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<DATE>2007-05-23</DATE>
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<NAME>Emma Leeson Huber</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P><HI>AN</HI> ANSWER BY LETTER TO A WORTHY GENTLEMAN Who de&s;ired of a Divine &s;ome rea|&s;ons by which it might appeare how Incon&s;i&s;tent PRESBYTERIALL GOVERNMENT IS WITH <HI>MONARCHY.</HI> In which the Platforme of that Go|vernment is briefly delineated, with the tenents and &s;uitable practi&s;es thereof. And withall it is de|mon&s;trated, that it is incon&s;i&s;tent with any govern|ment what&s;oever; is full of Faction, Sedition and Trea&s;on; an enemy to all Peace, Dome&s;ticall, Neighbourly, Brotherly, &amp;c. again&s;t Soveraigne authority, authority of all Iudges, and Iudicatories, entrenching upon all &s;o farre, as there can be no li|berty of Per&s;on, Trade, Commerce or Propriety, but at their plea&s;ure who bear &s;way therein.</P>
<P>Printed, <HI>Anno</HI> 1644.</P>
</DIV1>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<OPENER><SALUTE>Sir,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_YE&s;terday you de&s;ired me to give you &s;ome proofes, by which it may ap|peare how incon&s;i&s;tent Presbyteri|all Government is with Monarchie. You were plea&s;ed to tell me that &s;ome good and worthy men doe de&s;ire to be &s;atisfied in this point.</P>
<P>It &s;eemeth the&s;e men doe not think that <HI>Presbyteriall Government</HI> is de&s;tructive of the true nece&s;&s;ary and perpetuall Government of the Church, which is Epi&s;copacie: in&s;tituted by Chri&s;t, propagated by his Apo&s;tles, and continued by uninterrupted Practice above 1500 yeares in the Church, and to this day retai|ned in the greate&s;t part of the Chri&s;tian world. We de|ceive our &s;elves, to promi&s;e or expect to King or King|dome, Prince or Subject, Peace and &s;afety, or deliverance from our troubles and di&s;tre&s;&s;es, if we &s;ubordinate Fun|damentalls in Religion, nece&s;&s;ary truths, of faith, wor&s;hip and government, to our publique or private civill good. Nor am I able to expre&s;&s;e how high an Impietie it is, at this time when God's hand is out again&s;t us ju&s;tly for our &s;innes, to be &s;o di&s;po&s;ed and fixed upon a re&s;olution, that to redeem externall Peace, we will embrace any Govern|ment
<PB N="2" REF="3">
of the Church, provided it be con&s;i&s;tent with Mo|narchy: and will not &s;cruple, not onely to &s;hake off the true and nece&s;&s;ary government in&s;tituted by our Lord, but by Law, endeavor by highe&s;t authority to condemne it as Antichri&s;tian. If this be <HI>not to frame mi&s;chiefe by a Law,</HI> I know not what is. If this provoke not more wrath, more vengeance, make not the Land &s;pew us all out, I am infinitely deceived. We may promi&s;e to our &s;elves that by &s;uch a cour&s;e we may &s;ay like to the man in the Go&s;|pell, <HI>Soule take thy rest for many dayes,</HI> but it feareth me the &s;ucce&s;&s;e and event &s;hall be much like to his ca&s;e. Sir, I pray you con&s;ider what Peace hath King or Kingdome enjoyed here or in <HI>Ireland,</HI> &s;ince Epi&s;copacy in <HI>Scotland</HI> by Law was damned, and the Presbyterian Anarchie (the Seminarie of all fude Faction and Rebellion as will ap|peare by what en&s;ueth) by Law and Supreme authority e&s;tabli&s;hed.</P>
<P>I cannot di&s;&s;emble, but to a man of your worth and Integritie I mu&s;t unfold my &s;elfe: I admire to &s;ee too too many among&s;t us here (where is great plenty of able Gentlemen of excellent learning, worth, wit, and all other perfections &amp; endowments, as in any Nation be&s;ides) to be &s;o prepared that they are too too inclinable, if not actu|ally re&s;olved, to admit and authorize in this Kingdom and Church what they know not: and to for&s;ake that happy Native proper government of the Church, the &s;weet fruits of which they have reaped &s;o many yeares to the admira|tion, if not envy, of other Kingdomes, States and Church|es. This is <HI>Samaritan-like</HI> to <HI>wor&s;hip that we know not.</HI> Or Athenian-like to con&s;ecrate an Altar and to &s;acrifice <HI>to an</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> <HI>unknowne God.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 17.</NOTE></P>
<P>Your worth and noble favours oblige me &s;o much to
<PB N="3" REF="3">
you, that I cannot chu&s;e but obey your command. And for your &s;atisfaction, I pre&s;ent you with a &s;hort view (as in a Mappe) of Presbyteriall Government: give you a little touch of their Maximes, and &s;uitable Practices, and that with as much truth and hone&s;ty as your goodne&s;&s;e expects from me. By which it will be more then appa|rent, that <HI>Presbyterie,</HI> as it is at this day &s;omewhere with|in His Maje&s;ties Dominions, is not onely <HI>incon&s;istent</HI> but al&s;o <HI>de&s;tructive of Monarchie;</HI> And where it obtaineth, it di&s;turbeth the quiet and peace publique and private of King and Kingdome. This is that you de&s;ire, and to &s;a|tisfie you, to this I confine my &s;elfe.</P>
<P>This Presbyteriall government within it's verge hath foure Iudicatories. 1. <HI>A Parochiall Se&s;sion.</HI> 2. <HI>A Pre&s;|byteriall Con&s;istorie.</HI> 3. <HI>A Provinciall Synod.</HI> 4. <HI>A Ge|nerall A&s;&s;embly.</HI> The <HI>Parochiall Se&s;sion</HI> moveth in the lowe&s;t Sphere. The Generall A&s;&s;embly is the <HI>Primum mobile,</HI> the highe&s;t Orbe, which carrieth all with it's mo|tion, although the re&s;t have their proper and &s;pecifick motions. The other two are in the middle, and interjected Orbes. I &s;hall begin at the lowe&s;t Iudicatorie, and &s;o &s;hall orderly a&s;cend to the Supreams.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Of the Parochiall Se&s;sion.</HEAD>
<P>EVery Pari&s;h hath one or more Mini&s;ters. If more, all <NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Of the Se&s;&s;ion, hovv and of vvhom con&s;tituted.</NOTE> of them are equall in all honour and juri&s;diction, one|ly the Senior hath the precedencie. To the Mini&s;ter, or Mini&s;ters of each Pari&s;h, to make up a Se&s;&s;ion, in which is fixed the Parochiall Iuri&s;diction, a competent number of <HI>Lay-Elders,</HI> (whom they call, <HI>presbyteri non docentes)</HI> and Deacons, proportionable to the precinct and extent of the
<PB N="4" REF="4">
Pari&s;h, are conjoyned: which a&s;&s;ociate body thus com|pacted, is the <HI>Spirituall-Parochiall-Sanhedrim.</HI></P>
<P>This Se&s;&s;ion &s;its once a week, or oftner, <HI>pro re nat&acirc;:</HI> In which <HI>all Parochiall ca&s;es,</HI> which concerne <HI>externall or|der and cen&s;ure,</HI> are determined and ordered.</P>
<P>If there be but one Mini&s;ter in the Pari&s;h, he is <HI>con&s;tant</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Mini&s;ter is Moderator.</NOTE> <HI>Moderator;</HI> If there be more, they moderate by turnes, either weekly, or monthly, as they agree.</P>
<P>What&s;oever thing is ordered, determined, or decreed, <NOTE PLACE="marg">He hath no Negative Voyce.</NOTE> is done by the joynt-con&s;ents of the <HI>Mini&s;ter, Lay-Elders, and Deacons,</HI> or by the plurality of voyces. The Mini&s;ter, who is the Moderator, hath <HI>no casting, no Negative Voyce.</HI></P>
<P>The power of all Iuri&s;diction, is <HI>radically,</HI> and <HI>equally</HI> in all: for binding, for loo&s;ing, for all cen&s;ures Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|call, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Iuri&s;di|ction &s;piritu|all is radically in the Lay-Elders.</NOTE> for orders which concerne externall order and wor|&s;hip. So the <HI>Power of the Keyes</HI> is as much in the <HI>Lay-Elders,</HI> and Deacons, as in the Mini&s;ter or Mini&s;ters. What &s;acrilegious intru&s;ion upon &s;acred Orders this is, I need not informe one of your under&s;tanding.</P>
<P>To make this frame good, they maintaine that <HI>Iure divino</HI> there be foure orders of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall offices, (al|low <NOTE PLACE="marg">Their foure &s;acred Or|des.</NOTE> me to &s;peake in this Epi&s;tle all along their dialect) or per&s;ons. 1. <HI>Preaching-Elders,</HI> whom they call Mini&s;ters. 2. <HI>Doctors,</HI> the&s;e are profe&s;&s;ors in the Chaire, &s;uch as are in Vniver&s;ities. 3. <HI>Lay,</HI> or ruling-Elders, who now have <HI>vocem deliberativam &amp; deci&s;ivam in rebus fidei, Cul|t&ucirc;s, politiae,</HI> and <HI>in foro exteriori Eccle&s;iae, in cen&s;uris Ec|cle&s;iasticis</HI> are as much intere&s;&s;ed and authorized, as Prea|ching-Elders. 4. <HI>Deacons,</HI> who have tru&s;t of the meanes, and monies de&s;tinated for pious and charitable u&s;es.</P>
<P>This is very con&s;iderable too, that although they hold the&s;e foure orders and offices nece&s;&s;ary for the Govern|ment
<PB N="5" REF="4">
of Chri&s;t's Church, <HI>de Iure divino,</HI> by divine Right and In&s;titution; yet neither the Parochiall Conclave, nor any Presbyteriall Con&s;i&s;tory (except it be where the Presbyteriall &s;eat is in a City where an Univer&s;ity is) have any Doctor or Doctors among&s;t them. Nay which is more, nor be any &s;uch in their generall A&s;&s;emblies, or if they be, they appeare only in that capacity as Commi&s;&s;io|ners from, and for the Vniver&s;ity.</P>
<P>It is worth your notice taking, that their Lay-Elders <NOTE PLACE="marg">This yeare they are &s;a|ered, the next yeare pro|phane.</NOTE> and Deacons are yearely elected. Here is truly verified of them, that, <HI>Hodie Clericus, cras La&iuml;cus.</HI></P>
<P>The things within the compa&s;&s;e of <HI>Se&s;sion-juri&s;diction,</HI> are, things meerly Parochiall, the ordering of the Pari&s;h-Church <NOTE PLACE="marg">The compe|tent ca&s;es of this Se&s;&s;ion.</NOTE> and peculiar Service, the cen&s;ure of le&s;&s;er Scan|dalls (I mu&s;t &s;peak their words) as Fornication, Drun|kenne&s;&s;e, Scolding, Profanation of the Sabboth (they mean <HI>the Lords day)</HI> &amp;c. Capitall Scandalous crimes, or Scandalls of Highe&s;t &s;traine, are re&s;erved as ca&s;es of pe|culiar juri&s;diction for <HI>the Presbytery;</HI> as al&s;o le&s;&s;er offences when they are attended with <HI>Obstinacy,</HI> and what is cen&s;u|rable or puni&s;hable by the <HI>greater Excommunication.</HI> If I mi&s;take not, they know not much, at lea&s;t u&s;e not much the <HI>Le&s;&s;er Excommunication.</HI> In the ca&s;es above mentio|ned the Cognition, Examination, and Iudgement of the cau&s;e is proper to the <HI>Presbytery,</HI> the Mini&s;ter with his <HI>Parochiall Conclave,</HI> are only the <HI>Executioners.</HI> If any pa|rochiall difficult ca&s;e occurre, which this <HI>Parochiall Sanhe|drim</HI> cannot determine, the u&s;e is to con&s;ult with <HI>the Pre&s;|bytery.</HI></P>
<P>When the <HI>Se&s;sion</HI> cen&s;ureth any delinquent, or Scan|dalous <NOTE PLACE="marg">They enjoyn civill puni&s;h|ments and &s;ines.</NOTE> per&s;on, they order his publique and Solemne re|pentance (if by &s;ome &s;uperiour judicatorie it be not de|termined)
<PB N="6" REF="5">
as they think fit by plurality of voyces: after performance of which order, the penitent is received into the communion of the Church. But before the delin|quent be admitted to doe his Repentance, he is fined in a <HI>pecuniary mulct,</HI> at their di&s;cretion, proportioned to the <HI>demerit of the offence,</HI> and the <HI>ability of the Per&s;on,</HI> as he is poorer or richer. It is true, this mony is, for the mo&s;t part, imployed to pious and charitable u&s;es. As they pu|ni&s;h by Pecuniary fines, &s;o <HI>corporally</HI> too, by impri&s;oning the per&s;ons of the Delinquents u&s;ing them di&s;gracefully, carting them through Cities, making them &s;tand in <HI>Iogges,</HI> as they call them, Pillaries, (which in the Country Chur|ches are fixed to the two &s;ides of the main doore of the Pari&s;h Church) cutting the halfe of their Haire, &s;having their Beards, &amp;c. and it is more then ordinary, by their <HI>Originall</HI> and <HI>Proper power,</HI> to bani&s;h them out of the bounds and limits of the Pari&s;h, or Presbytery, as they li&s;t to order it. Is not this <HI>potest as utriu&s;&abque; gladii?</HI> &amp; would not a good Learned Iuri&s;t &s;ay, that this is not only intru|&s;ion upon <HI>meeriy civill power,</HI> but upon the very Royall Rights them&s;elves? The Imperiall Law, if I be not mi&s;ta|ken, maketh <HI>bani&s;hment</HI> &s;o peculiar to the Soveraign Au|thority, that without it's power and con&s;ent, it cannot be inflicted upon any <HI>civis,</HI> any Subject.</P>
<P>Their ordinary practice more in this is; that when a <NOTE PLACE="marg">They will not bapti&s;e the child, if ei|ther of the pa|rents have not payed the fine or &s;atisfied the Church.</NOTE> pecuniary mulct is inflicted, if the delinquent pay not the defined and determined &s;umme, or at lea&s;t give &s;ecurity for the payment of it, although he &s;hould te&s;tify all the contrition is requi&s;ite, by humble confe&s;&s;ion, and offer mo&s;t willingly to doe all pennance, to give all &s;atisfaction, he will not be admitted to &s;atisfy publikely: nay he is pro|ceeded again&s;t for <HI>Contumacie,</HI> and they will threaten Excommunication.</P>
<P><PB N="7" REF="5">
Nor is that to be pa&s;&s;ed by, that if a Child be borne <HI>in Fornication,</HI> and either of the Parents hath not &s;atisfied the Church; they will refu&s;e to Bapti&s;e the poor infant, till the Church get &s;atisfaction. This is con&s;onant with Scripture, <HI>anima quae peccaverit, ip&s;a moriotur.</HI> It is fit now in the next place to &s;peak of</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The Presbyterie.</HEAD>
<P>VVHich is the next Iudicatory, to which the Se&s;&s;i|on is &s;ubordinate. It hath in it &s;omewhere more, &s;omewhere fewer Pari&s;h-Churches; as &s;ome are made up of Twenty, &s;ome of Twelve, &s;ome of fewer.</P>
<P>All per&s;ons within the&s;e Pari&s;hes, within the precinct of this Presbyterie, of what quality &s;oever (the King, or His family herein are not exempted; nay nor from the ju|ri&s;diction of His Parochiall Se&s;&s;ion) are under the power and juri&s;diction of this <HI>grand Con&s;istory.</HI></P>
<P>The members Con&s;tituents of this Presbytery are all <NOTE PLACE="marg">The membe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> con&s;tituents of the Pre&s;|byterie.</NOTE> the Parochiall Mini&s;ters within its compa&s;&s;e, and a Lay-Elder for each Pari&s;h. The Lay-Elders are in number e|quall to the Preaching Elders; and in power, voyce, Iuri&s;|diction, in Haere&s;ie, Idolatry, Wor&s;hip, Cen&s;ure, &amp;c. are <HI>par<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> con&s;ortio honoris &amp; pote&s;tatis praediti,</HI> are &s;o equall and un<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">me, that a Plowman from the Plow, or a Trade&s;man from his &s;hop, &s;itting there in the capacity of a Lay-Elder, his voyce is as good as the voyce of the mo&s;t Reverend and Learned Divine, if any be there. They maintain a parity in all, only a little difference in this, that a Lay-Elder cannot be Moderator. Yet have they no Ca|non for it. And we are able to prove by their books, that men who were never in Sacred Orders of Prie&s;t or Bi|&s;hop, have been Moderators, not only of their Presbyte|rie,
<PB N="8" REF="6">
but of their &s;o much <HI>Idolized Generall A&s;&s;embly.</HI> M^r <HI>Robert Yoole,</HI> who was never Prie&s;t, nor Deacon, onely Reader in S^t <HI>Andrews,</HI> was in one turne, for a yeare, or halfe a yeare, or &s;ome la&s;ting time, Moderator of the Pte&s;|byterie of Saint <HI>Andrews,</HI> and M^r <HI>George Buchanan,</HI> who was never Church-man, and M^r <HI>Andrew Melvil</HI> who had never the Order of Deacon, both of them have been Mo|derators of their <HI>great Generall A&s;&s;embly.</HI></P>
<P>The ca&s;es proper to this Iudicatory, are fir&s;t, &s;uch as <NOTE PLACE="marg">The ca&s;es proper to it.</NOTE> are from every individuall Pari&s;h within its compa&s;&s;e re|ferred, or pre&s;ented. 2. All crimes and &s;candalls of highe&s;t &s;traine, namely &s;uch as are civilly puni&s;hable by death. 3. All crimes which come under the cen&s;ure of Excommunication. 4. All appeales from Se&s;&s;ions. 5. All differences which cannot be compo&s;ed or determined in the <HI>Parochiall Conclave.</HI> 6. The vi&s;itation and cen&s;ure of all what is ami&s;&s;e in every Pari&s;h, either in Preacher or o|ther. 7. The appoynting of Readers, and Schoolema&s;ters.</P>
<P>They meet once a week in &s;ome places, in other places only once a fort-night. All the mini&s;ters in their &s;everall <NOTE PLACE="marg">The time of meeting.</NOTE> turnes, at their meeting <HI>Exerci&s;e,</HI> as they call it; that is, there is appoynted by the Presbyterie, &s;ome one book of old, or new New Te&s;tament, which every one by turnes in his own cour&s;e interpreteth in the Pari&s;h Church, where the Presbytery doth meet. Two alwaies &s;peak, the fir&s;t from the Readers Desk or Pew; the other, in &s;ome other place di&s;tant from him, but convenient for hearing. The fir&s;t Analy&s;eth, Interpreteth, and taketh away the doubts of his Text; and (as they enjoyne) he is bound to the <HI>do|ctorall part.</HI> The &s;econd, when the fir&s;t hath done, addeth to what is &s;aid: hath a warrant to &s;upply the defects, or correct the errors of the fir&s;t &s;peaker; but e&s;pecially his
<PB N="9" REF="6">
charge is the <HI>Pastorall part,</HI> to apply the text, and bring it home to the affections.</P>
<P>There be Ingredients in this <HI>Exerci&s;e,</HI> &s;uch as God's Church before this late age never knew, a kind of Crea|tures <NOTE PLACE="marg">Lay Prea|chers.</NOTE> whom they call <HI>Expectants.</HI> The&s;e are &s;tudents in Divinity, or Country Schoole-ma&s;ters, or &s;uch youths who are bred with &s;ome <HI>Gamaliel;</HI> who after that they have given their private trialls, by Preaching and di&s;pute, are enrolled <HI>Expectants</HI> of &s;uch, or &s;uch a Presbyterie. The&s;e mu&s;t keep their turnes in Exerci&s;ing, and adding (as they call it) with the actuall Mini&s;ters, (&s;o they call them) and once admitted to that Presbyterie, may, when|&s;oever employed, Preach in any Pari&s;h Church within the bounds of that Presbyterie, doe all <HI>Ministeriall acts,</HI> except Baptize, or give the Sacrament of the Lords Sup|per, (for ought I know, there is no Con&s;ecration u&s;ed by them in that holy action, but a meere thank&s;giving) nay they may be con&s;tant helpers, and Copreachers with a Rabbie, if hee, the Pari&s;h, and Presbytery agree to it. I pray you &s;hew me where ever you read of &s;uch a profa|nation, that a Lay-man without Orders, Impo&s;ition of hands, &s;hall be a publique Preacher of God's word, and intrude upon this Sacred Function. The&s;e, for the mo&s;t part, were the <HI>Beardle&s;&s;e Boyes</HI> King <HI>Iames,</HI> of ble&s;&s;ed me|mory, mentioneth in the conference at <HI>Hampton Court, Who would brave him to his face.</HI> pag. 4.</P>
<P>Within one County there may be two, or three, more or fewer Presbyteries, according as there be more or fewer Pari&s;h-Churches; and yet all the&s;e Presbyteries are independant one from another: only it is remarkable, that the Presbyterie of <HI>Edenburgh,</HI> becau&s;e (as they &s;peak) <HI>it is &s;eated on the Watch-Tower,</HI> hath well nigh obtained
<PB N="10" REF="7">
by cu&s;tome, and other meanes, a <HI>Superintending power,</HI> o|ver all other Presbyteries; and other Presbyteries many times &s;end thither to have re&s;olution of their difficult ca|&s;es. The rea&s;on is, be&s;ides the eminency of this City by its wealth, and the re&s;idence of all highe&s;t Courts of Iu|&s;tice there; although this Allobrogicall brood maintaine Parity, there be notwith&s;tanding &s;ome few Patriarchs, who rule and over-rule all, <HI>who Lord it, and Pope it</HI> o|ver the Lord's Inheritance, and in this City ordinarily are &s;ome of the&s;e Patriarches: and the <HI>Re&s;pon&s;a prudentum</HI> from hence, are received as Oracles by remote Presbyte|ries, and reverenced as an&s;weres by <HI>Vrim</HI> and <HI>Thummim.</HI></P>
