an elegy on the death of that most laborious and painful minister of the gospel, mr. john norcot who fell asleep in the lord the 24th day of this instant march, 1675/6. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1676 approx. 7 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 2 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47480 wing k61 estc r18842 12350425 ocm 12350425 59966 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47480) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 59966) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 213:7) an elegy on the death of that most laborious and painful minister of the gospel, mr. john norcot who fell asleep in the lord the 24th day of this instant march, 1675/6. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed for ben. harris ..., london : 1676. written by b. keach. cf. wing; bm. "an epitaph" signed: e.t. imperfect: badly stained. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng norcott, john, d. 1676. elegiac poetry. broadsides -england -17th century. 2005-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-05 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-09 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2005-09 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an elegy on the death of that most laborious and painful minister of the gospel mr. john norcot , who fell asleep in the lord the 24th of this instant march 1675 / 6. how doth my troubled soul amused stand , on thoughts of god's most sore chastising hand ; let heaven assist my pen , and help indite this mournful elegy i 'm mov'd to write . my grieved heart knows not what way to take , its love to shew and lamentation make . david for jonathan was sore distrest , and in like sort has sorrow seiz'd my brest . beloved john is gone , dear norcot's dead ; that man of god , who hath so often fed our precious souls with manna from above : whose powerful preaching did ingage our love to jesus christ . o! he had care and skill to feed poor souls and do his master's will. but is he from us also took away , what , breach still upon breach ! lord jesus stay thy hand , such strokes are hardly born , here 's cause for hundreds to lament and mourn . the loss is great the churches do sustain , poor sinners too like cause have to complain . there 's few like him surviving to arouse their sluggish souls out of their sinful drouse . they now may sleep secure and not awake . until they fall into the stygian lake . this golden trumpet 's stopt , 't will sound no more , to warn them of what danger 's at their door . to win sinners to christ he did not spare his strength nor time , thought nothing was too dear to part with all , if any ways he might , their souls turn from false ways unto the right : like as a candle which much light doth give , doth waste it self , whilst from it we receive much benefit ; so did he clearly burn , to the wasting of himself unto the urn . this godly preacher in a little space , much work did do , he swiftly run his race ; with 's might perform'd what e'r he found to do . god graciously did bless his work also , yea few ( i think ) have had the like success , in turning sinners unto righteousness . o were the worth of this good man but known , it might produce an universal groan . let brethren dear of different minds lament , for he for you in prayers much time has spent ; he lov'd you all , though i have cause to fear , the like affection some did scarcely bear . 't would pierce ones heart to think in such a time , obedience unto christ should be a crime ; or that offence should in the least be took , ' cause from gods word he durst not turn nor look . he would own naught but what thus saith the lord , add would not he nor minish from gods word . come let us live in love , we 〈…〉 , when at his port we all arived 〈…〉 let sinners mourn , who shall their loss repair , who for their souls so naturally did care . well may ye fear god will proclaim new wars , when he calls home his choice embassadors . what may a sodome look for from above , when such who stood 'i th gap , god doth remove . o tremble city , what is god about , look for new flames , thy lots are calling out . and now chastized flock a word or two , i 've double sorrow when i think of you . when that the harvest doth for reapers call , to lose your labourer , this wound 's not small . o who shall bear the burthen of the day , if god doth take the labourers thus away . when pylots die , how shall the seaman stear , ' mong'st rocks and sands , when stormes also appear . have we not cause to think the crafty fox , will out abroad and prey upon the flocks . and ravening wolves also will grow more bold . and scare some silly lambs out of the fold ; if god proceed to call the shepherds home , o what will of so many flocks become . ' i th' midst of all , in this doth comfort lie , the chiefest shepherd lives when others die . and he be sure who for the sheep did bleed , will stick to them in times of greatest need . come cease your grief , don't you know very well , the care god has of his own israell . and it s no more which now is come to pass , then what by you some time expected was , and what is done is but our fathers will , therefore be silent , every one be still : for should we yield to passion i have fears , we should grieve christ and wound our souls with tears . the narrow sluces too of dribling eyes , would be too streight for those great springs that rise . but since our vessels fills up to the top , le ts empty them , for every sin a drop . for it le ts wish we were compos'd of snow , instead of flesh , yea made of ice , that so we might in sense of sin and it loathing , melt with hot love to christ , yea thaw to nothing . and should our sins deprive our souls of him , let tears run from our eyes till couches swim . yet let 's not grudge him that most happy bliss , who now in glory with christ jesus is . he did his work apace , his race is run , he'as touch'd the gole yea and the prise hath won . an epitaph . a sweet and godly preacher doth lie here , who did his master jesus love so dear , and sinners souls , that he his strength did spend . and did thereby ( 't is thought ) hasten his end , he brought himself by preaching to the grave , the precious souls of sinners for to save . he lies but here asleep , he is not dead : to god he lives , to christ his soul is fled , and o're while must he awake again , and evermore with christ in glory raign . by b. k. london , printed for ben. harris at the stationers arms in sweetings rents near the royal exchange , 1676. an appendix to the answer unto two athenian mercuries concerning pedo-baptism containing twenty seven syllogistical arguments proving infant-baptism a mere humane tradition : the gentlmen called the athenian society desiring in the last of the said mercuries to have syllogism / by b. k. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1692 approx. 39 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 6 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47371 wing k45 estc r2646 13663404 ocm 13663404 101137 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47371) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 101137) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 792:6) an appendix to the answer unto two athenian mercuries concerning pedo-baptism containing twenty seven syllogistical arguments proving infant-baptism a mere humane tradition : the gentlmen called the athenian society desiring in the last of the said mercuries to have syllogism / by b. k. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. [2], 8 p. printed for the author and sold by john harris ..., london : 1692. written by benjamin keach. cf. halkett & laing. reproduction of original in bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng athenian society (london, england) infant baptism -early works to 1800. 2005-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-05 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-08 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2005-08 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an appendix to the answer unto two athenian mercuries , concerning pedo-baptism . containing twenty seven syllogistical arguments , proving infant-baptism a mere humane tradition . the gentlemen called the athenian society , desiring in the last of the said mercuries to have syllogisms . ephes . 4. 