imagined that God immediately from Heaven struck them dead for every such Transgression We find indeed the Law Executed Numb 15.36 by the Command of God upon the man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath but it was done by the hand of man though men cannot be compelled to become true Christians yet they may and ought to be forc'd to an outward Compliance and restrained from the open violation of the known Laws of God though they will not Sanctifie it in their Heart they should be restrained from Prophaning it with their Hands or Tongues False Prophets should not be suffered to deceive the People and those that Teach Errors and Heresies should be restrained But alas here is our Misery we have few Nehemiahs in our Time to redress these abuses Many not only do it themselves but take Pleasure in those that do and the Sabbath is Prophaned and few lay it to Heart Ministers also in their place should see to the Observation of it though they cannot compel yet they may perswade and denounce the Judgments of God against the wilful breakers of his Law The Word and Sword should go together and if they prove obstinate Sinners they should be cast out as those that are not fit for a Christian Society Excommunication hath proceeded I suppose against Persons for less faults in God's Account Governors of Families also whether Parents or Masters should look to those under their Charge for neither Son nor Daughter Man-Servant nor Maid-Servant should break this Law and though they have not the Power of Life and Death as the Magistrate hath yet he hath Power to Command Rebuke Restrain and if need be to Correct And why hath God given this Power into their Hands but to this End Abraham Joshua David and others did thus Reform their Families Gen. 18.19 Josh 24.15 Psal 101. throughout Eph. 6.4 Esther 4.6 Servants that are of another Religion as suppose a Jew or a Mahometan yet ought to be restrained from the open Prophanation of it But alass many Parents and Masters will Prophane it themselves and it cannot be imagined that they will see to their Children or Servants yea often both by Precept and President they Command the violation and many that will not openly Prophane it themselves yet wink at others when they do it but cannot God thinkest thou discern the thoughts of thy Heart and see thy approbation of it Some plead as Lot of Zoar 't is a little one 't is a small matter the more shame to break a Command of God for a small matter if the Devil mend thy Wages thou wilt mend thy Work and a greater Temptation will make thee break them all but thou wilt find none so small some plead a necessity for doing this or that but was it not thy neglect that made it necessary Some plead Youth must have some Recreation so they must have Food and Raiment shall they therefore steal for it Why may they not have it out of thy six days as well as out of God's one Give them of thy own and not of anothers time for it CHAP. IX Directions in Baptism IN the next place I shall come to Treat of the Sacraments and give some Directions in the right use of them which is a business of very great Concernment and the most miscarry and lose their Labour that use them I shall spend a few words concerning Sacraments in general and then Treat of them severally A Sacrament is a visible sign and Seal of the Covenant of Grace Instituted and Ordained by God himself whereby he confirmeth unto the Elect the free promise of the Gospel Christ and all his Benefits and also bindeth them unto Obedience to his revealed Will. The Covenant which God made with Adam in Paradice was a Covenant of Works engaging to perfect Obedience upon pain of Death and Damnation do this and Live And had man continued in Innocency he had been everlastingly happy upon that Covenant terms But when by the Instigations of Satan man had broken this Covenant and Transgressed that Command which forbid him to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and Evil he lost by this Transgression that Image of God wherein he was Created and in the room of it had the Image of Satan stampt upon his Soul and instead of Original Righteousness had Original Sin and his whole Nature was depraved And after which Fall it was impossible that he or any of his Posterity should ever have been saved upon the first Covenant terms and lay under a necessity of perishing if the great God had not found out a way which Man nor Angel could not have done to Reconcile sinful Man to himself by a Mediator and to this end sent his own Son out of his own Bosom to be made Man that being God and Man he might be a fit Mediator between God and Man Who by his Death and Passion discharged the Debt bought the Prisoners into his own hands and enters into a new Covenant with them even a Covenant of Grace the Tenor of it is Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and unto this Covenant the Sacrament Seals Now this Covenant in the Time of the Law and in the Time of the Gospel was one and the same for Substance though under a different Administration It was then more dark and Typical now more clear and manifest and even then also God gave them Seals to this Covenant which were Circumcision and the Passeover not that they were needful on God's part for his Promises are Yea and Amen but on Man's part they were lest being sensible of his own unworthiness he should doubt and despair of God's Mercy Now in the Time of the Gospel God altering the Administration for when the Substance was come the shadows fled away he altered the Seals also and appointed only two Baptism and the Lord's Supper The one for our Entrance into the Church the other for our growth and nourishment These and these only are