<P>There is none who liveth within the verge of a Presby|terie, but is an&s;werable to this <HI>Cla&s;sis and Iudicatorie,</HI> and mu&s;t appeare when&s;oever, or for what&s;oever cited. The King and His family are not exempted, nor priviledged: if He be cited, and appeare not, He may be excommuni|cated for His di&s;obedience and contumacy: If He appeare, He mu&s;t &s;ubmit His earthly Scepter, to that their Scepter, which they terme the Scepter of Chri&s;t; He mu&s;t doe what is enjoyned. The Presbyterie is independent from the Crowne of an <HI>earthly King,</HI> who is <HI>Gods and Christs Vicegerent in the generall Kingdome</HI> of His providence on|ly; But this <HI>Sanhedrim</HI> is <HI>Christs vicegerent</HI> in His oeco|nomicall Kingdome as Mediator, as they &s;peake; and con|&s;equently to it He mu&s;t vaile His Crowne, &s;ubmit His Scepter, and from it receive Chri&s;ts Law and Ordinan|ces.</P>
<P>King <HI>Iames</HI> of ble&s;&s;ed memory knew this well, who therefore in that Conference at <HI>Hampton-Court,</HI> pag. 79. &s;aith, <Q>A Scotti&s;h Presbyterie, as well agreeth with a Mo|narchie, as God and the Divell, then <HI>Iack</HI> and <HI>Thom,</HI> and
<PB N="11" REF="7">
<HI>Will,</HI> and <HI>Dick,</HI> &s;hall meet, and at their plea&s;ures cen&s;ure Me, and my Councell, and all My proceedings. Then <HI>Will</HI> &s;hall &s;tand up and &s;ay, it mu&s;t be thus: Then <HI>Dick</HI> &s;hall re|ply, <HI>and &s;ay, nay marry,</HI> but we will have it thus. And therefore here I must once reiterate my former &s;peeches <HI>(the King is an&s;wering to D.</HI> Rainolds, <HI>who &s;eemeth to begge of His Maje&s;ty a Presbyterie, or &s;ome thing like to it)</HI> Le Roy s' avi&s;era: Stay J pray you for one &s;eaven years before you demand that of me: and if you then find me pur|&s;ey and fat, and my Wind pipes stuffed, I will perhaps hearken to you: for let that Government be once up, I am &s;ure I &s;hall be kept in breath, then &s;hall we all of us have work enough, both our hands full. But D. Rainolds till you find that I grow Lazie, let that alone.</Q></P>
<P>It is more than notoriou&s;ly knowne to many yet living, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Presby|terie hath kept &s;tate vvith King <HI>Iames.</HI></NOTE> and is upon Record in the Presbytery Bookes of <HI>Eden|burgh,</HI> how King <HI>Iames,</HI> not once, but many times, hath &s;ent men of Honour and good quality, demanding, or ra|ther reque&s;ting for &s;ome things at their hands; who have heard the Commi&s;&s;iones propo&s;e the King's mind; But they, to keep the power and place Chri&s;t hath given them in that dignity, &s;uitable to &s;o high a tru&s;t, have di&s;mi&s;&s;ed the Gentlemen &s;ent by the King without an&s;wer, and by an Order of that <HI>Spirituall hou&s;e,</HI> have appointed one, or two, as <HI>Commi&s;sioners of the Presbytery,</HI> to goe to the King with <HI>their will and plea&s;ure,</HI> loo&s;ing no thing of <HI>Christ's authority,</HI> and carrying them&s;elves with the King almo&s;t, as if two free E&s;tates, or two free Kings had met, and were dealing together. <NOTE PLACE="marg">All ca&s;es and crimes are vvithin the cen&s;ure of the Presbyterie,</NOTE></P>
<P>As no per&s;on is exempted from obedience and &s;ub|mi&s;&s;ion to this power, &s;o no crime or &s;inne what&s;oever <HI>committed,</HI> or <HI>&s;u&s;pected</HI> to be committed, within the Seig|norie
<PB N="12" REF="8">
of this pettie Principalitie. And that &s;ometimes is &s;o extravagantly and tran&s;cendently too look't after, and called in que&s;tion, (e&s;peceially if indi&s;creet zeale, or holy Spleen work and move by the Spirit on a holy Brother) that if there be a fact and fault committed, &s;ecret, or knowne to very few, it is brought forth to the light of the World: There is no care taken to reconcile the Lap&s;ed to God in a private way, and to conceale his offence, but di&s;graced he is publiquely. What &s;ound repentance this may worke, judge you. How con&s;onant this is to the A|po&s;tolicall Canon, <HI>They that &s;inne publiquely, rebuke pub|liquely;</HI> and to the common Maxime of the Church, <HI>de occultis nonjudicat Eccle&s;ia;</HI> he may ea&s;ily &s;ee, who hath not divorced him&s;elfe from common &s;en&s;e and rea&s;on. To cure the&s;e &s;ecret &s;innes by the power of the Keyes <HI>in interiori foro con&s;cientiae,</HI> and to cover them with the man|tle of Charitie, &s;melleth rankly of auricular Confe&s;&s;ion, Popi&s;h ab&s;olution, and <HI>Sigillum confe&s;sionis.</HI> See the confe|rence at <HI>Hampton-Court, pag.</HI> 93. It is certaine, a fooli&s;h man revealing fooli&s;hly his faults to his wife, the zealous wife, upon &s;ome quarrelling betwixt her and her Hus|band, hath gone to a good Mini&s;ter, revealed what was told her, and the hone&s;t impartiall Mini&s;ter hath conven|ted the man, charged him with his &s;inne, and made him confe&s;&s;e, &s;atisfie, and doe pennance publiquely.</P>
<P>Nay upon a &s;urmi&s;e, &s;ugge&s;tion, &s;u&s;pition, or any mi&s;in|formation, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Crimes &s;u&s;|pected, are curiou&s;ly here inquired af|ter.</NOTE> if the Mini&s;ter, or Lay-Elder delate, (that is pre&s;ent) two per&s;ons to conver&s;e &s;o familiarly, that it is to be feared that they are guilty of fornication, if they be unmarried, or of adultery, if both of them, or either of them be married, they &s;hall be cited, and convented, exa|mined by all proofes, pre&s;umptions, interrogatories, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
<PB N="13" REF="8">
whether or not they have &s;inned. If that the pre&s;umpti|ons be pregnant, although no proofe be, they &s;hall be put in clo&s;e pri&s;on, fed on bread and water, kept that none may come at them, all Members Con&s;tituents of the&s;e Iu|dicatories, appointed to try what they know again&s;t the <HI>next Court day;</HI> when no proofe can be had, and all the pre&s;umptions doe not fa&s;ten guiltine&s;&s;e upon the accu&s;ed, and the Impri&s;onment and other hard u&s;ages cannot ex|tort a confe&s;&s;ion, they are di&s;mi&s;&s;ed: But an act is enacted, that if tho&s;e two per&s;ons &s;u&s;pected of fornication, or adul|tery, &s;hall be &s;een to meet, or be in company together, ex|cept they meet in Church or Market, it &s;hall be holden <HI>pro confe&s;&s;o,</HI> as confe&s;&s;ed, that they are guilty of what they are charged with.</P>
<P>Nay &s;ometimes the parties, although innocent, and no reall evidence being produced again&s;t them, are brought on the Lord's day publiquely to the midle of the Church before the Pulpit, to declare, &s;ometimes to confirme their Declaration by an Oath, that they are innocent and free of that crime wherewith they are charged. And &s;ometimes they are forced to make their publique Repentance in the Church, upon a Pillarie, for their unchri&s;tian behaviour: becau&s;e that although the parties charged be free, yet their conver&s;ation hath been <HI>&s;u&s;pitious and &s;candalous.</HI></P>
<P>A whole Volume might be written of young women by the&s;e cour&s;es di&s;graced and defamed: of many Fami|lies divided and &s;cattered, whereas before there was no jealou&s;ie betwixt the man and the wife.</P>
<P>This Iudicatorie of the Presbytery is &s;o high, and of &s;o va&s;t a latitude, that as the <HI>Pope</HI> bringeth in all civill cau|&s;es to him&s;elfe as a competent Iudge, <HI>&s;ub formalitate pec|cati,</HI> &s;o this <HI>Papall Conclave</HI> bringeth any thing, how&s;oe|ver
<PB N="14" REF="9">
meerly and purely civill, under it's la&s;h, <HI>&s;ub formalitate &s;candali,</HI> as &s;candalous to a Chri&s;tian profe&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>It is not forgotten by many yet living, how the Presby|tery <NOTE PLACE="marg">Presbyteriall Government incon&s;i&s;tent vvith the li|berty of trade and com|merce.</NOTE> of <HI>Edenburgh</HI> attempted to cen&s;ure Eccle&s;ia&s;tically the Merchants there, for carrying Wheat to <HI>Spaine</HI> in time of a Famine or dearth there, for this was to feed and main|taine God's enemies. But above all, that was a <HI>piaculum,</HI> an almo&s;t inexpiable &s;inne, to tran&s;port waxe to <HI>Spaine,</HI> for this was to be acce&s;&s;ory to Idolatry, in re&s;pect the greate&s;t part of this waxe was employed in making Ta|pers and Candles to the <HI>Virgin Mary,</HI> and <HI>other Saints.</HI></P>
<P>In S. <HI>Andrewes. I. T.</HI> was endebted to <HI>P. T.</HI> a con&s;i|derable <NOTE PLACE="marg">Incon&s;i&s;tent vvith the au|thority of ci|vill Iudica|tories.</NOTE> &s;umme of money, the greate&s;t part of his &s;tock. <HI>I. T.</HI> delaying, or &s;huffling, or not able to pay <HI>P. T.</HI> at the day of payment de&s;igned in the Bond, <HI>P. T.</HI> obtained before the Lords of Se&s;&s;ion a Iudgement again&s;t <HI>I. T.</HI> with power to demand payment in the King's Name, and up|on di&s;obedience to be out lawed and fall into a <HI>Praemu|nire,</HI> or e&s;cheating of his moveable goods and Chattells. <HI>I. T.</HI> bemoanes him&s;elfe to the Presbyterie. The Pre&s;|byterie convents <HI>P. T.</HI> before them, threatens him with Excommunication, if he did per&s;i&s;t to put in Execution the Iudgement of the highe&s;t Iudicatorie in the Kingdom: and for feare of this dreadfull Court and horrid &s;entence, he pa&s;&s;es from his pur&s;uit, continueth the demanding of repaying of his money. You &s;ee here what power this Presbytery hath over all, and the highe&s;t of civill Iudi|catories.</P>
<P>Infinite in&s;tances of this kind may be produced, give <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Presby|tery at plea|&s;ure repealeth Royall grants by Lavv con|firmed.</NOTE> me leave to adde one of a higher &s;traine. The City of <HI>Edenburgh,</HI> by the Kings of <HI>Scotland,</HI> among&s;t other fa|vours and priviledges, hath a Royall grant of a weekly
<PB N="15" REF="9">
Market day on Monday. This Grant is confirmed by Letters Patents under the great Seale, and by the &s;tanding Lawes of the Kingdome; The Presbyterie here by their tran&s;cendent &s;ole authority, di&s;charged any Market to be kept on Monday, the rea&s;on was, becau&s;e it occa&s;ioned the travelling of men and hor&s;e the Lord's day before, which profaned the Sabboth. If the Trade&s;men, who found at home what lo&s;&s;e they had by wanting their Market, had not with force and violence oppo&s;ed their Soveraignty, and made them for&s;ake it, it was like enough to have pa&s;|&s;ed, and obtained longer.</P>
<P>The mo&s;t active in this ca&s;e were the Shooe-makers, who were mo&s;t prejudiced by the di&s;charge of the Mon|day market. They threatned the Mini&s;terie Right down, that if they per&s;i&s;ted in that cour&s;e, they would thru&s;t them out of the gates of the City: which threats re&s;tored the Monday's market. When King <HI>Iames,</HI> that miracle of piety, learning, and Royall prudence, heard of this, he with uncovered head, and lifted up hands, &s;aid to this, or much about this &s;en&s;e, <HI>I thank God the Shooe-makers have more power to repre&s;&s;e the in&s;olency and violence of the Presbyterie, than I and my councell both.</HI></P>
<P>It is knowne to many yet living, that they have cited be|fore <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Presby|terie vvill not &s;uffer Land|lords to &s;ue for their Rents.</NOTE> them Noble men, and Gentlemen of good qualitie, who had intended civill actions again&s;t their owne Ten|ants before the ordinary Iudge, and di&s;charged them to pro&s;ecute them any further, under the paine of Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|call cen&s;ures. This was <HI>in re civili,</HI> in a civill bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, but <HI>modus con&s;iderandi,</HI> as they took notice of it, it was <HI>&s;pirituall.</HI> And why? becau&s;e the holy Brethren preten|ded, this did withdraw People from their <HI>lawfull vocati|ons, bred &s;trifes</HI> and contention among&s;t Brethren, and did hinder the progre&s;&s;e of the Go&s;pell.</P>
<P><PB N="16" REF="10">
As the particular Mini&s;ters of individuall Pari&s;hes are un|der <NOTE PLACE="marg">Some fevv of the Presbyte|rie tyrannize over the re&s;t of their poore Brethren, re|move and tran&s;plant at plea&s;ure.</NOTE> them, &s;o they find the tyranny of their <HI>Archi&s;ynagog<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> their prime leading Mini&s;ters, in that mea&s;ure, that their little finger is heavier then a Bi&s;hop's whole hand and loynes. Bi&s;hops are like to a paternall Government, cha|&s;ti&s;ing with Roddes; but the Presbyterians &s;courge them with Scorpions; any Lord, Knight, or E&s;quire, who is cun|ning, and can by faire carriage, or otherwi&s;e, gaine favour or credit with &s;ome few <HI>Patriarchall Presbyters,</HI> he is able at plea&s;ure to turne out an hone&s;t man (who perhaps is too free in rebuking the Gentleman for his &s;innes, or cannot, or will not conde&s;cend to grant his unlawfull and unju&s;t demands) and to bring in one to his owne fan&s;ie and hu|mor, with whom, and by whom, he is able to worke and effectuate his owne bad intendments. This <HI>holy Sanhe|drim,</HI> although the Parochiall Mini&s;ter for <HI>Intellectuall abilities,</HI> be &s;ufficiently enabled, and for <HI>morall Integrity</HI> be blamele&s;&s;e, yet they will find it fit he be tran&s;planted from that Church, becau&s;e the Congregation is not edi|fied by him, at a vi&s;itation the Landlord is able to make all &s;ay and witnes they are not edified by him: or if a Presby|ter who hath more power with the <HI>dominus Moderator,</HI> and his a&s;&s;i&s;tants, being in a Pari&s;h of a &s;mall &s;tipend, and e&s;pying &s;omewhere a better Pari&s;h, and an hone&s;t man in it, but not &s;o much re&s;pected by the high Prie&s;ts of the <HI>Sanhedrim,</HI> he will turne him out by the Presbytery, enter the charge, and reape the benefit of a better Pari&s;h, and place the other (it may be, and often proves &s;o, the bet|ter and worthier man) in another Pari&s;h of le&s;&s;e worth, and deterior his condition. There needs no other rea&s;on for this, but that this &s;acred Con&s;i&s;torie, directed and a&s;&s;i|&s;ted with infallibility, doe find it <HI>e Re Eccle&s;iae,</HI> that it is for God's glory and the good of the Church.</P>
<P><PB N="17" REF="10">
I might in&s;tance a world of the&s;e Examples; onely let <NOTE PLACE="marg">A hone&s;t man removed fro~ his place, and one by them brought in to make avvay Sacrilegiou&s;ly the Church patrimonie.</NOTE> me tell you one of the Presbytery of <HI>Cooper in Fife.</HI> A no|ble man there having one Mai&s;ter <HI>Weymis,</HI> an hone&s;t man, a Preacher and Par&s;on at one of the Churches, the which whole pari&s;h belonged to the Noble-man, u&s;ed all the en|treaties, all the threatnings he could, to per&s;wade Ma&s;ter <HI>Weymis</HI> to make over to him, and his hou&s;e, the Right of the benefice, which if I mi&s;take not, was a Par&s;onage. The good man refu&s;ed it: the Noble man finding the man im|moveable, having prepared the way with the <HI>Ring-lea|ders,</HI> accu&s;eth the hone&s;t man before the Presbyterie, ob|taineth &s;entence of removing Mai&s;ter <HI>Weymis</HI> from that Church and benefice, and bringeth in one M. <HI>Scrogie,</HI> who with the con&s;ent of the Presbyterie, &s;acrilegiou&s;ly made over the Right of the Church to the Noble man and his Family. M. <HI>Weymis</HI> was tran&s;planted to another Church. The Right made over by <HI>Scrogie</HI> was afterwards confir|med by Act of Parliament. King <HI>Iames,</HI> when this noble man came to him, &s;poke to him to this &s;en&s;e. My Lord, I wonder how you have &s;o much power with the Presby|terie to obtain &s;uch a thing, and work &s;o &s;trange a matter, I pray you teach me the way, for I would gladly know it. The Noble man an&s;wered, to this &s;en&s;e or much about it, Sir, you take not the right way, I prepared my bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, by gaining the prime men to my cour&s;e, I &s;ent to A. B's hou&s;e &s;o much Malt, and to C. D's hou&s;e &s;o much Meale, to N. a Carca&s;&s;e of Beeffe; this got me the power to put a|way <HI>Weymis,</HI> to bring in <HI>Scrogie,</HI> and from him, with the con&s;ent of the Presbyterie, to have the right of the Par&s;o|nage impropriate to me and my hou&s;e: Sir, this cour&s;e you mu&s;t take, if you would work any thing by, or with the&s;e men.</P>
<P><PB N="18" REF="11">
The Te&s;tament of a Gentleman of Wit, and more then ordinary worth and e&s;teeme, is to this day extant, (al|though he dyed many years agoe) wherein confe&s;&s;ing his many Sinnes (he was much guilty of uncleanne&s;&s;e, and was of more then ordinary reach in Politicall and Subtile waies) abhorring him&s;elfe for them, and earne&s;tly begging pardon, profe&s;&s;ed, and prote&s;ted, that no &s;inne did wound his con&s;cience &s;o much, as his deep Hypocri|&s;ie, who without the true feare of God, made great &s;hew of Religion where none, or little was, and to cover his &s;innes from the World, to hide his &s;hame, and the better to effectuate his private de&s;ignes, he made much of &s;ome few prime leading Mini&s;ters: by doing of which, he was not challenged for his &s;innes; and was enabled to worke his other ends. This hath been, and is this day a con&s;tant cour&s;e kept by all of that cutte and coate.</P>
<P>It is known, that no Kingdom of the Kings was &s;o much infe&s;ted with Feuds, (as they call them) as that <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Presby|tery the Semi|nary and nur|&s;ery of Feuds.</NOTE> of <HI>Scotland:</HI> nor was there any thing more ordinary, then Neighbourly Feuds in Pari&s;hes, to be fought to the effu|&s;ion of much blood, partly beginning &s;ometimes within the Church, and ended in the Church-yard, where many times &s;ome were killed. And it was as ordinary to find each Presbyterie divided in their affection and cour&s;e, ac|cording as they affected the one, or the other partie. Nor was <HI>Scotland</HI> ever free of Feuds, &s;heathing their Swords in their Neighbours bowells, murthering one another, till a little before King <HI>Iames</HI> came into <HI>England;</HI> nor did ever that Kingdom enjoy &s;uch Peace and Plenty, as during the time of Epi&s;copacy.</P>
<P>Sir, by the few in&s;tances I have given you of many, you may &s;ee clearely, that Presbyterian Government is
<PB N="19" REF="11">
not only incon&s;i&s;tent with Monaichie, but de&s;tructive of the Liberty of the Subjects per&s;on, and trade; encroaching upon all Authority, Soveraigne, and delegate; re&s;training at plea&s;ure Cau&s;es and Suits commenced before Iudges; forbidding Execution of Iudgements obtained before the ordinarie Iudges, repealing Grants, Letters-Patents, Rights and Priviledges authorized by Law: a&s;&s;uming to it &s;elfe the Civill power, exacting Civill fines, pecuniary mulcts, inflicting corporall puni&s;hments, painfull and di&s;|gracefull; defaming young, di&s;gracing married per&s;ons; &amp; in briefe, is again&s;t the peace of the Kingdom, of Families and neighbours. And for their Clergy or fellow Pre&s;|byters, they tyrannize over their Con&s;cience, depo&s;e, or tran&s;plant them at plea&s;ure, for rea&s;ons known to &s;ome few of the more active. It is proper now to &s;peak next of</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Provinciall Synods.</HEAD>
