:

ASSEMBLY at Edinburgh, August 30. 1639, Seff. 23.

Act ordaining, by Ecclefiaftical Authority, the Subscription of the CONFESSION OF FAITH and COVENANT, with the ASSEMBLY's Declaration.

T

HE General Aflembly confidering the great happiness which may flow from a full and perfect union of this kirk and kingdom, by joining of all in one and the fame Covenant with God, with the King's Majesty, and amongst ourselves; having, by our great oath, declared the uprightness and loyalty of our intentions in all our proceedings; and having withal fupplicated his Majefty's high commiffioner, and the lords of his Majesty's honourable privy council, to enjoin, by act of council, all the lieges in time coming to fubfcribe the Confeffion of Faith and Covenant; which, as a testimony of our fidelity to God, and loyalty to our King, we have fubfcribed: And seeing his Majesty's high commiffioner, and the lords of his Majesty's honourable privy council, have granted the defire of our fupplication, ordaining, by civil authority, all his Majesty's lieges, in time coming, to subscribe the forefaid Covenant: That our union may be the more full and perfect, we, by our act and conftitution ecclefiaftical, do approve the forefaid Covenant in all the heads and clauses thereof; and ordain of new, under all ecclefiaftical cenfure, That all the mafters of universities, colleges, and schools, all scholars at the passing of their degrees, all perfons suspected of Papistry, or any other error; and finally, all the members of this kirk and kingdom, fubfcribe the fame, with these words prefixed to their subscription, The article of this Covenant, which was at the fest subscription referred to the determination of the General Afflembly, being determined; and thereby the five articles of Perth, the government of the kirk by bishops, the civil places and power of kirkinen, upon the reafons and grounds contained in the acts of the General Affembly, declared to be unlawful within this kirk: We fubscribe according to the determination foresaid. And ordain the Covenant, with this declaration, to be infert in the registers of the Assemblies of this kirk, general, provincial, and prefbyterial, ad perpetuam rei memoriam. And in all humility fupplicate his Majesty's High Commiffioner, and the honourable Estates of parliament, by their authority, to ratify and enjoin the fame, under all civil pains; which will tend to the glory of God, preservation of religion, the King's Majesty's honour, and perfect peace of this kirk and kingdom.

CHARLES I. Parl. 2. Λει 5.

Act anent the ratification of the COVENANT, and of the Afsembly's Supplication, Act of Council, and Act of Affembly concerning the Covenant.

HE Estates of Parliament, presently convened by his Majesty's

1 fpecial authority, confidering the fupplication of the general

Aflembly at Edinburgh, the 12th of August 1639, to his Majesty's high commiffioner, and the lords of his Majesty's honourable privy council; and the act of council of the 30th of August 1639, containing the anfwer of the faid fupplication; and the act of the faid general Aflembly, ordaining, by their ecclesiastical constitution, the subscription of the Confeffion of Faith and Covenant mentioned in their fupplication: And withal, having fupplicated his Majesty to ratify and enjoin the fame by his royal authority, under all civil pains, as tending to the glory of God, the prefervation of religion, the King's Majefty's honour, and the perfect peace of this kirk and kingdom; do ratify and approve the faid fupplication, act of council, and act of Affembly; and, conform thereto, ordain and command the faid Confeffion and Covenant to be subscribed by all his Majesty's subjects, of what rank and quality foever, under all civil pains; and ordain the faid fupplication, act of council, and act of the Affembly, with the whole Confeffion and Covenant itfelf, to be infert and registrate in the acts and books of parliament; and also ordain the famen to be presented at the entry of every parliament, and, before they proceed to any other act, that the fame be publicly read, and sworn by the whole members of parliament, claiming voice therein; otherwise the refufers to fubscribe and swear the fame, shall have no place nor voice in parliament: And fuch like, ordain all judges, magiftrates, or other officers, of whatsoever place, rank, or quality, and minifters at their entry, to swear and subscribe the fame Covenant, whereof the tenor follows.

:

THE

NATIONAL COVENANT;

OR, THЕ

CONFESSION OF FAITH;

Subscribed at first by the King's Majesty, and his household, in the year 1580; thereafter by persons of all ranks in the year 1581, by ordinance of the Lords of fecret council, and acts of the general Assembly: Subscribed again by all forts of persons in the year 1590, by a new ordinance of council, at the defire of the general Affembly; with a general bond for the maintaining of the true Christian religion, and the King's perfon; and, together with a resolution and promise, for the causes after expressed, to maintain the true religion, and the King's Majesty, according to the foreJaid Confeffion and acts of parliament, fubfcribed by Barons, Nobles, Gent emen, Burgesses, Ministers, and Commons, in the year 1638: Approven by the general Assembly 1638 and 1639; and subscribed again by perJons of all ranks and qualities in the year 1639, by an ordinance of council, upon the fupplication of the general Assembly, and act of the general Assembly, ratified by an act of parliament 1640; and subscribed by King Charles II. at Spey, June 23. 1650, and Scoon, January

1651.

