much discoursed of just before Repair therefore to your Seat or usual place in the Church and falling upon your Knees offer up to God this or the like prayer with the most devout affection Holiness O Lord becomes thine House for ever and therefore I beseech thee so to assist me with thy holy Spirit that I may offer unto thy divine Majesty such a lively sacrifice of prayer and praises as may be accepted through thy beloved Son and grant also that I may so hear thy holy word and attend to the Doctrine of the preacher that I may daily grow in grace and godliness and spiritual strength thro our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen When you have thus privately begg'd the Divine assistance you may then do well to exercise your self in pious meditations or in reading some portion of Gods word till the publick service of the Church begins which that you may be the better able to join in with all your Heart and Soul together with all those devour Christians who make conscience of waiting upon God in his holy Temple I advise you in the 3d place to be throughly acquainted with every part of the Common Prayer which you may do it to your satisfaction by a frequent and serious perusal together with an impartial consideration thereof for I am fully perswaded that none are so ready to despise it as those who are least acquainted with it I shall not therefore now give you a particular account of its method or of that admirable connexion which is observable between the several parts of it for these things are already done by some pious and learned Divines of our Church but shall only show you the necessity of that reverence which is due to the Majesty of that great and glorious God whom we are to worship when we assemble our selves together in those places which are dedicated to his service You must know therefore that the Reverence which we owe to Almighty God is twofold 1. Inward which is that of our Souls 2. Outward which is that of our Bodies In the first place when you come to worship the Lord you must be sure to sanctifie him in your Heart yielding unto him that inward and spiritual worship which is due to his infinite Majesty and this you must do by believing in him fearing him and loving him with all your heart and with all your mind with all your soul and with all your strength For when our hearts are deeply affected with the love of God our service will be abundantly the more chearful But yet we must not so love him as to neglect the getting our hearts also possest with an awful dread and reverence of his glorious Majesty for David tells us in Ps 89. 7. that God is greatly to be feared in the Congregation of Saints and to be had in reverence of all those that are about him When our hearts therefore are thus possest both with a reverential fear and love of God we shall then also be more careful to cleanse them from all impure and worldly thoughts and fix them with due attention upon those acts of Religion wherein we are exercis'd Thus as the more inward parts of Solomon's Temple were still more and more beautiful and glorious so we who profess Christianity and are said to be the Temple of the living God should be very careful that all the thoughts and intentions of our hearts be holy and spiritual every way so prepared and beautify'd that the Lord may be pleas'd to take up his residence in our hearts when we draw nigh to serve him But then 2. You must have a care that under a pretence of inward sanctity you do not destroy all outward decency for as in the first Commandment the Lord requires the inward and spiritual worship of your heart and therein doth more especially delight so in the second Commandment we are forbid to give any religious outward worship to any other Now by this we are to understand that the Lord expects that homage from us and challenges it as peculiarly due to himself because his honour and authority are hereby upheld greatly in the world So that we must not think it enough at all times to glorify God in our Spirits only but upon some occasions and especially when God is publickly worshipped by us we ought to glorify him in our Bodies also And the reason hereof as St Paul has plainly told us 1 Cor. 6. 20. is because he has not only created but redeemed both Soul and Body Ye are bought with a price says he therefore glorify God in your Body and in your Spirit which are Gods So that you see both Soul and Body should joyn together in all those acts of devotion whereby God is glorified For as to pretend that we can worship God sufficiently with our Souls only shows too much irreverence and rudeness in his presence so to imagine that we have no more to do than to be exact in all our outward gestures is the greatest Hypocrisy We have no reason it 's true to doubt but in some cases the Lord may accept the inward devotion of our hearts when we are not in a Capacity or have not an opportunity of giving any outward testimonies of it but we have no reason at all to hope for his acceptance of a few bare bodily actions while our hearts are wholly unconcern'd in his service Thus having shewed you the necessity both of that inward and outward reverence which we owe to God in his publick worship I shall in the next place take notice of those particular expressions of reverence to which we are obliged by the word of God the rules of our Church agreeable thereunto and to all which the practice of good and pious men in all ages have been conformable Now this outward reverence you must know may either be expressed by words or actions In words we reverence God provided always that our Hearts go along with our Tongues