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A Designation of fuch Acts of Parliament as are expedient for Juftifying the Union after-mentioned.

Jofh. xxiv. 25. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and fet them a flatute, and an ordinance in Shechem.

2 Kings vi. 17. And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, and the king and the people; that they should be the Lord's people; between the king alfo and the people.

Ifa. xliv. 5. One fhall fay, I am the Lord's: And another fhall call himself by the name of Jacob: And another ball fubfcribe with his hand unto the Lord, and firname himselj by the name of Ifrael.

Printed in the Year M, DCC,LV.

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

Act ordaining, by Ecclefiatical Authority, the Subfcription of the Confeffion of Faith and Covenant, with the Affembly's Declaration.

THE

HE general affembly confidering the great happiness which may flow from a full and perfect union of this kirk and kingdom, by joining of all in one and the fame Covenant with God, with the king's majeity, and among ourfelves; having by our great oath declared the uprightnefs and loyalty of our intentions in all our proceedings; and having withal fupplicated his majesty's high commiffioner, and the lords of his majesty's honourable privy council, to enjoin, by act of council, all the lieges in time coming to fubfcribe the Confeffion of Faith and Covenant; which, as a teftimony of our fidelity to God, and loyalty to our king, we have fubfcribed: and feeing his majesty's high commif fioner, and the lords of his majesty's honourable privy-council, have granted the defire of our fupplication, ordaining by civil authority, all his majesty's lieges, in time coming, to fubfcribe the forefaid Covenant: that our union may be the more full and perfect, we, by our act and conftitution ecclefiaftical, do approve the forefaid Covenant in all the heads and claufes thereof; and ordain of new, under all ecclefiaftical cenfure, That all the mafters of univerfities, colleges, and scholars at the paffing of their degrees, all perfons fufpected of papistry or any other error, and finally, all the members of this kirk and kingdom, fubfcribe the fame, with these words prefixed to their fubfcription, The article of this Covenant, which was at the firft fubfcription referred to the determination of the general affembly, being determined; and thereby the five articles of Perth, the government of the kirk by bishops, the civil places and power of kirkmen, upon the reafons and grounds contained in the acts of the general affembly, declared to be unlawful within this kirk: we fubfcribe according to the determination forefaid. And ordain the Covenant, with this declaration, to be infert in the registers of the affemblies of this kirk, general, provincial, and prefbyterial, ad per petuam ret memoriam. And in all humility fupplicate his majesty's high commifioner, and the honourable eftates of parliament, by their authority, to ratify and enjoin the fame, under ail civil pains; which will tend to the glory of God, prefervation of religion, the king's majesty's honour, and perfect peace of this kirk and kingdom.

Charles

Charles I. Parl. 2. A&t 5.

A&t anent the Ratification of the Covenant, and of the Affembly's Supplication, Act of Council, and Act of Affembly concerning the Covenant:

TH

At Edinburgh, June 11th, 1640.

HE eftates of parliament, prefently conveened by his majesty's fpecial authority, confidering the fupplication of the general affembly at Edinburgh, the 12th of August, 1639, to his majesty's high commiffioner, and the lords of his majefty's honourable privy-council; and the act of council of the 30th of Auguft, 1639, containing the answer of the faid fupplication; and the act of the faid general affembly, ordaining, by their ecclefiaftical conftitution the fubfcription of the Confeflion of Faith and Covenant mentioned in their fupplication: and withal, having fupplicated his majefty to ratify and enjoin the fame by his royal authority, under all civil pains, as tending to the glory of God, the prefervation of religion, the king's majesty's honour, and the perfect peace of this kirk and kingdom; do ratify and approve the faid fupplications, act of council, and act of affembly; and, conform thereto, ordain and command the faid Confeffion and Covenant to be fubfcribed by all his majesty's fubjects, of what rank and quality foever, under all eivi! pains; and ordain the faid fupplication, act of council, and act of the affembly, with the whole Confellion and Covenant itself, to be infert and registrate in the acts and books of parliament; And also ordain the fame to be presented at the entry of every parliament, and, before they proceed to any other act, that the fame, be publickly read, and fworn by the whole members of parliament, claiming voice therein; otherwife the refusers to fubfcribe and fwear the fame, fhall have no place nor voice in parliament: And fuch like ordain all judges, magiftrates, or other officers, of whatsoever place, rank or quali ty, and minifters at their entry, to swear and subscribe the fame Covenant, whereof the tenor follows.

