Declaration of the Word of God at Edinburgh, Text
Tertull. ad Scapul. Colimus Imperatorem ſic, quomodo & nobis licet & ipſi expedit ut hominem a Deo ſecundum, & quicquid eſt a Deo conſequtum, ſolo Deo minorem, hoc & ipſe volet: Sic enim omnibus major eſt, dum ſolo Deo minor eſt.
Idem Apologet. Circa Majeſtatem Imperatoris Infamamur, Nunquam tamen Albiniani, vel Nigriani, vel Caſsiani inveniri potuerunt Chriſtiani.
Lactant. Lib. 5. Inſtit. ca. 8. Ideo mala omnia rebus humanis quotidie ingraveſcunt quia Deus hujus mundi Effector & Gubernator derelictus eſt, quia ſuſceptae ſunt multae Impiae Religiones, & quia nec coli quidem, vela paucis Deo ſinitur.
Malach. 3. Returne unto me and I will returne unto you ſaith the Lord of Hoſts; but you ſaid wherein ſhall wee returne? will a man robbe his Gods? yet have yee robbed mee; but yee ſay wherein have wee robbed thee? In Tithes and offrings; yee are curſed with a curſe becauſe ye robbed mee, even this whole Nation.
THE DECLARATION OF Mr. ALEXANDER HENDERSON, Principall Miniſter of the word of God at Edenbrough, and chiefe Commiſsioner from the Kirk of Scotland to the Parliament and Synod of England: Made upon his Death-bed.
HOSEA 10.For now they ſay we have no King, becauſe we feared not the Lord; What ſhould a King doe to us?
PSAL. 63.The King ſhall rejoyce in God, and all that ſweare by him, ſhall rejoyce in him; And the mouth of them that ſpeake Lies ſhall be stopped.
PRINTED, An. Dom. 1648.
The Declaration of Maſter ALEXANDER HENDERSON.
VVHEREAS the greateſt part of the diſtempered People of theſe miſerable diſtracted Kingdoms, have beene and are, wofully abuſed and miſled with malicious miſinformations againſt his ſacred Majeſty, eſpecially in point of Religion and morall-Wiſdome; whereof, I confes with great griefe of heart, my ſelfe to have been (amongſt many moe of my coate) none of the leaſt; who out of Imaginary feares and Jealouſies, were made reall Inſtruments to advance this un-naturall Warre, wherein ſo much Innocent Proteſtant blood hath beene ſhed, and ſo much downright Robbery committed, without f…ate, or ſhame of ſinne; to the ſcandall of the true Reformed Religion, as cannot but draw downe heavy Judgements from Heaven npon theſe infatuated Nations, and more particularly upon us who ſhould have inſtructed them in the way of Truth, Peace, and Obedience.
I conceived it the duty of a good Chriſtian, eſpecially one of my profeſſion, and in the condition that I lie, expecting God Almighty 's-call, not only to acknowledge to the All-mercifull God, with a humble ſincere remorſe of Conſcience, the greatneſſe of this offence; which being done in ſimplicity of Spirit, I hope with the Apoſtle Paul to obteine Mercy, becauſe I did it through Ignorance: But alſo, for the better ſatisfaction of all others, to publiſh this Declaration to the view of the World; to the intent, that duplicate page duplicate page all thoſe (eſpecially of the Miniſtery) who have beene deluded with mee, may by God's Grace, and my example (though a weake and meane Inſtrument) not only bee undeceived themſelves, but alſo ſtirred up to undeceive others, with more alacritie and facilitie; that the ſcandall may bee removed from our Religion and Profeſſion, and the good King reſtored to his juſt Rights, and truly honoured and obeyed as God's-Annoynted and Vice-gerent upon earth; and the poore diſtreſſed Subjects freed from thoſe intollerable Burdens and Oppreſſions which they lye groaning under, piercing Heaven with their teares and cries; and a ſolid Peace ſetled both in Kirke and Commonwealth, throughout all his Majeſties Dominions, to the glory of God, and of our bleſſed Mediator and Saviour the Lord Chriſt.
