accustomed fatherly care of the good and preservation of this Kingdome would be pleased to resolve upon some such course as without force of armes or shewing of his Princely power the estate of this kingdome may be setled as may be seen at greater length in the letter it self We are challenged here also as usurpers of regall power First because we have taken upon us to command the print and forebidden and dismissed the printer whom his Majestie established This is the old complaint of the Popish Prelats against our reformers in the yeare 1559. and very untruly by their successours renewed against us for we have neither dismissed nor forbidden the printer who still hath his liberty and residence in Edinburgh Nor doth the act of the generall Assembly which we take to be here meant containe any thing that can be construed to be the usurpation of regall power or the smalest diminution of the priviledges royall about printing It only forbideth under the paine of Kirk censure to print any piece that concerneth the Kirk without warrand of the Kirk A power belonging to the Kirk in all kingdomes and ordinarly used in this Kirk not only in the times of Popery but since the reformation as is manifest by diverse acts of Assemblies censuring abuses of printing appointing some treatises to be printed and naming some to revise what was to be put to the presse Neither must we think that the nationall Kirk is shorter in her liberties of this sort then our Universities are who without restraint use their own liberty nor will any man think that schollers shall have the liberty to print their propositions yearly without controlement and liberty shall be denied to the generall Assembly to print their acts and constitutions Particulare professours use to publish their treatises with adjurations of printers because they have no further authority that they print them not in another edition nor in another character and shall not the Kirk make use of that authority which GOD hath granted her for her own peace and the good of Religion Secondly because we have conveened the subjects raised armies blocked up and besieged his Majesties castles c. So many of these heavy challenges as have any shew of truth are so fully and plainly answered in our last protestation Decemb. 18. that as the Prelats needed not to make the objection so need we to make no new answere In our last information intended for England besides that the true honest and loyall expressions of our hearts are taken to be false base and fawning passages we are particularly challenged of two scandalous and most notorious untruths First that the armies now raised are in the hands of Papists So indeed were we informed and therefore spake with this caution as we are informed and why shall not the captaines and leaders of the armie be sutable to the prime movers the cause and end of the work all which smell of Rome and of Popery The other untruth is that some of power in the Kirk of England have been the cause of taking armes for invasion of this kingdome and of medling with our religion This we offer to verifie both by write and by the deposition of prime stats-men and Councellours against some Kirk-men there namely against Canterburie himself that he did negotiate with Rome about the frame of our service book and Canons that with his own hand he altered and interlyned diverse passages thereof tending to conformity with Rome A plot so perilous that had not the Lord disappointed it First Scotland and then England by him and such as cooperate with him had become in their religion Romish His reprinted conference with M r. Fisher will not serve to vindicate his reputation And therefore we earnestly intreat all in England that affect the truth of religion and the Kings honour and all true Patriots that love the liberty of the kingdome to supplicate his Majestie for calling a Parliament there that this mysterie of iniquity which hath been in working this time past may be discovered and the prime agents therein according to their demerits may be tryed and punished and that this craft and treacherie in joyning both kingdomes in a bloody war that by weakning both Rome may be built in the midst of us and the Pope in end set over all may be seen and disappointed that GOD may have his own glory the King his honour and his subjects may be in safety from forraine tyraine over their bodies and soules Least the Prelats should passe any point true or false that may serve their turne This also is laide to our charge that the Kings lawes are in a manner oppressed by us in so much that the judges are so awed as they dare hardly proceed according to law The prime judges of the land remember that by them justice hath been refused us according to law not from their own disposition but for feare to offend against missives procured against us we must also now remember that having of late requyred letters of horning and caption against the excommunicate Prelats conforme to the act of Parliament whereof they use not to deny the common benefite to the meanest subject The Lords of Session resolved upon a letter to be sent to his Majestie March 2. wherein they bring his Majesties pleasure signified by his Majesties command and otherwise as the only cause of refusing these letters according to the act of Parliament and withall joyn their most ardent desires and humble wishes for such peace and quietnesse to the kingdome as it hath injoyed before Which evidenceth that not only the laws but the judges are for us and that from conscience of their duty to GOD the King and countrey and not from feare and aw from us To make all that hath been said the more credible it is alledged that some of us refuse both