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ASSEMBLY at Edinburgh, August 30. 1639, Seff.

23

Act ordaining, by Ecclefiaftical Authority, the Subscription of the CONFESSION OF FAITH and COVENANT, with the ASSEMBLY'S Declaration.

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HE General Affembly confidering the great happiness which may flow from a full and perfect union of this kirk and kingdom, by joining of all in one and the fame Covenant with God, with the King's Majefty, and amongst ourselves; having, by our great oath, declared the uprightnefs and loyalty of our intentions in all our proceedings; and having withal fupplicated his Majefty's high commiffioner, and the lords of his Majefty's honourable privy council, to enjoin, by act of council, all the lieges in time coming to fubfcribe the Confeffion of Faith and Covenant; which, as a teftimony of our fidelity to God, and loyalty to our King, we have fubfcribed: And feeing his Majesty's high commiffioner, and the lords of his Majesty's honourable privy council, have granted the defire of our fupplication, ordaining, by civil authority, all his Majefty's lieges, in time coming, to fubfcribe the forefaid Covenant: That our union may be the more full and perfect, we, by our act and conftitution ecclefiaftical, do prove the forefaid Covenant in all the heads and claufes thereof; and ordain of new, under all ecclefiaftical cenfure, That all the mafters of universities, colleges, and fchools, all scholars at the paffing of their degrees, all perfons fufpected of Papiftry, or any other error; and finally, all the members of this kirk and kingdom, fubscribe the fame, with these words prefixed to their fubfcription, The article of this Covenant, which was at the fift fubfcription referred to the determination of the General Affembly, being determined; and thereby the five articles of Perth, the government of the kirk by bishops, the civil places and power of kirkinen, upon the reafons and grounds contained in the acts of the General Affembly, declared to be unlawful within this kirk: We fubfcribe according to the determination forefaid. And ordain the Covenant, with this declaration, to be infert in the registers of the Affemblies of this kirk, general, provincial, and prefbyterial, ad perpetuam rei memoriam. And in all humility fupplicate his Majefty's High Commiffioner, and the honourable Eftates of parliament, by their authority, to ratify and enjoin the fame, under all civil pains; which will tend to the glory of God, prefervation of religion, the King's Majesty's honour, and perfect peace of this kirk and kingdom.

CHARLES I. Parl. 2. A& 5.

At anent the ratification of the COVENANT, and of the Affembly's Supplication, Act of Council, and A&t of Affembly concerning the Covenant.

At Edinburgh, June 11. 1640.

THE Eftates of Parliament, prefently convened by his Majesty's fpecial authority, confidering the fupplication of the general Aflembly at Edinburgh, the 12th of Auguft 1639, to his Majesty's high commiffioner, and the lords of his Majesty's honourable privy council; and the act of council of the 30th of Auguft 1639, containing the anfwer of the faid fupplication; and the act of the faid general Aflembly, ordaining, by their ecclefiaftical constitution, the fubfcription of the Confeflion of Faith and Covenant mentioned in their fupplication: And withal, having fupplicated his Majefty to ratify and enjoin the fame by his royal authority, under all civil pains, as tending to the glory of God, the prefervation of religion, the King's Majefty's honour, and the perfect peace of this kirk and kingdom; do ratify and approve the faid fupplication, act of council, and act of Affembly; and, conform thereto, ordain and command the faid Confeffion and Covenant to be fubfcribed by all his Majefty's fubjects, of what rank and quality foever, under all civil pains; and ordain the faid fupplication, act of council, and act of the Affembly, with the whole Confeffion and Covenant itfelf, to be infert and registrate in the acts and books of parliament; and also ordain the famen to be prefented at the entry of every parliament, and, before they proceed to any other act, that the fame be publicly read, and fworn by the whole members of parliament, claiming voice therein; otherwife the refufers to fubfcribe and fwear the fame, fhall have no place nor voice in parliament: And fuch like, ordain all judges, magiftrates, or other officers, of whatsoever place, rank, or quality, and minifters at their entry, to fwear and fubfcribe the fame Covenant, whereof the tenor follows.