I doe therefore Declare before God and the World, that ſince I had the honour and happineſſe to converſe and conferre with his Majeſty, with all ſort of freedome; eſpecially in matters of Religion, whither in relation to the Kirke or State (which like Hypocrates Twins are lynked together) that I found him the moſt intelligent man that ever I ſpoke with; as fair beyond my expreſſion, as expectation, grounded upon the Information that was given mee (before I knew him) by ſuch as I thought ſhould have known him. I profeſſe that I was oft-times aſtoniſh'd with the ſolidity and quickneſſe of his Reaſons and Replies; wondred how hee, ſpending his time ſo much in ſports and recreations, could have attained to ſo great knowledge, and muſt confeſſe ingenuouſly, that I was convinced in Conſcience, and knew not how to give him any reaſonable ſatisfaction; yet the ſweetneſſe of his diſpoſition is ſuch, that whatſoever I ſaid was well taken; I muſt ſay that I never met with any Diſputant (let be a King, and in matters of ſo high concernment) of that milde and calme temper, which convinced mee the more, and made mee thinke that ſuch Wiſdom and Moderation could not bee without an extraordinary meaſure of divine grace. I had heard much of his carriage towards the Prieſts in Spaine, and that King James told the Duke of Buckingham upon his going thither, that he durſt venture his Sonne Charles with all the Jeſuites in the World, hee knew him to bee ſo well grounded in the Proteſtant Religion, but could never beleeve it before.
I obſerved all his actions, more particularly thoſe of devotion, which I muſt truly ſay, are more then ordinary; I informed my ſelfe of others who had ſerved him from his Infancy, and they all aſſured me that there was nothing new or much inlarged in regard of his troubles, either in his private, or publique way of exerciſe; twice a day conſtantly, morning and evening for an houres ſpace in private; twice a day before dinner and ſupper in publique, beſides preachings upon Sundayes, Tueſdayes, and other extraordinary times; and no buſineſſe though never ſo weighty and urgent can make him forget, or neglect this his tribute and duty to Almighty God. O that thoſe who ſit now at the helm of theſe weather beaten Kingdomes had but one halfe of his true piety and wiſdome! I dare ſay that the poore oppreſſed Subject ſhould not bee plunged into ſo deepe Gulfes of impiety, and miſerie without compaſſion or pittie; I dare ſay, if his advice h…d beene followed, all the bloud that is ſhed, and all the repain that is committed, ſhould have beene prevented.
If I ſhould ſpeake of his Juſtice, magnanimity, charity, ſobriety, chaſtity, patience, humility, and of all his both Chriſtian and Morall vertues, I ſhould runne my ſelfe into a panegyricke, and ſeeme to flatter him to ſuch as doe not know him, if the preſent condition that I lye in did not exeem me from any ſuch ſuſpition of worldly ends, when I expect every houre to bee called from all tranſitory vanities to eternall felicitie; and the diſcharging of my conſcience before God and men, did not oblige me to declare the truth ſimply and nakedly, in ſatisfaction of that which I have done ignorantly, though not altogether innocently.
If I ſhould relate what I have received from good hands, and partly can witneſſe of my owne knowledge ſince theſe unhappy troubles began, I ſhould inlarge my ſelfe into a Hiſtory: Let theſe briefe Characters ſuffice. No man can ſay that there is conſpicuouſly any predominant vice in him, a rare thing in a man, but farre rarer in a King; Never man ſaw him paſſionately angrie, or extraordinarily moved, either with proſperity, or adverſity, having had as great tryalls as ever any King had; Never man heard him curſe, or given to ſwearing; Never man heard him complaine, or bemoane his condiction, in the greateſt durance of Warre and confynement; When hee was ſeparated from his deareſt conſort, and deprived of the comfort of his Innocent Children, the hopefulleſt Princes that ever were in theſe ingrate Kingdomes: when hee was denuded of his Councellors and domeſtique Servants; No man can complaine of the violation of his Wife or Daughters, though hee hath had too many temptations in the prime of his age, by the inforced abſence of his Wife which would bee hardly taken by the meaneſt of his Subjects: and (which is beyond all admiration) being ſtript of all councell and helpe of man, and uſed ſo harſhly as would have ſtupified any other man, then did his undaunted courage, and tranſcendent wiſdome ſhew it ſelfe more clearly, and vindicate him from the obloquy of former times, to the aſtoniſhment of his greateſt enemies: I confeſſe this did ſo take me that I could not but ſee the hand of God in it, and which will render His name glorious, and (I greatly feare) ours ignominious to all poſterity, hee ſtands faſt to his grounds, and doth not riſe and fall with ſucceſſe, the brittle ſquare of humane actions, and is ever ready to forgive all by paſt injuries to ſettle a preſent ſolid Peace, and future tranquility, for the good of his Subjects; nay, for their cauſe hee is content to forgoe ſo many of his own known, undoubted juſt rights; as may stand with their ſafety, as Salus populi est Spurema Lex, ſo, & ſi parendum est patri in eo tamen non parendum quo efficitur ut non ſit Pater. [Seneca.]