when we confess our sins unto him and offer up our prayers and praises with an audible Voice And this is undoubtedly a very great priviledge that the whole Congregation in some parts of Divine service are admitted to joyn with the Minister in offering up their devotions unto God and we should rejoyce in this Liberty especially since by this means we testifie to one another how ready we are with one Heart and one Mouth to glorify God And it is also to be consider'd that the people bearing a part with the Minister in the publick devotion may very much tend to the more inflaming one anothers devout affections and to the better fixing our mind in a diligent attendance upon our duty and so to the rendring our devotions the more acceptable Under the Law the people indeed were to bring their sacrifices and oblations to the Temple but the Priests only were to offer them up Whereas now under the gracious dispensation of the Gospel the people are so far
the Lord would not do it for he saw that notwithstanding all those afflictions which were befallen him he still held fast his Integrity And what shall we say of David unto whom as we read Acts 13. 22. the Lord himself gave testimony and said I have found David the Son of Jesse a man after my own heart 'T is true he grievously offended God more than once but then it is to be considered that the sincerity of his repentance made amends for all And we have no reason to doubt but that God was pleased to accept of his hearty sorrow instead of innocency Now if these and many other holy men under the Law were able through the Divine assistance so to walk before God as to be approved of him how little reason have we to doubt of the possibility of the same things being done by Christians now under the more glorious light and gracious dispensation of the Gospel Why may not we now as St Paul tells us he did exercise our selves in keeping a good Conscience void of offence towards God and towards man It must be confess'd that we are far from being able of our selves to do these things but as St Paul declared of himself Phil. 4. 13. So we may assure our selves that we may be able to do all things through Christ that strengthens us and we need not in the least doubt of his assistance upon our humble request at the Throne of Grace for the same So that now my Son you see how reasonably those people argue against our Baptismal Vow which contains nothing in it but what God has commanded and good men have practic'd Let no man therefore deceive you and say that we have promis'd more in your name than it 's possible for you to perform for if you will but in good earnest oppose these enemies of your Soul the World the Flesh and the Devil you 'll find the blessing of God concurring with your holy resolutions he that hath planted these things in your heart will also water and make them abundantly fruitful to the confusion of Satan the glory of God and the eternal Salvation of your immortal Soul And now having prov'd unto you the possibility of keeping your Baptismal Vow I shall in the 3d place shew you how great an obligation you lye under to observe it And to this purpose I might produce many arguments and sundry Texts of Scripture but because I rather desire to inform your judgment than burthen your memory I shall comprehend what I have to say upon this head in as few words as I can You must therefore know and be convinc'd of this that your eternal happiness depends upon your conscientious observation of this vow 'T is impossible for you to be made partakers of the mercies of God in Christ Jesus our Lord without repentance faith and new obedience For as our Saviour has told us Mat. 19. 17. that if we will enter into life we must keep the Commandments so St Paul has told us Heb. 11. 6. that without Faith it is impossible to please God And the same Apostle has also declar'd Rom. 8. 13. That if we live after the flesh we shall dye but if through the spirit we do mortifie the deeds of the body we shall live For these are the terms of the Covenant of grace between God and us that he will be graciously pleas'd to bestow upon us the pardon of our sins and everlasting life but it is upon this condition that we perform our part of the Covenant which iâ— to believe and to do those things that we have promiâ—'d in our Baptism And this is so plain that I do not think there is any need of insisting upon the proof of it because in all Covenants the party promising any benefits or priviledges is no farther oblig'd to make them good than the other party performs the duties promis'd and required on his part So that as you love your own Soul and desire to be for ever happy in the life to come it highly concerns you to be very mindful of your Baptismal Vow and careful to observe it But withal I would entreat you seriously to consider this one thing that Jesus Christ came into the World and suffered the cursed death of the Cross on purpose to purifie us and therefore shall we still continue in our filthiness and impurities he gave himself for us at it 's said Titus 2. 