our Gospel Sacraments as for these five added by the Papists they are properly no Sacraments at all for the Covenant of Grace is not Sealed by them Some of them want a Divine Institution some of them have not the Nature of a Sacrament and a Divine promise is wanting and therefore a Blessing cannot be expected Now Baptism is the first Sacrament of the New Testament both in regard of Institution Administration Order and Use and therefore comes first to be Treated of The word is taken from the Greeks and signifies to wash or dip c. and 't is Attributed in Scripture to many things but I shall not trouble you with them only in this place we Treat of it as 't is a Sacrament of the New Testament Instituted by Christ whereby Persons are dipped in or sprinkled with water in the Name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost and so Dedicated and Devoted to the Service and Worship of God and entred into his
others and derived a poysonful Nature even from them for though they themselves may be Gracious yet they begat not their Children as they were Gracious but as Men and Women the sinful Off-spring of Adam 't is Nature and Corruption and not Grace that is derivative A Man will never prize a Plaister that knows of no Wound nor Physick that knows not that he is Sick nor this Remedy till he know of the Disease The knowledge of this will make a man admire God's Goodness to himself and Children and to bewail the inward Distempers of the Soul and wrastle with God for the Pardon of this Corruption and for his Sanctifying Grace and Spirit when others little regard it and bless God that hath provided such a Remedy sent such a Saviour into the World and entred into such a Covenant not only with Believers but their Seed and given such a Seal to it for the confirmation of their Faith For though it abolish not Sin utterly as some Teach yet hath it a tendency to the Mortification and the weakning of it They should know also by what Right their Infants enjoy this Priviledge this should put them upon it to clear up their own Interest and improve it to renew their Covenant to Act Faith and suck sweetness from the Promises which are made to Believers and their Children and upon this Confidence that God is their God and the God of their Seed they should Offer up their Children unto God and Dedicate and Devote them to his Service as I said before List them into his Army and Enter them into his School desiring of him not only to allow them the external badge of Church-Members but also make them Members of the Invisible Church yea Living Members of Christ's Mystical Body And be earnest with God to Baptize them not only with Water but also with the Holy Ghost and lay claim to the Ordinances upon this Account and not only so but 't is their Duty to endeavour what in them lyes to make them his Servants by Training them up in his Fear and to Teach them their Duty both to God and Man For as Parents usually Covenant for their Children about the Affairs of the World and Interest them in Earthly Priviledges so do they here Enter them into the Covenant and Interest them thereby into the Blessings of the Covenant except afterwards they wilfully revoke it Parents neglect of this was formerly accounted a great Sin as we see in Moses Exod. 4.24 when God would have killed him for neglecting Circumcision and threatens such a Soul that is not thus Dedicated to be cut off from his People Gen. 17.14 And where God changed his mind or relaxed this Law is not easily found But alas how careless are most Parents of this Duty Some Scruple it and so neglect it but most bring their Children to the Ordinance as they themselves come to Church meerly for Fashion sake as they beg for nothing so they expect no benefit by it 't is more of Custom than Conscience and more of Ceremony than Service 't is blind Obedience they yield not knowing what God requires at their hands 3. Direct In this Duty aim at God's Glory the strengthening of thy Faith and the good of thy own and thy Childrens Souls Many a good Action is spoyled for want of a good End as I told you the Fasting Prayers and Alms of the Pharisees were Mat. 6.1,2 c. In this Ordinance God aims at the foresaid Ends his Glory is his ultimate End and should be ours He annexes this Seal to his Covenant to strengthen our Faith use it therefore to this End And by this our Children are Entered into Covenant As we Live and Move and have our Being from him so we should Live and Move and Act for him not only in this but in all other Duties This is a Seal of the Covenant of Grace and in this it excels all the Water in the World For our Baptismal water though not in regard of it's Essence yet in it's Use and Efficacy passeth all other though never so precious others may Comfort the Heart but cannot Sanctifie it Abana and Pharpar Rivers of Damascus may be more beautiful to the Eye than the River Jordan yet cannot heal Naaman's Leprosie it had not that Sanctive virtue put into it by God So this Baptismal water is set apart and Sanctified to an Holy Use even to Seal the Covenant of Grace to Believers in which Covenant God offers Christ to be our Lord and Saviour and promises with him to give us pardon of Sin Regeneration Adoption Sanctification and Redemption yea Heaven and Glory and thereupon sets to his Seal in this Sacrament And Man on his part promiseth to take Christ as he is offered in the Gospel to be his Lord and Saviour and promises to believe in him to be Ruled by him to forsake all other for him and to be his Faithful Servant to his Death and thereupon accepts of the Offered Element and so puts to his Seal to the Covenant and by so doing devotes himself to his Service So that this Sacrament