I confeſſe that I could have wiſhed an eſtabliſhment of our Presbyteriall Government, in the Kirke of England, for the better Ʋnion betweene them and us, but I finde the conſtitution of that Kingdome, and diſpoſition of that Nation ſo generally oppoſite, that it is not to bee expected: They are a People naturally inclined to freedome, and ſo bred in Riches and Plenty, that they can hardly bee induced to embrace any Diſcipline that may any waies abridge their Liberty and Pleaſures. That which wee eſteeme a Godly Kirk policy, inſtituted by the Lord Christ, and his Apoſtles, is no better to them then a kinde of ſlavery, and ſome doe not ſtick to call it worſe then the Spaniſh Inquiſition: Nay, even the greateſt part of thoſe who invited us to aſſiſt them in it, and ſent hither their Commiſſioners to induce us to enter into a ſolemn nationall covenant for that effect, having ſerved their turne of us, to throw downe the King and the Prelaticall partie, and to poſſeſſe themſelves with the ſupreame Government both of Kirke and State; are now Inventing evaſions to bee rid of us, and to delude it, ſome of them publiſhing openly, in Pulpits and Print: That the ſacred Covenant was never intended for the godly, but only as a trap to enſnare the Malignants, which cannot but bring heavy Judgements from Heaven, and, I am afraid, make a greater diſ-union betweene theſe Nations, then ever was before: Like unto that bellum Gallicum, quod ſexcentis foederibus compoſitum, ſemper renovabatur [Canon. lib. 3. Chron in here. 5. an. dom. 1118.] with a deluge of Chriſtian blood, and almoſt ruine of both Parties; or like unto that bellum Rusticanum in Germania, in quo ſupra centena millia Rusticorum occubuerunt. [idem an. dom. 1524.] Or moſt of all, both in manner and Subject, reſembling that of John of Leydon, Munſer and Knoperduling, [idem an, 1534.] which tooke it's riſe from the former; ſo many different Sects ſpring up daily more and more amongſt them, which all like Ephraim and Manaſſes, Herod and Pylate, conſpire againſt the Lord's-Anoynted, and the true Proteſtant Religion.
The City of London, that was ſo forward in the begining of this glorious Reformation, ſurpaſſes now Amsterdam in number of Sects, and may bee compared to old Rome, quae cum omnibus penè gentibus dommaretur omnium gentium erroribus ſerviebat, & magnam ſibi vidèbatur aſſumpſiſſe Religionem quia nullam reſpuebat falſitatem. [Leo in Serm. de Petro & Paulo. app.] their trauſgreſſions are like to bring them to that confuſion of the Iſraelites when they had no King, [Judg. 21.] every one did what ſeemed good in his owne eyes, becauſe they feared not the Lord; [Ihoſ. 10.] they ſaid, What ſhould a King doe to us? The young men preſumed to bee wiſer then the elder, [Iſai 3.] the viler ſort deſpiſed the honourable, [Lament. ult.] and the very ſerving-men ruled over them.
I profeſſe, when I ſaw theſe things ſo cleerly, I could not blame the King to bee ſo backward in giving his aſſent to the ſetling of our Presbyteriall diſcipline in that Kirke, for the great inconveniences that might follow thereupon, to Him and his Poſteritie, there being ſo many ſtrong Corporations in that Kingdome to leade on a popular government, ſuch a number of people that have eyther no, or broken eſtates, who are ready to drive on any alteration, and ſo weake and powerleſſe a Nobility to hinder it. Multos dulcedo praedarum, plures Res angustae vel ambiguae domi alios ſcelerum Conſcientia stimulabat. [C. Tacit.]
Let mee therefore exhort and conjure you, in the words of a dying man, and bowels of our Lord Christ, to ſtand faſt to your Covenant, and not to ſuffer your ſelves to bee abuſed with fain'd pretences, and made wicked inſtruments to wrong the Kirke and the King, of their juſt Rights and Patrimony.