W E all and every one of us underwritten, protest, That, after long and due examination of our own confciences in matters of true and false religion, we are now throughly resolved in the truth by the word and Spirit of God: and therefore we believe with our hearts, confefs with our mouths, subscribe with our hands, and conftantly affirm, before God and the whole world, that this only is the true Christian faith and religion, pleasing God, and bringing salvation to man, which now is, by the mercy of God, revealed to the world by the preaching of the blessed evangel; and is received, believed, and defended by many and fundry notable kirks and realms, but chiefly by the kirk of Scotland, the King's Majefty and three eftates of this realm, as God's eternal truth, and only ground of our falvation; as more particularly is exprefied in the confeffion of our Faith, established and publicly confirmed by fundry acts of parliaments and now of a long time hath been openly profesled by the King's Majefty, and whole body of this realm both in burgh and land. To the which confeffion and form of religion we willing. ly agree in our confcience in all points, as unto God's undoubted truth and verity, grounded only upon his written word. And therefore we abhor and deteft all contrary religion and doctrine; but chiefly all kind of Papistry in general and particular heads, even as they are now damned and confuted by the word of God and kirk of Scotland. But in special we deteft and refuse the ufurped authority of that Roman Antichrift upon the scriptures of God, upon the kirk, the civil Magistrate, and confciences of men: all his tyrannous laws made upon indifferent things against our Christian liberty: his erroneous doctrine against the sufficiency of the written word, the perfection of the law, the office of Chrift, and his blesled evangel: His corrupted doctrine concerning original fin, our natural inability and rebellion to God's law, our juftification by faith only, qur imperfect fanctification and obedience to the law; the nature, number, and use of the holy facraments: His five bastard facra ments; with all his rites, ceremonies, and false doctrine, added to the ministration of the true facraments without the word of God: his cruel judgment against infants departing without the sacrament: Hiş absolute neceffity of baptifm: His blafphemous opinion of tranfubstantiation, or real prefence of Christ's body in the elements, and receiving of the fame by the wicked, or bodies of men: His difpenfations with folemn oaths, perjuries, and degrees of marriage forbidden in the word: His cruelty against the innocent divorced: His devilish mass: His blafphemous priesthood: His profane facrifice for sins of the dead and the quick: His canonization of men; calling upon angels or faints departed, worshipping of imagery, relics and croffes; dedicating of kirks, altars, days; vows to creatures: His purgatory, prayers for the dead; praying or speaking in a strange language; with his proceffions, and blafphemous litany, and multitude of advocates or mediators: His manifold orders, auricular confeffion: His defperate and uncertain repentance: His general and doubtsome faith: His fatisfactions of men for their fins: His juftification by works, cpus operatum, works of fupererogation, merits, pardons, peregrinations, and stations; his holy water, baptizing of bells, conjuring of spirits, croffing, sayning, anointing, conjuring, hallowing of God's good creatures, with the fuperftitious opinion joined therewith: His worldly monarchy, and wicked hierarchy: His three solemn vows, with all his shavellings of fundry forts: His erroneous and bloody decrees made at Trent, with all the subscribers or approvers of that cruel and bloody band, conjured against the kirk of God. And finally, we detest all his vain allegories, rites, figns, and traditions brought in the kirk, without or against the word of God, and doctrine of this true reformed kirk; to the which we join ourselves willingly, in doctrine, faith, religion, difcipline, and use of the holy facraments, as lively members of the fame in Christ our Head: Promifing and swearing, by the great name of the LORD our GOD, that we shall continue in the obedience of the doctrine and difcipline of this kirk*, and shall defend the fame, according to

* The Confeffion which was subscribed at Halyrud-house, the 25th of February 1587-8, by the king, Lennox, Huntly, the chancellor, and about 95 0ther perfons, hath bere added. "agreeing to the word." Sir John Maxwell of pollock hath the original parchment.

our vocation and power, all the days of our lives; under the pains contained in the law, and danger both of body and foul in the day of God's fearful judgment.

And feeing that many are ftirred up by Satan, and that Roman Antichrist, to promise, swear, subscribe, and for a time use the holy facraments in the kirk deceitfully, against their own confcience; minding hereby, firft, under the external cloke of religion, to cor rupt and fubvert fecretly God's true religion within the kirk; and afterward, when time may ferve, to become open enemies and perfecutors of the fame, under vain hope of the Pope's difpenfation, devifed against the word of God, to his greater confufion, and their double condemnation in the day of the Lord Jefus: We therefore, willing to take away all fufpicion of hypocrify, and of fuch double dealing with God and his kirk, protest, and call the Searcher of all hearts for witness, that our minds and hearts do fully agree with this our confeffion, promife, oath, and fubfcription: So that we are not moved with any wordly refpect, but are perfuaded only in our conscience, through the knowledge and love of God's true religion imprinted in our hearts by the holy Spirit, as we shail answer to him in the day when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclofed.

And because we perceive, that the quietness and stability of our religion and kirk doth depend upon the fafety and good behaviour of the King's Majesty, as upon a comfortable inftrument of God's mercy granted to this country, for the maintaining of his kirk, and ministration of justice amongst us; we protest and promife with our hearts, under the fame oath, hand-writ, and pains, that we shall defend his perfon and authority with our goods, bodies, and lives, in the defence of Christ his evangel, liberties of our country, ministration of justice, and punishment of iniquity, against all enemies within this realm or without, as we defire our God to be a strong and merciful defender to us in the day of our death, and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory eternally. Amen.

LIKEAS many acts of parliament, not only in general do abro gate, annul, and refcind all laws, statutes, acts, conftitutions, canons eivil or municipal, with all other ordinances, and practique penal ties whatfoever made in prejudice of the true religion, and profef fors thereof; or of the true kirk, discipline, jurifdiction, and freedom thereof; or in favours of idolatry and fuperftition, or of the papistical kirk: As, Act 3. Act 31. Parliament r. Act 23 Parl. 11. Act 114. Parl. 12. of King James VI. That papiftry and fuperftition may be utterly fuppreffed, according to the intention of the acts of parliament, repeated in the 5th Act, Parl. 20. King James VI. And to that end they ordain all Papists and priests to be punished with manifold civil and ecclefiaftical pains, as adverfaries to God's true religion, preached, and by law established within this realm, Act 24. Parl. 11. King James VI. as common enemies to all Chrifti, an government, Act 18. Parl. 16 king James VI. as rebellers and gainftanders of our fovereign Lord's authority, Act 47. Parl. 3. King

James