5. one lord , one faith , one baptism . by b. k. london , printed for the author , and sold by john harris at the sign of the harrow in the poultry . mdcxcii . price two pence . an appendix to the answer to two athenian mercuries , concerning infant-baptism , containing divers syllogistical arguments to disprove pedo-baptism , and to prove the baptism of believers . gentlemen , since you desire syllogisms , i have gratified you therein . arg. 1. if none are to be baptized by the authority of the great commission of our blessed saviour , matth. 28. but such who are first made disciples by being taught ; than insants , who are not capable to be taught , ought not to be baptized . but none are to be baptized by the authority of the great commission of our blessed saviour , but such who are first made disciples by teaching . ergo , little babes ought not to be baptized . arg. 2. if infant-baptism was never instituted , commanded , or appointed of god , infants ought not to be baptized . but infant-baptism was never instituted , commanded , or appointed of god. ergo , they ought not to be baptized . as to the major ; if one thing may be practised as an ordinance without an institution or command of god , another thing may also ; so any innovation may be let into the church . as to the minor ; if there is an institution for it , &c. 't is either contained in the great commission , matth. 28. mark 16. or somewhere else . but 't is not to be found in the commission , nor any where else . ergo. the major none will deny . the minor i prove thus . none are to be baptized by virtue of the commission , but such who are discipled by the word , as i said before , and so the greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies . if any should say , christ commanded his disciples to baptize all nations , and infants are part of nations , therefore are to be baptized . i answer ; arg. 3. if all nations , or any in the nations ought to be baptized before discipled ; then turks , pagans , unbelievers and their children may be baptized , because they are a great part of the nations . but turks , pagans and unbelievers , and their children , ought not to be baptized . ergo. besides that , teaching ( by the authority of the commission ) must go before baptizing , we have proved ; which generally all learned men do assert : if the institution is to be found any where else , they must shew the place . arg. 4. faith and repentance are required of all that ought to be baptized . infants are not required to believe and repent , nor are they capable so to do . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized . the major is clear , acts 2 , 8 , 10 , 16 chapters ; and 't is also asserted by the church of england . what is required of persons to be baptized ? that 's the question . the answer is , repentance , whereby they forsake sin ; and faith , whereby they stedfastly believe the promise of god made to them in that sacrament . the minor cannot be denied . arg. 5. that practice that tends not to the glory of god , nor to the profit of the child , when done , nor in after-times when grown up , but may prove hurtful and of a dangerous nature to him , cannot be a truth of god. but the practice of infant-baptism tends not to the glory of god , nor to the profit of the child when baptized , nor in after-times when grown up , but may prove hurtful and of a dangerous nature to him . ergo. see levit. 10. 1 , 2. where moses told aaron , because his sons had done that which god commanded them not , that god would be sanctified by all that drew near unto him ; intimating , that such who did that which god commanded not , did not sanctify or glorify god therein . can god be glorified by man's disobedience , or by adding to his word ; by doing that which god hath not required ? matth. 16. 9. in vain do you worship me , teaching for doctrine the commandments of men : and that that practice doth profit the child , none can prove from god's word : and in after-times when grown up , it may cause the person to think he was thereby made a christian , &c. and brought into the covenant of grace , and had it sealed to him , nay , thereby regenerated , for so these gentlemen in their mercury , decemb. 26. plainly intimate , and that infants are thereby ingrafted also into christ's church . sure all understanding men know baptism of believers is not called regeneration , but only metonymically , it being a figure of regeneration . but they ignorantly affirm also , that infants then have a federal holiness ; as if this imagined holiness comes in by the child's covenant in baptism , which may prove hurtful and dangerous to them , and cause them to think baptism confers grace , which is a great error . how can water , saith mr. charnock , an external thing , work upon the soul physically ? nor can it , saith he , be proved , that ever the spirit of god is tied by any promise , to apply himself to the soul in a gracious operation , when water is applied to the body : if it were so , then all that were baptized were regenerated , then all that were baptized should be saved , or else the doctrine of perseverance falls to the ground . some indeed , says he , say , that regeration is conferred in baptism upon the elect , and exerts it self afterwards in conversion . but how so active a principle as a spiritual life should lie dead and asleep so many years , &c. is not easily conceived . on regen . p. 75. arg. 6. if the church of england says , that faith and repentance are required of all that ought to be baptized , and in so saying , speak truly , and yet infants can't perform those things ; then infants ought not to be baptized . but the church of england says , that faith and repentance are required of all such , &c. and speak truly , and yet infants cannot perform these things . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized . object . if it be objected , that they affirm they do perform it by their sureties . answ . if suretiship for children in baptism is not required of god , and the sureties do not , cannot perform those things for the child : then suretiship is not of god , and so signifies nothing , but is an unlawful and sinful undertaking . but suretiship in childrens baptism is not required of god , and they do not , cannot perform what they promise . ergo. do they , or can they cause the child to forsake the devil and all his works , the pomps and vanities of this wicked world , and all the sinful lusts of the flesh ? in a word ; can they make the child or children to repent and truly believe in jesus christ ? for these are the things they promise for them , and in their name . alas , they want power to do it for themselves , and how then should they do it for others ? besides , we see they never mind nor regard their covenant in the case : and will not god one day say , who has required these things at your hands ? arg. 7. if there be no precedent in the scripture , ( as there is no precept ) that any infant was baptized , then infants ought not to be baptized . but there is no precedent that any infant was baptized in the scripture . ergo. if there is any precedent or example in scripture that any infant was baptized , let them shew us where we may find it . erasmus saith , 't is no where expressed in the apostolical writings , that they baptized children . vnion of the church , and on rom. 6. calvin saith , it is no where expressed by the evangelists , that any o●e the infant was baptized by the apostles . instit . c. 16. book 4. ludovicus vives saith , none of old were wont to be baptized but in grown age , and who desired and understood what it was . vide ludov. the magdeburgenses say , that concerning the baptizing the adult , both jews and gentiles , we have sufficient proof from acts 2 , 8 , 10 , 16 chapters ; but as to the baptizing of infants , they can 〈…〉 no example in scripture . 