Remember the laſt Propheticall words of our firſt bleſſed Reformer, that after the ſubduing of the Papiſts, foretold us the great battell remain'd againſt manifold Temptations of the devill, the World and the Fleſh, and eſpecially againſt the ſacrilegious devourers of the Kirke rents, which will not bee wanting now with baites cunningly lay'd upon golden hookes to enſnare the greateſt amongſt you both in Kirke and State, but I beſeech you in the words of our bleſſed Saviour to be wiſe as Serpents and milde as Doves, let no worldly conſideration induce you to ſlide backe from the true meaning of our holy covenant with the all-ſeeing God; who puniſhed Saul in his Sonnes for the breach even of an unlawfull Covenant with the Gibeonites. [2. Sam. 21.]
Remember the ſupplication of the Generall Aſſembly at Edenburgh, given in to the Earle of Trawhaire [ſeſſ. 23 Act. 2] his Majeſties high Commiſſioner 12 Aug. 1639 recorded both in the publique Regeſter of our Kirke and Parliament, whereby to obviate malignant aſperſions [2 Caroli Act. 5. ſeſſ. 7 Junij 1640] that branded us maliciouſly with an intention to ſhake off civill and dutifull obedience due to Soveraignty, [verbatim ex Registro] and to diminiſh the Kings greatneſſe and authority, and for clearing of our loyalty; Wee in our names and in the name of all the reſt of the Subjects and congregations whom wee repreſent, did in all humility repreſent to his grace and the Lords, of his Majeſties moſt honourable privie Councell, and declared before God and the World that wee never had, nor have any thought of withdrawing our ſelves from that humble and dutifull obedience to his Majeſtie and his government which by the deſcent, and under the Raigne of 107 Kings is moſt cheerfully acknowledged by us and our predeceſſors, and we never had, nor have any intention or deſire to attempt any thing that may tend to the diſhonour of God, or diminution of the Kings greatneſſe and authority, but on the contrary acknowledging with all humble thankfullneſſe the many recent favours beſtowed upon us by his Majeſty, and that our quietneſſe, ſtability and happineſſe, depends upon the ſafety of the Kings Majeſties Perſon, and maintenance of his greatneſſe and Royall authority who is Gods Vicegerent ſet over vsus for the maintenance of Religion and adminiſtration of Juſtice, wee did ſolemnly ſweare, not only our mutuall concurrence and aſſiſtance for the cauſe of Religion, and to the uttermoſt of our power with our meanes and lives to ſtand to the defence of our dread Soveraigne, his perſon and authority, in the preſervation and defence of the true Religion, Lawes, and Liberties of this Kirke and Kingdom; but alſo in every cauſe, which may concerne his Majeſties honour, to concurre with our friends and followers in quiet manner or in armes, as wee ſhould bee required of his Majeſtie, his Councell, or any having his authority, according to the Lawes of this Kingdome, and the duty of good Subjects.
And though ſome malignant Spirits wreſt maliciouſly Some words of our Covenant, Act. 3. contrary to the true meaning thereof, as if wee intended thereby to reſtrayne our allegiance contrary to the Apoſtles precept and nature of our duty, and make Religion a back-dore for Rebellion to enter in at; if there bee any of the ſimpler zealous ſort that conceive the Senſe to be ſuch, or if there bee any others that would make uſe of it for their politique ends, wee diſclaime them: and I declare before God and the world that it was farre from the intention of thoſe that contrived it, to wrong the King and his poſteritie, as the plaine words of that Article in the cloſe doe clearly beare; and the foreſaid ſupplication doth manifeſtly declare, their intent being only to have ſetled a conformity in Kirke government throughout all his Majeſties dominions, which they conceived would have ſtrengthened his Majeſties authority and made him and his poſterity more glorious: but ſince wee ſinde many invincible difficulties and intollerable inconveniences ariſe, chiefely from thoſe who invited us to enter therein for their aſſiſtance in the accompliſhment thereof in that Kirke, and ſo clearly that they intend to delude us with vaine gloſſes and diſtinctions to the deſtruction of true Proteſtant Religion, and Monarchicall government, and perceive, to our great griefe, that wee have beene abuſed with moſt falſe aſperſions againſt his Majeſtie; the moſt Religious, Prudent, and beſt of Kings: I doe further declare before God and the World that they are guilty of the breach of the Sacred Covenant, and that wee have diſcharged our duty thereof (which is only promiſſory & conditionall as all oathes de futuro are) by endeavouring to effectuate it quantum in nobis erat, and that wee are abſolved in foro Poli & Soli of any oath or vow conteined therein, in ſo farre as concernes the ſetling of Religion in the Kirke of England and Ireland, and that wee are only bound thereby to preſerve the Reformation of Religion in our own Kirke and Kingdome confirmed by his ſacred Majeſty in Parliament, and to reſtore our native King to his Juſt Rights, Royall Throne and Dignity, in as full and ample a manner as ever any of his Royall predeceſſors injoyed them, and that the mouthes of all Malignants may bee ſtopped, that it may not bee ſaid Presbytery fetters Monarchy as Independency deſtroyes it, who caſt up to us the holy league and covenant of France as a pattern on the mont of ours.
