Two Petitions of Nobles to King Charles and his Proclamation from December, 1637

Their Petition to the Council follows.

My Lords of Secret Council,

UNto your Lordships humbly shews: We Noblemen, Barons, Ministers Burgesses , and Commons; That whereas we were in humble and quiet manner attending a gracious answer of our former supplications against the Service-Book imposed upon us, and ready to shew the great inconveniences which up the introduction thereof must ensue, we are without any known desert, far by our expectation, surprised 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 proceeding are augmented, and course of our supplication interrupted: wherefore we are constrained, out of the deep grief of our hearts, humby to remonstrate, that whereas the Archbishops and Bishops of this Realm, being instructed 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, injoyned upon the subjects two Books; In the one whereof, called The Book of Common-Prayer, not only are sown the seeds of divers Superstitions, Idolatry, and false doctrine, contrary to the true Religion established within this Realm by divers Acts of Parliament; But also the Service-Book of England is abused, especially in the matter of Communion, by additions, substractions, interchanging of words and sentences, falsifying 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 convenient, quite contrary unto and for reversing the gracious intention of the * Blessed Reformers of Religion in England. In the other Book called Canons and Constitutions for the Government of the Church of Scotland, they have ordained, That whosoever shall affirm that the form of Worship inserted in the Book of CommonPrayer and Administration of the Sacraments, (whereof heretofore and now we most justly complain,) doth contain any thing repugnant to the Scriptures, or are currupt, 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 revocation of this his wicked errour; besides one hundred Canons more, many of them tending to the reviving and fostering of the abolished supertitions and errours, and to the overthrow of our Church-Discipline established by Acts of Parliament, opening a door for what further invention of Religion they please to make and stopping the way which Law before did allow unri us for suppressing of errour and superstition; and ordaining. That where in any of the Canons there is no penalty expressly set down, the punishment shall be arbitrary as the Bishop shall think fittest: all which Canons were never seen nor allowed in any General Assembly, but are imposed contrary to order of Law, appointed in this Realm for establishing Constitions Ecclesiastical; unto which two Books, the foresaid Prelates have under trust procured 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 clearly 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 Assemblies, but also by open Proclamation.

from the Scotch Rebellion to the King's Murther. 15 1639

clamation and charge of Horning, whereby we are driven in such straits as we must either by Process of Excommunication and Horning 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. Wherefore we being persuaded that these their proceedings are contrary to our gracious Sovereign's pious intention, who out of His zeal and Princely care of the preservation of true Religion established in His ancient Kingdom, hath ratified the same in His Highnes's Parliament, 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 Doctrine, Sacraments and Discipline, move discontent between the King and His Subjects, and discord between Subject and Subject, contrary to several Acts of Parliament : We out of bound duty to God, our King and native Countrey, complain of the foresaid Prelates, humbly craving, that this matter may be put to tryal, and these 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 tryed and decided 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 Soveraignty Justice these wrongs may be redressed, and we have the happiness to enjoy the Religion, as it hath been reformed in this Land.

In this Petition it is observable. First, They complain of the mangling the English Service-book, and wronging the blessed intention of the Reformers, whereeas in their Sermons they inveighed against that ServiceBook as Popish and Superstitious, and as if the first Reformers never fully departed from Rome. Next to swell their Grievances, they added their dislike of the Canons. The Occasion of which Book was this, His Majesty intending to settle Uniformity in Government, for which in Scotland there were no certain Rules, so that neither Clergy or Laity knew the ones power of the others practice, in regard their Acts of Assemblies being only written were by many Transcripts become various, uncertain, and to many unknown ; His Majesty therefore reduced those numerous Acts to a few, certain, and to be publickly known to all : and yet this furthering their knowledge and facilitating their obedience, was esteemed a most grievous burthen.

These Petitions were sent to His Majesty, who resolved to delay His Answer till the Authors of the Tumult might be found out and justly punished : and in the Interim put out a Proclamation signifying his detestation of Popery and Superstition, with the contrary suggestions wherof the Heads of the Faction had abused both His Majesty and Susbjects.

Apud Linlithgow, Decemb 7, 1637

For as much as the King's Majesty, having seen the Petition presented to the Lords of His Majesties Privy Council, and by them sent up to His Majesty concerning the Service-Book, determined to have taken the same into His Royal consideration, and to have given His gracious Answer thereanent with all conveniency : Like as His Majesty by His Letters to His Council of the date of the ninth of October last, did signifie His gracious resolution to the effect

Here followeth their Protestation.

For God and the King.