is an engaging Sign and Seal of the Covenant between God and Man All the Blessings of the New Covenant are included here for the Seal is of as large an extent as the Covenant it self and as a Seal accepted to an Evidence makes it Authentick much more God's Seal annexed to his Word is firm and sure Heaven and Earth may pass away but God's Word thus Ratified shall never fail We have God's Promise under Hand and Seal and if we perform on our part doubtless God will never fail on his he assures us hereby that he will be a Reconciled Father to us in Christ and we shall be his Adopted Sons and Daughters he will be our God which is more than can be expressed in words or conceived in mind Now from this Covenant thus ratified a Believer in the saddest Affliction may fetch Comfort and refreshing The Spirit it self being the Keeper of this Seal produceth it many times to a Christians Comfort and enables him to read his Name in the Covenant and shews him the Great Seal for it Thus David could fetch Comfort from his Circumcision when he was to Encounter with Goliath what is this Vncircumcised Philistine c. And why may not we from our Baptism in our Conflicts with the Goliath of Hell God is not a Man that he should lye nor the Son of Man that he should Repent Now that this is a Seal of the Covenant see Rom. 4.11 where Circumcision is Called the Seal of the Righteousness of Faith in which place Baptism succeeds See also Col. 2.11,12 wherein we see We are Buried with him in Baptism and with him also raised again And that all the Blessings of the New Covenant are Sealed by this is evident also Gal. 3.27 For as many of you as have been Baptized into Christ have put on Christ Rom. 6.4,5 where the Benefits both of
the outward Signs or Symbols viz. Bread and Wine which though they are not changed into the Body and Blood of Christ as the Papists Teach yet are they not naked bare or empty things but such as really exhibit yea Seal Christ and all his Benefits to a Believing Soul No other Bread nor Wine in the World though a drop a bit were worth a Kingdom are to be compared hereunto The Internal Matter is Christ and all his Graces these are signified resembled exhibited and applyed by the outward Elements The Form is that which gives a Being and perfection to the Matter without the which this Bread and Wine would be but Common Bread and Wine This also is External or Internal the External Form consists in the Lawful Administration and participation of it according to God's Word the Internal Form is the Union between the Sign and the thing signified Now this Sacramental Union is an Act of God's Spirit by whose virtue Christ his Merits and Benefits are not only resembled and presented to the mind but are really made one with the Elements yet this Union is not Natural according to place for there is no mutation of the Sign into the thing signified neither is the thing signified included or fastened to the thing signifying it cannot be a local Union that Christ's Body should be locally present with the Sign for Christ's Body though Glorified cannot be in all places at once Neither is it a Physical Union as if of two United losing their proper Forms should by a mixture make a third but 't is a Spiritual Union whereby the Lord Jesus is really conveyed to the Soul for besides his Divine presence and the presence of his Spirit he is present with his Body and Blood not locally but Sacramentally he is Symbolically present to the mind he is present Spiritually by the Eye of Faith Efficaciously present though absent in Place yet we find the fruit of his presence in our Spirits the Ends of the Sacrament are the confirmation of our Faith the Sealing of the Covenant of Grace and to be a Badge or Note of our Profession to be a pledge of our Obedience to and Communion with Christ and a Testimony of our Society with the Church and may seem as a Prospective Glass to view Christ afar off In the Covenant God promises to be our God and the God of our Seed and sets to his Seal and we Seal the Counterpane and ingage that we and ours will Serve the Lord and by virtue of this Covenant so mutually entred into all the Promises and Benefits of the Covenant are ours so that you see a right receiving of this Sacrament is of very great Concernment and the unworthy Receiving is very dangerous Here is Manna for a believing Soul but Poyson to an unworthy Receiver This nourished Peter but Poysoned Judas it feeds the good but kills the bad it makes some better and some worse some more Holy and some more Prophane it increaseth Grace where Grace is but increaseth Guilt where Grace is wanting 'T is like the Sun when it shines upon a Garden of Herbs it makes them smell more odoriferously when upon a Dung-Hill it makes it smell more fulsomly 'T is like the passing through the Red Sea safe to Israel dangerous to the Egyptians he that brings strange Fire he shall be burnt by it Lev. 10.3 God will be Honoured by those that draw near to him he that comes without a Wedding Garment shall go away not with Grace in his Heart but with Bolts upon his Heels Mat. 22.12 According to a mans preparation such is like to be his Entertainment He that Sows nothing shall Reap nothing and he that Soweth Vanity shall Reap Folly and he that Sows sparingly shall Reap little 2 Cor. 9.6 He that taketh most care and pains is like to have the best Crop Me-thinks there needs no more Motives to perswade you than the benefit of worthy Receiving and the danger of the contrary the one hath his Grace increased the other his sin the one hath his Salvation Sealed up the other without Repentance his Damnation He hath God's Curse under Seal and they Eat and Drink their own Damnation