〈…〉 l. 2. p. 469. dr. taylor saith , it is 〈◊〉 the perpetual analogy of 〈…〉 baptize infants : for besides that christ never gave any precept to baptize them , nor ever himself nor his apostles ( that appears ) did baptize any of them : all that either he or his apostles said concerning it , requires such previous dispositions of baptism , of which infants are not capable , viz. faith and repentance . lib. proph. p. 239. arg. 8. if whatsoever which is necessary to faith and practice is left in the holy scripture , that being a compleat and perfect rule , and yet infant-baptism is not contained or to be sound therein , then infant-baptism is not of god. but whatever is necessary to faith and practice , is contained in the holy scriptures , &c. but infant-baptism is not to be found therein . ergo. that the scripture is a perfect rule , &c. we have the consent of all the ancient fathers and modern divines . athanasius saith , the holy scriptures being inspirations of god , are sufficient to all instructions of truth . athan. against the gentiles . chrysostom saith , all things be plain and clear in the scripture ; and whatsoever are needful ▪ are manifest there . chrysost . on 2 thess. and 2 tim. 2. basil saith that it would be an argument of infidelity , and a most certain sign of pride , if any man should reject any thing written , and should introduce things not written . basil in his sermon de fide. augustine saith ▪ in the scriptures are found all things which contain faith , manner of living , hope , love , &c. let us , saith he , seek no farther than what is written of god our saviour , lest a man would know more than the scriptures witness . aug. in his 108 epistles to fortunat. theophilact saith , it is part of a diabolical spirit , to think any thing divine , without the authority of the holy scripture . lib. 2. paschal . isychius saith , let us who will have any thing observed of god , search no more but 〈◊〉 which the gospel doth give unto us . 〈…〉 16. on levit. 〈…〉 though the arguments of the anabaptists , from the defect of command or example , have a great use against the lutherans , forasmuch as they use that rite every where , having no command or example , theirs is to be rejected ; yet is it of no force against catholicks , who conclude the apostolical tradition is of no less authority with us than the scripture , &c. this of baptizing of infants is an apostolical tradition . bellarm. in his book de bapt. l. 1. c. 8. mr. ball saith , we must for every ordinance look to the institution , and never stretch it wider , nor draw it narrower than the lord hath made it , for he is the institutor of the sacraments according to his own pleasure ; and 't is our part to learn of him , both to whom , how , and for what end the sacraments are to be administred . ball , in his answer to the new-england elders , p. 38 , 39. and as to the minor , 't is acknowledged by our adversaries , it is not to be found in the letter of the scripture . and as to the consequences drawn therefrom , we have proved , they are not natural from the premises ; and though we admit of consequences and inferences if genuine , yet not in the case of an institution respecting a practical ordinance that is of meer positive right . arg. 9. if infant-baptism was an institution of christ , the pedo-baptists could not be at a loss about the grounds of the right infants have to baptism : but the pedo-baptists are at a great loss , and differ exceedingly about the grounds of the right infants have to baptism . ergo , 't is no institution of christ . as touching the major , i argue thus ; that which is an institution of christ , the holy scripture doth shew , as well the end and ground of the ordinance , as the subject and manner of it . but the scripture speaks nothing of the end or ground of pedo-baptism , or for what reason they ought to be baptized . ergo , 't is no institution of christ . the minor is undeniable ; some affirm , as we have shewed , p. 15. it was to take away original sin. some say it is their right by the covenant , they being the seed of believers . others say , infants ▪ have faith , and therefore have a right . others say , they have a right by the faith of their sureties . some ground their right from an apostolical tradition ; others upon the authority of scripture . some say , all children of professed christians ought to be baptized ; others say , none but the children of true believers have a right to it . sure , if it was an ordinance of christ , his word would soon end this controversy . arg. 10. if the children of believing gentiles , as such , are not the natural nor spiritual seed of abraham , they can have no right to baptism , or church-membership , by virtue of any covenant-transaction god made with abraham , but the children of believing gentiles , as such , are not the natural nor spiritual seed of abraham . ergo. arg. 11. if no man can prove from scripture , that any spiritual benefit redounds to infants in their baptism , 't is no ordinance of christ . but no man can prove from scripture , that any spiritual benefit redounds to infants in their baptism . ergo. arg. 12. that cannot be an ordinance of christ , for which there is neither command nor example in all god's word , nor promise to such who do it , nor threatnings to such who neglect it . but there is no command or example in all the word of god for the baptizing of little babes , nor promise made to such who are baptized , nor threatnings to such who are not . ergo. that the child lies under a promise who is baptized , or the child under any threatning or danger that is not baptized , let them prove it , since it is denied . arg. 13. if no parents , at any time or times , have been by god the father , jesus christ , or his apostles , either commended for baptizing of their children , or reproved for neglecting to baptize them ; then infant-baptism is no ordinance of god. but no parents at any time or times have been by god commended for baptizing of their children , &c. ergo , infant-baptism is no ordinance of god. this argument will stand unanswerable , unless any can shew who they were that were ever commended for baptizing their children , or reproved for neglecting it , or unless they can shew a parallel case . arg. 14. if men were not to presume to alter any thing in the worship of god under the law , neither to add thereto , nor diminish therefrom , and god is as strict and jealous of his worship under the gospel ; then nothing ought to be altered in god's worship under the gospel . but under the law men were not to presume so to do , and god is as strict and jealous under the gospel . ergo. the major cannot be denied . the minor is clear ; see thou make all things according to the pattern shewed thee in the mount , exod. 25. 40. and levit. 10. 1 , 2. see how nadab and abihu sped , for presuming to vary from the command of god , and vzzah , tho but in small circumstances as they may seem to us . how dare men adventure , this being so , to change baptism from dipping into sprinkling , and the subject , from an adult believer , to an ignorant babe ? add thou not unto his word , &c. arg. 15. whatever practice opens a door to any humane traditions and innovations in god's worship , is a great evil , and to be avoided : but the practice of infant-baptism opens a door to any humane traditions and innovations in god's worship . ergo , to sprinkle or baptize infants is a great evil , and to be avoided . the major will not be denied . the minor is clear , because there is no scripture-ground for it , no command nor example for such a practice in god's word . and if without scripture-authority the church hath power to do one thing , she may do another , and so ad insinitum . arg. 16. whatsoever practice reflects upon the honour , wisdom and care of jesus christ , or renders him less faithful than moses , and the new testament in one of its great ordinances , ( nay , sacraments ) to lie more obscure in god's word , than any law or precept under the old testament , cannot be of god. but the practice of infant-baptism reflects on the honour , care and faithfulness of jesus christ , and renders him less faithful than moses , and a great ordinance , ( nay , sacrament ) of the new testament , to lie more dark and obscure than any precept under the old testament . ergo , infant-baptism cannot be of god. the major cannot be denied . the minor is easily proved : for he is bold indeed who shall affirm infant-baptism doth not lie obscure in god's word . one great party who assert it , say , 't is not to be found in the scripture at all , but 't is an unwritten apostolical tradition : others say , it lies not in the letter of the scripture , but may be proved by consequences ; and yet some great asserters of it , as dr. hammond and others , say , those consequences commonly drawn from divers texts for it , are without demonstration , and so prove nothing . i am sure a man may read the scripture a hundred times over , and never be thereby convinced ; he ought to baptize his children , tho it is powerful to convince men of all other duties . now can this be a truth , since christ who was more faithful than moses , and delivered every thing plainly from the father ? moses left nothing dark as to matter of duty , tho the precepts and external rites of his law were numerous , two or three hundred precepts , yet none were at a loss , or had need to say , is this a truth or an ordinance , or not ? for he that runs may read it . and shall one positive precept given forth by christ , who appointed so few in the new testament , be so obscure , as also the ground and end of it , that men should be confounded about the proofs of it , together with the end and ground thereof ? see heb. 3. 