the oath of alledgeance and supremacie and publickly mantaine that we are not oblidged to take the same and that three Scotishmen taken in Wales are at this day imprisoned for denying these oathes We can say nothing of these taken in Walles neither there persons nor their purposes being known to us It seemeth that the inquisition is hote there But for our selves although there be a difference betwixt the oath of alledgeance and supremacie and we cannot take the oath of supremacie as it is extended and glossed by the flattering Prelats yet we heartily rander that to his Majestie which is due and useth to be given by reformed and sound divines to the civill Magistrate knowing that the Fifth command containing the duty of subjects to their Princes and rulers is the First commandment of the second table and that our confession of faith acknowledgeth his Majestie to be the Lordsvice-gerant on earth to whom the conservation and purgation of religion doth belong As this is the conception which our enemies have begotten in his Majesties minde against us so may we learne by this declaration what his Majesties
labouring to speak all the evill they can devise against us then to speak any truth against our persons and cause The other is that they would ingage his Majestie so far in their businesse that no place may be left to a retreat But in this also we trust they shall be disappointed and that they shall never induce his Majestie to act any thing which is not revocable Princes who ought to be common parents will not make themselves a party for that were to overthrow the boat by unequall weight on the one side and make not only the passengers but him that sitteth at the helme to perish which our Prelats have desperatly chosen rather then to repent or with Ionas to cast themselves in the sea that they may perish alone Their maxime is old when we are dead and gone let the earth be burnt up with fire In the narrative we are glad that they judge of our intentions which are directly known to GOD only by our proceedings and actions before the world which against their obloquies and misconstructions we justifie 1. By our long suffering the outrages and insolencies of the Prelats who against the unity of hearts authority of Assemblies order of Ministerie purity of doctrine and worship and whole reformation of religion in this Kirk which was the wonderfull work of Gods greatest mercy to this kingdome and the glory of our land for no other end but for satisfying their ambition and avarice which are known to be the two great inchanters of naturall men and have proven cruell Harpyes against religion they did overturne all bringing in for unity division for authority of Assemblies their own usurpation for order of the Ministerie episcopall tyrannie and for the purity of worship first humane inventions and thereafter being now grown by their rents and Lordly dignities by their power over the Ministers and other lieges by their places in Parliament Councell Session Exchequer and high Commission to a plenipotent dominion and greatnesse they frame a book of Canons for ruling the Kirk and disposing upon religion at their pleasure And yet all this time the greatest opposition was the zeale of some preachers in giving testimonie to the truth and sealing the same by their sufferings and the groaning of the people and their crying to God that he would come down and deliver them from these more then Egyptian taskmasters 2. By the peaceablnesse of our proceedings ever since we begune to appeare in a publick way of opposition although their insolencie ascended so high as without consent or knowledge of the Kirk they have framed a service book to be received in all the Kirks of the kingdome as the only forme of Gods publick worship procured letters of horning against Ministers for that effect practised it themselves and not only discharged some Readers and Ministers who refused the book but also obtained a charge that no man under the paine of death should speak against the Bishops or their service book And yet although the book was brought in without order and known to be a change of the whole forme of Gods worship The Noblemen Barrones Burgesses Ministers and Commons conveening although in a very great number yet in most peaceable manner without any tumult did only supplicat most submisly the Lords of his Majesties Councell and direct their supplications to his Majestie for remeeding their just and important grievances Thirdly when their supplications received no other answer but terrible Proclamations condemning all their meetings and proceedings and highly allowing the evils which were their grievances their complaints against the many haynous crimes of the Prelats were not heard and their distresses still pressing them more The supplicants entering into a deeper search of the causes of all their evils and of the barring of their supplications found them to be from themselves and their former perfidious dealing against the Covenant of God And therefore resolved to renew their nationall oath and Covenant with solemne humiliation and prayers to God for reconciliation and for better successe afterward They resolve also to renew their supplication to the Kings Majestie for a generall Assembly and Parliament as the ordinarie and able meanes to redresse their evils and essayed all possible wayes of presenting it They answered to the full all exceptions taken against the Covenant and left nothing undone which beseemed Christian subjects who honour God and feare the King Fourthly after many petitions and long exspectation when a generall Assembly was conveened by his Majesties speciall indiction and orderly constitute in all the members