temptations that prevail on such in the degree of their prevalence and the time of their continuance which makes a great difference in the state of a Soul in such a case But this is not to be sure a state for such an one to continue in he 's uneasie under it he often blames and chides and expostulates with himself and looks upwards for help And therefore you won't find him in this case long but in a little time you may 4. OBSERVE him rising again by Repentance and Renewing his Resolutions of a Conscientious Fidelity His Merciful Saviour pities him and tho' he falls yet raises him with his hand and sets him on his Legs again for which he thinks he can never be duly thankful And then as the Apostle Paul observes in a particular Case with reference to his Corinthians What Carefuless it wrought in him yea what Indignation yea what fear yea what vehement Desire yea what Zeal yea what Revenge Altho' he fell into the mire yet he wallow'd not in it he took no delight in it And being recover'd he doubles his Diligence Watchfulness and Care With a Renew'd Vigour he resolves to pay his Vows the force whereof he owns and his Breaches whereof he laments with unfeigned Sorrow He repeats his Addresses to Heaven for fresh strength which being afforded he sets himself to his Duty without satisfying himself with any Delays or Excuses 5. ANOTHER Posture wherein you 'll often find him is bemoaning his unhappiness by reason of his manifold imperfections O wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death Is his frequent complaint Often will his Soul be sending forth its sorrowful moans in secret on the account of his sickleness and instability his Hearts deceitfulness and treachery the power of Sin and pravity of his Flesh and the weakness of his Grace and his great proneness to be led aside from his God and Saviour notwithstanding the many strong Bonds he is under and the many powerful Motives and quickning Considerations he hath to engage him to keep close to him Oh who hath so dead and cold and dull and listless and slipery an heart as I will he often say Certainly I am more sensless than any Man Sure God hath few such careless Servants that are in any measure true to him Christ hath few such followers that are at all sincere Sure it is not with others as it is with me Oh the Levity and Blindness of my Mind The Hardness and Stupidity of my Heart The Carnallity of my Affections The Unevenness of my Temper The many Irregularities of my Life So many Vows not strong enough to hold me fast to my Saviour and engage me to my Duty O Unhappy Creature to be so changeable so unmanageable so inconstant so in love with vanity so little enamourd with thy Saviour so soon to forget what he hath done for thee and to thee which naturally leads 6. and lastly TO a longing for that state where he will ever keep close to God without any Failures or Breaches which is another Posture wherein you 'll often find him O will he often say that I had but the Wings of a Dove that I might fly into the Coelestial Regions and be at rest This that I now inhabit is at best a Region of Sorrow and Darkness Sin and Misery Now I often break with my Saviour and lose the sight of him and fâ—…ll into sin notwithstanding all my Resolutions against it My prâ—…sent Vows I find at best too weak to hold me so close as I would be to my dearest Saviour But had I once laid aside my Fleshly Vail then I hope I should have another-guess sight of him than I can now attain unto Which sight would kindle another sort of a Love to Him than any thing now can raise me to Then I should see him as he is continually behold his Glory be over-power'd with his Love and perpetually enjoy him without any danger of stumbles or falls without any mixtures of frowns and without being ever parted from him Lord let me stay no longer in this distant imperfect state than I may serve the Purposes of thy Glory smile on me and assist me in all my present Conflicts and when they are finish'd take me unto thy self into thy most desirable Everlasting Embraces AND now I 'll leave it to any to judge whether the state and temper before describ'd Falls and Breaches only being bated to which nevertheless the Best are incident and the Spirit that runs thro' the several Periods and Postures mention'd be not very desirable very fitting very lovely very becoming very pleasing to God and comfortable to Persons themselves and therefore earnestly to be pray'd and labour'd for and aspir'd after CHAP. XVI Of PARTICULAR VOWS How they must be limited that they may be warrantable And how far and in what Cases they may be dispens'd with HAving thus largely handled and improv'd the Sacred Vows which both the Sacraments of our Holy Religion naturally carry in them which was the main Intent and Aim of this Discourse I shall now subjoin a brief Account of Vows made on Particular Occasions and especially in an Hour of Distress Trouble or Danger and make those Remarks on them that may be most helpful to a plain serious Christian to enable him to discern his Duty and put it in practice Particular Vows are those whereby we seriously engage our selves to God either to give or withhold to do or forbear any thing mention'd for ends either directly