O F PUBLICK SINS AND BREACHES of the COVENANT; AND A SOLEMN ENGAGEMENT To all the DUTIES contained therein, NAMELY, Those which do in a more special Way relate unto the DANGERS of thefe Times. Together with. The Act of the Commiffion of the General Affembly 1648, and Act of Parliament 1649, for Renewing the league and Covenant. Printed in the Year M,DCC,LV. The ACT of the Commiffion of the General Assembly, for renewing the Solemn League and Covenant. THE Edinburgh, October 6, 1648. HE commiffion of the general affembly confidering, that a great part of this land have involved themselves in many and grofs breaches of the folemn league and covenant; and that the hands of many are grown flack in following and pursuing the duties contained therein; and that many, who not being come to fufficient age when it was first fwora and fubfcribed, have not hitherto been received into the fame: Do, apon these, and other grave and important confiderations, appoint and ordain the folemn league and covenant, to be renewed throughout all the congregations of this kingdom. And, because it is a duty of great weight and confequence, ministers, after the fight hereof, would be careful to take pains, in their doctrine and otherwife, that their people may be made tenfible of these things wherein they have broken the covenant, and be prepared for the renewing thereof with suitable affections and difpofitions: and, that these things may be the better performed, we have thought it neceffary to condefcend upon a folemn acknowledgment of publick fins and breaches of the covenant, and a folemn engagement to all the duties contained therein, namely, those which do in a more spe.. cial way relate unto the dangers of thefe times; and this folemn acknow. ledgment and engagement, fent herewith, fhall be made ufe of, and the Jeague and covenant fhall be renewed in fuch a manner as follows. First, There shall be intimation of a folemn publick humiliation and fast the second fabbath of December, to be kept upon the next Thursday, and the Lord's day thereafter; at which intimation, the league and covenant, and the publick acknowledgment of fins, and engagement unto duties, are to he publickly read by the minifter, in the audience of all the people; and they are to be exhorted to get copies thereof, that they may be made acquainted therewith; and the humiliation and fast is to be kept the next Thursday thereafter, in reference to the breaches of the covenant, contained in the folemn publick acknowledgment, as the caufes thereof; and the next Lord's day thereafter which is alfo to be spent in publick humiJiation and fafting, immediately after the fermon, which is to be applied to the bufinefs of that day, the publick acknowledgments and engagement is again to be publickly read; and thereafter prayer is to be made, containing the confeffion of the breaches mentioned therein, and begging mercy for these fins, and strength of God for renewing the covenant in fincerity and truth; after which prayer, the folemn league and covenant is to be read by the minifter, and then to be fworn by him and all the people, who are to engage themselves for performance of all the duties contained therein; namely, thefe which are mentioned in the public acknowledgment and engagement, and are oppofite unto the fins therein confeffed and the action is to be clofed with prayer to God, that his people may be enabled, in the power of his ftrength, to do their duty, according to their oath, now renewed in fo folemn a way. It is alfo hereby provided, That all those who renew the league and covenant, fhall again fubfcribe the fame; and that none be admitted to the renewing or fubfcribing thereof, who are excluded by the other a✪ and direction fent herewith. A. KER. The A&t of the Committee of Eftates of Parliament, for renewing the Solemn League and Covenant. Edinburgh, October 14, 1648. THE Committee of Eftates, being very fenfible of the grievous Backflidings of this Land, in the manifold Breaches of the Solemn League and Covenant, made and fworn to the most high God; do therefore unanimously and heartily approve the feafonable and pious Refolution of the Commiffion of the General Allembly, for a folemn Acknowledgment of Publick Sins and Provocations, efpecially the Breaches of the Covenant, and a Solemn Engagement to a more confcionable Performance of the Duties therein contained, and for renewing the Solemn League and Covenant; and do require and ordain, That the directions of the faid Commiffion of Affembly, in their act of the Sth of this Month, for a publick Acknowledgment of Sins and Engagement to Duties, be carefully followed; that the Faft and Humiliation, appointed by them, be religiously obferved; and that the Solemn League and Covenant be fincerely and cordially renewed and fubfcribed, in the manner they have prescribed in their faid acl, Extractum. Mr. THO. HENDERSON. A Solemn ACKNOWLEDGMENT of Public Sins, and Breaches of the COVENANT. AND A Solemn ENGAGEMENT to all the DUTIES contained therein, namely thofe which do in a more fpecial Way Relate unto the DANGERS of these Times. WE E noblemen, barons, gentlemen, burgeffes, minifters of the gofpel, and commons of all forts within this kingdom, by the good hand of God upon us, taking into ferious confideration the many ad afflictions and deep diftreffes wherewith we have been exercifed for a long time paft; and that the land, after it hath been fore wasted with the fword and the peftilence, 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 fervants, and defires of his people; and that the remnants of that army, returning to this land, having spoiled and oppreffed many of our brethren and that the malignant party is ftill 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 alfo, that a cloud of calamities doth ftill 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 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 fin, and forfaking the evil of our way. Therefore being preffed with fo 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 to feek delivery and a right way for themselves, 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 fo, but to reform their ways, and be stedfast in this covenant: and remembering the practice of our predeceffors in the year 1596, whereia 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 themfelves to a reformation; even as our predeceffers and theirs had before done, in the general aflembly 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 tranf greffions 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, tho' he hath confumed us, we have refused to receive correction: We have not remembered to render unto the Lord according to his goodness, and according to our own vows and promifes, 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 praise unto the Lord, by living godly, studying to keep their garments pure, and being ftedfaft in the covenant.and caufe 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 preserve the work of reformation in the kirk of Scotland: many have fatisfied themfelves with the purity of the ordinances, neglecting the power thereof: yea, fome have turned afide to crooked ways, deftructive to both. The profane, loole and infolent carriage of many in our armies, who went to the affiftance of our brethren in England, and the tamperings and unftraight dealing of fome 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 kirkgovernment there, whereby error and fchifm in that land have been increased, and fectaries 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, |