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"Your... CD's of Reformation and Puritan authors are a great boon to studies in the Reformed-Puritan experiential tradition. Receive our hearty thanks for your invaluable work in making so many rare gems accessible to thousands."

- Dr. Joel R. Beeke, President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

"Still Waters Revival Books... have released an incredible array of... compact disks which contain over 2,000 titles of some of the best Reformation and Calvinistic books ever written. It is by far the best and widest collection of Reformed literature ever assembled" (The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented, Second [Special 40th Anniversary] Edition, Updated and Expanded [p. 76, 2004, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company] by David N. Steele, Curtis C. Thomas, and S. Lance Quinn, Foreword by Roger Nicole, Afterword by John MacArthur, emphases added).

"I have been systematically working through reading the Puritan and Reformed CDs I purchased... I must say, there is nothing like them available anywhere. It is the most amazing collection of works I know of in one package to date... You have done an immeasurable service for the Kingdom of Christ in making these CDs available, and every pastor and theologian should own them without question (they would be foolhardy to pass them by)" (Dr. C. Matthew McMahon, A Puritan's Mind Ministries).

The most extensive classic Christian CD library ever (on 90 CDs)!
(The best of the Puritans, Covenanters, Reformers, Baptists, Presbyterians, et al.)

90 Christian CDs In Total, Containing The Best Of Classic and Contemporary Christian Books (PDFs), MP3s, and Videos on Puritanism, the Reformation, the Covenanters (Like Gillespie, Rutherford, Durham, Manton, Cameron, Renwick, Love, et al.), the Westminster Divines (Like Gouge, Twisse, Henderson, Caryl, Burgess, et al.), the Puritans (Like Watson, Owen, Flavel, Sibbes, Brooks, Charnock, Edwards, et al.), Baptists (Like Spurgeon, Pink, Bunyan, et al.), Presbyterians (Like Calvin, Knox, Triall, Boston, Miller, Dabney, Thornwell, et al.), Calvinism and the Calvinists (Like Hodge, Henry, the Erskines, Shedd, et al.), the Reformers (Like Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, Bullinger, Foxe, Bradford, Beza, Perkins, et al.), the 1599 Geneva Bible (retypeset and searchable), Classic Puritan and Reformation Commentaries, and Much, Much More!

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"This collection of... CDs is a truly astounding accomplishment. There is nothing like this available to the ordinary Christian on the whole face of the earth. Now, for the first time ever, ordinary Christians can have direct and near effortless access to the very cream of Puritan and Reformed, as well as Covenanter, literature... What they used to say of the Puritan John Flavel's preaching, can be said of these CDs: they are 'hissing hot'! (Dr Jonathan D. Moore, Cambridge, Scholar of 16th and 17th century Calvinistic literature.).

Click on the links below for the contents of all 90 Classic SWRB CDs offered in our new 3 for 1 CD SUPER SALE, including money saving details on additional discounts through our time limited PREPUBLICATION OFFER -- save up to $200 more by purchasing these CDs before October 13, 2008 .

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW FOR FULL DETAILS ON HOW TO GET 60 SWRB CDs FOR FREE

30 CALVINISM BOOKSHELF CDs

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30 REFORMATION BOOKSHELF CDs

ADDITIONAL PREPUBLICATION DISCOUNTS ONLY GUARANTEED UNTIL THE END OF THE DAY October 13, 2008 -- so if you have any questions or would like to place an order please call us at 1-780-450-3730 (24 hours a day, leave a message if you get voice mail and we will return your call), email us at swrb@swrb.com, Fax 780-468-1096, or use our secure order form at https://www.shopalberta.com/SWRB/.

"Your... CD's of Reformation and Puritan authors are a great boon to studies in the Reformed-Puritan experiential tradition. Receive our hearty thanks for your invaluable work in making so many rare gems accessible to thousands." (Joel Beeke, President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary).

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"These Puritan resources are the greatest I've ever seen. These eyes have never seen anything greater than what you have produced except that old King James Bible" (Email from a Customer in Georgia, USA).


Some Additional Customer Comments on SWRB's CD sets (Reformation, Calvinism, Protestant, Puritan).

"This collection of… CDs is a truly astounding accomplishment. There is nothing like this available to the ordinary Christian on the whole face of the earth. Now, for the first time ever, ordinary Christians can have direct and near effortless access to the very cream of Puritan and Reformed, as well as Covenanter, literature... What they used to say of the Puritan John Flavel's preaching, can be said of these CDs: they are 'hissing hot'! ... more" (emphases added).