thereof in the presence of his Majesties Commissioner we were forbidden to proceed and commanded to rise without any just cause offered by us In this extremity of the precipitating of the Kirk and kingdome in a world of confusions upon the one side and of sitting after the interdiction on the other part we chosed that course which was warranted by Christ was most agreable to his Majesties will formerly manifested and to the publick weale as is contained in the supplication of the generall Assembly directed to his Majestie whereof no mention is made in the proclamatiō Since that time we have been threatned with armies and hostile invasion from England against which we have been preparing for our lawfull and necessarie defence far from the least thought of invading or harming our neighbours Our wayes then have been after long silence no other but humble supplications to GOD and the King necessary Protestations religious renewing of our nationall Covenant sitting in a generall Assembly conveened by his Majesties indiction information and preparation for necssarie defence against open hostility The particular evidences of our traiterous intentions are expressed in the Proclamation to be First the multitude of infamous libels stuffed full of calumnies against the Kings authority If any peice coming from us had been here designed our answere might have been particulare And therefore in generall we are bold to affirme that what hath passed from our hands of that kinde as it hath been meant to cleare our intentions of disloyalty so it carrieth nothing with it which can merite so foule an aspersion all being done both in matter and expression with the highest respect we could conceive to his Majesties sacred person and royall authority and with the best construction of his Majesties proceedings Secondly letters sent to private persons in London and sending some Covenanters to privat meetings at London to incite people against the King and to pervert them from their duty A traiterous intention we confesse which will never be so happie as to harboure in a Loyall brest And as we are assured that such missives or messengers were never sent from the Covenanters in common So must it be either cunning in the Prelates to alledge that which we cannot prove to be false or malice to attribute that unto us which private persons have done from their own motions without our knowledge That in such a time there should be found
libels or licentious discourses false news running up and down and letters carrying the names of such authores as never saw them should seem nothing strange And whether the search of such things with too great diligence and the suppressing of them by too much severity or the neglect and despysing of them by authority be the best remedie against them let statesmen judge It is known when water is stopped one way it runneth asunder and breaketh out many wayes Thirdly Our publick contemning of all his Majesties just commands and our mutinous protesting against them It is our delight to obey his Majesties just commands and is farre from our hearts to contemne any of his Majesties commands although unjust or to protest mutinously against them But to protest in a faire way and as beseemeth duetifull subjects is a course customeable legall and ordinare and in some cases so necessare for preservation of right and preventing of evil that at sometimes it cannot be omitted and at no time can give just offence Fourthly The fourth evidence beareth three points which require particulare answere 1. That no Covenant or band of that nature is warrantable without civill authoritie This exception hath been so fully answered from warrands of divine humane authority both ecclesiasticall civill from the practise of the godly of old from the example of our Religious progenitors from the continued subscription used in this Kirk and from the nature of the oath it self which is nationall that we trust all men who are not strangers to what we have written are satisfied to the full except the Prelats their adherents who are endlesse in their cavillations and craftily labour to bring us back again to the beginning of the controversie that they may if it were possible undoe what hath been done by us 2. That we have rejected the Covenant commanded by authoritie because commanded by authoritie The reasons not of our rejecting but of our modest with-holding of our subscription commanded by authoritie are at length set down in our publick and printed Protestations September 22. and December 18. in our answer to the Declaration made by his Majesties Commissioner and in the acts of the late Assembly which properly owneth the publick judgement and interpretation of the confession of Faith In all which it is found that the confession commanded by authoritie according to the meaning put upon it is in matters of Religion not only contrarie to our subscription in February but also to the confession as it was meant and professed in the year 1580 and therefore could not be subscribed by us except we would by manifold perjurie have made our selves transgressours and have brought upon our selves a farre greater weight of the wrath of God then the first was which by our subscription we laboured to avert and prevent Thirdly That our Covenant is a conspiracie against the King pretended to bee with God for doing the works of the devill This is a blasphemie to which we are sure neither the Kings Majestie nor any fearing God can be accessory and which addeth much to our confidence that the Lord hath ratified in heaven the curse pronounced upon the Prelates that he will reprove the words which hee hath heard uttered by them and that their work shall not