A sermon preached before the Honourable House of Commons at their late solemn fast…A sermon preached before the Honourable House of Commons at their late solemne fast…

IT is not long since I did, upon another day of ¹humiliation, lay open Englands disease from that Text, 2 Chron. 20. 33. Howbeit the High Places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their Fathers. Though ^athe Sun of Righteousness be risen, with healing in his wings, yet the land is not healed, no not of its worst disease, ⟨p. 2⟩which is corruption in Religion, and the iniquity of your holy things. I did then show the symptoms, and the cause of this evil disease. The symptoms, are your high Places, not yet taken away, many of your old superstitious ceremonies to this day remaining, which though not so evil as the High-places of Idolatry, in which Idoll• were worshipped, yet are parallel to the High places of Will worship, of which we read, that the people (thinking it too hard to be tied to go up to Jerusalem with every sacrifice) did ^bsacrifice still in the High places, yet unto the Lord their God only: pleading for their so doing, antiquity, custom, and other defences of that kind, which have been alleged for your Ceremonies. But albeit these be foul sports in the Churches face, which offend the eyes of her glorious Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, yet that which doth less appear, is more dangerous, and that is the cause of all this evil, in the very bowels and heart of the Church; the people of the land, great and small, have not as yet prepared their hearts unto the Lord their God: mercy is prepared for the land, but the land is not prepared for mercy; I shall say no more of the disease at this instant.

IT is not long since I did, upon another day of ¹humiliation, lay open Englands disease from that Text, 2 Chron. 20. 33. Howbeit the High Places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their Fathers. Though