This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

In this volume are reprinted for convenient reference more than ninety documents which are "intended to serve either as a basis for the study of the constitutional history of an important period, or as a companion to the political history of the time." With the exception of four, mentioned in the preface, they are taken from books that are beyond the reach of most students unless they have access to large and well-equipped libraries The whole is prefaced by a concise account of the period, so that we have at hand what might be compared to the finder on a telescope. Among the papers are the following, of which we have often heard, and which we can here examine that they may throw light upon our understanding of the history of the period : The Declaration of Sports, the Scottish National Covenant, the Root and Branch Petition, the Solemn League and Covenant, the Self-denying Ordinance.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

`A major contribution to our understanding of the English Revolution.' Ann Hughes, Professor of Early Modern History, Keele University.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

In the story of the church's continuing theological dialogue, the Westminster Confession stands as a towering accomplishment. Persons in the Reformed tradition, especially English-speaking Calvinists, have been shaped by the Westminster Confession as by no other Christian creed. Even in rebellion against it, men and women continue to be formed by it. John Leith focuses on the background and character of the assembly that wrote this document. After placing the Confession in its historical, political, cultural, and theological contexts, Dr. Leith examines its major themes--the Bible, the lordship and sovereignty of God, the covenant, and the Christian life. Finally, he looks at the question of the Westminster Confession as normative, authoritative theology. The Westminster Confession should be neither idolized nor rejected, says Dr. Leith. It should be accepted for what it is, a remarkable theological achievement of the Reformed community in the seventh century, and received with gratitude for the guidance that it may give for the theological task today.

In recent years, sunset clauses have mostly been associated with emergency legislation introduced in the wake of terrorist attacks. However, as this book demonstrates, they have a long history and a substantial constitutional impact on the separation of powers and the rule of law. In addition, the constitutional value of such clauses is examined from certain neglected normative aspects pertaining to concepts such as deliberative and consensus democracy, parliamentary sovereignty and constitutional dialogue. The work is an amalgam of three perspectives: the historical, the positive and the normative. All three are intertwined and each subsequent part builds upon the findings of the previous one. The historical perspective investigates the historical development of sunset clauses since the first Parliaments in England. The positive perspective examines the legal effect and the contemporary utility of sunset clauses. Finally, the normative perspective analyses their interaction with several models of separation of powers, and their influence on the dialogue between various institutions as it values their impact on the rule of law, formal and substantive. The detailed examination of this topical subject will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policy makers.