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The National Covenant,

OR,

The Confeffion of Faith;

Subfcribed, at first, by the King's Majefty and his Houfhold, in the year 1580, thereafter by perfons of all ranks, in the year 1581, by ordinance of the Lords of fecret council, and acts of the General Affembly: Subfcribed again by all forts of perfons in the year 1590, by a new ordinance of council, at the defire of the General Affembly; with a general bond for the maintaining of the true Chriftian religion, and the king's perfon, and, together with a refolution and promife, for the caufes after-expreffed, to maintain the true religion, and the King's Majefty, according to the forefaid Confeffion and acts of parliament, fubfcribed by barons, nobles, gentle men, burgeffes, minifters and commons, in the year 1638: Approved by the General Affembly, 1638 and 1639; and fubfcribed again by perfons of all ranks and qualities in the year 1639, by an ordinance of council, upon the fuppli cation of the General Affembly, and act of the General Af Jembly: ratified by an act of Parliament 1740; and fubfcribed by King Charles II. at Spey, June 23, 1650; and Scoon, January 1st, 1651.

WE

VE all and every one of us underwritten, protest, That, after long and due examination of our own confciences in matters of true and falfe religion, we are now throughly refolved in the truth by the word and Spirit of God: and therefore we believe with our hearts, confefs with our months, fubfcribe with our hands, and conftantly affirm before God and the whole world, that this only is the true Chrif tian faith and religion, pleafing God, and bringing falvation to man, which now is, by the mercy of God, revealed to the world by the preaching of the bleffed evangel; and is received, believed, and defended by many and fundry notable kirks and realms, but chiefly by the kirk of Scotland, the king's majcfty and three eftates of this realm, as God's eternal truth, and only ground of our falvation; as more particularly is expreffed in the Confeffi og of our Faith, established and publickly confirmed by fundry acts of parliaments, and now of a long ins have been openly profeffed by the king's majefty, and whole bo

dy

dy of this realm both in burgh and land. To the which confeffion and form of religion we willingly agree in our confcience in all points, as unto God's undoubted truth and verity, grounded only upon his written word. And therefore we abhor and deteft all contrary religion and doctrine; but chiefly all kind of papiftry in general and particular heads, even as they are now damned and confuted by the word of God and kirk of Scotland. But in fpecial we deteft and refufe the ufurped authority of that Roman antichrift upon the fcriptures of God, upon the kirk, the civil magiftrate, and confciences of men: all his tyrannous laws made upon indifferent things against our Chriftian liberty; his erroneous doctrine against the fufficiency of the written word, the perfection of the law, the office of Christ, and his bleffed evangel: his corrupted doctrine concerning original fin, our natural inability and rebellion to God's law, our juftification by faith only, our imperfect fanctification and obedience to the law; the nature, number, and use of the holy facraments: his five baftard facraments; with all his rites, ceremonies and false doctrine, added to the administration of the true fa craments without the word of God: his cruel judgment against infants departing without the facrament: his abfolute neceffity of baptifm; his blafphemous opinion of tranfubftantiation, or real prefence of Chrift's body in the elements, and receiving of the fame by the wicked, or bodies of men: his difpenfations with folemn oaths, perjuries, and degrees of marriage forbidden in the word: his cruelty against the innocent divorced his devilish mats: his blafphemous priesthood: his profane facrifice for fins of the dead and the quick; his canonization of men; calling upon angels or faints departed; worshipping of imagery, relicks and croffes; dedicating of kirks, altars, days; vows to creatures his purgatory, prayers for the dead; praying or fpeaking in a strange language; with his proceffions and blafphemous litany, and multitudes of advocates or mediators: his manifold orders, auricular confeffion: his defperate and uncertain repentance: his general and doubtfome faith; his fatisfaction of men for their fins; his juftification by works, Opus operatum, works of fupererogation, merits, pardons, peregrinations, and ftations: his holy water, baptizing of bells, conjuring of fpirits, croffing, faying, anointing, conjuring, hallowing of God's good creatures, with the fuperftitious opinion joined therewith his worldly monarchy, and wicked hierarchy: his three folemn vows, with all his fhavellings of fundry forts: his erroneous and bloody decrees made at Trent, with all the fubfcribers or approvers of that cruel and bloody band, conjured against the kirk of God. And finally, we deteft all his yain allegories, rites, figns, and traditions brought in the kirk, without or against the word of God, and doctrine of this true reformed kirk; to the which we join ourfelves willingly, in doctrine, faith, religion, difcipline, and ufe of the holy facraments, as lively members of the fame in Chrift our Head: promifing and fwearing by the great name of the LORD our GOD, that we

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