- Dr Jonathan D. Moore, Cambridge, UK.
(Scholar of 16th and 17th century Calvinistic literature.)


"The purchase of (SWRB's) CD's is proving to be one of the wisest investments that I have ever made. They are much more than I expected!! I am having a wonderful time reading and studying."

- TC, Internet Customer (USA).


"The greatest collection of classic Reformation resources on one CD set ever!"

"In reading this mornings mailing I noticed that you also do the Reformation Bookshelf CD's so I went to your web site to see what was out -- I was in ecstasy!!!"

- Missionary working in Hatyai, Southern Thailand


Full SWRB CD comment from Dr. McMahon:

"I have been systematically working through reading the Puritan and Reformed CDs I purchased.

I must say, there is nothing like them available anywhere.

It is the most amazing collection of works I know of in one package to date.

In my opinion, it far surpasses Ages Software and their collections.*

The Puritan and Reformed material presented on these CDs is exceptional.

I am continually amazed at the depth and breadth of information in both collections, and the rarity of works that I now have at my fingertips.

You have done an immeasurable service for the Kingdom of Christ in making these CDs available, and every pastor and theologian should own them without question (they would be foolhardy to pass them by)."

- For Christ's Crown and Covenant,
Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
A Puritan's Mind Ministries, www.apuritansmind.com
John 5:39, "...search the Scriptures..."
"Novum Testamentum in Vetre latet, et in Novo, Vetus patet." Augustine
( "The New is in the Old concealed, and in the New, the Old revealed." )

* It is SWRB's opinion that Ages has done an excellent job in making various Reformed works available on CD, so much so that we also distribute a number of their CDs at discounts. Thus, please don't make more out of our publishing this comment than is warranted, as this is a comment we received from one of our customers and it expresses his opinion. As for Ages' work, we rejoice whenever the truth is published, whether through others or through SWRB (as we play only a very small part in the revival of classic Reformation, Puritan and Covenanter thought that is now taking place worldwide through God's marvelous grace). The publication of the best Reformers and Puritans of the past is one of the greatest needs of our time, as this extends the blessings that come through faithful preachers and authors into our day and into the future. Lord willing, the growth in the publishing of faithful works from the past will help stem the tide of the great declension and unfaithfulness which we are now witnessing all around us, even (sadly) among many churches that still call themselves "Presbyterian" and/or "Reformed." So please pray together with us that our Lord will multiple the number of faithful publishers and publications, and that He will give many the heart to stand for the truth no matter the consequences (as He has done for our faithful forefathers, who resisted Satan and sin unto blood and even to martyrdom in many cases). -- RB.


"SWRB's Puritan and Reformation CD libraries are an invaluable source for the study of the history and theology of classic Reformation theology. The collection is remarkable not only for depth of content, but also for the rarity of many of the works. Most seminary libraries will not have even a percentage of the works available on these CD-ROMs. I cannot imagine anyone working in Reformation / historical theology that would not want to use the Puritan and Reformed libraries!"

- Phillip J. Long
Associate Prof. of New Testament
Grace Bible College
Grand Rapids, MI 49509


"I just received your CD collection. One bit of advice: you should instruct your customers to take about 1 week off just to peruse the tables of contents for these CD's, followed by another week off, in order to recover from the state of shock in which they will find themselves.

In all seriousness, this collection is almost impossible to describe. It has to be seen to be believed. As a pastor, my library has just increased dramatically. As a Ph.D. student in Puritan and Post-Reformation studies, I have immediate access to many of the same works for which I would normally need to access through rare book rooms of theological libraries.

Thank you for this labor of love. Thank you for making it accessible, both financially and technologically. May the Lord richly bless you for this service to his people."

- Yours for the faith,
Pastor David Owen Filson
Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church (PCA), Nashville, TN


"You all are doing a wonderful service by making all these materials so readily available. Having them on my hard drive is BETTER than having access to a rare book library with all of them in hand... I have found the CD set invaluable as a tool of scholarship. So once again I commend you brothers for making it available."