prosper And therefore comforting our selves in the Lord our God who hath been pleased by so many signes and undenyable evidences to countenance and confirme our Covenant we bring against them no railing accusation but say The Lord that hath chosen Ierusalem rebuke them and save the King Lastly Our hostile preparations to invade England Against which as much hath been said and sworne by us in our late informations as we trust hath given satisfaction to all good subjects there although they had been so uncharitable which we will never beleeve as hastily to have embraced such reports Our best actions which ought to give to that kingdome greatest contentment will never by them be wrested to that sense And although the Prelates in the mood of despaire to recover their losses except by our ruine traduce us to be desperate hypocrites yet the event will bear witnesse that we have spoken as men fearing the great name of our God with whom we have reneued our Covenant and who when his time commeth will be avenged whither upon our hypocrisie or their calumnie Yet our enemies seeking the way to make suspicion where no cause is have given out That many and some of the chiefest amongst us are men of unquiet spirits and broken fortunes c. But in this they have been evil advised For suspicions among thoughts are by wisemen compared with bates among birds which flee not at the no one-day but in the time of twilight It is known by all who are acquainted with this Countrey that almost the whole Kingdome standeth to the defence of this cause and that the chiefest of the Nobles Barrons and Burgesses are honoured in the places where they live for Religion wisedome power and wealth answerable to the condition of this Kingdome that the meanest of the commons who have joyned in this cause are content of their meane estates with the enjoying of the Gospel and no lesse known that our adversaries are not for number any considerable part of the Kingdome and that the chiefest setting aside some few states-men such as draw their breath from court are known Athiests or professed Papists drowned in debt denounced his Majesties Rebels for a long time past are under caption of their creditours and have already in their imaginations divided amongst them the lands of the supplicants which they hope to be possessed in by the power of England But we hope that by this shift they may well be worse but they shall be no better In the meane time against all these calumnies the Lord from heaven hath looked upon the integritie of our hearts and in his wisedome hath found the way to clear our innocencie For beside our supplication to the Councel Ian. 13. for this end and our late information to England Feb. 4. we have the publick testimonie of the councel of the Kingdome to make it known A letter sent to England from one George Sterlin in Edinburgh with the advise of Iohn Sterlin commissar of Wigtoun both in neer relation to the late pretended B. of Galloway did come to our hands bearing what the Prelates now say this was exhibited to the councel Feb. 22. 28. with our complaint supplication attestation of the great name of God and our own consciences and offer of our subscription or any other meane of purgation to the contrare whereupon the Lords of privie councel sent up our supplication to the Kings Majestie with their own wherein they humbly supplicate lest upon such informations his Majestie should be more easily moved to think upon harder courses than he had heretofore been pleased to keep with his Majesties ancient and native kingdome and subjects that his Majestie in his
intentions are against this Kirk and kingdome and what birth may be looked for if divine providence by changing the heart of our King or by some other way known to himself make not an abortion or chock it in time For first through the incurable superstition and inveterate malice of the Prelats against the reformed religion declaration is made that by introducing the service book there was not the least thought of innovation of religion but meerly to have a conformity with the worship of God which is observed in both the other kingdomes though evil minded men have wrested somethings in it to a sinistrous sense Thus the service book is still no innovation of religion but by our sinistrous sense is made to seem so conformitie with the worship of GOD in other kingdomes is urged upon us as if we were tabularasa and had not a forme of worship established by the acts of the Kirk and laws of the kingdome meerly to have conformity is averred although the manifold litures and interlynings of the service book used in both the other kingdomes testifie the contrare by the hands of our own Prelates and of Canterburie himself Hence wee must pay for abusing the book and the book it self must in the own time be received Secondly through the pride and greed of our Prelates Episcopall government must be retained as it is established by acts of Parliament as known to the whole world to be most Christian in it self most peaceable for the civill estate most consonant to Monarchicall government and without which the Parliament will not stand compleat of three estates Although the truth is there be no act of Assembly nor of Parliament for that office in this kingdome that it is known to reformed Christendome rather to be antichristian in it self most prejudiciall to the peace of the civill estate and hath in all nations proven the most pernicious enemy to Monarchs and true Monarchicall government And that the Parliament hath been may be and is in the nature thereof compleat and perfect without this excrescence Hence Bishops we must have jure divino to serve the will of the Prince in the worship of