and Resolved to defend the Kings Person and maintain the welfare of the Kingdom against the Pope and all Forreign Power and have given great demonstration of their own peaceable subjection to His Majesties Government it seemeth to be a Proceedings of great severity to punish such persons who fear swearing this Oath only least they should Sin against God in swearing that which they know they cannot perform viz. A thorow Conformity to the Church Matters which if that were the meaning of the Oath those Nonconformists that have taken the said Oath would not have taken it Now therefore that each Party may be helped in this matter here followeth a Copy of the Oath of Allegiance and King James his Exposition or Paraphrase upon it The Oath of Allegiance I A. B. Do truly and sincerely acknowledg Profess Testifie and declare in my Conscience before God and the World that our Sovereign Lord King James is Lawful and Rightful King of this Realm and of all other his Majesties Dominions and Countries and that that the Pope neither of himself nor by any Authority of the Church or See of Rome or by any other means with any other hath any power or authority to depose the King or to dispose any of his Majesties Kingdoms or Dominions or to Authorize any Forreign Prince to invade or Annoy him or his Countries or to discharge any of his Subjects of their Allegiance or Obedience to his Majesty or to give Licence or leave to any of them to bear Arms to Raise Tumults to offer any violence or hurt to His Majesties Royal Person State or Government or to any of His Majesties Subjects within his Majesties Dominions Also I do swear from my Heart that notwithstanding any Declaration or Sentence of Excommunication or Deprivation made or granted or to be made and granted by the Pope or his Successors or by any Authority derived or pretended to be derived from him or his See against the said King his Heirs or Successors or any Absolution of the said Subjects from their Obedience I will bear Faith and true Allegiance to his Majesty his Heirs and Successors and him and them will defend to the utmost of my power against all Conspiracies and Attempts whatsoever which shall be made against his or their Persons their Crown and Dignity by reason or colour of any such Sentence or Declaration or otherwise And I will do my best endeavour to disclose and make known unto his Majesty his Heirs and Successors all Treasons and Traiterous Conspiracies which I shall know or hear of to be against him or any of them And I further swear That I do from my heart abhor detest and abjure as impious and heretical this Damnable Doctrine and Position that Princes which be Excommunicated or Deprived by the Pope may be deposed or murthered by their Subjects or any other whatsoever and I do believe and in my Conscience am Resolved that neither the Pope nor any other person whatsoever hath power to absolve me of this Oath nor any part thereof which I acknowledg by good and full Authority to be lawfully Ministred unto me and do Renounce all Pardons and Dispensations to the contrary And all these things I do plainly and sincerely Acknowledge and Swear according to these Express Words by me spoken and according to the plain and common sense and understanding of the same words without any Equivocation or mental Evasion or secret Reservation whatsoever and I do make this Recognition and Acknowledgment heartily willingly and truly upon the True Faith of a Christian So help me God And now for a further and better help to understand the Oath of Allegiance let King James his answer to Cardinal Bellarmine be well considered concerning this Oath in his Apologie for the Oath of Allegiance page 46. where he saith It may appear what unreasonable and rebellious points he would drive my Subjects unto by Refusing the whole Body of that Oath as it is conceived for he that shall Refuse tâ— take this Oath must of necessity hold all or some of these Proposition following viz. 1. That I King James am not the Lawful King of this Kingdom and all other my Dominions 2. That the Pope by his own Authority may depose me if not by his own Authority yet by some other Authority of the Church or of the See of Rome if not by some other Authority of the Church of See of Rome yet by other means with others help he may depose me 3. That the Pope may dispose of my Kingdoms and Dominions 4. That the Pope may give Authority to some Forreign Prince to invade my Dominions 5. That the Pope may discharge my Subjects from their Obedience and Allegiance to me 6. That the Pope may give Licence to one or more of my Subjects to bear Arms against me 7. That the Pope may give leave to my Subjects to offer violence to my Person or to my government or to some of my Subjects 8. That if the Pope shall by Sentence Excommnnicate or Depose me my Subjects are not to bear Faith and Allegiance to me 9. If the Pope shall by Sentence Excommunicate or Depose me my Subjects are not bound to defend with all their power my Person and Crown 10. If the Pope shall give out any Sentence of Excommunication or Deprivation against me my Subjects by reason of that Sentence are not bound to Reveal all Conspiracies and Treasons against me which shall come to their hearing or knowledge 11. That it is not Heretical or detestable to hold that Princes being Excommunicated by the Pope may either deposed or killed by their Subjects or any other 12. That