5 , 6. arg. 17. that custom or law which moses never delivered to the jews , nor is any where written in the old testament , was no truth of god , nor of divine authority . but that custom or law to baptize proselytes either men , women or children , was never given to the jews by moses , nor is it any where written in the old testament . ergo , it was no truth of god , nor of divine authority : and evident it is , as sir norton knatchbul shews , that the jewish rabbins differed among themselves also about it : for , saith he , rabbi elizer expresly contradicts rabbi joshua , who was the first i know of who asserted this sort of baptism among the jews : for eliezer , who was contemporary with rabbi joshua , if he did not live before him , asserts , that a proselyte circumcised and not baptized , was a true proselyte . arg. 18. if baptism is of mere positive right , wholly depending on the will and sovereign pleasure of jesus christ , the great legislator : and he hath not required or commanded infants to be baptized : then infants ought not to be baptized : but baptism is of mere positive right , wholly depending on the will and sovereign pleasure of jesus christ , the great legislator , and he hath not required or commanded infants to be baptized . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized . this argument tends to cut off all the pretended proofs of pedo-baptism , taken from the covenant made with abraham ; and because children are said to belong to the kingdom of heaven , it was not the right of abraham's male children to be circumcised , because they were begotten , and born of the fruit of his loins , till he received commandment from god to circumcise them . had he done it before , or without a command from god , it would have been will-worship in him so to have done . moreover , this further appears to be so , because no godly man's children , nor others in abraham's days , nor since , had any right thereto , but only his children , ( or such who were bought with his money , or were proselyted to the jewish religion ) because they had no command from god so to do , as abraham had . this being true , it follows , that if we should grant infants of believing gentiles , as such , were the seed of abraham ( which we deny ) yet unless god had commanded them to baptize their children , they ought not to do it ; and if they do it without a command or authority from christ , it will be found an act of will-worship in them . arg. 19. all that were baptized in the apostolical primitive times , were baptized upon the profession of faith , were baptized into christ , and thereby put on christ , and were all one in christ jesus , and were abraham's seed and heirs , according to promise . but infants , as such , who are baptized , were not baptized upon the profession of their faith , nor did they put on christ thereby , nor are they all one in christ jesus , also are not abraham's seed and heirs according to promise . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized . mr. baxter confirms the substance of the major . these are his very words , i. e. as many as have been baptized have put on christ , and are all one in christ jesus ; and are abraham ' s seed , and heirs , according to the promise , gal. 3. 27 , 28 , 29. this speaks the apostle , saith he , of the probability grounded on a credible profession , &c. baxter's co●firm . reconcil . pag. 32. the minor will stand firm till any can prove infants by a visible profession have put on christ , are all one in christ jesus , are abraham's seed and heirs according to promise . evident it is , none are the spiritual seed of abraham , but such who have the faith of abraham , but such who have the faith of abraham , and are truly grafred into christ , by a saving-faith . if any object , we read of some who were baptized , who had no saving-faith , but were hypocrites . i answer ; had they appeared to be such , they had not been baptized , nor had they a true right thereto . arg. 20. baptism is the solemnizing of the souls marriage-union with christ , which marriage-contract absolutely requires an actual profession of consent . infants are not capable to enter into a marriage-union with christ , nor to make a profession of consent . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized . the major our opposits generally grant , particularly see what mr. baxter saith , our baptism is the solemnizing of our marriage with christ . these are his words , p. 32. the minor none can deny : no man sure in his right mind , will assert that little babes are capable to enter into a marriage-relation with christ , and to make a profession of a consent : and the truth is , he in the next words gives away his cause , viz. and 't is , saith he , a new and strange kind of marriage , where there is no profession of consent ; p. 32. how unhappy was this man to plead for such a new and strange kind of marriage : did he find any little babe he ever baptized ( or rather rantized ) to make a profession of consent to be married to jesus christ . if any should object , he speaks of the baptism of the adult . i answer , his words are these , our baptism is , &c. besides , will any pedo-baptist say , that the baptism of the adult is the solemnizing of the souls marriage with christ , and not the baptism of infants . reader , observe how our opposits are forced sometimes to speak the truth , though it overthrows their own practice of pedo-baptism . arg. 21. if the sins of no persons are forgiven them till they are converted , then they must not be baptized for the forgiveness of them , till they prosess themselves to be converted ; but the sins of no persons are forgiven them till they are converted . ergo , no person ought to be baptized for the forgiveness of them , till they profess they are converted . mr. baxter in the said treatise lays down the substance of this argument also , take his own words , i. e. as their sins are not forgiven them till they are converted , mark 4. 12. so they must not be baptized for the forgiveness of them , till they profess themselves converted , seeing to the church , in esse , and non apparere is all one . repentance towards god , and faith towards our lord jesus is the sum of that preaching that makes disciples , acts 20. 21. therefore , saith he , both these must by a profession seem to be received , before any at age are baptized ; p. 30. 31. and evident it is , say i , from hence none but such at age ought to be baptized . philip caused the eunuch to profess before he would baptize him , that be believed that jesus christ is the son of god. saul had also , saith he , more than a bare profession before baptism , acts 9. 5 , 15 , 17. p. 28. the promise it self , saith he doth expresly require a faith of our own , of all the adult that will have part in the priviledges : therefore there is a faith of our own , that is the condition of our title ; mark 16. 16. p. 16. he might have added by the force of his argument ; therefore infants should not have the priviledges : for i argue thus , viz. arg. 22. if there is but one baptism of water left by jesus christ in the new testament , and but one condition or manner of right thereto : and that one baptism is that of the adult ; then infant-baptism is no baptism of christ . but there is but one baptism in water lest by christ in the new testament , and but one condition and manner of right thereto , and that one baptism is that of the adult . ergo , infant-baptism is no baptism of christ . mr. baxter saith , faith and repentance is the condition of the adult , and as to any other condition , i am sure the scripture is silent ; the way of the lord is one , one lord , one faith , one baptism , ephes . 