and are guilty of Christ's Death 1. Direct If thou wouldst partake of the Sacrament worthily thou must Examine thy self whether thou hast those Habitual Qualifications which are requisite for so Holy a Duty There are several Graces that must be Exercised at this time but how can a Man Act Grace that hath it not He that comes to the Wedding Feast without a Wedding Garment is not like to be a welcom Guest Mat. 22.12 Without Grace in Exercise this Ordinance will do thee little good Thou mayst indeed eat the Bread and drink the Wine these are bodily Actions but without Faith thou canst not feed upon Christ in the Ordinance and what good will a bit of Bread or a sup of Wine do thee Faith is the Hand that receives him the Mouth that feeds upon him and the Stomach that digests him and sucks sweetness from him Try whether thou hast Spiritual Life a Man by Nature is dead in sins and Trespasses and without Regeneration he remains thus and what good will a Feast do to a Dead Man If you put Meat into a Dead Man's mouth what is he benefited by it Will it nourish him Can he eat it swallow or Digest it when he cannot Exercise any Act of Life without which Food will be in vain No more can this Sacrament nourish till a Man be Regenerated and new born and have a Principle of Spiritual Life put into him A wicked Man is a Stranger to the Covenant of Grace he hath not the required Qualifications neither doth he intend to keep the Condition and what then hath he to do with the Seal Or what hope can he have of the Priviledges If a Man hath Evidences for Lands mutually Signed and Sealed if he fail in the Covenants on his part how can he expect another should make good his A wicked Man is Uncircumcised in Heart and those that were not circumcised were not permitted to eat the Passeover to which the Lord's Supper Answers Exod. 12.43 Now these Habitual Qualifications are such as the Scripture requires and such as make up the Wedding Garment And a Man should have Evidences to shew before he lay claim to such an Ordinance he should be in Covenant before he receive the Seal of the Covenant This Ordinance is not for the begetting but for the strengthening of Grace The Apostle to this End bids a Man Examine himself and so let him eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup 1 Cor. 11.28,29 For he that eateth this Bread and drinketh this Cup of the Lord unworthily eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lords Body The word Examine signifies to take a strict Account of himself and make a diligent search into himself as whether he be Gold or dross whether he be chaff or Wheat
Church and Listed into his Company his School and Family and have all the Blessings and Benefits of the New Covenant Christ and all his Righteousness Merits and Graces Pardon of Sin Regeneration Adoption Sanctification and Glorification Sealed up to them for the Water as it is of a cleansing Nature signifies the Blood of Christ which cleanseth us from all Sin In this Sacrament there is a mutual Covenant made and ratified between Christ and the Soul the Soul gives up it self to Christ promising Obedience to his known Will and that he will Worship no other god but Father Son and Holy Ghost And God for his part promises Christ and his Benefits upon Condition that Man prove Faithful in his Covenant and no doubt God will not fail in his part if Man perform which that thou mayst do take these Directions 1. Direct Because some Scruples do arise about Baptism it seems necessary to speak something to them for those that Question the Ordinance it self are not like to use the Directions The very Essence of Water-Baptism is denyed by some and questioned by others whether it be a standing Ordinance in the Church but that which some question and others deny I think need not be questioned and cannot be denyed and for their Confutation I need say no more but search the Scriptures for he that reads the Scripture and believes what he reads cannot be Ignorant Baptism was given in Commission by Christ to his Disciples Mat. 28.19,20 and that it was to be done with Water see it in their Practice you find Philip Baptizing the Eunuch with Water Acts 8.38 And Peter Baptized Cornelius thus and his Family in both places Water is mentioned and they were both immediately Directed to do it by the Holy Ghost But the greatest Controversie lies elsewhere between us and the Anabaptists who it be that are Subjects capable of this Ordinance this therefore shall fall next under consideration I need not step so far out of my way as to tell you they ought to be rational Creatures such as are capable of being in Covenant and to have the Graces and Benefits of the Covenant bestowed upon them and so stand to reprove the foolish ridiculous Custom of the Papists in Baptizing Bells c. Neither need I tell you it must be a Living Creature and not one that is dead and so reprove the Custom of those which seemed to be Baptized for the dead or in their stead or in their Name a Custom which seemed to be crept into the Church in the Apostles days 1 Cor. 15.29 which Custom Ambrose and Tertullian speak of But to come nearer the Question in Controversie you may assure your selves that those and those only that are Members of the visible Church are to partake of this Ordinance Those that are in Covenant should partake of the Sign and Seal of the Covenant Gen. 17.11 Rom. 4.11 Now these are the Godly and their Seed Acts. 2.39 The Promise is unto you and to your Children The seed of Faithful Abraham are either those that are of Riper Years or of Infants Those that are of Riper Years are such as being Converted to the Faith hold fast the Foundation and manifest Repentance for sins