specify'd or plain to be understood Concerning which we may observe 1. That the Mosaick Law allow'd them and gave special Directions about them The Mosaical Oeconomy had indeed something peculiar in it with reference to Vows there was a Vow in use under it that was in a special manner of Divine Ordination That is God himself appointed the Manner and Rites of it leaving it free to any who were so inclin'd and dispos'd to bind themselves to it without any sorce and that was the Vow of the Nazarites Which Vow of Nazaritism was properly a Vow of Humiliation that a Man would chastize himself and deny himself in his ordinary delight of Liberty and Neatness the Particular Rules and Laws of which Vow may be seen at large Numb 6. And some of the Rules of it are easily intelligible but others of them are very difficultly accounted for by us as to their design But besides this peculiar Institution it was at that time lawful for either Men or Women that were in their own Power and not under Controul by a Vow upon any particular Occasion to consecrate to God what part of their Goods or Possessions or any thing wherein they had a Propriety that they thought meet Concerning which sort of Vows we have this Law upon Record When thou shalt Vow a Vow unto the Lord thy God thou shalt not slack to pay it for the Lord thy God will surely require
other cases that need not be Specifi'd when we find our Faith weakned our Patience almost tir'd and our Hope sinking which hath been the case of many of Gods Dearest and most Faithful Servants we should do well to renew this Vow and that with all the Seriousness and Solemnity we are able which would be as likely a means as any to Excite our Languishing Vigour Confirm our Faith Support our Hope and help us to that Comfort which none can have such just grounds to expect as those who are the Faithful Devoted Ones of the Lord most High CHAP. III. Of Sacramental VOWS VOWS of all sorts are Sacred and Awful Things but none so Tremenduous as those which are attended with Sacramental Solemnities in which both Gods Promises and Mans Purposes are by sensible signs and external actions Represented Ratified and Establisht We had need therefore take care rightly to understand them because our Lives are to be constantly Govern'd by them THE Christian Vow i. e. The Vow which our Holy Profession as such engages us in is of all others the most Weighty and Important the most Sacred and Inviolable 'T is that wherein all both Young and Old that name the Name of Christ are most nearly concern'd no less a matter than the Life or Death of their Immortal Souls depending on the faithful keeping or perfidious breaking of it Which consideration should methinks command a Serious Regard to what is laid down in order to its Explication from all that are not utterly Stupid and Sensless THAT I may be as Clear and Distinct as I can I 'll First Consider Sacramental Vows more generally and then Secondly Consider the Christian Vow as made in each of the Instituted Sacraments more particularly WHAT is most needful in order to the opening the general nature of Sacramental Vows is comprehended in the following Propositions 1. VOWS have ever been an Essentlal part of Covenant Transactions between God and Man It hath pleas'd the Great God whose Right to Command us is Absolute and Uncontroulable so far to Condescend as to Treat with Man in a Covenant Way That is to say He doth not meerly exert his Authority in Commanding but hath pitcht on a way of Mutual Agreement His Language to us might have been of this Nature Do this and that and whatever I think fit to enjoyn upon pain of my utmost Displeasure Do it or I 'll severely punish you Do it or I 'll come forth in an Hostile manner and Fight against you till I have quite Consum'd you Do what I require or expect the Severest Treatment that 's possible from an Angry God and so he might have exacted Duty of us upon a Terrible Penalty Threatned without any Promise annexed But he delights not in acting upon meer Prerogative and hath therefore tempered his Authority and Soveraignty with great Sweetness and Beneficence still treating with us upon Gracious Terms Do you says he to us thus and thus and such and such shall be my Carriage be you careful of your Duty and I 'll afford you my Favour and give you this and that and the other mark of it Behold says God to us I am ready to Bless you But as ever you expect I should do it I expect you should do what I command you This is a Covenant Form of Dealing in which there are suppos'd to be Blessings Promis'd on Gods part and Duties required on ours which Duties are pre-requir'd to the actual Enjoyment of the Blessings promis'd When a Covenant therefore is enter'd into between God and Man as there is a Stipulation on Gods part of the Blessings promis'd so is there suppos'd to be a Vow on Mans part of the Duty requir'd And this Vowing is an Essential part of every such Covenant 'T is the end of every Covenant to bring us nearer to God 't is in order to it that he makes us such Promises Now a Serious and Sincere Vow on our part is the Band. T is that properly that binds us to God and consequently engages him to make good his general Promises to us in Particular WE may observe