4. 4. if profession of faith were not necessary , saith mr. baxter , coram ecclesiâ , to church-membership and priviledges , then infidels and heathens would have right ; also , saith he , the church and the world would be confounded . he might have added , but infidels and heathens have no right to church-membership , &c. ergo , 't is a granted case among all christians , saith he , that profession is thus necessary , the apostles and ancient church admitted none without it ; pag. 21. and if so , why dare any now adays admit of infants , who are capable to make no profession . he adds , yea christ in his commission directeth his apostles to make disciples , and then baptize them , promising , he that believeth , and is baptized , shall be saved , mark 16. 16. pag. 27. furthermore he saith , if as many as are baptized into christ , are baptized into his death , and are buried with him by baptism into death , that like as christ was raised from the dead , so we also should-walk in newness of life , &c. then no doubt , saith he , but such as were to be baptized , did first profess this mortification , and a consent to be buried , &c. in our baptism we put off the body of the the sins of the flesh , by the circumcision of christ , being buried with him , and raised with him through faith , quickned with him , and having all our trespasses forgiven , col. 2. 11 , 12 , 13. and will any mau ( says he ) yea , will paul ascribe all this to those that did not so much as profess the things signified ? will baptism , in the judgment of a wise man , do all this for an infidel , ( or , say i , for an infant ) that cannot make a profession that he is a christian ? pag. 31 , 32. he proceeds . arg. 23. the baptized are in scripture called men washed , sanctified , justified ; they are called saints , and churches of saints , 1 cor. 1. 2. all christians are sanctified ones : pag. 33. now let me add the minor. but infants baptized are not in scripture called men washed , sanctified , justified , they are not called saints , churches of saints , christians , nor sanctified ones . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized . if any should say , why did you not cite these assertions of mr. baxter's whilst he was living ? i answer , more then twelve years ago i did recite and print these assertions , and many other arguments of his to the same purpose , to which he gave no answer . arg. 24. if there is but one way for all , both parents and children to be admitted into the gospel-church to the end of the world , and that it is upon the profession of faith to be baptized ; then both parents and children must upon the profession of their faith be baptized , and so admitted , &c. but there is but one way for all , both parents and children , to be admitted into the gospel-church to the end of the world , and that is upon the profession their faith to be baptized . ergo. arg. 25. that cannot be christ's true baptism wherein there is not , cannot be a lively representation of the death , burial and resurrection of jesus christ , together with our death unto sin , and vivification to a new life . but in the rantizing or sprinkling of an infant , there is not , cannot be a lively representation of christ's death , burial and resurrection , &c. ergo. arg. 26. that pretended baptism that tends to frustrate the glorious end and design of christ in his instituting of gospe-baptism , or cannot answer it , is none of christ's baptism . but the pretended baptism of infants tends to frustrate the glorious end and design of christ in instituting of gospel-baptism , ergo. that major will not he denied . as to the minor , all generally confes the end or design of christ in instituting the ordinance of baptism , was in a lively figure , to represent his death , burial , and resurrection , with the person 's death unto sin , and his rising again to walk in newness of life , that is baptized , as the sacrament of the supper was ordained to represent his body was broke , and his blood was shed . but that a lively figure of christ's death , burial , and resurrection , appears in sprinkling a little water on the face , i see not ; and as done to an infant , there can no death to sin , and rising again to walk in newness of life , be signified ; and therefore christ's design and end therein is frustrated . arg. 27. if baptism be immersion , as to the proper and genuine signification of the word baptizo , as also of those typical and metaphorical baptisms and the spiritual signification thereof ; then sprinkling cannot be christ's true baptism . but immersion is the proper and genuine signification of the word baptizo , and also of those typical and metaphorical baptisms spoken of , and the spiritual signification thereof . ergo , sprinkling is not christ's true baptism . 1. that the proper and genuine signification of the word baptizo is immersion , or to dip , &c. we have proved , which is also confessed by the learned in the language . 2. the figurative baptism was , 1st . that of the red sea , wherein the ●●thers were buried , as it were , unto moses in the sea , and under the cloud . pools annotations on 1 cor. 10. 2. others , saith he , more probably think that the apostle useth this term , in regard of the great analogy betwixt baptism ( as it was then used ) the persons going down into the waters , and being dipped in them ; and the israelites going down into the sea , the great receptacle of water , though the water at that time was gathered on heaps on either side of them ; yet they seemed-buried in the water , as persons in that age were when they were baptized , &c. the 2d . was that of noah's ark. see sir norton knatchb●ll : the ark of noah and baptism , saith he , were both a type and figure of the resurrection , not the sign of the washing away of sin , though so taken metonymically , but a particular signal of the resurrection of christ : of this baptism is a lively and emphatical figure , as also was the ark of noah , out of which he returned as from a sepulchre , to a new life . 3. metaphorical baptism is that of the spirit and of affliction : the first signifies not a sprinkling of the spirit , but the great effusion of the spirit , like that at pentecost , acts 1. 4 , 5. shall be baptized , &c. on which words casaubon speaks thus : see dr. d● veil on acts 2. the greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to dip or plunge , as it were to die colours , in which sense , saith he , the apostles might be truly said to have been baptized for the house in which this was done , was filled with the holy ghost ; so that the apostles might seem to have been plunged into it as in a large fish-pond . also 〈◊〉 on acts 2. saith , a wind filled the whole house , that it seemed like a fish-pond , because it was promised to the apostles , that they should be baptized with the holy ghost . and the baptism of afflic●●● are those great depths or overwhelming of afflictions , like that of our saviour's 〈◊〉 , i. e. no part free ; matth. 20. 22. 〈◊〉 you have the same greed word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and like that , of david , who saith , 〈…〉 him out of gr●●t waters . 4. the spiritual signification thereof ●● the death , burial and resurrection of christ and of our death to sin , and vivification 〈◊〉 a new life . this being so , it follows 〈…〉 sprinkling cannot be christ●● true 〈…〉 it must be immersion , and nothing else . and in the last place , finally , to 〈◊〉 that baptizo is to dip , both from the literal 〈◊〉 spiritual signification thereof , as also 〈◊〉 those typical and metaphorical baptism ●●●tioned in the scripture , i might add 〈…〉 that this evidently appears from the 〈…〉 of john baptist and the apostles of 〈◊〉 who baptized in rivers , and where 〈…〉 much water : and also , because the 〈…〉 baptized are said to go down into the w●●●● ( not down to the water ) and came 〈◊〉 of the water . john baptist is said to 〈◊〉 them into jordan , as the greek word 〈◊〉 it , which shews it dipping and not 〈◊〉 . would it be proper to say , he 〈…〉 them into jordan ? the lord open 〈…〉 those who see not , to consider these 〈…〉 finis . the articles of the faith of the church of christ, or, congregation meeting at horsley-down benjamin keach, pastor, as asserted this 10th of the 6th month, 1697. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1697 approx. 