- Dr. E. Calvin Beisner
Knox Theological Seminary
Author and Associate Professor of Historical Theology and Social Ethics

(Author of: Psalms of Promise: Celebrating the Majesty and Faithfulness of God, God in Three Persons, Answers: For Atheists, Agnostics, and Other Thoughtful Skeptics--Dialogs About Christian Faith and Life, Man, Economy, and Environment in Biblical Perspective, Where Garden Meets Wilderness: Evangelical Entry Into the Environmental Debate, Evangelical Heathenism? Examining Contemporary Revivalism, as well as other books, scholarly papers, and contributions to various anthologies).


"It's been several weeks now since I received the CDs and have had some time to digest some of them. All I can say is, "WOW!" This is truly a library like no other, and has already paid great dividends not only in my own personal worship and study, but in my teaching as well. I first balked at the price, but after seeing the vastness of the material, I almost feel as though I'm robbing you!

I pray that the Lord will allow you to get these materials into the hands of as many ministers as possible."

- Email from SC, USA


Full SWRB CD comment from Dr. Moore:

This collection of 62 CDs is a truly astounding accomplishment. There is nothing like this available to the ordinary Christian on the whole face of the earth.

Now, for the first time ever, ordinary Christians can have direct and near effortless access to the very cream of Puritan and Reformed, as well as Covenanter, literature.

These books are often in fascinating first editions and many are electronically linked and indexed for the first time. The ordinary Christian may here dig into a simply staggering wealth of literature, from devotional and sermonic material to technical and scholarly works. Even in the days of the Long Reformation itself ordinary Christians didn't get to see this kind of library -- most couldn't read for a start, and even those who could, would never have been able to afford to buy even a hundredth part of the material on these CDs. Truly we are without excuse!

And the significance of this collection goes even beyond that. No longer do we have to wait for modern Reformed publishing houses to predict that a particular Reformation or Puritan book will be sufficiently popular to make it economical to reprint, or to deem it "safe" enough to be let loose on the modern evangelical church. Rather, we are now able to see for ourselves the whole range of the Puritan and Reformed publishing enterprise, including views that are usually suppressed by most modern devotees of "Puritan" piety!

Buy these CDs while you can, and find out for yourself what the First and Second Reformations were really all about! You'll be truly amazed, and, by God's grace, will grow from being an ordinary Christian to being an extraordinary one. What they used to say of the Puritan John Flavel's preaching, can be said of these CDs: they are "hissing hot"!

- Dr Jonathan D. Moore, Cambridge, UK.
(Scholar of 16th and 17th century Calvinistic literature.)


"This side of eternity I'll never be able to repay the favor you have done mankind by bringing these... CDs together.

The first week of reading I grew more as a Christian reading those rich, pure Gospel Commentators than I have in 18 years of Christian life. After reading some of the Puritan CDs I have to get the Reformation set if it kills me. A fire is burning within me. These... CDs are liable to start a revival fire unseen in any generation... the Gospel in its pure form is seen in these... CDs.

Sir, I cant say enough. What a treasure! I'll never be able to repay you this side of heaven, but when we get there I am sure you will see the rich fruits of your labor. God bless you for not being money hungry but wanting to see Christians grow in the Lord... I love you even though we have never met, you have helped me in my Christian walk tremendously with these... CDs.

I am not bragging on the flesh, I am just giving honor where honor is due. The Holy Ghost will take these CDs and light a fire unseen and unheard of. God bless you all at Still Waters."

- Email from the USA


"Thank you so very much for the CDs.

I am amazed at the quality and quantity of the literature...

I cannot imagine any other single thing being done by any man or group of men in the earth today that is of such extensive, present, and enduring value as this CD work is.

God be praised that he uses sickly and weak men to forward his kingdom, that the work may not be mistaken to be wrought by the might of men, but by his Spirit. His strength is perfected in weakness."

- Email from Colorado

______________

Many more comments on the SWRB's CD sets (by the Banner of Truth magazine, Calvin Beisner [Professor of Historical Theology and Social Ethics at Knox Theological Seminary], Dr. E.P. Elliott [Christian Observer magazine], and many others.) can be found at the end of the page at: http://www.swrb.com/Puritan/calvinism-bookshelf-CDs.htm


 

HOW TO GET 60 FREE SWRB CDs (UNTIL THE END OF THE DAY October 13, 2008) BY THE BEST CLASSIC AND CONTEMPORARY PURITANS, REFORMERS, COVENANTERS, CALVINISTS, PRESBYTERIANS, REFORMED BAPTISTS, PROTESTANTS, et al. (CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW)

http://www.swrb.com/Puritan/60_FREE_PURITAN_CDs.htm

 


PURITANS, MANY (Westminster Divines, Covenanters, et al.)

