The difficulty of and the encouragements to a reformation a sermon preached before the…

A SERMON Preached before The Honourable House OF COMMONS At the Public Fast, September 27. 1643.

A SERMON Preached before The Honourable House OF COMMONS At the Publike Fast, September 27. 1643.

MARK. 1. vers. 2, 3. As it is written in the Prophets, Behold I send my Messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

MARK. 1. vers. 2, 3. As it is written in the Prophets, Behold I send my Messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voyce of one crying in the wildernesse, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths streight.

I Will not begin my Sermon, as commonly Printers do their Books with some flourish or gaudy pictures on the first leaf, but fall immediately upon that special matter which is contained in my Text, & that cannot be handled rightly, unless I take in the former words, The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: for in the whole contexture of these words, you have a proposition to be confirmed, and the argument confirming it: I call it a proposition, and ⟨p. 2⟩not a Title or preface, such as that is, the Revelation of John, and in doing thus I borrow gold of the Egyptian, (I mean) fetch my interpretation from a Popish Commentator, who had much learning, and more malice; and that this is more probable, consider the use of the word [Greek or Hebrew]. Gospel, which signifieth in the Scripture