A sermon preached before the Right Honourable House of Lords, in the Abbey Church…A sermon preached before the Right Honorable House of Lords, in the Abbey Church…

Secondly, it were a right timing of actions if the honourable Parliament would begin not at the establishing of their own Liberties, Laws, houses, but at the building of the house of God; the Lord hath given opportunity for many years of a sitting Parliament, and there is not yet a face of a Church in the Land, and scarcely is there one stone laid in the house of the Lord; men say, it is not yet time to build the house of the Lord.

Secondly, it were a right timing of actions if the honorable Parliament would begin not at the establishing of their owne Liberties, Lawes, houses, but at the building of the house of God; the Lord hath given opportunitie for many yeares of a sitting Parliament, and there is not yet a face of a Church in the Land, and scarcely is there one stone layd in the house of the Lord; men say, it is not yet time to build the house of the Lord.

Thirdly, we have not known in this our day of the Gospel, these things that belong to our peace: had Tyre and Sidon, Sodom and Gomorrah seen the days of the Son of man, which England and Scotland have seen, they should have repented long ago; and had we improved the gracious opportunities of mercy, our peace had been as a River, and our righteousness as the waves of the Sea; but now we are like broken men, unable so much as to cast up our accounts, far less to pay the rent of the Vineyard, when our Vine is as the Vine of Sodom, and our Grapes are Grapes of Gall; there is much underhand dealing against the cause and covenant of God; we did swear the extirpation of Prelacy, Popery and Schism, now we preach, profess and print that liberty is to be given for consciences of men, and how can this be denied to Papists and Prelates? not only every City, but every family almost hath a new Religion, the former unrepented will-worship in the breasts of men, against the power of godliness, vanity in apparel, whoring, extortion, unjustice to widows and Orphans whose husbands and parents were killed in the wars, drunkenness, excess, lying and cozening, unjust and false slanders and calumnies, trusting in the arm of men and multitudes, halting between God and Baal, postponing of Christs matters to the end of the day, as if Religion and the house of God were of less concernment to us then liberties and civill Laws, and as if both kingdoms miraculously defended by the right arm of God, against merciless and blood-thirsty Babylon, were not more obliged to the Lord of Hosts, who