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grace_n	deny_v	teach_v	ungodliness_n	4,302	5	11.7286	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A74993	Certain select discourses on those most important subjects, requisite to be well understood by a catechist in laying the foundation of Christian knowledge in the minds of novitiates viz., First discourses on I. The doctrine of the two covenants both legal and evangelical, II. On faith and justification / by William Allen. Secondly, Discourses on I. The covenant of grace, or baptismal covenant, being chatechetical lectures on the preliminary questions and answers of the Church-Catechism : II. Three catechetical lectures on faith and justification / by Thomas Bray, D.D.	Allen, William, d. 1686.; Bray, Thomas, 1658-1730.	1699 (1699)	Wing A1055A; ESTC R172154	614,412	564

certius 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 The Definition of a Catechism is a general Instruction in the Fundamental Principles of the Christian Religion 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 Christian Religion 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. A Moral good Life an essential Part of Christianity 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 Excellent Sermons and Discourses of his most admirable Example and Life and of his Death and Sufferings to Root out of the Lives of Men whatsoever is sinful and wicked and to Implant in its stead all the Parts of Vertue and Goodness But Secondly It is not enough to make a Man a good Christian II. To Act Virtuously upon Christian Principles that he live a strict and unblamable Life but it is moreover necessary to render him such that he act Virtuously upon Christian Principles Both indeed are necessary to the constituting a Man a true Christian The most regular Life that can be except it be acted upon Christian Principles is but meer Morality at the best as the most Orthodox Belief that is if it be Barren in good Works is but a dead Faith Thus Temperance may be observ'd because of our Health and plain and punctual Dealing by the Men of Trade because of their Interest Men may Fast and Pray out of Hypocrisy and to appear Good to others and may distribute large Alms to gain the Applause of Men as you may see Mat. 6.2 5. And indeed considering that Godliness is profitable for all things having the promise of the Life that now is as well as of that which is to come 1 Tim. 4.8 And since of the Christian Religion it may be said that Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace Men may lead very blameless Lives in all respects because of the Advantage and Tranquillity of Mind that arises meerly from a regular and orderly Conversation But all this will be accounted by God to fall far short of the Christian Religion and will entitle the Man to no Reward in Heaven that acts upon no better Reasons nor Motives than these Verily I say unto you they have their Reward says our Saviour Mat. 6.2 Nay He that lives an orderly good moral Life upon the Belief only that there is a God that his Providence and Care is extended over us that our Souls shall never Dye but are capable of and shall receive Rewards or Punishments in another World can be only said to be so far Religious as the good Moral Heathens were who Believ'd and Acted upon the

do not know how better to define it than thus Faith is such a hearty belief of God's Declaration concerning his own Grace and Man's Duty as doth effectually cause a Man to expect from God and to act in a way of sincere Obedience according to the Tenour and Import of such a Declaration Or if you will take in the Belief of God's Threatnings against sinners into the definition then it will be thus Faith is such a hearty belief of God's Declaration concerning his own Grace and Displeasure and Man's Duty as doth effectually cause a Man to expect from God and to act in a way of sincere Obedience according to the Tenour and Import of such a Declaration Faith thus defined we have already seen exemplified in Abraham who is the great Exemplar of Believing and the Father of Believers And that it was his belief of God's Promise or Declaration of Grace and Favour to him as it is practical in producing Repentance Self-denial and sincear Obedience by which he was justified and made happy appears farther not only in that it 's said by St. James That his Faith wrought with his Works and was made perfect by them and that he was justified by Works as well as by Faith of which more anon but also in that it 's said that he received the sign of Circumcision which was the Condition upon which God Covenanted with him to be his God and upon the same terms to be the God of his Seed a Seal of the Righteousness of the Faith which he had while he was yet uncircumcised For supposing which is not denied Circumcision to be an outward Sign of inward Grace of the Circumcision of the Heart consisting in Mortification or a Penitential change of the Heart which is the effect of Faith his Circumcision as such was a Seal of confirmation to Abraham that it was upon his former so believing God upon his Promise as thereby to be induced to leave the evil Customs of his Country and his