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feeeding us with the bread of tears, and making us to drink the waters of afflictions, until we be taught to 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 sin, and forsaking the evil of our way.

Therefore being preffed with fo great neceffities and ftraits, 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 particular confeffion of the fins of their princes, their rulers, their captains, their priests and their people; and did engage, themselves to do no more so, but to reform their ways, and be ftedfast in this covenant: and remembring the practice of our predeceffors in the year 1596, wherein the general affembly and all the kirk-judicators, with the concurrence of many of the nobility, gentry and burgeffes, did, with many tears, acknowledge before God the breach of the national covenant, and engaged themselves to a reformation; even as our predeceffors and theirs had before done, in the general affembly and convention of eftates, in the year 1567: And perceiving that this duty, when gone about out of confcience and in fincerity, hath always been attended with a reviving out of troubles, and with a bleffing and fuccefs from heaven; We do humbly and fincerely, as in his fight, who is the fearcher 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 hearkened 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 though he hath ftricken us, yet we have not grieved: nay, though 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 courfe of backfliding, and have broken all the articles of that folemn league and covenant, which we fware 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 praife. unto the Lord, by living godly, ftudying to keep their garments pure, and being stedfaft in the covenant and cause of God; yet we have reafon to acknowledge, that most of us have not endeavoured, with that reality, fincerity and conftancy that did become us, to preferve 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, loofe and infolent carriage of many in our armies, who went to the affiftance of our brethren in England, and the tamperings and unstraight dealing of some of our commiffioners, and others of our nation, in London, the Isle of Wight, and other places of that kingdom, have proved great lets to the work of reformation and fettling of kirk government there, whereby error and fchifm in that land have been increased, and fectaries hardned in their way: We have been fo far from endeavouring the extirpation of profanenefs, 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 hath gone over the face of the land as a flood; nay, fufficient care hath not been had to separate betwixt the precious and the vile, by debarring from the facrament all ignorant and scandalous perfons, according to the ordinances of this kirk.

Neither have the privileges of the parliaments and liberties of the subject been duly tendred; but fome amongst ourselves

- have laboured to put into the hands of our king an arbitrary and unlimited power, deftructive to both; and many of us have been acceffory of late to thofe means and ways, whereby the freedom and privileges of parliaments have been encroached upon, and the subjects oppreffed 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 inftrumental, to make him exercife his power, in many things tending to the prejudice of religion and of the covenant, and of the peace and fafety of thefe kingdoms; which is fo far from the right way of preferving his majesty's person and authority, that it cannot but provoke the Lord against him, unto the hazard of both: 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 moft of all the articles of the covenant.

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Our own confcience within, and God's judgments upon us without, do convince us of the manifold wilful renewed breaches of that article, which concerneth the discovery and punishment of malignants, whofe crimes have not only been connived at, but difpenfed with and pardoned, and themselves received into intimate fellowship with ourselves, and intrufted with our counfels, admitted unto our Parliaments, and put in places of power and authority, for managing the publick affairs of the kingdom; whereby, in God's juftice, 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 unlawful engagement in war against the kingdom of England, notwithstanding of the diffent of many confiderable members of parliament, who had given conftant 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

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many fynods, presbyteries, and fhires; and of the declarations of the general affembly and their commiffioners to the contrary; which engagement, 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 grievoufnefs 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 fet fo remarkable a beacon. And after all that is come to pafs unto us, because of this our trespass; and after that grace hath been fhewed unto us from the Lord our God, by breaking these mens yoke from off our necks, and putting us again into a capacity to act for the good of religion, our own fafety, and the peace and the fafety of this kingdom, fhould we again break this commandment and covenant, by joining once more with the people of these abominations, and taking into our bofom those serpents, which had formerly ftung us almost unto death; this, as it would argue great madneís and folly upon our part, fo no doubt, if it be not avoided, will provoke the Lord against us, to con fume us, until there be no remuant nor efcaping in the land.

And albeit the peace and union betwixt the kingdoms bea great bleffing of God unto both, and a bond which we are obliged to preserve unviolated, and to endeavour that justice may be done upon the oppofers thereof: yet fome in this land, who have come under the bond of the covenant, have made it their great study how to diffolve this union; and few or no endeavours have been used by any of us for punishing of fuch.

We have fuffered many of our brethren, in feveral parts of the land, to be oppreffed by the common enemy, without compaffion or relief: there hath been great murmuring and repining, because of expence of means, and pains in doing of our duty: many, by perfwafion or terror, have suffered themfelves to be divided and withdrawn, to make defection to the contrary part: many have turned of to a deteftable indifferen

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and neutrrality in this caufe, which so much concerneth the glory of God and the good of these kingdoms; nay, many have made it their study to walk fo, as they might comply with all times, and all the revolutions thereof. It hath not been our care to countenance, encourage, intruft and employ fuch only, as from their hearts did affect and mind God's work; but the hearts of fuch many times have been discouraged, and their hands weakened, their fufferings neglected, and themselves flighted; and many, who were once open enemies, and always fecret underminers, countenanced and employed: nay, even those who had been looked upon as incendiaries, and upon whom the Lord had fet marks of desperate malignancy, falfhood and deceit, were brought in, as fit to manage publick affairs: many have been the lets and impediments that have been caft in the way, to retard and obstruct the Lord's work; and fome have kept fecret, what of themfelves they were not able to fupprefs and overcome.

Besides thefe, and many other breaches of the articles of the covenant in the matter thereof, which it concerneth every one of us to fearch out and acknowledge before the Lord, as we would with his wrath to be turned away from us; fo have many of us failed exceedingly, in the manner of our following and purfuing the duties contained therein; not only feeking great things for ourselves, and mixing of our private interefts and ends concerning ourselves, and friends, and followers, with those things which concern the publick good; but many times preferring fuch to the honour of God, and good of his cause, and retarding God's work, until we might carry along with us our own interefts and defigns. It hath been our way to trust in the means, and to rely upon the arm of flesh for fuccefs, albeit the Lord hath many times made us meet with disappointment therein, and ftained the pride of all. our glory, by blafting every carnal confidence unto us: we have followed for the most part the counfels of flesh and blood, and walked more by the rules of policy than piety, and have

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