in their kind but the Knowledge of our Christian Religion as it serves to nobler and better Purposes so ought it to be prefer'd to any other The Knowledge of our Christian Religion as it serves to nobler Purposes so ought it to be prefer'd to any other and most study'd by every Christian And hence therefore does St. Paul when he comes at any time to speak of Divine Knowledge not only barely enjoyn the Attainment of it as of other Vertues but does moreover add Prayers and Supplications to God to endow 'em therewith and to increase 'em therein We do not cease to pray for you and to desire that ye might be filled with the Knowledge of his Will in all Wisdom and Spiritual Vnderstanding that ye might walk worthy of the Lord in all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the Knowledge of God Col. 1.9 10. And again I cease not says he making mention of you always in my Prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Glory may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of him Eph. 1.16 17. So that tho to be excellently well skill'd in any Art or Science whatsoever which terminates only in the Conveniencies of this Life be not only Lawful but Commendable yet it is a Profaneness fit to be Renounc'd by every Christian to prefer such to Divine Knowledge and to apply your Mind wholly to the attaining of such Skill to the Neglect of those Great and Important Truths the Knowledge of which is indispensably necessary to our Everlasting Happiness And therefore let your Profession and Calling be what it will you must make it your first Care and Study to know the Nature and Design of the Christian Religion The Necessary Points of Christian Knowledge how that it is a Body of the most Excellent Principles and Laws all of 'em tending wholly to render you Holy and Good Livers and then to make you to depend upon the Mediation of Christ with his Father for his Acceptance thereof to your Justification You must also next make it more your Study to understand throughly the Covenant of Grace than the Nature and Obligation of any Humane Covenants or Contracts whatsoever And since we must build our hopes upon the performance of particular Articles and as exactly as possible square our Lives according to each single Condition of the Covenant of Grace there can be nothing of more concernment to every Christian Lay as well as Clergy than throughly to understand both the Meaning and Importance of every Doctrine of Faith and the Nature and Extent of every Christian Duty And lastly Since a good End can never be obtain'd without the Knowledge and Use of due and proper means the Nature therefore and Use of Prayer and the Nature and End of Sacraments must be a most necessary part of Christian Knowledge So much must our Appetities after Knowledge in the most Excellent of Humane Arts and Science be Renounc'd in comparison of our Desires after a competent Measure of Divine Knowledge But Lastly above all we must Renounce that prevailing Appetite in such as are of most Depraved and Corrupt Minds viz. The setting up their own Imaginations and Fleshly Reasonings against those Spiritual Notions and those more Mysterious Articles of Faith which are delivered to us in the Scripture 3. When out of Pride Prejudice and Contradiction to all Sacred Truths we set up our own Carnal Imaginations and Fleshly Reasonings against those Spiritual Notions and those Mysterious Articles of our Faith which are deliver'd to us in Scripture In the more depraved Nature of some Men there is a great deal of Untowardness and Difficulty to submit to the Sacred Truths Revealed to us by Christ in the Gospel as to Matters of Faith or such Articles as are necessary to be believ'd One that is conceited of his own Wisdom strength of Parts or Improvement in Knowledge will not submit his Reason to entertain Notions which he cannot Comprehend and Penetrate The Carnal Mind which is Enmity against God Rom. 8.7 will disdain to have his Understanding baffl'd or puzzl'd with Sublime Mysteries of Faith he will quarrel at any thing too high for his Wit to reach or too Knotty for him to unloose How can these things be What Reason can there be for this I cannot see how this can be true This Point is not intelligible And perhaps he finds fault with the whole Body of the Scriptures either because some things are obscure to him or the Phrase is not queint and fine enough Thus the Carnal Mind treateth the Dictates of Faith and the Word of God But far be it from Christians thus to indulge their own Carnal Reasonings and Self-Conceits in opposition to what God has Reveal'd to us as necessary to be Believ'd by us For certainly the Infinite Wisdom both knows what is fittest to be taught and reveal'd to us and in what Manner and Method he had best to express himself Those that did thus proudly despise the Wisdom of God measuring it according to their own Talent of Wit and Understanding did at first and do to this Day most fatally miscarry for it is written 1 Cor. 1.19 I will destroy the Wisdom of the Wise and will bring to nothing the Vnderstanding of the Prudent But our Duty is to submit our Understandings to Almighty God to be Inlightn'd by his Infinite Wisdom Casting down Imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the Knowledge of God and bringing into Captivity every Thought to the Obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10.5 There is a great deal of Vertue and Grace in an Obedient Understanding and therefore to the Disciples who were so dispos'd To them it was given as our Saviour tells us Matth. 13.11 To understand the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven but to them who are not prepar'd with an humble Mind it is not given Nor is this an hard Imposition upon Mankind to oblige 'em to believe what is above our Reason to Comprehend It is sufficient that the Holy Scriptures which do deliver such Articles of Faith as necessary to be Believ'd are sufficiently witnessed to be Divine Revelations and that there is nothing contain'd in the Articles or Mysteries themselves which is contrary or contradictory to that Reason which God has given to Man But that there should be any thing in an Article of Faith which though it be above our Reason to Comprehend especially in this its State of weakness must yet be Believ'd will not seem hard if we consider that there are many Appearances even in Nature it self which no Man has been yet found who could give a tolerable account for and yet the truth of their being so and so cannot be call'd in question This Humour of opposing Reason to Revelation proceeds from mere Pride In short this Humour of opposing our own Fleshly Reasonings against those Divine Revelations which we cannot now
Articles of the Christian Faith will not avail us to our Justification and Salvation which brings me Lastly To shew you what it is to Believe ALL the Articles of our Christian Faith What to Believe All the Articles of the Christian Faith And 1. To Believe ALL these Articles does Import that we must Assent with a through perswasion of their undoubted Truth and of their Divine Authority to all and every one of those great Articles of Christian Doctrine contained in the Apostles Creed 1. To Believe them All does Import that we must Assent to all and every one of those great Articles of Christian Doctrine contained in the Apostles Creed This Collection or Summary of Christian Doctrine is called by St. Paul Rom. 6.17 That Form of Doctrine which was deliver'd to the Christians that is that Summary of Christian Doctrine to the Belief and Practice of which they were deliver'd up and solemnly Consecrated in their Baptism And the same is call'd 2 Tim. 1.13 The Form of sound words which was heard of the Apostle himself and we are commanded to hold it fast that is to take care not to depart from it in any part thereof And as we must not shrink from the Confession and Belief of any one of those Articles which have been handed down to us from the Apostles in that Summary or Form of sound words which makes up the Body of our Christian Faith so we must content our selves with the Belief of All those saving Truths and must not think there is any thing more to be Believ'd by our selves or others as necessary to Salvation But especially we must take care of possessing our Minds with a Perswasion of the Truth of such Articles as do tend to destroy what the true Genuine Doctrines of Christianity viz. All the Articles of our Christian Faith Such as tend to destroy a good Life and send us to other Mediators than Christ to interceed with the Father for its Acceptance no Articles of Christian Faith do Build as do all or most at leastwise of the New Articles impos'd upon the Belief of Christians in the Romish Church Some of those Articles in the Romish Creed do plainly take away the necessity of a Good Life as might be easily made appear were it proper here to inlarge on that Point And other Doctrines of that Church do as apparently take Men off from depending solely upon the Mediation of Christ with his Father that he would graciously accept and pass by the Imperfection of the good they do teaching 'em to apply themselves to the Blessed Virgin and other Saints as Mediators with God for ' em Nay and some of their Doctrines as that of Merits and of Works of Super-errogation do teach 'em proudly to overvalue their own Performances and to boast themselves in their Merit And therefore so far must we be from suffering our selves to be perswaded of the Truth of All these and the like Doctrines as Articles of our Christian Faith that we must utterly dissent from them all as Unjust and Unreasonable Impositions on the Belief of Christians In a word as we must strengthen our selves in the Belief of All those True and Genuine Articles of the Christian Faith so to Believe All these as necessary to Salvation is enough But to Believe more under the Character of Articles of a Christian's Faith especially if they be such Doctrines as do take off the fears of Sinning and send us to other Mediators betwixt God and Man besides the Man Christ Jesus this is indeed a Belief not only superfluous as being a Belief of more than All the necessary Articles of a Christian's Faith but is a very sinful and criminal and superstitious Perswasion 2. To Believe ALL the Articles of the Christian Faith is not only to Assent to All and every of those Articles in the Gross but to be fully perswaded of all and every of those single Truths contained in each of those Articles 2. To Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith is to be fully perswaded of all and of every of those single Truths contained in each of those Articles Every one of the Articles of our Christian Faith is full of a great deal of Meaning and many of them do contain Truths of various Kinds and Importance Thus for instance To believe that Jesus Christ was Crucify'd Dead and Buried does import this Comfortable as well as Fundamental Doctrine of Christianity That the Only Son of God suffered Death upon the Cross for our Redemption and that he made there by that one Oblation of himself once offered a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice Oblation and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World And accordingly it is said 1 Pet. 3.18 That Christ once suffered for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God And 21.24 it is said That he himself did bear our sins in his own body on the Tree But then this is not the whole that is meant in that Grand Article but also this other Doctrine That he suffered to Redeem us from all Iniquity that is he suffered on the Cross the punishment of our Sins that we seeing how odious a thing Sin is which could not be Aton'd for by a Sacrifice less valuable than the Blood of the Son of God might therefore abhor it and forsake it And this is also taught us in the very place now cited from St. Peter viz. 1 Ep. 2.24 He his own self bear our sins in his own Body upon the Tree that we being dead to Sin should live unto Righteousness And now a Person may become Guilty of Heresie by believing only one of those Truths contained in the Articles A Heretick may be such by Believing only of one of those Truths contained in the Article And accordingly there are two opposite Heresies which do at this day most grievously afflict the Church of Christ amongst us and they do divide these two great Doctrines contain'd in this one Article betwixt ' em And they are therefore Heresies because they do so divide 'em and do not each of 'em Believe both these important Doctrines The Antinomians do Believe indeed that Christ did satisfie the Divine Justice for our Sins but so as to leave no Conditions to be perform'd by them And the Socinians on the other side owning that he came to draw us off from Sin deny that he made any Satisfaction for us So that both do fundamentally Err in the Faith tho' they Believe the Article in the gross that Christ was Crucify'd Dead and Buried because neither of them Believe the whole Truth contain'd in that Article And therefore as you must Believe All the Articles so All those Divine and Necessary Truths which are contain'd in every Article of your Christian Faith according to the full Explication and Meaning thereof given us in the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds These Creeds do not contain more or different Articles of Faith than