Country it self with his Kindred and his Father's House that God would be his God indeed In which Promise was implicitly promised all that would make him Eternally Happy And God's farther design of giving to Abraham this Covenant of Circumision as a Seal to assure him the enjoyment of the benefit wrapt up in that Promise upon the terms aforesaid was that he might be the Father of all them that Believe whether literally Circumcised or not that is that he might be a great Example and Pattern to all others of obtaining the same benefits in the same way and so might be a means of begetting others to Believe in God and to Obey him as he had done to be a great Instrument to propagate the kind of New Creatures of Men renewed to God to the end they might be Blessed as he was This or somewhat to this effect is doubtless the meaning of Rom. 4.11 12. And he received the sign of Circumcision a Seal of the Rightousness of the Faith which he had being yet uncircumcised That he might be the Father of all them that Believe though they be not circumcised that Rightousness might be imputed to them also And the Father of Circumcision to them who are not of the Circumcision only but also walk in the steps of that Faith of our Father Abraham which he had being yet uncircumcised and it is not unlikely but that as Heart-Circumcision under the figure of Literal-Circumcision was together with Faith made the condition of the Covenant then so Spiritual Baptism which is a Death unto sin and a living unto God is under the Figure of Water-Baptism joyned with Believing as the condition of the Promise of Salvation now Mark 16.16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved According to which St. Peter having spoken of Noah's Ark saith The like figure whereunto Baptism now saveth us not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience towards God 1 Pet. 3.21 Now as it was in Abraham such a belief of God's Declaration of Grace and Favour as did effectually induce him to Love and Obey God by which he was Justified so I shall shew afterwards it was the very same kind of Faith working after the same manner by which the Saints under the Law of Moses were Saved But Faith as Evangelical and Christian is such a hearty assent and consent unto God's Declaration in the Gospel by his Son concerning Christ himself and his Grace and Favour towards Men by him and concerning their own Duty as causeth a Man to expect from God and to act in a way of duty according to the Tenour of such a Declaration and his own concerns in it And Faith thus defined is fully agreeable to the Tenour of the Gospel Mark 16.15 16. Go ye into all the world and Preach the Gospel to every Creature He that Believeth and is Baptized shall be saved He that believeth What Why he that believeth that Gospel which was to be Pre●●hed to every Creature Which Gospel contains a Declaration of God's ●●●●e and Man's Duty and of his Wrath against all Ungodliness and Unrighteousness of Men. For 1. It declares from God that he hath given his Son Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of the World by being a Propitiation for the sin o fit in becoming a Sacrifice to expiate sin 2. It declares That God upon account of his Son's giving himself a Ransom for all hath made and doth establish a New Covenant with the World to Pardon and Eternally to Save as many as shall Believe in his Son and Repent of their sinfulness in changing their Minds and reforming their Lives and becoming New Men in yielding sincere Obedience to the Precepts of the Gospel 3. It declares That those that believe not shall be damned and such as repent not shall perish and that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God This summarily is that which the Gospel declares concerning God's Grace and Displeasure and Man's Duty Now it is the practical belief of all this that is the saving Faith It is not the bare belief that God hath given his Son to be the Saviour of the World and a Propitiation for the sin of it Nor is it a bare belief that he will for Christ's sake pardon and save as many as truly Repent and amend their lives and become New Creatures unless they so believe all this as seriously and heartily to Repent themselves of their former folly and to return to their duty in new Evangelical Obedience For otherwise for a Man barely to believe all this and not act according to his own concerns in it will be so far from being a believing to the saving of the Soul as that it will rather plunge him the deeper in Destruction for living and acting contrary to his own light and belief as holding the truth in unrighteousness the wrath of God being revealed from heaven against all such Rom. 1.18 A Man of this