the Pope hath power to absolve my Subjects from this Oath or from some part thereof 13. That this Oath is not Administred to my Subjects by a full and lawful Authority 14. That this Oath is to be taken with Equivocation Mental Evasion or secret Reservation and not with the Heart and good-will Sincerely in the Faith of a Christian Man These are the true and natural Branches of the Body of this Oath And now forasmuch as there is another Oath called the Oath of Supremacy about which many good Protestants have differing Apprehensions some being very free to take the said Oath some do Conscienciously scruple it and so dare not take it for fear they should Sin against God in so doing The same Oath shall be here Presented to Consideration The Oath of Supremacy I A. B. Do utterly Testifie and Declare in my conscience That the Queens Highness is the only Supream Governour of this Realm and of all other Her highness Dominions and Countries as well in all Spiritual or Ecclesiastical Things or Causes as Temporal And that no Forreign Prince Person Prelate State or Potentate hath or ought to have any Jurisdiction Power Superiority Pre-eminence or Authority Ecclesiastical or Spiritual within this Realm and therefore I do utterly Renounce and Forsake all Forreign Jurisdictions Powers Superiorities and
Authorities and do promise that from henceforth I shall bear Faith and True Allegiance to the Queens Highness her Heirs and Lawful Successors and to my power shall assist and defend all Jurisdictions Priviledges Pre-eminences and Authorities granted or belonging to the Queens Highness her Heirs or Successors or united and annexed to the Imperial Crown of this Realm So help me God and by the contents of this Book Now in the aforesaid Oath some of the words are such as many Godly Persons cannot heartily speak and therefore Refuse to speak them at all in a way of Swearing viz. That the King as Supream Governour of this Realm is Supream Governour in all Spiritual or Ecclesiastical Things or Causes as well as in all Temporal Things and Causes Which words are Expounded or Explained by Queen Elizabeth in an Admonition Annexed to the Queens Injunctions Published in the first year of her Raign which take as followeth And further Her Majesty forbiddeth all manner of Subjects to give Ear or Credit to such perverse and malitious persons which most sinisterly and malitiously labour to notify to her loving Subjects how by the words of the said Oath it may be Collected the Kings or Queens of this Realm Possessors of the Crown may challenge Authority and Power of Ministry of Divine Offices in the Church wherein her said Subjects be much Abused by such evil disposed persons For certainly Her Majesty neither doth nor ever will challenge any other Authority then that was Challenged and lately used by the said Noble Kings of Famous Memory King Henry the Eighth and King Edward the sixth which is and was of ancient time due to the Imperial Crown of this Realm That is under God to have Soveraignty and Rule over all manner of persons Born within these her Realms Dominions and Countries of what Estate either Ecclesiastical or Temporal soever they be so as no other Forreign Power shall or ought to have any Superiority over them and if any person that hath conceived any other sense of the Form of the said Oath shall accept the same Oath with this interpretation her Majesty is well pleased to accept every such in that behalf as her good obedient Subjects shall acquit them of all manner of Penalties contained in the said Act against such as shall peremtorily or obstinately Refuse to take the said Oath And in the fifth year of her Majesties Raign there was an Act of Parliament to confirm this Sense of the said Oath in these following words Provided also That the Oath expressed in the said Act made in the said first year shall be taken and expounded in such Form as is set forth in an Admonition Annexed to the Queens Majesties Injunctions published in the first year of her Majesties Raign That is to say to confess and acknowledg in her Majesty her Heirs and Successors none other Authority then that was challenged and lately used by the Noble King Henry the Eighth and King Edward the Sixth as in the said Admonition more plainly may appear Now from the aforesaid Oath together with the aforesaid Exposition Confirmed by Act of Parliament Let these things be Considered 1. A Solemn Assertion of the Queens Power and Authority in her own Kingdom and Dominions in opposition to any Forreign Prince Person Prelate State or Potentate 2. That the Power and Authority of the Queen in her own Realms and other her Dominions was over all Ecclesiastical Persons as well as over all Temporal Persons so as to be tryed by her Laws in all Matters and Causes they may be concerned in that if innocent they may be acquitted but if guilty they may be punished by her Power and Authority according to her Laws in her Courts of Justice without Appealing to or hoping for Relief from Forreign Jurisdiction 3. And therefore let all those who do Conscienciously scruple to take either of the aforesaid Oaths Consider whether they have not entertained such notions and apprehensions of them as the plain words and comon sense of such words will not fairly bear and thereby expose themselves to such trouble as they might lawfully escape if their Judgments were better informed 4. Let such as have power to