THE

NATIONAL COVENANT;

OR, THE

CONFESSION OF FAITH;

Subfcribed at first by the King's Majefty, and his household, in the year 1580; thereafter by perfons of all ranks in the year 1581, by ordinance of the Lords of fecret council, and acts of the general Affembly: Subfcrib ed again by all forts of perfons in the year 1590, by a new ordinance of council, at the defire of the general Affembly; with a general bond for the maintaining of the true Chriftian religion, and the King's perfon; and, together with a refolution and promife, for the causes after expreffed, to maintain the true religion, and the King's Majefty, according to the foreJaid Confeffion and acts of parliament, fubfcribed by Barons, Nobles, Gent emen, Burgeffes, Miniflers, and Commons, in the year 1638: Approven by the general Affembly 1638 and 1639; and subscribed again by perJons of all ranks and qualities in the year 1639, by an ordinance of cuncil, upon the fupplication of the general Affembly, and act of the general Affembly, ratified by an act of parliament 1640; and fubfcribed by King Charles II. at Spey, June 23.1650, and Scoon, January 1651.

WE all and every one of us underwritten, proteft, That, after long and due examination of our own confciences in matters of true and falfe religion, we are now throughly refolved in the truth by the word and Spirit of God: and therefore we believe with our hearts, confefs with our mouths, fubfcribe with our hands, and conftantly affirm, before God and the whole world, that this only is the true Chriftian faith and religion, pleafing God, and bringing falvation to man, which now is, by the mercy of God, revealed to the world by the preaching of the bleffed eyangel; and is received, believed, and defended by many and fundry notable kirks and realms, but chiefly by the kirk of Scotland, the King's Majefty and three eftates of this realm, as God's eternal truth, and only ground of our falvation; as more particularly is exprefied in the confeffion of our Faith, established and publicly confirmed by fundry acts of parliaments and now of a long time hath been openly profeffed by the King's Majefty, and whole body of this realm both in burgh and land. To the which confeffion and form of religion we willing. ly agree in our confcience in all points, as unto God's undoubted

truth

truth and verity, grounded only upon his written word. And therefore we abhor and deteft 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 fpecial we deteft and refuse the ufurped authority of that Roman Antichrift upon the fcriptures of God, upon the kirk, the civil Magiftrate, and confciences of men: all his tyrannous laws made upon indifferent things against our Christian liberty: his erroneous doctrine against the fufficiency of the written word, the perfection of the law, the office of Chrift, and his bleffed evangel: His corrupted doctrine concerning original fin, our natural inability and rebellion to God's law, our juftification by faith only, qur imperfect fanctification and obedience to the law; the nature, number, and ufe of the holy facraments: His five baftard facra ments; with all his rites, ceremonies, and falfe doctrine, added to the miniftration of the true facraments without the word of God: his cruel judgment against infants departing without the facrament: His abfolute neceffity of baptifm: His blafphemous opinion of tranfubftantiation, or real prefence of Christ's body in the elements, and receiving of the fame by the wicked, or bodies of men: His difpenfations with folemn oaths, perjuries, and degrees of marriage forbidden in the word: His cruelty against the innocent divorced: His devilish mafs: His blafphemous priesthood: His profane facrifice for fins of the dead and the quick: His canonization of men; calling upon angels or faints departed, worshipping of imagery, relics and croffes; dedicating of kirks, altars, days; vows to creatures: His purgatory, prayers for the dead; praying or speaking in a strange language; with his proceffions, and blafphemous litany, and multitude of advocates or mediators: His manifold orders, auricular confeffion : His defperate and uncertain repentance: His general and doubtfome faith: His fatisfactions of men for their fins: His juftification by works, cpus operatum, works of fupererogation, merits, pardons, peregrinations, and ftations; his holy water, baptizing of bells, conjuring of fpirits, croffing, fayning, anointing, conjuring, hallowing of God's good creatures, with the fuperftitious opinion joined therewith His worldly monarchy, and wicked hierarchy: His three folemn vows, with all his fhavellings of fundry forts: His erroneous and bloody decrees made at Trent, with all the fubfcribers or approvers of that cruel and bloody band, conjured against the kirk of God. And finally, we deteft all his vain allegories, rites, figns, and traditions brought in the kirk, without or against the word of God, and doctrine of this true reformed kirk; to the which we join ourfelves willingly, in doctrine, faith, religion, difcipline, and ufe of the holy facraments, as lively members of the fame in Chrift our Head Promifing and fwearing, by the great name of the LORD our GOD, that we fhall continue in the obedience of the doctrine and discipline of this kirk*, and fhall defend the fame, according to

