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The act of the committe of estates of parliament, for renewing the Solemn League and Covenant.

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Edinburgh, October 14. 1648.

THE committee of estates, being very sensible of the grievous backslidings of this land, in the manifold breaches of the folemn league and covenant, made and sworn to the most high God; do therefore unanimously and heartily approve the seasonable and pious resolution of the commission of the general aflembly, for a folemn acknowledgment of public fins and provocations, especially the breaches of the covenant, and a folemn engagement to a more confcionable performance of the duties therein contained, and for renewing the folemn league and covenant; and do require and ordain, That the directions of the faid commission of Afsembly, in their act of the fixth of this month, for a public, acknowledgment of fins, and engagement to duties, be carefully followed; that the fast and humiliation, appointed by them, be religiously observed; and that the folemn league and covenant be fincerely and cordially renewed and subscribed, in the manner they have prescribed in their faid act, Extractum,

Mr. THO. HENDERSON,

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Solemn ACKNOWLEDGMENT of public fins, and breaches of the COVENANT;

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Solemn ENGAGMENT to all the DUTIES contained therein, namely those which do in a more special way relate unto the dangers of these times.

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E noblemen, barons, gentlemen, burgesses, minifters of the gospel, and commons of all forts within this kingdom, by the good hand of God upon us, taking into serious confideration the many fad afflictions and deep distresses wherewith we have been exercised for a long time-past; and that the land, after it hath been fore wasted with the sword and the pestilence, and threatned with famine; and that shame and contempt hath been poured out from the Lord against many thousands of our nation, who did in a finful way make war upon the kingdom of England, contrary to the teftimony of his fer vants, and defires of his people; and that the remnants of that army, returning to this land, have spoiled and oppressed many of our brethren; and that the malignant party is still numerous, and retaining their former principles, wait for an opportunity to raise a new and dangerous war, not only unto the rending of the bowels of this kingdom, but unto the dividing us from England, and overturning of the work of God in all the three kingdoms; And confidering also, that a cloud of calamities doth still hang over our heads, and threaten us with fad things to come, we cannot but look upon these things as from the Lord, who is righteous in all his ways, feeding us with the bread of tears, and making us to drink the waters of afflictions, until we be taught to know

know how evil and bitter a thing it is to depart away from him, by breaking the oath and covenant which we have made with him; and that we may be humbled before him, by confeffing our fins, and forsaking the evil of our ways.

Therefore being pressed with so great neceffities and straits, and warranted by the word of God, and having the example of God's people of old, who in the time of their troubles, and when they were to feek delivery and a right way for themfelves, that the Lord might be with them to profper them, did humble themselves before him, and make a free and par ticular confession of the fins of their princes, their rulers, their captains, their priests and their people; and did engage themselves to do no more fo, but to reform their ways, and be stedfast in his covenant: And remembring the practice of our predeceffors in the year 1 596, wherein the general assembly, and all the kirk-judicatories, with the concurrence of many of the nobility, gentry and burgesses, did with many tears, acknowledge before God the breach of the national covenant, and engaged themfelves to a reformation; even as our predeceffors and theirs had before done, in the general affembly and convention of estates, in the year 1567: And perceiving that this duty, when gone about out of confcience and in fin cerity, hath always been attented with a reviving out of troubles, and with a bleffing and fuccess from heaven; We do humbly and fincerely, as in his fight, who is the searcher of hearts, acknowledge the many fins and great tranfgreffions of the land; We have done wickedly, our kings, our princes, our nobles, our judges, our officers, our teachers, and our people. Albeit the Lord hath long and clearly spoken unto us, we have not hearkned to his voice; albeit he hath followed us with tender mercies, we have not been allured to wait upon him, and walk in his way; and tho' he hath stricken us, yet we have not grieved: Nay, tho' he hath confumed us, we have refused to receive correction, we have not remembred to render unto the Lord according to his goodness, and according to our own vows and promises, but have gone away backward by a continued course of backliding, and have broken all the articles of that folemn league and covenant, which we fwore before God, angels and men. Albeit there be in the land many of all ranks, who be for