therefore a Vow in all Covenants between God and Man Thus we find God entring into Covenant with Abraham Gen. 17. I will make my Covenant between me and thee says God to him verse 2. The particular Promises of this Covenant on Gods part you have verse 6 7 8. I will make thee exceeding fruitful and I will esta lish my Covenant between me and thee and thy Seed after thee in their Generations for an Everlasting Covenant to be a God unto thee and to thy Seed after thee And I will give unto thee and to thy Seed after thee the Land of Canaan This was it that God engag'd to Now there must further be something requir'd by God to be engag'd to on Abraham's part or else 't would be a meer Promise and not a Covenant What that was we see verse 10. This is my Covenant which ye shall keep between me and you and thy Seed after thee every Man-Child among you shall be Circumcised This God makes Abrams Duty as ever he expected he should make good his Word and fulfil his Promises This therefore Abraham in entring into Covenant with God Solemnly Vow'd and he kept his Vow for that very day he Circumcis'd all the Males in his Family and he left it as as his Command to his Posterity in all Successive Generations to Circumcise their Children when they were Eight Days old which they punctually obey'd So also afterwards when God enter'd into a National Covenant with the wholeBody of the Israelites as he did at Mount Sinai He First Lays before them their duty with reference to Morals Exod. 20. And as to Judicial and Ceremonial Matters Chap. 21 22. and part of the 23. And so gives them a full and particular account of what he expected from them And then he proceeds to tell them what he would do for them and makes them a great many Promises of Peculiar Kindness from verse 23 of Chap. 23 to the end He engages if they would be Obedient to guide them in their Way to drive out their Enemies before them to bring them safe into the Land promis'd to their Fathers and there Preserve and Bless them This being done the actual Covenanting follows Chap. 24. 7 8. Consisting of a Solemn Vow on the part of all the People and a confirming Rite on Moses's part as Gods Representative And he took says the Text the Book of the Covenant i. e. the Law forementioned the matter of of the Covenant they were entring into and read in the Audience of the People And they said All that the Lord hath said will we do and be Obedient Here we see all the People as one Man expresly Vowing Obedience to the whole Law And then it follows Moses took the Blood and Sprinkled it on the People and said Behold the Blood of the Covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning
on to keep thy Vow But however what I aim at is plain any Promise or Engagement of weight and moment by how much the more deliberate it is so much the more Binding and Obliging is it Deliberation being a guard against our being deceiv'd or impos'd on against our being surpriz'd or ensuar'd And a security that we are well satisfi'd in what we do That our grounds are firm and our way safe Now no Promise or Engagement that can be mention'd is more deliberate than is the Vow which those who frequent the Holy Communion are often Repeating None therefore can be more binding and obliging than that I add further 3. THAT no actions can have greater Solemnities attending them than those Vows have we often come under to be the Lords and to Live to him Altho ' there hath been very great variation discernable in the Solemn Rites that have attended Faederal Transactions according to the different Inclinations of several People and Nations yet have they all agreed in their design and tendency which is to encrease their awfulness and bind the parties concern'd the more effectually to the performance of what they engage to waving other instances that might be produc'd let 's a little consider the Solemnity that attends our Christian Covenanting In Baptism Parents give up their Children to God as his God by his Ministers who are his Representatives accepts them He orders them to pour Water on them in token of his readiness to pour on them his Grace and Favour The poor Infants are washt to betoken their need of Divine Grace to purge away their Defilements and this Water is also the Representative of Blood the Blood of Atonement Which Blood will be upon them in order to their Acceptance if when they come to years they live to him to whom they were Devoted but 't will be upon them to their confusion if they revolt and rebel lead dissolute carnal wicked and ungodly Lives In the Lords Supper the visible Memorials of a Crucifi'd Christ a Christ Crucify'd for Sin are set before all the Communicants and distributed amongst them There is a Beholding and a Receiving and a Feasting and an admission to the utmost Familiarity and nearest Communion which our embody'd Spirits are at present capable of withâ—… our Glorifi'd and Exalted Saviour And what can awe us if not the sight of the Blood of our Dearest Saviour which was shed to Expiate Sin But we not only see it but we drink it intimating our firm Resolution to Revenge it on our Sins which were the cause of its Effusion We swear over our Lords Body and Blood that we will be true to him as ever we hope