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<ETS>
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<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2013-11-20</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch Z130710.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="A79717">
<STC T="W">C4212</STC>
<STC T="T">E428_5</STC>
<STC T="C">R204604</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99864071</BIBNO>
<VID>116290</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A DECLARATION FROM THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE Generall Assemblie OF THE KINGDOME OF SCOTLAND, CONCERNING The <HI>Kings Majesties</HI> Royall Per&s;on, and His due Rights and Priviledges. With their &s;en&s;e and re&s;olution touching the lawfulne&s;&s;e of Soveraignty, and the proceedings of a di&s;|loyall and perfidious Party, who formerly preten|ded to light for the KING.</P>
<P><FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="license">
<P><HI>THis</HI> Declaration <HI>from the</HI> Commi&s;&s;ioners <HI>of the</HI> Generall A&s;|&s;embly <HI>of the Kirk of</HI> Scotland, <HI>was ordained to be forthwith Printed and Publi&s;hed, and to be read in all Churches and Chappels throughout the &s;aid Kingdome.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Signed, A. KER.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</FLOATEXT></P>
<P>Imprinted at <HI>Edenburgh</HI> by <HI>Evan Tyler,</HI> Printer to the <HI>Kings most Excellent Majesty.</HI> And Re-printed at <HI>London,</HI> MDCXLVIII.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="proclamation">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>A DECLARATION FROM The Commi&s;&s;ioners of the Generall A&s;&s;embly of the Kingdom of <HI>Scotland.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_WHereas it hath been our con&s;tant cu&s;tome and conti|nuall care, from the &s;en&s;e of the tru&s;t committed unto us, to give warning unto this Kirk and King|dom of their condition and duty; &s;o it cannot bee but very &s;ea&s;onable and nece&s;&s;ary at this time, to declare and make known our judgment of the car|riage of the People of the Land, in the day of darkne&s;&s;e, and houre of temptation that they who have &s;tood may find matter of encou|ragement and prai&s;e, and &s;uch as have fallen may recover them&s;elvs and repent.</P>
<P>We were void of under&s;tanding, if we &s;hould not ob&s;erve, and more then ungrate, if we &s;hould not acknowledge the loving kind|ne&s;&s;e of the Lord towards us, in the mid&s;t of our confu&s;ions and fears: Temptations were many and fierce, becau&s;e of the power and pride of an in&s;olent enemy [both to God and out dread Soveraign the King] who&s;e proceedings is matter of abomination unto us, &amp; &s;hall be a wonder unto the following Generation; yet did the body of the Kingdom keep their integrity, entertaining all thoughts of back&s;liding and complying with the Kings enemies, with indigna|tion
<PB N="2" REF="3"> and dete&s;t, patiently &s;uffering the bloud that hath been &s;pilt, &amp; firmly &s;tanding to the Cau&s;e of God in the mid&s;t of difficulties and &s;traits, neither fearing the threats, nor regarding the promi&s;es of &s;uch as oppo&s;e the &s;ame.</P>
<P>The&s;e, as they be for a name of prai&s;e and joy unto the mo&s;t high, the excellency of who&s;e power is perfected in weakne&s;&s;e; &s;o for a witne&s;&s;e unto the truth, and to the work of Reformation, and for a &s;hame and reproach vnto the haters of Sion, who&s;e &s;ubtilty &amp; violence is more then conquered by the faith and patience of the Saints.</P>
<P>Yet is it the matter of much &s;orrow and a&s;toni&s;hment unto us, that in the Land of uprightne&s;&s;e &s;o many &s;hould have done foo|li&s;hly; and notwith&s;tanding of all that work and power which their eyes have &s;een, and of their own vowes and Prote&s;tations, fallen from their excellency, and turned a&s;ide unto corrupt and crooked wayes with the workers of iniquity. The bond of the Covenant is &s;uch, as every religious heart cannot but remember the violation thereof with horrour and trembling; yet hath the Oath of God been forgotten and de&s;pi&s;ed by many.</P>
<P>It is the admirable way of the working of the wi&s;dom of God, to over rule all the purpo&s;es and actions of the &s;ons of men unto his own ends. He who&s;e wayes towards us have all been mercy and truth, meant a di&s;covery of tho&s;e who&s;e indifferency or treachery would ere long have procured a &s;ure and &s;en&s;ible ruine unto us, and now hath he brought his purpo&s;e to pa&s;&s;e. This is a mercy which bring rightly managed, may countervaile all our &s;ufferings and p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">os, and prove very whole&s;ome unto the Land, and advantagious unto the Cau&s;e of God.</P>
<P>It is not any &s;trength of rea&s;on on the &s;ide of our adver&s;aries that could have &s;haken &s;o many; their pretexts of the Kings &s;ervice, our Rebellion, and &s;uch like as th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> are poor and void of truth in them|&s;elves, &s;o do they ea&s;ily vani&s;h before every di&s;cerning and ratio|nall man.</P>
