A LETTER From A MEMBER OF THE HOVSE OF COMMONS To a Gentleman now at London touching the New Solemne LEAGUE and COVENANT OXFORD Printed by H. Hall An. Dom. 1644. A Letter from a Member of the House of Commons to a Gentleman now at London touching the New Solemne League and Covenant SIR IT 's no wonder but common experience that the division of King and People so destructive to publique peace and private happinesse drawes with it the breach of all relations for when the foundation of publique order is subverted we may soone expect the fractions of families and friends bonds sacred in all ages the late strangenesse betweene us arising from our different wayes in the present distractions is one instance which yet may not withhold me from expostulating your taking the new Covenant and preaching with much vehemency as is affirmed the necessity of taking it by others I shall not looke backe on the causes of your engagement to that party who have thus advanced themselves though I conceive the clearenesse of your judgement must discerne the unsoundnesse of these grounds that were layed for taking up Armes against the King and that you could not secure your conscience in partaking with such blacke designes by principles which constitute the King onely passive in government and that he must sic as an idle Spectator of the disorders and miseries of his Subjects and thinke his account well discharged towards God and Man if he leave all to the Counsells of others without his owne deliberation or triall of them by Scripture or reason Surely the charge of a Prince is not so weighty if this be the greatest burden nor his finall account in this respect so terrible neither were the prayers for him so necessary in respect of his people depending on him as the Scriptures assure us if their good or evill were so little concerned in him Your former resolutions not to conforme to humane Lawes in any thing wherein your conscience was unsatisfied of divine authority extended not to inforce others to repeale lawes by the sword which they are perswaded were a sinfull disobedience to God and his Vicegerent And unlesse your passions have darkened your judgement and made you impatient of contradiction though from your owne or the most undenyable principles of divine truth I may hope you will satisfie or ease a doubting conscience in this your Covenant And first upon view of the Title being a solemne League and Covenant amongst Subjects without as much as a royall assent or authority of law without which all agreements to alter religion or government are a knowne high treason I find most men though farre engaged on your party stand amazed how they can defend religion by treason how they can breake the supreame lawes of government without breach of duty to God fidelity to his Vicegerent or peace of conscience I have not yet found any answer to this unlesse it be expected that our president of violence may aswell iustify as cause another But it seemes the end of this Covenant is the foundation of its legality and being for Reformation and defence of religion c. The Lawes of civill government must give place to it A Position which I still accounted till of late the peculiar of the Jesuits and if that be the support of your Covenant the affinity it hath with that sect should at least render it suspected if not hated by your selfe but the opposition it hath to the practice of Christians in all ages the scandall it gives to the cause of religion by shaking all governments where it 's entertained make it odious to Christians that desire the union of truth and peace The name of Reformation and defence of religion hath seldome beene wanting to any rebellion the foulnesse of which crime seeke to lurke under the most plausible pretences And as I plainely see by this Covenant not reformation or defence but alteration and introduction is avowed and there is no invasion or violence but may usurpe the title of defence if alteration of lawes government by force against the mind of the Prince be such Therefore the penners of this Covenant warily omitted lawes out of the particulars to be defended by this Covenant in the Title which must cast shame on the front so contradictory to them The next end the honour and happinesse of the King whether sincerely intended I appeale to your selfe or any that take this Covenant whether the maine Scope be not to take away his iust authority divest him of power and place all or the principall parts of Majestie in others without whom he shall be disabled to resist any rebell or enemy if this be a truth as I thinke it 's known to the most common understanding you will stand guilty to God aswell of grosse hypocrisy as disobedience and I should gladly know what honour is meant the King that shall be reduced to such a condition I beleeve few forraigne Princes will understand such an estate of much honour and they will quickely find it of lesse power and that the peace and safety of the three Kingdomes will be kept by this Covenant when the Soveraigne power the band of union is dissolved I may rather dreame then beleeve To the preamble that makes the danger of Religion the motive of this Covenant whosoever lookes on the progresse of the present distractions and by what degrees they rose that sees the credit and imployment that Sectaries and Schismatiques of all sorts have among