the constant attacks made upon their freedom by the king’s commissioner, and protestations by him taken against their regular procedure, which issued in his Erastian declaration of the king’s prerogative, as supreme judge in all causes, ecclesiastical as well as civil, and renewing all his former protestations in his royal master’s name; further protesting in his own name, and in the name of the lords of the clergy, that no act passed by them should imply his consent, or be accounted lawful, or of force to bind any of the subjects; and, then in his majesty’s name dissolving the assembly, discharging their proceeding any further, and so went off.  But the assembly judging it better to obey GOD than man; and to incur the displeasure of an earthly king, to be of far less consequence than to offend the Prince of the kings of the earth, entered a protestation against the lord commissioner’s departure without any just cause, and in behalf of the intrinsic power and liberty of the church; also assigning the reasons why they could not dissolve the assembly until such time as they had gone through that work depending upon them.  This was given in to the clerk by Lord Rothes, and part of it read before his grace left the house, and instruments taken thereupon.  Then, after several moving and pathetic speeches delivered on that occasion, for the encouragement of the brethren to abide by their duty, by the moderator, Mr. Alexander Henderson, and others, ministers and elders, exhorting them to show themselves as zealous for CHRIST their LORD and Master, in his interests, as he had shewed himself zealous for his master; they unanimously agreed that they should continue and abide by their work until they had concluded all things needful, and that on all hazards.  And so they proceeded to the examination of that complaint against the bishops, who, on account of their, tyranny, superstition, and teaching of Popish, Arminian, and Pelagian errors, were all laid under the sentence of deposition; and many of them, for their personal profaneness, wickedness and debauchery proven against them, together with their contumacy, were also excommunicated with the greater excommunication, for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved in the day of the LORD JESUS.  They gave their approbation of the National Covenant; and Prelacy, with the five articles of Perth, were found and declared to be abjured by it, together with the civil places and power of kirkmen, their sitting on the bench as justices of the peace, sitting in council, and voting in parliament.  Subscription of the Confession of faith, or covenant, was also enjoined, presbyterian church government justified and approven, and an act made for holding yearly General Assemblies; with many other acts and constitutions tending to the advancement of that begun reformation, and purging the church of CHRIST of those sinful innovations, crept into it, which may be seen more at large in the printed acts of that assembly.  The lawful and just freedom