They maintain the present to be lawful, yet (in Dec. of
their principles, _page_ 55th) they say, "The question is not whether it
be lawful for us to swear the present allegiance to the civil
government, which the Presbytery acknowledge they cannot do, seeing
there are no oaths to the government in being, but what exclude the oath
of our covenants, and homologate the united constitution." But seeing
they acknowledge that every constitution of government, that comprehends
the will and consent of civil society, were it as wicked and diabolical
as can be imagined, is lawful--yea, as lawful as any that is most
consonant to the preceptive will of God, having all the essentials of
his ordinance; and seeing, because of the will and consent of the
people, they own the present to be lawful, it is most surprising why
they cannot swear allegiance to it; their reasons cannot, in a
consistency with their principle, be sustained as valid. That the
present oaths of allegiance and the oath of the covenants are
inconsistent, is readily granted; but seeing the oaths of allegiance
bind to nothing more than what they confess they are bound to for
conscience sake, namely, to own the lawfulness of the government, and to
maintain it according to the constitution thereof (which is a duty owed
by subjects to every lawful sovereign); and seeing that whatever is in
the oaths of allegiance contrary to the covenants, does not flow from
them, abstractly considered, but from the constitution to which they
bind (which constitution is sanctified by the people's acknowledgement
of it).
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