tender and impose the said Oaths upon persons Consider whether the Tender of such Oaths is not sometimes done out of spite to the persons before them they knowing that they are of Scrupulons Consciences and so are sure that they have an opportunity to afflict them and yet know in their own Consciences that such persons are good Protestants and have long lived in all peaceable manner under the Government and so desire to abide that they may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and Honesty under Authority as they are taught by the Good Word of God V. Another Law by which the Protestant Dissenters have been and still are Prosecuted and Distressed is the 17. of Car. 2. Chap. 2. viz. An Act for Restraining Nonconformists from Inhabiting Incorporations Now the Persons punishable by this Act are such as are Nonconformist Preachers who live in a Corporation or within five Miles of a Corporation and that Preach in Conventicles and thereby under pretence of Religion do distill Poysonous Principles of Schism and Rebellion into the Hearts of his Majesties Subjects to the great danger of the Church and Kingdom See the first Paragraph of the said Statute And the punishment provided by the said Statute for such persons is the forfeiture of Forty Pounds to be sued for in any Court of Record at Westminster or before the Judges of Assize and also six Months Imprisonment if such persons shall Refuse to take the Oath Provided by this Act A Copy whereof is as followeth I A. B. Do Swear that it is not lawful upon any pretence whatsoever to take Arms against the King and that I do abhor that Traiterous Position of taking Arms by his Authority against his Person or against those that are Commissioned by him in pursuance of such Commissions and that I will not at any time endeavour any Alteration of Government either in Church or State Now from the aforesaid Statute Let these things be Considered 1. That the Main Design of the said Act was to rid Cities and Corporations of such Nonconformist Ministers as under pretence of Religion do distill Poysonous Principles of Schism and Rebellion into the Hearts of his Majesties Subjects to the danger of Church and State Now if there be any such Criminal Persons under the name of Nonconformist Ministers let them suffer according to their Crimes when proved by sufficient Evidence 2. Consider that all sorts of Nonconformist Ministers do abhor to be such Persons and to promote Rebellion but they do generally make it their business to Preach Eternal Salvation by the Blessed Merits of Jesus Christ and a Holy Conversation according to the Blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ following the things which make for Peace here and hoping to injoy a Better Peace when this
ready way to make the Kingdom swim in Blood by reason of these Distractions that would attend such a bloody action Besides the greatness of the Sin in the sight of that God who will make inquisition for Blood And therefore though persons of contrary minds to the Government in matters of Religion may be greatly oppressed because of Laws made against them yet it is their duty to walk by these Following Rules 1. To be subject to the Higher Powers Rom. 13.1 2. To Render to all their Dues viz. Tribute Custom Fear and Honour Rom 13.7 3. To be patient in Tribulation Rom. 12.12 4. To Recompence to no man Evil for Evil Rom. 12.17 5. To Pray for them that Persecute them and despitefully use them Mat. 5.44 6. If it be possible as much as in them lieth to live peaceably with all men Rom. 12.11 7. Not to be overcome of Evil but to overcome Evil with Good Rom. 12.21 JAMES JONES A Table of the Principal Things contained in this Book 1. OF Government in General Page 1. 2. OF the Government of England in particular Page 2. 3. An Answer to those that object against the Protestant Dissenters because Venners Insurrection Page 3. 4. A Discourse upon the Statute of 1 Eliz. 2. concerning the Penalty of Twelve-pence for not coming to some Church or Chappel to hear Common-Prayer every Sunday and Holy-day P. 4 5. 5. A Discourse upon the Statute of 23. Eliz. concerning the Penalty of Twenty Pounds a Month for not Repairing to some Church or Chappel or usual Place of Common-Prayer p. 6. 6. A Discourse upon the Statute of 29. Eliz. and the third of King James concerning the same Offence page 7 8. 7. A Discourse of the Statute of the 35th of Queen Elizabeth commonly called the Abjuration Act. page 9 10 11. 8. A Discourse upon the Oath of Allegiance page 12 13. 9. The Oath of Allegiance it self and King James his Exposition of it page 14 15. 10. The Oath of Supremacy and Queen Elizabeths Exposition of it and the Act of Parliament Confirming the said Queens Exposition page 15 16. 11. The Statute of 17. Car. 2. chap. 2. considered Intituled An Act for Restraining Nonconformists from Inhabiting Corporations commonly called the Five-Mile Act page 16 17 12. Considerations upon the Statute of 22. Car. 2. chap. 1. Intituled An Act to suppress Seditious Conventicles c. Page 17 18 19. 13. An Acoount of the Proceedings of the Ecclesiastical Courts for not coming to Church and Receiving the Sacrament Page 19. 20. 