<P>The &s;ervice of Kings is not to cut down thou&s;ands of their faith|full and loyall Subjects who&s;e multitude is their glory &amp; &s;trength; but to do tho&s;e things which the Laws of the Kingdom pre&s;cribe, and that are con&s;onant unto the will of God and unto the wealth of the people, who&s;e &s;afety is the Supream Law, and maine &s;tudy of e|very
<PB N="3" REF="3"> King ruling in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and judgment. Our &s;oules are not privy unto, and our actions plead us innocent from the guilt of di&s;loyalty; <HI>our witne&s;&s;e is in heaven, and our record is on high,</HI> that it was never our purpo&s;e or intention to &s;ubvert lawfull Soveraignty, nor to encroach upon the due rights and priviledges of the &s;ame; and we tru&s;t, that while&s;t we live, nothing &s;hal e&s;cape us to the contra|ry.</P>
<P>We are able to ju&s;tifie our union with England, as an undenia|ble te&s;timony of our duty unto our Brethren in the times of their &s;traits by the Prelaticall Party, and of the pre&s;ervation of Religion in its purity ane power in this, and of its Reformation in the neigh|bour Lands, and &s;ure&s;t Bulwark of a &s;table and continuing peace betwixt the Kingdoms.</P>
<P>The League and Covenant with England, as it was &s;tudied and &s;et on foot in the days of our Fathers at Barwick in the yeer 1586. &s;o was it from the begining of this glorious Work of Reformation endeavoured by our &s;elves, as &s;tands upon record in the Articles of the large Treaty, unto which &s;ome of tho&s;e who have now fallen to oppo&s;e it, were then neither &s;trangers nor adver&s;aries. Both Cove|nants, in regard of the principals whence they i&s;&s;ue, the heads which they contain, and the ends which they pur&s;ue, are one and the &s;ame: And that the extent of the la&s;t unto our dear Brethren in England &s;hould procure enmity, to the intentions and &s;ub&s;tance of the fir&s;t, &s;eems to us to be a riddle, which none can re&s;olve but perfi|dious per&s;ons, who have made &s;hipwrack of a good con&s;cience.</P>
<P>Who can but be amazed to heare the treacherous de&s;ignes and bloudy practi&s;es of perjured men, palliat under pretence of the pro&s;ecution of the ends of our Nationall Covenant, as appeareth by divers who have lifted up their hands to Heaven, &s;wearing unto the high God in the publike A&s;&s;embly of his people, to build tho&s;e things which they now de&s;troy, and to de&s;troy tho&s;e things which they have lately &s;et up; <HI>[meaning the di&s;&s;enting party of Scotland]</HI> though the Kings Maje&s;ty, of who&s;e Authority they pretended to be zealous of had not then given his royall con&s;ent and approbati|on of our affairs.</P>
<P>It is our hearts de&s;ire and hope, that all this cour&s;e of providence thus abu&s;ed by men void of under&s;tanding, may be improved by our &s;elves, as a meanes of &s;ound and &s;erious humiliation, that wee
<PB N="4" REF="4"> may &s;earch and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord, who will do good unto us, becau&s;e of the di&s;loyall actions of his Maje|&s;ties enemies; Notwith&s;tanding of all calumnies and reproaches, the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our cau&s;e &s;hall be accounted of us our glory, and in regard of it, We will not remove our integrity from us, our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e we will &s;till hold fa&s;t, and not let it go and our heart &s;hall not remove us &s;o long as we live.</P>
<P>The true and reall cau&s;es of our back&s;liding are to be &s;ought a|mong&s;t our &s;elves. If all the Watchmen of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael had been faithfull and zealous in di&s;charge of their tru&s;t, then had the Lords people better known the excellency of the Go&s;pel, and &s;tuck clo&s;er to the profe&s;&s;ion of the &s;ame, becau&s;e of the negligence and perver&s;ne&s;&s;e of &s;ome of tho&s;e, many have halted for want of in&s;tru|ction, and lack of knowledge; but from the corruption which men have harboured in their own brea&s;ts, hath mainly i&s;&s;ued all the de|grees of their Declnation.</P>
<P>There be among&s;t us many rotten and hollow hearts, who though though the joyned wit us through &s;ubtility, or fear did &s;till abide <HI>in the gall of bitterne&s;&s;e, and bond of iniquity,</HI> and wi&s;hed nothing more then the &s;ubver&s;ion of our cau&s;e: What wonder though &s;uch took advantage of a prevailing party, to di&s;clo&s;e their envy, wherewith they were now grown big, almo&s;t unto bur&s;ting: And there is a ge|neration who&s;e ignorance and &s;loath hath detained them, that they have not &s;ufficiently examined, nor rightly con&s;idered Zions con|trover&s;ie with tho&s;e that plead again&s;t her, becau&s;e of her love to the truth: They conceive the debate to be about things Civill, at lea&s;t, not to go &s;o high, as the hazard of any thing important in Re|ligion.</P>