withal create in us such an humble Opinion of our own Unworthiness that when we have done all that we can to deny our selves and have proceeded never so far in our Zeal to good Works we shall nevertheless confessing that we are but unprofitable Servants depend wholly on Christ's Merits and Mediation and in the Virtue of his Satisfaction and Intercession alone expect Salvation And now such is the Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace An Enumeration of fundamental Principles particularly that part of it the Vow in Baptism wherein all do solemnly promise and vow Repentance Faith and Obedience engaging to renounce the World the Flesh and the Devil Whosoever considers this sees what Obligations lye upon him to deny himself the sinful Pleasures of the World I. The general Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace and to govern his whole Life and Conversation according to God's Commandments And whoever again understands the Constitution of this Covenant knows that it was obtain'd for him by the Mediation of Christ who is therefore Stiled The Mediatour of the New Covenant Heb. 12.24 and therefore that on his Mediation he must depend for the having those infinite Blessings made good to him which are promis'd therein to his Obedience And such fundamental Principles also in a prime Sence are the Belief of all the Articles of our Christian Faith as the Belief of God II. The Articles of our Christian Faith and of his Providence that he is our Creatour Governour and will Reward every Man according to his Works The Belief that Jesus Christ came into the World Died and Suffered to Attone for its Sins and Preach'd the Gospel to Reform it The Belief that he gives his Spirit to sanctify us and that he will hereafter come in Person to Judge us In a word The Belief of all the Articles of our Christian Faith These are indeed the true Principles of our Religion for these are all of them as I shall hereafter shew so many very powerful Motives to reform our Lives to forsake our Sins and to follow Holiness as that without which we shall never see God And these do most of them influence us as to a Good Life so humbly to rely upon God's Mercies through Christ for the acceptance of it III. The Laws of the Ten Commandments And such also are the Laws of the Ten Commandments which contain the great Instances of our Duty to God our Neighbour and our Selves and to which all others may probably be reduc'd These Ten Commandments may properly enough be stiled the Principles of Religion for as the Root is the Principle as it were out of which all the Branches Stem forth so out of these Commandments do all the Duties of a Christian grow forth like so many Branches so that whosoever shall well study and digest these Ten Summary Commands shall scarcely fail of growing up to be a Good Christian IV. The Doctrine of Prayer and of the Sacraments And if to these we add the Doctrine of Prayer and of the Sacraments which are the necessary Means and appointed us by God of our procuring and conveying unto us his Assistance to enable us to mortify and forsake our Sins and to become Holy I do not know any other Principles that are Fundamentally necessary either to the promoting of a good Life here or an happy One hereafter at leastwise so far as to be the Matter of Catechetical Instruction and the Business of a Catechist to inform you of them And indeed as these Doctrines are every One of them necessary to be Known Believ'd and Practic'd by every Christian that may have the Means of Knowing them and may be taught them being no other than the Covenant of Grace it self or those particular Articles contain'd in it and which are expresly Enjoyn'd upon us by the Word of God to be Believ'd and Practic'd by us so our Church does account them the only Fundamental and Necessary Principles that are to be the Matter of a Christian Catechism There are it must be confest many other useful Truths contain'd in the Scriptures and those who having first laid the Foundation in these already mention'd would go on to Perfection should endeavour by Reading the Bible and other good Books and by Attending to the Preaching of the Word A Catechism ought not to be crouded w th any thing more than what is purely Fundamental to a good life here and Happiness hereafter to gain the Knowledge of them But a Catechism ought not to be crouded with any thing more than what is purely Fundamental to a Good Life here and Happiness hereafter And if other Churches have fill'd their Catechisms either with many Unscriptural Tenets as the Church of Rome has hers or with any doubtful and nice Doctrines concerning God's Election and Reprobation as many others have done theirs they have no reason to brag of their Abundance It is the Glory of our Church that she Imposes no other Doctrine as necessary to be Learnt by her Children than those already mention'd which are plainly declar'd in Scripture to be Fundamental and Necessary Principles whereon we may securely build a Good Life and the certain Hopes of eternal Happiness and which are so firm a Rock that the Religion and Hopes of Happiness founded upon it will not easily be destroy'd by the most violent and boistrous Temptations that the World the Flesh and the Devil shall Assault it withal thereby to Ruine it Thus have I Adventured in as few Words as the Difficulty of the Argument would give me leave to shew you the Nature of Fundamental Principles and to declare to you what Doctrines are to be accounted such so far at least as they are the Matter of Catechetical Instruction and the Business of a Catechist to inform you of them I have done this Point when I have told you A Catechism is a