Puritan Fast Sermons (34 volumes, 1640-1653)

This 34 volume set is found on Calvinism Bookshelf CDs volumes 17-21 (3 for 1 CD SUPER SALE) at: http://www.swrb.com/Puritan/calvinism-bookshelf-CDs.htm

This is a collection of sermons preached to England's Parliament during the glory days of the Puritan preaching on days of public humiliation… These sermons richly combine prayer and thanksgiving on England's behalf. They encourage and admonish Parliament to govern in the fear of God. The volumes include sermons of preachers who were frequently invited to Parliament, including William Ames, Samuel Bolton, William Bridge, Thomas Brooks, Anthony Burgess, Jeremiah Burroughs, Joseph Caryl, Thomas Goodwin, William Greenhill, Christopher Love, Thomas Manton, Stephen Marshall, Philip Nye, John Owen, Obadiah Sedgwick, and Ralph Venning (and many others - RB).

- Dr. Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson, Meet the Puritans: With a Guide To Modern Reprints, pp. 632-633.

This remarkable set of rare Puritan sermons is made up of facsimile copies of sermons preached before the "Long Parliament" in England during the second Reformation -- on appointed fast days between 1640 and 1653.

Many famous Puritans, as well as Scottish Covenanters and Westminster Divines, were called upon to deliver these important messages to the civil rulers (and nations, when these sermons were later distributed in print format) of that day.

A free online MP3 (audio) sample of one of these sermons, by George Gillespie (one of the Scottish commissioners attending the Westminster Assembly) is available at http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=103006312. This sermon is titled "Reformation's Refining Fire; or, Iconoclastic Zeal Necessary to World Reformation."

The quote below should also help you to appreciate the spirit of these days of Reformation, while also illustrating the zeal and dedication that the Lord gave both the preaches and those who heard them,

"Another important thing to note about the Westminster Divines (and indeed of many Christians living in those days) is that they were men of prayer. During the time when the Assembly was meeting, Parliament held regular Fast Days on the last Wednesday of every month. Here's an example of how Puritan Fast Days were conducted:

"It was upon these occasions his (John Howe's) common way to begin about nine in the morning with prayer for about a quarter of an hour in which he begged a blessing on the work of the day: and afterward read and expounded a chapter or psalm in which he spent three-quarters of an hour. Then he prayed for about an hour, preached for another hour and prayed for about half an hour. After this he retired and took some little refreshment for about a quarter of an hour more (the people singing all the while) and then came again into the pulpit and prayed for another hour and gave them another sermon of about an hour's length, and so concluded the service of the day at about four of the clock in the evening with about half an hour or more in prayer.

The seven hours of such a service included about three and a quarter hours of prayer and two and three quarters hours of preaching. The Parliamentary Fast Days likewise tended to have even more prayer than preaching, sometimes with two one-hour sermons and two prayers of two hours length each! (emphases added)"

- Linus Chua, The Westminster Confession of Faith: A Brief Historical Survey of the Westminster Assembly and Standards, http://www.rtrc.net/documents/wcf/historical_survey.htm

These 34 volumes are available on Calvinism Bookshelf CD volume 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 (3 for 1 CD SUPER SALE) at: http://www.swrb.com/Puritan/calvinism-bookshelf-CDs.htm

Tentmaker Publishers are working on releasing this Puritan Sermons set in printed format. For details please see http://tentmaker.org.uk/?p=41. Here are some of their comments,

"This remarkable set of rare Puritan sermons comprises facsimile copies of sermons preached before parliament on appointed fast days between 1640 and 1653…. It was our plan to reprint the facsimilie edition, but possibly in 24 evenly sized volumes (to economise on production costs). We have already scanned in all the original pages but there is much work still to be done. We have now decided to reprint them in a new typeset edition with modern spelling. In addition, we plan to issue two volumes of sample sermons from the set.

The sermons are especially valuable, being as they are the work of the leading Puritan preachers of the day and addressed to those with the responsibility of government. We are hoping in the reprint to include some indication of the events occuring at the time that will give the context to the sermons and also a brief biographical sketch of each preacher.

