framed entirely for the befooling, enflaving, defpoiling, and corrupting of the laity, and the enriching and aggrandizing her priesthood, who, with the fupple hams of a flattering hypocrify, firft feem to adore and deify, but, as foon as they have gained their point, do really spurn at, and trample upon all fecular dignity and authority; for fhe affumes an arbitrary power to pluck up and deftroy all governments, when it is for her purpofe. But ftill, a fine conveniency or umbrage of religion the is to thofe who will live by the rules of none, and an admirable colour for ambitious princes to enlarge their empire to the prejudice of their neighbours, and pretence of advancing the Catholic faith, and to deftroy their own people for God's fake, whenever they shall have oppreffed them fo far as to fear them; and as ready an engine to excite fubjects to rebellion againft their lawful fovereigns, as oft as they will not dance to the measures of the Vatican. To conclude: As every religion confifts of doctrine, wor fhip, and difcipline, fo the doctrine of Popery is ignorance and error; its worship, idolatry and fuperftition; its difcipline, rage and cruelty: whence fitly doth the Holy Spirit, in facred writ, defcribe her by thofe three titles, the falfe prophet, the whore, and the beaft; falfe prophet, for her teaching, and enforcing errors; whore, for her idolatry, gaudy drefs, and meritricious paintings; and beast, for her ravenous and savage cruelty. To conclude further: She is the difgrace and grand impediment of the gospel, the overthrow of morals, the perpetual difquieter of civil ftates, the deftroyer of Chriftians, the fcandal of infidels, and the peft of the world: which, therefore, all mankind are, obliged both in honour, confcience, and intereft, by all lawful ways to oppofe, and wish and heartily pray for its extirpation from the face of the earth; which, for the comfort of all that fuffer by and under it, and to the terror of all its abettors, (notwithstanding their fubtilties, or violence, to fupport what Providence has doomed for deftruction), shall affuredly, in God's due time, be accomplished, and the kings of the earth fhall burn her with fire. Amen. No. XXXI. No. XXXI. ASEASONABLE WARNING by the Commiffion of the General Affembly, concerning the Danger of Popery *. Edinburgh, August 19, 1713. E the minifters and elders, met in the Commiffion of W the General Affembly of the church of Scotland, ta king to our serious confideration the inveterate malice of Papifts against the true reformed religion, and their rettlefs en-, deavours, particularly at this time, to ruin the Proteftant interest in Britain and Ireland; the great multitudes of their priests, and other emiffaries, now trafficking for carrying on this pernicious design in feveral parts of this country, whereby many are already perverted; their fetting up openly in divers places their idolatrous worship, not withstanding the penal laws which ftand in force against them, and of her Majesty's royal proclamations, and what the judges have done in their circuits; and the r behaving themselves with as great infolence as they have ever fhewed fince our reformation from Popery. And likewife confidering the bold attempts of other adverfaries to our prefent conftitution, both in church and ftate, who do openly in our chief cities, and through the whole country, promote the interefts of a Pretender to the crown, who has been educated in all the maxims of Popish bigotry and French tyranny. And we being touched with a jutt and deep fense of thefe dangerous evils, do judge it our duty, from the zeal we owe to the glory of God, the prefervation of our holy religion, the fafety of her Majefty's government, and the welfare of our country, and in purfuance of the truft committed to us by the laft General Affembly, to give this public, folemn and ferious warning to all ranks of perfons, of the imminent danger which doth arife from fuch pernicious practices, not only to our pure and holy religion, but to our civil rights and liberties. And therefore we do earnestly obteft all good Proteftants and lovers of their country, that they look diligently to themfelves, that they be not deluded by the fubtle devices of a Popish and Jacobite party, who fo manifestly defign to bring us under the yoke of the faid Pretender, and thereby to deprive us of thefe moft valuable bleffings, which This Warning is added here, as being well known, and much regarded. in England, at the time of its publication; which is an undeniable inftance of the church of Scotland's ardent zeal for the Proteftant fucceffion, when it was in the greatest danger. the great and gracious God did fo remarkably reftore unto us by the late glorious Revolution. To preferve the members of this national church from being impofed upon by the cunning artifices of fuch enemies, we befeech them to advert how deceitfully many of these, who are notorioufly difaffected to her Majesty's government, do, with great appearance of zeal, efpoufe and promote the ceremonies and liturgy of the church of England; a yoke which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear, and which this nation would never fubmit to, even in the times of prelacy; but although the Jacobite party do now fo carneftly contend, for that form of worship, to impofe upon and ingratiate themfelves with the church of England, and to ftrengthen them-felves under her protection, their zeal for the Pretender is fuch, that they generally omit the prayers in that liturgy for our fovereign Queen Anne, and the illuftrious Princefs Sophia, upon whom the fucceffion to the crown is fettled; which fucceffion we cannot but efteem to be, under God, the greatest fecurity, not only to the Proteftant intereft in these lands, but alfo to the reformed churches abroad; in whofe fafety we are confident that all good Proteftants will find themfelves deeply concerned, both in point of duty and interest. It is alfo very common with that party to make a great outcry, especially at diftant places, where the matter is not fa well known, of their having fuffered grievous perfecution, merely becaufe of their being of the Epifcopal perfuafion. This is another of their artifices, to procure unto themselves the more favour and countenance from others, whofe protection they abufe, to profecute their malicious defigns againft the Revolution fettlement: but this their clamour and noife is altogether groundless; and, bleffed be