14. that he might redâ—em us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works and how then can we haâ—e the face to delight in sin why then should we thus prejudiee our own Souls why should we destroy our selves after all the care and pains that our Blessed Lord has been at to save us Have we more love for Satan than we have for God that we should make a scruple of renouncing the Devil both in our words and works have we more affection for sin that will ruin us than for holiness that will be a means to save us through Christ we are made the Children of God by Adoption and heirs through Grace of his Everlasting Kingdom and shall we be such fools as to sell our Birth-right like Esau for one sinful morsel and to destroy both Souls and Bodies for evermore Let me entreat you my Son to lay these things seriously to heart and be perswaded so to lead your life here that you may be for ever happy in the life to come for as you may learn from the words of the Apostle 1 Cor. 15. last if you â—e stedfast and immoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord you may be assured that your labour shall nâ—â— be in vain in the Lord. So that altho it be certain thâ—â—â— is no other Sacrifice now under the Gospel bâ—â— that of Christ upon the Cross which can be â—ufâ—icient to satisfy Gods justice expiate our sin and obtain Eternal Redemption for us yet St. Paul teaches us Rom. 12. 1. that the preâ—enâ—â—ng our Bâ—diâ—s a â—iving Sacrâ—fice holy acceptable unto God is our râ—â—sonable â—â— vice So that altho the sacrifice of our selves whâ—ch we ought to offer up to God in keeping our Baptismal Vow cannot procure Salvation yet it is absolutely necessary for our reception of it And therefore instead of listning to those persons who are wont to argue against the possibility of their duty and like the faint-hearted Israelites when they return'd from taking a view of the promised Land cry out who shall be able to stand before these mighty Gyants how is it possible for any man to keep this Vow instead of giving an ear to such people I say if you will give up your self in earnest to the practice of holiness and heartily pray to the Lord for the gracious assistance of his holy Spirit tho you may probably find some difficulty in your first onset yet it 's certain that when once you are got into the way of it you 'll find
the Baptismal Vow 2. To prove unto you the possibility of keeping it 3. To shew you how great an Obligation you lye under to observe it Therefore whereas you promised by us to renounce the Devil c. you must know that by renouncing any thing is meant a declaring against it or a forsaking it and resolving to have no more to do with it a refusing to comply with it or to be govern'd by it And thus our Church has explain'd the word in the first interrogatory to the Sureties For says the Minister unto them Dost thou in the name of this Child renounce the Divil and all his works the vain pomp and glory of the world with all covetous desires of the same and the carnal desires of the flesh so that thou wilt not follow nor be led by them To which they are required to make answer and say I renounce them all By which is meant that whosoever Covenants with God to be his faithful Servant does thereby oblige himself not to be at Satans beck nor led by the vain customs of the world or the lusts of the flesh And in this sense we find the word renounce us'd by St. Paul 2 Ep. to Cor. 4. ch 2. where speaking in vindication of himself he declares that he had not been slothful in the work of the Ministry but had renounced the hidden things of dishonesty i. e. he disdained to have any thing to do with those base Arts and cunning Tricks which some others made use of in handling the word of God So that in promising to renounce the Devil the World and the Flesh you declared by us that you would oppose all their temptations and no way comply with them to the dishonour of God and the destruction of your Soul 2. Whereas you promised also by us to believe all those fundamental Doctrines of Christianity which are briefly comprehended in that form of sound words which is called the Apostles Creed I cannot suppose that there is any necessity for explaining that part of your Baptismal Vow in this small Treatise because as there are no great difficulties in it so there are no great disputes about it it being generally received in the Christian Church by men of all perswasions how different soever from one another in many other points However this one thing I cannot omit letting you know viz. that you are so to believe all these Articles as to take care that the practice of your life and conversation be answerable to all those things which you profess to believe That is to say you must so believe in God as to dread his almighty power and greatness and yet adore and love him for his immense mercy and goodness You must so believe in Jesus Christ as to walk according to those excellent rules of his holy Gospel which he has given us and you must so believe in the Holy Ghost as not to grieve him by following any vicious or idle courses and thus in reference to all the other Articles of our Christian Faith you must so reflect upon them as to be admonished thereby of your duty and effectually moved to the performance of it And now 3. Wheteas you promised also by us to keep Gods holy will and commandments and to walk in the same all the days of your life it is requisite that I give you a more large explication of this part of the Baptismal vow because there are so many and so great mistakes among Christians about it You must know therefore that you are not hereby to understand a perfect and unsinning obedience for it is utterly impossible for any man to live without being guily of disobedience to God upon many accounts but by keeping the Commandments of God now under the Gospel is meant our using the most sincere endeavours to do those things which God has required being unfeignedly sorrowful for all our frailties and imperfections heartily begging Gods pardon through Christ for what we have done amiss and conscientiously putting our holy resolutions of new obedience into practice still exercising our faith and relying upon Gods mercies in Christ Jesus towards us So that in acknowledging our selves bound to keep Gods holy will and commandments and to walk in the same all the days of our life we do not in the least mean that our good works are meritorious or that we can be sav'd purely through any the most excellent works of righteousness which we can perform but our obedience to the Gospel is required as the best testimony of the sincerity of our faith And hence it is that our Saviour is said Heb. 5. 