WE Noblemen, Barons, Ministers, Burrows, appointed to attend His Majesties Answer to our humble Petition and Complaint, and to prefer new grievances, and to do what else may lawfully conduce to our humble desires; That whereupon the twenty third of September last, we presented a Supplication to your Lordships, and another upon the eighteenth of October last, and also a new Bill relative to the former upon the nineteenth of December last, and did therein humbly remonstrate our just exceptions against the Service-Book, and Book of Canons; and also against the Archbishops and Bishops of this Kingdom, as the contrivers, maintainers and urgers thereof, and against their sitting as our Judges until the cause be decided; earnestly supplicating withal to be be freed and delivered from these and all other innovations of that kind, introduced against the laudable Laws of this Kingdom; as that of the High Commission, and other evils particularly mentioned, and generally contained in our foresaid supplications and complaints, and that this our party delinquent against our Religion and Laws may be taken order with, and these pressing grievances may be taken order with, and redressed according to the Laws of this Kingdom, as by our said supplications and complaints more largely doth appear: with the which on the nineteenth of December last, we gave in a Declinator against the Archbishops and Bishops as our parties, who by consequence could not be our Judges; whereupon your Lordships declared by your Act at Dalkeith the said nineteeth of December, that you would present our Petitions to His Majesties Royal Consideration, and that without prejudice of the Declinator given in by us the said supplicants; whereupon we should be heard at place and time convenient, and in the mean time should receive no prejudice, as the said Act in it self beareth. And whereas your Lordships supplicants with a great deal of patience and hope also, grounded on sundry promises, were expecting an Answer to these our humble desires, and having learned that upon some directions of His Majesties anent our supplications and complaint unto your Lordships of the Secret Council, your Lordships admits to the consulting and judging anent our supplications, and His Majesties Anwer therunto, the Archbishops and Bishops our direct parties, contrary to our Declinator first propounded at Dalkeith, and now renewed at Sterling; and contrary to your *Lorships Act aforesaid at Dalkeith, and contrary to our Religion and Laws, and humble supplications. Therefore lest our silence be prejudicial to this so important a Cause, as concerns Gods Glory and Worship, our Religion, Salvation, the Laws and Liberties of this Kingdome, or derogatory to the former supplications and complaints, or unanswerable to the trust of our Commission; out of our bound duty to our God, our King and Native-Country, we are forced to take instruments in Notaries hands of your Lordships refusal to admit our Declinator, or remove these our Parties, and to Protest in the manner following. First, That we may have our immediate recourse to our sacred Soveraign, to present our grievances, and in a legal 'way

*It is not so: for the Council never pro mised that the Bishops should be removed from the Table, but onely that they would make Us acquainted with their Petition.

from the Scotch Rebellion to the King's Murther. 19 way to prosecute the same before the ordinary competent Judges, Civil 1639 or Ecclesiastical, without any offense offered by us, or taken by you Lordships. Secondly, We protest that the said Archbishops and Bishops, our parties complained upon, cannot be reputed or esteemed lawful Jusges to fit in any Judicatory in this Kingdom, Civil or Ecclesiastical, upon any of the supplicants, until after lawful Tryal judicially they purge themselves of such Crimes as we have already laid to their charge, offering to Audience. Thirdly, We Protest that no Act nor Proclamation to follow thereupon, past or to be past in Council or out of Council, in presence of the Archbishops and Bishops, whom we have already declined to be our Judges, shall any ways be prejudicial to us the supplicants, our persons, estates, lawful meetings, preceedings or pursuits. Fourthly, We protest that neither we nor any whose heart the Lord moveth to joyn with us in these our supplications against the forsaid Innovations shall incur any danger in Life, Lands, or and Political or Ecclesiastical pains, for not observing such Acts, Books, Canons, Rites, Judiciatories, Proclamations, introduced without or against the Acts of Genreral Assemblies, or Acts of Parliament, the Statues of this Kingdome; But that it shall be lawful to us or them to use our selves in matters of Religion of the external Worship of God and Policy of the Church, according to the Word of God, and laudable Constitutions of this Church and Kingdom, conform to His Majesties Declaration the ninth of December last. Fifthly, Seeing by the legal and submiss way of our former supplications, all who takes these Innovations to heart have been kept calm and carried themselves in a quiet manner in hope of redress; We protest that if any inconvenience shall happen to fall our (which we pray the Lord to prevent) upon the pressing of any of the foresaid Innovations or Evils, specially or generally contained in our former supplications and complains, and upon your Lordships refusal to take order thereanent, the same be not imputed to us, who most humbly seeks all things to be reformed by an Order. Sixthly, We protest that these our requests proceeding from conscience and a due respect to His Majesties Honour, do tend to no other end, but to the preseration of the true reformed Religion, the Laws and Liberties of this His Majesties msot ancient Kingdom and satisfaction of our most humble desires contained in our supplication and complaint, according to his Majesties accustomed goodness and justice, from which we do certainly expect that His Sacred Majesty will provide and grant such remedy to our just Petitions and complains, as may be expected from so gracious a King toward most Loyal and Dutiful Subjects, calling for redress of so pressing grievances, and praying to God that His Majesty may long and prosperously Reign over us.

From which the Protestation may be observed, First, The injustice of their demands to have some of the Bishops removed from the Secret Council, alledging this Declinator against them made them Parties, and so they ought not to be Judges, upon which them promise to prove great Crimes against them, in effect desiring they may be first Condemned and Tryed afterward, Protesting agaisnt all Acts of Council while they sate there, when by the fame reason the Bishiops and other Declinator against their Assembly, who made themselves both Parties and Judges, would by no means be allowed by themselves Secondly,

These Petitions were sent to His Majesty, who resolved to delay His Answer till the Authors of the Tumult might be found out and justly punished: and in the Interim put out a Proclamation signifying his detestation of Popery and Superstition, with the contrary suggestions whereof the Heads of the Faction had abused both His Majesty and Subjects.

Apud Linlithgow, Decem. 7. 1637.

FOrasmuch as the King's Majesty, having seen the Petition presented to the Lords of His Majesties Privy Council, and by them sent up to His Majesty concerning the Service-Book, determined to have taken the same into His Royal consideration, and to have gien his gracious Answer therenaent with all conveniency: Like as His Majestty by His Letters to His Council of the date of the ninth October last, did signifie His gracious resolution to the