past and profess Obedience for the time to come and of those I think is no scruple made by any that own the Ordinance if there be see Mark 16.15,16 Acts 37.38 Now Infants that are within the Covenant are such as have one or both Believing Parents that is such as profess Faith in Christ and Obedience to him and Live accordingly that the Children of those are in the Covenant and have right to the Seal by a Birth-priviledge many able Divines have largely proved both by Scriptures and Arguments the Scriptures they make use of are such as these Gen. 17.7.9 1 Cor. 7.14 Gal. 3.9.14 Col. 2.11,12 Acts 2.38,39 Rom. 4.11,12 Mat. 28.19 Mark 10.13 c. Luke 18.15,16 Rom. 11.16 and many others Now you must know that Godly Parents are under a two-fold Consideration as they are Men and the sinful Off-spring of Adam so their Children are the Children of wrath by Nature but as they are Believers and the Sons of Faithful Abraham and ingraffed into Christ the second Adam so they and their Children also are in Covenant This might be Evidenced by Arguments but my Discourse being practical and not polemical I shall refer you to those that have purposely Treated of it Yet lest any should be at a loss consider Children of Believers in the Time of the Law were Members of the Visible Church and in Covenant with their Fathers and received the Seal and Sign of the Covenant for such was Circumcision Gen. 17.11 Rom. 4.11 and that by God's own Command Deut. 29.10,11,12,13 c. And I conceive it will not be proved where they were ever taken out of Covenant or lost this their Birth-priviledge or what they have in lieu of it or that our Priviledges are straitned by Christ's coming and therefore we conceive they are still in Covenant and therefore being every way as capable of the seal of the Covenant Baptism as the Jews Children were of Circumcision it ought to be Administred besides it was for unbelief the Jews were broken off Rom. 11.20 and that both Root and Branch How then came the Believing Jews to lose this priviledge for their Children Yea the Promise is made to them that Believe and to their seed Acts 2.39 And Believers Children have been long in Possession let their Enemies disprove their Right 2. Direct I 'le take it for granted at present that Infants of one or both Believing Parents are within the Covenant and Members of the Visible Church upon their Parents Account It is their Birth-priviledge and therefore 't is requisite that they receive the sign and seal of the Covenant which is Baptism that being the initiating sign whereby Members are Orderly entred into the Church Souldiers are Listed into Christ's Company and Scholars into his School and therefore 't is the Parents Duty to present them and to Enter them into the Covenant and bring them timely unto this Ordinance and Dedicate them unto the Lord even in their Infancy as Hannah did Samuel even when he was a Child But because the Child claims this not as he is an Infant but as he is the Child of such Parents 'T is necessary that the Parents one or both be rightly qualified they should be such as own God in sincerity For though a serious Profession not contradicted by a vicious life may and must satisfie the Church who cannot search the Heart yet it will not satifie God who tryeth the Reins and the Heart 'T is necessary also that they have a competent measure of Knowledge as well as Faith and the other Graces of the Spirit that so they may perform the Duties required 'T is requisite they should know in what condition their Children are in by Nature that they are born the Children of Wrath as well as
his Death and Resurrection are promised as also Remission of Sins Mark 1.4 Yea Salvation also Tit. 3.4 By this Ordinance we give up our selves unto Christ Rom. 6.34 Now what are the Ends thou aimest at in this Ordinance when thou presentest thy Child to be Baptized Is it the Duty as well as the Priviledge thou regardest Dost thou Enter him into the Covenant with an intent to Dedicate him to the Lord and Train him up in his fear to bring him into God's Family and make him a Member of his Mystical Body 1 Cor. 1â— 13 For by one Spirit we are all Baptized into one Body to make him a Member of the Church Gal. 3.27 That he may be Holy to Marry him unto Christ c 't is well If only Custom not Conscience move thee thy Ends are bad and thy Actions Sinful 4. Direct Rest not in the Common Priviledges of this Sacrament take not up with Common favours but lay hold by Faith upon the main Benefit What priviledge will it be to be Listed into Christ's Army when we neither fight his Battles nor receive his Pay Or to be entred into his School if we be not Taught nor Instructed by him to be of the Number of those that Worship God when it is not in Truth and Sincerity To make a visible Profession without the practice to have a Name to Live and be dead or to have a Name to be a Child of God without the priviledges of Children To be a Member of the visible Church and no Member of Christ's Mystical Body To adhere to the Vine and not be Planted in it To be distinguished from those without the pale of the Church as Jews and Heathens and not from rotten Members as Hypocrites and Dissemblers To have a form of Godliness without the power and practice of Holiness Alas these things are common to good and bad as Circumcision did difference the Jews from all other People yet most of them were strangers yea Enemies to God for all are not Israel that are of Israel But 't is the Circumcision of the Heart that differenceth them from the World So 't is here Baptism differenceth Christians from others but 't is the Baptism of the Spirit that differenceth the good from the bad Yet these External