for any Interest in his Death and Sufferings we engage to be subject to him we Vow with his Blood in our hands with his Blood in our mouths that we will be true to him to the death who shed his Blood for us and that we will be the death of those Sins and Lusts by indulging which we should Crucify him afresh Withal we do this not under a covert or in a corner but openly before Men and Angels we do it in the face of the Church which much adds to its Solemnity by reason that so many Spectators as are present at our Vows and Engagements so many Witnesses should we have of our horrid Perfidiousness should we falsify and break them The very Solemnity of these our Vows and Engagements adds to their awe and encreases their Sacredness and Force And then further 4. Direful Imprecations attend and accompany our Repeated Vows which much adds to their awfulness Direful Imprecations I say if we should not be faithful and true to our Engagements When we from time to time Solemnly Profess our selves to be Christs Disciples at his Holy Supper and promise to live in Obedience to the Laws he hath given us and the Pattern he hath set us in hope of the Blessings he hath purchas'd for us and is at his Table ready to make over to us we call for all the Curses of God upon our Heads if we don't take care to pay our Vows It was a Custom in old times which we find often mention'd and hinted at in Holy Writ To hew a Beast in pieces and divide the pieces into 2 parts and then walk between them the Language whereof was this That the Parties concern'd wisht they might have the like treatment if they were not Faithful and True So while we at the Communion are striking Covenant with God over the mangled and broken Body of our Dearest Lord we wish as 't were for the like treatment if we are not faithful in Service and true to his Honour and Interest The Natural Language of such a Rite according to the Jewish manner of Imprecating at the time of their making Compacts is this God do so to us and more also if we forget or perfidiously break our Vows When we take the Blood of our Lord into our Hands we do as 't were wish it may be upon our Heads if we live not to him who dy'd for us This is the natural language of Actions tho' it ben't express'd in words The chief Priests and Seribes that were the Murderers of our Saviour cry'd out His Blood be upon us when Pilate convinc'd of his Innocency would have Released him and all succeeding Ages have cry'd out against them for their horrid Impiety and Audaciousness But they and their Progeny have felt the fruit of that Curse they brought on themselves with a witness to this day And so will they also sooner or later do who from time to time joyn in a Sacred Action that hath such an imprecation attending it or imply'd in it to which by their wilful and allow'd Breaches of their Vows they openly expose themselves over and over Withal the Communicants at a Sacrament do all profess to believe the whole Gospel and to submit themselves to it Now the Threatnings of Christ are a part of his Gospel which therefore they choose to fall under if they don't obey his Commands if they lead Ungodly and Unchristian Lives they consign themselves over to Eternal Death and bind themselves to endure the Torments of Hell Fire What besotted Creatures then must they be who live in the wilful and allow'd Breach of many and often repeated Vows to be the Lords and to live like Devoted ones as securely as if all were well Whose case is the subject of the Chapter next ensuing From these four considerations taken conjunctly which so fully lay opon the Sacredness and Strength of our Christian Vows viz. Their Voluntariness Deliberateness Solemnity and Attending Imprecations I might I think warrantably draw this Conclusion That no Ties can bind those fast to God no Bonds can be strong enough for such Persons as can cvade the force of such Vows as these But this will more properly come to be consider'd in another place CHAP. X. Of the dreadful case which all those are in who heap
he that hath Peace with the Blessed God And who can be so likely to reach this Happiness as he that is rightly sensible of and that in the main lives up to those Vows of his that he is under 'T is true all Peace with God is the effect of Christ's Death the Merit of his Blood and the Fruit of his Purchase and whereever 't is bestow'd 't is his Gift who is the Prince of Peace But we may be well assur'd he 'll bestow it on none who carry on Hostility against his Father which is the case of all habitually wilful and allow'd Breakers of Sacramental Vows we may be satisfy'd he 'll deny it to none that are stedfast in his Covenant and who earnestly study and faithfully endeavour to answer the Demands of it which is the case of those I am speaking of On them he 'll freely bestow it to them he 'll take care to continue it and the Blessed Consequences of it so that nothing shall intervene considerably to interrupt it 2. THEY also take the most effectual course to maintain Peace of Conscience For what is Peace of Conscience but an inward quiet and composure arising from a well-grounded sense and hope that things are as they should be between God and us Whatever therefore hath any tendency to promote