A DECLARATION by the Presbytery at Bangor, in Ireland, July 7. 1649.  
Setting forth the apparent ruin of Religion, and the great violation of the COVENANT following upon the present change of Command in this Province:  
With some observations upon the Lord Viscount of ARDS late Declaration, of July 4.  
Printed Anno Dom. 1649.   

A DECLARATION by the Presbytery at Bangor, the seventh of July, 1649. etc.  
AS we have upon every remarkable change of affairs in this land, from our watch-towre blown the trumpet unto the people, by setting before them the true state of their own condition, and giving them warning of their duty in these dark and troublesome times: So a greater mystery of iniquity being now discovered, then was any before, and of greater danger to the people of God, than any former design which hes been known among us; we cannot forbear to cry aloud to our flocks, to beware of ravenous Wolves who are risen to devour them. The danger we were in by Sectaries, we have formerly represented at large, and have sufficiently vindicate ourselves in all our actions relating to them: The late unexpected invasion by Malignants, we have faithfully informed our people of, and pressed upon them their duty for opposing the same. And now it hath pleased the Lord to suffer men among ourselves to be our enemies, these who took sweet counsel together with us, renewed the Covenant, and entered in a solemn Declaration: do now lift up themselves against us, and under a pretence of delivering us, have indeed been the principal instruments to ruin us and the work of God among us, if the Lord restrain them not from the accomplishing their whole design: The chief head of those who pretend authority above the rest, is the Lord Viscount of Ai●ds: whose presen actions are so repugnant to his former Professions, that no Christian or ingenuous man can think upon them without horror and detestation: His forwardness to renew the Covenant: His fervency to have a solemn band and Declaration subscribed and entered into: His large promises to defend Religion: His disclaiming all conjunction, with Popist or Rebels with words of zeal and disdain: His i●sinuations upon all honest men for gaining them to him: His consenting to all public orders against Malignants being compared with his late undertake, must clear to pre●ent to even man's view the great dissimulation and betraying of the people and Covenant he is guilty of; for which our sorrow and grief is no less, than our rejoicing, had been great to have seen his Lordship stand faithful, which was one of our chiefest desires.  
For (whereas the danger of such accidents being foreseen) an Article was insert in the Declaration, to acknowledge the King's Commands; He confirming all the Articles of the Covenant, before he were admitted to the exercise of his Royal power, without which clause many would have trembled to join with him: Yet he hes now clothed himself with a Commission from his Majesty, who as yet refuses to give any satisfaction in Religion unto the just desires of the Kingdom of Scotland. Yea, his concessions are less than these granted by his Royal Father; which yet were declared by Church and State, unsatisfactory, and therefore, the executing of such a Commission, is nothing else but an endeavour to set up the King's Majesty, not only before Religion, but in a quarrel destructive unto it. For the first difference between the King and his people, was touching his absolute and unlimited power in Civil things, and his adherance to Prelacy, and maintaining their power; for which both our late Sovereign, and his Majesty who now is, did raise Arms against their Subjects, and to this day that same quarrel is avouched and owned by his Majesty: and all his Commissions tend to the bringing him to that power which was justly deemed to his Royal Father. And it seems the Lord of Airds does own the same, for he says in his new Declaration of the fourth of this instant directly. That the King's Commission did ever procure respect and obedience until the worst of a me, which must needs be meaned of that time, when the Kingdoms were united by a Covenant, in opposition to such Commissions given by the King to Malignants. And that one phrase may give us a taste what may be expected from ●he rest 〈◊〉 his Declarations concerning his professions to Religion. For if the refusing any Commissions from the King, was in the 〈◊〉 oftimes, then surely the taking a Covenant, the Union of the Kingdoms, casting out Praelac●e, bringing down Malignants, all against a personal Commission is accounted by his Lordship, to How from the iniquity of the times: Moreover in his Declaration he further discovers his thoughts of Reformation, when he professes to endeavour the bringing of the King to his Throne, whence he is debarred by wicked men, who (as he says) hes overturned Church and State in other his dominions (by which we conceive, he understands both Scotland and England, since no other but this is excepted) whereby his Lordship's judgement of the government of Scotland would appear to be that it is both Civilly and Eccelesiastically overturned; what good shall we expect from him for Religion who thinks so. Yea, it appears his Lordship thinks that same of us, when he says; There were some who would have had him run in absolute opposition to the King's party, as well as to Sectaries: By whom we conceive among others, he must understand the Ministry, who were indeed earnest to oppose Sectaries and Malignants equally, which in his judgement is but a preferring our own opinions and ends to the well of the Kingdom. What assistance shall we expect from him in the future for the good of Religion, when he makes our former faithfulness our reproach. And whereas he promises to endeavour to procure from His Majesty a feeling of our Religion, we conceive Him to mean Religion either in the large extent as it can take in Prelacy, and as He calls it thereafter, The Protestant Religion, or else we believe He hes little ground to think that He will obtain that from His Majesty, which He hes refused to grant to His faithful Subjects of Scotland, to wit. An establishment of the Solemn League and Covenant; without which Religion can never be truly secured here, it being to small purpose though His Majesty should tollerat Presbyterial Government in this Province for a time, and yet refuse to settle it in the rest of His Dominions.  