the Apostles Creed does but in these Creeds many Articles of our Christian Faith are express'd in the full Sense and Importance of 'em in opposition to those Heresies which did and do still pervert or restrain the Meaning of those Articles And thus you also see how you are to Believe All the Articles of your Christian Faith that you are not only to Believe every one of 'em but all that Divine Truth which is contained in each And so as I have before laid before you how you are to Renounce the Devil the World and the Flesh so now what it is to Believe all the Articles of your Christian Faith And so it only remains and then I shall have fully Explain'd to you all the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace that I shew you next what it is to obey God's Holy Will and Commandments and to walk in the same all the days of our Life THE XXIII Lecture Thirdly That I should Obey God's Holy Will and Commandments and Walk in the same all the Days of my Life I Hope I have sufficiently explained unto you the Two first Conditions bound upon you in your Baptismal Covenant as indispensibly necessary to your obtaining the Benefits of it which Conditions are First That you should Renounce the Devil c. Secondly That you should Believe c. And now I come to the Third which is That you should Obey c. And that I may fully and to the purpose explain this to you I will First Lay before you what it is to Obey God's Holy Will and Commandments or how far you must be obedient to the Holy Will and Commandments of God as ever you will hope to obtain Salvation or to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven Secondly I will shew you what it is to Walk in the same all the Days of your Life or how long you must persevere in such Obedience which must be to the end of your Lives And Thirdly I will clear the Doctrine of Evangelical Obedience as so stated from those Doubts that may be raised against it And First Because nothing can be more necessary for you to be Instructed in than the Measures of that Obedience now under the Gospel or Covenant of Grace upon the performance of less than which you cannot expect to be made Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven I will with what clearness I can shew you How far we must be Obedient to God's Holy Will and Commandments 1. What it is to obey God's Holy Will and Commandments as ever we 'll hope to obtain Salvation or to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven And that Evangelical or Gospel-Obedience which now under the Covenant of Grace is the indispensible Condition of Man's Salvation to give it you according as it is most exactly stated by the Learned Author of The Measures of Christian Obedience The Nature and Measures of Christian Obedience for it is impossible I do think for any one to do it more exactly therefore I shall give you an Abstract of that whole Work Is a sincere and entire Obedience to all the Laws of the Gospel Sincere it must be by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisie or a false and feigned Pretence of obeying Him when in reality we only serve our own Selves or our own Lusts and Interests Entire it must be by being the Obedience of the whole Man to the whole Will of God and that at all times with this abatement of Rigour That all our unwilling and involuntary Failings which through Ignorance and Frailty we commit shall upon our Prayers to God and Charity to our Neighbour be forgiven us and even our wilful Transgressions when we repent and forsake 'em through the Mediation of Christ and the Grace of the Gospel shall not be imputed to our Condemnation Such is the Obedience which every one of you must carefully pay to the Holy Will and Commandments of God as ever you hope to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven But for your better understanding the Nature and Extent of your Christian Obedience I will a little farther unfold each Part of this Description of it And I. Our Obedience to all the Laws of the Gospel must be sincere by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisie or a false and feigned Pretence of obeying Him when in reality we only serve our own selves 1st Our Obedience must be sincere by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisie or a false and feigned Pretence of obeying Him when in truth we serve our own selves This is a certain Truth That our Gracious God for the most part hath made such Things the Matter of His Laws and of our Duty as really make for our own Interest Reputation or Profit to perform for so it really is to be Temperate and Chaste and Contented and Humble to be Vpright and Charitable and Peaceable c. But then our Obedience is sincere and done as unto God when we observe His Laws for His sake and because He commands it for otherwise we do not observe God's Will but our own His Commands had no share in what we did because it had been done although He had said nothing And thus sincere must our Obedience be unto God as ever we expect that God should Judge us at the last Day to have obeyed Him I say it must be done as unto God and sincerely from our Hearts to please Him and not only our selves And this is plainly expressed in the very Words of the Gospel for it accepts not an heartless Service nor accounts it self obeyed by what was never intended for it The Lord thy God requires of thee to serve him with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul Matth. 22.36 37. And therefore St. Paul does pray that the Philippians may be sincere in their Profession being filled with the Fruits of Righteousness or Good Works to the Praise and Glory of God not themselves Phil. 1.10 11. God indeed has not forbidden us all intending and designing of our own Advantage in the performance of his Commandments God does not forbid us all intending our Advantage in the performance of his Commandments When He requires us to obey Him He doth not forbid us all Love of our Selves and Regard to our own Self-interests For why He does propose to us in Scripture the greatest Rewards possible as Motives to us to persuade us to obey And the Blessed Saints in the Scripture so Eminent for their Service to God are said to have had an eye at the Recompense of Reward But then our Intention of our own Advantage in God's Service is forbidden and renders our obedient Performances corrupt and insincere when together with our Intention of serving God we either join first another Intention of serving Sin Or secondly when we design some temporal Ends as much or more than we design God's Service First I
f. brak r. break A CATECHISM That is to say An Instruction to be learned of every Person before he be brought to be confirmed by the Bishop Quest WHat is your Name Answ N. or M. Quest Who gave you this Name Answ My Godfathers and Godmothers in my Baptism wherein I was made a Member of Christ the Child of God and an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven Quest What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you Answ They did promise and vow three things in my Name First That I should renounce the Devil and all his works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked world and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh Secondly That I should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And Thirdly That I should keep God's holy will and commandments and walk in the same all the days of my Life Quest Dost thou not think that thou art bound to believe and do as they have promised for thee Answ Yes verily and by God's help so I will And I heartily thank our Heavenly Father that he hath called me to this state of Salvation through Iesus Christ our Saviour And I pray unto God to give me his Grace that I may continue in the same unto my lives end THE First Lecture A Catechism that is to say an Instruction to be Learned of every Person before he be brought to be Confirmed by the Bishop THIS is the Title of your Catechism which you are now learning and before I proceed to discourse on the Catechism it self I thought it proper from these Words to define what a Catechism means and to let you know the Benefit and Use of Catechizing As for the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to Catechize The Meaning of the Word Catechize it is often met with in the Holy Scriptures particularly Luk. 1.4 where it is taken in the self-same sense we now use it wherein it does import a more General Instruction in those Christian Truths which are afterwards to be more particularly and distinctly learnt by us for so St. Luke Dedicating his Gospel to Theophilus tells him Chap. 1. ver 3 4. Sensus loci q. d. ut ea quae olim Catechumenus viva voce didicisti nunc plenius accertius cognoscas Eras in Loc. That it seemed good to him having had perfect knowledge of all those things from the very first to write them in order to him that he might know the certainty or have a more full and particular Understanding of those things wherein he had been before Catechized for so it is in the very Letter of the Greek that is taught only in General to prepare him for Baptism Hesychius a Learned Grammarian does give the meaning of this word Catechize by another which signifies to Build and this does intimate to us the Matter of which a Catechism must consist viz. Of the main and fundamental Points of Religion such as are fittest to build up a firm and unshaken Christian withal Lastly It is deriv'd from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies an inculcating and sounding often in the Ear of the Learner the Principles to be imbibed and fixed in his Mind and Memory So the Heathens and so the Christians used the Word And this may suffice for the Importance of the Word which I thought might not be improper to Note because it gives so much Light into the Meaning of the Thing and the Nature of a Catechism which I shall therefore Define as follows taking the Title now read with some Explanatory Additions for the Text upon which I shall Comment A Catechism is a general Instruction in the Fundamental Principles of the Christian Religion The Definition of a Catechism necessary to be Learnt of every Person in order to his Confirmation or the solemn Renewing of his Baptismal Vow and Covenant with God and the receiving Benefit by the Bishop's Blessing Prayers and Laying on of Hands In which Definition you are told First As to the Matter of which a Catechism is to consist It is a General Instruction in the Fundamental Principles of the Christian Religion Secondly As to the Persons to be so Instructed It is necessary to be Learnt of every Person Thirdly As to the End of a Catechism It is necessary to be Learnt of every Person in order to his Confirmation or the solemn Renewing of his Baptismal Covenant and Vow before the Bishop and the receiving Benefit by the Bishop's Blessing Prayers and Laying on of Hands Of all which Particulars I shall discourse to you in their Order And First As to the Matter of which a Catechism is to consist It is a General Instruction in the Fundamental Principles of the Christian Religion â—tian Reâ— What Christian Religion is out of Christian Principles to live an Holy Good Life and together therewith to depend upon the Mediation of Christ with the Father for us that our imperfect Righteousness may be graciously accepted to our Justification I. Moral Life an â—ial part â—hristiaâ— That Morality or a good Life is a necessary and essential Part of Christianity is expresly affirm'd by St. James 1.27 where he tells us That Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father or such as God the Father will accept is this to visit the Fatherless and Widows in their afflictions and to keep one self unspotted from the world Many seem to place it in little less than Morality but it is the Life and Soul of all Religion as in respect of God to Love Honour and to Obey him to Trust in him and to Resign one self to him to Worship him and to be Devoutly given So in respect of our Neighbour to be Just and Charitable and particularly and especially to Relieve those that are in Distress And Lastly as to our selves to govern our Affections to subdue our Passions to mortify our Lusts and to moderate our Desires In a word To keep the Heart and Life clean from the Defilements of Sin In this I say consists One main Part of Religion in abstaining from all Sin and Wickedness and in a constant and steddy Performance of all the Parts of Vertue and Holiness This I am sure is a main Part of the Christian Religion the Religion that our Saviour came to Plant amongst Men for this St. Paul assures us Tit. 2.11 12 13 14. The Grace of God that bringeth Salvation to all men hath appeared teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed Hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works He appeared teaching us to deny all Ungodliness and he gave himself for us to redeem us from all Iniquity Hitherto indeed tended all he said all he did and all he suffer'd This was the Design of his
Parents your Minister and your Godfathers who as your Proxies did at the same time they gave you a Christian Name undertake for you that you should live a Christian Life Holy and Unblamable as becomes those who bear so Glorious a Title You must therefore consider what your Name is and the Importance of it that it is Christian and you must take care that you Live not so as to bring a Scandal upon that Name in any Sin and Wickedness but so as becomes those who profess Christianity and wear the Name of Christians In Holiness and Righteousness all the Days of your Lives And as he who hath called you is Holy so be ye Holy in all manner of Conversation The Force there is in a Christian name to make a Man lead a Christian life as under that Name having Listed himself And there is indeed the greatest Force in our very Christian Names to render us Conformable to the Christian Doctrine and whereby we may be perswaded to live Christian-like otherwise the Apostle would not have laid so much stress upon our very Name and Profession of Christians as he does to perswade us from that very Reason to live Holy and Christian Lives Let every one that nameth the Name of Christ or upon whom the Name of Christ is called depart from Iniquity 2 Tim. 2.19 For why It is ever expected that those that profess to be guided by the perfectest Doctrines should answerably live the most perfect Lives The Heathens did therefore expect I. A Disciple of a most Holy and excellent Religion that their Philosophers who gave the highest Principles and Rules of Morality should themselves exceed all others in a vertuous and orderly Course of Life and when they found any of their Philosophers a Tripping and living at the rate of other Men of looser Principles how severely therefore would they Reflect upon them for it Now we Christians profess our selves the Disciples of a Philosophy that does infinitely exceed all others in the Powerfulness of its Principles and Doctrines and in the Holiness and Strictness of its Commands We have given up our Names II. A Servant of a most Holy and Just God and Listed our selves to be the Souldiers and Servants not of a Lewd Jupiter a Wanton Venus a Fiery Mars a Revengeful Juno a Drunken Bacchus and a Thievish Mercury Such were the Heathen Gods and no wonder then that they who did Worship them should also Imitate them But we have given up our Names and Listed our selves the Servants of A God that hath no pleasure in Wickedness neither shall any Evil dwell with him in whose sight the Foolish shall not stand and who hateth all the workers of Iniquity who will destroy all men that speak leasing that are crafty to Cheat and Deceive and will abhor the blood-thirsty and deceitful man Psal 5.4 5 6. Nay Who will rain upon the Wicked Snares Fire and Brimstone and an horrible Tempest this shall be the portion of their Cup for the Righteous Lord loveth Righteousness his Countenance doth behold the Vpright Psal 11.6 7. III. To fight against the World the Flesh and the Devil Such is the God to whom we have given up our Names to serve And we have Listed our selves in our Baptism under our several Christian Names to fight under his Banner against the World the Flesh and the Devil so as not to be tempted or drawn off to commit any Injustice or Unmercifulness any Intemperance or Filthiness any Act of Ungodliness or Profaneness In a word any Sin against him IV. As under that Name he professes to Believe such Articles as are the most powerful Motives to deny all Vngodlyness We have Engaged our selves under our several Names in the strongest Covenants in hopes of the most glorious Rewards and out of fear of the sorest Punishments to be Faithful in our Obedience to him We have openly Profest under our respective Christian Names firmly to Believe such a