Series 1 > Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (Second volume)

336
BURNET-LEIGHTON PAPERS
seruant of God, And to observe and doe all the Commande-
ments of ye Lord our Lord and his Judgments and his Statuts,
as that of Nehemiah : Or at Least of dewties, although not
so necessarie of ther awin nature, yet necessarie necessitate
precepti, becaus comanded he the Lord as that of Ezra and
Nehemiah to put away strange wyffes etc. And that of
Jeremiah c. 34 not to haue Hebreu seruants. And cursed
may they be, that does not make this Couenant w1 the Lord
yea euerie good Christian that trewlie feares God will renew
it euery day in his hairt. Bot to impose wpon mens Con¬
sciences Couenants, Containing dewties not only not com¬
manded per expressum in the word of God, bot in yr
Judgment praeter if not cotrarie yrtoo, and that wnder the
paine of Excommunicatione, seimes hard to weake and tender
Consciences and smells not a litle of the Antichristian tyrannic
of Rome. Speciallie since I know itt hes bein maintained
against the Papists these 100. yeares bygone That nullas leges
humanas nec Ecclesiastic* nec Civiles Ligant Conscientiam, and
itt is to make the traditions of men of more effect then the
Commandements of God.
Many of the Ministers haue laitlie preached learnedlie and
pithelie that mens consciences aucht not to be forced nor
pressed by humain Lawes, and I humblie craue Quod sibi
fieri non volunt alteri ne faciant.
This is the Judgment of ye most Learned and Eminent
Protestants of this cage euen giuing ther Judgments of this
same busines As Rivetus, Salmasius, Vossius, Blondel and
many wtbers I haue spoken w* myselff, yea The Church of
Paris whill I was ther, maid ane Act that no Scottsman
should be debarred from the Communion for the Scotts Ex-
communication except itt wer for ane Crime. And the most
part of all the Learned men that euer I spake w* wer against
the forcing of men to the Couenant be Excommunication.
2. Ane Couenant should be frie and is ane voluntarie agrie-
ment or Paction betwixt two or more Parties for performing
mutuall dewties, quia fcedus 2um quosdam, est a fide, Et nullus
Contractus plus requirit bonam fidem quam fcedus, from whens
came the Imprecations upon the breakers therof, as that of
the heathen Si fallo turn me Diespiter sic facito vt ego hunc