General Instruction in the Fundamental Principles of Christianity That a Catechism is A General Instruction only in the fundamental Principles of Christianity As a Catechism ought not to be crouded with any thing more than what is purely Fundamental to a Good Life here and Happiness hereafter so even those Fundamental Truths it ought to deliver in as short and comprehensive a manner as possible for a Catechism is an Instruction that must be fitted to all even the weakest Capacities and therefore it ought to be such a Form of sound Words as all can retain And the more explicite and enlarged Knowledge of these things is to be sought for in the Expositions and Comments that are given of them in Catechetical Discourses of which Nature I design by God's Grace to Present you with some until I have gone through your Catechism In a word and to conclude this First Point Such were the Ancient and Apostolical Catechisms Such a General Instruction in the Fundamental and most Necessary Points of Religion as we have given you an Account of was the

Manna But when Persecution at any time arises and the Church Doors are shut up and Divine Ordinances are forbid upon Pain of Death how then shall you see those very same Persons go many Miles and with the utmost hazard of their Lives Assemble themselves together and take the greatest Comfort imaginable in Enjoying ' em This the Experience of all Ages does Confirm and God grant our present Neglect of his Holy Institutions and Ordinances may not provoke him to teach us also how to Value and Esteem the Priviledges and Advantages of 'em by depriving us thereof And thus I have at length shewed you how that the First Great Priviledge which does peculiarly belong to all the Members of Christ's visible Church as they are the Members of such a Society is a most Reasonable and Excellent Body of Religion and Laws together with most Profitable and Edifying Institutions and Ordinances given and appointed us by him our supreme Head and Governour to Conduct us to Heaven And now it is time to proceed and to shew you how that Secondly The Second general Priviledge belonging to the Members of Christ's Church is a sufficient measure of divine Grace and Assistance derived from him the Head and Convey'd by his Ordinances to Enable us to Conform our selves to his Religion and to Obey his Laws We enjoy thereby a great Measure of Divine Grace and Assistance derived down from him our Head and Convey'd by those his Ordinances to Enable us to Conform to his Religion and to Obey his Laws The mystical Body of Christ is often compar'd in Scripture to the natural Body of Man and that as for many others so for this very good Reason that as in the natural Body every Part partakes of Life and Sense and Motion from the Head so do we by being Baptized Members of Christ derive Grace and Help from him our Head From whom all the Body by Joints and Bands have Nourishment ministred Increaseth with the Increase of God Col. 2.19 By the same Means that Christ is Vnited to his Members is Grace Conveyed down from him as Head to those Members Now it is easy to conceive how Christ as a Political Head should give Laws to his Spiritual Kingdom the Church and how as such he should Head and Protect it and every Member thereof against its Enemies But the difficulty with some is to conceive how as from a Mystical Head Divine Grace and Assistance should be Convey'd down from him to us his Members But it is but to consider what those Joints and Bands are which Unite us to Christ as our Head and we may then easily conceive how we shall have Nourishment ministred unto us till we Increase with the Increase of God For whatever are the means of Uniting us to him the same are the means also of Conveying the Influences of his Holy Spirit down upon us The first Medium of Vnion betwixt Christ and his Members must be each Member's Vnion to the Catholick Church And the First great means of Uniting each Member to Christ must be its Union to the Catholick Church the Body of Christ not Cutting himself off from it either by Renouncing his Covenant with God or by causlessly separating from the Communion of that Sound and Orthodox Part of the Church whereof he is an immediate Member and by not giving just occasion to the Officers of Christ's spiritual Kingdom the Church to Excommunicate or Cut him off for so doing For it is Just with the Mystical Body the Church as it is with the natural Body of Man If a Leg or an Arm should be Cut off from the Body by a Man 's own Hand or by the King's Officers it cannot receive Nourishment from the Head and for lack thereof must soon Dye And so in the Church of Christ a Heretick that for denying the Faith and Sacraments and a Schismatick who for breaking the Communion shall be Cut off from the Church cannot ordinarily expect to receive Supplies of Grace from Christ the mystical Head which by Keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace he might But it is not sufficient in order to its deriving Life from the Head that a Member be United to the Body only and to any of its Parts but it is moreover particularly necessary that it should be United also to those principal Parts of the Body where