Set of Articles those of our Christian Faith as are every one of them as shall hereafter be made appear the most powerful Motives in the World to make us Deny all Vngodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and Godly in this present evil World And under the same Christian Names we have all of us profest V. To Obey the most Righteous Laws To be Governed by such Laws and Commands of Vertue and Goodness of Piety towards God of Righteousness to our Neighbours and which lay down such incomparable Rules concerning the Government of our selves as the like are not to be found in any other Philosophy And Lastly Lastly As having under that Name received Promises of most powerful Asistances to do all this We profess to have such Assistances derived to us from God by Prayer and Sacraments those Means of his own Appointment to convey down his Aid and Assistance to us to Enable us to do these Things as will make it not extreamly difficult to us to live very excellent and good Lives Thus have we Christians under our several Christian Names as under Hand and Seal profest our selves the Disciples of a Religion that does infinitely exceed all others in the Powerfulness of its Principles and Doctrines and the Holiness and Strictness of its Precepts and Rules Of a Religion that can work if its Dictates be follow'd the greatest Miracles in the changing Men's Natures and Tempers from worse to better that can turn a ravenous Wolf into a harmless Lamb a furious Lion into a tender Kid that is the most savage and violent Dispositions of Cruelty and Pride into perfect Charity and Meekness And now if we Christians should be found as Debauch'd and Evil Livers as Unconverted Heathens as Lewd as Turks as Griping as Jews as Impious and Profane as Atheists how severely and that deservedly will the rest of the Infidel World Upbraid us What Dishonour shall we thereby do to the true God and our most Holy Religion Which brings me to the Second Thing propos'd which was to Remind you that the Bad Lives of those who bear the Name of Christians do an infinite Prejudice and Dis-honour to Christianity The bad lives of Nominal Christians do an infinite Prejudice Dishonour to to Christianity And alas What bitter Reproaches have the Unchristian Lives of Christian Professors put into the Mouths of our Enemies making them to say that if we Christians did but Believe our selves those Promises in Scripture of such mighty Rewards to Holy Honest and Good Living we should sure our selves live better Lives And when any of our Christians would perswade them to forsake their own Superstition and Idolatry and to Embrace our most Holy Religion our Unanswerable Lives have provok'd them to return smartly enough upon us Would you have us to Believe the Truth of your Religion which you do not seem to Believe your selves It hinders the Conversion of Infidels And alas This is the main Thing the
the Indecency of Living unsuitable to the Christian Name and Profession Nay Fourthly Look upon it ever as a most monstrous piece of Wickedness for Christian Men to live Antichristian Heathenish Lives but on the contrary ever look upon your selves as you are Christians bound even in Decency to Abstain from all Appearances of Evil 1 Thess 5.22 What shall you that have given up your Names to Christ and are in Covenant with God fight the Devil's Battels Know you not that your Bodies are the Members of Christ and shall you take the Members of Christ and make them the Members of an Harlot God forbid 1 Cor. 6.15 Shall you that are Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven walk in Darkness Have you Renounced the Devil the World and the Flesh and you for all that yield your selves Slaves to the Devil the World and the Flesh You Believe the Gospel and all the Articles of your Christian Faith and shall any of you live as those that neither know nor fear God nor dread the Devil You have vowed Obedience to God and shall you trample under Foot all Laws Divine and Humane You have been dedicated to God and have given up your Names to him in your Baptism and shall you live as if you had been Listed in Satan's Service Nothing so contrary so contradictory as these things V. That to quite other Purposes we gave up our Names â—o be Chriâ—tians Alas Consider Fifthly That you have given up your Names unto Christ for other Reasons than that you should fight under the Devil's Banner and do the Works of the Flesh Namely That you might ever live to the Honour of God You have been call'd forth out of the World not that you should add by your own to the Iniquities of the Times but to nobler Purposes that you might re-establish the World now tottering and ready to sink under the weight of Wickedness that you might re-establish it I say by the Practice of all Christian Graces and Vertues And for that Reason it is you must consider that you Christians are called the Salt of the Earth Matth. 5.13 the Light of the World ver 14. A Candle put upon a Candlestick that it might give Light to all that are in the House ver 15. And therefore Let your Light so shine before Men that others may see your good Works and Glorify your Father which is in Heaven is the Inference the Command of Christ the great Captain of our Salvation ver 16. And moreover Sixthly Every Christian has commonly that in his particular Name VI. Most Chriâ—tian Names â—fford some â—xamples of Vertue which â—hould prompt Christians to an Imitation of those who were Eminent under those Names whereby he may be excited to some noble strain of Vertue It seldom happens that any one has a Name given him of which there has not been some One before him renown'd in History either in the Scripture or elsewhere for some noble Exploit of Vertue or other And now my young Disciple search the Scripture and other Histories who or what He or She was and wherein thy Name-sake did Excel in any Goodness and propose such a One for thy particular Example to whose Eminency in the like Vertue do thou all thou canst to arrive Do thou John bethink thy self often of that great Contempt of the World that One of thy Name viz. John the Baptist did shew and of that burning Love to God and Men which the other viz. the Apostle of that Name did express and let the One excite thee likewise to the like Contempt of the World and the other to the like Love of God and Men. A Peter should do well to call to Mind the ready Confession of Christ that the Apostle of that Name did make and the speediness and sorrowfulness of his Repentance after he had Sinn'd and let the Thoughts of him make thee ready to give Testimony to the Truth and Faith of Christ and put thee upon a speedy Repentance after every fall and backsliding into Sin Let every Anne call to Mind that Widow of her Name mentioned Luk 2.37 Who though a Widow of fourscore Years and four departed not from the Temple but served God with Fasting and Prayers night and day And let the Example of this devout and happy Woman of thy Name call thee Anne to the first beginning of Prayers Sacraments and Sermons Let every Mary bethink her-self of those Mary's Famous in the Gospel the One for her chast Virginity the Other for sitting so Attentive at JESUS's Feet to whom the Lord gave this honourable Testimony that she had Chose the better part and prefer'd her before her Sister Martha who disturb'd her-self too much with worldly Business Luk. 10.40 41. and from her Example learn not to entangle thy self too much with the Cares of this Life but chiefly to take care of Heavenly things and to apply thy self to Hearing and Devotion Lastly Let me give it in Charge to you that are Parents And therefore Parents are Advis'd to choose for their Children the Names of Persons Eminent for Vertue not Infamous for Vice not to give to your Children any other Names but what are of Note for their eminent and good Examples that they may have always before their Eyes whom they may Imitate in their Vertue Give them such Names as if not Signalized in Scripture are at least in other Histories for some Good they have done Or if you give them the Names of any of your Ancestors let it be of those whose Vertues have adorn'd not whose Vices have disgrace'd the Age they liv'd in Or of such who have left behind them a good Name to be Imitated nothing Ill to be Abominated by their Posterity for those only are worthy to have their Memory continued in the Names of their Posterity but these are fit to be Eternally forgot And thus my Christian Disciples having shew'd you the great the very great Obligation lying upon you even from your Christian Names to square your Lives according to the Christian Rules those Rules that you have taught you and shall hereafter with God's Assistance be explain'd to you in the Exposition I shall give you of your Catechism And from several Considerations having therefore urg'd you to live with all the Care you can according to that most holy Religion to which in your Baptism you have given up your Names and under your several Names have Listed your selves to maintain and cleave unto What then remains my Christian Disciples but that you apply your selves with the greatest Diligence in order to your living good Lives to understand throughly that Religion to which you have given up your Names There shall be nothing wanting I do assure you on my part for I design by God's assistance to Instruct you in all the Articles of the Covenant of Grace and which are each of them contain'd in your Church Catechism It lies on your parts to be teachable Disciples constantly to
repair here to be Catechized and Instructed by me to have attentive Ears open Hearts and faithful Memories And Oh! That I might always find you such What Satisfaction would then accrue to my self What Profit to you And how great and eternal Rewards to us both And that it may thus succeed with all of us Pray let it be our constant and fervent Desires to God thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen THE Fourth Lecture Quest Who gave you that Name Answ My Godfathers and Godmothers in my Baptism wherein I was made a Member of Christ a Child of God and an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven Quest What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you Answ They did promise and vow three things in my Name First That I should Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanities of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh Secondly That I should Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And Thirdly That I should keep God's holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my Life Quest Dost thou not think that thou art bound to believe and to do as they have promised for thee Answ Yes verily and by God's help so I will And I heartily thank our Heavenly Father that he hath called me to this State of Salvation through Iesus Christ our Saviour And I pray unto God to give me his Grace that I may continue in the same unto my Lives end AS the Compilers of the Catechism did very wisely begin with a Question and Answer about your Christian Name to the End that at the mention thereof you might take occasion to consider the great Obligation which lies upon you to live according to that most Holy Religion which under that Name you have received so in Commenting upon that Question and Answer about your Christian Name I have given you my self some preparatory Admonitions accordingly to make that good Use of those Instructions shall be given you from your Catechism as to live suitably to them And being thus well prepar'd I hope to receive Benefit from what shall hereafter be deliver'd what remains but that I proceed to Instruct you in all the Material Parts of the Christian Religion to the Belief and Practice of which you have given up your Names This by the Assistance of God I shall endeavour to do and I beg your Prayers to obtain his Assistance and in the same Method your Catechism teaches you Our Catechism gives an entire Instruction in the Covenant of Grace both generally and particularly and I am sure I cannot choose a better to do it in since whatsoever is necessary to be Believ'd and Practis'd in order to Salvation you have therein taught you both generally and particularly As to a more General Institution you have the summ and substance of the Christian Religion and whatsoever is necessary to Salvation taught you that way in those Three Questions and Answers which I have now read to you The summ and substance of Christian Religion I. Generally in the 3 First Questions and Answers and whatsoever is necessary to Salvation is certainly contain'd within the Covenant of Grace for undoubtedly there can be nothing more of absolute Necessity to Salvation than what God himself has been pleas'd to Promise and Ensure unto us and we our selves have Engag'd to perform And now in these Three Questions and Answers now read to you First You have whatsoever pertains to the Nature of the Covenant of Grace expresly deliver'd I will instance to you the particulars which pertain to the Nature of it and will point to the Words wherein they are taught And in the first place you are Instructed what are the Terms and Conditions whereof it consists both on God's Part and on Ours in these Words Wherein I was made a Member of Christ a Child of God and an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven which are the Mercies and Favours made over to us on God's Part of the Covenant and in these First That I should Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanities of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh Secondly That I should Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And Thirdly That I should keep God's Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my Life which are the Conditions to be perform'd on our Part of the Covenant Secondly You have here taught you the Gracious Importance of this Covenant we are put thereby into A State of Salvation Thirdly You have an Account of the Original of it and by whose Mediation you obtain'd so Beneficial and Gracious a Covenant taught you in these Words Through Jesus Christ our Saviour It was through the Mediation of Jesus Christ that we obtain'd the Benefit of so Gracious a Covenant Fourthly You are Instructed by whom and how you have been call'd into this State of Salvation by Means of the Covenant of Grace It was your Heavenly Father who hath call'd you to this State of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour And Lastly You are Admonisht of the very great reason you have to thank God and our Saviour Jesus Christ for so exceeding great a Mercy as his Calling you into it And I thank God our Heavenly Father that he hath call'd me to this State of Salvation thro' Jesus Christ our Saviour Thus far you are Instructed concerning what pertains to the Nature of the Covenant II. You have also declar'd unto you by what Sacrament or Solemnity you first enter'd into it It was in your Baptism wherein you was made a Member of Christ c. III. You have then those vast Obligations lying upon you Faithfully and Conscientiously to discharge your part of the Covenant laid plainly before you This you own in your Answer to this Question Dost thou not think that thou art bound to Believe and to Do as they have promis'd for thee To which you are taught to Answer Yes verily so I will IV. You have farther yet the Means whereby you shall be enabled to perform your Part of the Covenant The First is the Grace Help and Assistance of God And by God's Help so I will The Second Means both to obtain the Divine Assistance and to enable you thereby to discharge your Covenant is Prayer unto God And I Pray unto God to give me his Grace that I may continue in the same unto my Lives end And Lastly You have also Intimated herein Two material Circumstances relating to the making of this Covenant betwixt God and You viz. 1. The time of Infancy wherein you enter'd into it imply'd in these Words Wherein I was made 2. The Persons by whom as Proxies you were Initiated therein My Godfathers and Godmothers did promise and vow three Things in my Name I will endeavour to Explain all these Points unto you in this First and General Part according as they are here taught you