or maintain our Peace with God doth naturally tend to make and keep us at Peace with our selves by preventing or allaying those disquieting Fears that naturally arise from an apprehension of the Divine Displeasure That these Persons therefore take the best course to secure Peace within is a genuine Consequence of the foregoing Consideration There 's no better ground for Peace of Conscience in the World than they enjoy who devoutly renew their Vows to be the Lord's time after time at his Table and live correspondently to them Tho' they have a Body of Sin and Death sticking fast to them under which they groan and from which they never expect to be fully freed so long as they are surrounded with a Vail of Flesh and till Mortality comes to be swallow'd up of Life yet may they sensibly discern that things in the main are well with them by their Hearts approv'd Integrity It could not methinks but be a great comfort to Peter who had so shamefully deny'd his Master to find himself able to make so solemn an Appeal to him as that Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I Love thee So must it needs be a great quieting to serious Persons to find themselves able in His Most Sacred Presence who is the Searcher of Hearts notwithstanding their sense of their own Infirmities which nothing can make them lose to stand to it that they will be the Lord's and his alone and to resolve and vow that nothing shall ever be discover'd to them to be his Will how difficult soever it be but his Grace enabling them they will do it and then afterwards to find that notwithstanding their many Frailtys the scope of their Lives answers the Resolution of their Hearts their Vows in the main are kept and not faithlesly broken Peace may for some time be suspended but it can't long be a Stranger to such Persons And I think I need not intimate how happy this bespeaks them Further 3. SUCH Persons are out of the danger of many Temptations that others meet with and are fortify'd against those whereby they are most likely to be assaulted which is no small Happiness What a safeguard had Ioseph against a strong Temptation wherewith he was assaulted altho' 't was both insinuating because of its suitableness to his Carnal Inclination the means of privacy in it and prospect of advancement upon his Compliance with it and at the same time shaking because of the Disgrace which thro' his Mistresses Malice would attend his refusal what a safeguard I say had he by this one thought strongly imprest upon him How can I do this wickedness and sin against God So what a safeguard are frequently repeated Vows seriously made and strongly imprest against most Temptations Let such Persons be tempted to Sin and they have this soon occurs to them How can I run into this and break my Vows to my God and Saviour Whenever the Devil doth any thing to entice them to himself the sense of their solemn Engagements strongly imprest will put them upon lifting up their Hearts in a strain much like that of my Text Thy Vows are upon me O God This in many cases is such a Preservative that where the Devil finds the sense thereof strong he wont so much as assault But suppose him by some or other of his subtle Artifices to have insinuated himself and to have got any footing he is no sooner discover'd than resisted by those who retain a fixed sense of the Vows of God they are under and he can't long be resisted by any but he 'll be put to flight For that 's a standing Truth Resist the Devil and â—…e will flee from you If those then are happy that have a Preservative from the hurt of Temptation and who can question it they are very happy that have a riveted sense of the Sacredness ofâ—…eir Sacramental Vows and that set themselves to square their Lives by them For none have a better a more general a more effectual and safe Preservative than they 4. THEY have many excellent Promises upon record which they upon just grounds may apply to themselves and take comfort from and live upon I 'll mention two or three All the Paths of the Lord are Mercy and Truth unto such as keep his Covenant and his Testimonies The Mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him to such as keep his Covenant and to those that remember his Commandments to do them Who can express the Comfort which such Persons may derive from such Promises as these As also from all those that are made to the Upright and in general to the Doers of God's Commandments Come to the New Testament Promises and you 'll find few but what such Persons may justly apply to themselves All the Blessings of the Covenant of Grace are promis'd to them and they may safely depend upon them There 's one Promise of which so much notice is not taken as it deserves which might methinks dwell in the thoughts of such He that hath my Commmandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him Such an one hath Christs Commandments not only in his hand but in his heart and he keeps them i. e. Faithfully obeys them and thereby shews the sincerity of his Love to his dear Saviour both the Father and Son therefore shall love him and Christ will manifest himself to them i. e. He will open and unfold to such those Gospel Mysteries whereto others notwithstanding all their light