3. The making of Associations in counsell and in forces with the Malignant party, or these who walk in known wickednes, and in enmity and oppositione to the work and people of God, is to these unlawfull, and ought to be avoided by them.
4. Malignant and wicked men who have been engaged in such enmity and oppositione, or given to prophanity, and have there upon been debarred from the Covenant or Communion, or secluded or removed from power and trust, ought not to be admitted into these till after tryall they shall be found in their ordinary conversatione to give reall testimony of their dislike of their former evill courses and wayes, and of their sorrow for their accessione to the same, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly.
[Page 21.]
In the year 1648, when the parliament were on debats of a ingadgment in War against England, the Comissione of the Kirk, (being there homologated by the Supplications of most of all the Presbytries and Synods in Scotland,) as they did desire the parliment “that the grounds and causes of undertaking a war might be cleared to be so just, as that all the weel affected might be satisfied in the lawfulnes and necessity of the Ingagment, with sundry other things to that purpose; so did they also desire, that if the Popish, Prelaticall, and Malignant party should again rise in arms in this natione, that their armyes might be so farr from joyning and associating with them, that, one the contrairy, they should oppose and endeavour to suppress them, as enemies to the Cause and Covenant on the one hand, as weel as Sectaries on the other; and that, for securing of religione, and all other ends of the Covenant, such persons only might be entrusted to be of Comitees and Armyes as hes given constant proof of their integrity and faithfulnes in this cause, and against whom there is no just cause of exceptione or jealousie.”
And when the parliament, without satisfactione to these desires, did resolve and enact an ingagment in war against the kingdome of England, the Gener: Assembly did condescend upon and issue a Declaratione concerning the sinfulnes of that war as upon many other grounds, so also upon associating with, and employing and entrusting of Malignants in the Army and in Comitees. The Assemblys words be these:—“Suppose the ends of this Engadgment were lawfull, qᶜʰ they are not,” &c.[439]
[After references to the Solemn Confession, &c., and Engagement to Duties after the defeat of the Engagement, the author proceeds, page 24:—]
At the same time, the Comiss: of the Gen: Assembly did make ane Act for debaring of persons accessory to the late Unlawfull Ingadgment in War against England from renewing the Covenant, receiving the Communione, and from exercise of ecclesiasticke office; and the Parliament meeting a litle thereafter, did make two Acts, one for purging the Armys and Judicatories from corrupt and malignant men who were in trust; another for keeping of them pure for the time to come; and the Gen: Assembly, qᶜʰ sate in Edʳ in the year 1649, did innact that none of these persons who were excluded from the Covenant and Communione should be admitted and received thereto but such as, after exact tryall, did in their ordinary conversatione give reall testimony of their dislike of the courses and wayes of Malignants, and of their sorrow for their accessione to the same, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly. These Acts of Kirk and State, I shall hear set doun, at least so much of them as contributes for the further clearing and proving of our present purpose; to witt, that the propositions formerly mentioned were received, and ouned, and engaged unto by the kirk and kingdome of Scotland, ... “as treuths necessary for preserving and promoving of Religion and Righteousnes.”
[In the 5th chapter, Guthrie goes on to argue, that these several Acts of the Commission and Estates, after the Engagement was defeated, were legal and binding on Kirk and Kingdom, because the Confession of Sins, &c., was made in October, 1648, throughout all congregations and whole body of the people, except those who were excluded; but he does not shew that either the Commission of Assembly or the Estates, subsequent to that time, were legal Assemblies, or had any lawful authority to pass such ordinances.—Page 39.]
The Comissione of the Gen: Assem: meeting at Edʳ about the time of the marching of the English Army to invade this land—to wit, June 25, 1650—did emitt a Warning concerning dangers and deuties, in which are these passages:—“Its far from our meaning that any who are tainted with malignancy and disaffectione to the work of God should be allowed or permitted to associate or joyn themselves together by pairtyes in Armys, much less doe we mean yᵗ we should associate or joyne with them, or that they should be imployed, or made use of, or countenanced, or permitted to be in our armyes. The Lord hath so far cleared his mind, both by his words and works, against these that they are very blind who are not convinced therein; and we have made so solemne publick confession of this sin that relates unto Malignants, and so solemnly ingadged our selves against the same, that they among us who should again hazard upon it should seem to be desperatly perverse. It were not only to give great ground of encouradgment to the Sectaries, before whom Malignants have so often fled and falen, but to discouradge the hearts and weaken the hands of men of integrity and godlines, who could hardly expect a blessing in the fellowship of such; yea, it were from the words of their own former confessione and ingadgment unto deuties, to proclaim a judgment against the land till it were consumed without remedy. We are therefore bold, in the Lords name, to warn the honourable Estates of Parliment, and all whom it concerns in the land, that they may be far from such a thing, and that they may take care, in their respective places and stations, to purge judicatories and comitees of all scandalous and disaffected men, and speedily goe about the removing and purging out from the army all men of a scandalous conversatione, and of a questionable integrity and affectione in the cause of God, and that they imploy none but such as are of a blamles conversatione, and of approven integrity in the Lords work. It shall be a shame for any in this land to be so faithless and unbeleiving, as, because of the scarcenes of men, to make use of others who are not thus qualified. The Lord hath not only spoken it in his word, and verified it in his works in the dayes of old, but hath let us see it with our own eyes, that it is all one wᵗ him to save with few as with many, and that a few whom God will countenance are more worth than many against whom he hath a controversy.”
Again, in the same Warning:—“Albeit we be dilligently to take heed of the danger that threatnes from Sectaries, and faithfully to bestir ourselves in our places and stationes in the use of all lawfull and necessary means for preventing of the same, yet are we not to forget, but also with the same dilligence and care, to take heed of these dangers and snares that threatnes the work and people of God from Malignants. Malignancy, though a very evill weed, yet is not pluckt up, but continous to be one of the reigning sins of this land, the snare wherewith loose hearts, who cannot endure Christs yock, are most readily taken. Hence it is that there be many of that stamp in all yᵉ three kingdoms, who, drawing encouradgment to themselves from the influence they have upon the Kings Counsell, and hardning themselves in their way by the proceedings of Sectaries, doe still follow their former designs, and wait for their day, and would rejoice in the ruine or halting of these who adhere to the Covenant; and experience proves, that many of these who have seemed to repent of and abandon that way, yet doe not realy shake of that sinn that hings so fast on, but, upon new tentations, fall again upon the same wickednes, and prove worse then before, which may be a cautione to us not suddenly to trust them. We make no doubt but Malignants will, by all means, endeavour that there may be roome left for them to undermind the work and people of God, and ingadge the kingdom in a new war, upon terms of their devising, destructive to Religione and yᵉ Covenant.”