the Blood and Spirits are form'd and from whence they are convey'd to every single Member And therefore II. Its Vnion to the Lawful Governours and Teachers of the Church A Second means of Uniting each Member to Christ the Head and so of Conveying spiritual Supplies of Grace down from him to such a Member is its Unity to those Lawful Governours and Teachers which Christ has appointed in the Church by Joining with 'em in the same Fundamental Doctrines of Christianity and by holding Communion with 'em in the same Holy Worship of God The Lawful Governours and Teachers in the Church of Christ are the principal Parts in the Mystical Body as the Heart the Liver and the Brain are in the Natural For as in the Natural from these principal Parts are sent forth that Portion of Blood and Spirits which give Life and Strength to every single Member so from Christ's Ministers is Communicated to all the Members of the Mystical Body that Nourishment which maintains the spiritual Life in them All this may be fairly gather'd from Eph. 4.11 12 13. He gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the Edifying of the Body of Christ till we all come into the unity of the Faith and the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect Man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ In which Words the Ministers of Christ's Church whether Extraordinary as Apostles and Evangelists or Ordinary as Pastors and Teachers are said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the Holding and Knitting together the Church and that from them each Member does immediately receive that Nourishment of sound Doctrine whereby he grows up to be a Perfect Man in the Knowledge and Practice of true Religion And indeed the Graces of the Holy Spirit are Convey'd by those Ordinances which they only have power to Administer which brings me Lastly To shew how III. The use of Christ's Institutions and Ordinances that next to the being United to the Church and its principal Parts the Ministers of Christ therein the great Bonds of Union to the Head and means of Conveying his Grace to the Members are the Sacraments and other Holy Offices and Ordinances appointed for that Purpose and of which the Ministers of Religion are the only Dispensers For just again as in the Body Natural there are Nerves that Branch from the Head through the Body conveying the Animal Spirits to every Member thereof so in the Mystical

and Hereticks when alas they are much less the Favourites of God themselves and it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the Day of Judgment than for wicked Christians Matth. 11.24 I do confess indeed as to that part of Prayer which we call Thanksgiving the most wicked and impenitent Sinners may bless God for their Creation Preservation and all the Blessings of this Life For he maketh his Sun to rise on the Evil and on the Good and sendeth Rain on the Just and on the Vnjust Matth. 5.45 and there 's nothing hinders but they should praise him for it But with what shew of Sincerity can they be thought to bless him above all for his inestimable Love in his Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ for the means of Grace and for the hopes of Glory when so long as they continue in their Sins they can expect no benefit from Christ's Redemption and can have no hopes of Glory True it is there have been observ'd in the World That there are praying Hypocrites is by virtue of Antinomian Principles both in our Saviour's Time and of latter days a sort of Impious and Prophane Wretches that have been greatly given to Pray and yet have been most notorious Lyars and Slanderers Proud and Censorious and above all most cruel and unmerciful Exactors and Oppressors but it is plain they were either Hypocrites and Atheists in the bottom and for a pretence and colour only made long Prayers that they might more easily devour Widows Houses Matth. 23.14 and so by the Opinion of their Sanctity delude unwary People to trust 'em till having 'em within their Power they might grind 'em to Powder Or they owe this to some other Wicked and Heretical Principles as our Modern Antinomians who do found their favour with God in his Arbitrary Election of their Persons without any respect had to their Virtues and Graces as acceptable through the Mediation of Christ and will therefore pretend to pray to him nay and in their Prayers presume to talk with him as familiarly as one Friend does to another But alas the Scripture gives none the least grounds for such Confidence and Presumption but does indeed let us know it is a fearful thing to presume to pray to God and at the same time to continue in Sin Sacrifices amongst the Jews were a kind of sensible and visible Prayers and Prayers did usually accompany them but whilst that People were notoriously wicked see how God does express his detestation of such their Sacrifices and Prayers Isai 66.3 He that killeth an Oxe is as if he slew a Man he that Sacrificeth a Lamb as if he cut off a Dogs Neck he that Offereth an Oblation as if he offered Swines Blood he that burneth Incense as if he blessed an Idol So that there is a great necessity of Resolving to forsake Sin and of being faithful in our