsequential p. 60. marg for to excom r. no excom p. 60. l. 29. for too rigid r. to rigid p. 64. l. 32. for halls r. heeles p. 68. l. 20. for triel r. Ariel p. 72. l. 11. for then r. them p 73. l. 3. for as r. is p. 78. marg for vicitie r. nicitie p. 80. marg for 493. r. 1593. p. 81. l. 34. r. though but in the time Ibid. marg r. The Bishops Sunday toleration p. 48. l. 10. pro libra r. litera Ibid. l. 12. for jura r. dura p. 85. l. 19. for papists r. pupills l. 33. for its r. in p. 86. l. 14. for coloural r. colourable Ibid. marg r. Scotish Presbyterian reformation from c. p. 87. l. 7. for latewarmnesse r. lukewarmnesse l. 13. for too r. 100. p. 88. l. 1. for session r. cession l. 14. for Murre r. Marre marg for Ruthuer r. Ruthuen p 92. l. 21. for servidi r. fervidi p. 94. l. 9. for scrive r. transscribe p. 57. l. 1. for then r. them p. 101. l. 39. for superintended r. superintendent p. 11. for masters r maters marg for contracted r. confuted p. 117. l. 14. guerts r. Masters p. 121. l. 6. for indiscreet r. in discreet p. 122. marg fuos r. suo p. 126. l. 9. for on r. or p. 127. l. 31. r. from whom I expect c. p. 142. l. â—…9 for cession r. succession l. 40. for successis r. successio p. 145. l. 40. for Autoraniei r. Autouranici p. 148. l. 39. for r. c. p. 149. marg for sudunt…astragatus r. sudunt astragalis p. 152. l. 35. for pallea r. paleae for Affltu r. Afflatu with no point before it p. 127. marg for togodaedali r. logodaedali p. 153. marg for odificentur in rumam r. aedificentur in ruinam p. 155. l. 41. for manitates r. inanitatis p. 157. l. 16. for if r. it l. 41. for mission r. omission p. 159. l. 40. for doubte r. double p. 162. l. 14 for forming r. foming p. 163. l. 1. for too r. so p. 165. l. 13. susplicates r. supplicates pag. 169. l. 6. r. to the Bishop pag. 175. l. 83. for to r. so large Ibid. marg for a estes quos sidem ea vocant r. testes quos sidemen vocant for minus r. munus p. 177. margâ—…for spirationes r. conspirationes p. 175. for many leaves r. may leave p 180. l. 5. for quae r quia p. 181. l. 26. for quis pium r. quispiam p. 182. marg
of raskals at Edenburgh From protesting they mount up to covenanting by that engage multitudes of people to attend them at pleasure in affronting His Majesties Commissioner With whom when they came to capitulate they gave this extraordinarie answer That they would rather renounce their baptisme then Covenant good Christians or abate one word or syllable of the literal rigour of it If Mr. Baylie hath any minde to goe farther I shall desire him to step up beyond the preachers perswading the people to arme themselves to meet in the streets dutifullie to enterâ—…aine His Majesties proclamation Their protestations against that the rest with such loyal expressions as this That if the King will not call a general Assemblic which shall allow of their proceedings they themselves will Their branding the subscription of their owne confession of fayth with the most hideous horrible name of the very depth policie of Satan Their pulpit imprecations God scatter them in Israel divide them in Iacob who where the authours of this scattering divisive counsel of whom as â—…range as it seeme the King againe must be principal Their grand imposture in Michelson a mayd about whom their Ministers cosin'd the people into an implicite fayth that she was inspired by God while the vented their devillish rebellion in her fits Rollokes blasphemous praetense for his silence That he durst not speake while his Master was speaking in her Another having these words in his Sermon Let us never give over till we have the King in our power Another That the sharpest warre was rather to be endur'd then the least errour in doctrine or discispline Their maintaining this position among the rest That it is lawfull for subjects to make a Covenant combination without the King to enter into a band of mutual defense against the King all persons whatsoever Their laying open the true meaning of their protesting Covenanting Arming c. That Scotland had been too long a Monarchie that they could never doe well so long as one of the Stuarts was alive Their raising an armie for their extirpation meeting K. Ch. 1. to that purpose in the field Their renewing continuing the warre when their first designe had been obstructed by His Majesties unexpected unwelcome grant of their demands Their reasonable dealing with the King when he unhappilie made their Armie his refuge by cheating his pious facilitie of his strength delivering up his naked person to their fellow Rebells upon conditions litle coulorable in words not at all justifiable in substance sense Their laying chaines upon His Majestie when a prisoner linking his crowne with iron propositions Beside what was acted at Derbie house otherwhere in the darke not improbablie agreed on at Câ—…nthia's midnight Revells when Cromwell was in Scotland And all this under the fallacie of exstraordinarie resisting reforming And now let Mr. Baylie looke not up to the starres but downe into the depth of hell where that maxime was hammer'd before ever Gilespie fild it over see whether it were not the fountaine of all our miseries the cause of the losse of our late Soveraigne The quaestion that followes