Assembly at EDINBURGH, August 30, 1639, Sess. 23.

ACT ordaining, by Ecclesiastical Authority, the Subscrip

tion of the Confession of Faith and Covenant, with the Assembly's Declaration.

TH
HE General Assembly considering the great happiness whieh may flow

from a full and perfect union of this kirk and kingdom, by joining of all in one and the same 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 supplicated his Majesty's high Commissioner, and the Lords of his Majesty's honourable privy council, to enjoin, by act of council, all the lieges in time coming to subscribe the Confession of Faith and Covenant; which, as a testimony of our fidelity to God, and loyalty to our King, we have subscri. bed: And seeing his Majesty's high Commissioner, and the Lords of his Majesty's honourable privy council, have granted the desire of our supplication, ordaining, by civil authority, all his Majesty's lieges, in time coming, to subscribe the foresaid Covenant : that our union may be the more full and perfect, we, by our act and constitution ecclesiastical, do approve the foresaid Covenant in all the heads and clauses thereof; and ordain of new, under all ecclesiastical censure, That all the masters of universities, colleges, and schools, all scholars at the passing of their de. grees, all persons suspected of Papistry, or any other error; and finally, all the members of this kirk and kingdom, subscribe the same, with these words prefixed to their subscription, “ The Article of this covenant, which was at the first subscription referred to the determination of the General Assembly, being determined; and thereby the five articles of Perth, the government of the kirk bay bishops, the civil places and power of kirkmen, upon the reasons and grounds contained in the Acts of the General Assembly, declared to be unlawful within this kirk; We subscribe accord. ing to the determination foresaid." And ordain the Covenant, with this declaration, to be insert in the registers of the Assemblies of this kirk, general, provincial, and presbyterial, ad perpetuam rei memoriam. And in all humility supplicate his Majesty's high Commissioner, and the honour. able Estates of Parliament, by their authority, to ratify and enjoin the same, under all civil pains ;* which will tend to the glory of God, preser. vation of religion, the King's Majesty's honour, and perfect peace of this kirk and kingdom.

" As to what may be called the civil part of these covenants, it is what we neither have, "nor ever had, any thing to do with, Nothing of that kind has a place in the bond which

our brethren in Scotland and Ireland « use in covenanting. They judged it improper to mix civil and religious matters in such covenants,

and we are of the same mind with them." Testim, of the Assoc. Synod, p. 151.-See particularly Scotch Testimony, p. 159

1

CHARLES I. Parl. 2. Act 5.

ACT anent the Ratification of the COVENANT, and of the

Assembly's Supplication, Act of Council, and Act of Assembly concerning the Covenant.

A EDINBURGH, June 11, 1640.

TH

HE Estates of Parliament, presently convened by his

Majesty's special authority, considering the supplication of the General Assembly at Edinburgh, the 12th of August 1639, to his Majesty's -high Commissioner, and the Lords of his Majesty's honourable privy council; and the act of council of the 30th of August 1639, containing the answer of the said supplication; and the act of the said General Assembly, ordaining, by their ecclesiastical constitution, the subscription of the Confession of Faith and Covenant mentioned in their supplication: and withal, having supplicated his Majesty to ratify and enjoin the same hy his royal authority, under all civil pains, as tending to the glory of God, the preservation of religion, the King's Majesty's honour, and the perfect peace of this kirk and kingdom; de ratify and approve the said supplication, act of Council, and act of Assembly; and, conform thereto, ordain and command the said Confession and Covenant to be subscribed by all his Majesty's subjects, of what rank and quality soever, under all civil pains; and ordain the said supplication, act of Council, and act of the Assembly, with the whole Confession and Covenant itself, to be insert and registrate in the acts and books of parliament; and also ordain the samen to be presented at the entry of every parliament, and, before they proceed to any other act, that the same be publickly read, and sworn by the whole members of parliament claiming voice therein ; otherwise the refusers to subscribe and swear the same shall have no place por voice in parliament: And sicklike, ordain all judges, magistrates, or other officers, of whatsoever place, rank, or quality, and ministers at their entry, to swear and subscribe the samen Covenant, whereof the tenor follows.

THE

NATIONAL COVENANT,

OR, THE

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 secret council, and acts of the General Assembly : subscribed again by all sorts of persons in the year 1590, by a new ordinance of council, at the desire of the General Assembly; with a general bond for the maintaining of the true Christian religion, and the King's person ; 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 foresaid Confession and acts of Parliament, subscribed by Barons, Nobles, Gentlemen, Burgesses, Ministers, and Commons, in the year 1638: approven by the General Assembly 1638 and 1639; and subscribed again by persons of all ranks and qualities in the year 1639, by an ordinance of council, upon the supplication 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 1, 1651.

TE all and every one of us under-written, protest, That

ces 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, confess with our mouths, subscribe with our hands, and constantly 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 sundry notable kirks and realms, but chiefly by the kirk of Scotland, the King's Majesty, and the three estates of this realm,

as God's eternal truth, and only ground of our salvation; orders ; a as more particularly is expressed in the Confession of our repentanc Faith, established and publickly confirmed by sundry acts of tions of Parliaments, and now of a long time hath been openly pro operatum fessed by the King's Majesty, and whole body of this realm grination both in burgh and

land. To the which Confession and Form conjuring of Religion we willingly agree in our conscience in all points, hallowing as unto God's undoubted truth and verity, grounded only opinion upon his written word. And therefore we abhor and de- hierarchy test all contrary religion and doctrine ; but chiefly all kind sundry s of Papistry in general and particular heads, even as they are Trent, wi now damned * and confuted by the word of God and Kirk bloody ba of Scotland. But, in special, we detest and refuse the usurp, we detest ed authority of that Roman Antichrist upon the scriptures brought i of God, upon the kirk, the civil magistrates, and conscien, and doctr ces of men ; all his tyrannous laws made upon indifferent join ours things against our Christian liberty; his erroneous doctrino pline, and against the sufficiency of the written word, the perfection of the same the law, the office of Christ, and his blessed evangel, his the great corrupted doctrine concerning original sin, our natural ina tipue in

t bility and rebellion to God's law, our justification by faith kirk, # an only, our imperfect sanctification and obedience to the laws and powe the naturc, number, and use of the holy sacraments ; his tained in

: five bastard sacraments, with all his rites, ceremonies, and day of G false doctrine, added to the ministration of the true sacra. And si ments without the word of God; his cruel judgment against Roman A infants departing without the sacrament; his absolute neces time use sity of baptism; his blasphemous opinion of transubstantia their own tion, or real presence of Christ's body in the elements, and ternal receiving of the same by the wicked, or bodies of men; his God's tr dispensations with solemn oaths, perjuries, and degrees of time may marriage forbidden in the word; his cruelty against the in the same nocent divorced ; his devilish mass; his blasphemous priesterised

; hood ; his profane sacrifice for sins of the dead and the their do quick; his canonization of men ; calling upon angels or we there saints departed, worshipping of imagery, relicks, and cross-land of es; dedicating of kirks, altars, days ; vows to creatures ; his and call purgatory, prayers for the dead; praying or speaking in aand hea strange language, with his processions and blasphemous lita- oath, ny, and multitude of advocates or mediators ; his manifold worldly

ago

That is, condemned. See the explanatory notes on this covenant in the Testimony of the The Con Associate Church, p. 141, &c. &c.

King, Ler i agresin