Another reflection upon that former Paper of ours is thus expressed, _That the Generall Assembly hath proceeded to such a Declaration before they had in an Ecclesiaslick way from clear testimonies out of the Word of God or convencing of our consciences, demonstrate the unlawfulnesse of the undertaking_: Where we can see no reason why it should seem so very strange to the Honourable Committee that the Generall Assembly hath so proceeded to a Declaration of their judgement concerning this businesse, For as it hath been no unusuall thing, but very ordinary that approved Synods, both Provinciall, Nationall, and Oecumeniall have declared their judgement without publishing the particular grounds & reasons thereof from Scripture (a work more proper for full Tractates then for Synodicall Decrees or Cannons.) So if their Lordships had been pleased to attend (for many attended not) the late Parliament-Sermons mainly intended for their Lordships information, and had with mindes unprejudiced, hearkened thereunto, and searched in to all the Papers lately published in Print by the Commission of the last Assembly, they might have been by the blessing of God convinced from the Word of God of the unlawfulnesse of the present Engagement. There are three things which may justly seem to us more strange: One is, That the Declaration of Parliament having given assurance in this manner, _We are resolved not to ingage in any War before the necessity and lawfulnesse thereof be cleared, so as all who are wel-affected may be satisfied therewith_, yet now they have ingaged in War without any such clearing of the necessity and lawfulnesse thereof, or satisfaction given to the wel-affected. Another is, that although there are so great professions and offers in the generall to satisfie what can be desired for the security of Religion, yet none of those particulars desired by the late Commission of the Kirk for the security of Religion have been granted. We shall here onely give instance in one of those desires, which was, that his Majesties concessions and offers concerning Religion, sent home from the Isle of _Wight_, having been found by the said Commission unsatisfactory and destructive to the Covenant, might be by the Parliament declared unsatisfactory to their Lordships. In this great point there hath been no satisfaction given, onely it was lightly touched in one clause of the Parliaments Declaration, and so ambiguously expressed, as might suffer many interpretations, and although this ambiguity was clearly laid open by the Commissioners of the last Generall Assembly in their Representation; yet to this day there hath been nothing published neither by the Parliament nor Committee of Estates to give any clearer satisfaction, by disclaiming those offers and concessions as unsatisfactory to the parliament: So that this (if there were no more) gives us great cause to apprehend that there is a greater mystery latent in that businesse then yet appeareth.