intained in this covenant; and a teaching of them to appoint
themselves a captain, to return to their anti-christian bondage.

Upon the whole, as the Presbytery ought to testify against this new
scheme of principles, respecting the ordinance of magistracy; they
therefore, upon all the grounds formerly laid down, did, and hereby do
declare, testify against, and condemn the same, as what is, indeed, a
new and dangerous principle, truly anti-government, introductory of
anarchy and confusion, of apostasy and defection from the covenanted
work of reformation, the principles by which it was carried on and
maintained, and acts and laws, by which it was fenced and established;
and what is flatly opposite to, and condemned by the word of divine
revelation, in many express and positive precepts, and approven
examples, agreeable thereto, as well as by our solemn national
covenants, founded upon, and agreeable to the said word of divine
revelation. And finally, let this be further observed, that as it was a
beautiful branch of our glorious reformation, that the civil government
of this nation was modeled agreeable to the word of God; and that the
right of regal government was constituted, bounded and fixed by an
unalterable law, consonant to the word of God, and sworn to be
inviolably preserved both by king and people: so the _Associate
Brethren_, by their doctrine on this head, which is inconsistent with
our uncontroverted establishment, and fundamental laws, excluding from
the throne all papists and prelatists, have counteracted a most
important point of the covenanted reformation, and opened a wide door to
_Jacobitism_. For, if every one is bound to acknowledge implicitly any
government, in fact, that prevails: then, if a party in these nations
should rise up, and set a _popish_ pretender on the throne, according to
their doctrine, all should be obliged to subject to him; and it would be
sinful to impugn the lawfulness of his authority, although that, by
being popish, he is destitute of the essential qualifications required
of a king, not only by the word of God, but by the national constitution
and laws, in order to make him a lawful sovereign to these nations.

2. The Presbytery testify against the Associate Presbytery, now called
Synod, for their wronging, perverting and misapplying the blessed
scriptures of truth in many texts, in order to support their erroneous
tenet: namely, that the word of God requires no qualifications