Have been miserably encroached upon by arbitrary government, whereby the subjects have been oppressed in their consciences, persons and estates, by all the oaths and bonds pressing conformity with the corruptions, novations, and usurpations the government of church and state, and persecutions for recusancy, and by impositions of the freedom of secret thoughts, which no law of men can reach, which yet in the time of the late persecution were extorted, by threatening of death and manifold tortures; the church's liberties have also been invaded by the ecclesiastical supremacy, declared by a blasphemous law inherent to the crown, which law, though it be not now in force, is yet still kept up in practice by the indiction, prorogation, and dissolution of Assemblies, and prescribing diets and causes of fasting and thanksgiving in the magistrate's name and authority, to which ecclesiastical supremacy, usurped by the magistrate, this backslidden church hath always subjected, and now to discover to the world that they are not ashamed of this surrendering of our Lord's prerogative to his enemies they have, in their Assembly, holden at Edinburgh, Anno 1710, most explicitly and fully subscribed to this ecclesiastical supremacy, in their Act for observation of fasts, wherein they affirm, "that it is much for the honor of God that fasts whether appointed' by the church, or the civil magistrate, be duly observed."
In that same third Article, we are likewise bound to defend "The supreme magistrate's person and authority, in the preservation and defence of the true religion and liberties of the kingdom:" as in the National Covenant is expressed: likewise, "to defend his person and authority, in the defence of Christ his evangel, liberties of our country, ministration of justice, and punishment of iniquity; and to stand to his defence, in the defence of the true religion, liberties and laws of the kingdom;" as the duty is qualified in scripture.
II Sam. v. 3.; II Kings xi. 17; II Chron. xxvi. 16, 17, 18, 21; Rom. xiii. 3, 4, 6; I Pet. ii. 13, 14.
As our fathers in their acknowledgments had reason to say, "Neither hath it been our care to avoid these things which might harden the king in his evil way; but, upon the contrary he hath not only been permitted, but many of us have been instrumental to make him exercise his power in many things tending to the prejudice of religion, and of the Covenant, and of the peace and safety of these kingdoms; which is so far from the right way of preserving his Majesty's person and authority that it cannot but provoke the Lord against him unto the hazard of both. Nay, under a pretence of relieving and doing for the king, whilst he refuses to do what was necessary for the house of God, some have ranversed and violated most of all the Articles of the Covenant."
So, during the unhappy days of the late tyranny, it was the land's sin and shame, and ought to be our sorrow, that men were mounted upon a throne of iniquity whose main design and practice was to subvert religion and persecute it, to introduce Popery itself and slavery, to destroy the nation's liberties, suppress the evangel, and oppress its professors; who enacted and executed manifest injustice, stopped the ministration of justice against idolaters, adulterers, murderers, and other malefactors, and punished equity and duty, instead of iniquity; arrogated and obtained a monstrous prerogative above all rights and privileges of Parliaments, all laws, all liberties; a power to tyrannize as they pleased without control. But, as it was their sin who inaugurated Charles II. after such discoveries of his hypocritical enmity to religion and liberty, upon his subscription to the Covenants, so when he burned and buried that Covenant, and degenerated into manifest tyranny, and had razed the very foundation upon which both his right to govern, and the people's allegiance were founded, and remitted the subjects' allegiance by annulling the bond of it: it was the land's sin that they continued still to own his authority when opposite to, and destructive of religion and liberty; and of those who appeared in arms at Pentland and Bothwell Bridge, that they put in his interest (with application of the words of the Covenant to him, though stated in opposition to it) into the state of the quarrel, in their declaration of war, for which (so far as the godly could discern) the Lord put them to shame, and went not forth with their armies. It was likewise the sin of the land, and a great breach of Covenant, when the Duke of York was admitted to the exercise of the royal office against the laws of God and man; being incapable of the Covenant qualifications of a magistrate, and being a Papist, and so incapable of taking the "oath of coronation to maintain the true Protestant religion, and gainstand and abolish Popery;" which, for the preservation of the true religion, laws, and liberties of this kingdom, is stated by the 8th Act of Parliament, I King James VI, "That all kings, at the reception of their princely authority, shall take and swear;" yet this authority, though inconsistent with, and declaredly opposite to religion and liberty, was owned and upheld, by paying cess and supplies, expressly exacted for upholding tyranny in the destruction of religion and liberty; and though the Lord did, for a long time, by the tyranny of Charles II. and James VII., chastise these covenanted lands, yet there has not been a turning to him that smiteth: but these lands have again transgressed the Lord's commandments, and broken this part of the Covenant of the Lord, by receiving, admitting, supporting and subjecting to such, for Kings and Queens over these realms as want the qualifications required in God's word, and enacted by the righteous and laudable laws of the land to be in magistrates, superior and inferior: which were not brought under Covenant ties and obligations, to be for God and religion in their own persons and families, and to advance and preserve the same allenarly in their dominions; but in place thereof