9. to be the author of eternal Salvation to all that obey him Let no man therefore deceive you by extolling faith to the disparagement of good works for as St. John has told us 1 Ep. 5. 3. that our keeping the commandments of God is the best evidence of our love to him so St. Paul has taught us Ephes 2. 10. that we are Gods workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works that we should walk in them In like manner St Peter 2 Ep. 1. 5 6. tells us we must not think it sufficient that we are made partakers of the Divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust but says he besides this giving all diligence add to your faith vertue and to vertue knowledge c. for if these things be in you and abound they make you that ye shall be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ And thus my Son having shew'd you the true meaning of your Baptismal Vow I shall in the second place prove unto you the possibility of keeping it And for this I suppose there needs no better proof than Gods requiring these things of us in order to our Salvation and his setting before us the examples of holy men in Scripture for our encouragement and imitation of them in this matter For so infinitely just and merciful is our heavenly father that he expects no more from us than he knows we are able to perform through the gracious assistance of his holy spirit concurring with our own sincere endeavours In the first place therefore as to our renouncing the Devil has he not commanded us by his Apostle St James ch 4. 7. to restst him promising withal that thereupon he shall flee from us Has he not enjoin'd us also by his Apostle St Paul Eph. 4. 27. not to give place to the Devil And in like manner has he not also told us by St Peter 1 Ep. 5. 9. that we should resist the Devil being stedfast in the faith Now surely if we are to resist him and to give no place unto him it must be possible for us to renounce him by making all opposition against him and all his temptations And if it be possible for us thus to renounce the Devil it cannot surely be impossible for us to renounce all sin and particularly those
the practice of holiness one of the easiest and pleasantest things in the whole world you 'll take no greater pleasure in any thing than in denying your self nor find any greater comfort in the world than in getting the victory over it And now I shall conclude this head with those excellent words of our Church at the latter end of the office for Baptism where we are told that Baptism doth â—â—present unto us our profession which is to follow the example of our Saviour Christ and to be made like unto him that as he died and rose again for us so should we who are baptiz'd dye for sin and rise again unto righteousness continually mortifying all our evil and corrupt affections and daily proceeding in all virtue and godliness of living And now I hope you will see no reason for neglecting to be confirm'd but as our Church has explain'd the meaning of this word that being now come to the years of discretion and understanding what your God-fathers and God-mothers promised for you in Baptism you your self with your own mouth and consent openly before the Church will ratify and confirm the same and also promise that by the Grace of God you will evermore endeavour your self faithfully to observe such things as you by your own confession have assented unto Here 's nothing impossible as I have shew'd required of you nothing that 's truly difficult to a willing mind assisted by the Grace of Gods holy Spirit which is never wanting to those that heartily seek after it nothing finally but what is attended with the greatest comfort and satisfaction of mind in this life and which will render us capable through Jesus Christ of eternal glory in the life to come Whensoever therefore you shall be inform'd of the Bishops intention to confirm the youth of this Diocess I desire you not to neglect the first opportunity but take the best care you can to prepare your self for it by fasting and prayer some time before seriously meditating upon that solemn vow which you are to renew in the presence of Almighty God And when the time comes if no unavoidable accident shall hinder you repair to the place appointed with all possible seriousness and composedness of mind there standing before the Bishop give diligent attention to him while he asks you together with the rest whether you do in the presence of God and that Congregation renew the solemn promise and vow that was made in your name at your Baptism ratifying and confirming the same in your own person and acknowledging your self to believe and to do all those things which your Godfathers and Godmothers then undertook for you and then make answer with an audible but yet humble voice and truly Christian courage saying I do After this be sure that you heartily join with the Bp in his prayers to God for you and all that are then confirm'd and when he shall lay his hand upon your head praying over you while you kneel before him let your devout affections go along with your words saying Amen heartily to that as to all the other Prayers of the