Covenant if we will pray to God but if Men will go on wilfully in sinful Courses they had e'en as good not pray at all Heaven and Hell Light and Darkness may be joyn'd together and Reconcil'd as well as Prayer and Impenitence 3. As it will certainly procure the Divine Assistance 3. And especially Prayer duly qualify'd will be a most effectual Means to enable you to discharge your Covenant as it procures for you the Grace and Assistance of God without which you cannot perform it as has already been shew'd you I say if duly Qualify'd if put up with Faith and Sincerity for as appears from the last Particular the Prayers of such as are resolvedly Wicked will avail nothing but to their greater Damnation But otherwise Prayer doubtless is the most prevalent thing in the World with God to derive down his Blessings Favours and Graces of all sorts upon us Prayer saith the Learned and Pious Bishop Taylor hath saved Cities and Kingdoms from Ruine Prayer hath raised Dead Men to Life hath stopped the violence of Fire and shut the Mouths of wild Beasts It hath alter'd the course of Nature hath caused Rain in Aegypt and Drought in the Sea It made the Sun to go back from West to East and the Moon to stand still and Rocks and Mountains to walk and it cures Diseases without Physick and makes Physick to do the work of Nature and in a word does many Miracles But of all the Miracles that Prayer doth there is none so valuable if any so great as to Sanctify our Natures and to enable us to perform our Covenant with God which Prayer is a most effectual means to enable us to do I say That Prayer will most effectually procure for us the Graces of the Holy Spirit to enable us to perform our Covenant with God of which we have a most full and pregnant Proof Luke 11 9 10 11 12 13. our blessed Saviour in the foregoing Verses having given his Disciples a Prayer to learn to enforce upon 'em the constant and devout Exercise of this most Heavenly Duty tells 'em by way of Parable how prevalent an Importunate Prayer will be even with an Ill-natur'd Man to incline him to grant the Desires of him that Petitions him And then he proceeds to tell 'em That much more will Constancy and Earnestness in Prayer prevail upon God who is more tender to us and more forward of himself to do us good than our very Parents And I say unto you Ask and ye shall have seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be open'd unto you for every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened If a Son shall ask Brea● of any of you that is a Father will he give him a Stone or if he ask a Fish will he for a Fish give him a Serpent or if he shall ask an Egg will he offer him a Scorpion If ye then being Evil know how to give good Gifts unto your Children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him Which is as if he should say There is no fear that God should deny such Petitions or give his Children any hurtful thing when they ask that which is good for them And tho' many things which Men ask be not good yet his Spirit and the Assistances of it are so undoubtedly such that they will never be deny'd to them that ask them of the Father This is so full a proof of the prevalency of Prayer to procure of God the Grace of his Holy Spirit to sanctifie our Natures and to enable us to perform the Conditions of our Covenant that it would be e'en lost labour to multiply any more Texts to this purpose What then remains but that we therefore most earnestly and constantly Pray unto God that he would Sanctifie our Natures that he would grant unto us according to the Riches of his Grace to be strengthen'd with Might by his Spirit in the inward Man Particularly Let us therefore

think Baptism as necessary now as Circumcision was then since the same Word of Truth hath told us except we be born of Water and of the Spirit we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Joh. 3.5 So that those misguided Parents do not know what infinite prejudice they do their Infant-Children in denying them the Privilege of baptizing them into the Covenant of Grace and whether they may not be a means of debarring them of all those inestimable Benefits Christ has purchased with his Blood for us and which he ensures only to those who are in Covenant with him 2. Because they were initiated both by Circumcision and Baptism into that legal one delivered by Moses II. And as Infants were circumcised into that Evangelical Covenant made with Abraham so they were both circumcised and also baptized into that legal one delivered by Moses The Legal Covenant delivered by Moses is frequently distinguish'd by St. Paul from the Covenant of Grace confirmed with Abraham Thus Gal. 3.17 This I say that the Covenant that was before confirmed of God with Abraham in Christ the Law which was 430 Years after cannot disanull that it should make the Promise or Covenant of Grace which is so call'd to signifie the gracious Nature of it as being made very much up of most gracious Promises of none effect Here the Legal Covenant is distinguish'd both in Time as being given 430 years after and in point of efficacy as that which is not of that force as to disanull the other more weighty and important