<P>IN de&s;cribing of which we need not to in&s;i&s;t much: for except that the Iuri&s;diction is of greater extent and lati|tude, yet in its e&s;&s;entialls, con&s;titution, and power, with the exerci&s;e of it, it is the very &s;ame.</P>
<P>A Provinciall Synod is the api&s;h Imitation of a Pro|vinciall <NOTE PLACE="marg">What it is.</NOTE> Councell, con&s;i&s;ting of a Metropolitane, and the Suffragan Bi&s;hops of his Province. With them, it is an a&s;|&s;ociate body of the Commi&s;&s;ioners cho&s;en out of all the Individuall Presbyteries within the precinct of the Pro|vince. How many there be of them in the Kingdom of Scotland at this in&s;tant. I know not: but the Kingdom is divided into &s;o many Provinces, as they in their prudence think it fitte&s;t for the Government of the Church.</P>
<P>If I remember right, by their <HI>platforme of Di&s;cipline,</HI>
<PB N="20" REF="12">
the&s;e Provinciall Synods are to meet twice a yeare, or oftner, <HI>pro re nat&acirc;.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e Synodall A&s;&s;emblies have a <HI>&s;uperintending</HI> and <NOTE PLACE="marg">The extent of their pow|er.</NOTE> overruling power over all the Presbyteries within the li|mits of that Province.</P>
<P>The ca&s;es proper to the&s;e Courts are, 1. All matters which doe appertain to the whole Province. 2. All <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">|ferres <NOTE PLACE="marg">The ca&s;es which fall within their Iuri&s;diction.</NOTE> from all Presbyteries within its verge. 3. All ca&s;es of every &s;everall Presbyterie, which were difficult, and could not there be determined. 4. The due cen&s;ure of all what is thought to be done ami&s;&s;e in any Presbyterie within its la&s;h. 5. What is ordered and decreed in tho&s;e Provinciall Synods, tyeth all within the particular Pre&s;|byteries and Pari&s;hes, as well Lay as Clergy-men to obe|dience. Any Presbytery el&s;e, that moveth without the &s;pheare of this Province, is not tyed to obey what this decrees, by virtue of any authority flowing from it.</P>
<P>The &s;ame cour&s;e is holden in all things in the <HI>Provinciall</HI> Sanhedrim, which is kept in the Presbyteriall Con&s;i&s;tory, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The politick Stratagem of the great <HI>Gamaliels.</HI></NOTE> &s;o that I need not trouble you by re&s;uming and repeating the like: only here is &s;ome peece and u&s;e of good Policy, which is this; In a Province, there may be &s;ome foure or five, or &s;ix, or more knowing leading Mini&s;ters, who over|rule different &amp; di&s;tant Presbyteries, &amp; &s;o cannot formal|ly &amp; fairely joyne their wits and power to compa&s;&s;e their common and private ends. The meeting of this Provin|ciall Synod occa&s;ioneth the meeting of tho&s;e leading men in the &s;ame place; who after that they have communica|ted Coun&s;ells, and agreed upon the cour&s;e, they are able to draw their brethren, their pupils of their Faction, as <HI>Sor|vum pecus,</HI> &s;lavi&s;hly, yet <HI>with much zeale</HI> to di&s;pute, de|bate, and voyce for what they in their wi&s;dome think fit
<PB N="21" REF="12">
for their own ends: which cour&s;e layed downe, will be &s;o prevalent, that if it be again&s;t King, Country, Preacher, or Lay-men, in that concerneth the publike, or any pri|vate mans intere&s;t, to whom they &s;tand engaged, it is to as little purpo&s;e to &s;ome good men to oppo&s;e, or moderate this cour&s;e; as to a man to &s;top a current of a flood, after a great inundation of raine, with his foot.</P>
<P>There is another trick of policy too, whereby the <HI>A|postles</HI> of this province advance their own credit, that the wi&s;e&s;t of the Nobility and Gentry &s;ee who are the active and doing men, and having their particular intere&s;t many times, both in the publike, and their own private, they make their addre&s;&s;e to the&s;e Popes, gaine them to their cour&s;e, and &s;trengthen them&s;elves by the Spirituall Sword to di&s;tu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">be the publike, or to gain their private ends, whe|ther right or wrong. When the Commi&s;&s;ioners from hence returne to their &s;everall Presbyteries, they intimate to them, to command the particular Mini&s;ters to Preach in their pari&s;hes Doctrine tending to the advancement of tho&s;e de&s;ignes: and this is &s;o much obeyed, that the Mini|&s;ter of the Kings family, or Pari&s;h, mu&s;t &s;ing the &s;ame &s;ong, although it concerne the King in His Honour, or in that is mo&s;t deare to him, and be to the prejudice of his Per&s;on, Soveraignty and Government.</P>
<P>The&s;e <GAP DESC="foreign">, the&s;e <HI>prime men of God,</HI> are attended and <NOTE PLACE="marg">The great honour which is given to the Patriarchall Presbyters.</NOTE> honored &s;o by the &s;ubtle and cunning Nobles and Gen|tlemen, that they are well nigh deified; in their comming to and fro, to A&s;&s;emblies, Presbyteries, or upon other oc|ca&s;ions, the mo&s;t eminent of the Province wait upon them, entreat them to come to their Hou&s;es, &s;et them at the head of the Tables by my Lady, provide for them the be&s;t chambers. And that you may know, how&s;oever
<PB N="22" REF="13">
they pretend Parity, that it is <HI>protestatio contra factum,</HI> never Bi&s;hop in Scotland hath come into Cities with &s;uch Convoyes, been attended with &s;uch great per&s;onages, as &s;ome of this holy Brotherhood. It is to this day remem|bred, that when M^r <HI>Robert Bruce</HI> came from his vi&s;itation in the We&s;t, or South, returning to <HI>Edenburgh,</HI> and en|tring by the Canon-gate, King <HI>Iames</HI> looking out at His Window in His palace at <HI>Halyrude Hou&s;e,</HI> with indignati|on (which extorted from him an Oath) &s;aid, <Q><HI>M^r</HI> Robert Bruce I am &s;ure intends to be King, and declare him&s;elfe heire to King Robert the Bruce.</Q></P>
<P>If you would allow me upon this to digre&s;&s;e, I beg to be <NOTE PLACE="marg">The pre&s;um|ptuous carri|age of M. R. <HI>Bruce</HI> to|vvard K. <HI>Iames.</HI></NOTE> bold to tell you a true &s;tory, &amp; the mo&s;t in&s;olent I beleeve you ever read or heard. When Q. <HI>Elizabeth</HI> was waxed old K. <HI>Iames</HI> bethinking how to come at the peaceable po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion of that Right God and nature had entitled him to after her death; &amp; re&s;olving to recall &amp; pardon the Earles of <HI>Angus, Huntlie,</HI> and <HI>Erroll,</HI> (who at that time were bani&s;hed and beyond Seas) feared, if by him&s;elfe, and his Soveraignty, he &s;hould doe it, becau&s;e they were profe&s;|&s;ed Papi&s;ts, he feared the Church would except again&s;t it, and move his Subjects to Sedition and Rebellion: yet the Noble men were mo&s;t able to &s;trengthen him, and doe him be&s;t &s;ervice in the Kingdom. To prevent this mi&s;|chiefe, he &s;ent one of his tru&s;ted and worthie Courtiers to M^r <HI>Robert Bruce,</HI> one of the Mini&s;ters of <HI>Edenburgh,</HI> who at that time had great &s;way in the Church, de&s;iring him to come to His Maje&s;ty about &s;ome bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of high concernment. M^r <HI>Robert</HI> did come. The good admirable King, welcomed him more then courteou&s;ly, took him into his Retiring or Bed-chamber. Spoke powerfully to this &s;en&s;e; M. <HI>Robert,</HI> I have &s;ent for you to have your ad|vice
<PB N="23" REF="13">
in a bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of great weight concerning the Peace of <HI>Scotland</HI> and <HI>England,</HI> and which concernes me in Right and Honour mo&s;t nearly. Q. <HI>Elizabeth,</HI> my Si&s;ter and Cou&s;in, is &s;ick and cannot live long, you know I have God's and Nature's Right to that Crowne; I cannot loo&s;e it in Honour or in Iu&s;tice, and yet my prayer to God is that I may come at my Right without any blood. I know there is &s;ome Faction in <HI>England</HI> again&s;t me, but my friends are more prevalent there. It concerneth me in the poynt of Prudence, to provide that there be no Faction and divi&s;ion in this my Kingdom of <HI>Scotland,</HI> for if this Kingdome be all one way for me in hearty obedience and Subjection, the di&s;affected party in <HI>England</HI> will be better advi&s;ed, then to worke me trouble to their great di&s;advan|tage. Now, &s;aith the be&s;t and wi&s;e&s;t of Kings, I feare no|thing, but that the&s;e three Noble men beyond Seas, be|cau&s;e of their forfeiture, may be wrought upon by Pa|pi&s;ts, encouraged and enabled by them there, and the Engli&s;h Papi&s;ts, who are mo&s;t again&s;t my comming to the Crowne of <HI>England,</HI> knowing I am a &s;ound Prote&s;tant, to come hither and trouble Me and the Peace of this King|dom. Doe you not think it fit, that I give them a pardon, re&s;tore them to their Honour and Lands, and by &s;o doing &s;o gain them, that thus I may &s;ave the effu&s;ion of Chri|&s;tian blood? To this demand &s;o piou&s;ly made, the an&s;wer was, Sir, you may pardon <HI>Angus</HI> and <HI>Arroll</HI> and recall them, but it is not fit, nor will you ever obtain my con|&s;ent to pardon or recall <HI>Huntlie.</HI> To this the mo&s;t gratious King &s;weetly replied: M^r <HI>Robert,</HI> it were better for me to pardon and recall him, and not the other two, then the o|ther two without him. 1. Fir&s;t, becau&s;e you know he hath a greater command, and is more powerfull then both
<PB N="24" REF="14">
of them. 2. Next you know I am more a&s;&s;ured of his af|fection to me, for he hath married my deare and neare Kin&s;woman, the Duke of <HI>Lenox</HI> his Si&s;ter. His rejoyn|der was, Sir, I cannot agree to it. The King out of the great depth of His wi&s;dome and prudence, and His tran|&s;cendent goodne&s;&s;e, concluded thus; M. <HI>Robert</HI> I have im|parted my mo&s;t &s;ecret thoughts to you fir&s;t before any, and to you only; I am &s;o confident of your zeale and good affection to Me and My Honour, that I entreat you to think upon this matter a day or two; and after your better thoughts and Prayers, returne to me, and tell me clearly what you think. Thus was he di&s;mi&s;&s;ed with as much re|&s;pect as the King could give to any of His highe&s;t Sub|jects. The truth is, at this time this man had more power in <HI>Edenburgh</HI> then the King; and his credit there had a mighty influence upon all His Sect, and many in the King|dom; within a day or two he Returnes to His Maje&s;ty, yet, if I be informed right, not till he was called upon. When he entred the Kings Pre&s;ence-chamber, the King took him in to a &s;ecret retiring roome as before, made the doore be &s;hut, and &s;peaketh to this &s;en&s;e: Now M. <HI>Robert,</HI> I hope you have thought more &s;eriou&s;ly upon that weighty bu&s;i|ne&s;&s;e I propo&s;ed to you the la&s;t day, and have prayed God to direct you and Me both, tell me then what you think of my purpo&s;e and re&s;olution concerning tho&s;e three Noble|men. He returneth this an&s;wer; Sir, the more I think of it, the more I am confirmed in the advice I gave to you the la&s;t day. I agree with all my heart that you recall <HI>An|gus</HI> and <HI>Arroll,</HI> but for <HI>Huntlie</HI> it cannot be. The King re|&s;umed and repeated his rea&s;ons before mentioned, and ad|ded &s;ome more. He ob&s;tinately oppo&s;ed and contradicted it. All doe know, who knew any thing of the&s;e times,
<PB N="25" REF="14">
that <HI>Angus</HI> and <HI>Arroll</HI> were as bigot Papi&s;ts, if not more, then <HI>Huntlie;</HI> there was no difference in Religion: the truth is, Ma&s;ter <HI>Bruce</HI> was a Lover of the Earle of <HI>Argyle,</HI> who loved not much the Earle of <HI>Huntlie.</HI> This was the Spirit in&s;pired him, as it &s;eemeth. King <HI>Iames</HI> de&s;ired his rea|&s;ons: he gave none, but &s;poke Maje&s;tically. Then the King told him downeright, M. <HI>Robert</HI> I have told you my purpo&s;e; you &s;ee how nearely and highly it concerneth me; I have given you my rea&s;ons for my re&s;olution, you give me your opinion, but you &s;trengthen it not with rea|&s;on; wherefore I will hold my own re&s;olution, and doe as I fir&s;t &s;poke to you. To the which, with Chri&s;tian and Subject-like reverence, he returned this reply; well, Sir, you may doe as you li&s;t, but chu&s;e you, <HI>yee &s;hall not have me and the Earle of Huntlie both for you.</HI> Sir, Iudge by this in what ca&s;e Monarchie is, in &s;uch a government, for that this is truth, I am as much a&s;&s;ured of, as morall cer|tainty can a&s;&s;ure any man of morall truth, which with his own eares he hath not heard. And yet this man was but Mini&s;ter of <HI>Edenburgh.</HI></P>
<P>To returne thither, from whence we digre&s;&s;ed, that you may know, that this great Honour which is done to <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Coun|trey honour not the&s;e A|po&s;tles in the name of a Di&s;ciple, as it appeareth by the di&s;re&s;pect all other Mi|ni&s;ters have from their Pari&s;hioners.</NOTE> tho&s;e great ones, the Cabinet Councell of all Provinciall and Generall A&s;&s;emblies, by the&s;e cunning and &s;ubtile Nobles and others, is not done in the <HI>name of a Di&s;ciple, in the name of a Prophet;</HI> reflect a little with your eyes, and con&s;ider how the &s;ame men re&s;pect and entertain their own Pari&s;h Mini&s;ter; when the <HI>Gamaliels</HI> &s;its <HI>by my La|dy,</HI> the Pari&s;h Prie&s;t, will be below the Candle&s;tick; and will be forced to come to his Lord, or Laird, and <HI>Crouch</HI> down for <HI>a mor&s;ell of Bread, and &s;mall peece of Money.</HI> Nay before the <HI>Gamaliel</HI> be gone, he mu&s;t prompt and Cate|chi&s;e<PB N="26" REF="15">
 the poor &s;tipendiarie how to carry him&s;elfe with the Lord and Laird, not to exact too rigorou&s;ly what is due in his <HI>competent Stipend,</HI> nor in Preaching, doctrine or di&s;cipline, to offend the Lord or Laird: &s;uch good Chri|&s;tians, &s;uch <HI>Ieho&s;hua's, Nehemia's,</HI> and <HI>E&s;dras's,</HI> are to be much made of for the cau&s;e of God. I dare to &s;ay, never Bi&s;hop or Archbi&s;hop in <HI>England</HI> or <HI>Scotland,</HI> hath u&s;ed more authority, nor did ever carry them&s;elves &s;o arro|gantly towards the meane&s;t of their Clergy, as the&s;e men doe over their &s;impler brethren. I come now at la&s;t to</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The Generall A&s;&s;embly.</HEAD>
<P>THis is the <HI>Great and High Sanhedrim;</HI> the <HI>la&s;t re&s;olu|tion</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The preroga|tive of this Court.</NOTE> of faith is almo&s;t in this a&s;&s;ociate body. Here Chri&s;t &s;its in the Highe&s;t glory and Dignity he can upon earth. Here is the <HI>ultimate deci&s;ion</HI> of all controver&s;ies. Here you may find really that fancied infallibility of the Pope. The Iuri&s;diction in this is univer&s;all in all concern|eth <HI>Eccle&s;iastica, Eccle&s;ia&s;ticos,</HI> and what concerneth all <HI>Temporalia in ordine ad Spiritualia.</HI></P>
<P>The authority of it is &s;overaigne, independent from a|ny, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The indepen|dent Sove|raignty of it.</NOTE> derived to them by tru&s;t immediatly from Chri&s;t, to him alone they are accountable. Who&s;oever obeyeth not this Soveraignty, is to be Excommunicate; the Magi&s;trate is at their Command, and as they pre&s;cribe, to puni&s;h in E&s;tate, in Body, in Life and Death; If the King obey not, He is to be Excommunicated; and to &s;trengthen this, the Nobility, Gentry, Collective body, nay euery individu|all per&s;on is to concurre to compell and cen&s;ure him to the utmo&s;t of his power, to puni&s;h, to dethrone, to un-King, to kill &amp;c. Let us come and &s;ee how this goodly Iudicatorie is made up.</P>
<P><PB N="27" REF="15">
It is compo&s;ed, 1. Fir&s;t, of the Commi&s;&s;ioners &s;ent <NOTE PLACE="marg">Of vvhom, and hovv it is compo&s;ed.</NOTE> from all the Presbyteries of the Kingdom. Which (as I heare and am informed) is thus ordered. Every Presby|tery &s;endeth out two Preaching Elders, and a Lay-Elder. By this it &s;eemeth that the Clergy hath the advantage. 2. Secondly, therefore con&s;ider, that be&s;ides the Commi&s;|&s;ioners from Presbyteries, there cometh from every Bor|row and Corporation one Commi&s;&s;ioner, and <HI>Eden|burgh,</HI> for &s;ome &s;pirituall prerogative no doubt, is honou|red and priviledged to &s;end two. 3. Thirdly, the Vni|ver&s;ities and Colledges &s;end their Commi&s;&s;ioners, which for the mo&s;t part are not Doctors nor Mini&s;ters, but Lay-Men and Graduates in Liberall Arts and Sciences. This will goe neare to equall the number of Lay-Commi&s;&s;io|ners to that of Preaching Mini&s;ters.</P>
<P N="4">4 The King is a member con&s;tituent to, and &s;hould be <NOTE PLACE="marg">Hovv the King is a member of it, and of no povver above the meane&s;t Ruling Elder.</NOTE> there either <HI>per&s;onally</HI> by him&s;elfe, or <HI>virtually</HI> and <HI>repre|&s;entatively,</HI> in, or by his Commi&s;&s;ioner. He hath one voyce too, and that <HI>affirmative</HI> only. In what Capacity they admit the King to be a member con&s;tituent of this Spirituall Court, I know not well if they be agreed upon it. Some hold, that he is there as <HI>Princeps membrum.</HI> By this I &s;ee he is the fir&s;t gentleman there, and it may be, hath the right hand too. Some &s;ay, as a Repre&s;entative of the Civill body of the Kingdome, &amp; &s;its there in that ca|pacity. All of them agree in this, that he is bound by his own pre&s;ence, or Commi&s;&s;ioners, to &s;ee and provide that no di&s;turbance or violence be offered.</P>
<P>The King, if pre&s;ent, and His Commi&s;&s;ioner, if ab&s;ent, have &s;o much honour indulged to him, that He or His Commi&s;&s;ioner may have foure, five, or &s;ix <HI>a&s;sistants</HI> for advice; but the&s;e Synodicall Fathers give their indulgen|ces
<PB N="28" REF="16">
with &s;uch circum&s;pect prudence, that to pre&s;erve Chri&s;t's honour, and their owne entire, the King, or His Commi&s;&s;ioner may debate and advi&s;e with His Councell, or A&s;&s;i&s;tants, or de&s;ire any of them to &s;peak, while matters are in <HI>debating;</HI> But when it commeth to the deci&s;ion and determination by voyces, and plurality of voyces maketh the decree, the King has <HI>onely one voyce,</HI> and that <HI>affirma|tive</HI> onely, not <HI>Negative.</HI></P>
<P>By this it is certaine, that if the greater part of voyces determine contrary to the King's voyce, nay to His mind <NOTE PLACE="marg">The King mu&s;t execute their com|mands al|though they be again&s;t His Con&s;cience.</NOTE> and Con&s;cience, He is bound to put it in Execution, for <HI>Pote&s;tas Iuris</HI> is radically in the whole A&s;&s;embly, the King hath no more but <HI>Potestatem Facti,</HI> to be an Executioner <HI>Rei Iudicata,</HI> of the decrees; otherwi&s;e He is cen&s;urable; and if He be ob&s;tinately refractory, He is not worthy to hold His Crowne.</P>
<P>The King pre&s;ides too, as they confe&s;&s;e; but &s;o, that it is onely civilly, and in His civill capacity.</P>
<P>If I be not mi&s;taken, yet I dare not avouch this confi|dently, the King hath not Power to propo&s;e any thing &s;pi|rituall, or that concerneth the Church; but if He doe it, it mu&s;t be done by the Right Father of the A&s;&s;embly, the <HI>Moderator.</HI> This I dare to &s;ay, that neither the King, nor His Commi&s;&s;ioner can hinder or oppo&s;e the propo&s;ing of any thing they think concerneth the Kingdome of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. For this were no <HI>free generall A&s;&s;embly,</HI> and to li|mit the <HI>holy one of I&s;raell.</HI> Nay if the thing propo&s;ed con|ceived by them to be Spirituall, be &s;o twi&s;ted with the things civill, that the ordering or e&s;tabli&s;hing of it may carry along with it a change and di&s;temper in the State and Government, or import danger to the King and Crowne, The Moderator, or any Commi&s;&s;ioner hath power to pro|po&s;e