those Covenanters that such as in the cleerest and most unsuspected times were branded for disturbance of Church and State now undertooke to declare them enemies to Religion that have beene the Champions of Gods cause against the common enemies of our Religion if Papists are so intended by this Covenant that sees by whom Armies have beene raised Townes taken the King pursued will find plots against the true Religion and the professors thereof under the maske of defending it and all the miseries raised in the three Kingdomes to take their originall from these Covenanters who while they violently acted their designes in England and Scotland defrauded Ireland of necessary releife and cast it into that infelicity it so long groan'd under The commendable practice of those Kingdomes in former times and the example of Gods people in other Nations is of weight if the allegation were of credit and the times had beene pointed out that we might have beene informed of their certainety and authority I have heard of the unholy league in France to resist Henry the 4 of that Kingdome if he submitted not to the Roman religion if that be one of your examples as it hath great likenesse to your present Covenant and difference of true and false Religion makes not a difference in the legality of Armes against the Prince which are rebelliously borne if against him or his lawes and you well know there is no law to alter Religion against the will of the King I
with what ingenuity the defence of the Kings Person is professed the words are defend the Kings Majesties Person and authority in the preservation and defence of the true religion c. I pray observe the evasions of this profession they will defend the Kings Person in defence c. that is the defence of Religion is the defence of his Person and Authority so as if they defend religion c. in heir owne senses they defend him though they destroy him Or if that evasion be not subtile enough they have another they will defend him c. whiles he preserves and defends religion both which equivocations these words admit no plaine meaning at all I assure my selfe it was fitted purposely to avoyd the profession of loyalty without condition or ambiguity and by these cautelous shiftes it 's evident they intend no subjection to any Christian Prince who is not of their owne opinions For the discovery of such as have divided the King and his people or one of the Kingdomes from another all the world hath discovered these Covenanters to be the men who have made so many Declarations against the King divided him and his people denying his just authority and forbidding his Subjects bounden duty to him and if any man hath beene a cause that the King hath denyed any justice or right to his people I shall admit that part of this covenant into my private practice to discover him but I shall never thinke him Incendiary Malignant or evill Instrument that shall assist him for preservation of his person and rights and defend him against any that shall demand his consent to any thing by Armes as is now done by this Covenant For the Kingdomes they are in themselves naturally and legally divided what divisions of affections have beene wrought among the people hath proceeded from the wayward passions of these men that against all order nature and duty make an independent Kingdome their native Country subject to the Subjects of another Kingdome nay two Kingdomes to one in whose laws they have no interest destroy their owne lawes to receive anothers and cut asunder the band of all union the power of the Prince in all his Kingdomes And herein I would gladly know what the fault is of doing contrary to this Covenant for certainely the crime as well as the punishment is a stranger to law and what conscience is left in these men that punish without law God will one day reveale in the meane time I see that law is no longer practiced by them then it serves private purposes 4 It was lately our happinesse that we enjoyed the blessing of peace betweene these Kingdomes which our progenitors wanted and posterity may we may referre that peace by Gods blessing to our union under one King but when we take away that band and place the Soveraignty in divided bodies we may not long rest secure of that former happinesse and the alteration of this first article from the first edition is an evill omen which leaves out the observance of the late treaty and of justice to be done upon the opposers which makes me thinke they allready lay plots for retaining these unhappy divisions which were formerly so hereditary to these Nations 5. The resolution of constancy in this evill cause as it makes the cure of the present miseries of this nation so these men they were desperate who bind themselves against their King and nation and disavow all repentance and remorse of conscience for the evill they have done Sir Having thus expressed my sense of your Covenant I shall on occasion of it digresse to give you the state of the present businesse accounted a controversie so great as nothing but the sword is likely to decide which I thinke a mind free from prejudice and passion would soone resolve I am confident your selfe never doubted that there was a necessity of the Kings personall consent called the royall assent to every act of Parliament And that it could not binde without such assent that the King had the