5th, 1690, they would not have left this particular
to be again considered of, seeing patronages were
entirely abolished by an act of parliament 1649; but,
having the ball at their foot, they now acted as would
best suit with their political and worldly views.
Once more observe, that when the revolution parliament
ratified the act 1592, they take no notice of its having
been done before, by a preceding parliament in 1649.
All which plainly says, that the reforming laws and
authority of the parliaments by which they were made,
are not regarded as now in force. To conclude
this particular, if the settlement of religion, made
in 1690, had revived and ratified the authority of
our reforming parliaments, and laws made by them;
then, as these obliged the king to swear the covenants
before his coronation, and all ranks to swear them,
and obliged to root out malignancy, sectarianism,
&c., and to promote uniformity in doctrine, worship,
discipline and government, in the three nations, so
the revolution settlement would have obliged all to
the practice of the same duties, and that, before
ever king, or any under him, could have been admitted
to any trust; while all that would not comply therewith,
would have been held as enemies, not only to religion,
but to their king and country also, as was the case
when reformation flourished. But, as the very
reverse of this was authorized and practised at the
revolution, it convincingly discovers, that the settlement
of religion, made in 1690, left the whole of the reformation
attained to, ratified and established by solemn oaths
and civil laws between 1640 and 1649, buried under
that scandalous and wicked act rescissory, framed
by that tyrant,
Charles II, after his restoration.
Nor is there to be found, in all the acts, petitions,
supplications and addresses, made by the assemblies
at or since the revolution, any thing importing a
desire to have that blasphemous act rescinded, which
stands in full force, to the perpetual infamy and
disgrace of the revolution settlement of religion,
so much gloried in, by the greatest part, as happily
established.
2. The presbytery testify against the Revolution
settlement of religion, not only as including avowed
apostasy from the covenanted constitution of the reformed
church of Scotland, and a traitorous giving
up of the interests and rights of Christ, our Lord
and REDEEMER, in these, and especially in this land;
but also, as it is an Erastian settlement, which will
appear, by considering 1_st_. The scriptural method
then taken, in establishing religion: instead
of setting the church foremost in the work of the
Lord, and the state coming after, and ratifying by
their civil sanction what the church had done; the
Revolution parliament inverted this beautiful order,
both in abolishing Prelacy, settling Presbytery, and
ratifying the Confession of Faith, as the standard
of doctrine to this church; 2_d_, In abolishing Prelacy,
as it was not at the desire of the church, but of