<PB N="29" REF="16">
it, determine it, and never to con&s;ider or reflect up|on the danger of King, State, or Kingdome, and that for God and Chri&s;t's glory.</P>
<P>The proper, naturall, and right Pre&s;ident of this Sera|phicall <NOTE PLACE="marg">The proper Moderator is a Preacher.</NOTE> Iudicatorie, is one of the Preaching Elders al|though we ob&s;erved before, how Lay-men, as <HI>Buchanan, Melvil, Bruce,</HI> have been Moderators) a Lay-Elder now cannot be Moderator.</P>
<P>Here is the Legi&s;lative power, here is the Soveraignty of Chri&s;ts Kingdome, here is the highe&s;t Tribunall and Iudicatory of Chri&s;t upon the Earth, from which no per|&s;on, no office, no condition of creature is priviledged, from it lyeth no appeale.</P>
<P>The King hath no Power to appoint the time or place <NOTE PLACE="marg">They indict the A&s;&s;embly by their ovvne povver.</NOTE> of this A&s;&s;embly, but once a yeare it mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily meet. And at the clo&s;e of every A&s;&s;embly, the Pre&s;ent ap|pointeth the day and place for the next. If any great Exi|gencie really, or in their fan&s;ie intervening, requireth the meeting of a generall A&s;&s;embly before the time determi|ned, the Commi&s;&s;ioners from the A&s;&s;embly are to make remon&s;trance of it unto the King.</P>
<P>What&s;oever power the Pope unju&s;tly u&s;urpeth, The <NOTE PLACE="marg">The va&s;t povver of this Court.</NOTE> Catholick Church, or <HI>her virtuall and Repre&s;entative,</HI> an oecumenicall councell, ju&s;tly challengeth; this generall A&s;&s;embly vindicateth to it &s;elfe, onely <HI>Authoritativ&eacute;, by way of authority,</HI> within the Church of the Kingdome and Nation; yet <HI>Con&s;en&s;iv&eacute;, and Charitativ&eacute;,</HI> to extend to all Neighbour Churches in the World; whatever it be that concerneth, <HI>fidem, cultum, Regimen.</HI> &amp;c. <HI>credenda, agenda.</HI></P>
<P>And yet if this infallible Supreame Iudicatorie would re&s;erve to it &s;elfe that juri&s;diction is due to men in Sacred Orders, and which intrin&s;ecally, radically, and originally
<PB N="30" REF="17">
is in them <HI>ex vi ordinis,</HI> although Presbyters intrude upon higher callings, and they place all Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall power, at lea&s;t communicate it to Lay People, the Princes condi|tion were tolerable: Nay if they did onely trench upon what is due to Soveraignty, and with which He is inve|&s;ted from God Almighty, which is re&s;trained <HI>ad Exter|num hominem,</HI> and <HI>Externum Regimen,</HI> although Sove|raignty by it be brought into &s;traiter &amp; narrower bounds, a King might be in &s;ome poor condition, although Rob|bed of His Right. But when they come to this, that <HI>in ordine ad &s;piritualia,</HI> in order to &s;pirituall things they will give the King Lawes, repeale His Lawes, command and expect performance and obedience, otherwi&s;e excommu|nicate, and if a King neglect that Excommunication, in|cite inferiour Magi&s;trates, Nobles, and Commons, to bring Him in order, to compell and force him; He is in a wor&s;e condition under this Soveraignty, then under the Pope, by how much it is wor&s;e to a King to be &s;ubjected to an untamed furious Bea&s;t, the multitude, then to the ty|ranny of one.</P>
<P>All the&s;e Lay-Elders, all the&s;e Commi&s;&s;ioners from <NOTE PLACE="marg">Lay-men jud|ges in highe&s;t points of faith and wor&s;hip, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> Corporations and Burrowes, are <HI>de jure divino</HI> as fully Iudges in all matters of faith, wor&s;hip, government; Iud|ges of haere&s;ie, idolatry, &s;uper&s;tition, of the highe&s;t points of Orthodox and Catholick my&s;teries, of the gro&s;le&s;t and &s;ubtille&s;t Haere&s;ies, Ariani&s;me, Arminiani&s;me, Macedonia|ni&s;me, Montani&s;me, Sociani&s;me, Anabapti&s;me, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> as any man in &s;acred Orders there, have <HI>vocem deliberativam, vocem deci&s;ivam,</HI> have a debating, di&s;cu&s;&s;ive voyce, and concurre as much with the influence of their voyce to pre&s;cribe and give us <HI>Normam &s;idei, cult&ucirc;s, politiae,</HI> a con|fe&s;&s;ion of faith, a pre&s;cript for wor&s;hip, Canons for go|vernment
<PB N="31" REF="17">
and di&s;cipline, as ever Bi&s;hops had in lawfull Chri&s;tian Councells. Bi&s;hops, limbes and members of Antichri&s;t, are no part of it. Now is forgotten that of the Councell of <HI>Chalcedon, Concilium Epi&s;coporum est;</HI> and that old Barbarous, but Chri&s;tian enough ver&s;e,</P>
<Q><L>Ite foras Laici, non est vobis locus yci.</L></Q>
<P>I would gladly aske of one of the&s;e Rabbies and great <NOTE PLACE="marg">Commi&s;&s;io|ners of Bur|rowes are there onely in a Lay-capa|city.</NOTE> Ma&s;ters in <HI>I&s;raell,</HI> how commeth it that the Commi&s;&s;io|ners of <HI>Burrowes</HI> &s;it there, voyce there? are they too <HI>de jure divino,</HI> by divine right? If they an&s;wer, that &s;uch are cho&s;en as are, or have been Lay-Elders; I rejoyne; the Lay-Elders come in that capacity onely, as Commi&s;&s;io|ners of the particular Presbyteries: The&s;e are not mem|bers con&s;tituents of the Presbyterie in that capacity, that they are, or have been Lay-Elders, but have right and in|tere&s;t in this high Court in that <HI>capacity</HI> meerly, as Com|mi&s;&s;ioners of Burrowes. Look upon their acts of generall A&s;&s;embly, and you will find, that it authorizes Commi&s;&s;i|oners from Burrowes to be parts con&s;tituent of this Iudi|catory, <HI>qu&acirc; tales,</HI> as &s;ent from the Burrowes.</P>
<P>Againe I aske, &s;eeing you make Doctors one of your <NOTE PLACE="marg">We find Doctors no where.</NOTE> four holy Functions Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall, con&s;tituted by Chri&s;t, in what Iudicatorie find we them? In Se&s;&s;ions they are not; In few Presbyteries they be; and if there, in &s;ome other capacitie. In generall A&s;&s;emblies, if any be, they ap|peare as Commi&s;&s;ioners from the Vniver&s;ity, in this ca|pacity onely. And many times it is &s;een, that Profe&s;&s;ors of Philo&s;ophie have been Commi&s;&s;ioners of Colledges in generall A&s;&s;emblies.</P>
<P>Leaving the&s;e ab&s;urdities, which are mon&s;trou&s;ly <NOTE PLACE="marg">The power which this Sanhedrim a&s;&s;umeth to it &s;elfe,</NOTE> gro&s;&s;e, I come to con&s;ider next, what is the Soveraigne power of this high <HI>Sanhedrim.</HI> If they would in Chri&s;ti|an
<PB N="32" REF="18">
moderation a&s;&s;ume no more to them&s;elves, but onely a <HI>directive power,</HI> and by humble Remon&s;trances and &s;up|plications, with that reverence is due to Soveraignty and Maje&s;ty, Petition the King to animate their Acts, Canons, and Con&s;titutions with the influence of his legi&s;lative power, this were faire quarter. But by your favour, no &s;ooner have they <HI>enacted</HI> it here, and &s;o &s;oon as it is &s;o|lemnly <HI>intimated,</HI> which is, by returning to every Pres|bytery, with it's Commi&s;&s;ioners, a Copie of the Acts, Orders and Ordinances, and by the Presbyterie's order e|very Mini&s;ter hath publi&s;hed them in the Pari&s;h Church; all things &s;o done are animated with a <HI>Potestative power,</HI> by the influence the&s;e orders receive from that <HI>Legi&s;lative power</HI> Chri&s;t hath entru&s;ted them with in <HI>his oeconomicall Kingdome.</HI> All then are bound to obedience, if it be in the meane&s;t indifferent thing, nay if this order cro&s;&s;e or repeale a &s;tanding Law, all di&s;obedients are liable to all Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall cen&s;ures, and may forth with be proceeded again&s;t even till they <HI>be delivered over into the hands of the Divell.</HI></P>
<P>This <HI>A&s;sembly</HI> is above the King, to them he ought to <NOTE PLACE="marg">They are above the King, and all Soveraignty.</NOTE> give an account of his faith; to their Confe&s;&s;ion of faith he mu&s;t conforme him&s;elfe; to their orders he mu&s;t give obedience; otherwi&s;e he is excommunicable, depo&s;able. I feare you &s;carce beleeve me: yet truely <HI>non verenda re|tego, &s;ed inverecunda confuto.</HI> I di&s;cover not the naked|ne&s;&s;e of Father, the &s;hame of Brother, nor friend; would to God the tenets and practices were buried in hell, and the maintainers regained to God by true repentance, and for&s;aking their wayes: I di&s;cover onely things that are pa&s;t all &s;hame, and which our Church can never owne. Sir, if you will hardly beleeve me in this, let me give you their
<PB N="33" REF="18">
a&s;&s;ertions in this ca&s;e, and their conformable practice.</P>
<P>It is their con&s;tant Catholicke tenet, that if the King, <NOTE PLACE="marg">If they can|not reforme by the King, they may by any other meanes el&s;e.</NOTE> Queene, Regent or Protector, or who&s;oever he or &s;he is, in who&s;e Per&s;on Soveraignty is fixed, or in who&s;e Per&s;on it is repre&s;entatively fixed, onely by a fiduciary tru&s;t, during the non-age of the Prince or Prince&s;&s;e; will not &s;ubmit him&s;elfe to this holy Scepter, will not according to it's pre&s;cript, reforme Religion, pre&s;erve it in it's inte|grity, any man or men are bound to doe it at their dire|ction. I &s;pare <HI>Martin. Junior's</HI> faith in this, that there is no authority above the Brotherhood. <Q>No Magistrate (&s;aith he, <HI>The&s;: 17. 18. 22.</HI>) may lawfully may me or de|forme the body of Chri&s;t, which is the Church; no lawfull Church Government is changeable, at the plea&s;ure of the Magistrate; of nece&s;sity all Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trates are bound to receive this government.</Q>Nor will I in&s;i&s;t up|on <HI>Vigginton's</HI> a&s;&s;ertion; That  <Q>what the Holy Brother|hood cannot obtaine by &s;uite and di&s;pute, the People mu&s;t bring it to pa&s;&s;e.</Q> You de&s;ire the tenets and practices of the Church of <HI>Scotland</HI> onely.</P>
<P>The <HI>Scot's</HI> maintaine, that if the King, or Queene, will <NOTE PLACE="marg">Religion may be reformed or pre&s;erved by violence.</NOTE> not reforme Religion, they may take upon them by vio|lence and power to reforme it. This they have learned of their grand-father <HI>Knox,</HI> as you may read in an Epi&s;tle of his written from <HI>Deepe. Anno.</HI> 1557. and in <HI>Knox Histor. pag.</HI> 213. what is lawfull for Reformation, is lawfull for pre&s;ervation of Religion.</P>
<P N="1">1. And here they begin with the Nobles: and deter|mine right downe, <NOTE PLACE="marg">If the King will not, the Nobles may.</NOTE> <HI>Noble men ought to Reforme Religion, if the King will not. Knox, app.</HI> 25. againe, <HI>that God hath appointed the Nobility to bridle the inordinate appetites of Princes, and in &s;o doing, they cannot be accu&s;ed, as re&s;isters</HI>
<PB N="34" REF="19">
<HI>of authority.</HI> Knox, Hi&s;t. 343. and, <HI>that it is their duty to repre&s;&s;e the rage and in&s;olency of Princes.</HI> Knox, app. 33.</P>
<P N="2">2. In the &s;econd place, if the Nobles will not doe, <HI>the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">If neither King nor Nobles, the people may.</NOTE> <HI>People and Commonaltie may reforme Religion, at the order and direction of the Brotherhood.</HI> Knox, <HI>to the Commonalty.</HI> fol. 49. 50. <HI>The Commonaltie, by their power, may bridle the cruell beasts;</HI> (They meane Prie&s;ts and Prelates) <HI>Knox to the Commonalty.</HI> fol. 55. <HI>The Commonalty may lawfully re|quire of their Soveraigne to have true Preachers, and if he be negligent, they may them&s;elves provide them, maintaine them, defend them, again&s;t all that doe per&s;ecute them, and may detaine the profits of the Church livings from the other &s;ort;</HI> That is to &s;ay, Prie&s;ts, Papi&s;ts, Prelates, and Malig|nants. <HI>Knox</HI> to the Commonalty. <HI>fol.</HI> 55.</P>
<P N="3">3. In the third place, if they come to the happine&s;&s;e to <NOTE PLACE="marg">If Nobles &amp; Commons joyne, there is hope of &s;ome greater &s;ucce&s;&s;e.</NOTE> have Nobles and Commons obedient to their comman|dements, for reformation, or pre&s;ervation of true Religi|on (which mu&s;t be &s;o as they fan&s;ie) I am deceived, if they allow not more violence, and e&s;teeme it more piety, zeale, and ju&s;tice. Their tenets are. <HI>The Commonalty concurring with the Nobles, may compell the Bi&s;hops to cea&s;e from their tyranny.</HI> Knox to the Commonalty. fol. 47. againe, <HI>The Nobility and Comminalty, ought to reforme Religion, and in that ca&s;e may remove from honours, and may puni&s;h &s;uch as God hath condemned,</HI> Deut. 13. <HI>Of what estate, condition, or honour &s;oever.</HI> Knox, app. fol. 28. 30.</P>
<P N="4">4. In the fourth place, if the Nobles will not joyne <NOTE PLACE="marg">Inferiour Ma|gi&s;trates and people may joyne.</NOTE> with the People or Commonalty in the reformation, or pre&s;ervation of true Religion, at the direction of the Mi|ni&s;tery, the inferior Magi&s;trates may, and &s;hould doe it. <HI>Knox, Hi&s;t. p.</HI> 217.</P>
<P N="5"><PB N="35" REF="19">
5. In the fifth place, before &s;o good a worke be not <NOTE PLACE="marg">Every indivi|duall in this good worke, may, &amp; ought to the utmo&s;t of his povver, to intend and endeavour re|formation.</NOTE> done, if Nobles, or the whole, or greate&s;t part of the Com|monalty will not be obedient, a&s;&s;i&s;ting, and ayding to &s;o good a work; Every individuall man and per&s;on is bound to advance this good work, to kill Papi&s;t, Prie&s;t, Prelate, Malignant, nay a King, if He &s;tand out an Enemy to God, and Chri&s;t, and cannot otherwi&s;e be reclaimed, or remo|ved, nor by &s;uite, or di&s;pute gained to the right way, (I dare &s;ay their doctrine leads to this) &s;ee <HI>Knox app. fol.</HI> 30. where roundly he &s;aith, <HI>The puni&s;hment of &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ch crimes as touch the Maje&s;ty of God, doth not appertaine to Kings and chiefe Rulers onely, but al&s;o to the whole body of the People, and to every member of the &s;ame, to revenge the injury done against God.</HI> Againe &s;ee him fol. 35. <HI>The People are bound by oath to God, to revenge, to the utmo&s;t of their power, the injury done again&s;t God's Majestie.</HI> To this purpo&s;e they alleadge the examples of <HI>Phineas,</HI> who in his zeale killed the adulterers: of <HI>Ehud,</HI> who in the &s;ame zeale killed <HI>Eg|lon</HI> in his private Chamber, (remember he was a King.) Of <HI>Iael,</HI> who killed <HI>Si&s;era:</HI> of <HI>Matathias,</HI> who in zeale kil|led a Iew for committing of Idolatry; and who in the &s;ame zeale at the &s;ame time killed the King's Commi&s;&s;io|ner. Sir, put the&s;e things together, and &s;ee where this So|veraigne &s;upreame Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Iudicatory hath &s;uch dominion and power over mens con&s;ciences, that being directed by their Mini&s;terie, they are bound to doe to the utmo&s;t of their power for reformation and pre&s;ervation of Religion, what &s;acred Per&s;on of any King can be &s;ecu|red? what man offending again&s;t the Maje&s;ty of God (which is as they fan&s;ie many times) may not be taken a|way by one like to a <HI>Ravilliack?</HI> what Commi&s;&s;ioner or Coun&s;ellor of the King but in doing his be&s;t &s;ervice to
<PB N="36" REF="20">
his Mai&s;ter, he may be &s;toned like to <HI>Adoram,</HI> and all this goe in popular e&s;teeme currant for good &s;ervice and extra|ordinary zeale to God and his cau&s;e.</P>
<P N="6">6. In the &s;ixth place upon tho&s;e grounds Covenants <NOTE PLACE="marg">All, or as ma|ny as are well affected, may covenant and combine for doing this work.</NOTE> and Confederacies come in to &s;trengthen all, to joyne pur&s;es, per&s;ons, wit, and &s;trength, <HI>contra omnes mortales, Regi&acirc; Majestate non except&acirc;,</HI> again&s;t King and Bi&s;hop, Prince and Prelate, to the defence of the good cau&s;e; with a combination, every one to be ayding, a&s;&s;i&s;ting and main|taining one another in &s;o good a cau&s;e.</P>
<P N="7">7. In the la&s;t place commeth their Orders for refor|mation <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Confe|derats may by them&s;elves give Orders.</NOTE> or pre&s;ervation, and that by them&s;elves and the collective body, or any a&s;&s;ociates what&s;oever, without re|&s;pect, reverence or obedience to the Soveraign authority of the Prince.</P>
<P>The practice is cleerly &s;een in M^r <HI>Knox</HI> his procee|dings, for after that by his Letter, which we mentioned <NOTE PLACE="marg">Practi&s;es up|on the tenets.</NOTE> before written to Scotland <HI>Anno,</HI> 1557. from <HI>Deepe,</HI> and otherwi&s;e he had infu&s;ed the above named principles into many, an oath of confederacy was taken among&s;t them, and &s;ub&s;cription under their hands to &s;ome agreement. This gave life to that tumultuary reformation, much &s;trength being added to it, by the concurrence of the Sa|crilegious, hoping thus to &s;wallow up the Church reve|news. which is more then certain was again&s;t <HI>Knox</HI> his mind, and the fir&s;t reformers. As we deplore great lo&s;&s;es the Church had by this reformation, and doe thank God heartily for his admirable bounty and mercy in the good of truth we got by it, yet we will never wrong Reformed Religion &s;o much as to account of that as an orderly re|formation, we deny not but it was attended with much Sedition Faction and Rebellion.</P>
<P><PB N="37" REF="20">
<HI>Anno</HI> 1558. without the authority of Soveraignty, nay <NOTE PLACE="marg">Orders of Re|formation pre&s;cribed without the authority of Soveraignty.</NOTE> without the knowledge of it, the&s;e confederates, at the di|rection of their Mini&s;tery pre&s;cribe orders for Reformati|on of Religion to be ob&s;erved and practi&s;ed throughout the whole Kingdom. See <HI>Knox</HI> &s;torie pag. 217. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">8.</P>
<P>They goe farther, they writ an Imperious Letter to the <NOTE PLACE="marg">They charge their adver&s;e party to obey their Orders.</NOTE> Religious hou&s;es, in the <HI>name of the Congregation,</HI> com|manding all of them <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> remove from thence again&s;t &s;uch a day, or then they would eject them by force. <HI>Knox</HI> ib.</P>
<P>Within very &s;hort time after, a Parliament being hol|den by <NOTE PLACE="marg">They proto&s;t again&s;t King and Parlia|ment.</NOTE> the Queen Regent, (Queen <HI>Maries</HI> mother, and great Grandmother to our gratious Soveraign) they make a Prote&s;tation, that except they had their de&s;ires, they would goe on in their intended cour&s;e of Reformation, that neither they, nor any that joyned with them, &s;hould incurre therefore any danger in life, or lands, or other Ci|vill Penalties, and that if any violence hapned in pur&s;uit of tho&s;e matters, they &s;hould thank them&s;elves. It is very ob&s;ervable they were all bound in that confederacie to a&s;|&s;i&s;t and &s;trengthen each other in that cour&s;e. See <HI>Knox</HI> Hi&s;t. pag. 256. Fir&s;t, here you have the direction of the Mini&s;tery. Next, you have a confederacy and bond of mutuall defence. Thirdly, you have Orders and Decrees agreed upon in common. Fourthly, you have warrants i&s;|&s;ued out to make or force all to be put in execution. Fiftly, you have a Prote&s;tation, and that a threatning one too, a|gain&s;t the Queen Regent and whole Parliament. Sir, are tho&s;e things con&s;i&s;tent with Monarchie? what Scripture? what Father? what practice of the Church doth warrant &s;uch a reformation? <NOTE PLACE="marg">They con|temne Sove|raign autho|rity.</NOTE></P>
<P>Come on, and you &s;hall have them anon in open con|temning Soveraign Authority. The Queen Regent to
<PB N="38" REF="21">
