"Besides these and many other breaches of the Articles of the Covenant, in the matter thereof, which concerneth every one of us, to search out and acknowledge before the Lord, as we could wish his wrath to be turned away from us, so have many of us failed exceedingly in the manner of following and pursuing the duties contained therein, not only seeking great things for ourselves, and mixing private interests, and ends concerning ourselves, and friends, and followers, with those things which concern the public good; but many times preferring such to the honour of God and good of his cause; and retarding God's work until we might carry alongst with us our own interests and designs: it hath been our way to trust in the means, and to rely upon the arm of flesh for success, albeit the Lord hath many times made us meet with disappointments, and stained the pride of all our glory, by blasting every carnal confidence unto us. We have followed for the most part the counsels of flesh and blood, and walked more by the rules of policy than piety, and have hearkened more unto men than unto God."
In the conclusion of the Solemn League and Covenant there is a profession and declaration "before God and the world of our unfeigned desires to be humbled[[28]] for our own sins and for the sins of these kingdoms[[29]]; especially that we have not valued, as we ought, the inestimable benefit of the gospel[[30]], that we have not laboured for the purity[[31]] and power thereof[[32]], and that we have not endeavoured to receive Christ into our hearts[[33]], nor to walk worthy of him in our lives[[34]], which are the causes of other sins and transgressions so much abounding amongst us[[35]]: all which we are under many obligations to confess and mourn over from the word; and, of our true and unfeigned purpose and desire, to endeavour for ourselves and all others under our power and charge[[36]] both in public and in private, in all dutie[[37]]] we owe to God and man, to amend our lives[[38]] and each one to go before another[[39]] in the example of a real reformation, that the Lord might turn away his wrath and heavy indignation,[[40]] and establish these kingdoms in truth and peace.[[41]] Yet we have refused to be reformed and have walked proudly and obstinately before the Lord, not valuing his gospel, nor submitting ourselves unto the obedience thereof; not seeking after Christ, nor studying to honour him in the excellency of his person, nor to employ him in the virtue of his offices; not making conscience of the public ordinances, nor studying to edify one another in love. The ignorance of God and his Son Jesus Christ prevails exceedingly in the land." Even our fathers in their purest times confessed, in their acknowledgement of sins, "That the greatest part of masters of families among noblemen, barons, gentlemen, burgesses, and commons, neglected to seek God in their families, and to endeavour the reformation thereof. And albeit it had been much pressed, yet few of the nobles and great ones could be persuaded to perform family duties themselves in their own persons, which made so necessary a duty to be disregarded by persons of inferior rank."
We may add, in our degenerate times, not only the great ones generally profess the neglect and contempt of so necessary a duty, both in their own persons and in the use of chaplains; but the great part of the commons are altogether strangers to it; many performing no part of the family worship at all, others only singing a psalm and reading a chapter without praying, and others making a fashion of all, but very perfunctoriously, formally, and indifferently, and scarcely once in a day. And ministers also making little conscience of visiting families to see how this duty is performed, not pressing it upon the negligent, nor stirring up the formal to a more spiritual way of performing it, nay, some giving bad examples to their flocks, by neglecting it themselves in their own families. The nobility, gentry, and barons, who should be examples of sober walking unto others, are very generally ringleaders of excess and rioting. We have been far from amending our lives and promoting a personal reformation, and going before one another in the example of a real reformation, when we have been examples of deformation in our personal practices and public transactions, and being too-familiar and too far united with the patrons and patterns of the land's deformations. "Our fathers also acknowledged, albeit they were the Lord's people engaged unto him in a solemn way; yet they had not made it their study that judicatories and armies should consist of, and places of power and trust be filled with men of blameless and Christian conversation, and of known integrity and approved fidelity, affection, and zeal unto the cause of God. And not only those who were neutral and indifferent, but disaffected and malignant, and others who were profane and scandalous were intrusted. By which it came to pass that judicatories, EVEN THEN, were the seats of injustice and iniquity. And many in their armies, by miscarriages, became their plague unto the great prejudice of the cause of God, the great scandal of the gospel, and the great increase of looseness and profanity throughout all the land." But, since the time of that acknowledgment there has still been more and more degeneracy, so that judicatories have consisted of, and been filled with perjured traitors to God and their country. And armies made up of these plagues marshalled under a displayed banner against Christ and his interest, not only to the scandal, but for the suppression of the gospel, and forcing people to profanity throughout the land; and now are, to the disgrace of the Protestant religion, made up of the refuse of the lands, and employed in the support of an Antichristian interest abroad. Yet have we not sighed and cried for these abominations, nor have we been concerned, as we ought, with the abounding of them through the land. As also, with blushing, we must confess our pride and presumptuous boasting of external privileges of the gospel and outward reformation, and of a testimony which we bragged of, as if that had made us better than others, while we made no conscience of personal reformation, which, no doubt, amongst other sinful miscarriages, was a main cause of the Lord's depriving us so long a time of the comfortable and soul-enriching mercy of a faithfully dispensed gospel.