Priviledges ought not to be sleighted as the Apostle Argues at large Rom. 3.1,2 c. yet ought they not to be trusted to or rested in The main thing intended in this Ordinance is that Christ and all his benefits be Sealed up unto the Soul therefore lay hold by Faith upon these things or thy Labour will be lost This Sacrament is the Seal of the Righteousness of Faith Rom. 4.11 The sign of the Covenant Gen. 17.11 Lay hold therefore upon Christ in the Ordinance yea upon whole Christ as he is offered in the Sacrament for Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption and with him Grace and Glory is to be had But if thou take up any thing under Christ the Ordinance will be of little worth to thee When thou bringest thy Child therefore to the Ordinance take not up with Common Benefits lay out for Christ and satisfie not thy self without him The Ordinance of it self is but a dry and empty Husk Christ is the Kirnel 't is as a Well Christ is the Water and what good will a dry Well do thee 'T is but a broken Cistern if trusted to it can hold no Water What is a little cold Water applyed to the Body if the Water of Life be not applyed to the Soul Be thou Real in thy Dedication of thy Child to God and really Act Faith upon the Promise that God may bestow his Son upon him Thou mayst find in Scripture footing for thy Faith many Divine and precious Promises made by God Consider such Scriptures as these Rom. 6.38 As many as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his Death c. And if we be dead with Christ we believe we shall also Live with him 1 Pet. 3.21 The like Figure whereunto even Baptism doth also now save us c. Mark 3.11 Heb. 1.9 John 3.5 Heb. 10.22.24 Gal. 3.16 Luke 3.3 Acts 12.16 22.16 Eph. 5.26 Titus 3.5 1 John 1.7 The blood of Christ cleanseth us from all our sins which Blood is here signified by this Baptismal Water Here thy Faith may find a Foundation sure and stedfast take up with nothing short of Christ bring the word of Promise along with thee to the Ordinance press God with his Word he cannot deny it but without the Promise the Ordinance is of little Efficacy But thus doing thou wilt find it a refreshing Ordinance Christ and all his Benefits may be found in this Baptismal Water yea whatsoever is necessary for the Soul Perswade thy self therefore that seeing such Scripture expressions hold forth the Sacrament to be the Laver of Regeneration and the New Birth to wash from sin and is Instrumental to our Salvation and Sealeth up the Covenant yea Christ and all his Benefits to the Soul No doubt it will be so to thee and to thy Children if the failing be not on your part When thou seest the Minister apply the Baptismal water to the Body of thy Infant do thou by Faith behold God the Father applying Christ his Merits his Blood and Benefits to the Soul and as verily as thou seest the one done Sacramentally so verily do thou believe the other to be done really and truly 'T is the coming to the Sacrament without Faith and without the word of Promise that makes it seem so empty and vain but doubtless there is a rich supply to be had If we suck we shall be satisfied the Well indeed is deep and Faith is the Bucket If we have no Bucket we are like to have no Water 5. Direct That this Sacrament of Baptism be rightly Administred it is necessary that it be done agreeably to the mind and will of God expressed in his Word for God will have his own work done in his own way he hath not left it to Man to use his own will in his Worship But we must follow the Pattern and Example he hath left us and Obey the Precept and Command he hath given us and be directed by Scripture Light and perform the Duty in a right manner and form as well as to a right End 'T is necessary therefore in the first place that it be Administred by a Lawful Minister 't is the work of those that are in Commission and we find not any Commission Sealed unto any other than the Apostles and their Successors the Ministers of Christ set apart by God and the Church for this and other Holy Duties for the work of the Ministry that this is part of their Commission we may read Mat. 28.19,20 Go Teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I Commanded you and loe I am with you always even
it may be it is a Metaphor taken from a Goldsmith that try their Gold whether it be pure and the dross purged out and consumed or from those that try their Coin not superficially but by the weight by the sight by the sound by the touch stone that so they may not be deceived with what is bad and counterfeit and so must we in this case Especially considering the Devil hath much counterfeit coin goes abroad for currant and most Men are deceived and 't is easie to be deceived especially when our own Hearts are the greatest Cheats Try thy Evidences for Heaven whether thou art Regenerated or not otherwise thou art not for Heaven John 3.3.5 Whether thou art an Adopted Child of God For none else ought to eat at his Table Christ will not be Food to nourish any other he will not have the Devils Brats Dine at his Table none ought to sit there but those that shall sit with him in the Kingdom of Heaven Hast thou those Graces that always accompany conversion For these are necessary in this work as Sanctified and Sanctifying knowledge without which thou canst not discern the Lord's Body or know God or thy self or the Tenure of the Covenant of Grace the Nature of the Sacrament or the state of thy own Soul c. Faith also is necessary to lay hold upon Christ in this Ordinance and feed upon him c. Repentance for sin past and new Obedience for the time to come Love also to God to his Word and to his Children with a longing desire after Christ in the Ordinance