Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A33102
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The national convenant of the Kirk of Scotland and the Solemn League and Covenant of the three kingdoms
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Church of Scotland.
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1660
(1660)
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Wing C4231C; ESTC R22584
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8,495
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22
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THE NATIONAL COVENANT of the Kirk of SCOTLAND And the SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT of the three KINGDOMS EDINBVRGH Printed by a Society of Stationers Anno Dom. 1660. The Nationall Covenant Or The Confession of Faith subscribed at first by the Kings Majesty and his Houshold in the year of God 1580. Thereafter by all sorts of ranks in the year 1581. By ordinance of the Lords of the Secret Counsel and Acts of the Generall Assembly Subscribed again by all sorts of persons in the year 1590. by a new Ordinance of Counsel at the desire of the Generall Assembly with a generall Band for maintenance of the true Religion and the Kings person And subscribed in the year 1638. By us Noblemen Barrons Gentlemen Burgesses Ministers and Commons then undersubscribing Together with our resolution and promises for the causes after specified To maintain the said true Religion and the Kings Majesty according to the Confession foresaid and Acts of Parliament And now upon the supplication of the Generall Assembly to his Majesties high Commissioner and the Lords of his Majesties honourable Privy Counsell subscribed again in the year 1639. by Ordinance of counsel and Act of the Generall Assembly WE all and every one of Us underwritten protest that after long and due Examination of our own Consciences in matters of true and false Religion We are now throughly resolved of the Truth by the Word and Spirit of God and therefore We believe with our hearts confesse with our mouths subscribe with our hands and constantly affirm before God and the whole World that this only is the true Christian Faith and Religion pleasing God and bringing Salvation to man which now is by the mercy of God revealed to the world by the preaching of the blessed Evangell and received believed and defended by many and sundry notable Kirks and Realms but chiefly by the Kirk of Scotland the Kings Majesty and the three Estates of this Realm as Gods eternall Truth and only ground of our Salvation as more particularly is expressed in the Confession of our Faith established and publikely confirmed by sundry Acts of Parliament and now of a long time hath been openly professed by the Kings Majesty and whole body of this Realm both in Burgh and Land To the which Confession and form of Religion we willingly agree in our consciences in all points as unto Gods undoubted Truth and verity grounded only upon His written Word And therefore we abhor and detest all contrary Religion and Doctrine But chiefly all kind of Papistry in general and particular heads even as they are now damned and confuted by the Word of God and Kirk of Scotland But in speciall we detest and refuse the usurped authority of that Romane Antichrist upon the Scriptures of God upon the Kirk the Civil Magistrate and consciences of men all his tyrannous lawes made upon indifferent things against our Christian liberty His erroneous Doctrine against the sufficiency of the written Word the perfection of the Law the Office of Christ and His blessed Evangell His corrupted Doctrine concerning original sin our natural inability and rebellion to Gods Law our Justification by Faith only our imperfect Sanctification and obedience to the Law the nature number and use of the Holy Sacraments His five bastard Sacraments With all his Rites Ceremonies and false Doctrine added to the ministration of the true Sacraments without the Word of God His cruell judgement against Infants departing without the Sacrament His absolute necessity of Baptism His blasphemous opinion of Transubstantiation or reall presence of Christs Body in the Elements and receiving of the same by the wicked or bodies of men his dispensation with solemn Oaths Perjuries and degrees of Marriage forbidden in the Word His cruelty against the innocent divorced His devilish Masse His blasphemous Priest-hood His profane Sacrifice for the sins of the dead and the quick His Canonization of men calling upon Angels or Saints departed worshipping of Imagery Relicts and Crosses dedicating of Kirks Altars Dayes Vowes to creatures His Purgatory Prayers for the dead praying or speaking in a strange language with his Processions blasphemous Leteny and multitude of Advocates or Mediators His manifold Orders Auricular