a teftimony unto the truth, and for a name of joy and

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praise unto the Lord: by living godly, studying to keep their garments pure, and being stedfaft in the covenant and cause of God; yet we have reason to acknowledge, that most of us have not endeavoured, with that reality, fincerity and constancy that did become us, to preserve the work of reformation in the Kirk of Scotland.: Many have fatisfied themselves with the purity of the ordinances, neglecting the power thereof; yea, fome have turned afide to crooked ways, destructive to both. The profane, loose and infolent cariage of many in our armies who went to the afsistance of our brethren in England, and the tamperings and unstraight dealing of fome of our commiffioners, and others of our nation, in London, the ifle of Weight, and other places of that kingdom, have proved great lets tothe work of reformation, and fettling of Kirk government there, whereby Eerror and fchifm in that land, have been increased, and sectaries hardened in their way: we have been fo far from endeavouring the extirpation of profaneness, and what is contrary to the power of Godliness, that profanity hath been much winked at, and profane perfons much countenanced,and many times employed, until iniquity and ungodliness have gone over the face of the land as a flood; nay, fufficient care hath not been had to feperate betwixt the precious and the vile, by debaring from the facrament all ignorant and scandelous persons, according to the ordinances of this kirk,

Neither have the privileges of the parliament, and liberties of the fubjects been duly tendered; but fome amongst ourfelves have laboured to put into the hands of our King an arbitrary and unlimited power, destructive to both and many of us have been accessory of late to those means and ways whereby the Freedom and priveleges of parlaments have been incroached upon, and the fubjects oppressed in their confciences, perfons and estates; neither hath it been our care to avoid these things which might harden the king in his evil way; but upon the contrary he hath not only been permitted but many of us have been instrumental, to make him exercise his power, in many things tending to the prejudice of religion and of the covenant, and of the peace and fafety of these kingdoms: which is so far from the right way of preserving his Majesty's person and authority, that it cannot but provoke the Lord against him, unto the hazard of both : Nay,

nay, under a pretence of relieving and doing for the king whilft he refuses to do what was neceffary for the house of God, some have ranversed and violated most of all the articles of the covenant.

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-Our own confciences within, and God's judgment upon us without, to convince us of the manifold wilful renewed breaches of the article, which concerneth the discovery and punishment of malignants, whose crimes have not only been connived at, but dispensed with and pardoned, and themselves received into intimate fellowship with ourselves, and intrufted with our councils, admitted unto our parliaments, and put in places of power & authority, for managing the public affairs of the kingdom; whereby,in God's justice, they got at last into their hands the whole power and strength of the kingdom, both in judicatories and armies; and did employ the fame unto the enacting and profecuting an unlawful engagment in war against the kingdom of England, notwithstanding of the dissent of many confiderable members of parliament, who had given constant proof of their integrity in the cause from the beginning; of many faithful teftimonies. and free warnings of the fervants of God; of the fupplications of many synods, presbyteries and shires and of the declarations of the general affembly and their commissioners to the contrary: which engagment, as it hath been the cause of much fin, fo alfo of much mifery and calamity unto this land; and holds forth to us the grievousness of our fin, of complying with Malignants, in the greatness of our judgment, that we may be taught never to split again upon the fame rock, upon which the Lord hath set so remarkable a beacon. And after all that is come to pass unto us, because of this our trespass; and after that grace hath been shewed unto us from the Lord our God, by breaking these mens yoke from of our necks, and putting us again into a capacity to act for the good of Religion, our own safety, and the peace aud safety of this kingdom, should we again break his commandment and covenant, by joining once more with the people of these abominations, and taking into our bosom those serpents, which. had formerly stung us almost unto death; this, as it would argue great madness and folly upon our part, so no doubt, if it be not avoided, will provoke the Lord against us, to confume us, untill there be no remnant nor escaping in the land

And

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