53 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 25 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47381) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 61805) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 944:4) the articles of the faith of the church of christ, or, congregation meeting at horsley-down benjamin keach, pastor, as asserted this 10th of the 6th month, 1697. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. [12], 3-40 p. [s.n.], london : 1697. reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng baptists -doctrines. baptists -england -early works to 1800. 2005-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-07 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-08 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2005-08 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the articles of the faith of the church of christ , or congregation meeting at horsley-down , benjamin keach , pastor , as asserted this 10 th of the 6 th month , 1697. london ; printed in the year 1697. to the congregation with whom i am a member ( and the unworthy overseer ) who are in god the father , and in our lord jesus christ ; grace , mercy and peace be multiplied . most dear and beloved in christ : i hope i can say ( with the holy apostle ) that you are by me dearly beloved , my joy , and my crown ; yea you are my honour , and in you i would rejoice , being the ornament of my poor ministry , by which the most of you have ( through the blessing of god ) been converted to jesus christ : and if you stand fast in the faith in one spirit , striving together for the faith of the gospel , and do adorn your profession , living in love , and endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace , you will cause my latter days to be most sweet and comfortable to me , after all those troubles , sorrows , and reproaches i have met with , both from within and from without . evident it is god hath most eminently appeared to strengthen your hands : tho the archers have sorely grieved you , and shot at you , yet your bow abideth in strength ; and that the arms of your hands may still abide strong by the arm of the mighty god of jacob , shall be my continual prayers . my brethren , i here present you with that which you have so long waited for , and desired me to endeavour to do , viz. to state an account of the most concerning articles of your faith , which you have heard read , and have approved of , and which i thought good no longer to delay the doing of . ( 1. ) not knowing how soon i may put off this tabernacle , and therefore would leave behind me an account of that holy doctrine and order , in which through grace you are established ( for at your desire also i have drawn up the whole rules of your holy discipline , which you may have added unto this , and bound up together ) . ( 2. ) and the rather i have done this , because the general and more large confession of the faith of our churches , is now out of print ; but that is not all , for that being 12 d. price , some cannot well purchase it . ( 3. ) and also that all men may see what our faith is , and that we differ not from our brethren who bear other names in any fundamental point or article of faith ; and that they may discern the difference between you and some that bear the same name with you . ( 4. ) tho you agree in the general with all other churches of the same faith , in all those articles there inserted , yet therein your whole faith is not comprehended , viz. that of imposition of hands upon baptized believers as such , and singing of god's praise , &c. because some of our churches dissent from us therein : yet my desire is you would nevertheless shew all tenderness , charity and moderation to such as differ from you in those cases , and not refuse communion with them ; and indeed your late sweet temper appears to be such , that i need not press you to this . all that i shall say more , is to entreat you to labour after holiness , and to awake out of sleep , that you may adorn your sacred profession , and prepare to meet the lord ; that as you have a good doctrine , you may also have a holy and good conversation ; and then we need not fear who can harm us , whilst we are followers of that which is good , o let us bear one with another . and if in any thing we differ , let us avoid all animosities . brethren , great things are near , watch and pray , look out and be ready . but at present i shall conclude with the words of the apostle , finally , brethren , farewel ; be perfect , be of good comfort , be of one mind , live in peace , and the god of love and peace shall be with you . so prays your unworthy brother , pastor , overseer , and servant , who earnestly desires your prayers , also , b. keach . from my house in freemans-lane by horsley-down , southwark . aug. 16. 1697. that the following articles contain what the foresaid church believes concerning those truths asserted therein , we whose names are hereunto subscribed , do testify in the name and by the appointment of the whole congregation , the 10 th day of the 6 th month , commonly called august , 1697. benjamin keach , pastor . benjamin stinton , teacher . john roberts , deacon . edward foley , deacon . joshua farrow , deacon . tho. stinton , deacon . john valley , deacon . isaac ballard , deacon . john hoar , sen. edward newbury , tho. turner , john seamor , ephraim wilcocks , james wilmott , daniel dines , richard thoubals , john weston , john clark , tho. ayers , john york , george starkey , sen. benj. harris , george starkey , jun. john beavis , tho. hill , joseph berry , william farmworth , joseph jennings , john fowle , sen. tho. fowle , john fowle , jun. henry skeer , john greensmith , jeremiah lions , william putman , nath. holden , william cattrel , tho. harvey , tho. richford , joseph worley , peter carter , william forister , sam. cox. john sparke , james king , william deale , simon agars , john hoar , jun. tho. gunning , william mais . the articles of faith of the church of christ meeting at horsley-down . of god , and of the holy trinity . i. we do believe , declare and testify , that there is but one only living and true god , who is a spirit infinite , eternal , immense and unchangeable in his being , wisdom , power , holiness , justice , goodness , truth and faithfulness . ii. that there are three persons in the godhead , the father , the son , and holy spirit ; and that these three are one god , the same in essence , equal in power and glory . of the decrees of god. iii. that the decrees of god are his eternal purpose according to the counsel of his will , whereby for his own glory he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass , even those evils that his wisdom and justice permits for the manifestation of the glory of those his attributes : and that god executes his decrees in the works of creation and providence . of creation . iv. that the works of creation are god's creating all things of nothing by his word of power , in six days , and all very good . that god created man male and female , after his own image , in knowledg , righteousness , and holiness , with power and dominion over the creatures . of god's providence . v. we believe that god's works of providence are his most holy , wise , and powerful preserving , and governing all his creatures , and their actions . of the holy scriptures . vi. we believe the holy scriptures of the old and new testament are the word of god , and are the only rule of faith , and practice ; all things being contained therein that are necessary for us to know concerning god , and our duty unto him , and also unto all men. that all persons ought to read , hear , and understand the holy scriptures . that the light of nature , and works of providence , tho they declare plainly there is a god , yet not so effectually as the holy scriptures ; nor can we know without them how , and in what space of time god created all things . neither came we any other ways but by the holy scriptures to the knowledg of christ the blessed mediator ; which indeed none can savingly know but by the word and spirit of god. of original sin. vii . we do believe , that god having created man , he entered into a covenant of life with him , upon the condition of perfect obedience ; making the first adam a common head to all his seed : and that our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will , fell from the estate wherein they were created , by