CHARLES I. Parl. 3. Seff. 5.

An ACT of the Parliament of the kingdom of Scotland, approving and establishing the Directory for Public Worship.

T

At Edinburgh, Feb. 6. 1645.

HE Estates of Parliament now conveened, in the second Seffion of this first triennial Parliament, by virtue of the last act of the last Parliament holden by his Majesty and the Three Estates, in anno 1641; after the public reading, and serious confideration of the act under written of the General Affembly, approving the following Directory for the public worship of God, in the three kingdoms, lately united by the Solemn League and Covenant, together with the ordinance of the Parliament of England establishing the faid Directory, and the Directory itself; do heartily and cheerfully agree to the said Directory, according to the act of the General Assembly approving the fame. Which act, together with the Directory itself, the Estates of parliament do, without a contrary voice, ratify and approve in all the heads and articles thereof; and do interpone and add the authority of parliament to the said act of the General Aflembly. And do ordain the fame to have the strength and force of a law and act of parliament, and execution to pass thereupon, for observing the said Directory, according to the said act of the General Afsembly in all points.

ALEX. GIBSON, Cler. Registri.

ASSEMBLY at Edinburgh, Feb. 3. 1645. Seff. 10.

ACT of the General Assembly of the kirk of Scotland, for the establishing and putting in execution of the Directory for the Public Worship of God.

HEREAS

an happy unity, and uniformity in religion amongst

W the Kirks of Christ, in these three kingdoıns, united under one Sovereign, having been long and earnestly wished for, by the godly and well-affected amongst us, was propounded as a main article of the large treaty, without which band and bulwark, no fafe, well-grounded, and lafting peace, could be expected; and after. ward, with greater strength and maturity, revived in the Solemn League and Covenant of the three kingdoms; whereby they stand straitly obliged to endeavour the nearest uniformity in one form of Church-government, Directory of Worship, Confeffion of Faith, and form of Catechising: Which hath also before, and fince our entering into that Covenant, been the matter of many fupplications and remonftrances, and fending Commiffioners to the King's Majesty, of declarations to the Hon. Houses of the Parliament of England, and of letters to the Reverend Affembly of Divines, and others others of the ministry of the Kirk of England; being also the end of our fending Commiffioners, as was defired, from this Kirk, with commiffion to treat of uniformity in the four particulars afore-mentioned, with such committees as should be appointed by both Houses of Parliament of England, and by the Aflembly of Divines fitting at Westminster: And beside all this, it being, in point of confcience, the chief motive and end of our adventuring upon manifold and great hazards, for quenching the devouring flame of the present unnatural and bloody war in England, though to the weakening of this kingdom within itself, and the advantage of the enemy which have invaded it, accounting nothing too dear to us, so that this our joy be fulfilled. And now this great work being fo far advanced, that a Directory for the Public Worship of God in all the three kingdoms, being agreed upon by the Honourable Houses of the Parliament of England, after confultation with the Divines of both kingdoms there assembled, and fent to us for our approbation, that, being also agreed upon by this Kirk and kingdom of Scotland, it may be in the name of both kingdoms presented to the King, for his Royal consent and ratification: The General Afssembly having most seriously confidered, revised and examined the Directory afore-mentioned, after several public readings of it, after much deliberation, both publicly and in private committees, after full liberty given to all to object against it, and earnest invitations of all who have any fcruples about it, to make known the fame, that they might be fatisfied; doth unanimously, and without a contrary voice, agree to, and approve the following Directory, in all the heads thereof, together with the preface set before it: And doth require, decern and ordain, That according to the plain tenor and meaning thereof, and the intent of the preface, it be carefully and uniformly observed and practised by all the Minifters and others within this kingdom whom it doth concern; which practice shall be begun, upon intimation given to the several prefbyteries, from the Commiffioners of this General Affembly, who shall also take special care for timeous printing of this Directory, that a printed copy of it be provided and kept for the use of every Kirk in this kingdom; also, that each prefbytery have a printed copy thereof for their use, and take fpecial notice of the observation or neglect thereof in every congregation within their bounds, and make known the fame to the provincial or General Aflembly, as there shall be caufe. Provided always, that the clause in the Directory, of the administration of the Lord's fupper, which mentioneth the communicants fitting about the table, or at it, be not interpreted, as if, in the judgment of this Kirk, it were indifferent, and free for any of the communicants not to come to, and receive at the table; or as if we did approve the distributing of the elements by the Minister to each communicant, and not by the communicants among themselves. It is also provided, that this shall be no prejudice to the order and practice of this Kirk, in such particulars as are appointed by the books of discipline, and acts of General Aflemblies, and are not otherwife ordered and appointed in the Directory. Finally, the Affembly doth, with much joy and thankfulness, acknowledge the rich bleffing and invaluable mercy of God, in bringing the fo much wished for uniformity in religion to fuch a happy period, that these kingdoms, once at so great a distance in the form of worship, are now, by the bleffing of God, brought to a nearer uniformity than any other reformed kirks; which is unto us the return of our prayers, and a lightening of our eyes, and a reviving of our hearts in the midst of our many forrows and fufferings; a taking away, in a great meafure, the reproach of the people of God, to the stopping of the mouths of malignant and disaffected perfons; and an opening unto us a door of hope, that God hath yet thoughts of peace towards us, and not of evil, to give us an expected end; in the expectation and confidence whereof, we do rejoice; beseeching the Lord to preserve these kingdoms from herefies, schifms, offences, profaneness, and whatfoever is contrary to found doctrine, and the power of godliness; and to continue with us and the generations following, these his pure and purged ordinances, together with an increase of the power and life thereof, to the glory of his great Name, the enlargement of the kingdom of his Son, the corroboration of peace and love between the kingdoms, the unity and comfort of all his people, and our edifying one another in love.