<P>And &s;uch is the negligence of tho&s;e, that they de&s;pi&s;e the meanes of in&s;truction, largly offered and holden forth in many Warnings and Declarations, &amp;c.</P>
<P>What though it be lawfull in &s;ome ca&s;es to capitulate, yea with Turks and Pagans, &s;hall it therefore be lawfull to do that which may argue &s;ubjection, and imply &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion unto a perfidious ene|my, who are going about to drive the People of the Land from their former duty, &amp;c. In this ca&s;e, all and every one are called unto the a&s;&s;erting of the Confe&s;&s;ion of their Faith, and of their owne in|nocency and righteou&s;nes touching the Realm of <HI>England.</HI> Neither
<PB N="5" REF="4"> can we judg any better of protections from &s;uch an enemy, becau&s;e they do imploy the authority of one who is forfeit by the State, &amp; excommunicate by the Kirk, and doe either expre&s;ly of taci<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ely in|gage the Receivers, if not to joyn, yet to re&s;i&s;t: they lay a &s;tumbling block before all the Inhabitants of the Land, to make them for|bear action, or decline &s;uffering, by following &s;uch a cour&s;e: If all had done &s;o, it may &s;oon be fore-&s;een what &s;hould have beene the end: though happily they who were the doers, were not &s;o appre|hen&s;ive, as to reach the depth of the evill, yet the end of the worke in it &s;elfe, and in the intention of enemies, was to make them Ma|&s;ters of all the lives and e&s;tates within the Land.</P>
<P>Capitulations and protections, how&s;oever accounted of by tho&s;e who walke after the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h, are de&s;tructive to our Covenant, almo&s;t in all the heads and Articles thereof: They tend unto the corrupting of Religion in this Land, and ob&s;tructing the Work of Reformation in <HI>England</HI> unto the countenancing and &s;trengthning of the Popi&s;h and Prelaticall party, unto the &s;ubver|&s;ion of the due rights and priviledges of the <HI>Parliaments,</HI> and dimi|ni&s;hing of his Maje&s;ties ju&s;t greatne&s;&s;e and authority unto the with|drawing of Incendiaries and Malignants from condigne punni&s;h|ment unto the overthrow of the Union betwixt the Kingdoms, unto the de&s;erting of our brethren, following of divi&s;ive motions, and denying to hazzard or &s;uffer the lo&s;&s;e either of lives or e&s;tates in the defence of the cau&s;e, and them that adhere thereunto. We &s;ee not not any &s;trength of rea&s;on in that &s;eeming nece&s;&s;ity, unto which many pretend them&s;elves to be redacted: If men could not have retired from the fury and violence of the Enemy, or had not &s;ome probable way of re&s;i&s;tance and defence again&s;t the &s;ame, they &s;hould have taken it as an evidence of the will of God calling them to &s;uffer and give a te&s;timony unto this Truth. Our Covenant doth no le&s;&s;e oblige us to &s;uffering, then to doing; and it is the ignorance or ineffectual con&s;ideration of our duty that makes us thus to wipe our mouths as if we had done nothing worthy of rebuke: Neither yet doth it excu&s;e, that &s;ome were not active to ob ain protections the receiving of them was to pro&s;titute the cha&s;tity of that affecti|on which wee owe unto the cau&s;e of God, and could be no better then a bribe that blinds the eies of the wi&s;e, &amp; hinders from doing judgement unto to afflicted.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="5">
<P>The deep apprehen&s;ion of their &s;ouls danger, moves us &s;eriou&s;ly and in the bowels of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to intreat all Temporizers and Back-&s;liders to remember whence they are fallen and to repent: Let it not be a light thing unto &s;uch that they have di&s;pi&s;ed the Oath of God, undervalued the pretious Truth of the Go&s;pell, and drawn upon them&s;elves the guilt of their Brethrens-bloud by for|&s;aking them in their ju&s;t de<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ence. If the due &s;en&s;e of their &s;in &s;hall bring them to lament after the Lord, they may hope to find him gratious and mercifull, to forgive their iniquity and heal their back-&s;lidings: But if they &s;hall harden them&s;elves, and continue in their provocation, they have cau&s;e of fear, that the Lord of Ho&s;ts &s;hall avenge the quarrell of his Covenant upon them who have &s;worn fal&s;ely by his Name.</P>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="license">
<P>THe E&s;tates of Parliament conveened in the first Se&s;&s;ion of the triennall Parliament of Scotland, having heard the De|claration pre&s;ented unto them by the Commi&s;&s;ioners of the Ge|nerall A&s;sembly read in their audience, received the &s;ame cheerfully, and Ordered the &s;ame to be forthwith printed and publi&s;hed.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>SIGNED, Alex. Gib&s;one Cler. Regi&s;tri.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
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