Five disputations of church-government and worship

§. 42. I Come now to the Objections of the other side, who will be offended with me for consenting for peace, to so much as I here do? And 1. Some will say, that we are engaged against all Prelacy by Covenant, and therefore cannot yield to so much as you do, without the guilt of perjury.

§. 43. Answ. That this is utterly untrue, I thus demonstrate. 1. When the Covenant was presented to the Assembly, with the bare name of [Prelacy] joined to Popery, many Grave and Reverend Divines desired that the word [Prelacy] might be explained, because it was not all Episcopacy that they were ⟨p. 331⟩against. And thereupon the following Concatenation in the parenthesis was given by way of explication: in these words, [that is, Church-government by Arch-bishops, Bishops, their Chancellors and Commissaries, Deans, Deans and Chapters, Arch-deacons, and all other Ecclesiastical Officers, depending on that Hierarchy.] By which it appeareth that it was only the English Hierarchy or frame, that was Covenanted against: and that which was then existent, that was taken down.

§. 43. Answ. That this is utterly untrue, I thus demonstrate. 1. When the Covenant was presented to the Assembly, with the bare name of [Prelacy] joyned to Popery, many Grave and Reverend Divines desired that the word [Prelacy] might be explained, because it was not all Episcopacy that they were ⟨p. 331⟩against. And thereupon the following Concatenation in the parenthesis was given by way of explication: in these words, [that is, Church-government by Arch-bishops, Bishops, their Chancellors and Commissaries, Deans, Deans and Chapters, Arch-deacons, and all other Ecclesiastical Officers, depending on that Hierarchy.] By which it appeareth that it was only the English Hierarchy or frame, that was Covenanted against: and that which was then existent, that was taken down.