Therefore I exhort and conjure you, again and again, in the bowells of our Lord Chriſt, and words of a dying man, eſpecially my brethren of the Miniſtry; as you expect a bleſſing from God upon this diſtreſſed, diſtracted Kirke and Kingdome, upon you and your poſterity; as you deſire to remove Gods heavie Judgements from this miſerable Land, the Sword and Peſtilence, and what elſe may follow, which I tremble to thinke of; to ſtand faſt and firme to this poynt of your Covenant, which you were bound to before by the Law of God and of this Land, and never ſuffer your ſelves by all the gilded allurement of this world, which will prove bitter and deceitfull at laſt, to relinquiſh it: Stand faſt to your Native King moſt gracious to this Land farre beyond all his predeceſſors; none owes greater obligation to him then the Miniſtry and Gentry, let not an indelible charracter of Ingratitude lye upon us that may turne to our ruine. The Proteſtants of France when they were happy in the free profeſſion of their Religion ſuffred themſelves to bee abuſed and miſled by ſome great ones unto a Rebellion againſt Lewis 13, their Naturall King, which coſt many of them their Lives and Eſtates and the loſſe of all their hoſtage Townes, and might have endangred their libertie of conſcience, if the King had not beene very gracious to them, the Templers pride and ambition rendred them formidable to all Chriſtian Kings and made them to bee cut off in the twinkling of an eye. The Jeſuites are running hedlong to that ſame height; and our Biſhops, not contenting themſelves with moderation, were made inſtruments of their own deſtruction; as ſome of our brethren before by their Indiſcretion inforced King James to ſet them up; wherefore I beſeech you my brethren of the Miniſtrie to carry your ſelves mildly toward all men, [Tit. 3.] and obediently towards the King and his ſubordinate Officers, [Rom. 13.] Preach ſalvation to your ſtocks, [1. Pet. 2.] and meddle not with them that are ſeditious; keepe your ſelves within the bounds of our bleſſed Saviours [Prov. 24.] Commiſſion and doe not, as the Biſhops did, intrench upon the civill Magiſtrates authority, that yee may live in Peace and Godlineſſe together as becometh the meſſengers of the Lord Christ, non eripit terrestria qui Regna dat coelistia.
God of his mercy grant you all, the Spirit of Love and Union that you may Joyne as one man to Redeeme the honour of this ancient Nation, which lyes a bleeding in Forraigne parts where it was once ſo famous for its valour and fidelitie even to forraign Kings; to redeeme it I ſay even with your Lives and Fortunes according to your Solemne Covenant and the duty of your allegiance to your Native King; conſider I beſeech you your own intereſts, beſides honour and conſcience, and never reſt untill you have reſtored him fully to his Royall Throne and Dignity; let us his Native Subjects, bee his beſt ſhield and buckler under God, to defend him from all enemies, and to tranſmit his Scepter to his poſterity ſo long as the Sunne and Moone endureth, and let our forces bee imployed for the Reſtitution of the moſt Religious and Vertuous Queene of Bohemiae and her diſtreſſed Children, to their juſt Inheritance and for the pulling down of the Antichriſt and enlarging of our Lord Christs Kingdome throughout all the World.
C. Tacitus. In tanta Republicae neceſsitudine, ſuſpecto Senatus, populi que Imperio ob certamina potentium & avaritiam Magiſtratuum invalido legum auxilio, quae vi, ambitu, poſtremo pecunia turbabantur; omnem poteſtatem ad unum reddire Pac is interfuit, non aliud diſcordanis Patriae remedium quam ut ab uno regeretur.
FINIS.
End of the text · Alexander Henderson, Declaration of the Word of God at Edinburgh (1648)