&s;uppre&s;&s;e the&s;e beginnings, and to nip them in the bud, cites them to appeare at <HI>Stirling.</HI> They appeare not. They are outlawed: all men under pain of Trea&s;on are inhibited to a&s;&s;i&s;t them. There is no obedience, but all in the con|federacie adhere to them. I cannot, for my part, ju&s;tify this divinity.</P>
<P>From di&s;obedience and contempt, they are guilty of <NOTE PLACE="marg">They u&s;urpe Royall povv|er.</NOTE> u&s;urping the Royall power, for v<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ry &s;hortly after, <HI>anno</HI> 1559. Immediatly after a Sermon Preached by <HI>Knox</HI> in <HI>Saint-Iohnstowne,</HI> at his exhortation and direction, they fall to the pulling downe of the Religious Hou&s;es, and within two or three daies equall three of them to the ground. Sir, can it appeare that by Holy Writ or Rea&s;on &s;uch Popular tumultuary reformations are warrantable? Is it not intrin&s;ecally inherent in the Crown or where&s;oe|ver &s;overaignty is fixed? And &s;o they proceeded in <HI>Fife, Angus, Mornis, Stirling, Lowthian &amp;c.</HI> and through the whole Kingdom. See <HI>Knox</HI> Hi&s;t. p. 263. Here were many goodly and Rich Churches Spoyled, Robbed, and ca&s;t downe.</P>
<P>After this they di&s;claim Soveraign authority, except it be as they plea&s;e, and have their de&s;ires. The Queen Re|gent <NOTE PLACE="marg">They re|nounce their lavvfull Sove|raigne.</NOTE> threatned S. <HI>Iohn&s;towne</HI> where this di&s;order fir&s;t was acted. They of the confederacy writ to her in plain termes,<Q> that except She stayed from that cruelty, they &s;hould be compelled to take the Sword of Iust defence, and protested, that without the reformation which they de&s;ired, they would never be Subject to any mortall man.</Q> See <HI>Knox</HI> pag. 265.</P>
<P>More followed. By a Letter they cite all their Bre|thren <NOTE PLACE="marg">They com|mand all the Brotherhood to be a&s;&s;i|&s;tants.</NOTE> to repaire unto them, and that you may know that their Letters were authoritative commands, and that all
<PB N="39" REF="21">
the authority is from the <HI>independent Soveraignty of the Church,</HI> con&s;ider how they write to the Nobility upon paine of Excommunication to joyne with them. <HI>Knox ibid. pag.</HI> 268, 269, 272.</P>
<P>How much this Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Soveraignty did exalt <NOTE PLACE="marg">They are o|beyed, the Queenes He|rald is abu&s;ed.</NOTE> it &s;elfe above the civill, is more then apparent in this, that when an Herald in his coat of armes, commanded all men under pain of Trea&s;on to returne to their hou&s;es, by pub|lique &s;ound of Trumpet in <HI>Gla&s;gow</HI> no man obeyed that charge, but went forward to their a&s;&s;ociates, <HI>Habes confi|tentem reum,</HI> Knox. pag. 274.</P>
<P>They denounce Warre too, which was ever judged to <NOTE PLACE="marg">They de|nounce vvarre again&s;t their adver&s;aries.</NOTE> be the peculiar &s;pecifick prerogative of Soveraignty, for they writ to the Bi&s;hops and Clergy, that except they de|&s;i&s;ted from dealing again&s;t them, <HI>They would, with all force and power, execute just vengeance and puni&s;hment upon them: and that they would begin the &s;ame warre, which God commanded I&s;raell to execute again&s;t the Cana|nites.</HI> Which manner of proceeding, they termed a re&s;i|&s;ting of the Enemy. <HI>Knox. Hi&s;t.</HI> 275, 276.</P>
<P>The poor Queen Regent was brought to an Accommo|dation, <NOTE PLACE="marg">They vvill heare of no Peace, but enter into a Combination for mutuall defence.</NOTE> and the A&s;&s;embly at S^t-<HI>Iohn&s;towne</HI> was di&s;mi&s;&s;ed. But there parting they entered into a League by Oath, that if any one Member of their <HI>Congregation</HI> (this in the Scotti&s;h is Equivalent to <HI>Eccle&s;ia)</HI> &s;hould be troubled, they &s;hould all <HI>concurre, a&s;si&s;t and convene againe together, for the defence of the &s;ame.</HI> Knox. pag. 283.</P>
<P>The Queen Regent finding this Soveraignty overbeare Her's, and the Peace of the Kingdom &s;haken, by a Decla|ration publi&s;hed and proclaimed, te&s;tified her de&s;ire of Peace, and de&s;cended &s;o much, that really it was onely a reque&s;t. They &s;corned it, would none of it, confuted it by
<PB N="40" REF="22">
another, did exhort tho&s;e of their Faction to <HI>encourage them&s;elves in the Lord,</HI> to &s;tand upon their guard like to the re-builders of <HI>Hieru&s;alem</HI> and the Temple, with the Sword in one hand and the Bible in another, wherein they gave the Queen many times the Lye, and abu&s;ed her with reproachfull and contumelious &s;peeches. The Subjects that continue their obedience are honoured with no bet|ter tearme then to be called <HI>the Queenes Faction.</HI> You may read this at lei&s;ure and plea&s;ure in <HI>Knox Hi&s;tory. pag.</HI> 330, 333, 362, 364. Nay, they renounce their obedience unto Her, prote&s;ted that who&s;oever &s;hould take Her part, <HI>&s;hould be puni&s;hed as Traitors, when&s;oever God &s;hould put the Sword of Iustice into their hands.</HI> Knox Hi&s;t. p. 364.</P>
<P>At la&s;t they ri&s;e to the highe&s;t pitch of Rebellion, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">They depo&s;e the Queene Regent.</NOTE> <HI>Anno.</HI> 1560. they depo&s;e the Queen Regent, the prede|termination being given, that it was lawfull for them to do &s;o, by M^r <HI>Knox</HI> and M^r <HI>Wilcockes.</HI> This is upon re|cord yet in that Kingdome, and is &s;et downe by M. <HI>Knox</HI> him&s;elfe. <HI>Hi&s;t. pag.</HI> 372. 378. and it is ob&s;ervable, that the Queen, if I remember right, lived but a month, or little more, after this pious act.</P>
<P>Sir, you will now &s;ay, that I &s;peak too hardly of our fir&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Author's mode&s;t opini|on of that is called the fir&s;t reformation of <HI>Scotland.</HI></NOTE> Reformers and Reformation, and would know what is my opinion of them and it. To deale clearly, God is my witne&s;&s;e I am no Papi&s;t, but doe abhorre Popery as much as any, and that I am no Puritane the other party wil wit|ne&s;&s;e for me. I am bound to &s;peak the truth in my heart, and to give &s;ome &s;atisfaction, I &s;ay 1. Fir&s;t, as I am able, I ble&s;&s;e and prai&s;e God mo&s;t heartily that we were delive|red from the Popes Tyranny, and that gro&s;&s;e Aegyptian darkne&s;&s;e we were under: which I a&s;cribe to the admira|ble wi&s;edome and infinitely tran&s;cendent goodne&s;&s;e of
<PB N="41" REF="22">
God. 2. Next I leave the men to God's mercy, but for the manner of proceeding, the way they took, I dare not, I will not approve it: but will &s;ay with <HI>Iacob, in con&s;ilium eo|rum ne veniat anima mea.</HI> 3. Thirdly, I daily heartily be|waile that that too too much Idoli&s;ed reformation in an exce&s;&s;ive hatred again&s;t Popery, did runn too much to the other extreame, that the goodly order and government nece&s;&s;ary of the Church was &s;houldered out; the publick &s;ervice and wor&s;hip of God with it's decency, reverence and comline&s;&s;e was much defaced, di&s;graced; That good|ly, &s;tately and rich Churches, were abu&s;ed, robbed and equalled to the ground; and that the Church Patrimonie was dilapidated: and yet this was not &s;o much done by the fir&s;t called Reformers, as by their Di&s;ciples, <HI>Aetas parentum pejor avis.</HI></P>
<P>It feareth me, be&s;ides that God is puni&s;hing our pre&s;ent &s;innes, that by this &s;courge, which is guilded with the &s;pe|cious, but &s;purious compellation of a <HI>glorious thorow, &s;e|cond Reformation,</HI> he is in the &s;ame ju&s;tice puni&s;hing the &s;innes of that fir&s;t Reformation. For my part I judge ve|rily that Church had never an orderly and warrantable Reformation, till it was happily begun and advanced by King <HI>Iames</HI> when he took the government in his owne hands, and was like to come to a great perfection under the government of our mo&s;t gratious Soveraigne King <HI>Charles.</HI> Although I deny not but the &s;eeds of truth were &s;owen by <HI>Hamilton, Wi&s;eheart, Mylne</HI> and others, who before <HI>Knox</HI> his time did Preach truth, ca&s;t downe the er|rors of <HI>Rome</HI> in the Peoples hearts, were farre from &s;tur|ring up the Subjects again&s;t lawfull authority, and like the ancient Martyrs, did &s;uffer patiently and &s;eale the truth of the Go&s;pell with their blood. If <HI>Knox</HI> and his Complices
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had kept in this way I am certaine that Church had been more happy: nor had we &s;een &s;uch Robbery and deformi|ty in the Church. Sure I am, great, many, and more then ordinary &s;innes in them and us and our forefathers have brought us to be plunged in tho&s;e almo&s;t inextricable mi&s;eries: And till we proportionably repent, we can|not look to &s;ee better dayes, what is disjoynted in &s;tate &s;et aright, and the beauty of God's hou&s;e re&s;tored; which God of his mercy grant to us for his onely Sonne Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>By what is &s;aid, it appeares &s;ufficiently that this <HI>&s;piritu|all Soveraignty</HI> is farre above the King's Crowne, and what we undertook, to make their practices prove their tenets, is more then evident, onely one thing re&s;ts to be proved, that this Soveraignty may authorize any and eve|ry private man to doe to the utmo&s;t of their power for the Reformation of Religion, to plunder, kill, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Sir, I referre you to M^r <HI>Knox</HI> hi&s;tory of the Church of <HI>Scotland, pag.</HI> 143, 144, 145. where relating how <HI>Cardinal</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Practice of mi&s;chief done by private men, &amp; com|mended by them.</NOTE> <HI>Beaton</HI> Archbi&s;hop of Saint <HI>Andrew's,</HI> (a man whom I ju|&s;tifie not neither commend much) was killed by <HI>Norman Le&s;ley, Iohn Le&s;ley, Peter Carmichael</HI> and <HI>Iames Melvil</HI> in his owne hou&s;e the Ca&s;tle of Saint <HI>Andrew's,</HI> who were all onely private Gentlemen, and if you will tru&s;t <HI>Bucha|nan,</HI> the cau&s;e was a jarre betwixt <HI>Norman Le&s;ley</HI> and the <HI>Cardinal;</HI> upon <HI>Knox</HI> faith, the quarrell was the killing of M. <HI>George Wi&s;eheart</HI> (a good man undoubtedly.) The <HI>Cardinal</HI> could have no mercy, although he cryed pittiful|ly for it, &s;aying, I am a Prie&s;t ye will not &s;lay me; <HI>Knox</HI> I &s;ay relating this hi&s;tory commends the fact of <HI>Iames Mel|vil</HI> killing him with grave and pious words in his mouth as a godly fact. The &s;umme of the &s;tory is, when they en|tred
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the Cardinall's chamber with &s;ome &s;ixteen or &s;even|teen more, <HI>Iohn Le&s;ly</HI> and <HI>Peter Carmichaell</HI> fell violently and pa&s;&s;ionatly on him, but <HI>Iames Melvill</HI> with gravity and piety withdrew them, and &s;aid: <Q>This work and judge|ment of God (although it be &s;ecret) ought to be done with great gravitie. And pre&s;enting unto him the poynt of the Sword, &s;aid, Repent thee of thy former wicked life, but e|&s;pecially of thy &s;hedding of the blood of that notable in&s;tru|ment of God M. <HI>George Wi&s;eheart,</HI> which albeit the flame of &s;ire con&s;umed before men, yet cries it a vengeance upon thee, and we from God are &s;ent to revenge it. For here be|fore my God I prote&s;t, that neither the hatred of thy per&s;on, the love of thy Riches, nor the feare of any trouble, thou couldest have done to me in particular, moved, or moveth me to &s;trike thee: but only becau&s;e thou ha&s;t been and re|mainest an ob&s;tinate enemy against Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and his ho|ly Go&s;pell.</Q> And the meek man of God, as he is there ter|med, &s;troke him twi&s;e or thri&s;e thorow with a &s;tog-&s;word; and he fell. I give all this that <HI>Iames Melvill</HI> did this in revenge of M. <HI>George Wi&s;eheart</HI> being &s;lain by the Car|dinall. what Divinity will warrant this fact of <HI>Iames Mel|vil's</HI> to be a good and Godly fact (for &s;o it is noted in the Margent) to a privat man to murther or kill thus a Prie&s;t an Archbi&s;hop of &s;o high dignity? The re&s;ult of all is, he did it gravely, in coldblood, told him &s;o much, that he was &s;ent from God, he had no private end, the motive &s;turred him up to this Godly fact, was, that he had been and re|mained at that time an enemy to Ie&s;us Chri&s;t and his holy Go&s;pell; he exhorted him to repentance and for all his great &s;innes, as <HI>Knox</HI> writes the &s;torie, he allowed him no more time, but &s;o much as was &s;pent in his Godly Har|ang: for immediatly after he was twi&s;e thru&s;t thorow. But
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tho&s;e Seraphicall Doctors know, <HI>Ne&s;cit tarda molimina Spiritus Sanctus;</HI> and the &s;pirit can work &s;uddenly, <HI>Inter os &amp; offam; Inter Pontem &amp; Fontem,</HI> e&s;pecially where and when they are &s;ent of God to doe &s;uch great good works. But this is <HI>prote&s;tatio contra factum.</HI> what ever M. <HI>Melvil</HI> &s;aid in his Prote&s;tation, <HI>Knox</HI> doth witne&s;&s;e that the Car|dinall being murthered, they &s;eized upon <HI>the Artillery and Ammunition, wherewith that fortre&s;&s;e was plentifully fur|ni&s;hed, and likewi&s;e upon the rich hangings, hou&s;hold-&s;tuffe of all &s;orts, apparell, Copes, Jewels, ornaments of Churches, great &s;tore of Gold and Silver Plate, be&s;ides no &s;mall quanti|ty of trea&s;ure in ready coyne.</HI></P>
<P>I could in&s;tance &s;ome practices about the time of the Parliament in <HI>anno</HI> 1621. commonly called the Marque&s;&s;e of <HI>Hamilton's</HI> Parliament, but becau&s;e that will only reflect upon &s;ome particular per&s;ons, I pa&s;&s;e it willingly and wit|tingly.</P>
<P>It is mo&s;t certain when the pious and learned Doctors of <HI>Aberdene,</HI> did demand of the Patriarches of this late Co|venant, why they did not by Preaching, Printing, Cen&s;u|ring, or &s;ome reall deed expre&s;&s;e their dete&s;tation of that horrid fact done by the Ra&s;cally-rout of <HI>Edenburgh</HI> the 23. of <HI>Iuly</HI> 1637. where at the fir&s;t reading of the &s;ervice there, a great many Bi&s;hops being in the Cathedrall Church, the Serving-women ro&s;e barbarou&s;ly within the Church, did throw their &s;tooles at the Bi&s;hop of the place, and the Deane who was officiating, did cry out mo&s;t horribly, that the Major, Aldermen, and others within could hardly compo&s;e it for a long time, and the wor&s;t and ba&s;e&s;t of the People, who were without, did throw in great &s;tones at the gla&s;&s;e windowes, the doores being &s;hut. After the ari&s;ing of the commotion, to prevent
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more tumult and danger, and when Service and Sermon were done, the Bi&s;hops, Major and Aldermen going home with the Lord Chancellor and &s;ome BB. attending his Grace, the Bi&s;hop, and Deane of <HI>Edenburgh</HI> with o|thers were well nigh &s;toned in the &s;treets: when I &s;ay it was demanded of the&s;e Apo&s;tles, why they did not con|demne this unchri&s;tian Barbarous outrage, voyd of Pietie and Rea&s;on, and without any example in the Chri&s;tian Church, the &s;umme of their an&s;wer was, and to this day is, that &s;uch a zealous people were to be left to their own warrand, they knew not by what Spirit they were gover|ned, God worketh great workes many times by ba&s;e&s;t means: and yet tho&s;e Nobles, tho&s;e zealous, tho&s;e intel|ligent and knowing Chri&s;tians (whereof many of them in <HI>Edenburgh</HI> were knowne Coale-&s;tealers and Whores) were the fir&s;t <HI>active instruments in this glorious reformati|on.</HI> I confe&s;&s;e this Divinity is &s;o tran&s;cendent and Meta|phy&s;icall, that it exceeds my capacity, and is &s;o fruitfull upon any occa&s;ion to work all or the greate&s;t of mi&s;|chiefes, that I doe not &s;ee how it can con&s;i&s;t with peace or &s;afety of King, Kingdome, Church, or of any entru|&s;ted with greate&s;t tru&s;t in Church or State. Sir, I believe any rationall man may &s;ee by this, how &s;uperlatively this &s;pirituall Signorie is above King and Royall Soveraignty. I leave it to your own judgement and memory to recol|lect it, and to bring home the conclu&s;ion, that this go|vernment Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall is incon&s;i&s;tent with Monarchie, with the Peace of a Kingdome, and is or may be in time a Mother and Nur&s;e of as much Rebellion and Trea&s;on as any Ie&s;uiti&s;me of the Highe&s;t dye, if not more. Cer|tainly <HI>Rome,</HI> although a Whore, and hath a cup of abomi|nation in her hand, is not &s;o bad nor &s;o abominable;
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I pray God to keep all good Chri&s;tians cleane of both.</P>
<P>Let us goe on; In Faith, Wor&s;hip, and all &s;pirituall things they vindicate to them&s;elves &s;uch a Soveraignty, that <HI>King, Councell, Parliament,</HI> nay all together, mu&s;t not touch the Scepter of Chri&s;t, they are to determine, define, take cogni&s;ance, accu&s;e, &s;entence, puni&s;h; neither King, nor King and Councell, nor King and Parliament, all mu&s;t a&s;&s;ume power here, for otherwi&s;e it is to intrude upon Chri&s;t and his Right.</P>
<P>This Soveraignty is of &s;o high a &s;traine, &s;o large an ex|tent, that when they have decreed any thing in this &s;u|pream <NOTE PLACE="marg">When they demand the Royall con|formation of their decrees it is only an act of courte|&s;ie.</NOTE> infallible Iudicatorie, that they may have the bet|ter obedience to demand the King and Parliament's ap|probation; This is not demanded as a thing arbitrary which the King and Parliament may doe or not doe; or leaving it to His Royall judgement with the advice of His Parliament to qualify or rectify their decrees, and orders: No, no truly; that is to betray the tru&s;t Chri&s;t hath given them, they need not &s;upplicate or Petition for it, it is in them but an act of courte&s;ie to &s;hew dutifull obedience. And if the King and Parliament will not grant it, they are armed with as much power from Heaven as to force them to doe it, by Excommunication, and making all good Chri&s;tians joyne with them in God's cau&s;e.</P>
<P>Sir, I feare you think I &s;peake Liberally. God forbid I &s;hould doe it. I doubt not but you have read the Scoti&s;h Pope's Sermon Preached at <HI>Westmin&s;ter,</HI> and Printed by Order of the Hou&s;e, &s;ince you have it I will not &s;pend time and Paper to cite his Words which giveth to the King no more. But to make this appeare, I give you &s;ome unan&s;werable rea&s;ons. 1. It is certain in Scotland M. <HI>Knox</HI> and his complices &s;et on their reformation without the
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Queen, or Queen Regents authority, or the authority of Parliament. For <HI>anno</HI> 1558. they made their confederacy: gave out their Orders for Reformation throughout the whole Kingdome. <HI>anno</HI> 1559. they acted their Reforma|tion, <NOTE PLACE="marg">An in&s;tance. <HI>anno.</HI> 1559.</NOTE> by ca&s;ting downe Churches, Abbyes, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> ca&s;ting out Prie&s;ts, Friers, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and all this by their owne radicall and originall power. Queen <HI>Mary</HI> their true and lawfull So|veraigne did authorize them in nothing, &s;he was then in <HI>France.</HI> The Queen <HI>Dowager,</HI> Queen Regent, King <HI>Iames</HI> the fifth's Widdow, having the Soveraignty by fiduciary tru&s;t, in regard of the ab&s;ence of the Queen her daughter, did not authorize it, nay &s;he did by her authority oppo&s;e it, contradict it, came in Armes again&s;t it. The Parliament was not till the yeare 1560. (how holden for the pre&s;ent I cannot tell) but in that Parliament they &s;et out a confe&s;|&s;ion of faith, reformed Religion: but when they &s;ent to King and Queen beyond Seas (Queen <HI>Mary</HI> was then Married to <HI>Francis</HI> the &s;econd in <HI>France)</HI> to confirme or ratifie the acts thereof, they denied. When intelligence was given to the Confederates, they profe&s;&s;ed they little regarded the deniall of King and Queene, for &s;ay they <HI>(Knox Hi&s;t. pag.</HI> 500.) <HI>all we did was rather to &s;hew our du|tifull obedience, then to begge of them any &s;trength to our Religion.</HI></P>