have come under oath and obligation to countenance, protect end advance the Romish superstitions and innovations in the worship of God and government of the Church, which the Covenant binds these kingdoms to suppress and extirpate, and in consequence of, and in conformity to, these obligations, do maintain and defend, or tolerate and allow Prelacy and Sectarian errors in their dominions, contrary to the true religion and sound doctrine, contrary to justice and equity; yea, contrary to that trust especially committed to the hands of Christian Magistrates, who for that end have the sword given them, that they may be a terror to evil doers, preserve and defend the true religion and professors thereof, and punish and extirpate false religion and heresies, and bring the wheel over the broachers, maintainers and abettors thereof; which did, and do exercise an Erastian supremacy over the church, in proroguing, and dissolving General Assemblies, appointing diets and causes of fasts and thanksgivings; and by their civil authority causing them to be kept and observed; which do not impartially execute justice upon all offenders, witness the frequent indemnities and remissions granted to murderers; as particularly, the passing without punishment the persons which perpetrated the inhuman, barbarous and lawless action of the massacre of Glencoe. Which waste and destroy the kingdom, by levying men and raising money for maintaining a long and expensive war, undertaken neither for the advancement of the true religion, nor for the advantage and safety of the nation; but in favour of the house of Austria, which hath been, and yet continues to be, one of the strong pillars of Antichrist's kingdom, and inplacable enemies to the true reformed religion, as appears by the persecution of the Protestants in Silesia, Hungary, &c. And yet notwithstanding of all this, many in the land of all ranks have sworn to bear true and faithful allegiance to them, without any conditional restriction or limitation; so that it is not possible for them, in a consistency with their oath, to disown their authority, and deny them subjection, or refuse to defend their persons and government, albeit they should proceed to the greatest pitch of arbitrariness; which is very far from the defence promised to Magistrates in the Covenant: the whole land (almost) hath complied with them in all the forementioned particulars so diametrically opposite to the Covenants, and supported, strengthened and encouraged them in these evil courses, by paying them cess and other subsidies; and ministers have minded so much to be loyal to their government, that they have forgotten to be faithful to their souls, in that they have not discovered to them the sin and danger of patronising Prelacy, and exercising Erastianism over the church; but in order to obtain their favor, have clapped their hands in these sins, which certainly is most opposite to that loyalty which we ought to maintain towards Princes, and tends rather to diminish their just power and greatness, than to increase and preserve it; and, instead of being a proper way of defending their persons and authority, is rather a mean to bring the wrath of a just and jealous God upon them, and those who defend or connive at them in these unlawful courses.
"Our own consciences within, and God's judgment upon us without, do convince us of the manifold, wilful, renewed breaches of the fourth Article, which concerneth the discovery of malignants, consonant to the Scriptures."
2 Sam. xxiii. 6; Esther vii. 5. 6; Psalm xxvi. 5; Psalm ci. 8; Prov. xxv. 5.
"For their crimes have not only been connived at, but dispensed with and pardoned, and themselves received into intimate fellowship, intrusted with counsels, admitted into parliaments, and put in places of power and authority for managing the public affairs of the kingdom; whereby, in God's justice, they got at last into their hands the whole power and strength of the kingdom, both in judicatories and armies, and did employ the same unto the enacting and prosecuting an unlawful engagement in war against the kingdom of England, notwithstanding the dissent of many considerable members of parliament, who had given constant proof of their integrity in the cause from the beginning; of many faithful testimonies and free warnings of the servants of God; of the supplications of many synods, presbyteries, and shires; and the declaration of the General Assembly and their Commissioners to the contrary; which engagement, as it was the cause of much sin, so also of much misery and calamity unto this land, and held forth the grievousness of our sin, in complying with malignants in the greatness of our judgment, that we may be taught never to split again upon the same rock, upon which the Lord hath set so remarkable a beacon. And, after all that is come to pass unto us, because of this our trespass, and after that grace hath been showed unto our fathers and us once and again from the Lord our God, by breaking these men's yoke from off their and our necks, and sometimes delivering our fathers so far from their insultings, that he put them in a capacity to act for the good of religion, their own safety, and the peace and safety of the kingdoms, should they and we again break the commandment and covenant of the Lord, by joining once more with the people of these abominations, and taking unto our bosom these serpents which had formerly stung us almost unto death; this, as it would argue great madness and folly upon our part, so no doubt, if it be not avoided, will provoke the Lord against us, to consume us until there is no remnant nor escaping in the land? many times have we been warned of the sin of complying with malignants, both by faithful ministers, and fatherly corrections from the Lord;"—yet, after all these punishments, we have again joined with the people of these abominations; the Lord is righteous, for we remain yet escaped as it is this day; behold, we are before him in our trespass, we cannot stand before him because of this.