Redemption of his Soul is precious Psal 49.7 And what now shall be done to rescue Mankind out of this miserable State Why Man being himself uncapable to make it by less than suffering an everlasting Punishment when unhappy Man was in this desperate and forlorn Condition past all hopes of Remedy or Recovery then did God's unspeakable Goodness choose to appear for to the wonder of Men and Angels he does himself find out this way to raise us out of the Abyss of Misery into a State of Happiness again that he So loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting Life Joh. 3.16 So infinitely great I say were the Mercies of God to us The Son of God undertook and so admirable was his Wisdom in the Expression of 'em that he himself contriv'd when no one else could this Expedient for our Deliverance out of this desperate and forlorn State First I. To satisfy for the Breach of the First Because his Justice must be satisfy'd for the Breach of his Covenant and yet on the other side he would not have us Eternally punish'd he therefore gave his own Son to Dye in our stead and by the infinite Merit of his Sufferings to make Satisfaction to infinite Justice which we could not so 2 Cor. 5.21 He made him to be Sin or a Sin-offering for us who knew no Sin II. To Cancel it and in its stead to make a Covenant of Grace consisting of conditions performable in our fallen State that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him And then Secondly Because it was impossible to be Sav'd by the First Covenant which required Unsinning Obedience which we in our fallen State could not perform he gave him therefore to Cancel the First Covenant and by his Blood-shedding to Purchase for us a Second whose Terms and Conditions being more possible and easy we might be capable of obtaining Salvation under it Hence is he styl'd The Mediatour of a better Covenant Heb. 8.6 And his Blood call'd The Blood of the New Covenant or the Blood by which the New Covenant was purchas'd and which was shed for many for the Remission of Sins Matth. 26.28 And the Terms and Conditions of this Second Covenant Wherein Repentance Faith and a sincere Obedience is accepted instead of a perfect exact and unsinning Obedience being no more a perfect exact and unsinning Obedience Repentance is henceforward to be admitted as a Means of Reconciliation and a sincere Obedience to the best of our Power will be accepted and Faith in God and in Jesus Christ accompany'd with Living like those who Believe the Gospel shall be henceforward imputed to our Justification so that we shall have our Sins pardon'd and be receiv'd to Happiness This in short was the Tenour both of the First Covenant made with Adam and the Second procur'd for us by the Mediation of Jesus Christ Not to speak here of the different Measures and Degrees of its Promulgation nor of that Legal Covenant whereof Moses was the Mediatour and was made only with the People of Israel and was annex'd as an Appendix and Codicil to this Covenant of Grace for Reasons too many and too large now to be consider'd For tho' to shew how that the whole Promulgation of this gracious Covenant was not made all at once but that it seem'd good to the Divine Wisdom that so stupendious and grand a Scene of Mercy should not be open'd but by degrees tho' to shew this I say and the several Reasons of adding this Legal Covenant to the Covenant of Grace may be useful Points of Divinity to be explain'd in their due time yet I look upon 'em as none of the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ but rather part of that Strong Meat spoke of Heb. 5.14 which belongeth to them who are of full Age and have been already competently well instructed and and so to be no proper Matter of Catechetical Doctrine To proceed therefore and in a word we may consider the Second Covenant not as such indeed which is made betwixt a Master and his Servant wherein the Master engages to allow Meat Drink and Wages on Condition the Servant will perform unto him such and such Services which are just and reasonable and the Servant is capable to perform which expresses more the Nature of the Covenant of Works Do this and Live But rather for this comes nearer to the Nature of the Covenant of Grace between God and us which is full of advantageous and profitable Considerations on our side we may rather compare it It resembles Articles of Accomodation made thro' the Intercession of a Prince's Eldest Son betwixt him and his Rebellious Subjects I say to an Accord made betwixt a Gracious Prince and his Rebellious Subjects as suppose some City or State wherein the Prince is graciously pleas'd through the Intercession of some great Favourite to grant unto those his Subjects not only Pardon of their former Crimes but moreover certain great Priviledges and Freedoms Protection and several particular Favours Lands and Possessions and the like on Condition they will thence-forward Renounce and Forsake all his Enemies and place no farther Trust nor Confidence in 'em and will not Disobey him for the future in any of his just and reasonable Commands but pay him a true and faithful Obedience to all his Laws And much of the same Nature I say is the Covenant of Grace made betwixt God and all Christians thro' the Mediation of his only Son only with this difference That on God's part the Benefits and Advantages are of most infinite Value which are made over to us his Rebellious and Disobedient Subjects and this upon the most reasonable just and easy Conditions considering the Assistance he affords us by the Vertue of the same Covenant to perform ' em For Almighty God in the first place vouchsafes us in this Covenant to be made Members of Christ Children of God and Inheritours of the Kingdom of Heaven which are Mercies and Priviledges of invaluable Benefit and Advantage to us And we on the other side Engage and Promise but to Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanities of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh to Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith to Obey God's holy Will and Commandments and to walk in the same all the days of our Life which I say are most reasonable just and easy Conditions considering the Assistance he will afford us to enable us to perform ' em This will very clearly appear by that time I have Explain'd to you distinctly and severally the Terms and Articles of this Covenant both the Advantages made over to us on God's part and the Conditions to be perform'd on ours as they are taught you in the Words now read to you And it is a Subject indeed that does extreamly concern you
Jesus Acts 19.5 that is into the Belief that Jesus is the Christ or Mediatour between God and Man for this is the great Fundamental Doctrine of Christianity as the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 3.11 assuring us that Other Foundation can no Man lay than that Jesus is the Christ And he that denyeth that Jesus is the Christ is the great Liar and an Anti-Christ 1 Joh. 2.22 But whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is Born of God 1 Joh. 5.1 that is is Adopted into the Christian Church and Family â—II â—njoy the â—ledges 〈◊〉 Gospel Fifthly And as Christians are a Society of Persons call'd out of the World to Repentance Faith and Gospel-Obedience so to the Enjoyment of those Inestimable Priviledges of the Gospel viz. 1. Most Reasonable and Excellent Laws given by a most Great and Gracious Governour to Conduct 'em to Heaven Laws writ in their Minds and in their Hearts Heb. 8.10 that is Laws which are for the most part the very Dictates of natural Reason 2. They are such as are Priviledg'd with having great Measures of Divine Grace and Assistance to enable 'em to Obey those Laws for whereas the Law was given by Moses Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ Joh. 1.17 and is the Priviledge of the Church of Christ under the Gospel 3. They are such who have Assurance of Pardon of Sins upon their Repentance for the Transgression of those Laws for with Respect to those of the Christian Church God is pleas'd to say Heb. 8.12 I will be Merciful to their Vnrighteousness and their Sins and Iniquities will I remember no more And lastly As to the Eternal Life and Happiness Christ does assure us Joh. 17.2 that The Father has given him Power over all Flesh that he should give Eternal Life to as many as are given him or are given him out of the world ver 6. that is that he has a Power of conferring the Rewards in Heaven to as many as come within the Pale of the Church if they do withal live in Obedience to its Laws and Constitutions Thus is the Church of Christ a Society of Men call'd forth of the World as to a most Holy Profession and Calling so to the Enjoyment of most singular Priviledges Church â—h who 〈◊〉 End of â—ncorpoâ—â—nto one 〈◊〉 and of â—g God 〈◊〉 their Sixthly And they are such Who to the End of being Incorporated into One Society and of having God to be their God and they themselves his People have Enter'd into Covenant with him It is the Royal Charter granted by the King to the Members of a Corporation or City whereby they have certain Priviledges granted them from the King and wherein they are Tied to discharge certain Duties to him and to One another that makes 'em of a confus'd Multitude to become a Corporation or regulated Society And those who stand out and will not accept of those Priviledges nor oblige themselves to their several Duties shall not be reputed of that Corporation nor receive any Advantages from it And so it is here with that Society which is call'd the Church of Christ It is the Covenant of Grace granted us by the King of Heaven wherein we have the most inestimable Priviledges those contain'd in the Gospel graciously Ensur'd unto us and most reasonable Duties both to God and Man required of us that do embody and join us into one Spiritual Society the Church and those who will not Enter into such a Covenant with God are Aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and Strangers from the Covenantts of Promise having no hope and without God in the world Eph. 2.12 But those who have join'd themselves in Covenant with Him are No more Strangers and Forreigners but Fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God ver 19. And as by being United in one Covenant Christians are Incorporated into one Society so by the same Means it comes to pass also that they have God to be their God peculiarly and they become his People Thus Heb. 8.10 This is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days that is in the time of the Gospel I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a People It is the Nature of all Covenants to Unite the Parties Covenanting together and to give to each Party an Interest in the other I entred into Covenant with thee and thou becamest mine Ezek. 16.8 So that by having Enter'd into Covenant with God we are Entitled to his particular Protection and Care over us and we give to him thereby a new and stronger Claim to our Obedience Seventhly I. In Baptism And Christians are thus Enter'd into Covenant with God and thereby made Members of Christ's Church in their Baptism For as all the Members of a Corporation are not usually made Members of that Society without some certain Solemnities so it pleased God that no One should be Enter'd into Christ's Church and be made a Partaker of the Priviledges of it without that outward Rite of Baptism for so we find that when our Saviour sent his Apostles to Found and Build the Church they receiv'd as a Commission to call forth out of the World a Church by the Preaching of the Gospel So an Appointment to Incorporate all Men therein by Baptism Go and Teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Matth. 28.19 And hence 1 Cor. 12.13 it is said That we are all Baptiz'd into one Body or admitted by Baptism into one Church Eighthly And they are Appointed to Renew the same II. To Renew it at the Lord's Supper by Feasting often together at the Lord's Supper This was anciently and is still the usual Method of Uniting more closely together the Members of any Society or Corporation their Feasting often together at one common Table and for this Reason amongst others it is that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is Appointed in the Church of Christ So the 1 Cor. 10.17 it is said That we being many are one Bread and one Body for we are all Partakers of that one Bread Ninthly And now upon all these foremention'd Accounts The Church one Body the Church of Christ is One Body Thus Eph. 4.4 5 6. There is one Body and one Spirit even as ye are all called in one Hope of your Calling one Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all where you see that because all Christians are call'd out of the World into one Hope of their Calling or to the Enjoyment of the same Priviledges to one Faith or to Believe one God Father Son and Holy Ghost exprest here by one Spirit one Lord one God and Father of all and because Incorporated by one Baptism or by the Use of the same Sacraments that therefore they are one Body The Covenant of Grace that great