same power over his Townes Castles Ships and Subjects sitting a Parliament as when it sate not that it is high treason in any Members of Parliament to make warre upon the King or his Subjects or to take his Townes or any part of his Dominions aswell sitting a Parliament as not If any of this be denied the evidence of time as farre as practice hath proofe besides the testimony of law as farre as it 's knowne makes it unquestionable From hence I proceed that if the two Houses of Parliament declare a thing necessary for the Kingdome being a fact and therefore onely probable and wherein they are subject to errour the Kings dissent shall not give a power unto the Houses to make any ordinance without him to binde the people This is a truth so undoubted that he holds his Crowne but ad placitum of the Houses if they have such a power These premises I pray take into your thoughts satisfy your friends what you have against any of them and if nothing then I am sure the taking fortifying and keeping Townes against the King commanding the Militia without him and raising Armes to defend the Ordinances made for it are illegall and high treason without contradiction That Armes were raised for defence of these Ordinances before they were invaded I cannot thinke any man doubts and therefore some will justify these Armes for taking Delinquents that is such as assisted the King upon his command I never yet heard any deny that these Delinquents were pardonable if faulty and to be prosecuted for the King only that no Court in which capacity is the Lords House or House of Commons sends for any can use any other power for their apprehension or suppressing opposition but the ordinary officers of law and justice and in case of their want or weakenesse they have recourse onely to the royall power resident in the person of the King And I never knew yet a deniall of this truth and it is as apparent that the Members of Parliament sitting at Westminster having thus raised these Armies and expelled all from their counsells that concurre not with them that admit forraigne counsells instead of the royall assent that require a Covenant from their Members to repeale established lawes and in case of refusall expell them that awe their Members with Armies Tumults and Threats that have called in strangers to invade the Kingdome are thereby no longer a Parliament having taken away all freedome from it and the King to come to it but on their conditions and hence you see where to referre the effusion of so much Christian bloud and all other miseries of this nation Sir Though your confidence be great in the pretended Houses yet weigh impartially their proceedings you will see the condition they have put themselves in is not of Subjects and consequently are not their Kings Parliament which they must be or none at all I conclude with your Covenant that our great and crying sinnes have brought this evill upon us that our present calamity is a scourge from Heaven and yet these wicked hands by whom God afflictes a people escape not his revenge of their treachery cruelty and injustice We have enjoyed the free use of our religion the land was covered with knowledge as the waters covered the sea forraigne Churches rejoyced in beholding our order constancy and increase and all eminent gifts yet we despise our Church cast off the guides thereof as Antichristian heape to our selves multitudes of Ignorant Teachers please our selves best with these that take pleasure in despising dominion and speaking evill of dignities calumnies disgraces and libells against those that were set over us are cheifely affected by us these were the seedes of the present rebellion by which God visits these and our other sinnes upon us for aversion of whose wrath we must all confesse our owne and the sinnes of our nation and by timely repentance and sincere reformation of life turne and cry mightily unto the Lord that he will heare and forgive and heale the land FINIS
shall not deny you the truth but leave you the strength of that example There was an attempt of the Papists neare the death of Queene Elizabeth to oppose any successor not of their Religion I remember but these that are so well like your case and I beleeve there are none nearer in this or other kingdomes The first article to endeavour the preservation of the reformed religion in the Church of Scotland in Doctrine Worship Disipline and Government against our common enemies carrieth such doubtfull sence as I may justly suspect it rather a snare to entangle then a rule to guide the Conscience It is not onely rash presumption but irreligious prophanenesse to sweare preservation of unknowne precepts and the Doctrine Worship Discipline and Government of the Church of Scotland are knowne to few that take this Oath who with an implicit faith sweare to preserve they know not what perhaps that which if they knew they would rather desire to destroy I thinke your selfe would not sweare to preserve the Doctrines c. of all the reformed Churches and I am sure no law bindes me to preserve this and Christian duty forbids me to sweare defence of that which I know not which may be sinfull in it selfe and must needs be sinne to him who sweares in ignorance so much more to them that enforce it on others and whereof God will one day require an account And they who formerly found the Canons of the