These incendiaries, malignants, and evil instruments, made many grievous encroachments, and prevailed much in the days of our fathers—yet not without dissent, testimonies, warnings, and declarations; but more especially in the dismal days of persecution and tyranny, they were suffered, yea, encouraged, without any significant joint testimony, not only to hinder the reformation of religion, but to overturn the whole work of reformation, to burn and bury the covenants for it, to re-establish abjured Prelacy, erect a monstrous Christ-exauctorating and church-enslaving supremacy, attempt the introduction of Popery and slavery at the gate of an anti-Christian toleration, and to persecute and destroy the godly, who durst not in conscience comply with them; and not only to divide the King from his people, or one of the kingdoms from another—but first, to divide the bulk and body of both kingdoms, and make them pursue divided interests from the interest and cause of Christ, and then to divide the remnant of such as adhered to it amongst themselves, by indulgences and other bonds of contention, in order to get them more easily destroyed; and at length to engage the King into such a division from the people, as to make him, instead of their protector, their declared destroyer; and not only to make parties among the people contrary to his league and covenant, but to draw and divide the whole people into a party with perjuries. The generality, notwithstanding, did own allegiance to the head of these incendiaries and malignants, yea, a Popish incendiary, because he wore a crown on his head; and did pay the cess imposed for the maintenance and encouragement of malignants; many did associate with them in expeditions of war, drawing up with them in their musters and rendezvouses, thereby countenancing a malignant cause, and listing themselves under a malignant—yea, Popish banner; many subscribed and sware themselves contrary to the covenant by taking tests, oaths, and bonds, obliging them to surcease from covenanted duties, and to keep the peace and good behaviour with them, whom they were obliged by covenant to seek to bring to punishment; yea, some, and not a few, were inveigled in the snare of the oath of delation, to delate the persecuted people of God to their courts, and thereby made them (instead of discovering malignants according to the covenant,) to discover their brethren to malignants. And very many, almost the universality of the land, were involved in the snare of the oath of abjuration, renouncing the principle of declaring war against a malignant King, and of asserting the lawfulness of bringing his murthering accomplices and incendiaries to condign punishment; but, on the other hand, some of the suffering party did sometimes exceed the bounds of moderation in this matter, in usurping the sword without God's call, without respect to the rule, and against the scope of their own declarations, to take vengeance on them at their own hand; yea, even to that degree, of taking the lives of some of them in an extravagant manner;[[27]] for which, they were sadly rebuked of God, an occasion was given and taken to reproach and blaspheme the way of God upon that account. But to descend to our own time, we have it to bewail, that whatever alteration there is in the face of affairs since the yoke of tyranny was taken off our neck, yet there is no alteration in this matter to the better, but rather to the worse; malignants are so far from being brought to condign punishment, that they are the whole administrators of the affairs of the kingdom; whence it is come to pass, that the supreme judicatories which should take trial of such and bring them to punishment, and to whom they should be delated, are wholly, or mostly composed of such; yea, none may now be reputed malignant unless he be disaffected to the civil government; so that malignancy is not now disaffection to the cause and work of God, but disaffection to the present establishment, and so far are they that are truly disaffected to Christ and his interest this day advanced and strengthened in their designs, that they have (so far as in them lies) put a final stop to all further progress in reformation in these covenanted kingdoms; so that instead of discovering and bringing to punishment them who make parties and factions against the League and Covenant, and reformation therein concerted, the most part of Britain and Ireland are nought else but a party and faction against it, who have cast it out of doors, and, for what is apparent, are never minded to receive it again; and, upon the contrary, such as are labouring to adhere most closely (though in weakness) to these engagements, and prosecute the ends of these covenants, are unjustly looked upon as a party and faction, and prosecuted as offenders by such as, according to the genuine sense of this Article, ought to be brought to condign punishment. It is likewise promised in this Article, that such shall be brought to trial as shall divide the King from his people, or one of the kingdoms from another, which clause hath been broken, by using endeavours to have King and people and the kingdoms all conjoined in a union and conjunction contrary to, and eversive of this Solemn League and Covenant; and these that go under the character of ministers, from whom it might in all reason be expected that they should interpose for having malignants duly punished, are so far from doing so, that they make it their endeavour to please them; and upon the contrary, they spare no pains to incense the persons in the government against those whose design it is, in the Lord's strength, to adhere to their covenant engagements, and keep themselves unspotted from the abominations of the times. We acknowledge also ourselves guilty of the breach of this Article, in so far as we have not more frequently and fervently, from a real respect and zeal to the glory of God, after we saw no means of getting such evil instruments and opposers of reformation punished and suppressed by human judicatories, applied by prayer and supplication to God, that he would either of his infinite mercy convince them of, and reclaim them from, or in justice reprove and punish them for their opposition to his cause and interest. As also, that we have not duly searched into our own sins, and especially the malignancy of our own hearts: by means whereof, the Lord is highly provoked to permit such evil instruments not only to afflict and oppress us, but also to retard the success of his own work; and that we have not impartially or sincerely mourned over these sins in our own hearts and lives, which hinder our own personal, and so have influence to impede national reformation, and have not forsaken and abandoned them.
In the fifth Article, we are bound, "according to our place and station, to endeavor, that the kingdoms may remain conjoined in a most firm peace and union to all posterity; and that justice may be done upon the wilful opposers thereof;" according to Isa. ii. 2, 3, xiv. 23, 24; Jer. 1, 4, 5; Ezek. xxxvii. 16, 17; Zech. ii. 11. viii. 21, 22; Gal. v. 12.