in the way of Duty so great which he may not overcome by the Strength thereof Whereas the best of the Moral Heathens had but uncertain Conjectures to ground their Expectations of future Happiness upon and their Hopes thereof being so Weak they presently yielded to the Assault of every great Temptation But besides whatever certainly an honest Pagan And whatever certainly an honest Pagan might have that God would reward his Vertue yet depending only on the Vncovenanted Goodness of God he could promise himself no greater a measure of Happiness than what his good Deeds did of themselves deserve which must fallvastly short of what is meant by the Kingdom of Heaven that liv'd up to the Light of Nature and the Dictates of Right Reason if any of 'em can be suppos'd to have done so might have that the good God would reward his Vertue Yet having only the Equity and Vncovenanted goodness of God to depend upon he could promise himself no greater a Measure of Happiness than what his good Deeds did of themselves deserve which considering the Imperfection of the best Actions of the best of Men whoever liv'd how short must that fall of what is meant by the Kingdom of Heaven * But a Christian to whom God has Covenanted to make sure a Crown of Glory may without Presumption rely upon him to make good the same But the Christian whom God has Covenanted withal and to whom he has condescended to Oblige himself to make sure a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away 1 Pet. 5.4 may without Presumption rely upon God's both Truth and Goodness to make good to him the same notwithstanding when he does all that he can consider'd in himself he is but an Vnprofitable Servant as the best are I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the Faith henceforth says the Apostle and so may every good Christian say the same there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which God the righteous Judge shall give me at that Day and not to me only but to all them who love his appearing 2 Tim. 4.7 8. Such is the Christian's Priviledge above a Pagan in being made an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven in that it is his Inheritance he may assure himself of it tho' his imperfect Vertues consider'd in themselves could never Entitle him to such an Eternal and Exceeding weight of Glory In short It is Jesus Christ alone who hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel 2 Tim. 1.10 As Life and Immortality is brought to light through the Gospel so by Embracing it and by coming into Covenant alone Salvation can be expected And as he only has brought it to light that is made a clear Revelation of that Life and Immortal Happiness laid up for Righteous Men in Heaven which was not before so certainly Reveal'd so it is only through him and by Believing and Embracing and Coming into his Covenant the Gospel that Salvation must now be hop'd for by any for so we are also Assur'd Acts 4.12 and that there is no other Name under Heaven given among Men but Jesus only whereby we must be saved so that this Invaluable Priviledge this exceeding great Advantage of being made Inheritours of the Kingdom of Heaven is made over and certainly Ensur'd to such only who are in the Covenant of Grace and is the Third and Last of those Excellent Priviledges and Advantages contain'd and held forth therein But then the Kingdom of Heaven is the certain Inheritance of the sincere Christian who in the Exercise of Mercy Meekness Piety and all other Christian Vertues And to a sincere Chrstian who is faithful in the Covenant the Heavenly Inheritance is certain which he has Covenanted with God to perform does faithfully discharge his Part of the Covenant as is most solemnly declar'd Matth. 25.31 32 33 34.46 with which I shall conclude this Point Says our Blessed Saviour there When the Son of Man shall come in his Glory and all the Holy Angels with him then shall he sit upon the Throne of his Glory And before him shall be gather'd all Nations and he shall separate them one from another as a Shepherd divideth the Sheep from the Goats and he shall set the Sheep on his right hand but the Goats on the left Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand to his Charitable and Pious and Faithful Servants Come ye Blessed of my Father Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World And as the Wicked shall go into everlasting Punishment so the Righteous into Life Eternal A summ of â—hose invaluâ—ble Priviâ—edges made â—ver to us â—n God's â—art in the Covenant of Grace And now to summ up those infinitely Gracious and Invaluable Priviledges made over to us on God's Part in the Covenant of Grace hereby we are made First Members of Christ that is are made Members of that Body of which Christ is the Head viz. The Church and so have together with a most excellent Body of Religion and Laws all necessary Grace and Assistance Convey'd and Communicated to us Members from Him the Head to Enliven Support and Enable us to go through all our Task of Religious Duties and Christian Performances requir'd at our hands The Second Priviledge is That we are also hereby made Children of God that is having Embrac'd Christianity and being Incorporated into the Church of Christ we are thereby Adopted and Chosen out of the rest of the World by God to enjoy this grand Priviledge of Sons to have Pardon granted us when with the Prodigal Son we return Home to him to our Offended but Gracious Father by Repentance And we shall find him not over-severe in respect of our lesser Failings and the unavoidable Infirmities of our Nature but shall always have him ready to hear our Prayers for Mercy both in respect of our greater and lesser Transgressions And Lastly The Third Priviledge you have been now told is this that to compleat All We are made Inheritours of the Kingdom of Heaven that is have secur'd to us a Right and Title to the unspeakable Joys and Glories of Heaven A Priviledge which consider'd in it self is exceeding Great and as all the rest if compar'd with what Others enjoy is a very singular One These now are the inestimable Priviledges made over to us in the Covenant of Grace Priviledges which as they are of infinite Advantage to us so we shall never fail of obtaining 'em if we will but take care to perform the Conditions requir'd on our Parts and so First Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanities of this wicked World and all the sinful lusts of the Flesh on Condition Secondly That we will Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And Thirdly Obey God's Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of our Lives Which Conditions and what they
Men to be partially Obedient to God â—his a most â—al Deluâ—n when â—ne Sins onâ— of a scanâ—lous Name â—e exchangâ— for contraâ— Vertues â—t with the â—etention of â—pieties of 〈◊〉 higher Naâ—re And There is not a more fatal and mischievous Delusion of Satan than this is especially when the partially Obedient exchanges some Sins of a scandalous Name for their contrary Vertues but lives notwitstanding in other Impieties of a higher Nature I say when he changes some particular Sins only of a scandalous Name as his former Debaucht and Lewd Course of Life for a quite contrary One of Temperance and Chastity He now assures himself it was by the motion of God's Holy Spirit he is become a new Man as he thinks and that he is now infallibly safe Thus have I often known those of the Sect of Quakers who have formerly been loose and riotous Livers Triumph very much in their present State as certainly from God because they no sooner became of this way but they ceas'd to be Drunkards and Swearers and lewd Companions and the like Whereas alas The deluded Wretch has but Exchang'd some gross Sins of a more scandalous Name for other Impieties of a higher Nature For now instead of the former more Carnal Sins he has receiv'd into his Heart the more Spiritual and Devilish Ones of Pride and Haughtiness and Contempt of others being so far from in Honour preferring other Men that he will not give the least Honour to whom Honour is due He now decries the Inspir'd Writings of God as a dead Letter and Blasphemously entitles every foolish and deceitful Imagination of his own corrupt Heart to the motion of the Holy Spirit preferring the latter infinitely before the former Nay he now denies all the great Principles of Christianity the Divinity Sufferings and Satisfaction of Christ with the Resurrection of the Body as most of our present Quakers do and so is turn'd meer Deist at the best And now who that considers this can think otherwise but that the Vnclean Spirit went out of that Man only to return into the House from whence he went out and to take with himself seven other Spirits more wicked than himself that they entering in and dwelling there the last State of that Man might be worse than the first Matth. 12.43 44 45. This is certain Such the most Irreclaimable of all Sinners the most Irreclaimable of all Sinners are those who have exchang'd some ill Practices for others equally Wicked and for impious Principles for such do fix themselves in a full Perswasion that their present Way is of God seeing it is contrary to the former which was undoubtedly the Way of Satan Whereas in Truth both their former ill Practices and their present evil Temper and Principles are the Children of the same Father tho' unlike to one another in outward Features So fatal a Delusion it is of the Devil 's to allow Sinners in performing a kind of Partial Obedience to God nay to further 'em perhaps in the throwing off some sensual and grosly scandalous Courses that he may more securely detain 'em Servants and Slaves to himself in the less discernible sins of spiritual Wickedness Secondly Another usual Policy of the Devil 's II. By putting plausible Names upon the worst of Sins under that disguise he does cheat Persons into a good Opinion of 'em and then to commit ' em in corrupting of our Manners is to Put plausible Names upon the worst Sins and under that disguise to cheat Persons into a good Opinion of 'em and then to commit ' em And he had the Impudence to Tempt even our Saviour himself in this manner He would have had him to throw himself headlong from the Pinnacle of the Temple alledging that God would give his Angels charge concerning him and in their hands they should bear him up Matth. 4.6 And this no doubt he would have him believe was a Trusting in God And in like manner by a Satanical Device the Presumption of some that they are the Elect is call'd their Faith by which they shall be Justified Rioting and Drunkenness is call'd good Fellowship and to be easily withdrawn into it the Effects of good Nature Covetousness Griping and Extortion is term'd a providing for One's own which he that does not do is worse than an Infidel And on the contrary to be Prodigal and Profuse is to be Hospitable and Charitable Spite Malice and Revenge is call'd a Hating of of other Men's Sins And the most bitter and fierce Contentions nay the most cruel and bloody Persecutions a Zeal for God and true Religion and when that Temper is justly expos'd to Hatred and Abhorrence then a Lukewarmness and a meer Indifferency in matters of Religion whether Truth or Heresy prevails Gallio's caring for none of those things is styl'd the calm and sweet Temper and Spirit of the Gospel Thus does Sin pass in the World currantly under the mask of Vertue Sin in that disguise gets Reputation amongst Men. Vice appearing in its own Colours is so odious a thing that no One but must be ashamed to own it But being adorn'd by the Cunning of Satan with Titles of Respect and in the shews of Vertue it is lookt upon with no evil Eye but gets Approbation and Reputation amongst Men. But the Devil gets a Passport for several Sins into the World not only by giving 'em the Name of Vertues But III. 〈◊〉 changing 〈◊〉 Nature â—everal Diâ—e Graces 〈◊〉 that they â—enerate inâ—â—very great â—s Thirdly By changing the Nature of several divine Graces and Vertues so that they degenerate into very great Sins It being much the Devil's Policy to Transport Persons out of that Moderation wherein Vertue does for the most Part consist into that Excess which much resembles it but is really exceedingly sinful and hurtful to Men's Souls This we gather to be the Devil's Policy from 2 Cor. 2.11 where the Apostle advises the Corinthians to Forgive at the last that Incestuous Person amongst 'em whom they had deservedly Excommunicated and to receive him to the Communion of the Church being he had Humbled himself and Repented and that Mercy he would have 'em shew him lest Satan should get an Advantage over 'em For we are not ignorant of his Devices says he that is lest the too long continuance of the Punishments they inflicted upon the Penitent Offender might be made use of by Satan to the hurt and ruine of the Church by hightning their Zeal against Sin into an Irreconcilableness to the Sinner And indeed there are many Sins and Vertues so near in their Nature that the Passage from one to the other is hardly discernible insomuch that by the Art of Satan we easily slide from one to the other As Obstinacy in standing out against all Conviction concerning the Truth is easily mistaken for Constancy in the Faith and the Love of our selves for the Love of God But especially that Zeal for God's Glory
our Modern Writers of Play-Books and Songs whose Plays and Poetry seem design'd to nourish Profaneness and Immorality Now such Temptations as these will extend to all Parts where things of that Nature shall reach and will be Temptations in all Ages so long as there will be found wicked Men like themselves to propagate and promote the same The former sort may be compar'd to an Inferior Rank of Evil Spirits whose Province of doing Mischief is more narrow and confin'd But the latter are as it were Master Devils Like roaring Lions they are continually walking about the Earth seeking whom they may devour And now you must heartily Renounce and Refuse to Conform your selves to those wicked Men either First By becoming Tempters your selves of other People Or Secondly By yielding of your selves to be overcome by others Temptations First You must renounce that Diabolical Wickedness of becoming Tempters your selves of other Persons I. We must renounce that Diabolical Wickedness of becoming Tempters our selves of other Persons Renounce do I say You must Abhor Abominate and Detest this their Wickedness of Corrupting others and of Tempting 'em to Sin as being a Practice that of all others will render you likest to the Devil And I am sure you would of all things in the World detest this Piece of Villany if you would but attentively consider that One remarkable place of Scripture shewing you the high Impiety of such a Wickedness It is Acts 13.8 9 10. Elymas the Sorcerer withstood Barnabas and Paul seeking to turn away the Deputy from the Faith Then Paul filled with the Holy Ghost set his Eyes on him and said O full of Subtilty and all Mischief thou Child of the Devil thou Enemy of all Righteousness wilt thou not cease to pervert rhe right ways of the Lord Do you see here with what unusual Indignation and in what severe Language the Apostle does bespeak this Wretch meerly upon his Endeavouring to Tempt the Deputy from the right way of the Lord. And surely not without Reason for certainly it must be a terrible Consideration to any One that he has been the Instrument and Cause of another's Damnation It is a terrible thing to have been an Instrument of another's Damnation For should such a One ever hereafter return to a right Mind and he will be infinitely miserable if he does not as his Repentance if it be sincere will make him a Lover not only of his own but of other men's Souls So what Anguish will it give him to think that 't is to be fear'd there are now those in Hell Flames whom his ill Example or vicious Conversation or base and corrupting Flatteries in wicked Courses or Discouragements to Vertue or Encouragements to Sin have sent there never to be Retriev'd It is an Injury to men's Souls in some Cases hardly ever in other simpossible to be Repair'd It is an Injury to Mens Souls in some Cases hardly ever in others impossible to be Repair'd If his Temptations have been of that sort as to reach no farther than he was Known or was Conversant a very Eminent and very signal Repentance may in some measure put a stop to the Contagion thereof so that they spread no farther tho' not that altogether for some perhaps whom he has Corrupted will never be Reclaim'd tho' he be never so great a Penitent and Labour himself never so much their Conversion But if his Temptations have been of that more spreading and lasting Kind now spoke and he has been One that has Wrote Ill Books been a Broacher of Pestilent Heresies an Author of lewd Plays or wanton and prophane Verse the Mischief and Poyson of such Temptations do fly beyond his Recalling and tho' he may Burn 'em with his own Hands yet others will Rake 'em out of the Ashes And it is the Opinion of some of the Ancients that such Temptations as these will affect his Happiness even in Heaven it self insomuch that according as the Mischief thereof does daily spread and more do continue to be Damn'd thereby proportionably such a One will still fall thereupon lower and lower in Glory I know nothing in Reason or Religion that contradicts this Opinion However it be certainly it is the highest Misfortune can befal any One that he is or ever has been amongst that Rank of Sinners whom the Scripture does so peculiarly Stile the wicked and that because of their so near Resemblance to the Tempter himself These are the Persons by whom Offences come and it is a terrible Threatning that of our Saviour's Matth. 