14. The several ways of obtaining Absolution from the Sentence of Excommunication Ibid. 15. Reasons why Protestant Dissenters cannot Conform Ibid. 16. The Conclusion Ibid. NONCONFORMITY Not Inconsistent WITH LOYALTY OR Protestant-Dissenters no Seditious or Disloyal Sectaries Evidenc'd in A Sober Discourse upon all those Statutes by which the Protestant-Dissenters are Prosecuted at this Day I. GOvernment in Nations and Kingdoms is the Glory of this World for thereby things of all sorts and Persons of all Degrees are Regularly managed and disposed of and though some Governments are far better then others yet that Government that is not so good as it ought to be is far better then no Government at all for without Government there is nothing but dreadful Confusion each party striving to have his own Lust a Law for others Therefore it is far better for Common Good to be under a Government by setled Laws though in some things bad then to be under the Will and Pleasure of any particular Person or any Number of Persons whose Proceedings may be according to that Power and Might in a way of force as they are able to Exercise over each other and so as there may be an Uncertainty of Commanding there must needs be an Uncertainty of Obeying and so an Uncertainty of any Safety II. The Government of Nations doth very much differ from each other in the particular forms thereof some being governed by Kings and some by States and some by other Governours but tho there is a Difference in forms of Government and in the Titles of Governours yet they all agree in the Substantials of Government viz. To maintain a Publick Peace amongst themselves and to be so United unto each other as to defend themselves against Forreign Foes and to punish such as are Offenders in offering any kind of Violence to the Persons or Power of their Governours or to the Persons Priviledges and Properties of each other And in these and such like things those that differ in matters of Religion from what may be the Established Worship of the Countrey where they are Inhabitants yet they ought to behave themselves in all peaceable manner with Subjection to those that are in Authority For the People of God in the Primitive Times though in Religious matters they differ'd from those Countreys where they were Inhabitants yet they were taught by the Doctrine of the Apostles to maintain the Welfare and Grandure of the Government See Rom. 13.7 Render therefore to all their Dues Tribute to whom Tribute is due Custom to whom Custom Fear to whom Fear Honour to whom Honour And also to lead a quiet and peaceable Life in all Godliness and Honesty under Authority see 1 Tim. 2.2 III. And it may be truly said that England is most happy in its Government as it consisteth of King Lords and Commons by whom Laws are made for the whole Kingdom And the Law-makers are also under the Power of the Laws they make And this is most excellent that each Party of the Law-makers considered as King Lords and Commons cannot impose any thing as a Law upon the Subjects in General nor upon each other without a mutual Consent viz. The King cannot impose a Law upon the Peers The Peers cannot impose a Law upon the King The King and Peers cannot impose a Law upon the Commons The Commons cannot impose a Law upon the King and Peers but King Peers and Commons by a joint Consent do make Laws IV. And each Party who have matters one against another cannot Determine or Issue their Case according to their own Minds and Wills and at their own Pleasures but the Determination of all matters must be in a Legal Way being tryed before the Honourable Judges of the Realm who are Required by Law that they shall not deny nor delay Justice the whole Issue of matters in Controversy must be determined by a Jury of the Neighbourhood viz. Twelve men of Honesty and Wisdom that so the Kings Subjects may receive no Wrong by Knaves or Fools and in some great Criminal Cases the Prisoner or Accused Party is allowed by Law to except against a great Number of the Persons who are Summoned to be of his Jury without shewing any Reason but only because he doth not like them and may after that Number is Expired except against many others upon such Reasons as the Court can justly approve of So tender is the Law of mens Lives that good
Repealing of the same that so the Kings Protestant Subjects might be no more in danger of it but behold there was an unhappy failure in Mr. Somebody that it was not presented to his Majesty at the time when other Bills were presented and had the Royal assent however for as much as Lords and Commons had agreed unto it and His Majesty did not Reject it it seemeth to be the voice of the Kingdom that this aforesaid Statute should not be put in Execution IV. Sometimes the Protestant Dissenters are distressed in being Prosecuted by the Statute of the 7th of Jacobi which Statute doth provide the Punishment of Imprisonment for Refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance and in Refusing of it so often as the Law provideth for the tendering of it that then the said Person shall incur a Premunire Now there are great Numbers of his Majesties Protestant Subjects who are Dissenters who have and can freely take the said Oath and there be many others who are Dissenters that cannot take the said Oath First Because they think it is Unlawful to swear in any Case because Christ hath said Swear not at all Secondly Some cannot take the said Oath because they think a Promissary Oath is not Lawful Thirdly Some cannot take the said Oath because they think that they are thereby bound to an Actual Obedience and Performance of all the Laws of the Realm