Confession His desperate and uncertain Repentance His generall and doubtsome Faith His satisfactions of men for their sins His Justifications by works opus operatum works of Supererogation Merits Pardons Peregrinations and Stations His holy-water baptising of Bells conjuring of Spirits crossing saning anointing conjuring hallowing of Gods good creatures with the superstitious opinion joyned therewith His worldly Monarchy and wicked Hierarchie His three solemn vowes with all his shavellings of sundry sorts His erroneous and bloudy decrees made at Trent with all the subscribers and approvers of that cruel and bloudy Band conjured against the Kirk of God And finally We detest all his vain Allegories Rites Signes and Traditions brought in the Kirk without or against the Word of God and Doctrine of this true reformed Kirk To the which we joyn our selves willingly in Doctrine Faith Religion Discipline and use of the holy Sacraments as lively members of the same in Christ our Head Promising and swearing by the Great Name of the Lord our God that we shall continue in the Obedience of the Doctrine and Discipline of this Kirk and shall defend the same according to our vocation and power all the dayes of our lives under the pains contained in the Law and danger both of Body and Soul in the day of Gods fearful judgement And seeing that many are stirred up by Satan and that Romane Antichrist to promise swear subscribe and for a time use the holy Sacraments in the Kirk deceitfully against their own consciences minding thereby first under the externall cloak of Religion to corrupt and subvert secretly Gods true Religion within the Kirk and afterward when time may serve to become open enemies and persecutors of the same under vain hopes of the Popes dispensation devised against the Word of God to his greater confusion and their double condemnation in the day of the Lord Jesus We therefore willing to take away all suspition of hypocrisie and of such double dealing with God and his Kirk Protest and call The Searcher of all hearts for witnesse that our mindes and hearts doe fully agree with this our Confession Promise Oath and Subscription so that We are not moved for any worldly respect but are perswaded only in our consciences through the knowledge and love of Gods true Religion printed in our hearts by the holy Spirit as we shall answer to him in the day when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed And because we perceive that the quietnesse and stability of our Religion and Kirk doth depend upon the safety and good behaviour of the Kings Majesty as upon a comfortable instrument of Gods mercy granted to this Countrey for the maintaining of this Kirk and ministration of Justice amongst us we protest and promise with our hearts under the
give the Confession of their Faith of new they shall promise to continue therein in time coming to maintain our Soveraign Lords Authority and at the uttermost of their power to fortifie assist and maintain the true Preachers and Professors of Christs Evangel against whatsoever enemies and gainstanders of the same and namely against all such of whatsoever nation estate or degree they be of that have joyned and bound themselves or have assisted or assist to set forward and execute the cruel decrees of the Counsel of Trent contrary to the true Preachers and Professors of the Word of God which is repeated word by word in the Articles of Pacification at Perth the 23 of February 1572. approved by Parliament the last of April 1573. Ratified in parliament 1587. and related Act. 123. parl 12. of King James 6. with this addition that they are bound to resist all treasonable uproars and hostilities raised against the true Religion the Kings Majesty and the true Professors LIKE AS all Liedges are bound to maintain the Kings Majesties Royall Person and Authority the Authority of Parliament without the which neither any Laws or lawfull Judicatories can be established Act. 130. Act. 131. parl 8. King James 6. and the Subjects liberties who ought only to live and be governed by the Kings laws the common laws of this Realm allanerly Act. 48. parl 3. King James the 1. Act. 79. parl 6. King James the 4. repeated in the Act. 131. parl 8. King James 6. Which if they be innovated or prejudged the Commission anent the Union of the two Kingdomes of Scotland and England which is the sole Act of the 17. Parl. of King James 6. declares such confusion would ensue as this Realm could be no more a free Monarchy because by the fundamentall laws ancient priviledges offices and liberties of this Kingdom not only the Princely Authority of his Majesties Royall discent hath been these many ages maintained but also the peoples security of their Land livings rights offices liberties and dignities preserved And therefore for the preservation of the said true Religion