GOD and these as lordly as ever before Thirdly No Covenant must be indured to which the Kings Majestie shall not consent and our Covenant only pretended to be with God that we may with better countenance do the works of the devill such as are treasons and rebellions Hence our Covenant can be no more endured then treason and rebellion and the Covenanters either renounce God so solemnly attested by them or punished as rebels and traitours Fourthly the question is conceived to bee no more about the service book and Episcopall government But whether the Kings Majestie shall bee our King or not And is determined that we have stricken at the very root of Kingly government vilified the regall power in his Majesties person and assumed it to our selves Fifthly it is declared that his Majestie is forced to take armes to establish and set his Kingly authority right here to make the best of us see that he will indure no such Covenant as we have made Hence resolution is taken and declared that for establishing the service book and episcopall government for abolishing of our Covenant and for being avenged on us as rebels and traitours his Majestie cometh in a hostile war with all the power that can be raised in England by all other meanes and by this Proclamation which is ordained to be reade in time of divine service in every Kirk within the kingdome for that effect Our part in this case is to resolve whither we will with sin and shame lie under the pressing weight of so many foule aspersions as rarely in the worst times have been laide upon Christians receive the service book as the only forme of divine worship which is declared by the Assembly to be a masse of errours superstition idolatry and antichristian tyrannie welcome home againe our Prelats and their abjured government condemne our reformers and the glorious work of reformation renounce our Covenant and be so many times perjured as we have sworne and subscribed the same losse all our labours and paines bestowed for so large a time in so good a cause open with our own hands a wide doore and by our example shew a brode way for the entring of Popery of all changes in religion hereafter lay a stumbling block in the Kings way to the kingdome of heaven and hinder the Queens conversion give offence to all the reformed Kirks who have been praying for us harden the hearts and strengthen the hands of all the enemies of the truth at home and abroad make our selves an odious spectacle to men and angels forget our bygone slavery and our wishes for redemption deny our own experience of the mercy truth and power of GOD so many times and so many wayes to our unspeakable comfort manifested this time by-past losse the posterity and the children that shall come after us who shall mourne in misery for our misdeeds make the faces of so many to blush and be ashamed because of us leave nothing but laments to our friends and jubilees of joy to our enemies interrupt the march of the LORD of hosts upon the earth and wrest his dis-played banner out of his hands pull the crown from the head of CHRIST our judge our lawgiver and our King grieve and resist the holy Ghost pull down the golden-candlestick and put out the light and bring all the plagues that are written in the book of GOD upon us so that all nations shall say wherefore hath the Lord done this unto this land What meaneth the heate of this his great anger Then men shall say because they have forsaken the Covenant of the Lord therefore are these evils come upon them A word of defection could no sooner come from our mouthes but the horrour of hell should enter in our souls Or rather on the contrary use the power which GOD hath put in our hands not for invading England or doing the smalest harme to any of the people of GOD who trouble not our peace cursed be the breasts that harbour such intentions and the hands that execute them but meerly for our own defence and safety against armed violence and unjust invasion And therefore where it is demanded in the Proclamation what we will defend we answere not our disobedience but our religion liberties and lives And where it is asked against whom we will defend Least our intentions or actions should be mistaken by such as are not acquainted with our case or misconstrued as contrary to the doctrine of sound divines or to the laudable practises of Christians of old or of late we desire that distinction may be made and difference put between the King resident in the Kingdome and by opening his ears to both parties rightly informed and the King farre from us in another kingdome hearing the one partie and mis-informed by our
adversaries Between the King as King proceeding royally according to the laws of the Kingdome against rebels and the King as a man comming down from his throne at the foote where of the humble supplication of his subjects lyeth unanswered marching furiously against his loyall and weal-meaning people Between a King who is a stranger to Religion and tyed no further but according to his own pleasure to the professours of Religion living in his dominions and our Kiug professing with us the same religion and obliged by his Fathers deed his own oath to desend us his own subjects our lives religion liberties laws Again difference would be put between some private persons taking armes for resistance inferiour Magistrats Iudges Councellors nobles Peeres of the land Parliament men Barrons Burgesses and the whole bodie of the Kingdome except some few either Courteours stats-men Papists or popishly affected and their adherents standing to their own defence Between subjects rising or standing out against law and reason that they may bee freed from the yoke of their obedience and a