18.6 to such Whoso shall offend one of these little Ones which believe in me that is any-wise Tempt Gall Discourage drive from the Faith and Practice of a Christian any the meanest Person that comes to me whoso shall do this It were better for him that a Mill-stone were hanged about his Neck and he were cast into the midst of the Sea So that of all things in the World it concerns you to take care ye never become Tempters of others to Sin and either to omit that which is Good or to commit that which is Evil. Secondly Nor does it less concern you to refuse Conforming your selves to wicked Men when they shall Tempt you II. We must refuse to Conform our selves to wicked Men when they shall Tempt us viz. which they will do when either First by their ill Examples they shall Influence you or Secondly by falling into their Company they shall Entice you or Thirdly by their Flatteries they shall Corrupt you or Fourthly by their Discouragements to Vertue and Encouragements to Sin they shall Engage you or Fifthly by their Perswasions they would Prevail upon you or Lastly by their Customs would Constrain you to Sin And I will shew you how by all Means you must Renounce or Refuse to Conform your selves unto their evil Ways in any of these Cases And First That you must renounce or refuse to Conform your selves to the evil Examples I. By their evil Examples of wicked Men which would Influence you to Sin It has been ever observ'd that Examples have a much greater Influence Examples have the greatest Influence upon us especially than Precepts and that most are readier to do what they see than what they hear More particularly there is a great Inclination in us to follow the Examples of Sin especially if many if the Examples of those for whom we have an high Esteem and of whom we do stand in great Awe And First We are especially inclin'd to follow the Examples of Sin I. If Examples of Sin For Sin is what our Corrupt Nature is of it self dispos'd to and if moreover Examples do come in to help us forward these will highten our Desires and silence our Consciences and give us some plausible Pretence to Sin It looks like some Act of Modesty and Self-denial to deny our own private Judgment and to go along with the Croud when our Flesh is craving and
much upon this one Article of Renouncing the Devil c. And so I have at length done with this no less Important than Copious Subject the Renouncing of the Devil the World and the Flesh It may seem indeed as if I have been too long upon the Explication of one single Article of our Covenant viz. the Renouncing of the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and All the Sinful Lusts of the Flesh But if it be considered that half the Business of our Christian Religion is performed in Resisting the Enemies of our Salvation it will not be a Matter of blame that I have been so long upon this Point especially in Instructing of Youth about it who ought to be very well fore-arm'd in order to their coming off Conquerors The truth of it is this Renouncing of the World the Flesh and the Devil that is the Resisting and Overcoming of all their Numerous Host of Temptations is the Christian's Warfare and great Work For as the Holy Scriptures do in a multitude of Texts Represent our State as a State of Warfare Fight the good Fight of Faith lay hold on Eternal Life for hereunto ye have been called before many Witnesses 1 Tim. 6.12 That is we Listed our selves in this Warfare at our Baptism in the Presence of the Church of Christ As our State I say is a State of Warfare against all these Spiritual Enemies so it does infinitely concern all of us to know as far as is possible All their Arts and Stratagems to deceive us and this I hope will be a sufficient Apology that I have been so improportionably long to what I have and shall be upon other Heads in shewing you what it is and how far you must Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh THE XXII Lecture Secondly That I should Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith HAving largely Explain'd the first Condition of Life and Happiness and shew'd you what I conceive is meant by Renouncing the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanities of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh I come now to do the like as to the Second Condition upon which we are to expect to be Justify'd to have our Sins Pardon'd and eternal Life and Happiness conferr'd upon us and which we have also Covenanted with God to do and that is that we Believe all the Articles of our Christian Faith In order to the Explication of which Point 1. I will declare to you the General Nature of those ARTICLES or Christian Truths which are to be believed 2. I will shew you What it is to BELIEVE those Articles or Christian Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness And 3. I will shew you how we must Believe ALL the Articles of the Christian Faith And that I am to declare to you something in general Articles of Christian Faith of what Nature concerning the Nature of those ARTICLES or Christian Truths which are to be Believed The whole Bible both Old and New Testament is the proper Object of a Christians Faith The whole Bible the Object of a Christian's Faith both and whatever we find therein Recorded or deliver'd down to us we are to believe as a Divine Certain and Infallible Truth because all things therein contain'd are the Word of him who will not who cannot Lie who neither can be deceiv'd himself nor will he deceive others As to the Old Testament and the the Old Testament and the Writings of the Prophets Jehosophat in a Solemn Assembly of the whole People upon a Solemn Fast-day 2 Chron. 20.20 Proclaimed unto them stood up and said Hear me O Judah and Inhabitants of Jerusalem believe in the Lord your God so shall you be Established believe his Prophets so shall ye Prosper And let the Declarations of God Recorded therein be of what Nature they will the Truth of them is by no means to be called in doubt If you will not Believe surely ye shall not be Establish'd Isa 7.9 And so likewise as to the New Testament New Our Saviour upon his entrance to preach the Gospel did in the first place require of all Men to Believe it Jesus came into Galilee preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand Repent ye and Believe the Gospel Mark 1.14 15. And when he was also leaving the World and Commission'd his Disciples to go into all the World and to preach the Gospel to every Creature He declar'd that he that Believeth shall he Saved but he that Believeth not shall be Damn'd Mark 16.15 16. So that both the Old and New Testament and every part and parcel of Scripture therein contain'd is firmly to be Believ'd as the Divine Certain and Infallible Truth of God And the reason thereof as to the Old Testament is because Prophecy came not in Old time by the Will of Man but Holy Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1.21 And we are also firmly to Believe all the parts both of Old and New indifferently because all Scripture is given by Inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good Works 2 Tim. 3.16 All the parts of it are the Dictates and Word of God himself and are more or less Useful to our Edification and Improvement in Divine Knowledge Faith and Practice And therefore all Ranks and Degrees of Men and of every Age Young as well as Old ought diligently to Study and firmly to Believe the Holy Scriptures The Bereans did so and they were accounted the more Honourable for so doing The Bereans were more Noble than those in Thessalonica in that they Received or Believed the Word with all readiness of Mind and searched the Scriptures daily Act. 17.11 And it is Recorded to the Immortal Honour of Timothy 2 Ep. 3.15 that from a Child he had known the Scriptures which were able to make him wise unto Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus Well but tho' all Scripture as being the Infallible Word of him who neither can be deceived himself nor will deceive others does Challenge the Belief of every Christian yet among the great multitude of Truths of various Kinds deliver'd in the Scriptures some are of far greater Importance and Concernment to us than others Some Truths Revealed in Scripture of greater Importance and Concernment to us than others because they do more immediately and directly tend to give us due and worthy Apprehensions of God and to Instruct us in the only sure Method of Salvation by Jesus Christ There are some Principal Doctrines of Christianity which are in their own Nature apt to have a greater Influence
upon our Lives and more powerfully to restrain us from a course of Sin and to unite us to the Practice of Vertue and Holiness than others and when they have done this to send us to God the Father to seek for Acceptance meerly through Christ his Son And upon these and the like accounts therefore such Truths as these are more particularly necessary to be Believed by us in order to our Justification before God and to our Salvation in the other World and are therefore called the Articles of our Christian Faith being a Summary and Collection of such Doctrines out of the Holy Scriptures as are of a more Concerning Nature than the rest And must therefore be distinctly Known and explicitely Believed All those other Truths of what Nature soever contained in the Holy Scriptures are indeed necessary also to be Believed at leastwise Implicitely that is we are to be possess'd with a General Perswasion that they are all certainly true because God has Reveal'd them as such But these latter which we call the Articles of our Christian Faith must be positively and Explicitely Believed that is we must throughly understand 'em and be assuredly and distinctly perswaded of each single Truth contained in 'em as without which understanding and perswasion a Good and Christian Life will not be wrought in us nor a reliance on God's Merits in Christ for the acceptance thereof Created in our Souls Such for instance is the Belief that there is a God Some Instances of such Truths for this is the very first Principle of all Religion and must necessarily make us stand in awe and fear of offending him if we throughly believe and consider it Such is the Belief that he is our Father who Created us and all the World for this will make us love him who gave us our Being And such again is the Belief that he Exercises a just and a wise Providence in the Government of the World for this will make us submit our selves to all his Dispensations as being the Appointments of one who knows better than our selves what is best for us And to instance also in some which are the Truths purely of Reveal'd Religion Such is the Belief that the Son of God came down from Heaven to suffer Death for us to Redeem us from the Punishments of Hell for this as it shews us how Odious a thing Sin is when nothing less could satisfie God's Justice against it than the precious Blood of the Son of God and consequently does extreamly tend to create in our Hearts an utter hatred to all Sin So hereby we are taught that Christ has made a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World And such lastly is the Belief for I need not now stand to mention every Article that all our Bodies shall rise again at the General Resurrection that then we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to Receive a Just Sentence for whatever we have done in the Body whether it be good or bad for this will make us careful how to lead our Lives so in this World that we may not be Condemned in the next These now are some of those Articles of our Christian Faith and are such Divine Truths as are more particularly necessary to be Believed by us as containing in them the greatest reason in the World to restrain us from all manner of Sin and to encourage us in the Practice of all Religious Duties And yet are Doctrines withal of extraordinary force to remove all conceit out of our Minds concerning our own Merits and to make us rely solely upon God's Mercies in Christ for the Acceptance of our most Holy Performances And let this suffice as to the first thing proposed which was to declare unto you something in general of the Nature of the Objects or of those Truths to be Believed the Articles of our Christian Faith And now Secondly I will also shew you what it is to BELIEVE these Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness And if it be ask'd how we must Believe these things What it is to Believe those Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness why we must be so throughly and firmly perswaded of their undoubted Truth as to be accordingly Influenced as I have now said by the Belief thereof to the Practice of Good Works and then to betake our selves to Jesus Christ to Interceed with the Father for their Gracious Acceptance Our Belief thereof must be Operative and Practical I say our Faith must be such as does Influence us to a Good Life for such is the Faith that St. Paul tells us is now required in the Christian Religion in order to Salvation Gal. 5.6 In Jesus Christ says he neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Vncircumcision but Faith which worketh by Love Some render the words and that more rightly Faith that is perfected by Love which does more expresly signifie the Apostles meaning that that Faith which will save us must be such which is perfected by the addition of those Duties which we owe to God and our Neighbour And St. James does with great Industry shew that the Christian Faith which has the promise of Justification and Salvation is a Powerful Practical Belief and that none other has any Promise What says St. James 2.14 doth it profit my Brethren tho' a Man saith he hath Faith and hath not Works can Faith save him Faith if it have not Works is dead being alone v. 17. and is no more than what the Devils have for the Devils believe and tremble v. 19. Such was the Faith of Abraham and of all the Saints And the Faith indeed for which the Holy Patriarchs and Saints were renowned of Old and are now so highly Rewarded in Heaven was a Powerful Practical and Working Faith indeed which excited them to the highest and the hardest Acts of Obedience that it was possible for Men to perform Thus Heb. 11.17 18. we read that by Faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac and he that had received the Promises offered up his only begotten Son and he a Son too in whom God had promised him great Blessings And yet at God's Command he readily Obeyed believing that God would be as good as his promise to him tho' it was by raising him again from the Dead By Faith Moses when he was come to Years refused to be called the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of Sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he had respect to the recompence of reward v. 24 25 26. It was a great temptation to Moses to be made a Prince if he pleased in which Estate he might enjoy the highest Pleasures this World could afford but he Believing that God would infinitely reward him