and from thence concinde that they are bound to go to Church and to take the Sacrament and to forbear to go to such Religious Meetings as are called Conventicles and therefore with Patience they do rather Submit to the Punishment of the said Law for Refusing the said Oath But others of the Dissenters are otherways perswaded concerning the aforesaid Oath and the aforesaid Particulars as the Opinions of their fellow Dissenters First they think Christ hath not forbid all kind of Swearing whatsoever but by these words Swear not at all they understand not at all to swear by those things mentioned viz. Heaven Earth Jerusalem the Temple the Altar or any other thing below God himself Secondly They do not think that a Promisary Oath is unlawful because it is not unlawful to make a Promise and thereby bind themselves to the Performance of any lawful matter contained in such Promise and therefore if the matter of an Oath be lawful they think they may as well swear to Perform it as promise to perform it especially the matter being between the King and Subject and the Swearing being the most sollemn way of assuring the performance of the matters promised and of believing the matters asserted in the said Oath And so end that Controversy Thirdly They cannot think or believe that by the Oath they are bound to an actual performance of all the Laws of the Realm for the Reasons following First Because if they be so bound then are all the Kings Subjects who have taken the said Oath so bound also and then it fairly followeth that if in any thing any Law be broken then the said Oath is broken and the Persons Allegiance to his King is Broken also which seemeth to be a harsh conclusion because then great multitudes of the Kings Subjects who are not Dissenters must be deemed deeply guilty in this matter viz. Such as swear prophanely such as curse such as are drunk such as promote the Trade of French Wines must be adjudged for sworn persons breakers of their Allegiance because in these and divers other things they are Breakers of the Law which seemeth to be an uncharitable conclusion concerning such whom Authority doth deem Liege Subjects notwithstanding their Breaking the Laws by the aforesaid Offences Secondly Such Dissenters as can and do take the aforesaid Oath cannot think they are thereby bound actually to obey all the Laws of the Realm and be bound by Oath to go to Church and to take the Sacrament and to for bear their Religious Meetings because no such thing is expressed in the said Oath and the Oath it self doth but bind those that take it according to the plain and express words thereof Let the last words of the Oath be well considered viz. And all these things I do plainly and sincerely Acknowledg and swear according to the Express Words by me spoken and according to the plain and common sense and understanding of the same words without any Equivocation or mental Evasion or secret Reservation whatsoever and I do make this Recognition and Acknowledgment heartily willingly and truly upon the True Faith of a Christian so help me God From which part of the Oath as it belongeth to the whole of the said Oath Let these things be Observed 1. That whatsoever thing is not in the express words of the said Oth that is not sworn unto either as a negative or an affirmative 2. That the matter contained in the express words must be understood and so sworn unto as doth agree with the common and known sense of such English Words viz. Without straining or stretching of the words beyond the litteral sense of them without any equivocation or mental evasion or secret reservation whatsoever viz. without any cunning or secret or mystical apprehension of the words of the said Oath Now the Particulars fairly expressed in the said Oath are these that follow 1. A solemn asserting of the Kings Right to the Crown of this Realm and other his Dominions 2. A solemn denying that the Pope of himself nor by any Authority of Rome or by any other means hath any power or authority over the Kings Person or over any of his Countries or over any of his Subjects 3. A Solemn Resolution to be true and faithful Subjects to the King notwithstanding any Declaration or Sentence of Excommunication or Deprivation made or granted or to be made or granted by the Pope or his Successors or by any Authority derived or pretended to be derived from him or his See against the said King his Heirs or Successors and him and them will defend to the utmost of my power against all Conspiracies and Attempts whatsoever which shall be made against his or their Persons their Crown or Dignity by reason or colour of any such Sentence or Declaration or otherwise 4. That as such shall not be guilty of Treason themselves so they are bound to discover all Treasons and Traiterous Conspiracies they snall know among any others 5. A. Solemn Renunciation of that Damnable Doctrine That Princes which be Excommunicated or Deprived by the Pope may be deposed or murthered by their Subjects or any other whatsoever 6. That the Pope nor any other person whatsoever hath power to absolve from this Oath or any part thereof 7. A Solemn Declaration that this Oath is taken sincerely and not Hypocritically Now for as much as many good Christians do scruple the taking of the aforesaid Oath by reason of their concluding that they are thereby bound to more things then is pressed in the said Oath and yet are well satisfied