eating of the forbidden fruit : and that adam being set up as a publick person , we all sinned in him , and fell with him into a state of sin , of wrath and misery ; the sinfulness of which state consists in the guilt of adam's first sin , the want of original righteousness , and the corruption of our whole nature : from whence all actual sins proceed , as water out of a filthy and an unclean fountain . so that not only by imputation all men became sinners in the first adam , but also as the same corrupt nature is conveyed to all his posterity , who descend from him in ordinary generation . by this sin all mankind lost the image of god , and communion with him , being liable to all the miseries of this life , and to death itself ; and also are dead in sins and trespasses , and obnoxious to the wrath of god , and the eternal pains of hell for ever . hence we say that all are conceiv'd and born in sin , and are the children of wrath , even the elect as well as others , being wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body , and utterly indisposed and disabled to do any thing that is spiritually good , and wholly inclined with a strong propensity to all things that are evil . of man's free-will . viii . we believe man in his state of innocency had freedom of will to do good ; but by the fall he hath utterly lost all that power and ability , being wofully depraved in all the faculties of his soul ; there being in the will and mind of all naturally much enmity against god , and a total aversion to him , and to every thing that is spiritually good ; loving darkness , and rebelling against the light. but when a man is renewed by divine grace , tho there is no force put upon the will , yet it is made willing , and acts freely , in the day of god's power : tho the work is not perfect in any faculty in the regenerate , nor will be in this life . of christ the mediator . ix . we believe that god having , out of his own meer good pleasure , and infinite love , elected some persons of the lost seed of the first adam unto everlasting life , from all eternity , did enter into a covenant of grace with the second person of the trinity , ( who was set up as the common head of all the elect ) to deliver them out of the state of sin and misery , and to bring them into a state of salvation and eternal happiness . that the second person in the godhead , ( being the eternal son of god , coessential , and coequal with the father ) according to that holy covenant and compact that was between them both , became man , or assumed our nature , and so was , and continueth to be god and man in two distinct natures , in one person for ever . and that he the son of god by his becoming man , did take unto him a true body , and reasonable soul , being conceived by the holy spirit in the womb of the virgin , and was born of her , yet without sin. of the offices of christ. x. we believe that the lord jesus christ , who is our redeemer , and the one blessed mediator between god and man , executeth a threefold office , both the office of a priest , the office of a king , and the office of a prophet . first , that he executeth the office of a priest , ( 1. ) in his once offering up himself a sacrifice , to satisfy divine justice , and to reconcile god to us , and us to god. ( 2. ) and in making continual intercession for us , that the merits of his blood may be made effectual unto us . secondly , that he executeth the office of a king in subduing us unto himself , and in giving us laws and holy precepts , by which we ought to walk ; and also in his restraining and conquering all his , and our enemies . thirdly , that he executeth the office of a prophet , in revealing to us by his word and spirit , the whole will of god concerning all things that appertain to faith and practice . of christ's humiliation and exaltation . xi . we believe that christ's humiliation consisted in that great condescension of his in assuming our nature , and being born in a low condition , made under the law , undergoing the many miseries of this life , the wrath of god , the curse of the law , and the ignominious death of the cross , continuing under death for a time . and that his exaltation consisteth in his rising again from the dead the third day , and in his ascending up into heaven , in sitting at the right-hand of god ; angels , powers , and principalities being made subject unto him ; and in his being made judg of the quick and dead . of effectual calling . xii . we do believe that we are made partakers of the redemption purchased by christ , by the effectual application of his merits , &c. unto us by the holy spirit , thereby uniting us to christ in effectual calling : and that effectual calling is the work of god's free grace , who by his spirit works faith in us , who are altogether passive therein ; and convincing us of sin and misery , enlightning our minds in the knowledg of christ , and renewing our wills , and changing our whole hearts , he doth perswade and enable us to imbrace jesus christ freely , as he is offered in the gospel . of justification . xiii . we do believe justification is a free act of god's grace , through that redemption which is in christ , ( who , as our head , was acquitted , justified , and discharged , and we in him , when he rose from the dead ) and when applied to us , we in our own persons are actually justified , in being made and pronounced righteous , through the righteousness of christ imputed to us ; and all our sins , past , present , and to come , for ever pardon'd ; which is receiv'd by faith alone . and that our sanctification , nor faith it self , is any part of our justification before god ; it not being either the habit , or act of believing , or any act of evangelical obedience imputed to us , but christ , and his active and passive obedience only , apprehended by faith : and that faith in no sense tends to make christ's merits more satisfactory unto god ; but that he was as fully reconciled and satisfied for his elect in christ by his death before faith as after ; otherwise it would render god only reconcileable , ( not reconciled ) and make faith part of the payment or satisfaction unto god , and so lessen the merits of christ , as if they were defective or insufficient . yet we say , it is by faith that we receive the atonement , or by which means ( as an instrument ) we come to apprehend and receive him , and to have personal interest in him , and to have our free justification evidenced to our own consciences . of adoption . xiv . we believe adoption is an act of god's free grace , whereby such who were the children of wrath by nature , are received into the number , and have right to all the privileges of the sons of god ; and that such who are adopted , are also by the spirit regenerated , and hence said to be born of god. of sanctification . xv. that sanctification is the work of god's free grace also , whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of god , and are inabled more and more to die unto sin , and live unto righteousness . and that the benefits we receive , and which flow from or accompany justification , are adoption , sanctification , peace of conscience , manifestations of god's love , joy in the holy ghost , an increase of grace , an assurance of eternal life , and final perseverance unto the end . of the souls of men at death . xvi . we believe , that at death the souls of believers are made perfect in holiness , and do immediately pass into glory ; and their bodies dying in union with christ , or dying in the lord , do rest in their graves till the resurrection , when they shall be raised up in glory . and that their souls being reunited to their bodies , they shall be openly acknowledged , and acquitted , and made compleatly blessed , both in soul and body , and shall have the full injoyment of god to all eternity . and that the souls of the wicked at their death are cast into hell , or are in torment : and that their bodies lie in the grave under wrath , and shall by virtue of the power of christ be raised from the dead ; and their souls being re-united to their bodies , shall be judged and condemned , and cast into a furnace of fire , or into unspeakable torment , with the devil and his angels , for ever and ever . of the law. xvii . we believe god requires obedience of man , and that the rule of that obedience is the moral law as it is in the hands of christ ; which teacheth all