<P>Another in this kind you have; In <HI>Anno</HI> 1571. King <NOTE PLACE="marg">Another in|&s;tance, <HI>anno.</HI> 1571.</NOTE> <HI>Iames</HI> then being King, and the <HI>Earle of Marre</HI> being <HI>Re|gent,</HI> an A&s;&s;embly was holden at <HI>Leith,</HI> where by the Or|der of the A&s;&s;embly, and Ordinance of the <HI>Regent</HI> and Councell, &s;ome Commi&s;&s;ioners were appointed from the <HI>Regent</HI> and Councell, and &s;ome from the generall A&s;&s;em|bly to conde&s;cend upon a <HI>platforme of di&s;cipline,</HI> which was agreed to on both &s;ides. The <HI>platforme</HI> is that the Go|vernment
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of the Church &s;hall be by Archbi&s;hops, Bi|&s;hops, Deanes and Chapters, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> the order and cour&s;e of all their Nomination, Election, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> is ju&s;t conforme to this in <HI>England</HI> at this day, and as it was in <HI>Scotland</HI> before this <HI>new happy Reformation.</HI> This was enrolled in the Councell Books of that Kingdom, and &s;tands there to this day, this I know certainly, and if I be not deceived, and almo&s;t I dare &s;ay it, except they have wronged their mo&s;t famous and their mo&s;t ancient Councells, the platforme is upon Record in the <HI>Generall A&s;&s;embly Books.</HI></P>
<P>Give me leave to tell you by the way one thing, that the <HI>Negative Faith,</HI> which is <HI>&s;ine rug&acirc;, &s;ine macul&acirc;,</HI> was fra|med, <HI>anno</HI> 1580. and it is believed, that in that Negative faith Epi&s;copacy is abjured as Antichri&s;tian; yet <HI>anno</HI> 1581. this &s;ame Government is renewed, ratified and or|dained to continue con&s;tant, and not to be changed till His Maje&s;ty come to perfect age, and to be kept or changed then onely in what He and His great Councell, the Parli|ament, &s;hall think fit, and not otherwi&s;e. Before this the King His Hou&s;hold and Councell had &s;ub&s;cribed the <HI>Ne|gative Faith;</HI> can any man, not voyd of judgement and di&s;cretion, think, that the King, His Hou&s;hold and Coun|cell in &s;ub&s;cribing it did judge Epi&s;copacy Popi&s;h and Antichri&s;tian.</P>
<P>Next it is worth your notice taking, that as I honour the good parts which were in <HI>Knox</HI> and his fellow-labou|rers, I never accounted them as Apo&s;tles men &s;ecured from error; yet I will &s;ay &s;o much for their ju&s;tification, that they were greater Enemies to Sacriledge than their after-di&s;ciples; and were not again&s;t the Order of Epi&s;co|pacy as Popi&s;h and Antichri&s;tian, as M. <HI>Andrew Melvil</HI> and his di&s;ciples afterward maintained. Nor were they &s;o
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fooli&s;h to &s;eclude all Church-men from voyce in Parlia|ment, onely their de&s;ire was, that &s;eeing the Popi&s;h Bi|&s;hops were allowed to enjoy their Benefices and Rents during their life time (this was more then our charitable glorious Reformers allowed to their Prote&s;tant Bi&s;hops now) with all other Priviledges except &s;pirituall juri&s;di|ction, that they &s;hould not &s;it in Parliament as the <HI>repre|&s;entative of the Church,</HI> but in their places &s;hould &s;it the <HI>Superintendents and Commi&s;sioners of the Church.</HI> Which indeed were &s;omewhat like to Bi&s;hops, but re&s;embled more Arch-Presbyters then Bi&s;hops.</P>
<P>To returne againe thither from whence we digre&s;&s;ed; <NOTE PLACE="marg">They &s;et on their Di&s;ci|pline by them&s;elves.</NOTE> after that this platforme of di&s;cipline was &s;o agreed and e&s;tabli&s;hed, as we told before, M. <HI>Andrew Melvil</HI> comes to <HI>Scotland</HI> about the yeare 1574, or 75. <HI>ultra citra.</HI> This man a good Hebrecian and Lingui&s;t, and full of the <HI>Geneva Talmud</HI> which was now more refined, beginneth to &s;et Presbyterian di&s;cipline higher, to make a <HI>&s;econd book of Policy,</HI> or <HI>devout Imaginations,</HI> acknowledgeth no more Orders in the Church, then the foure above named. A Bi&s;hop was no more in Scripture but the &s;ame identically with Presbyter; and where Abbots and Priors to his time were nominated and admitted to the Abbies and Priories as Church-men, gave their trialls and were <HI>collated</HI> (as they &s;peake) by the &s;uperintendents: This great Doctor found out another Divinity, that there was no Bi&s;hop but a Pari&s;h Prie&s;t; Scripture, for Abbots and Priors there were none &s;uch in God's book. At this time, and from that they call Reformation to this time, there was no Bi|&s;hoprick nor Abbie annexed to the Crowne, and con&s;e|quently not impropriate to any Subject. It is true Lay-men held them <HI>in commendam</HI> by the King's gift, but as
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men able to doe the King and Church good &s;ervice; and before their right could be completed or perfected, they were to returne to the King from the Superintendent a <HI>collation</HI> or certificate, that he was of that ability to doe good &s;ervice to the King and Church. Men &s;acrilegiou&s;ly di&s;po&s;ed gra&s;ped greedily this doctrine, and thanked God that their names as <HI>Abbots</HI> &amp; <HI>Priors were not in the book of God.</HI> And to have the&s;e Church livings and dignities with Bi&s;hopricks annexed to the Crowne, and from thence to impropriate them to them and their heires, they deified M. <HI>Melvil,</HI> and contributed their be&s;t wits and uttermo&s;t power to rai&s;e Presbyteriall government higher. And by the <HI>&s;ole authority of that they call the Church,</HI> they began, without the King, Councell or Parliament's con&s;ent or authority, to di&s;tribute the whole Kingdome into &s;o many Presbyteries, as they thought fit in their di&s;cretion and by the direction of the holy Spirit: and did procure private &s;ub&s;criptions to their new Book of Policie, and put it in practice. Sir, I hope you are the more apt to beleeve this, becau&s;e you know in <HI>England</HI> the <HI>di&s;ciplinarians</HI> in <HI>Lon|don</HI> meetings debated and e&s;tabli&s;hed their orders in &s;ecret and not warrantable Conventicles, and much about the &s;ame time; and great corre&s;pondence was entertained be|twixt the Scots and the Engli&s;h at that time. How that book of Di&s;cipline was practi&s;ed without any authority in <HI>Surrey</HI> and <HI>Northampton&s;hire,</HI> and other places you know well enough.</P>
<P>Now I pray you, when without Authority, by their owne inherent radicall Right, they make Orders, reforme, e&s;tabli&s;h a Di&s;cipline, doe the&s;e men imagine, that the con|currence of Chri&s;tian authority Soveraigne is ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary, or that their demand is any thing el&s;e but an
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act of courte&s;ie, when by them&s;elves and a&s;&s;i&s;tants they may e&s;tabli&s;h and practi&s;e it?</P>
<P>This Second book of Policie, Ma&s;ter <HI>Melvils</HI> refor|mation is the <HI>Epocha</HI> of our &s;econd Reformation. The fruits of which I will tell you were, the Annexation of all Bi&s;hopricks, Abbyes, Priories &amp;c. to the Crown, which was effectuated <HI>anno</HI> 1587.</P>
<P>If you will ca&s;t your eyes upon <HI>the third glorious refor|mation,</HI> that makes the Popes knees &s;hake like <HI>Bel&s;hazzars</HI> when he did &s;ee the handwriting on the Wall, (that is if we will &s;peak truly, this deformation which is the di&s;grace of reformed Catholike Religion, and which threatneth Church and Religion, King and Kingdom with ruine) you will find the&s;e men have &s;ung a note above <HI>Ela,</HI> have or|dered and practi&s;ed more then all that went before them. <HI>Hanc movere nolo Camarinam.</HI> I hope a better wit and more elegant and eloquent pen, &s;hall &s;ome time Anato|mi&s;e this Mon&s;ter, and &s;o lay it open to the view of the world, that it &s;hall appeare to be no true brood of the Re|formed Catholike Prote&s;tant Religion.</P>
<P N="2">2. Secondly, another argument to prove that this Su|perlative Soveraignty <HI>in &s;piritualibus,</HI> hath all its mo&s;t na|turall <NOTE PLACE="marg">All mu&s;t Preach as they direct.</NOTE> Subjects at its devotion and obedience, is this, that what they command to be Preached, mu&s;t &s;ound alike in all their Synagogues. And who&s;oever he be that is the Mini&s;ter of the Kings family he mu&s;t Preach the &s;ame. There is no coequall, corrivall, or coordinate power that can doe &s;o much as <HI>intercedere</HI> make the lea&s;t &s;ort of cro&s;|&s;ing, oppo&s;ing or interpo&s;ing. Is it not known that the <HI>Kings Mini&s;ter</HI> in <HI>Scotland,</HI> at the direction of this <HI>Con|clave,</HI> when his Councell have been to meet frequently for Treaty with Amba&s;&s;adors from forrain Kings; upon
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the Lord's day or Week-daies Sermon before the meet|ing, <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>in great freedom of the Spirit,</HI> hath told him all the Coun&s;ell of God from Heaven, with a de|nunciation of Iudgements if he &s;werve from it. And if the King had gone to the Church of <HI>Edenburgh,</HI> a Beardle&s;&s;e boy had told him more &s;ound wi&s;dome from Heaven, how to article and conclude in matters of Highe&s;t con|cernment betwixt him and <HI>Spaine,</HI> or him and <HI>France,</HI> then all the wi&s;e&s;t Councellors and greate&s;t Nobles in the Land: and this for&s;ooth mu&s;t be the King and Councell's rule.</P>
<P N="3">3. Thirdly, doe they not challenge to them&s;elves the <NOTE PLACE="marg">They ap|poynt publike Fa&s;ts.</NOTE> &s;ole power to appoynt publike fa&s;ts, to give the rea&s;ons of it, which ordinarily are, that Gods judgements are in|cumbent and imminent upon Church and Kingdom, for the &s;innes of the Governour and Governours, and that the Government is ami&s;&s;e. And the con&s;equent or effect of the&s;e fa&s;ts is too too frequently and ordinarily &s;ome Commotion, Sedition, Rebellion, or at lea&s;t, &s;ome change of Court, Councell, or Se&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>I cannot here pa&s;&s;e by a &s;torie as true as &s;trange. While King <HI>Iames</HI> was in Scotland, two French Amba&s;&s;adors <NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;trange af|front offered to King <HI>Iames.</HI></NOTE> had remained &s;ome months there with Him: being ready to depart and take their leave of the King, the King for His own and the French Kings greater Honour, &s;ent on a Satterday for the Major and Aldermen of <HI>Edenburgh,</HI> commanding them the very next Monday to Fea&s;t the French Amba&s;&s;adors. The Mini&s;ters of <HI>Edenburgh</HI> to af|front the King, and the King of <HI>France</HI> too, on Sunday intervening indict a &s;olemne fa&s;t to be kept to morrow on Monday, the day appoynted the Saterday before by His Maje&s;ty for the entertainment of the Amba&s;&s;odors.
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The Magi&s;trats of <HI>Edenburgh</HI> proudly contemne the com|mand of the &s;upream &s;pirituall powers, and out of carnall affection, fea&s;t the King &amp; the French Amba&s;&s;adors Roy|ally &amp; Nobly on Monday; when the Mini&s;ters &amp; the good Chri&s;tians of <HI>Edenburgh</HI> fa&s;t, the King, the Amba&s;&s;adors, and Magi&s;trates of <HI>Edenburgh</HI> fea&s;t. <HI>&ocirc; facinus horrendum.</HI> But to avert Gods judgement from the Land, the Major and Aldermen were cited and convented (here was &s;ome favour that the King and Amba&s;&s;adors were not, but I will tell you it was partiality and corruption, for &s;ome of the Mini&s;ters were the Kings Pen&s;ioners, and this kept the King free) to be cen&s;ured for their high Scandall in con|temning &s;o &s;olemne a Fa&s;t. There was much work: but the King who was the chiefe and almo&s;t &s;ole tran&s;gre&s;&s;or, with interpo&s;ed delayes, and much &s;ollicitation and pru|dence, took off the edge of their zeale, and the pur&s;uit cea&s;ed.</P>
<P N="4">4. That this A&s;&s;embly is Soveraigne in <HI>all Spiritualls,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">None Preach|ing Trea&s;on is cen&s;urable by any but by them.</NOTE> admits no Coordinate or Coequall power, farre le&s;&s;e a &s;u|perior, is cleer in this; That if any Preacher be charged be|fore King or Councell for any offence to be puni&s;hed, if they in any ca&s;e can cloath it with a &s;pirituall re&s;pect or circum&s;tantiate it &s;o, that it may be qualified for the Spirl|tuall High Sanhedrim, the party cited and convented, may and ought to appeale to the <HI>Generall A&s;&s;embly, as to the Iudge competent.</HI> M^r <HI>Andrew Melvil,</HI> if I be not deceived, was the fir&s;t Spirituall Councellor of Law, that taught this way. It is certain that what they Preach in Pulpit is not cen&s;urable by King, Parliament, nor Councell, or a|ny Iudge or Iudicatory el&s;e. There be two rea&s;ons for it, one is that, <HI>Spiritus Prophetarum &s;ubjecti prophetis,</HI> the &s;pi|rit of the Prophets are &s;ubject to the Prophets onely, 1.
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<HI>Cor.</HI> 14. the t'other is, whil&s;t men are there in that infal|lible pulpit, they are ruled by &s;ome &s;uperior good &s;pirit and they dare not blame or condemne them, lea&s;t they &s;hould offend and &s;inne again&s;t the Spirit, and &s;o although a man Preach downright Trea&s;on, if it be in this place he is priviledged. It is known and, I hope, yet remembred that after <HI>King Iames</HI> of ble&s;&s;ed memory <HI>anno</HI> 1584. made many good Lawes to curbe the In&s;olency of Mini&s;ters, did by Statute and Act of Parliament declare His Supre|macy over Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Per&s;ons and cau&s;es; condemne all Iudicatories in u&s;e which were not by his own authori|ty e&s;tabli&s;hed; (He meaned the Presbyteriall.) That the Mini&s;ters then did importune the King to repeale them: and when that would not doe, did they not fall at la&s;t into open railing again&s;t him in pulpit, as <HI>an enemy to Christ and his Kingdom;</HI> they di&s;per&s;ed through the Kingdom infa|mous libells again&s;t his Per&s;on and Royall Honour: they branded him as an Apo&s;tate from the truth, and reviled him as an of&s;pring of the cruell and bloody hou&s;e of <HI>Gui&s;e.</HI> This forced the King to put out a Declaration <HI>anno</HI> 1585. in Print yet extant to vindicate him&s;elfe and his Ho|nour from that unchri&s;tian and more then di&s;loyall ca|lumnies. At or about the very &s;ame time &s;ome fugitive Mini&s;ters out of Scotland, pretending they were per&s;ecu|ted, did in the Pulpits of <HI>London,</HI> with their fowle mouths, raile again&s;t His Maje&s;ty, the wi&s;e&s;t and learned&s;t of Kings: &s;o that the Scotti&s;h Amba&s;&s;ador was forced to complaine to Queen <HI>Elizabeth</HI> of it; Her Maje&s;ty gave pre&s;ent order to the Lord Bi&s;hop of <HI>London</HI> then, to &s;i|lence all the Scotti&s;h Preachersthere.</P>
<P>Now that this Sanhedrim is only competent Iudge in <HI>Spiritualibus,</HI> and that one convented before King and
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Councell, may decline his and the Councel's authority, although he hath Preached Trea&s;on, appeareth cleerly. 1. Fir&s;t, if this had not been an ordinary practice before this time, what needeth the making of that Act of Parlia|ment, <HI>anno</HI> 1584. declaring it Trea&s;on in all time to come to decline the Power and Iuri&s;diction of the King and His Councell. 2. Secondly, has not <HI>Iames Gib&s;onne</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Pencaitland</HI> witne&s;&s;ed for or again&s;t him&s;elfe rather in this ca&s;e in Print: who publiquely in his Preachings com|pared His Maje&s;ty unto <HI>Ieroboam,</HI> told him He &s;hould be the la&s;t of His Race, reproached him as a Per&s;ecutor; and much more of this zealous &s;tuffe: who being convented before the King and Councell, and accu&s;ed of tho&s;e pi|ous crimes, He with that boldne&s;&s;e becometh His Order, ju&s;tified all, &s;aying to His Maje&s;ty, <HI>As long as you main|tain the&s;e cur&s;ed acts of</HI> 1584. <HI>the tyranny of Bi&s;hops, you are a Per&s;ecutor. And addes, that as Jeroboam for the lead|ing of the people of I&s;raell from the Lawes of the hou&s;e of Iu|dah, and from the true wor&s;hip of God, was rooted out, he and all his posterity: &s;o &s;hould the King (if He continued in that wicked cour&s;e, maintaining tho&s;e wicked acts against God) be rooted out and conclude the race.</HI> much more to the like purpo&s;e was &s;aid, &amp; if any look upon the Privy. Councell Books of the Kingdom of Scotland, he will find this a truth. He was convented 27. <HI>December, anno</HI> 1585. This man was an Oracle con&s;ulted, and gave his an&s;wer in <HI>Cop|pinger, Arthington,</HI> and <HI>Hacket's</HI> extraordinary motion, which &s;torie you know better then I.</P>
<P>M^r <HI>Black,</HI> Mini&s;ter of S^t <HI>Andrew's,</HI> was convented too before the King and Councell about the &s;ame time, who appealed from King and Councell <HI>to the Presbytery or Ge|nerall A&s;&s;embly;</HI> this la&s;t had &s;poken again&s;t both King and
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Queen. There was a great bu&s;ine&s;&s;e for the two mens ap|peales, their brethren &s;ided &s;o much with them that the King had too much to doe. At la&s;t out of more then war|rantable indulgence His Maje&s;ty was content to in&s;i&s;t no farther again&s;t them before His Councell, but to remit their cen&s;ure to the <HI>Generall A&s;&s;embly it &s;elfe:</HI> before which it was cleerly proved, that in pulpit they had &s;po|ken reproachfull and Trea&s;onable &s;peeches, yet could the King by no power or entreaty obtain of them to in|flict any puni&s;hment upon them, becau&s;e &s;aid they, <HI>They knew not with what Spirit they were overruled.</HI></P>
<P>I will &s;hut up this poynt with one in&s;tance more then &s;ufficient to make the truth of what I &s;ay to appeare. Be|fore <HI>King Iames</HI> came to the Crowne of England, it was ordinary in Scotland to have a <HI>Generall A&s;&s;embly</HI> once a yeare, and oftner <HI>pro re nat&acirc;,</HI> upon any great exigent. The la&s;t which was kept during His Maje&s;ties abode there was <HI>Anno</HI> 1602. in the clo&s;e of which the next en&s;uing was appoynted to be at <HI>Aberdine, Anno</HI> 1603. in the inte|rim the King &s;ucceeding to Q. <HI>Elizabeth,</HI> and being in England, He was &s;o much taken up with the affaires of the Kingdom, that He was nece&s;&s;itated to lay a&s;ide tho&s;e con|cerned Scotland; and for this rea&s;on His Maje&s;ty thought it fit to adjourne the A&s;&s;embly (unto which he had a &s;pe|ciall eye, knowing their turbulent di&s;po&s;ition, and experi|enced in it while&s;t he was pre&s;ent among&s;t them) to the next Summer in <HI>Anno</HI> 1604. When the time appoynted was come His Maje&s;ties more weighty affaires not &s;uf|fering him to think upon <HI>the A&s;&s;emblies bu&s;ine&s;&s;e,</HI> He gave order to Prorogate it to another and longer day; which was accordingly done by publike Proclamation, authori|zed by His Honourable Privy Councell of that Kingdom.
