The annals of King James and King Charles the First ... containing a faithful history and impartial account of the great affairs of state, and transactions of parliaments in England from the tenth of King James MDCXII to the eighteenth of King Charles MDCXLII : wherein several material passages relating to the late civil wars (omitted in former histories) are made known.

The Tenour of the Second was as follow∣eth:

My Lords of Secret Councel,

UNto your Lordships humbly shews; We Noble men, Barons, Ministers, Burgesses, and Com∣mons; That whereas we were in humble and quiet man∣ner attending a gracious answer of our former supplica∣tions against the Service-Book imposed upon us, and ready to shew the great inconveni••nces which upon the Introduction thereof must ens••e, we ••re, without any known desert, far by our expectation, surprized and charged by publick Proclamation to depart out of the Town within twenty four hours thereafter, under pain of Rebellion; by which peremptory and unusual charge, our fears of a more severe and strict course of proceed∣ing are augmented, and course of our supplication in∣terrupted: wherefore we are constrained, out of the deep grief of our hearts, humbly to remonstrate, that whereas the Archbishops and Bishops of this Realm, being intrusted by his Majesty with the Government of the Affairs of the Church of Scotland, have drawn up and set forth, and caused to be drawn up and set forth, and injoyned upon the Subjects two Books; In the one whereof, called the Book of Common-Prayer, not only a••e sown the seeds of divers Superstitions, Idolatry, and false Doctrine, contrary to the true Religion establish∣ed within this Realm, by divers Acts of Parliament; But also the Service-Book of England is abused, espe∣cially in the matter of Communion, by additions, sub∣tractions, interchanging of words and sentences, fal∣sifying of Titles, and misplacing of Collects, to the disadvantage of Reformation, as the Romish Mass is, in the more substantial points, made up therein, as we offer to instruct in time and place con∣venient, quite contrary unto and for reversing the gracious intention of the † 1.1 blessed Reformers of Religion in England. In the other Book called Canons and Constitutions for the go∣vernment of the Church of Scotland, they have ordained, That whosoever shall affirm that the form of Worship inse••ed in the Book of Common-Prayer and Administration of the Sacranents, where∣of heretofore and now we most justly complain, doth

contain any thing repugnant to the Scriptures, or are corrupt, superstitious, or unlawful in the Service and Worship of God, shall be Excommunicated, and not be restored but by the Bishop of the place, or Archbishop of the Province, after his repentance and publick re∣vocation of this his wicked errour, and to the over∣throw of our Church Discipline established by Acts of Parliament, opening a door for what further inventi∣on of Religion they please to make, and stopping the way which Law before did allow unto us for suppressing of errour and superstition; And ordaining, That where in any of the Canons there is no Penalty expresly set down, the punishment shall be Arbitrary as the Bi∣shop shall think fittest: All which Canons were never seen nor allowed in any General Assembly, but are im∣posed contrary to order of Law, appointed in this Realm for establishing Constitutions Ecclesiastical; unto which two Books, the foresaid Prelates have under trust pro∣cured his Majesties Royal hand and Letters Patents, for pressing the same upon his Loyal Subjects, and are the Contrivers and Devisers of the same, as doth clear∣ly appear by the Frontispiece of the Book of Common-Prayer, and have begun to urge the acceptance of the same, not only by injunctions given in Provincial As∣semblies, but also by open Proclamation and charge of Horning, whereby we are driven in such straits as we must either by Process of Excommunication and Horn∣ing suffer the ruin of our Estates and Fortunes, or else by breach of our Covenant with God, and forsaking the way of true Religion, fall under the wrath of God, which unto us is more grievous than death. Where∣fore we being perswaded that these their proceedings are contrary to our gracious Sovereign his pious inten∣tion, who out of his zeal and Princely care of the pre∣servation of true Religion established in this his ancient Kingdom, hath ratified the same in his Highness Par∣liament, 1633. And so his Majesty to be highly wronged by the said Prelates, who have so far abused their credit with so good a King, as thus to insnare his Subjects, rend our Church, undermine Religion in Do∣ctrine, Sacraments, and Discipline, move discontent between the King and his Subjects, and discord between Subject and Subject, contrary to several Acts of Par∣liament: We out of bound duty to God, our King and native Country, complain of the foresaid Prelates, hum∣bly craving, that this matter may be put to trial, and th••se our parties taken order with according to the Laws of the Realm; And that they be not suffered to sit any more as Judges, until the cause be tried and de∣cided according to Justice. And if this shall seem to be to you a matter of higher importance than you will condescend unto, before his Majesty be acquainted therewith, Then we humbly supplicate, that this our grievance and complaint may be fully represented to his Majesty, That from the influence of his Gracious So∣veraignty and Justice these wrongs may be redressed, and we have the happiness to enjoy the Religion, as it hath been reformed in this Land.