for what shall we do at a Feast without a stomack The Trial of these Graces I shall now wave having in another Treatise partly handled it 't is called The Souls Looking-Glass or a Spiritual Touch-stone to which I refer you because I will not Actum agere do a thing that is done before 2. Direct Though Habitual preparation and a gracious disposition of which we have Treated before be absolutely necessary without which a Man cannot be a welcom Guest to this Marriage Feast as we see in the Foolish Virgins Mat. 25.1,2 c. who notwithstanding they had Lamps in their Hands yet for want of this Oyl of Grace in their Hearts were not admitted but the door was shut against them I say though this be necessary yet it is not sufficient 't is not enough to have a Marriage Garment but we must have it on and made clean and handsom if we would Honour the Wedding 'T is not enough to have Faith and Knowledge and Love and Obedience c. in the Habit but we must have them in the Exercise what good will they do us if we use them not 'T is not enough to have Lamps in our Hands yea and Oyl in our Vessels though most go without but we must have our Lamps always burning we must rise and trim our Lamps When we go to meet the Bride-groom Christ in such a Duty we must snuff our Candles that they may burn bright 'T is not enough for a Musician to have an Instrument but he must have it in Tune or it will yield bad Musick nay he must have skill to use it or it will not do nay he must be in a capacity to make use of his skill which is not if his hands be cold or numb'd or otherwise out of Order The Souls Musick is quickly spoyled if it be out of Tune 'T is not enough for a Carpenter or Joyner to have Tools and Matter to work upon but he must often by grinding or whetting put an edge upon them or they are not fit for his purpose 'T is not enough to have Houshold stuff in abundance but it must be set in Order not on a confused heap yea and scoured and made bright if we would use them to adorn the House And in like manner 't is not enough for a Christian to have the fore-mentioned Habits and Qualifications but he must reduce them into Art and Exercise he must scour them up against such a good Time as this and rub off the rust and make them fit for use yea make use of them for to this End they were given And a Christian notwitstanding the Habits may and will be an unworthy Receiver if they be not in Exercise 'T is necessary that some Vital Operations co-operate to the Receiving Digesting and Concocting our Meat or it will not nourish and so that this Spiritual Food may prove Refreshing to the Soul 'T is necessary that there be a principle of Spiritual Life and the Actings of Grace concur with the Receiving and Digesting of it A Godly Man may sometimes be in an Appoplexy and have a stupifyed Soul and a benumbed Conscience he may have his swooning Fits when Life is scarce discerned to appear It may seem David sometimes was in this Condition or some other great Distemper Now you know though there be Life yet in such case 't is not safe to give Food stir up therefore thy Graces and get them in Exercise 't is the best way to procure heat and digestion Consider seriously what thou art about and with whom thou hast to do and what is the danger of unworty Receiving and the benefit of the contrary Consider thou hast a price put into thy Hand O let not an Heart be wanting to get wisdom In this Ordinance all thy wants may be supplyed here thy Graces may be strengthened and thy Communion with God renewed Thy Covenant with God is here ratified and Christ and all his Benefits made over to thy Soul Here thou mayst have the pardon of thy sins and whatever else is requisite for thy Soul if thou come preparedly and Act Faith upon the Promise and improve thy Interest in the Covenant come therefore with a Thirsting desire of Christ in the Ordinances this is a Qualification required Isa 55.12 John 7.37 Rev. 22.15 Long after this Bread of Life for this Longing shall be satisfied Come with Confidence to have thy needs and wants supplyed and to this End Exercise Faith on the Promise this Grace is all in all in the Duty 't is both the Hand and the Mouth Exercise Repentance for sin past and resolve to Obey for the time to come But if thou come unprepared thou eatest and drinkest thy own Damnation and becomest guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ let such such Considerations as these move thee 3. Direct If thou wouldst worthily partake of this Sacrament propound right Ends to thy self in so doing the End as I have said as in other Duties so in this either makes or marrs the Action Now the End though last in the Execution is first in the Intention 't is the first mover What is it that a man will do but is for some End this like the weights on a Clock or the Spring in a Watch sets all the Wheels on work and is the cause of the Entrance and continuance of the Motion Who is it that Builds an