about defensive armes though there hath been no such thing as a free Parliament without freedome 't is none I returne on himselve demand Did ever his Majestie or any of his advised Counsellers I adde Did ever loyal Parliament in England or Scotland declare or intimate in what cases how extraordinarie so ever they thought it lawfull I retort this The unhappinesse of the Disciplinarian Presbyters did put the seditious part of the Parliament on these courses which did begin promote all our miserie And were so wicked as to the very last to endeavour to breake the bands asunder of reason justice honour a well informed conscience wherein His Majestie professed to the world the hand of God the lawes of the land had bound him The peaceable possession of His Majesties Kingdomes depends not upon his Clergies conditionate consent to have Episcopacie layd aside A handfull of Scots with an hypocritical Assemblies beâ—…ediction in their knapsackes could they hold their wind when they got over Tweed swell up to the picture of Boreas in the face would not be mistaken for probable Vmpires or over-ruling Elders in the quarell Nor can Mr. Baylie possesse any prudent men of the loyallay partie that that order obstructs the King from his happinesse Why it may not be layd aside the unanswerable reasons in the 9. 17. chapters of Eik Basil. His Royal fathers booke will abundantlie satisfie any man that will rest in what he can not denie Where he will finde enough of such devout Rhetorike Religious logike as this I must now in charitie be thought desirous to praeserve that Government in its right constitution as a mater of Religion wherein both my judgement is sullie satisfied that it hath of all other the fullest Scriptures grounds also the constant practice of all Christan Churches till of late yeares the tumultuarinesse of people or the factioâ—…siresse pride of Presbyters Reviewe that Mr. Baylie or the covetousnesse of some States Princes gave occasion to some menâ—… wits to invent new modells propose them under specious titles of Christs Government Scepter Kingdome which are the Scotish titles as I take it the better to serve their turnes to whom the change was beneficial The reasons that convinc'd the Royal Father have so confirm'd the Royal Sonne His Majestie now being that Mr. Baylie dares not say what he so praesumptuouslie intimates that he ever asked the consent of his Canterburian Praelates to the alteration of that government If without asking they spontaneouslie spake their conscience in due season there was litle boldnesse in it as litle in printing which hath been often as much more at large in volumes about the unlawfullnesse of subjects taking up of armes where Parliaments have unanswerablie been proved to be such though the name of tyrannie is very unhandsomelie unjustie maliciouslie used in this case let him speake out if he meanes to attribute it to the King CHAPTER III. The last appeale to the supreme Magistrate justifiable in Scotland THe Bishop consider'd that the Kings supremacie is the same in Scotland as in England upon that grounds the aequitie of ultimate appeale The altissimò either of the Parliament or Assemblie puts them not above the capacitie of Courts so makes them not coordinate with the King What allayes you have for government I know not therefore can not close with you in the terme till you give me an undisputable definition of the thing which you call a moderate Monarchie tell me in what part of the world I may finde it I know of none any where yet that inhibites appeales to the Kings person If the Empire may be the standerd to the rest the learned
Grotius that had better skill in the lawes then you or I sayth That in causes of Delegacie semper appellasio conscssa fuit ad Imperatorem si ex Imperiali jussione judicatum esset aut ad Iudicum quemcunque si ex judiciali praecepto which holds good against your general Assemblie if that judgeth earegali jussione that it doth so is cleare from your Assemblie Act April 24. 1578. wherein it petitioneth the King to set establish your policie a part whereof is your Assemblie judication That it is for the most part order'd to the King in his Courts is not any way to confine his power but to free him from frequent impertinencies unseasonable importnnities of trouble or it may be a voluntarie but no obligatorie Royal condescension to avoyd your querulous imputation of arbitrarie partialitie tyrannie in judicature Therefore you injure the Bishop by converting his assertion into a negative confession As if when he sayth it is to the King in Chancerie he must needs acknowledge It can be neither to the King out of Chancerie nor to him there but with collaterall aequipotential â—…ssistants Whereas your friend Didoclave complaines that our appeales are ever progressus â—…b unico ad unicum wherein whether he mean'd an aggregate or personal unitie I leave you to interpret That an appeale is not permitted from your Lords of session or Parliament in Scotland is because whatsoever is regularlie determin'd there receives its ratification from the King But if one or other in their session without him should determine a case evidentlie undeniablie destructive to the rights of his crowne or