It is moreover observable, that his Lordship never mentions Presbyterial Government in all his Declaration, nor doth he once name the Covenant, or promise any thing in relation to it which is too gross a character of his Lordship's disaffection to Reformation, and may seem clearly to be done that He may be answerable to His Majesty for his Professions, that they are no larger than His Commission allows Him to make them, which is not, either to defend olores Dy●●● i● 〈◊〉 Government or the Covenant, but to receive His commands from the marquis of Ormond, who he● been still an Enemy to both, and who hath made a Peace with the Rebels destructive to Religion; unto which Peace the Lord Airds contrary to his many professions and subscriptions, his now joined himself: For his Commission imports no less binding him (as we are Informed) to protect and be careful of His Majesties Catholic subjects. His late actions also declares it, for He employed Irish Papists in His service for subduing the two Garrisons of Be●fast, and Craigfergus, as is clear, not only by His avouching the chief command over them, and giving them Orders, but also in His Declaration He seems not obscurely to justify their invasion, calling them by the friendly names of strangers, and making their quarrel to be but a pressing the King's interest, which He says, was not sufficiently secured among us. And in another placed speaking of them, He says that the Quarters are not able to be such a burden without ruin. By which seems His L●● would not weary of them, if the Quarter could be able to bear them, all which as it is but a mockery of the Public Declaration, so it is a notorious breach of Covenant, for He is sworn to oppose all Malignants who are against that solemn League, or would divide the King from His People in their defence of it, ye● He joins with Malignants who blasphemes the Covenant. In the Covenant He is sworn to exti●at Popery and Prelacy, yet He puts on a Commission which binds Him to maintain Protestant Religion in the large extent and Papists in the exercise of their Religion. Yea, the marquis of Ormond, from whom He is to receive commands is an avouched maintainer of Prelacy, and retains still the old English Liturgy (as We are informed) in his public devotions. In the Covenant He is sworn to endeavour the bringing to punishment those who would divide the King from his Kingdoms or one of them from another, yet He execute such a Commission which foments the distance betwixt His Majesty and the Kingdom of Scotland, and is a mighty obstruction unto His Majesty's granting of Their just desires. In 〈◊〉 Covenant He is sworn to defend to His uttermost pow●● all the●e who 〈◊〉 in the Covenant, in the defence the 〈…〉 He under 〈◊〉 long of strengthening, betrayed Covenant 〈…〉 bound 〈…〉 to the Covenant, by bringing for th● 〈…〉 bound the power of a command opposite to the Covenant. As these things makes clear as the beams of the Sun, the unlawfulness of his Authority by such a Commission (any thing his L. brings in defence of it in his Declaration notwithstanding) for He pretends nothing there but necessity and His good intentions, none of which can excuse Him from so unhard of violation of his vows and subscriptions, neither are the miseries so great which His Commission met with at his first making use of it as those which his so sinful an engagement shall bring on hereafter, for the judgement He pretends to prevent by joining with Malignants against Sectaries, will prove but Physic of no value to this poor Land, and will involve them in sadder judgements than any they could have apprehended from both the former, if they had continued constant opposers equally of both and joined with neither. Shall he prosper that doth these things, or shall He break the Covenant and be delivered? The faithful man sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not.  
For this cause, as the Ambassadors of Christ, We beseech our people in his steed, not to join hands with such a course, or to meddle with them who are given to change: And particularly We charge all who hes renewed the Covenant, and hes entered into the Declaration of the Army and Country not to join in executing of such a Commission by taking charge in the Army under the present command or serving them, either as Officers or Soldiers, else We foretell them in the name of the God of Truth, that the quarrel of the Covenant shall pursue them, and they shall wring out the dregs of the cup, which Malignants hes been drinking these many years by past. Yea, their judgement shall be enlarged far above the former, because both they have seen the others plagues, and hes of late renewed the Covenant which Malignants oppose.  
We do also in the name of Jesus Christ, warn the people of our charge to keep themselves free from all compliance with their ungodly course, either by speaking favourably of them, acknowledging the Authority of the present command under the marquis of Ormond and the Lord of Airds, by imposing of Cease upon others for maintaining their unlawful Power, or by constant obeying their Orders, in paying Cease unto their Army, which is nothing else but a submission unto their Authority, a strengthening of their hands, and an upholding of them who maintain a quarrel destructive to the Covenant, all which is sinful compliance and a breach of Covenant als well as to fight in their quarrel, for it is a promoving of their course, though not by Arms, yet by supplying that which is the sinews of War, Money and Victuals. Neither can any necessity be an excuse to it, for We ought to choose affliction rather than sin, to help the ungodly and to strengthen the hands of the wicked, is an evil worse than any suffering.  
The Lord who suffered this Land to make defection when they were called to action against this party, is now calling them for a time to suffering rather than compliance, so to try more narrowly the fidelity of his People, and their love to his Truth more than their Goods or Lives, otherwise the sudden destruction which shall come on the Malignants here shall likewise overtake the Land, and make their sufferings then far greater with an evil conscience, than they shall now endure for well doing, and the God of Truth shall fulfil his promise to his people, that those who endure cheerfully the spoiling of their Goods, shall have in heaven a better and more enduring substance, yea, shall have an hundreth fold here, and in the end life everlasting.  
There are none in this land who formerly suffered for righteousness sake who needs this day to repent it, and for whom the Lord provided not abundantly in their greatest want: and therefore we do again exhort them to stand fast to the Covenant, that neither persuasion nor terror may withdraw them from the Truth which is now opposed, but that they lament for former sins which brings on these calamities, turn in to the Lord and embrace the Gospel, and to rejoice in the cross of Christ, and when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, their sins shall be blotted out, and the Lord shall return their captivity like the streams of the South.  
FINIS.