Covenant made with Abraham It is usual sometimes for after-Covenants to disannul former ones but it seems it was not so here but this Legal Covenant given after was superinduc'd upon the other still remaining in force as the only one by which Salvation was to be expected And the Enquiry might well be to what End this Legal Covenant was added like an Appendix as it were and Codicill to the former Will And not here to give a full Account of all the Ends and Reasons of it which is besides our present purpose my Answer to the Question Wherefore then serveth the Law shall be with St. Paul Gal. 3.19 that it was added because of Transgressions until the Seed should come It was added because of Transgressions that is to discover the multitude and heinousness and guilt of Sin for the discovery of the perfect Rule of Righteousness made it easie for Persons comparing their own Lives therewith to find out how infinitely defective they were And it was added till the Seed should come It shewed them therefore by giving 'em a sight of their Sins how much they stood in need of a Saviour And the Sacrifices Offerings and Rituals of it which were very many were for the most part but Types and Shadows of this Saviour to come This may suffice at present as to the Legal Covenant and the Reasons of it That they were admitted by Circumcision ●ndisputable And now let us enquire whether Infants during the time of this Legal Covenant delivered by Moses were not admitted into it as well as grown Persons by some outward Rites and Solemnities And that we shall see they were both by Circumcision and Baptism That Infants of eight days old were of necessity to be circumcised was positively commanded Lev. 12.3 And in the eighth day the Flesh of his Fore-skin shall be circumcised which Circumcision was an Engagement upon them to keep the whole Law Gal. 5.3 But that the Infants in the Jewish Church were circumcised even at eight days old is so evident a Truth to those that do themselves read or hear the Scriptures read that I need not certainly spend time in proving of it But that they were baptized That they were also by Baptism asserted both by Scripture is not indeed so commonly understood and known but wants not its Evidence even from Scripture As 1 Cor. 10.1 2. where St. Paul tells us All our Fathers were under the Cloud and all passed through the Sea and were all baptized unto Moses that is the Religion of Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea And that their very Infants as well as their Parents were so baptized is certain for that all were alike under the Cloud and in the Sea And I think it is generally agreed amongst the Learned And by Jewish Writers that as the Israelites during their whole Travels through the Red Sea and Wilderness were not circumcised because it would make them sore for travelling so instead thereof that they were baptized or admitted into Covenant by Baptism But especially they tell us it was used for the Admission of Proselytes or those who had been before Aliens and Strangers from the Commonwealth of Israel that it was especially used for the Admission of such into the Covenants and Promises And the Original use of it to this end some ascribe to the Patriarch Jacob when he chose into his Family and Church the young Women of Sichem and other Heathens who then lived with him Jacob said to his Family and to all who were with him put away from you the strange Gods and be you clean and change your Garments Gen. 35.2 By which Words Be ye clean some do interpret the washing of the Body or Baptism which Reason it self does also persuade us to believe as being very proper when they were to abandon their filthy Idolatry and to embrace the pure Worship of the true God And it is also well known to those who are skill'd in Jewish Customs that when any Parents Dr. Lightfoot Vol. 2. P. 1133. or Masters of Families were thus baptized that all who did belong to them their very Children and Servants and all those over whom they might be suppos'd to have any Authority and Power to bring 'em up in the Jewish Religion and Covenant were also baptized Nay all the Nation of Israel says Lightfoot do assert as it were with one Mouth Ib. Pag. 117. that all the Nation of Israel were brought into the Covenant among other things by Baptism Israel as he cites Maimonides in particular was admitted into the Covenant by three things namely by Circumcision Baptism and Sacrifice So that I hope it does sufficiently appear by what has been said that Infants in the Jewish Church were both circumcised and also baptized into the Legal Covenant Nor is it of little force to prove that Christian Infants under the Covenant of Grace may be baptized that the Jewish Infants were circumcised and baptized under the legal For not now to insist that circumcising and baptizing of Infants and that by God Almighty's own Appointment does demonstrate to us that there is no Incapacity in an Infant that he should be admitted into Covenant with God by some outward Solemnity even whilst an Infant for if there were any unreasonableness in the thing it self God would not have so order'd it But not now to insist on this I do humbly conceive it may be