people holding fast their alledgeance to their Soveraigne and in all humilitie supplicating for Religion and justice between a people labouring by armes to introduce novations in Religon contrarie to the laws and a people seeking nothing so much as against all innovations to have the same Religion ratified which hath been professed since the reformation and hath not only been solemnely sworn long since by the Kings Majestie and by the whole Kingdome both of old and of late but also commanded by the Kings Majestie to be sworn by his Counsellours and commanded by his Councell to bee subscribed by all the people as it was professed at first Between a people pleading for their own phantasies and foolaries or inventions and a people suspending their judgement and practise about things controverted till they should be determined by a nationall Assembly the only proper and competent judicatorie and after determination receiving and standing for the conclusions of the Assembly Whither in this case and matters so standing wee shall stand to our own defence we are taught by the light and law of nature by the word of God in the old and new testament by the Covenant betwixt the people and God by the end for which Magistrates are ordained of God by our standing in our order and line of subordination under God the great Superiour when our immediate Superiours go out of their line order by the testimonies of the best divines and sound politicians and Lawyers even such as pleadmost contra Monarchomachos by the mutuall contract betwixt the King and the people at the Coronation by acts of Parliament and by the example of our own predicessours And now for our brethren and neighbours in England whose eares we suppose have been filled with this Proclamation in their particular Kirks From that honour which we ow unto authoritie as the ordinance of God and from the naturall and loyall affection which we bear unto our King and dread Soveraigne borne and baptized amongst us we are unfainedly and from our hearts grieved that first his sacred eares should be so farre possessed and next his royall Name so farre abused by wicked men as to receive and give way to so many absurd and incredible false calumnies against a whole Nation his own native Countrey and Kingdome It is too manifest how extremly pernitious and damnageable are calumnies especially universall ones of this kinde and therefore to represse them ought not any law or ordinance be spared that may serve to the purpose From that love which is due from us unto them to whom in verie many respects and by many strong bands naturall civill and spirituall we are sibber and more nearly joyned then to any other Nation or people on earth wee are heartily sorie that their Kirks and hearing are taken up with such discourses and would wonder at their credulitie if they should be beleeved by them yet because speeches may be the seminaries of sedition even amongst brethren who are at greatest distance when they have once begun to divide and discord we must intreat if with so wise a Nation there be any need of intreatie that they will not upon any declaration which they have heard be suddenly stirred to attempts against us to our mutuall hurt or with a golden hook to catch so small commodities as may bee hoped for in such a warre and by so doing make both Nations a mocking to strangers and this Yland which hath been blessed with so long a peace to be a field of blood and a prey to our common enemies who now for many years have been looking upon us with an evil eye and are still waiting for an evil houre that when they hear of any of our preparations for defence or of any of our actions which to us are so necessarie that without them our defence is impossible and wherein there is no wrong done or intended against them they will judge charitably of us and of our doings in such an exigent and extremity as this is and that they will wisely and christianly supposing our case to be their own make use of that common rule of equity what soever ye would that others did to you do ye even so to them That hereafter reports and declarations made against us by our enemies be not suddenly beleeved since the authours from the conscience of their own deceitfull dealing publish them amongst the English only who cannot controle the untruth of them and keep them up from the knowledge of this kingdome where they cannot abide the common light and triall every one of the commons knowing their forgerie and falshood And when any of them happen to come to our hands the difficultie and danger is so great in carying our answers and the true information as matters now stand unto their knowledge And that they will at last both poure forth their prayers to GOD and their supplications to the King in our behalf and if need be use their power for our lawfull defence against merce-naries and wicked men the sons of Beliall Are we not their own brethren their own flesh and bone Are we not all under one roof in one and the same shipe and members of one body Their religious progenitours at the time of reformation vouchsafed us their help and assistance for establishing the reformed religion neither have we so evill deserved nor are they so far degenerated as that we have reason to feare that we shall be deserted by them at this time the cause being the same the case not much different and the persons only changed Our salvation is common Let us together earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the Saints that mercy peace and love may be multiplied unto us Considering also how far our late actions against the persons of our greatest enemies and the chief strengths of the kingdome as of the castle of Edinburgh c.