God, we can appeal to the confciences of all who know our conduct, that we have never fince the late happy Revolution in the leaft returned the feverities, and unparalleled cruelties, which we met with when they had the afcendent; and which we, from their prefent temper as well as their former behaviour, may reasonably conclude they want nothing but power to renew against the minifters and members of this church. Moreover, that they may diminish the juft averfion of the people of this land to the Pretender, and engage them to his intereft, they do artfully fuggeft, and with the utmost confidence affure them, that were he once advanced to the throne, he would procure the diffolution of the union. But we intreat all perfons to confider, that whatever be the inconveniencies and dangerous confequences of the union to our civil interelts, or the grievances of this church under it, against which laft both both the Commiffion and General Affembly gave folemn and feafonable teftimony, particularly in the tenth act of the Geheral Affembly held anno 1712, entitled, " An act approving "the representations and addreffes by the Commiffion con cerning the toleration and patronages;" yet, to expect a remedy to thefe grievances from the Pretender, is a moft grofs delufion, and a bait which we cannot think will catch any but fuch as are very fimple and credulous: yea, fuppofing there were ground, as there is none, to expect that the Pretender would diffolve the union, if he fhould come to the throne, yet that could not be at all a fufficient compenfation for the dreadful train of the far greater evils of tyrannical government, and the abominations of Popery, which we could not but meet with, if a perfon of his principles and education fhould be advanced to the fupreme authority. Any remedy that can be looked for from him would prove fo much worfe than our prefent difeafe, that we cannot but be confident, there is none who have any just concern for our religion and civil liberties, which ought to be deareft to us, as Proteftants and freeborn Scotfmen, will fuffer themfelves to be deluded with fuch an abfurd and enfnaring infinuation. i We find it neceffary alfo to guard people against another artful contrivance of the Jacobite party: thofe of them that profefs to be Proteftants, that they may the more eafily engage people into their meafures, do frequently declare, that they are for a Proteftant fucceffion, and with great affurance advance, as a thing to be relied upon, that the Pretender hath declared, or will declare himfelf to be a Proteftant but this is an artifice fo grofs, that it can take with none who do confider, that the Pope doth difpenfe with the faireft profeffion of the Proteftant religion, and the moft folemn oaths to maintain it, for advancing that hellish defign of extirpating the Proteftant religion, under the opprobrious name of the northern herefy; and which all Papifts, by their cruel and bloody principles, are obliged to endeavour to the utmost of their power, upon pain of damnation; and likewife that a prince who is a Papift at heart may the more fecurely and eafily work the ruin of our religion and liberty, when his defigns are covered with the mafk of a Proteftant profeffion. Such, therefore, as are impofed upon with the fond and groundless expectation of the Pretender's being a Proteftant, and would thereupon intruft him with all our valuable concerns, muft needs bewray the greateft ignorance of the principles of Papifts, and the many obvious inftances of their diffimulation; nay, bring upon themselves not only the brand of weakness and foolish credulity, but the heinous guilt of treachery to God, from their inex inexcufeable running into measures which fo manifeftly endan ger our haly religion, and the happy conftitution of this church, founded upon, and agreeable unto the word of God. Wherefore we do with the greateft earnestnefs recommend to all the minifters of this national church, that they endeavour by public and private inftruction to imprefs the people of their refpective charges, with a due fenfe of the evil of Popery, and extreme danger thefe lands would certainly be brought into, of being overrun with it, and ruined with oppreffion and tyranny, if ever the Lord fhould for our fins permit the Pretender, educated and confirmed in the Popish religion, and inftructed in all the principles of arbitrary government, to bear rule over us and we do feriously exhort all the minifters and members of this church, to testify all duty and loyalty to our only rightful and lawful fovereign Queen Anne, and a zealous concern for the Proteftant fucceffion, fettled upon the most excellent Princefs Sophia, Electorefs and Dutchefs Dowager of Hanover, and the heirs of her body, being Proteftants: and we judge it proper at this occafion to put them in mind, that this illuftrious princefs is the grand-daughter of King James the Sixth of Scotland, and Firit of England, by. his daughter the Lady Elizabeth Queen of Bohemia, for whom and her children our worthy predeceffors did publicly pray in their churches, and whofe hufband was defcended of a family which was remarkably zealous for the glorious work of refor mation, and who himself did endure great trials of affliction for his ftedfaft adherence to the Proteftant interest. When we therefore confider, how much both our prefent and future fafety, under God, doth depend upon that family's fucceeding to the crown, and how neceflary the prefervation of that fucceffion is for the fecurity, of our religion and liberties, and of all that is dear to us as men and Christians; we cannot forbear, at fuch a juncture as this, to excite ourselves, and all of our communion, to testify, as bleffed be God they have hitherto done, a firm and fteady adherence thereto, under whatever difcouragements may happen. And in the bowels of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, we do seriously obtest and befeech all ranks of perfons, to hear the voice of God's difpenfations to us in these lands, and to humble themfelves deeply under the many fad causes and tokens of the Lord's anger, to prepare to meet our God by turning unto him with all their hearts, by unfeigned repentance and reformation of life, fleeing to the blood of fprinkling for reconciliation, and making known our requests to God with all prayer and fupplication in the fpirit. That he would continue, ftrengthen and perfect what he has wrought for us, disappoint the |