followed Infants you see though uncapable were not freed even such as hang upon their Mothers breast and though they had not actually sinned yet were a part of that sinful lump of mankind and deserved judgement as well as others and therefore should be timely traind up in this Christian duty and their cries for meat and the very bellowing of the Beasts might stick something upon the heart of man and help further to humble and break it yea many of those little ones being Gods Elect their presence may be an arguing with God to spare as the presence of Jehosophat moved Elijah to come to Ahab 2 Kings 3.19 this was one Motive why the Lord would not destroy Niniveh because there were sixscore thousand souls in it that knew not the right hand from the left But though all these come and 't is their duty to come yet all come not rightly prepared and qualified for that work if thou wouldest indeed stand in the Gap and turn away the wrath of God from the Land thou shouldest be one in Covenant with God and one that hath the work of grace upon thy Soul one that hath a friend in Court an interest in Christ the Mediator and canst through him go boldly to the Throne of grace one that can without lying call God Father and lay claim to the share in his promises one that art reconciled to God through the blood of his Son such a one is like to prevail for mercy 't is not those that howl for Corne and Wine he regards 't is not the crying of the Swine or the bellowing of Beasts he matters if there be a full Congregation of unconverted Sinners that resolve to love and not leave their sins I question whether these mens cryes do not prevail more to bring down judgments than mercies when men covenant with â—od and promise obedience and never intend to perform it this is but a mocking of God that will not be mocked and the breaking of the Covenant with him that can and will avenge the quarrel of his Covenant we cannot deceive him though we come with Tears in our Eyes If there be not sorrow in the Heart our Crocodile Tears will not Advantage us But if there be but weak gifts and parts if the Heart be right yet they will be owned God looks not so much at the out-side as the inside of Duty Though I know those that carry on the work especially in Publique should be men of parts and Abilities and 't is well if all were thus Qualified 't is a sweet Conjunction where Grace and parts meet they should know their own Sins and the Sins of the Nation to bewail and confess them Ezra 9.4.6 Nehem. 1.6,7 They should know their own wants and the wants of the Nation Dan. 9.11.18 In a word every Novice in Religion is not fit for so high a Duty and therefore Christ himself Excuseth his Disciples for not Fasting not onely because the Bride-groom was with them but as 't is conceived because they were not yet fit for so high a duty Luke 5.36,37 Mat. 9.15,16 2. Direct Wouldst thou Fast as thou oughtest to do and as God requires 't is not enough to be rightly Qualified but come prepared to the duty there is scarce any thing of moment can be well done without preparation much less such a Solemn work and such an extraordinary duty Now the preparation requisite is partly External and partly Internal the External helps forward the other and they are such as these On the Evening before lay aside thy Bodily Labour betimes that thou mayst trim up thy Lamp to meet the Bride groom the day following and prepare thy Heart against the next days duties and take that Evening but a moderate Supper such as will help and not hinder thee in the ensuing duty and continue as long as thou canst without prejudice to thy Health or hinderance to thy duties of the day following for thou shouldst deny thy self in sleep as well as in other Comforts of this Life but all this should be but in reference to the main work and so no further to be used than it is helpful to it Now the main work is to get the Heart into a melting frame and humble temper for what good will it do us to come and go with the Heart unbroken Now that it may be so the consideration of thy sins and the sins of the Nation with the several aggravations of them will be of great use when they are prest home upon the Spirit by serious Meditations Call to mind therefore thy Original Guilt and the pollution of thy Nature and how the whole Man Soul and Body is defiled by it and thy best Duties stained as also thy Actual Sins many for Number and hainous for Nature Call to mind the Sins of thy Youth and of thy riper Age the Sins of thy Calling general and particular thy Relation Sins and how thou hast failed in every Relation thou hast been in Thy Sins of Omission Commission and Participation thy Sins of knowledge and Ignorance of weakness and wilfulness against the Law and against the Gospel against God and against Man with the several aggravations of them as against a great deal of Love and Light against Knowledge and Conscience Promises and Resolutions Vows and Covenants Means and helps c. And not only thy own sins but the sins of thy Family The sins of thy Relations ought to be Considered yea the Sins of the Nation of Superiours and Inferiours of Princes and Governours for these should be Confessed as Daniel doth Dan. 9.2,3 c. The Sins of Superiours Inferiours and Equals for from the greatest to the least all have sinned and come short of what they should do The Abuse of Mercy which we have had in general in the Nation or in particular our selves David could mourn in secret when Men kept not God's Law and we should be mourning in Sion And be sure come not before the Lord to confess or bewail any one Sin that thou dost not repent of and resolve to leave Nor to bewail the Omission of any one Duty which thou art not resolved for the time to come to practice Nor to beg for one Mercy that thou art not resolved to Labour for as well as to Pray for For if thou regardest Iniquity in thy Heart God will not hear thy Prayer Psal 66.18 Shouldest thou come with a resolution to Live in sin and pray for the Pardon of it thou dost but mock God that will not mocked and takest his Name in vain when thou sayest Lord when wilt thou give me this Mercy God may say Man when wilt thou leave thy Sin When wilt thou give me thy Heart If thou say never God will return thee the like Answer Never think by thy Prayers to benefit thy self or the Church if thou wilt not reform thine own Heart And as thou must consider thy sins so also thy wants what Mercies thou wouldest beg for