for his Self-denial in refusing such Worldly Honours and Pleasures chose rather to be one of those mean Persecuted People the Children of Israel By Faith thousands of Blessed Saints before us endured tryals of cruel Mockings and Scourgings yea moreover of Bonds and Imprisonments they were Stoned they were Sawn asunder were Tempted were Slain with the Sword they wandred about in Sheep-skins and in Goat-skins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the world was not worthy they wandred in Desarts and in Mountains and in Dens and in Caves of the Earth Heb. 11.35 36 37 38. They were terrible Sufferings which the Servants of God in former times have been put to undergo but as dreadful as they were being supported with a firm belief that they should be infinitely recompenced for their Sufferings and Losses they thereupon cheerfully underwent the severest that the Wit or Malice of Men or Devils could invent or inflict upon ' em Such a powerful practical working Faith indeed was that for which the Holy Patriarchs and Saints were of Old renowned and are now rewarded in Heaven A Faith I say which excited them to the highest and hardest Acts of Obedience that it was possible for Men to perform And such a Powerful Practical Active and Working Principle is Faith whensoever the things Believed are of great Importance or Concernment to us And such an Operative and Practical Principle is Faith whenever the Things believed are of great Importance or Concernment to us Some things indeed as an Excellent Person does well observe are of such a Nature that the Belief or Knowledge of 'em goes no farther but rests in it self as the Knowledge or Belief of bare Speculative Truths that do not at all Concern us but some things again are of such a Nature as being once firmly and truly believed and known carry a Man out to action Thus for Example If you should hear another threaten'd that he should certainly be Kill'd if he stir out of his House to morrow it would not hinder you from going Abroad tho' you firmly believe the threatning because it is a truth in which you are not Concern'd But the Person so threatned if he does throughly believe the danger will certainly not stir out of his House that day because it is a Truth that he is very much Concerned in On the other side If you should hear of a Promise made to another Person of a Thousand Pound if he will be at the Pains to go but to such a place it will not make you go there because it is a Promise that you are not Concerned in but the other Person if he be certainly perswaded the Promise will be made good to him will certainly go to the appointed place because it is a Promise that he is Concerned in And so likewise as to the case in hand That a sure Promise of the Pardon of our Sins and Eternal Happiness is made over to us in the Second Covenant on condition we will forsake the Service of Satan and of Sin that we will Repent heartily Believe practically and Obey sincerely is a Truth that the Devils to their great grief are fully perswaded of for they believe and tremble St. James tells us But this Faith of theirs does not put them upon Repentance and Amendment because those gracious Promises do not Concern them and they have no Promise of Salvation tho' they should Repent and Amend But as to us whom they do Concern and to whom they are made if we are really perswaded that if we amend we shall be certainly Saved we shall immediately upon such perswasion seriously Repent of what has been done amiss heretofore and take care to Obey God for the future for every Man that hath this Hope in God purifieth himself even as he is pure 1 Joh. 3.3 In short the Articles of our Christian Faith are every one of 'em so many Motives and those the most powerful ones in the World to stir us up to a diligent Reformation of our Hearts and Lives They are in themselves the most obliging Arguments to it and with respect to us they are the most Concerning and Important Truths that can be containing in the meaning of 'em either Threatnings to scare us out of Sin or Promises to allure us to Obedience Either such considerations as are apt to excite our fears when we are in a course of Impiety or are Grounds whereon we may build the vastest hopes in the Performance of our Duty And if any one does not live accordingly a Godly Righteous and a Sober Life I dare be bold to say it is owing to some spice of Infidelity lurking in his heart whereby he is not throughly perswaded of or does not actually consider these Truths But he that does throughly Believe and Consider them can hardly fail of being a good Liver Thus necessary you see it is that our Belief of all the Articles of our Christian Faith be such as does Influence us to good Works And then after all 2. It must be a Belief that causes us to betake our selves to Jesus Christ to Interceed with God the Father for their Gracious Acceptance 2. To Believe savingly we must apply our selves to Jesus Christ to interceed with God the Father for our Gracious Acceptance This I have formerly in the beginning of my Exposition insisted upon yet such is the growing Infidelity of the World with respect to this which is the most Essential part of Christian Faith that it would not be unseasonable should I again shew you that we must depend upon the Mediation of Christ with the Father for us that our imperfect Righteousness may be graciously accepted to our Justification This is that Act of Faith which is called in Scripture Believing in Christ and to such a Believing as this it is that our Justification is Attributed by St. Paul Gal. 2.16 Know this that a Man is not Justified by the Works of the Law but by the Faith of Jesus Christ even we have Believed in Jesus Christ that we might be Justify'd by the Faith of Christ and not by the Works of the Law for by the Works of the Law shall no flesh be Justify'd And as this Act of Faith the Relying upon God's Mercies in Christ does wonderfully exalt the Divine Justice and Mercy so it leaves no place to the Creature to Attribute any part of its Happiness to it self but does utterly exclude all occasions of Boasting God hath set forth Jesus Christ his Son to be a Propitiation through Faith in his blood to declare his Righteousness for the Remission of Sins that are past through the forbearance of God Where is Boasting then it is excluded By what Law of Works nay but by the Law of Faith Rom. 2.25 27. So that it is not enough that we Believe punctually but it is moreover necessary that we rely also on God's Mercies in Christ that our imperfect Holiness may be accepted or otherwise even our Assent to all the
sincerely labouring to mortifie every Sin and to perform an uniform Obedience to God and from every Fall rising again by Repentance And thus if we Obey God's Holy Will and Commandments and Walk in the same all the Days of our Life we shall not fail to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven And thus I have fully explained to you all the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace both on God's part and on ours both what it is to be a Member c. and which are the Mercies and Favours made over to us therein on God's part and what it is to Renounce the Devil c. which are the Conditions to be performed on ours My next Task must be and then I shall give you a full account of all that pertains to the Nature and Substance of the Covenant of Grace to shew you what a happy state of Salvation this is to be in such a gracious Covenant with GOD By whose Mediation we obtained it By whom and how we are called into it And lastly what infinite Thanks we owe to God for Calling us into this state of Salvation All which Points we have taught us in these Words And I thank God our heavenly Father that he hath called me to this state of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour THE XXIV Lecture And I heartily thank our Heavenly Father that He hath Called me to this State of Salvation through Iesus Christ our Saviour I Have already in order to a full Explication of all that pertains to the nature of the Covenant of Grace given you an account of the Terms and Conditions of it both on God's part and on ours as they are laid down and taught you in your Church-Catechism The Invaluable Priviledges on God's part made over to you therein as you are taught in your Catechism and I have explained 'em to you are first That you are therein made Members of Christ secondly Children of God and thirdly Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven And those Conditions to be performed by us our part of the Covenant are That we should first Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanities of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh Secondly That we should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And Thirdly That we should keep God's Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of our Life And what each several Article in this your gracious Covenant doth mean and import I have hitherto according to the best of my Skill been explaining to you And now if there be any thing farther necessary to a full and compleat Explication of the Nature of this Covenant it must be this in the second place to shew you How that thereby you are restored to a state of Salvation Thirdly By whose Mediation you obtained so gracious a Covenant and are put thereby into a state of Salvation It was through Jesus Christ our Saviour Fourthly By whom and how we have been Called to this state of Salvation It was our Heavenly Father who hath called us to this state of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour And lastly What infinite reason you have heartily to thank Almighty God our Heavenly Father that he hath Called you to this state of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour And I heartily thank our Heavenly Father that he hath Called me to this State c. And as all these Points are fairly taught you in these Words of your Catechism so in commenting upon these I will by God's Assistance open and explain these several Points to you To proceed therefore in order to a more compleat understanding of the whole Nature of the Covenant of Grace let us see Secondly How this Covenant whose Terms and Conditions I have been explaining to you does restore us to a state of Salvation That in the Covenant of Grace we are restored to a â—tate of Salvation Salvation does import a deliverance from Danger or Misery and a State of Salvation does import the being put into a Condition of Safety where one may be safe and secure from Danger and Misery if he please For our understanding therefore how this Covenant of Grace is a means of restoring us to a State of Salvation we must look back and consider how we brought our selves into a State of Danger and Misery before and how by the Covenant of Grace we are put again into a State of Safety and Security if we pelase And to this purpose we must know That God Almighty created Man at first in such a state of Perfection How we brought our selves into a state of Misery before with such an enlightned Mind such a regular Will to the Laws of right Reason and with such obedient Appetites and Affections that he might if he would have continued in perfect Innocency And now making him thus upright and capable to perform such an Obedience God did very reasonably make this Covenant with Man That he should perform a Perfect Exact Vnsinning Obedience and live for ever But upon the least Sin the eating of the Fruit of one Forbidden Tree he should surely die The Event of which Proceeding was that Man hearkning to the Suggestions of the Devil did thereby rebell against his Maker take part with Satan and so did forfeit all his Right and Hopes of Happiness which upon the faithful Performance of his Covenant he would have had was shut out of Paradise and condemned to death as you will see largely described in the third Chapter of Genesis Thus did Man by the breach of his Covenant with God bring himself into a state of Danger and extream Misery How by the Covenant of Grace we are put into a state of security if we please And now here it comes in for us to consider the Second Covenant as that which restores us to a state of Salvation Had the First remained uncancelled and in full force we must have all perished without remedy upon a double account It required an unsinning Obedience and we had sinned It allowed no place for Repentance after Sin and yet we had brought our selves into that State that except we should repent and our Repentance be accepted we must all undoubtedly have perished We were unavoidably therefore bound up by that First Covenant as the case then stood with us to Death and Misery and it was not possible for the Wit of Man to contrive any way to escape it And now when we were in this irrepairable State was God of his own Goodness graciously pleased to cancel the First Covenant blotting out the Hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and took it out of the way nailing it to the Cross of Christ Col. 2.14 By which place is more immediately meant I must confess his concelling and making void as to any condemning Power in it the Covenant of Works made with the Israelites by the hand of Moses but not so
