2 Sam. xxi. 1; 2 Sam. xxiv. 17; 2 Kings xxi. 11, 12; Isa. xliii. 27, 28; Jer. xiv. 15,16; Mic. iii. 11, 12.

Whence both ministers and people have been involved in the sins of Prelacy, Indulgence, Toleration, Erastianism, subjecting the government of the church to the secular and civil authority; while they thought these only to be the sins of Prelates, or of wicked and usurping rulers; they in the meantime yielding all the conformity with, submission unto, and approbation of them, that was by wicked laws required.  On the other hand, many of us have rested too much in a non-compliance with these, and “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.”

In the third Article, whereas we are bound, “in our several vocations, mutually to preserve the rights and privileges of Parliaments, and liberties of the kingdoms;” meaning the true, real and righteous privileges and liberties—­consonant to the Word of God.

Deut. i. 13; Deut. xvi. 18; Isa. i. 26.

Likeas, all lieges are bound by the laws of the land inserted in the National Covenant, to “maintain the authority of Parliaments, without which neither any laws nor lawful judicatories can be established.”  Yet as our fathers had reason to complain “that neither had the privileges of the Parliament nor liberties of the subject been duly tendered; but some amongst them had laboured to put into the hands of the king an arbitrary and unlimited power destructive to both; and many of them had been accessory to those means and ways whereby the freedom and privileges of Parliaments had been encroached upon, and the subjects oppressed in their consciences, persons and estates;” so afterwards, all alongst the tract of tyranny and persecution, they had rather the name and show than the real power and privileges of lawfully constituted Parliaments; having advanced the royal prerogative to such a boundless pitch of arbitrariness, and being so corrupted, that faithful men and honest and honourable patriots were excluded, and those admitted who by the law of God and man should have been debarred; and so prelimited that the members behoved to take such oaths (for instance, the declaration and test, abjuring and condemning the Covenants) as engaged them to be perjured and conjured enemies both to our religion and liberty, which both the electors of Members of Parliament and the elected did sinfully comply with; neither did the body of the land make conscience of recovering these rights and privileges thus perverted and polluted; but in stupid subjection did own those for representatives who betrayed their liberties, and made laws to enslave the nation and entail slavery upon, posterity.  On the other hand, they that disowned them did not make conscience of preserving those rights and privileges of supreme judicatories, when inadvertently and unadvisedly they put in such expressions and styles in some of their declarations as do not belong to private persons, but only to such judicatories.  And not only then, but since the Revolution, have there been many ways taken for corrupting and depriving the Members of Parliament; as that all members and electors of members have been obliged to take the oath of allegiance, with the assurance to such as did, and do, in their dominions, support Prelacy and exercise an Erastian supremacy over the church of Christ.