THE

DIRECTORY

FOR THE

PUBLIC WORSHIP OF GOD.

THE PREFACE.

N the beginning of the blessed reformation, our wife and pious ancestors took care to fet forth an order for redress of many things, which they then, by the word, discovered to be vain, erroneous, fuperftitious, and idolatrous, in the public worship of God. This occafioned many godly and learned men to rejoice much in the Book of Common Prayer, at that time set forth; because the mass, and the rest of the Latin service being removed, the public worship was celebrated in our own tongue: many of the common people also received benefit by hearing the scriptures read in their own language, which formerly were unto them as a book that is fealed.

Howbeit, long and fad experience hath made it manifest, that the liturgy used in the Church of England, (notwithstanding all the the pains and religious intentions of the compilers of it), hath proved an offence, not only to many of the godly at home, but also to the reformed Churches abroad. For, not to speak of urging the reading of all the prayers, which very greatly increased the burden of it, the many unprofitable and burdensome ceremonies contained in it, have occafioned much michief, as well by disquieting the consciences of many godly Ministers and people, who could not yield unto them, as by depriving them of the ordinances of God, which they might not enjoy, without conforming or subscribing to those ceremonies. Sundry good christians have been, by means thereof, kept from the Lord's table; and divers able and faithful Minifters debarred from the exercise of their ministry, (to the endangering of many thousand fouls, in a time of fuch scarcity of faithful pastors), and spoiled of their livelihood, to the undoing of them and their families. Prelates, and their faction, have laboured to raise the estimation of it to fuch an height, as if there were no other worship, or way of worship of God, amongst us, but only the Service-book, to the great hinderance of the preaching of the word, and (in some places especially especially of late) to the justling of it out, as uneceffary, or, at beft, as far inferior to the reading of common prayer, which was made no better than an idol by many ignorant and fuperftitious people, who, pleasing themselves in their prefence at that service, and their liplabour in bearing a part in it, have thereby hardened themselves in their ignorance and carelessness of faving knowledge and true piety.

In the mean time, Papists beafted that the book was a compliance with them in a great part of their service; and so were not a little confirmed in their fuperftition and idolatry, expecting rather our return to thein, than endeavouring the reformation of themselves: in which expectation they were of late very much encouraged, when, upon the pretended warrantableness of impofing of the former cere. monies, new ones were daily obtruded upon the Church.

Add hereunto, (which was not foreseen, but fince hath come to pass), that the liturgy hath been a great means, as on the one hand to make and increase an idle and unedifying ministry, which contented itself with set forins made to their hands by others, without putting forth themselves to exercife the gift of prayer, with which our Lord Jesus Christ pleaseth to furnish all his servants whom he calls to that office: so, on the other fide, it hath been (and ever would be, if continued) a matter of endless strife and contention in the Church, and a fnare both to many godly and faithful Minifters, who have been perfecuted and filenced upon that occafion, and to others of hopeful parts, many of which have been, and more still would be, diverted from all thoughts of the ministry to other studies; efpecially in these latter times, wherein God vouchsafeth to his people more and better means for the discovery of error and superstition, and for attaining of knowledge in the mysteries of godliness, and gifts in preaching and prayer.

Upon these, and many the like weighty confiderations in reference to the whole book in general, and because of divers particulars contained in it, not from any love to novelty, or intention to difparage our first reformers, (of whom we are perfuaded, that, were they now alive, they would join with us in this work, and whom we acknowledge as excellent instruments, raifed by God, to begin the purging and building of his house, and defire they may be had of us and posterity in everlasting rememberance, with thankfulness and hohour); but that we may, in some meafure, anfwer the gracious providence of God, which at this time calleth upon us for further reformation, and may fatisfy our own confciences, and answer the expeсtation of other reformed Churches, and the defires of many of the godly among ourselves, and withal give fome public testimony of our endeavours for uniformity în divine worship, which we have promifed in our Solemn League and Covenant: we have, after earnest and frequent calling upon the name of God, and after much confultation, not with flesh and blood, but with his holy word, refolved to lay a fide the former liturgy, with the many rites and ceremonies formerly ufed in the worship of God; and have agreed upon this following Directory for all the parts of public worship, at ordinary and extra ordinary times...

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