And, in like manner, the conceitedness of some in suffering and contending for truth, rather for keeping up the contention abetting a party, and many times under too lofty names of the suffering party, and remnant, and the like, than to keep and hold fast the word of the Lord's patience to his glory as our crown; and many other evidences of pride hateful to God, such as boasting in the strength of armies in the suffering times in an ostentatious way, vaunting of, and being too much taken up with them, though then necessary for the defence of our lives; rejoicing in our numerousness or worldly abilities, or in the number of them that frequent the public ordinances in the fields; or that they, who are owners of the testimony, are for the most, part kept free from the gross out-breakings into which others are left to fall; which things, though very good and desirable in themselves, may yet be, and have been, occasions of sin when boasted in, more than humbly and thankfully acknowledged to be from the hand of God. As also, revengeful resenting of affronts, passionate and disdainful refusing to take reproof for faults, or for the excess in any duty, as to the manner of it, when we thought the matter was right.
And, it is likewise matter of regret, that both in the time of greatest suffering and afterwards, idleness of both kinds did too much prevail amongst us; both that when we were in a manner driven from the world, and shut up from all employment but the exercise of godliness, many did not improve that opportunity of the cross to promote acquaintance and communion with God, being slothful in prayer, reading and other duties; and some again, even when they might have had access to lawful employments, continued idle and out of work, to the opening of the mouths of many against the cause; albeit they were not called to, or employed in any public business for the same.
And besides all these things, there may be many other transgressions whereof the lands wherein we live are guilty, and these attended with many heinous aggravating circumstances beyond what they were in our fathers, which we have not been humbled for to this day; but, instead of mourning for them, confessing and forsaking them, we have been rather defending or daubing, covering or coloring, excusing or extenuating them. All which we now desire to acknowledge and be humbled for, that the world may bear witness with us, that righteousness belongeth unto God, and shame and confusion of face to us, as appears this day.
A SOLEMN ENGAGEMENT TO THE DUTIES CONTAINED IN OUR NATIONAL AND SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT.
Particularly adjusted to the Circumstances of these Times, Anno 1712
Because it is requisite, in order to obtain mercy, not only to confess, but also to forsake our sins, and to do the contrary duties; therefore, that the sincerity and reality of our repentance may appear, we resolve, and solemnly engage before God, in the strength and through the assistance of Christ, that we shall carefully endeavour, in all time coming, to avoid all these offences, whereof we have now made solemn public acknowledgment, and all the snares and temptations tending thereunto; and to testify this sincerity of our resolution, and that we may be better enabled in the power of the Lord's might, to perform the same, we do again renew our Covenants, both National and Solemn League, promising to make conscience of a more exact performance of all the duties therein contained, so far as we, in our stations, and present deplorable circumstances, are capable; particularly such as follow.