possible Care to avoid it pag. 201 But Thirdly when Employment and necessary Occasions draw Men forth into the World they must refuse to Conform themselves to the Manners of ill Company First By discountenancing their Profaneness and Riot Secondly By diverting 'em by useful Discourse from both Thirdly If all Methods fail by openly Reproving them To do this Service to God we are particularly Listed in our Baptism We shall be much discouraged from this by Men. But have infinite Encouragements to such Fidelity from God pag. 202 LECT XVIII Thirdly Flattery a great Temptation to Sin The Ground thereof our own immoderate Self-love pag. 204 This Flattery keeping Men ignorant of the good or ill Qualities in 'em thereupon the Good never come to Perfection And the Ill that is in Men does thereby grow Incorrigible pag. 205 First In order to Renounce Flattery we must Cashier every vain Opinion of our own selves Secondly We must so far Renounce the Flatteries of Men as to take it kindly to be Reproved pag. 206 Especially the Reproofs of God's Ministers are to be kindly received and regarded Fourthly Wicked Men Tempt others to Sin by their false and fallacious Arguings against the Necessity of a Holy Life pag. 207 All which wicked Reasonings we must fortifie our selves against as when they Plead First That it is inconsistent with God's Mercy for the Sins of a short Life to Condemn the Guilty to an Eternity of Woe and Misery pag. 208 Secondly That the Duties of Religion are hard Sayings which no Man can bear Thirdly That they are made of Flesh and Blood and that therefore sure God will not require Men upon the Forfeiture of Salvation if they do not to mortifie the Flesh Lastly That God has set us in a World full of Temptations and abounding with sensual Delights and Pleasures and that he therefore who has placed us in it will not command us upon Pain of Damnation to over-come those strong Temptations and to deny these Pleasures of the World Fifthly Wicked Men will add Kindnesses and Promises to Oblige us to do ill Things and on the contrary will much discourage us nay sometimes Threaten us to forbear our Duty pag. 210 211 First Kindnesses must not corrupt us to Sin Secondly Promises must not bribe us Thirdly Discouragements must not hinder us from discharging our Duty Nor Fourthly must Threatnings or Frowns fright us from it pag. 212 Lastly The evil Customs which have prevailed in the World are a powerful Temptation to Sin Custom takes off the Sence and Fear of Hurt in the most Vnchristian Practices pag. 213 A Christian must courageously and vigorously renounce and withstand the Force of all sinful Customs whatsoever Such only as are Immoral are to be Renounced pag. 214 The greatest Courage required to this Part of a Christian's Warfare Cowardice the Cause of Complying with the Custom of Duelling or any other Custom of Sinning pag. 215 LECT XIX First Thereby were anciently meant those pompous Spectacles Plays and Scenical Representations exhibited in the Roman Theaters pag. 217 Our Modern Plays no less Inferior to 'em in Impiety than in Pompousness And having such a malignant Influence upon Faith and Manners ought never to be frequented by Christians pag. 218 Secondly By Pomps in the sence of the Ancients were meant the solemn Processions of the Heathens in Honour of their Gods The Idolatrous Processions of the Papists in the honour of the Saints answerable to these And must not therefore be joined in Thirdly By Pomps Reduâ—ely may be meant the Revels and Drunken Riots of our Youth at Wakes and Festivals pag. 219 â—o be Abstain'd from Vanity of the World What First When Perrous outgo their Ability 〈◊〉 Building and Furniture pag. 220 â—dly It appears in striving for Precedence Thirdly In affecting Titles above ones Quaâ— and to be esteem'd Vertuous above ones Desert IV. In the vain Affectation of costly Apâ—el and Ornaments As First When Persons exceed what becomes their Rank and Degree 〈◊〉 â—hat they wear Secondly When they are proud of their Ornaments Thirdly When they â—orn themselves to undue Ends and Purposes pag. 221 222 〈◊〉 When they spend too much Time and at unfitting Seasons therein Decency according to â—t is suitable to Age Sex or Quality the Rule in this Case pag. 223 LECT XX. â—ow our selves especially our natural Imperfection a most useful part of Knowledge pag. 225 â—lesh variously exprest What is meant by the Flesh 1. The whole Vnregenerate Nature of Man 〈◊〉 and Body 2. The whole Man not as created by God but as he is now in the State of Corâ—ted Nature 3. As spoiled in his Original Frame and Constitution as despoiled of the Image 〈◊〉 God and as inordinately tending towards the Creature pag. 226 â—riginal Frame and Constitution of Humane Nature what The Image of God wherein Man 〈◊〉 at first created what pag. 227 â—ent and Inclination of the Soul towards God what 1. In the Vnregenerate Nature the Oriâ—al Frame and Constitution of Man wherein he was created is broken pag. 228 â—e Image of God wherein he was first created defaced Lastly the Tendency of all the Faculâ— both of Soul and Body are towards the Creature pag. 229 〈◊〉 renounce the Flesh is to be renewed in the whole Frame and Constitution of our Nature after 〈◊〉 Image of God The Image of God must be restored as far as it can in this Corrupt State 〈◊〉 must be renewed to a perfection of Parts tho not of Degrees pag. 230 〈◊〉 renounce the Flesh is to be converted in the whole Bent and Inclination of the Soul towards God pag. 231 LECT XXI â—inful Lusts of the Flesh what pag. 232 â—inful Lusts of the Fleshly Mind what 1. When we are curious to know Things which are either â—rtful to be known Or not proper for Man to know pag. 253 â—hen we do immoderately study to be exquisitely skilled in whatever Humane Arts and Sciences the neglect or contempt of Divine Knowledge The Knowledge of our Christian Religion as it â—ves to nobler purposes so ought it to be preferred to any other pag. 234 Necessary Points of Christian Knowledge 3. When out of Pride Prejudice and Contradiction 〈◊〉 all sacred Truths we set up our own carnal Imaginations and fleshly Reasonings against those â—iritual Notions and those Mysterious Articles of our Faith which are delivered to us in Scripture pag. 235 〈◊〉 Humour of opposing Reason to Revelation proceeds from mere Pride This corrupt Will what â—d how to be renounced pag. 236 â—he Affections what and how to be renounced pag. 437 As they are misplaced upon wrong Objects 2. As they are disproportionate to the Love Worth â—nd Evil that is in those Objects towards which it is lawful to be well or evilly affected in moderate â—egrees 3. The Lusts and Appetites are such sinful Lusts of the Flesh as are to be renounced pag. 238 As they do desire undue Objects 2. As they desire them in immoderate Measures Lastly the
â—feriour and bodily Powers viz. The Affections Lusts and Appeitites to be renounced as they â—ebel against right Reason pag. 239 Business of Religion vs to reduce Man as near as possible to his primitive State of Innocence â—nd Integrity To this purpose of keeping under our Fleshly Lusts it was that our Reason was â—ven us pag. 240 To renounce ALL the sinful Lusts of the Flesh what There must be no one Fleshly Lust suffered â—o reign in us Our business is particularly to oppose Lusts of Temper and Constitution This beâ—ause it is a hard Doctrine to the Carnal Man is much evaded pag. 241 Objection from Rom. 7. cleared We must renounce the Flesh and all its sinful Lusts so as to have an Aversion an Antipathy in our hearts thereunto This the hard Part. pag. 242 243 The reason of having enlarged so much upon this one Article of renouncing the Devil c. pag. 244 LECT XXII Articles of Christian Faith of what Nature The whole Bible the Object of a Christian's Faith both the Old Testament and the New pag. 259 Some Instances of such Truths What it is to believe those Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness pag. 261 Our Belief thereof must be operative and practical Such was the Faith of Abraham and of all the Saints And such an operative and practical Principle is Faith whenever the Things believed are of great Importance or Concernment to us pag. 262 263 2. To believe savingly we must apply our selves to Jesus Christ to interceed with God the Father for our gracious Acceptance What to believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith 1. To believe them All does import that we must assent to all and every one of those great Articles of Christian Doctrine contained in the Apostles Creed pag. 264 Such as tend to destroy a good Life and send us to other Mediators than Christ to interceed with the Father for its Acceptance no Articles of Christian Faith 2. To believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith is to be fully perswaded of all and of every of those single Truths contained in each of those Articles pag. 265 A Heretick may be such by believing only of one of those Truths contained in the Article pag. 266 LECT XXIII 1. What it is to obey God's Holy Will and Commandments The Nature and Measures of Christian Obedience pag. 267 1. Our Obedience must be sincere by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisie or a false and feigned pretence of obeying Him when in truth we serve our own selves does not forbid us all intending our own Advantage in the performance of his Commandments pag. 268 But 1st that Man's Obedience is insincere who together with his Intention of serving God joins another Intention of serving Sin 2dly When he designs some temporal Ends in the practice of Vertue as much or more than he intends God's Service 2. Evangelical Obedience must be entire viz. 1st The Obedience of the whole Man that is In the first place of the Mind and Vnderstanding Secondly of the Will Thirdly of the Affections pag. 269 270 This the distasteful part And therefore endeavoured to be shifted off pag. 271 2dly It must be an Obedience to the whole Law This endeavoured to be evaded by Excuses But in vain 3dly What it is to walk in the same all the Days of our Lives pag. 272 God will not endure a constant Revolution of Sin and Repentance pag. 273 The difference between Evangelical and a Legal Obedience This difference not so great but that our wilful and chosen Sins will put a Barr to our Salvation pag. 274 Some Sins are directly and expresly wilful Some indirectly and interpretatively pag. 275 But the difference is 1st that those who sincerely and entirely obey shall not be called to an account for unchosen and involuntary Sins The first cause of an innocent Involuntariness Ignorance of our Duty Provided it be not wilful 2d Inconsideration Inconsideration excuses 1. When through surprize pag. 276 2. When through natural weariness and the length and strength of a Temptation Lastly When by the violent discomposure of our Thinking Powers our Minds are so disturbed that we cannot think what we do Ignorance and Inconsideration excuse not those Sins 1. Which we have time to understand and observe nor 2. Crying Sins nor 3. Those we do not endeavour against nor lastly Which we are not sorry for pag. 277 The 2d Difference between Legal and Evangelical Obedience That our wilful and more heinous Sins when repented of through the Mediation of Christ according to the Terms he has obtained for us in the Covenant of Grace shall be forgiven us Remission of Sins upon Repentance the great Doctrine of the Gospel Repentance will be accepted to our pardon for our unknown or secret Sins whether wilfully or unwillingly committed but now forgot though generally repented of 2. For our most known and wilful Sins if particularly repented of pag. 278 And in case of Injury to Man if Restitution be made Of high Dishonour to God and Religion if that be repaired by an eminent Repentance The sum of Evangelical Obedience pag. 277 The sum also thereof according to Dr. Hammond pag. 278 LECT XXIV â—t in the Covenant of Grace we are restored to a state of Salvation How we brought our selves â—nto a state of Misery before How by the Covenant of Grace we are put into a state of security â—f we please pag. 280 â—t by the Mediation of Jesus Christ it was that we obtained such a gracious Covenant whereby â—e are restored to a state of Salvation pag. 281 〈◊〉 infinite Care of God the Father to call us into it pag. 283 〈◊〉 Ever-blessed Son of God no less intent upon this blessed Work How mightily he importuned us â—o come into this state of Salvation He has left a succession of Ministers behind him to do the â—ike This matter of Thankfulness whether we consider 1. The extraordinary Advantage of â—aving God in Covenant with us pag. 284 285 〈◊〉 2. Our singular Happiness therein above the fallen Angels or the rest of Mankind pag. 286 LECT XXV â—ptism what 1. An outward Rite of our Saviour's own Appointment for the solemn Admission of Persons into the Covenant of Grace pag. 288 〈◊〉 have some outward Rites and Solemnities in Religion agreeable to the Frame and Constitution of Humane Nature as being most apt to receive Impressions from sensible Things This especially requisite in the admission into Religious Societies and Covenants The Israelites were initiated both by Circumcision and Baptism pag. 289 â—e Heathens were initiated into their Mysteries by Purgations or Washings Our Saviour chose the latter as what would be acceptable to both Parties Especially as more significative of Christian Purity And this he has enjoined as indispensibly necessary to our initiation into the Covenant of Grace pag. 290 â—ptism appointed the Rite of Admission into the Covenant of Grace for the better Confirmation and Assurance of its Terms the Promises on God's part and the Conditions on ours it being thus mutually and interchangeably Sealed to betwixt God and us pag. 291 〈◊〉 gives great Assurance of mutual Performances barely to be in Covenant together pag. 292 LECT XXVI â—he vast Obligations lying upon us both from the Mercies of God and our Baptismal Vow to perform the Covenant of Grace The Obligations thereunto first as Members of Christ's Church pag. 294 â—he Jews chose from amongst the Nations of the Earth to serve God pag. 295 â—hristians chose both from amongst Jews and Gentiles to a more peculiar Holiness pag. 296 〈◊〉 As Children of God Children are bound to the strictest Obedience to their Parents as owing to 'em their Being pag. 297 â—hildren of God as owing both Being and Well-being pag. 298 〈◊〉 As Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven Kingdom of Heaven not to be expected but by those who are faithful in their Covenant pag. 299 〈◊〉 As having promised and vowed in our Baptism accordingly to discharge our Covenant with God The matter of a Vow sometimes not a Duty 'till vowed pag. 300 â—ometimes antecedently incumbent upon us and such is the matter of our Baptismal Vow 'T is a provoking Sin to rob God of what has been once Vowed and Devoted to him tho of the former Nature Gods Anger observable upon such occasions pag. 301 â—Tis much more provoking to violate Vows to perform which we are antecedently obliged by the Law of Nature A Vow is much of the nature of an Oath and therefore to violate it is Perjury pag. 302 FINIS