efense of the church of God, against all her external
enemies, restraining or otherwise punishing, as the case may require,
all open blasphemers, idolaters, false-worshipers, heretics, with all
avowed contemners of the worship and discipline of the house of God; and
by his civil sanction to corroborate all the laws and ordinances of
Christ's house, providing and enjoining that every thing in the house of
the God of heaven, be done according to the law of the God of heaven;
Deut. xvii, 14; 2 Kings xi, 17; 1 Sam. xi, 15; 1 Tim. ii, 1,2; 1 Peter
ii, 17; Rom xiii, 2 to 8; 2 Kings xviii, 4, and xxiii, 1 to 26; 2 Chron.
xxix, and xxx, chapters throughout; Ezra vii, 23. Confess. chap. 23, Sec.
3, coronation oath of Scotland, sworn and subscribed by Charles II. at
Scone, January 1st, 1651, and oath of fidelity by the people.

XVII. OF CORRUPTIONS IN THE TWO PRECEDING ORDINANCES.--But, with respect
to these two great ordinances of divine institution, the magistracy and
ministry, with the qualifications of the persons and duty of the people,
as before asserted, the Presbytery reject, like as they did, and hereby
do reject and condemn the following contrary errors, tenets and
opinions, whether of older or later date, vented either by open enemies
or professed friends to the reformation cause. And,

1. They reject and condemn that loose latitudinarian tenet and opinion
of opening the door of communion with the church in her judicative
capacity, or sealing ordinances, unto the grossly ignorant, loose,
careless, profane and scandalous: and to the anti-christian deist,
blasphemous heretic, or any who maintain doctrines, principles and
opinions contrary to, and eversive of the cardinal and fundamental
doctrines of Christianity, or such principles and practices as oppose,
obscure or darken the church's beauty and purity, and spoil her of her
power, and particularly that of the church of _Scotland_, in her
attainments in reformation; this being evidently destructive and ruinous
to truth and holiness, the only foundation and basis of external union
and concord in the church, and consequently of all durable, harmonious
and comfortable communion among the ministers and members of Christ's
mystical body: See Eph. v, 11; Isa. viii, 20; Amos iii, 3; 1 Cor. vi,
10; Heb. xii, 14; Rev. xxii, 14, 15; 2 Cor. vi, 17, 18; and conform to
the acts and practice of this church, in her best and purest times, in
excluding from her communion, and refusing t