Chapter CDII: Act 3: Act 31. Parliament 1. Act 23. Parliament 11. Act 114

Parliament 12, of K. James VI), that papistry and superstition
may be utter]y suppressed, according to the intention of the
Acts of Parliament reported in Act 5. Parliament 20. K. James
VI. And to that end they ordained all papists and priests to
be punished by manifold civil and ecclesiastical pains, as
adversaries to God's true religion preached, and by law
established within this realm (Act 24. Parliament 11. K. James
VI) as common enemies to all Christian government (Act 18.
Parliament 16. K. James VI), as rebellers and gainstanders of
our Sovereign Lord's authority (Act 47. Parliament 3. K. James
VI, and as idolaters, Act 104. Parliament 7. K. James VI), but
also in particular (by and attour the confession of faith) do
abolish and condemn the Pope's authority and jurisdiction out
of this land, and ordains the maintainers thereof to be
punished (Act 2. Parliament 1. Act 51. Parliament 3. Act 106.
Parliament 7. Act 114. Parliament 12. of K. James VI); do
condemn the Pope's erroneous doctrine, or any other erroneous
doctrine repugnant to any of the Articles of the true and
Christian religion publicly preached, and by law established
in this realm; and ordains the spreaders or makers of books or
libels, or letters or writs of that nature, to be punished
(Act 46. Parliament 3. Act 106. Parliament 7. Act 24.
Parliament 11. K. James VI); do condemn all baptism conform to
the Pope's kirk, and the idolatry of the Mass; and ordains all
sayers, wilful hearers, and concealers of the Mass, the
maintainers, and resetters of the priests, Jesuits,
trafficking Papists, to be punished without exception or
restriction (Act 5. Parliament 1. Act 120. Parliament 12. Act
164. Parliament 13. Act 193. Parliament 14. Act 1. Parliament
19. Act 5. Parliament 20. K. James VI); do condemn all
erroneous books and writs containing erroneous doctrine
against the religion presently professed, or containing
superstitious rights or ceremonies papistical, whereby the
people are greatly abused; and ordains the home-bringers of
them to be punished (Act 25. Parliament 11. K. James VI); do
condemn the monuments and dregs of bygone idolatry, as going
to crosses, observing the festival days of saints, and such
other superstitious and papistical rites, to the dishonour of
God, contempt of true religion, and fostering of great errors
among the people, and ordains the users of them to be punished
for the second fault as idolaters (Act 104. Parliament 7. K.
James VI). Like us many Acts of Parliament are conceived for
maintenance of God's true and Christian religion, and the
purity thereof in doctrine and sacraments of the true Church
of God, the liberty and freedom thereof in her national
synodal assemblies, presbyteries, sessions, policy,
discipline, and jurisdiction thereof, as that purity of
religion and liberty of the Church was used, professed,
exercised, preached, and confessed according to the
reformation of religion in this realm. (As for instance: Act
99. Parliament 7. Act 23. Parliament 11. Act 114. Parliament
12. Act 160. Parliament 13. K. James VI, ratified by Act 4. K.
Charles.) So that Act 6. Parliament 1. and Act 68. Parliament
6. of K. James VI, in the year of God 1579, declare the
ministers of the blessed evangel, whom God of His mercy had
raised up or hereafter should raise, agreeing with them that
then lived in doctrine and administration of the sacraments,
and the people that professed Christ, as He was then offered
in the evangel, and doth communicate with the holy sacraments
(as in the reformed Kirks of this realm they were presently
administered) according to the confession of faith to be the
true and holy Kirk of Christ Jesus within this realm, and
discerns and declares all and sundry, who either gainsays the
word of the evangel, received and approved as the heads of the
confession of faith, professed in Parliament in the year of
God 1560, specified also in the first Parliament of K. James
VI, and ratified in this present parliament, more particularly
do specify; or that refuses the administration of the holy
sacraments as they were then ministrated, to be no members of
the said Kirk within this realm and true religion presently
professed, so long as they keep themselves so divided from the
society of Christ's body. And the subsequent Act 69.
Parliament 6. K. James VI, declares that there is no other
face of Kirk, nor other face of religion than was presently at
that time by the favour of God established within this realm,
which therefore is ever styled God's true religion, Christ's
true religion, the true and Christian religion, and a perfect
religion, which by manifold Acts of Parliament all within this
realm are bound to profess to subscribe the Articles thereof,
the confession of faith, to recant all doctrine and errors
repugnant to any of the said Articles (Act 4 and 9. Parliament
1. Act 45. 46. 47. Parliament 3. Act 71. Parliament 6. Act
106. Parliament 7. Act 24. Parliament 11. Act 123. Parliament
12. Act 194 and 197. Parliament 14 of King James VI). And all
magistrates, sheriffs, &c., on the one part, are ordained to
search, apprehend, and punish all contraveners (for instance,