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Notwith&s;tanding all which, &s;ome Thirteen or Fourteen Godly zealous brethren mu&s;t needs meet at <HI>Aberdine</HI> at the day appoynted for the A&s;&s;embly. They e&s;tabli&s;hed and formalized the Iudicatorie, by con&s;tituting a Mode|rator, a Clerk, and other e&s;&s;entiall Members of the Court. The Lords of Councell under&s;tanding this contempt, &s;ent a Gentleman of good qualitie and place, with an Herault at Armes, to di&s;charge and di&s;&s;olve the Holy meeting. The Commi&s;&s;ioner and Herault were entertained with as much re&s;pect, as before they had given reverence to the Proclamation i&s;&s;ued out by the Soveraigne authoritie of the King with the advice of His Honourable Privy-Coun|cell. The <HI>Holy Fathers in the great Sanhedrim</HI> prote&s;ted and profe&s;&s;ed, that in Con&s;cience and Duty to Almighty God, they were bound to pre&s;erve the Churches right, and could not, would not, give way to that power the King Sacrilegiou&s;ly u&s;urped, which properly and natively be|longed to the <HI>Church virtuall, the A&s;&s;embly.</HI> They kept and continued the A&s;&s;embly &s;ome dayes, and finding that no more of the holy Brotherhood came to joyne with them, they di&s;&s;olved, and to pre&s;erve the holy right of the Church appoynted the time and place of meeting for the next A&s;&s;embly. The King hearing this, gave order to His Privy-Councell to cite &amp; convent them before them, and to puni&s;h this High contempt. The more <HI>zealous Cham|pions of the Lord of Ho&s;tes</HI> appeared, and with an undaun|ted courage gave in to the Lords of Councell a <HI>Protestati|on, a Declinator</HI> from the Kings Councell, and appealed to the next <HI>Generall A&s;sembly,</HI> as the &s;ole and competent judge in this ca&s;e and cau&s;e. The Kings Atturney or Ad|vocate, by order from the Councell-Table, was ordained to pur&s;ue them criminally before the Lord Iu&s;tice Gene|rall,
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and that upon the Act of Parliament mentioned be|fore <HI>Anno</HI> 1584. upon which Order, the one halfe con|fe&s;&s;ed their fault and ea&s;ily made their Peace, and obtai|ned pardon. The zelots were convicted of Trea&s;on, <HI>ad Terrorem &amp; exemplum,</HI> more then for any other end or re&s;pect: and only bani&s;hed the Kingdom. Of whom the mo&s;t part thereafter upon their confe&s;&s;ion and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion were pardoned, came home, lived and enjoyed their own, or at lea&s;t as good, if not better Benefices. Sir, are the&s;e things con&s;i&s;tent with Monarchie, or the obedience is due to Soveraignty and its Highe&s;t Courts?</P>
<P>So ab&s;olute and uncontroleable is this High Cele&s;tiall Court, that it commandeth, Con&s;cience and Soule, di|&s;po&s;eth <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Sove|raignty Eccle|&s;ia&s;ticall Ty|rannizeth o|ver con&s;ci|ence body &amp; E&s;tate.</NOTE> of body and e&s;tate in the poynt of Religion, that if you conforme not in all, neither Soule, nor Body, nor E&s;tate can be in Peace, nay no toleration can be allowed where this &s;overaignty domineereth. And to make this power of the larger extent, it is certain, their faith and things nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation are of greater latitude then that of the Councell of <HI>Trent.</HI></P>
<P>If any doth not, after a little time granted for informa|tion, conforme and &s;ub&s;cribe to their confe&s;&s;ion of Faith, (which is more in negatives and de&s;tructives, then affir|matives and po&s;itives) their rule of government, their manner of Wor&s;hip, and what el&s;e in their opinion is ne|ce&s;&s;ary to Salvation, (and in this I am &s;ure they are more rigorous then ever God or Catholike Church was, for if you di&s;&s;ent but from them in a Theologicall tenet, it is He|re&s;ie) you are forthwith excommunicated, <HI>and given o|ver to the Divell:</HI> after which upon the remon&s;trance of a Commi&s;&s;ioner from the Presbyterie to the Civill Iudge, there is a warrant from Supream authority given out to
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command you to conforme (this is different from the Writ <HI>De excommunicato capiendo)</HI> or then within few dayes to be put to the horne (that is outlawed.) Vpon di&s;|obedience the tender con&s;cience not conforming, the out|lawed's e&s;tate moveable (Chattells we call it) become proper to the King. God knoweth, little of this benefit commeth to the King's The&s;aurer, but a <HI>Donater to the e&s;cheit,</HI> which ordinarily is the Convicted's mortall Ene|my for a little compo&s;ition hath the right made over, and hath the benefit of the e&s;cheit. If within yeare and day he give not obedience and conformity, His whole Revenues and Rents of immoveable goods forfeit to the King du|ring his life time. Some Enemy of His, or Favourite of the The&s;aurer's, obtaineth the King's Right, and the King hath little or nothing of it. Here you have him &s;tript of all his E&s;tate moveable, immoveable. Yet here is not an end: but &s;till upon Remon&s;trance of the <HI>Presbyteries or Church's Commi&s;sioner,</HI> another writ goeth out, which they call Letters of Caption (that is, if I mi&s;take not, the tant'amount of the writ <HI>de Excommunicato capiendo)</HI> which is directed to all Sheriffes, Stuards, Provo&s;ts, Bai|lies, &amp;c. to &s;eize &amp; &s;ecure his Per&s;on where&s;oever it may be apprehended, and to commit him to clo&s;e Pri&s;on as a Rebell. If he skulk and hide him&s;elfe, then upon the &s;ame Remon&s;trance goeth out a writ, which there they call <HI>Letters of Intercommuning</HI> (I know no thing in the Law like this) the intent is that none of the Kings Subjects commune or conferre with him <HI>coram</HI> or per&s;onally, or by Letter or interpo&s;ed Per&s;on keep intelligence or cor|re&s;pondence with him; otherwi&s;e the intercommuner is to be judged and reputed to be a Rebell of the &s;ame guil|tine&s;&s;e. You will be plea&s;ed to remember this, when the
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Church requireth all the&s;e of the civill Magi&s;trate (&s;o they are plea&s;ed to terme Soveraignty) he is bound to grant them. Now, Sir, I pray you con&s;ider if this is not in many re&s;pects wor&s;e then the Inqui&s;ition; when an opini|on in a Theologicall tenet different from the a&s;&s;ured faith of tho&s;e <HI>Gamaliels</HI> may bring a man unto all tho&s;e trou|bles. Onely to make amendes for this, remember this authoritative way pre&s;erveth a Church from Haere&s;ie, Error, Super&s;tition and Schi&s;me.</P>
<P>There is another practice of the power of this Court, <NOTE PLACE="marg">This Court is Iudge of Trea&s;on in relation to Religion, and of fit &amp; wor|thy Councel|lors for a King.</NOTE> that for the glory of God, the honour of the King, the good and pre&s;ervation of Church and Religion, it may a&s;&s;ume to it &s;elfe to be Iudge of what is Trea&s;on, what is not: who are fit Councellors for a King, who not.</P>
<P>Practice is the mo&s;t &s;ure infallible and clear proofe and demon&s;tration of power. I will give you one in the ca&s;e of Trea&s;on, that none dare to &s;ay it is a Lye, and which can be made good by the authentick and publique Records of Parliament and Councell of <HI>Scotland,</HI> and their owne No|ble acts of generall A&s;&s;embly.</P>
<P>When King <HI>Iames,</HI> about the age of <HI>Io&s;ias,</HI> (when in ho|ly writ it is recorded of him that he began to &s;eeke the Lord with all his heart) had taken the Government of the Kingdome in his owne hand; and did Reigne and Rule with &s;uch prudence incomparable, admirable, that none could ju&s;tly except again&s;t Him or His Government: yet &s;uch was the re&s;tle&s;&s;e ambition of &s;ome, who could not with patience endure the tru&s;t of others, e&s;pecially of that Noble worthy <HI>E&s;me Duke of Lennox,</HI> His Maje&s;ties nea|re&s;t Kin&s;man and highe&s;t Favourite, and that ju&s;tly for His mo&s;t eminent Noble endowments. The&s;e di&s;conten|ted Gentlemen layed downe a re&s;olution to get the King
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into their hands and power, and to thru&s;t out that Noble Prince. They watched an opportunity, when the King came to His &s;port of hunting neare to <HI>Saint-Iohnstowne,</HI> with an ordinary attendance, (the Noble Peere &s;taying with others at <HI>Edenburgh</HI> for the King and Kingdomes better &s;ervice) &s;urpri&s;ed him fearing no ill, &s;eized his Per|&s;on, carried him along to the Ca&s;tle of <HI>Ruthen,</HI> kept him &s;o that none could have acce&s;&s;e to him, till he was forced to command the Duke of <HI>Lennox</HI> to depart the Kingdome (which out of zeale and love to the King he did in Win|ter embarking at <HI>Dunbrittane,</HI> came to <HI>France</HI> and dyed &s;hortly after) and to change all his &s;ervants they di&s;liked, and to &s;urround him with them&s;elves and their owne. They kept their King in captivitie the &s;pace of nine monthes, &s;uffering none to come at him, but &s;uch as they plea&s;ed. The wi&s;e King put a good face upon a foule bu|&s;ine&s;&s;e, &s;eemed to like well of them and their cour&s;es. Ne|verthele&s;&s;e the be&s;t and mo&s;t knowing of Subjects grum|bled exceedingly to &s;ee their Prince &s;o abu&s;ed. The Con|&s;pirators under&s;tanding it, did advi&s;e upon the be&s;t cour&s;e to &s;atisfie the people and to bring them to approve their way. They wrought with the chiefe Rulers of the Syna|gogue, and prevailed. At the next generall A&s;&s;embly they give in a Remon&s;trance to them then &s;itting in <HI>Edenburgh,</HI> declaring the <HI>Extraordinary rea&s;ons</HI> that moved them to &s;ecure His Maje&s;ties Per&s;on in the Ca&s;tle of <HI>Ruthen:</HI> their zeale to the Reformed Religion, which was in imminent and apparent danger by the practices of the Duke, who was &s;ent from <HI>France</HI> to <HI>Scotland</HI> of purpo&s;e to corrupt the young King: their care to &s;ecure the King's Royall Per&s;on, whom the Duke intended to conveigh privately to <HI>France:</HI> their de&s;ire to free the Subjects from the bloo|dy
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tyranny and oppre&s;&s;ion both of their lives and goods by the malitious di&s;po&s;ition, and in&s;atiable avarice of tho&s;e who were about him and overruled him; and a great many more &s;pecious pretences, (which are not much dif|ferent from the&s;e of this time;) upon this Narrative the humble Petition to this Superlative Soveraignty was that the holy Brother-hood would be plea&s;ed to give an ap|probation to this their Heroick and Chri&s;tian fact, and what&s;oever was their judgement they would obey it with this <HI>provi&s;o,</HI> that it &s;hould be made knowne to all good Chri&s;tians within the Realme. The demand was pious and ju&s;t, the holy A&s;&s;embly &s;ecured from erring and er|ror, and not encroaching upon any thing meerly civill, but in a ca&s;e of &s;o high concernment <HI>in ordine ad &s;piritua|lia,</HI> as competent Iudges doe take the ca&s;e into their con|&s;ideration, and after mature deliberation, being a&s;&s;i&s;ted with a fan&s;ied infallible direction give out their verdict, authorize and approve all in &s;ub&s;tance or circum&s;tance to be holily and ju&s;tly with much zeale and di&s;cretion done. In all this they exceeded not their power, and that becau&s;e what was done, was for the advancement of God's glory, the honour and per&s;onall &s;afety of the King, and publique good of the Kingdome: That all good People may re&s;t content and be fully &s;atisfied, it was further ordained, that all Mini&s;ters &s;hall upon their returne to their Pari&s;hes in|timate &s;o much to all their flockes; and withall exhort all People to e&s;teem the actors as good Chri&s;tians and Patri|ots, that for the cau&s;es above mentioned were nece&s;&s;itated to take this cour&s;e, to pre&s;erve Religion, to rectifie the er|rors of Court, which were brought and wrought to that height that both Religion and Policie were in the greate&s;t imaginable danger. The Ordinance was accordingly per|formed
<PB N="63" REF="34">
to no &s;mall griefe of hone&s;t Subjects and Chri&s;ti|ans. Sir, if there were no more in&s;tances what doe you thinke of this?</P>
<P>It is worth your notice taking, that this Noble Duke dying in <HI>France,</HI> who before His comming to <HI>Scotland</HI> had been bred in Popery, became a Prote&s;tant when He came thither, and was King <HI>Iames</HI> his Convert. While he was a dying, Romi&s;h Prie&s;ts were mo&s;t earne&s;t for acce&s;&s;e to reconcile him to that Church; but he adhering to truth, and prote&s;ting withall his Promi&s;e to his Cou&s;ine King <HI>Iames,</HI> would admit none and dyed in the Communion of the Prote&s;tant reformed Church.</P>
<P>This high Court, the generall A&s;&s;embly, <HI>in ordine ad</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Sove|raignty of the A&s;&s;embly is above all Lavves, and may repeale them.</NOTE> <HI>&s;piritualia,</HI> challengeth and practi&s;eth a Soveraigne power above all civill Lawes and Statutes and Acts of Parlia|ment. And that with that power that of it &s;elfe it may re|peale and condemne &s;tanding Lawes, and Acts of Parlia|ment, which are in practice and ob&s;erved within the Kingdome.</P>
<P>To give you a recent example and in&s;tance of this; Since this A&s;&s;embly of late in this di&s;temper hath reco|vered it's place and power, the generall A&s;&s;emblies of <HI>Gla&s;gow</HI> and <HI>Edenburgh</HI> have damned Bi&s;hops as Anti-chri&s;tian and again&s;t their Reformation. I wave this. More, they have &s;ecluded Bi&s;hops or any Church-man from having any voyce in Parliament, Conventions, or Councell. Thus by their owne mo&s;t proper Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|call authority they have made voyd many Acts of Parlia|ment there, which before were in force and practice. As that in <HI>anno</HI> 1584. <HI>declaring it Trea&s;on to call in question the power and authority of any of the three Estates</HI> (that is Bi&s;hops, Lords and Commons) <HI>or any one of them.</HI> This
<PB N="64" REF="35">
act was made onely to pre&s;erve the priviledges of the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall e&s;tate inviolable. This is evident by the King's Declaration put forth the yeare following 1585. Again they have made voyd another Act of Parliament in <HI>anno</HI> 1597. <HI>Ordaining Mini&s;ters that &s;hould be provided by His Maje&s;ty to Prelacies to have Vote in Parliament, as being the third Estate.</HI> Another in <HI>anno</HI> 1606.</P>
<P>The &s;ame A&s;&s;emblies, did declare the Acts of the A&s;|&s;emblies of <HI>Gla&s;gow, Perth, &amp;c.</HI> null, voyd and unlawfull: which notwith&s;tanding were enacted as Municipall Laws, obedience commanded, and practi&s;ed in the greate&s;t part of the Kingdome. How much King <HI>Iames</HI> his happy me|mory is bla&s;ted, by the&s;e &s;upercilious new Orders of tho&s;e A&s;&s;emblies, my Pen blu&s;heth to expre&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>The &s;ame A&s;&s;emblies have condemned the high Com|mi&s;&s;ion Court, declared by Act of Parliament. And this is done upon this ground which proveth their <HI>Sove|raignty in &s;piritualibus,</HI> becau&s;e it was not con&s;ented to by the Church: That is, the vertuall Church, the gene|rall A&s;&s;embly.</P>
<P>When I con&s;ider the&s;e things, I cannot &s;ufficiently won|der how the high Court of Parliament of <HI>England,</HI> hath &s;wallowed and &s;worne their Covenant, which in it's right &s;en&s;e doth e&s;tabli&s;h a Court above King and Par|liament. Iudge you, Sir, if this Oath be <HI>in Iudicio, veri|tate &amp; justiti&acirc;.</HI></P>
<P>If King and Parliament be &s;ubordinate to this Court <HI>in</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">All Iudicato|ries are &s;ub|ordinate to this Sanhe|drim.</NOTE> <HI>&s;piritualibus,</HI> or <HI>in temporalibus in ordine ad Eccle&s;iastica,</HI> all the rea&s;on in the World will plead, that it is mo&s;t ju&s;t, that all Iudicatories what&s;oever, even the Supreame&s;t from whom lyeth no appeale, &s;ubmit and &s;ubject them|&s;elves to it.</P>
<P><PB N="65" REF="35">
The holy Fathers of this Court have &s;howen their Right in this point too. To confirme this, fearing I have weari|ed you, I will bring but one in&s;tance, and &s;pare to trouble you with more.</P>
<P>This Story can be made good by Records which I am to tell you. And fir&s;t, give me leave to informe you, That the <HI>Lords of Se&s;sion</HI> (who by Act of Parliament are &s;o) are in all <HI>Civill cau&s;es</HI> the Supreame Iudicatorie of the Kingdome under the King. No Iudgement pa&s;&s;ed there can be rectified or reduced by any Iudicatorie, under the King and Parliament, but by them&s;elves, which is onely by <HI>&s;u&s;pen&s;ion of Execution,</HI> of that is judged and decreed, or by <HI>action of Reduction:</HI> This is nothing but <HI>provocatio a Philippo mal&egrave; edocto ad Philippum recti&ugrave;s edoctum.</HI> This thus premi&s;ed I come home.</P>
<P>Mr <HI>Iohn Graham,</HI> one of the Iudges of that a&s;&s;ociate bo|dy, had commenced an ordinary and proper &s;uit before the Lords of Se&s;&s;ion, obtained <HI>Decree and Iudgement</HI> according to his Libell. After which, a rumour was noy|&s;ed abroad, that the Writs and Evidences, upon which his &s;uit and the judgement upon it were founded, were forged and fal&s;e. The generall A&s;&s;embly took notice of this in|ju&s;t decree, as they to whom the in&s;pection of Religion and Iu&s;tice belongeth, and who were bound not to &s;uffer &s;uch an unju&s;t judgement to take place and be executed. They &s;end for M. <HI>Iohn Graham</HI> commanding him by their authority to pa&s;&s;e from his <HI>decree,</HI> to make no u&s;e of it a|gain&s;t the Party again&s;t whom it was obtained, and that becau&s;e it was purcha&s;ed upon fal&s;e grounds, and <HI>it gave occa&s;ion of great &s;candall,</HI> that he being a Iudge &s;hould make u&s;e of &s;uch writs. His an&s;wer was, if any would challenge his <HI>Decree or Iudgement</HI> upon any ju&s;t ground, he might
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have his recour&s;e to the <HI>ordinary Iudge,</HI> and take it away by <HI>way of reduction,</HI> but &s;o long as it was not reduced, it concerned him to take the benefit of it. Then &s;eeing that they could not prevaile by admonition, they threatned him with Excommunication, if he did not what they en|joyned. He appeales from them to the <HI>Lords of Se&s;sion,</HI> as the onely <HI>Competent</HI> Iudges in &s;uch ca&s;es: notwith&s;tanding they re&s;olve to proceed again&s;t him. The Lords of Se&s;&s;i|on finding them&s;elves intere&s;&s;ed, and the A&s;&s;embly u&s;urp|ing upon them and their power, in this proceeding again&s;t one of their owne number, who had appealed to them in a civill cau&s;e already judged by them, directed &s;ome of their number to the A&s;&s;embly, and de&s;ired them not to meddle any more in that bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, as being meerly civill, and no wayes belonging to their juri&s;diction. This pro|duced no other effect, but incen&s;ed the holy Fathers to raile again&s;t the Iudges as wicked and corrupt men, who &s;ided one with another whether it were right or wrong. The bu&s;ine&s;&s;e at la&s;t came to this height, that the Lords of Se&s;&s;ion, (who would not &s;uffer them to encroach upon their Priviledges) by vertue of that delegate power and authority they were inve&s;ted with from the King, threat|ned to out-law them, and to proclaime them Rebells to the King, if they proceeded any further, and would not admit of the appeale. The A&s;&s;embly finding them&s;elves too weake and not able to make their part good by pow|er (in which ca&s;e onely they will be Martyrs) fell from the pur&s;uit and all was quieted.</P>
<P>Sir, I pray you to con&s;ider in what condition are they that live under &s;uch a government that is boundle&s;&s;e and univer&s;all, will give Lawes to King, Councell and Parlia|ment; Repeale theirs at plea&s;ures; reduce and make voyd
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Decrees and judgement of Highe&s;t Iudicatories &amp;c. What Peace or Tranquillity can there be in &s;uch a State or Kingdom? Give me leave to tell you a true &s;tory. It is known and lamented by all good men this day, how King <HI>Iames</HI> His Soule was vexed with them, that many times they have made Him fall out in teares. A Noble man, a mo&s;t wi&s;e man, then Chancellor, &s;eeing the King extreamly troubled at the mi&s;carriage of the Mini&s;terie, &s;aid to Him: Sir, no man is to be blamed, that you are &s;o much troubled with the Mini&s;ters, as your&s;elfe; for when they doe any thing ami&s;&s;e, you never cea&s;e till by Your Royall prudence and authority you &s;et it aright againe: but would you leave them to them&s;elves, the very body of the People would ri&s;e up again&s;t them, and &s;tone them out of the Kingdome. His Maje&s;ty returned a mo&s;t pious an&s;wer, worthie to be written in letters of Gold in Mar|ble, that all Kings may learne it: My Lord, &s;aith He, your advice is &s;hrewd Policie, but your Coun&s;ell is not good piety; If I had no more to doe but to &s;erve my &s;elfe of them for a Politick end, your advice is good, and I know it would prove &s;o. But God hath appoynted me a Nur&s;e or Father of his Church, it is my charge from my Lord and Ma&s;ter to pre&s;erve his Church, and not to ruinate it. Which if I doe, God will ruinate me and my po&s;terity.</P>