Lawes and Liberties of this Kingdome it is statute by the 8 Act. Parl. 1. repeated in the 99. Act. Parl. 7. Ratified in the 23. Act. Parl. 11. and 114. Act. parl 12. of K. James 6. and 4. Act of K. Charles that all Kings and princes at their Coronation and reception of their Princely authority shall make their faithfull promise by their solemn Oath in the presence of the Eternal God that enduring the whole time of their lives they shall serve the same Eternal God to the uttermost of their power according as he hath required in his most holy Word contained in the Old and New Testament And according to the same Word shall maintain the true Religion of Christ Jesus the preaching of his holy Word the due and right ministration of the Sacraments now received and preached within this Realm according to the Confession of Faith immediately preceeding and shall abolish and gainstand all false Religion contrary to the same and shall rule the people committed to their charge according to the will and command of God revealed in his foresaid Word and according to the laudable Lawes and Constitutions received in this Realm no wayes repugnant to the said will of the Eternall GOD and shall procure to the uttermost of their power to the Kirk of God and whole Christian People true and perfect peace in all time coming and that they shall be carefull to root out of their Empire all Hereticks and enemies to the true worship of God who shall be convicted by the true Kirk of God of the foresaid crimes which was also observed by his Majesty at his Coronation at Edinburgh 1633. as may be seen in the order of the Coronation IN OBEDIENCE to the Commandement of God conform to the practise of the godly in former times and according to the laudable example of our Worthy and Religious Progenitors and of many yet living amongst us which was warranted also by Act of Councel commanding a general Band to be made and subscribed by his Majesties Subjects of all ranks for two causes One was for defending the true Religion as it was then Reformed and is expressed in the Confession of Faith above written and a former large Confession established by sundry Acts of lawfull General Assemblies and of Parliament unto which it hath relation set down in publick Catechisms and which had been for many years with a blessing from Heaven preached and professed in this Kirk and Kingdom as Gods undoubted Truth grounded only upon his written Word The other cause was for maintaining the Kings Majesty his Person and Estate the true Worship of God and the Kings Authority being so straitly joyned as that they had the same friends and common enemies and did stand and fall together And finally being convinced in our minds and confessing with our mouths that the present and succeeding generations in this Land are bound to keep the foresaid National Oath and Subscription inviolable We Noblemen Barons Gentlemen Burgesses Ministers and Commons underscribing considering divers times before and especially at this time the danger of the true reformed Religion of the Kings honour and of the publick peace of the Kingdom by the manifold innovations and evils generally contained and particularly mentioned in our late supplications complaints and protestations Do hereby professe and before God his Angels and the world solemnly declare that with our whole hearts we agree and resolve all the dayes of our life constantly to adhere unto and to defend the foresaid true Religion and forbearing the practise of all novations already introduced in the matter of the worship of God or approbation of the corruptions of the publick Governments of the Kirk or civil places and power of Kirk-men till they be tryed and allowed in free Assemblies and in Parliaments to labour by all means lawfull to recover the purity and liberty of the Gospel as it was established and professed before the foresaid novations And because after due examination we plainly perceive and undoubtedly believe that the innovations and evils contained in our Supplications Complaints and Protestations have no warrant of the Word of God are contrary to the articles of the foresaid Confessions to the intention and meaning of the blessed reformers of Religion in this Land to the above written Acts of Parliament and do sensibly tend to the re-establishing of the Popish Religion and tyranny and to the subversion and ruine of the true reformed Religion and of our liberties lawes and estates We also declare that the foresaid Confessions are to be interpreted and ought to be understood of the forsaid novations and evils no lesse than if every one of them had been expressed in the foresaid Confessions and that we are oblieged to detest and abhorre them amongst other particular heads of Papistry abjured therein And therefore from the knowledge and consciences of our duty to God to our