A more exa••t account of these Petitions, and of the Exorbitancy of the Scots in this their Re∣bellion, we cannot better give you, than from his Majesties larger Declaration, where they are in their proper and fit colours shewn to the World. The King's words are these:

IN this Petition, saith his Majesty, it may be worthy the observing, That they complain of the mangling of the English Service-Book, and of t••e abuses offered unto it, and the wronging of the in••ntions of the blessed Reformers of Religi∣on here in this Kingdom, whereas in their Ser∣mons and ••rdinary discourse, they do usually in∣veigh against the Service-Book here, for being stuffed with Superstition and Popery, and that the first Reformers of this Church never departed fully from Rome: And in this last Petition they begin to make their Grievances swell, adding their dislike of the Book of Canons to their former dis∣taste of the Service-Book; the occasion of Our Authorizing of which Book of Canons, was this.

As We were desirous to settle one uniform Form of Publick Prayer and Divine Service throughout that Our Kingdom, and for that pur∣pose authorized the Service-Book, so We con∣ceived that it was not only expedient, but neces∣sary that there should be one uniform Form of Church Government throughout the same▪ and because there was no Book extant containing any Rules of such Government, so that neither the Clergy nor Laiety had any certain rule either of the ones power, or of the others practice and obedience, and considering that the Acts of their general Assemblies were but written, and not Printed, and so large and voluminous, as it is im∣possible that so many Copies of them should be transcribed, as that they may come to the use and knowledge of many, and so Apocryphal, as that few or none of themselves can tell which of them are authentical, and so unsafely and uncertainly kept, that they do not know whether to address themselves for finding of them; We could not imagine but that it should have been acknow∣ledged, and received with all thankfulness, that We had reduced their numerous Acts, and those not known to them, to such a paucity of Canons, and those published, that none could be insnared through ignorance, nor complain that they were over-charged with the multiplicity of them: For it may be averred with unquestionable certainty, that not one in that Our Kingdom did either live under the obedience of the Acts of the general Assemblies, or did know what they were, or where certainly to have them: And yet these men have interpreted Our furthering their know∣ledge and facilitating and conveniencing their obedience for one of the most grievous burthens was ever laid upon them: But no wonder it is, if, when mens minds are once out of taste with Go∣vernment, nothing tending to order relisheth well with them.

Their Petition was sent up to Us by Our Coun∣cil: But We seeing no sign of Repentance for, or disavowing of their late Tumults, until some order might be taken for the finding out and punishment of the Authors of them, resolved to delay the answering of their Petition, but in the mean time commanded Our Council to signifie to all our good Subjects Our averseness from Po∣pery, and detestation of Superstition, the contra∣ry suggestions whereof We found the Heads of this Rebellion had used for abusing of Our loyal Subjects, and so accordingly Our Council caused a Proclamation to be made at Lithgow, which was this:

Notes

• † 1.1

  And yet ••••ese blessed Ref••rmers of Religion in England were ••e very same men who co••••iled the ••••••∣lish Service-••o••k, which the Covenanter have Printed and Prea••••ed to ••e stuffed full of ••••olatry, S••••ersti∣tion, and Popery.