<P>King <HI>Iames</HI> in the Conference at <HI>Hampton Court</HI> hath well ob&s;erved, that this Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Government pre|pareth way, and u&s;hereth in a Democraticall government. And he telleth al&s;o, that in His Mother Queen <HI>Ma|ries</HI> ab&s;ence, and in his own Minority and non-age, it was much thought upon and intended. Their Maxims of Di|vinity lead to it, for they &s;ay, <HI>Re&s;publica e&s;t in Eccle&s;i&acirc;:</HI> The Church and her Policy are the Hou&s;e, the Civill govern|ment
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is but the Hangings, which nece&s;&s;arily for decency and good order mu&s;t be made conformable to the Hou&s;e. Monarchy is enmity again&s;t the Church. <HI>Catherwood</HI> in his book entitled <HI>Altare Dama&s;cenum,</HI> gives you it in down right termes, <HI>Natur&acirc; in&s;itum e&s;t omnibus Regibus in Chri|&s;tum odium;</HI> and in his Preface, or Epi&s;tle (I have not the book by me) he calls K. <HI>Iames, Infen&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;simum &amp; infe|sti&s;simum purioris Religionis hostem.</HI> And that they may now exerci&s;e all their power, and bring the Kingdom to a Popular State, which was not &s;o fei&s;able before, it is more then probable, and much to be feared, and with great prudence to be prevented; becau&s;e the Generall A&s;&s;embly hath in it now the prime Noble men of the Kingdom, Dukes, Marque&s;&s;es, Earles, Lords; the mo&s;t active and knowing Knights of Counties and E&s;quires; the wi&s;e&s;t Citizens and Corporations, and this in the Capacity of <HI>Ruling-Elders,</HI> who di&s;contented are able here to make a Faction, call King, Se&s;&s;ion, Councell, or whom they plea&s;e before them, becau&s;e of their &s;upreame, univer&s;all and in|dependent juri&s;diction. And this Iudicatorie cannot &punc;erre in its determinations, for it is undoubtedly &s;ecured from error, and a&s;&s;i&s;ted with infallibility.</P>
<P>This divine policy hath another &s;acred trick to pre|&s;erve its <NOTE PLACE="marg">A Holy trick vvhich hatch|eth all Sediti|on and Trea|&s;on.</NOTE> Soveraignty and to continue it, which is this. The Generall A&s;&s;embly ordinarily meets but once a year, yet at the end and clo&s;e of every Generall A&s;&s;embly, there is a choice made of &s;ome Commi&s;&s;ioners, (a Committee) who are to re&s;ide, or at lea&s;t upon any nece&s;&s;ary occa&s;ion to be at <HI>Edenburgh.</HI> The&s;e are the virtuall A&s;&s;embly, and their power continueth till the next Generall A&s;&s;embly. They are in the fir&s;t place, to intimate to the King the de|&s;ire and demands of the A&s;&s;embly, and to &s;ee <HI>all due civill</HI>
<PB N="69" REF="37">
<HI>Sanction and confirmation given to it.</HI> the King, His Coun|cell, His Parliament can change nothing of their &s;acred decrees without their con&s;ent. What ever new occurrence is in Church or State <HI>pro re nat&acirc;,</HI> the&s;e Commi&s;&s;ioners are to give order and to &s;ee, <HI>ne quid detrimenti Ecole&s;ia capi|at.</HI> It is true their orders bind only in the interim betwixt the two A&s;&s;emblies, and the next plenarie Generall A&s;|&s;embly may <HI>derogare, abrogare, obrogare &amp;c,</HI> yet give me leave to tell you truth, the&s;e great Delegates with their power have &s;o much influence upon the next Generall A&s;|&s;embly, that their <GAP DESC="foreign"> precognitions and predeter|minations, are formally and Legally enacted. Nor is this to be wondred at, for the <HI>Achitophels</HI> and <HI>Ioabs</HI> of Church and Kingdom, the be&s;t head peeces of greate&s;t depth, Preaching and Ruling Elders are in this Iunto.</P>
<P>Heere are all di&s;turbing Seditions, and trea&s;onable cour&s;es hatched and conceived; whether it be Trea&s;on a|gain&s;t the King, Sedition in State or Kingdom, the change of Court, the removing of Courtiers from the King, the &s;urrounding of him with others &amp;c. The next A&s;&s;em|blie ownes all their cour&s;es, decrees them under pretence of Piety, Reformation of abu&s;es, removing of Malignants from the King and from His Coun&s;ell, from being Iudges in the &s;upreame&s;t Iudicatories of the Kingdom, &amp;c. By this means at plea&s;ure, when and where they will, they procure Parliaments to work for their own private ends. To facilitate the work, order is given to all Presbyteries, to command all the Mini&s;ters to Preach to their flocks, to make and keep Fa&s;ts, for the danger the Church is in, that the King is inclinable, nay inclining to Popery, that there are none in tru&s;t or power by Him, in Court, Councell, Exchequer or Se&s;&s;ion, but &s;uch as are Popi&s;h or Popi&s;hly
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affected: and &s;uch they mu&s;t be, if they once determine it. And woefull experience hath confirmed it, that worthie, Innocent and de&s;erving men have &s;uffered, and the King hath been forced to abandon His be&s;t &s;ervants.</P>
<P>This clo&s;e Committee hath all the&s;e prerogatives: 1. During the <HI>interim</HI> betwixt two A&s;&s;emblies, they had tru&s;t to &s;ee that all the Orders and Decrees of the grand Con&s;i&s;tory &s;hould be put in execution. 2. Next upon a|ny exigent intervening, they have the power by their in|fluence upon all the Presbyteriesin the Kingdom, to make them goe which way they thought fit for their own ends, both to make the Mini&s;ters Preach their &s;en&s;e, and to work with all the people to believe the po&s;ture of affaires in Church and State were as they informed and repre&s;en|ted them. 3. Thirdly, here were all things prepared for the next great meeting of the Generall A&s;&s;embly.</P>
<P>By the&s;e means things projected were effected. This way the Queen Regent was put from Her Regencie. This way Queen <HI>Mary</HI> was expul&s;ed Scotland. This way King <HI>Iames</HI> His captivity at <HI>Ruthen</HI> was found to be good &s;er|vice. This way that Noble Duke of <HI>Lennox E&s;me</HI> was made a Papi&s;t, and the King forced to abandon him, and he to depart the Kingdom in Winter being &s;ick, and &s;hort|ly after dyed in France. By this means, if I be not decei|ved, was that infamous day the 17. of <HI>December, anno</HI> 1596. <HI>atro &s;ignanda lapillo,</HI> renowned for a mo&s;t horrid in&s;urrection in <HI>Edenburgh</HI> again&s;t King <HI>Iames</HI> and His prime Coun&s;ellors. I begge leave to give you a &s;hort ac|count of it.</P>
<P>King <HI>Iames</HI> while&s;t He was King of Scotland, by all forraigne Kings, Princes and States, was admired for His <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Storie of 17. <HI>December</HI> 1596.</NOTE> extraordinary Royall endowments. Amba&s;&s;adors from
<PB N="71" REF="38">
many beyond Seas at the &s;ame time, and almo&s;t con&s;tant|ly were with Him. The &s;mallne&s;&s;e of the Patrimony of that Crowne, was not able to maintain that Royall de|portment He kept. Be&s;ides being too too Royally liberall and magnificent, His coffers were empty, and at this time &s;carce was His Maje&s;ty able to maintain the nece&s;&s;ary charge of His hou&s;e in that mea&s;ure which was &s;uitable to &s;o Royall a King. To rectify this, the King with the ad|vice of his Coun&s;ell, entru&s;ted with all his Rents, Reve|nues and ca&s;ualties, Eight prime men of good worth and integritie, Officers of State, Coun&s;ellors and Iudges. This was done that all might be rightly regulated, and be|fore all things His Tables at Court kept like a Kings, that forraign Amba&s;&s;adors might not e&s;py any want which might derogate from the Honour of King and Kingdome. The ordinary Tables of the Court were regulated; the Courtiers daily allowance was retrenched; which they could not away with. They and other di&s;contented per|&s;ons did reproachfully call the&s;e men, <HI>The Octavians.</HI> They who grumbled at this, and would right them&s;elves, to gain their intendment, hit upon the ordinary and &s;afe&s;t way, that was to beginne with the Church. They in|forme, the forraign Amba&s;&s;adors did work upon the King to turn Papi&s;t: it was like they would prevaile, for the&s;e <HI>O|ctavians</HI> were all &s;uch in their hearts, and di&s;&s;embled only in profe&s;&s;ing to keep a communion with the Prote&s;tant Church; if tho&s;e were not removed from the King, and good men put about him, Religion, Kingdom, and all were undone. When this had been often informed and &s;ugge&s;ted, early in the morning on the 17^t^h day of <HI>Decem|ber,</HI> three of the Kings Dome&s;tick Servants came to M. <HI>Walter Balcanqual's</HI> hou&s;e; The Mini&s;tery of <HI>Edenburgh,</HI>
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and others Commi&s;&s;ioners of the generall A&s;&s;embly, with &s;ome of the be&s;t Chri&s;tians of <HI>Edenburgh</HI> are &s;ent for, they meet there. The Kings Servants informe that all was un|done, if they did not in time and &s;peedily prevent; for the Marque&s;&s;e of <HI>Huntlie,</HI> (this was the late Marque&s;&s;e who came occa&s;ionally the night before to Court, and it is true he was Popi&s;h, but God knowes he was free of what he was charged with) &s;ay they was with the King till twelve a clock at night in his Bed-chamber ye&s;ter-night; it is re|&s;olved upon to re-erect Popery, and &s;o many of your be&s;t Citizens and Chri&s;tians are to be &s;eized upon; &s;ome to be &s;ent to <HI>Blacknes,</HI> &s;ome to <HI>Innernes,</HI> &s;ome to <HI>Dunbritton,</HI> &amp;c. The ca&s;e was apprehended in that zeale which became the cau&s;e. The re&s;olution taken, was, that M. <HI>Walter Baelcan|quall</HI> being to Preach that very day in the Chancell of Saint <HI>Giles</HI> Church, which they call the little Church, af|ter Sermon and Prayer done, he &s;hould de&s;ire all good Brethren and Chri&s;tians to meet immediatly forthwith there for the good of Church and Religion. Noblemen, Gentlemen, Preachers, Burge&s;&s;es, all who affected the good cau&s;e did meet. M. <HI>Robert Bruce</HI> was appointed by common con&s;ent Moderator. It is laid open in what ca&s;e Church and Religion, State and Kingdome are: the ur|gent in&s;tant nece&s;&s;ity is made to appeare. The re&s;ult of the determination was, that pre&s;ently they goe to Armes, and by holy force, to pull from the King's &s;ide tho&s;e <HI>Po|pi&s;h Octavians:</HI> That a Letter be written to <HI>Iohn L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">d</HI> Marque&s;&s;e of <HI>Hamilton</HI> to come to <HI>Edenburgh,</HI> to <HI>be Cap|taine of the Congregation;</HI> and in regard the King had made defection from the true Religion, He being the nea|re&s;t of the blood &s;hould come and take the Government upon him. I know the ju&s;t Copy of this Letter is extant
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to this day. They runne to Armes, the word is, <HI>The Sword of the Lord and Gideon.</HI> The good King was in the place of Iu&s;tice; the prime of the <HI>Octavians</HI> with him; hearing &s;omething of the uproare and tumult, by a &s;ecret pa&s;&s;age, he and &s;ome other goe up to the Exchequer hou&s;e over|head. A great Lord was head of the Congregation, he and &s;ome others came Commi&s;&s;ioners to the King, were admitted, demanded tho&s;e <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">tavians</HI> to ju&s;tice. The King askes this Lord, how dur&s;t he again&s;t His authority, His Lawes, His Proclamation keep unlawfull meetings at <HI>E|denburgh</HI> (for the King before had di&s;charged the meet|ing of tho&s;e Commi&s;&s;ioners of A&s;&s;emblie, or any other meeting what&s;oever without his Royall warrand.) The Lord, with courage in zeale to a good cau&s;e, told the King that he &s;hould &s;ee ere long they dur&s;t to doe more. The Lord, or &s;ome other, taketh hold of one of the <HI>Octavians</HI> Gowne, who was Pre&s;ident of Se&s;&s;ion; but he pulleth his Gowne out of his hand, and conveyeth him&s;elfe downe to the hou&s;e where the Lords did &s;it in judgement. In fine, the King and Lords were forced, to &s;hun the danger of this tumultuarie in&s;urrection, to clo&s;e up the doores, and &s;ome to &s;tand with their &s;words drawne if any &s;hould offer vio|lence to break up the doores. Some good Subjects e&s;pe|cially <HI>Alexander Home</HI> of <HI>Northborvick</HI> for the time Pro|vo&s;t of <HI>Edenburgh,</HI> and <HI>Roger Mackmath</HI> (whom King <HI>Iames</HI> ordinarily called His Bailie) with others well di|&s;po&s;ed and Loyally affected Subjects, and namely the <HI>Hammer-men</HI> ri&s;e up in Armes for the King, who partly by &s;mooth words, and partly by threats, hu&s;ht and hou|&s;ed the Factious and Seditious. The King came out of the place of Iudicatorie, and on foot, attended with many Nobles, Gentlemen, and other good Subjects, came to
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His Pallace at <HI>Halyrude-hou&s;e</HI> in Peace: where immediat|ly in the afternoon, he convened his Privy-Councell, and by his Wi&s;dome and Authority &s;o repre&s;&s;ed and puni&s;hed that in&s;olencie, that all the time of His Raigne, the like Barbarous treacherous cour&s;e was never attempted. I hope you are the more apt to believe this, when you re|member what a Petition or Declaration was pre&s;ented to Queen <HI>Elizabeth</HI> at <HI>Green<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">ch anno</HI> 1582. to remove from her Service and Tru&s;t &s;uch as they know were not well affected to the Religion and Church.</P>
<P>Sir, I could make it appeare how all Seditions almo&s;t and Rebellions in that Kingdom, have been &s;et a foot or fomented by this Government Presbyterian: How neighbourly Feudes have been encrea&s;ed and entertained: How Moneys collected for the reliefe and &s;upport of <HI>Ge|neva,</HI> were by the chiefe <HI>Gamaliels</HI> and Presbyters inter|verted, employed to rai&s;e and pay Souldiers to ayde and a&s;&s;i&s;t the Earle of <HI>Bothvell</HI> and his complices in Rebellion again&s;t the King. I feare I have wearied you already, the Subject is everla&s;ting and I am weary of it.</P>
<P>If I &s;hould give account of the late practices and tenets of this late Covenant, it were po&s;&s;ible to let you &s;ee that it hath farre exceeded all the mi&s;chiefe ever their forefa|thers did, although they tread in the &s;ame foot&s;teps. The rea&s;on why I have &s;pared it is not I feared it, I hope to di&s;|cover it &s;ometime to the World by anatomi&s;ing it fully. Next, I hope, you have e&s;pyed the Noble pa&s;&s;ages of it, and are &s;ufficiently confirmed, that nothing can be more de&s;tructive of Monarchie, and the Peace of any govern|ment. To &s;hut up all, give me leave, in the clo&s;e, to give the Articles of their Apo&s;taticall Creed incon&s;i&s;tent with Monarchie, which they hold as the twelve Articles of the
<PB N="75" REF="40">
Apo&s;tolicall Symbole. I will touch onely the prime of tho&s;e; for for their other Articles, they are &s;o many and of &s;o va&s;t an extent abounding in Negatives, that as King <HI>Iames</HI> &s;aith well, he that would keep them is not able to keep them in his Braine, but mu&s;t keep them in a Table Booke.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The Articles of the Dogmaticall Presbyterian Faith incon&s;istent with Monarchie.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. AS I have &s;aid before; They Preach and main|taine that the Church is the hou&s;e of God, the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Their Dog|maticall Creed.</NOTE> civill Policy and Government are onely the hangings.</P>
<P N="2">2. Next they beleeve, all Mini&s;ters are <HI>pari con&s;ortio honoris &amp; potestatis praediti,</HI> that there mu&s;t be a parity in the Church. Ioyne the&s;e two together, and you have a faire way for Democracie.</P>
<P N="3">3. They vindicate to them&s;elves and their Con&s;i&s;tory, a &s;overaigne, complete, univer&s;all, independent power in all things &s;pirituall that concerne Salvation, they have not onely the directive power but the Legi&s;lative al&s;o; and all temporall things in order to Salvation and Religion come within the verge of their Scepter. All &s;overaigne Power, (where&s;oever you fixe it, (whether in one, as in a Monar|chie; or in few, as in an Ari&s;tocracie; or in many or all by vici&s;&s;itudinarie turnes) have onely the Executive power to doe as they command; and is bound to pre&s;erve by it's Power, Lawes and Armes, their &s;acred and cele&s;tiall Pri|viledges and Soveraignty.</P>
<P N="4">4. What&s;oever Lawes civilly enacted by King or Par|liament they conceive to be again&s;t the Lawes of the
<PB N="76" REF="41">
Kingdome of Chri&s;t, by their native proper intrin&s;ecall right immediately derived from Chri&s;t, they may repeale and make voyd, di&s;charge the Subject to obey them. They may decree not onely different Lawes of their owne from the &s;tanding Lawes of the Kingdome, but contrary, con|tradictory and de&s;tructive of them. And have withall &s;o much coactive power, that if obedience be denyed to the Lawes of this Soveraignty, they can de&s;troy the Soules of the Subjects, by delivering them over to <HI>Satan.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. No Mini&s;ter Preaching in Pulpit, Sedition or Trea|&s;on, or railing at King, Councell, the prime Iudges, is ac|countable, or puni&s;hable by King, Parliament, Councell, or any Iudicatory what&s;oever; But from all he may ap|peale to the <HI>Sanhedrim and Con&s;istorie</HI> as the &s;ole and pro|per competent Iudge.</P>
<P N="6">6. What Corroboration or civill Confirmation, or Sanction they demand of the King, which he is able to doe civilly (for they will give him no formall intere&s;t in any &s;acred or religious thing) He is bound to Grant it, and to obey them as Chri&s;t's immediate Vice-gerents: otherwi&s;e they may Excommunicate him.</P>
<P N="7">7. Reformation and pre&s;ervation of Religion, e&s;pecial|ly to pre&s;cribe the way and Orders for Reformation is &s;olely theirs.</P>
<P N="8">8. The King is bound to put their Orders in Executi|on; but if neither He, nor His Councell, nor His Parlia|ment will doe it, the Inferiour Iudges, the Nobles, the Commons, nay every individuall man to his utmo&s;t pow|er, at their direction, are bound to doe it.</P>
<P N="9">9. That they may without warrant of &s;upreame Au|thority, A&s;&s;emble where and when they will, for God and Chri&s;t's cau&s;e, and for the Liberty and Peace of Subject
<PB N="77" REF="41">
and Kingdome <HI>in ordine ad &s;piritualia;</HI> and there they may Covenant together, &s;weare and &s;ub&s;cribe for the glory of God, the advancement of Religion, and con&s;pire and combine in a mutuall defence one of another in this holy Cau&s;e and League.</P>
<P N="10">10. They teach and maintaine, that all Soveraignty and Maje&s;ty in a King is originally, immediately and pro|perly derived from the Communitie, and that onely by way of a fiduciary tru&s;t, &s;o that it is habitually and radi|cally &s;till in the People, and the King hath no greater por|tion or proportion then He hath by the fir&s;t popular fun|damentall Con&s;titution. And in ca&s;e of deficiency, the collective body may &s;upply in Church or State the de|fects of His Government. For mal-admini&s;tration the King is cen&s;urable; For enormous errors He is depo&s;able, and they may di&s;inherite His Po&s;teritie.</P>
<P N="11">11. That a defen&s;ive Warre is lawfull again&s;t a bad King, or a weake King &s;educed by Malignant Councell.</P>
<P N="12">12. They may oppo&s;e and re&s;i&s;t all His Officers and Commi&s;&s;ioners by force and violence, if they come to execute His illegall commands. And if He will be &s;o ob|&s;tinate that He will come in Armes again&s;t the&s;e good Chri&s;tians, they re&s;i&s;t not His Authority, but His Will: nor His Office, but His Per&s;on.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides their practice, upon the&s;e grounds, is to bring all ca&s;es all cau&s;es under their cognition and Iudgement, <HI>&s;ub formalitate &s;candali,</HI> by which the King is robbed of His Sacred Prerogative; The Iudges of their authority; and all Subjects of their Right and quiet. The re&s;t of their Extravagant Maximes incon&s;i&s;tent with Monarchy and the Peace of Government are reduceable to tho&s;e heads. More then this you de&s;ired not.</P>
<P><PB N="78" REF="42">
Sir, being infinitely obliged to you, and honouring you much for your worth and Excellent parts, cur&s;orily and ha&s;tily, I have written this an&s;wer to you. Not in|tending thereby to reproach any per&s;on particularly what&s;oever, but to lay open to the World how dange|rous a Government this is, not onely for Monarchy, but for all Governments what&s;oever: and that our eyes being opened we may chu&s;e rather to endure any torment tem|porary, then to enter into this treacherous and damnable Covenant, de&s;tructive of Religion, King, Church, Peace of all, and the Liberty of the Subject. To &s;weare to the&s;e things as e&s;tabli&s;hed <HI>de jure divino,</HI> and to put on poore People to act Trea&s;on and Rebellion, making them be|leeve they are Confe&s;&s;ors and Martyrs. If this give you any &s;atisfaction, I have what I de&s;ire: If you doubt of the truth of any thing, I hope I am able to make all here good by faithfull and authentick Records, or Te&s;timony of &s;uch as are worthy of tru&s;t. I pray you keep it for your owne u&s;e onely, for I &s;hould be loath any but a Friend &s;ee it, it is &s;o rudely done, but I dare &s;ay truly and faithfully.</P>
<P>God &s;ave his Church from this Scourge, and give us Peace and Truth, which &s;hall be the dayly Prayer of</P>
</DIV2>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your poore Friend and obli|ged Servant.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