:

* The Confeffion which was fubfcribed at Halyrud-house, the 25th of February 1587-8, by the king, Lennox, Huntly, the chancellor, and about 95 0ther perfons, hath bere added, "agreeing to the word." Sir John Maxwell of pollock hath the original parchment.

our vocation and power, all the days of our lives; under the pains contained in the law, and danger both of body and foul in the day of God's fearful judgment.

And feeing that many are ftirred up by Satan, and that Roman Antichrift, to promife, fwear, fubfcribe, and for a time ufe the holy facraments in the kirk deceitfully, against their own confcience; minding hereby, firft, under the external cloke of religion, to corrupt and fubvert fecretly God's true religion within the kirk; and afterward, when time may ferve, to become open enemies and perfe cutors of the fame, under vain hope of the Pope's difpenfation, devifed against the word of God, to his greater confufion, and their double condemnation in the day of the Lord Jefus: We therefore, willing to take away all fufpicion of hypocrify, and of fuch double dealing with God and his kirk, proteft, and call the Searcher of all hearts for witnefs, that our minds and hearts do fully agree with this our confeffion, promife, oath, and fubfcription: So that we are not moved with any wordly refpect, but are perfuaded only in our confcience, through the knowledge and love of God's true religion imprinted in our hearts by the holy Spirit, as we fhail answer to him in the day when the fecrets of all hearts fhall be disclosed.

And because we perceive, that the quietnefs and ftability of our religion and kirk doth depend upon the fafety and good behaviour of the King's Majefty, as upon a comfortable inftrument of God's mer cy granted to this country, for the maintaining of his kirk, and ministration of juftice amongst us; we proteft and promife with our hearts, under the fame oath, hand-writ, and pains, that we fhall defend his perfon and authority with our goods, bodies, and lives, in the defence of Chrift his evangel, liberties of our country, ministration of justice, and punishment of iniquity, againft all enemies within this realm or without, as we defire our God to be a strong and merciful defender to us in the day of our death, and coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift; to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory eternally. Amen.

LIKEAS many acts of parliament, not only in general do abro gate, annul, and refcind all laws, ftatutes, acts, conftitutions, canons civil or municipal, with all other ordinances, and practique penal ties whatfoever made in prejudice of the true religion, and profef fors thereof; or of the true kirk, difcipline, jurifdiction, and freedom thereof; or in favours of idolatry and fuperftition,or of the papistical kirk: As, Act 3. Act 31. Parliament . Act 23 Parl. II. Act 114. Parl. 12. of King James VI. That papifery and fuperftition may be utterly fuppreffed, according to the intention of the acts of parliament, repeated in the 5th Act, Parl. 20. King James VI. And to that end they ordain all Papifts and priefts to be punished with manifold civil and ecclefiaftical pains, as adverfaries to God's true religion, preached, and by law established within this realm, Act 24. Parl. 11. King James VI. as common enemies to all Chrifti an government, Act 18. Parl. 16 king James VI. as rebellers and gainftanders of our fovereign Lord's authority, Act 47. Parl. 3. King

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