late Convocation so full of exception have herein justified them and given all the offence they tooke at these Canons and much more in the injustice of this oath being of things unknowne of an other Church and Nation of Discipline and Government which are of humane institution and perhaps opposite to our owne fundamentall lawes dishonourable to our Church and Nation and destructive to both a matter of worse consequence then the late c. and your selfe if I heare truly are much departed from your former resolutions that thought subscription should be forborne to some tender consciences and now judge there is no pretence for avoyding this Covenant that hath not only doubtfullnes but apparent danger of perjury and presumption and in comparison whereof the most rigid of the former Canons was a most innocent and tender Injunction I inquire not why Scotland may not be reformed why England and Ireland must but why in doctrine I pray demand of these that have acknowledged the soundnesse of it by their oathes and preachinge and when that famous and conscientious Doctor Reynolds and others at Hampton Court moved a reformation of some things in Ceremony and Clergy they openly professed their unquestionable assent to the Doctrine of the Church of England in the thirty nine Articles and the oath of Supremacy which how observed in this Covenant undertaken without the King and to be performed without respect to him is seene of all I may more then suspect these new reformers are not of our Church that deny her Doctrine and that these men who had no conscience in their former subscriptions will not expresse any in their reformation The rule they pretend is the word of God with an addition of the example of the best reformed Churches Doubtlesse the example of other Churches is not the touchstone whereby we must try doctrine or worship it seems the word of God will not doe the worke these men intend they will herein allow the superstructure of traditions and they are contented to exclude the example of the primitive Church a name venerable to all Christians and in all true Christian Churches and to reforme their mother the Church of England by other Churches where neither the word of God nor primitive practice covince her of errour is farre from the duty of sonnes and Charity of Christians I conceive the word best reformed will beget a Schisme rather then close the breach of the reformed Churches and while we expresse our esteeme of some in such language as upbrayds others with defects we provoke their just complaint against us There is not any reformed Church that I have heard of that accounts it selfe worse then other in their confessions of doctrine and therefore some will be undoubtedly scandalized by this expression and a faction raised among our selves while every man takes best reformed in his owne sence and the consideration being of so great variety of circumstances when some that are accounted best in government may be worst in doctrine and the contrary it must prove unquietnesse to the conscience and an uneven rule to reforme the Church We may depend on Gods promise that he will dwell among us that have one faith one baptisme one Lord Jesus Christ who died for us and if in matters of forme and circumstances of government we differ and yet retaine the unity of spirit in the bond of peace as is our duty we may be assured he will still delight to doe soe rather then in the causeles rents for indifferent things But the use these men make of scripture is for phrase not for proofe 2. For the extirpation of Popery Superstition Herisie Schisme and prophanenesse and whatsoever shall be found contrary to sound doctrine and the power of godlinesse you have an universall consent that it 's fit to be done by every one as he hath the warrant of a lawfull calling to it But why Prelacy c. that hath the authority of longest continuance and practice in the first and best ages of the Church of God of legall establishment in this Kingdome that hath beene eminent for the Learning Piety Zeale and Martyrdome of many in these Orders and from whom we must in a great part by Gods great blessing acknowledge the happy reformation in this Church may justly be demanded if any among us as many doe conceive this government as necessary to continue as you doe to be destroyed will you not put as great a burden upon their conscience in pressing it in this Covenant as you imagine upon your owne by the continuance of this government surely more for your Covenant in this very point is a breach of duty being a plaine and wilfull resistance of the higher powers and not only contempt but subversion of Lawes Sir I have no intent to travell into controversies but the Lord was and will be one and his name one in the three Kingdomes if this government continue and I am sure a Covenant to take it away against the mind of the Prince while it thus standes by law is rebellion against God and his Vicegerent 3. It might move any man to just indignation that reads your ostentations of loyalty when the very act you doe and the formes of publishing these words denounce the contrary I am sure the King is not consulted with no reservation made of his consent in this very thing that is thus imposed on all his Subiects and the World that is called to witnesse will testifie loyalty is spoken treason acted And I appeale to your selfe