Church And lastly when the Bp has pronounc'd the blessing see that you depart with a joyful and glad heart and yet humbly praising God in your mind that he has spar'd your life till that time and given you an opportunity of engaging your self personally in his Service from which you must resolve to let no temptation of the world the Devil or the flesh ever draw you but that you will continue Christs faithful Soldier and Servant to your lives end And now my Son having thus explain'd your Baptismal vow shew'd you the possibility of keeping it and the absolute necessity there is for you so to do in order to your Everlasting Salvation I have several other things to recommend to your pious consideration and which as I have opportunity I shall either do by word or writing but at present I shall only give you my advice in reference to your constant attendance upon the publick worship of God and the manner of your behaviour therein For having observ'd not without great trouble of spirit that as some are so luke-warm in Religion that they do not care how seldom they go to Church so they do not matter how irreverently they behave themselves in the House of God and consequently receive little or no benefit by their being there I have thought it convenient to give you some few instructions in these matters also which if you will be careful to observe and practise you may then through the Grace of God be edify'd by frequenting the Religious Assemblies of his People and by leading the rest of your life accordingly may at last obtain the eternal Salvation of your precious Soul 1. Therefore as to your giving constant attendance upon the publick worship of God I cannot but think it highly necessary in this loose and degenerate age to give you my advice in this matter it being commonly observ'd that many young people following the ill example of those who are old enough to have more knowledge than they seem to have by their way of living are very negligent herein either loytering at home rambling about the Fields or gadding from house to house when they should be waiting upon God in the House of Prayer You must know therefore that whereas God has allow'd us six days in the week to labour in and to do all that we have to do in reference to our worldly concerns commanding us to rest the seventh day he never intended hereby that we should give up our selves to idleness and vanity on that day or to spend it in drowsiness and sleep much less in sports and drunkenness but the will and command of the Lord is that we should remember to keep it Holy i. e. to spend that day in religious exercise giving up our selves to the service of God both publickly and privately but each in its proper season Thus we find that as the seventh day from the beginning was religiously observed in memory of the Creator of all things so the first day of the week ever since the Apostles times hath been piously observed in the Christian Church in memory of our Saviours resurrection as being the consummation of the great work of our Redemption Let me therefore advise you be very careful in spending the Lords Day in such a manner as that God may be thereby most glorified and this certainly you cannot do better than employing your self in the publick prayers and other religious exercises together with the congregation For however private devotions when duly performed in their proper season may be accepted of God yet we do edify one another as well as Glorify God most by the mutual examples and union of our publick devotions So that the Lord having been so liberal as to allow us six days for our selves reserving but one in the week for his more solemn worship and service how can any
of us have the face to rob him of that day by spending it any otherwise than to his honour and glory Satan I doubt not will be ready to tempt you sometimes in this case as he tempted our first parents in reference to the forbidden Fruit and as he then upbraided God with niggardliness in that he had not given them freedom to eat of all the Trees in the Garden insinuating as if the Lord had restrainted them from the use of that one out of some self-end for said the Serpent the Lord doth know that in the day you eat thereof you shall be as God knowing good and evil I doubt not I say but as Satan dealt with our first parents in reference to the forbidden fruit so may he deal with you in reference to the Lords Day insinuating as if it were very hard that you may not take your liberty and recreate your self on that day being tir'd with the toyl and labour of all the week beside But my Son have a care of Satans subtilty and let the consideration of Gods bounty to us in the concern answer all the sly suggestions of the wicked one For if God had been pleased to allow us but one day for our use and reserve six wholly for his own we should have had no reason to have complained he being our Creator and we the work of his hands but since he has been so liberal as to grant us six days for our Worldly business and reserved one only wholly to himself we are the most unreasonable creatures in the World if we are not content with so liberal a proportion and strive to the utmost of our power to glorify him on that day according to his own appointment Whensoever therefore you are tempted to absent your selves from the publick Worship of God give no entertainment to any such temptation but reject it with an indignation like that of Joseph to his wanton mistress and say how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God Have a care of being so unjust and ungrateful to God upon whom you have your whole dependance as to be seduced by the ill example of those profane people in this licentious age who are so insensible of the grace and mercy of God in Christ Jesus that altho without that they are liable to perish every moment but through the Divine patience and forbearance are suffered to live year after year yet cannot find in their hearts to spend that one day in the Lords service which he has purposely set apart for his own more solemn worship Our blessed Saviour as St. Luke tells in the parable of the wise Steward Luke 12. 