This sermon is taken from Volume 10 of SWRB's 34 volume set entitled, Puritan (Westminster, Covenanter) Fast Sermons (1640-1653).

In this "sermon to the Honourable House of Commons, at their late solemn Fast, Febr. 28, 1643," Baillie promotes the idea that the church must be reformed before the state.

At one point he comments,

"The ordering of the State and Kingdom, how necessary soever, ought not to precede the settling of the Church. In this, the interest of God, in that, the interest of man is chiefest: If any could be so impious as to avow their postponing of God to the world, yet they would do well to be so wise as not to marre their own ends, by the mis-order of the proceedings. Except the Lord build the house of a Kingdom, the industry of the wisest men is for little purpose. And how shall the Lord concurre with men in building their state, when men are so careless of his Honour and Service, as not to build his Church? Nehemiah laid not a stone in the wall of the City, until Zerubbabel had set the Cap-stone on the wall of the temple."

Concerning the complete 34 volume set of Puritan Fast Sermons (1640-1653), republished by SWRB, Dr. Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson write, "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)" (from pages 632-633 of the important and useful book by Beeke and Pederson on Puritanism and Puritan books, entitled, Meet the Puritans: With a Guide To Modern Reprints).