And whereas his Majestie requires us to limite our desires to the injoying of our religion and liberties, according to ecclesiasticall and civile lawes respective, that we never intend further then the injoying of our religion and liberties, and that all this tyme past it was far from our thoughts to diminish the auctoritie of our native King and dread Soveraigne, or to make any invasion upon the kingdome of England, which are the calumnies forged and spread against us by the malice of our adversaries, and for which we humbly desire that in his Majesties justice they may have their owne censure and punishment.
III. Thirdlie, we desired a blessed pacification, and did express the most readie and powerfull means which we could conceave for bringing the same speedilie to passe, leaving other meanes serving for that end to his Majesties royall consideration and grave wisdome.
Answer to the Querees propounded by his Majestie.
The querees propounded by his Majestie, are—First, Whither his Majestie hath the power of the sole indiction of the Generall Assembly?
Secondlie, Whither his Majestie hath a negative voice in Assemblies?
Thirdlie, Whither the Assembly may sitt, after his Majestie, by his auctoritie, hes discharged them to sitt?
I. Unto all which we answer, First, That it is propper for the Generall Assembly, by itselfe, to determine questions of this kinde; and it is no lesse than usurpation in us, which might bring upon us the just censure of the Generall Assembly, to give out determination.
II. Secondlie, The answering of ane of these three demands is the answering of all; for if the sole indiction of the Generall Assembly doe belong to his Majestie, there needs no question about the negative voice and dissolving of Assemblies. Next, if his Majestie hes a negative voice, there needeth no question concerning the indiction and discharging. Thirdlie, If his Majestie may discharge the Assembly, there needeth no question about the other two.
For our partes, we doe humbly acknowledge that the Kings Majestie hath power to indict the Assemblies of the Church, and whensoever in his wisdome he thinketh convenient he may use his auctoritie in conveining Assemblies of all sorts, whether generall or particular. We doe acknowledge also that the solemn and publict indiction, by way of proclamation and compulsion, doth belong propperlie to the Magistrat, and can neither be given to the Pope nor to any forragne power, nor can it, without usurpation, be claimed by any of his Majesties subjects; but we will never thinke but that in case of urgent and extreme necessitie, the Church may, be her selfe, convene, continow, and give out her owne constitutions for the preservation of religion.
1. God hath given power to the Church to conveene; the love of God hath promised his assistance to them being conveened; and the Christian Churches hes, in all ages, used this as the ordinary and necessarie meanes for establishing of religion and pietie, and for removeing of the evills of heresie, scandalles, and uther thinges of that kind, which must be, and would bring the Church to be in miserie, if by this powerfull remeadie they will not be cured and prevented.