43. has pronounced the Servant blessed whom the Lord when he cometh shall find faithful and conscientiously discharging his duty but what shall become then of those profane People whom the Lord if he should come to judgement according to the ancient tradition of the Church upon the Lords day shall find either sleeping upon their Beds or busying themselves about the World making provision for the Flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof or any way gratifying their sensual appetites instead of doing the work of the Lord. Do you think that if that terrible day of the Lord shall come at such a time it will not be infinitely more comfortable to be found upon your Knees lifting up your Heart in prayer to God and praising him with a chearful voice in giving attention to the ministry of his holy Word or finally in exercising your self some way or other to the glory of God Thus having given you my advice in reference to your constant attendance upon the publick worship of God I shall in the 2d place shew you in what manner you ought to behave your self in the Congregation of Gods people that so your going thither may be for the better and not for the worse First therefore you must consider this that when you go to serve the Lord in those places which are set apart for Divine Worship you then go into Gods more especial presence For so David testifies Ps 100. 1 2. Where he exhorts the Jews to praise God the more chearfully in the Temple as being the special place of his gracious presence O come says he let us sing unto the Lord let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our Salvation Lâ—t us come before his presence with thanksgiving and shew our selves glad in him with Psalms And because we should not think that he is less present now in the religious Assemblies of Christians than he was in the Jewish Temple our Saviour has expresly declared Mat. 18. 20. that when two or three are gathered together in his name he is there in the midst of them And you may be sure that if he will vouchsafe to honour so small a number with his presence as two or three so assembled to do him worship and service he will not deny his gracious presence to the greatest Congregation And upon the account of such places being dedicated to the service of God and of his being more especially present in them upon these accounts I suppose it was that St Paul reproved the Corinthians so severely for their rude behaviour in the Church 1 Cor. 11. 22. what says he have you not houses to eat and to drink in or despise ye the Church of God Your heart therefore being thus preposessest with an awful dread and reverence of the Divine presence in the house of prayer I would advise you in the 2d place to make a sutable preparation before you enter into the house of God See that you order your necessary business therefore every Lords Day in the morning so as that you may go to Church before the beginning of Divine Service But before you go among other preparations I advise you to read over the Psalms the first and second Lessons as also the Epistle and Gospel appointed for that day and as you read observe and meditate upon the most material passages contained therein and if there be any thing more remarkable than ordinary which you do not understand be not ashamed to desire information of any in the Family that may be able to give it By this means you will be better able to read those portions of Scripture with the Minister in time of divine service more attentively and in all probability the Holy Spirit may then dart more pious thoughts into your mind and more enlighten your understanding than it did upon your first reading them over in private Having thus exercised your self till it is time for you to go to Church so soon as you are got thither see that you do not loyter in the Church yard neither make it your business to discourse with others about any worldly matters unless it be a word or two of very great necessity for you will be in great danger of having those things run in your mind and distract your thoughts in time of divine service which you have
and finally cannot they do what in them lies to have him confirmed and so to discharge them by taking the obligation upon himself Surely there is nothing of impossibility in any of these things and yet these are the chief things that are given in charge to the Sureties But 3. Say some why should not the Parents rather than others be obliged to undertake these things To this I answer that Parents are already obliged both by the Law of God and Nature to take care of their Children's Souls and Bodies and there can be no greater obligation laid upon them by requiring a solemn promise from them And therefore as a Reverend and Learned Bishop of our Church observes The Churches intention in having Sureties is not to supercede the obligation of Parents but to superinduce a farther obligation upon others for greater security of performance Or as another has express'd it the Church thinks fit to lay the charge upon others not to exclude or excuse the Parents care but to be joyned with them in the