By the same authority, and in the same name, I excommunicate and cast out of the true Church, and deliver up unto Satan, James, Duke of York, and that for his idolatry (for I shall not speak of any other sin but what hath been perpetrated by him in Scotland), and for setting up idolatry in Scotland to defile the Lord's land, and for his enticing and encouraging to do so. Next,
In the same name, and by the same authority, I excommunicate and cast out of the true Church, and deliver up unto Satan, James, Duke of Monmouth, for coming unto Scotland at his father's unjust command, and leading armies against the Lord's people, who were constrained to rise, being killed in and for the worshipping of the true God, and for refusing, that morning, a cessation of arms at Bothwell Bridge, for hearing and redressing their injuries, wrongs and oppressions. Next,
I do, by virtue of the same authority, and in the same name, excommunicate and cast out of the true Church, and deliver up unto Satan, John, Duke of Lauderdale, for his dreadful blasphemy, especially for that word to the Prelate of St. Andrews, "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool;" his atheistical drolling on the Scriptures of God, and scoffing at religion and religious persons; his apostasy from the covenants and reformation, and his persecuting thereof, after he had been a professor, pleader, and presser thereof; for his perjury in the business of Mr. James Mitchell, who being in Council gave public faith that he should be indemnified, and that, to life and limb, if he would confess his attempt on the Prelate; and notwithstanding this, before the Justiciary Court, did give his oath that there was no such act in Council; for his adultery and uncleanness; for his counselling and assisting the king in all his tyrannies, overturning and plotting against the true religion; for his gaming on the Lord's day, and lastly for his usual and ordinary swearing. Next,
I do, by virtue of the same authority, and in the same name, excommunicate, cast out of the true Church, and deliver up to Satan, John, Duke of Rothes, for his perjury in the matter of Mr. James Mitchell; for his adulteries and uncleanness; for his allotting of the Lord's day to his drunkenness; for his professing and avowing his readiness and willingness to set up Popery in this land at the king's command: and for the heathenish, and barbarous and unheard of cruelty (whereof he was the chief author, contriver, and commander, notwithstanding his having engaged otherwise), to that worthy gentleman, David Hackstoun of Rathillet, and lastly, for his ordinary cursing, swearing, and drunkenness. And,
I do, by virtue of the same authority, and in the same name, excommunicate, and cast out of the true Church and deliver up to Satan, Sir George M'Kenzie, the King's Advocate, for his apostasy in turning into a profligacy of conversation, after he had begun a profession of holiness; for his constant pleading against, and persecuting unto the death, the people of God, and for alleging and laying to their charge things which in his conscience he knew to be against the word of God, truth and right reason, and the ancient laws of this kingdom; for his pleading for sorcerers, murderers, and other criminals, that before God and by the laws of the land ought to die, and for his ungodly, erroneous, fantastic, and blasphemous tenets printed in his pamphlets and pasquils. And,
Lastly, I do by virtue of the same authority, and in the same name, excommunicate, and cast out of the true Church, and deliver up to Satan, Dalziell of Binns, for his leading armies, and commanding the killing, robbing, pillaging and oppressing of the Lord's people, and free subjects of this kingdom; for executing lawless tyrannies and lustful laws; for his commanding to shoot one Findlay at a post at Newmills, without any form of law, civil or military (he not being guilty of anything which they themselves accounted a crime); for his lewd and impious life, led in adultery and uncleanness from his youth, with a contempt for marriage, which is an ordinance of God; for all his atheistical and irreligious conversation, and lastly, for his unjust usurping and retaining of the estate of that worthy gentleman, William Mure of Caldwell, and his other injurious deeds in the exercise of his power.
Now I think, none that acknowledge the word of God, can judge these sentences to be unjust; yet some, it may be, to flatter the powers, will call them disorderly and informal, there not being warning given, nor probation led. But for answer: there has been warning given, if not with regard to all these, at least with regard to a great part of them. And, for probation, there needs none, their deeds being notour and public, and the most of them such as themselves do avow and boast of. And as the causes are just, so, being done by a minister of the Gospel, and in such a way as the present persecution would admit of, the sentence is just, and there is no king, nor minister on earth, without repentance of the persons, can lawfully reverse these sentences upon any such account. God being the Author of these ordinances to the ratifying of them, all that acknowledge the Scriptures of truth, ought to acknowledge them. Yet perchance, some will think that though they be not unjust, yet that they are foolishly rigorous. We shall answer nothing to this, but that word which we speak with much more reason than they that first used it, "Should he deal with our sister, as with an harlot?" Should they deal with our God as an idol? Should they deal with His people as murderers and malefactors, and we not draw out His sword against them?
ACT AGAINST CONVENTICLES.[18]
Forasmuch as the assembling and convocating of his majesty's subjects, without his majesty's warrant and authority, is a most dangerous and unlawful practice, prohibit and discharged by several laws and acts of parliament, under high and great pains: and that notwithstanding thereof, diverse disaffected and seditious persons, under the specious but false pretences of religion and religious exercises, presume to make, and be present at conventicles and unwarrantable meetings and conventions of the subjects, which are the ordinary seminaries of separation and rebellion, tending to the prejudice of the public worship of God in the churches, to the scandal of the reformed religion, to the reproach of his majesty's authority and government, and to the alienating of the hearts and affections of the subjects from that duty and obedience they owe to his majesty, and the public laws of kingdom. For the suppressing and preventing of which for the time to come, his majesty, with advice and consent of his estates of parliament, hath thought fit to statute and enact, likeas they do hereby statute and command, that no outed ministers who are not licensed by the council, and no other persons not authorized, or tolerate by the bishop of the diocese, presume to preach, expound scripture, or pray in any meeting, except in their own houses, and to those of their own family; and that none be present at any meeting, without the family to which they belong, where any not licensed, authorized, nor tolerate as said is, shall preach, expound scripture, or pray: declaring hereby, all such who shall do in the contrary, to be guilty of keeping of conventicles; and that he, or they, who shall so preach, expound, or pray, within any house, shall be seized upon and imprisoned, till they find caution, under the pain of five thousand merks, not to do the like thereafter, or else enact themselves to remove out of the kingdom, and never return without his majesty's license; and that every person who shall be found to have been present at any such meetings, shall be toties quoties, fined according to their qualities, in the respective sums following, and imprisoned until they pay their fines, and further, during the council's pleasure, viz., each man or woman, having land in heritage, life-rent, or proper wadset, to be lined in a fourth part of his or her valued yearly rent; each tenant labouring land, in twenty-five pounds Scots; each cottar, in twelve pounds Scots, and each serving man, in a fourth part of his yearly fee: and where merchants or tradesmen do not belong to, or reside within burghs royal, that each merchant or chief tradesman be fined as a tenant, and each inferior tradesman as a cottar: and if any of the persons above-mentioned shall have their wives, or any of their children living in family with them, present at any such meeting, they are therefore to be fined in the half of the respective fines aforesaid, consideration being had to their several qualities and conditions. And if the master or mistress of any family, where any such meetings shall be kept, be present within the house for the time, they are to be fined in the double of what is to be paid by them, for being present at a house conventicle. And it is hereby declared, that magistrates of burghs royal are liable, for every conventicle to be kept within their burghs, to such fines as his majesty's council shall think fit to impose; and that the master or mistress of the house where the conventicle shall happen to be kept, and the persons present thereat, are to relieve the magistrates, as the council shall think fit to order the same; it being notwithstanding free to the council to fine the inhabitants of burghs for being present at conventicles within or without burghs, or where their wives or children shall be present at the same.