Gods free mercy to England presented as a precious and powerful motive to humiliationGods free mercy to England presented as a pretious and powerfull motive to humiliation

TO THE HONOURABLE HOUSE OF COMMONS Assembled in Parliament.

TO THE HONORABLE HOVSE OF COMMONS Assembled in Parliament.

Among all the Mercies which God hath vouchsafed to bestow upon this Kingdom by your help, the procuring of a Monthly Fast, from his Royal Majesty (during the wars of Ireland, and the unsettled condition of England) is not the least. For by this means the Churches of England are set in a monthly posture of war to fight with Prayers and Tears (which are the Churches weapons) against all the enemies of our peace and prosperity: And may very fitly resemble the Tree of Life, mentioned Revel. 22. 2. which yielded her fruit every Month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the Nations. I doubt not but through Gods blessing, this Monthly Fast will prove an England-and-Ireland-healing Fast, if it be celebrated as it ought to be, with weeping, mourning, and brokenness of heart for sin, and from sin. Great is the efficacy, and omnipotency of prayer and fasting: So great, ¹as that it would require rather a large volume than a ⟨image 3⟩short Epistle to express it. And therefore I purposely wave it, as a theme in which a child cannot want eloquence, & in which I should sooner know where to begin, than where to make an end. As the Jews had their Monthly Feast, which they called their New Moons, in ²which the Word was preached, their shops shut up, & special sacrifices offered up to God: And as they had their Feast of Trumpets, in which they blowed their trumpets all day long (especially in their first New Moon) from Sunrising, till night: So, Blessed be God, we now enjoy our Christian New Moons, and Evangelical Feast of Trumpets. We have not oely our Monthly Sacrament Feast to refresh our souls withal, in most of our congregations, (which would be as the hidden Manna,