We are cautious in giving a date when they will be available but we are aiming for late this year or early next. The offer price on the 24 volume set will be about £400…. The set will be produced with sewn sections and bound in Buckram cloth with d/w. If you wish to reserve a set then please email Fast Sermons (at FastSermons@tentmaker.org.uk) with your details. This will help us to assess possible interest but there will be no commitment until final pricing has been calculated at which time we will notify you (emphases added)."

Table of Contents forthcoming.

Hugh Trevor-Roper in The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century, Chapter 6, "The Fast Sermons of the Long Parliament," gives us some useful context to these fast sermons in the selected quotes below (emphases added throughout).

"It was an observation of that time," wrote Clarendon of the Puritan Revolution, "that the first publishing of extraordinary news was from the pulpit; and by the preacher's text, and his manner of discourse upon it, the auditors might judge, and commonly foresaw, what was like to be next done in the Parliament or Council of State."

General fasts, with appropriate sermons, were, of course, nothing new in 1640. Great occasions had always called them forth. There had been a general fast on the approach of the Armada in 1588, a weekly fast in 1603 until the plague was over, and another general fast for the great plague of 1625. More recently, fasts had also been held at the beginning of Parliament.

The first episode in this history comes at the very beginning of the Parliament. When Parliament met, its very first act was to propose a general fast. . . . All business was to be suspended. There were to be sermons morning and afternoon. . . . At the same time the House of Commons, following earlier precedents, also appointed a day on which all its members should take the sacrament and listen to further sermons.

Thus from the start the stage was set. . . . Pym 's message: from his earliest days in Parliament he had advocated a "covenant" among the enemies of popery and tyranny. Now both Burges and Marshall sang to the same tune. In the universal peril, said Marshall, all hope lay in a covenant such as had been made to defend religion in the days of Queen Elizabeth. It was not enough, added Burges, "to pull down and cut off some of the Nimrods" who had invaded English laws and liberties: "there must be a thorough joining of themselves to God by covenant."

Thus the regular series of "monthly fasts" began. They would continue for seven years. The routine was soon established. When one ceremony was over, the next would be prepared. The two Houses would separately choose and invite their preachers. The invitation of the Lords was impersonal, that of the Commons conveyed by named members -neighbours, friends, kinsmen: presumably their original sponsors. Sometimes, of course, there were refusals and substitutes had to be found. When the fast-day came, official parliamentary business was omitted or cut down to a minimum. The Lords normally gathered in King Henry VII's chapel of Westminster Abbey, the Commons in St.Margaret's, Westminster. The two preachers delivered the sermons, one in the morning, one in the afternoon. The ceremonies were open to all: unless expressly excluded by a parliamentary order, the public was free to attend and (according to the fashion of the time) to take notes of the sermons. Next day, or within a few days, votes of thanks would be passed and conveyed to the preachers, generally with a request to print their sermons, by named members, generally their original sponsors. Then the process was repeated. Similar ceremonies took place all over the country. Nor was it only on the last Wednesday of the month that Parliament subjected itself and the people to this heavy dose of religion. Special crises called forth special fasts also: fasts to celebrate the opening of the  Westminster Assembly, to desire blessings on the parliamentary armies when in difficulty, to persuade God to remove "a great judgment of rain and waters" or "abundance of rain and unseasonable weather," and to abate such  calamities as the miseries of Scotland during the triumphs of Montrose, the incidence of the plague, divers crying sins and enormities of the Church, the spread of heresies and blasphemies, etc. There were also, when occasion called for them, special days of thanksgiving. All these entailed special sermons, whose preachers were chosen, thanked and invited to print in the same way.

There was also, in London, a good supply of preachers. From the start, as "scandalous" ministers were ejected, country preachers, encouraged by their local Members of Parliament, poured in to compete for their places, and from 1643 the Westminster Assembly provided a constant reservoir of clerical talent . . .

. . . The preacher was John Arrowsmith, who had been proposed by Pym 's step-brother, Francis Rous. His text was Leviticus xxvi.25, "I shall bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant," and his message was that bloody civil wars were peculiar signs of God's blessing on a country, and that England, having now been singled out for this favour, must fight it out, exacting "like for like and, particularly, blood for blood (Rev.xvi.5 -6)." After listing the sins which called most loudly for blood, and which included especially the neglect of God's covenant and disrespect for its messengers, the clergy, he gave his specific instructions. He reminded his hearers that the English victory over the Scots at Musselburgh, a century before, had been won at the hour when Parliament, in London, ordered the burning of "idolatrous images." Thus if Pym held out his right hand to treat with the king, with his left he pointed the way to a more radical war and a new campaign of iconoclasm. Five days later he emphasized his threat by pushing through Parliament an ordinance abolishing episcopacy and including the ratification of the ordinance in the terms of the treaty.