liberties of his people whether His Majestie may not admit an appeale assume his coercive power to restraine their license I thinke no loyal subject in Scotland will controvert As touching your Assemblies King Iames tells you It is to be generallie observed that no priviledge that any King gives to one particular bodie or state within the Kingdome of convening consulting among themselves which includes whatsoever they doe when they are convened consulting is to be understood to be privative given unto them so the King thereby depriving himselfe of his owne power praerogative but onelie to be given cumulative unto them as the lawyers call it without any way denuding the King of his owne power authoritie This His Majestie alledged against the Ministers at Aberdene whom he accuseth not onelie of convening but acting after they were convened He particularlie mentions their setting downe the dies of the next Assemblie His Councel addes their endâ—…vour to reverse overthrow all those good orders godlie constitutions formerlie concluded for keeping of good order in their Church If you alledge that His Majesties Commissioner was not there then you grant me their acts are not justifiable without him And that all are not necessarilie with him I argue from the language of the Commission whereby they meet which limits them thus secundum legem praâ—…im against which if any thing be acted upon appeale the Kings praerogative may rectifie it at pleasure if not any judge may praetend to be absolute then the King must be absolutelie nothing having committed or delegated all power from himselfe What civile law of Scotland it is that prohibites appeales from the General Assemblie you should doe well to mention in your next I know none nor did King Iames thinke of any when he cited his distinction from the Scottish Lawyers aswell as any other Where an Assemblie proceeds contrarie to the lawes of God man Which is not impossible while it may consist of a multitude men neither the best nor most able of the Kingdome the Bishop thinkes an appeale to a legal Court of delegates constituted by a superiour power might be neither unseeming nor unreasonable The law of old never intended they should be the weakest of all Court Where it hath so happened by your owne rule pag. 22. The Delegates not Delegacie are to be charged Such heretofore in England as imployed mercenarie officials for the most part were mercenarie Bishops if they had been cut to the core would have been found I doubt Disciplinarian in heart though Episcopal in title The Scots way of managing Ecclesiastical causes is not more just because more derogatorie to the right of the King And the late Martyr'd King found it not more safe therefore told Mr. Henderson plainlie the papacie in a multitude might be as dangerous as in one how that might be Gualter writ to Count Vnit-glupten in a letter Emergent hinc novae tyrannidis cornua paulatim cristas attollent ambitiosi Ecclesiarum pastores quibus facile fuerit suos assessores in suas partes attrahere cùm ipsii inter hos primatum teneant He might have found the experiment of it in Scotland Nor can it be more satisfactorie to those rational men with whom the Bishops arguments are prevalent beside what else may be effectuallie alledged against it Allthough the two instances the Bishop brings for stopping appeales were accompanied with so many treasonable circumstances as might have enlarged his chapter into a volume deleted the credit of a Scotish Disciplinarian Assemblie out of the opinion of all the Cristians in the world Yet His Lordship thought good to furnish his reader with better authoritie from the second Booke of Discip. ch 12. which shall here meet you againe to crave your acquaintance From the Kirke there is no reclamation or appellation to any Iudge Civile or Ecclesiasticall within the Realme The reputation of the two Reverend Arch-Bishops Montgomerie Adamson depends not upon the sentence of a turbulent envious Synod much lesse any single malicious Presbyter in a pamphlet with whom we know 't is crime hainous enough to be a Bishop shall not want his vote to make them excommunicate Their manifold high misdemeanours are mention'd in the censure of the Presbyterie of Striveling for admitting Montgomerie to the temporalitie of the Bishoprike of Glasgow his owne for aspiring thereto Assemblie 1587. And of the other for taking the Kings commission to sit in Parliament 1584. In the last Act of which his commission is printed to register â—…his guilt The principal of their evil patrons among the wicked States-men I meane next under the King to whom you yeild that praerogative at least is sayd to be the Earle of Arran who deserves that character for being second at that time in His Majesties favour he is sayd by your brethren to have taken them into the Parliament So that lay their commission Earle Arrans courtesie together which without the other had implied the pleasure of the King they tooke not without authoritie upon themselves as you sayd the Episcopal office nor place in that Parliament Whether the pride contempt of the Prelates or Presbyters were greater may be judg'd in the case of Arch-Bishop Montgomerie by the Assemblies slighting not onelie