more certain and easie accomplishment of so pious a work But 4. Say some how can Sureties declare in the Childs name that he does renounce the Devil and all his works c. and that he does believe in God or how can they promise that the Child shall serve him since we find it so hard a matter to do these things our selves To this I answer in the first place that these words of the Baptismal Vow are not directly words of promise obliging the Sureties to performance but expressions of contract relating to the Infant and declaring to what Duties he is obliged by his Baptism which are no other than what every one of us ought to do as I have already shew'd who expects to be sav'd In the second place it is indeed more than we know whether the child when he comes to years of discretion will perform those things which at his Baptism were promised in his name But then does not the same objection lye against those who oppose us in this matter for is it not altogether as uncertain whether those Parents who as they are enjoyned by the Presbyterian Directory shall solemnly promise to bring up their Children in the grounds of the Christian Religion and in the nurture and admonition of the Lord shall be able to do it who knows whether the incapacity or perverseness and obstinacy of the Child admitting that the Parents were careful in the matter may not hinder the performance of their promise Yea is it not altogether as uncertain whether those persons who are not dipt till they come to ripeness of years will conscientiously observe and keep the Covenant which they make then with God after their way And yet notwithstanding this uncertainty on all hands 't is fit all parties should promise those things which it is their duty to perform However we have the greater encouragement to hope for the Child's well-doing because as the prayers of the Church are put up unto God in his behalf that he may have power and strength to have victory and to triumph against the Devil the World and the Flesh so we have Gods promise that he will grant those things which we ask faithfully at his hands And therefore by the way this consideration should oblige all people who were present at the ministration of Baptism to put up their hearty prayers to God in behalf of those who are baptized and not to sit down or stand gazing about as if they were no way concern'd therein The Prayers of the Church therefore being put up to God in the Childs behalf and God having promised to hear our prayers if afterward the Sureties take care as they may do if they will when the Child is come to years of discretion to let him know what they had promised for him and perswade him the best they can to be mindful thereof they have done their duty and they may reasonably expect the blessing of God upon their endeavours But 5. Say some why should any persons be desired to take this charge upon them since it very often falls out that either the Sureties are removed at a great distance from the Children or the Children from them before they are capable of being instructed as they should be so that the duty cannot possibly be discharged according to promise To which I answer that it is very certain these things may and do happen very often and therefore all Parents would do well to make choice of such Sureties as are Inhabitants and not Strangers or Servants and such as have no settled place of abode unless they are known to be persons religiously inclined who may take care tho they live at some distance to discharge their duty But supposing that the circumstances of either party should be such that there is an unavoidable necessity of removing from one another and that the thing cannot be done so well as if they continued still in the same neighbourhood the Sureties are in such a case discharged from so much of their duty as they cannot possibly perform But then they should be mindful of such Children in their private devotions beseeching God to direct them by his holy Spirit in the ways of truth and righteousness and to grant unto them minds capable of receiving such good instruction as may be tender'd unto them that if he would season their hearts with grace and that he shall pleased to prolong their days here upon earth they may live to him and be instruments of his glory by serving him faithfully and doing good in their generation This supposition therefore of a removal on either side is of no more force against Sureties than that of their death which may happen in a little time after the Child is baptized for in all such cases of uncertainty we ought to do our duty and leave the Issue to the all-wise disposer of all things Thus we act in leaving our Children to Guardians who are to take care of their wordly concerns and why shall not we trust providence in the other cases as well as this And now having show'd you the reasonableness of our Churches practice in requiring Baptismal Sureties and having answered those objections which I have heard made against it I shall add but one argument more which yet ought to be of great weight with us in such like cases and that 's the necessity of every Christians submitting to all the Lawful orders of that Church whereof he is a member For so S. Peter teaches 1. Ep. 2. 13. submitting your selves to every ordinance of man for the Lords sake Here you see we are in conscience obliged to be obedient to our Governours in all those things which they may lawfully require us to do and not only to the civil Magistrate but also to the Church Governours for so St Paul has taught us Heb. 13. 17. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves for they watch