Ellis was chiefly concerned to expose the dangers of "a false peace" - that is, one which did not guarantee the future by "putting Christ into the treaty." He urged his hearers to remember the message of his predecessor Mr. Arrowsmith and make no peace till the false brethren and enemies of Christ had been trodden down . . .

On 24 April Sir Robert Harley asked for a committee to destroy superstitious monuments in London churches and himself at once set about the work. Two days later it was among headless statues and shivered stained-glass windows that the Commons gathered in St. Margaret's to hear the monthly fast sermons. The first, appropriately enough, was by a protégé of Harley himself, a country clergyman from Cheshire who served up the now familiar texts "Curse ye Meroz" and "Cursed be he that keepeth his sword back from blood." The second was by William Greenhill, another of Bishop Wren's victims, famous for his commentary on Ezekiel. His sermon once again was a pointer to immediate policy. He chose the ominous text, "The axe is laid to the root of the tree."

Like Samuel Fairclough two years before, Greenhill demanded "justice on delinquents." Indeed he referred back explicitly to the execution of Strafford. "When your justice fell upon that great cedar-tree above a year and a half ago," he cried, "did not all England tremble?" And now too much time had passed without a second stroke. Though great "delinquents" still lived, the executioner's axe had culpably been allowed to rust. That was most improper. However, he added, regretfully, "if justice be at a stand and cannot take hold of living delinquents to keep the axe from rust, let justice be executed upon lifeless delinquents. Are there no altars, no high places, no crucifixes, no crosses in the open street that are bowed unto and idolized? Lay your axe to the roots and hew them down!"

The message was clear, and was instantly obeyed. Two days after the sermon, the terms of Harley's committee were extended to include the destruction of idolatrous monuments in streets and open places. On 2 May Cheapside Cross, that bugbear of the Puritans, the pride and glory of the City, was at last ceremonially hewn down.

. . . 1644 began as the year of the Scots. In December 1643 the Scotch commissioners and Scotch ministers returned to London . . . In 1641 they had been sent empty away, but this time they meant business. . . . If they were to come as deliverers, they must receive the price; and the price had long ago been stated: in order to guarantee the revolution in Scotland, England too must adopt a full Presbyterian system, on "the Scots model." . . . They obtained seats in the Assembly; they organized a party, gave orders, reported home. And they secured invitations to preach not merely, as in 1640 -41, to the gaping populace of London, but to the Parliament itself. This was an opportunity not to be missed.

The Scotch ministers preached to the Commons on the four successive fast-days after their arrival. The series was opened by Alexander Henderson, the framer of the National Covenant of Scotland. He delivered, according to his colleague Robert Baillie, "a most gracious, wise and learned sermon" urging the English legislature to repair its past errors and now, though late, build the house of the Lord in England. The other three ministers, Samuel Rutherford, Baillie himself and George Gillespie, pressed the same message. England, said Gillespie, had been culpably slow in following the good examples of Scotland. The whole nation was guilty of scandalous laxity in the past, still unredeemed. Why had not the idolatrous high places been taken away? The trouble was, England was intolerably Erastian: it put its trust in the laity, not the clergy: "it did even make an idol of this Parliament and trusted to its own strength and armies." No wonder God had been greatly provoked and had visited the guilty country with defeat, until it had drawn the correct deductions and appealed to Scotland. From now on, given due obedience, all would be well: "Christ hath put Antichrist from his outer works in Scotland and he is now come to put him from his inner works in England." Baillie, in printing his sermon, rubbed it in even deeper. He was astonished, he told Francis Rous, the chairman of Parliament's committees on religion in England, that "the wheels of the Lord's chariot should move with so slow a pace." This "wearisome procrastination to erect the discipline of God" was inexplicable "to mine and every common understanding." It caused millions to live in every kind of carnal sin "without the control of any spiritual correction."

On one occasion, indeed, Baillie could report "two of the most Scottish and free sermons that ever I heard anywhere." This was in the autumn of 1644, on the special fast-day for the armies of the Lord General, Essex, then in straits in the west: the two preachers then "laid well about them and charged public and parliamentary sins strictly on the backs of the guilty."