to the God of Heaven and earth for his great mercy to us in giving
you hearts to offer your selves so willingly among the people in
the late great undertakings of this Nation against the Enemies of the
peace thereof, and blessing your faithfull endeavours with such glorious
and wonderfull successes, whereby as the Lord hath put great honour
upon you, crowning your valour with victory, and making you
the warlike glory of the world, so he hath no lesse put great obligations
upon you all to exalt him that hath exalted you, and to lift up his
glory in the world, where he hath given you a name so great and glorious
&c. Therefore our dayly prayer shall be for your selves & your
noble army, that you may never stumble at the stumbling stone, nor
take that honour to yourselves that is due to Christ, not be instrumentall
for setting up of a meere naturall and worldly Government, like
that of Heathen Rome and Athens, &c.
To which end we humbly crave that your selves would take into
serious and grave considerations and debate the particulars in the papers
here with humbly offered to you, and also present them to the honourable
Parliament, that they may be improved so farre as found agreeable
to the Will and Word of God, which done, we doubt not but
God shall have much glory, the godly party shall be comforted, naturall
men (enjoying their estates) will be at rest also and much satisfied
and this common wealth will be exalted to be both an habitation of
Justice & mounrayn of holines, even such a people as God shall blesse.
An humble[nl] advise concerning the Government of the Kingdom,
according to the former Platforms or Modell.
THat you would stir up godly Ministers and People throughout
the Kingdom, to assosiate or incorporate into Church Societies
(as is before expressed) and grant them your speciall favour, provision,
and protection; so shall you be the Saints nursing fathers.
2. That you would please to satisfie the godly diffenting Brethren,
both of Presbytery and Independency (by such wayes and meanes as
your wisdoms shall think fit) how both their interests may meet
herein, that so they many concur with on heart in the work.
3. That Sister-Churches oversee such incorporations and imbodyings,
that onely such as be of approved godlinesse, may have the righthand
of felloship given to them.
4. That such Churches where more of them are thus collected and