persons their duty to god , and to man ; the sum of all being this , to love the lord our god with all our hearts , with all our souls , and with all our strength , and our neighbours as our selves . and that tho the law is abolished as a covenant of works , and as so considered , we are dead to it , and that dead to us ; yet it remains as a rule of life and righteousness for ever . xviii . we believe no mere man , since the fall , is able in this life perfectly to keep the holy law of god ; and that every offence against the law deserves eternal death , tho some sins are more heinous in god's sight than others . and that god , as a simple act of mercy , will not , doth not , pardon any man ; neither doth it seem consistent with his holiness and justice so to do , without a full satisfaction : wherefore he substituted christ in our room and stead , perfectly to keep the whole law , and to die , or bear that wrath which we deserved for our breaking of it ; he being pleased in his infinite love and grace to transfer our sins , guilt and punishment , upon his own son , ( who took our nature upon him , as our blessed head and representative ) that his active obedience and righteousness might be our just title unto eternal life ; and his death ( who bore our hell-torments ) be our full discharge from the wrath of god , and eternal condemnation . and that all who would receive this title , and have this discharge so as to escape god's wrath , and the curse of the law , must fly to christ , and lay hold on him by faith ; which faith is known by its fruits , having lively , sin-killing , soul-humbling , self-abasing , christ-exalting , and heart-purifying operations , always attending it . of faith and repentance . xix . we believe that faith is a saving grace , or the most precious gift of god ; and that it is an instrument whereby we receive , take hold of , and wholly rest upon jesus christ , as offered to us in the gospel . that repentance unto life is also a saving grace , whereby a sinner , out of a true sense of sin , and apprehension of god's mercy in christ , doth with grief and hatred of his sins , turn from them . and that tho repentance is in order of nature called the first principle of the doctrine of christ , yet we believe no man can savingly repent , unless he believes in jesus christ , and apprehends the free pardon and forgiveness of all his sins through the blood of the everlasting covenant , and the sight and sense of god's love in a bleeding saviour ; being that only thing that melts and breaks the stony heart of a poor sinner , as the sight of a free pardon from a prince humbles the stout heart of a rebellious malefactor . of the means of grace . xx. we believe that the outward and more ordinary means , whereby christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption , are his holy ordinances , as prayer , the word of god , and preaching , with baptism , and the lord's supper , &c. and yet notwithstanding it is the spirit of god that maketh prayer , reading , &c. and specially the preaching of the word , effectual to the convincing , converting , building up , and comforting , through faith , all the elect of god unto salvation . and that it is the duty of all , that the word may become effectual to their salvation , to attend upon it with all diligence , preparation , and prayer , that they may receive it with faith and love , and lay it up in their hearts , and practise it in their lives . of baptism . xxi . we believe that baptism is a holy ordinance of christ , or a pure gospel-institution ; and to be unto the party baptized , a sign of his fellowship with christ in his death , burial , and resurrection , and of his being grafted into him , and of remission of sins , and of his giving himself up to god , through jesus christ , to walk in newness of life . we also believe that baptism ought not to be administred to any but to those who actually profess repentance towards god , and faith towards our lord jesus christ. that the infants of believers ought not to be baptized , because there is neither precept , or example , or any certain consequence in the holy scripture for any such practice : and we ought not to be wise above what is written . and that a human tradition or custom ought not to be regarded , but that it is sinful , and abominable . we believe also that baptism is only rightly administred by immersion , or dipping the whole body in water , into the name of the father , and of the son , and of the holy spirit ; according to christ's institution , and the practice of the apostles ; and not by sprinkling , or pouring of water , or dipping some part of the body in water , after the tradition of men. and that it is the indispensible duty of such who are baptized , to give up themselves to some particular orderly church of jesus christ , and to walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the lord blameless : baptism being an initiating ordinance . of a true church . xxii . we believe a true church of christ is not national , nor parochial , but doth consist of a number of godly persons , who upon the profession of their faith and repentance have been baptized , and in a solemn manner have in a holy covenant given themselves up to the lord , and to one another , to live in love , and to endeavour to keep the vnity of the spirit in the bond of peace : among whom the word of god is duly and truly preach'd ; and holy baptism , the lord's supper , and all other ordinances are duly administred , according to the word of god , and the institution of christ in the primitive church : watching over one another , and communicating to each other's necessities , as becometh saints ; living holy lives , as becomes their sacred profession ; and not to forsake the assembling themselves , as the manner of some is ; or to take leave to hear where they please in other places when the church is assembled , but to worship god , and feed in that pasture , or with that church , with whom they have covenanted , and given up themselves as particular members thereof . of laying on of hands . xxiii . we believe that laying on of hands ( with prayer ) upon baptized believers , as such , is an ordinance of christ , and ought to be submitted unto by all such persons that are admitted to partake of the lord's supper ; and that the end of this ordinance is not for the extraordinary gifts of the spirit , but for a farther reception of the holy spirit of promise , or for the addition of the graces of the spirit , and the influences thereof ; to confirm , strengthen , and comfort them in christ jesus ; it being ratified and established by the extraordinary gifts of the spirit in the primitive times , to abide in the church , as meeting together on the first day of the week was , act. 2.1 . that being the day of worship , or christian sabbath , under the gospel ; and as preaching the word was , acts 10.44 . and as baptism was , mat. 3.16 . and prayer was , acts 4.31 . and singing psalms , &c. was , acts 16.25 , 26. so this of laying on of hands was , acts 8. & ch . 19. for as the whole gospel was confirmed by signs and wonders , and divers miracles and gifts of the holy ghost in general , so was every ordinance in like manner confirmed in particular . of the lord's supper . xxiv . we believe that the holy ordinance of the lord's supper , which he instituted the night before he was betrayed , ought to be observed to the end of the world ; and that it consisteth only in breaking of bread , and drinking of wine , in remembrance of christ's death ; it being appointed for our spiritual nourishment , and growth in grace , and as a farther engagement in , and to all duties we owe to jesus christ , and as a pledg of his eternal love to us , and as a token of our communion with him , and one with another . and that due preparation and examination is required of all that ought to partake thereof ; and that it cannot be neglected by any approved and orderly member without sin. of church-officers . xxv . we do believe that every particular church of christ is independent ; and that no one church hath any priority or super-intendency above or over another : and that every church ought to be organical : that an elder , or elders , a deacon , or deacons , ought to be elected in every congregation , according to those holy qualifications laid down in the word of god : and that the said elders and deacons so chosen , ought solemnly to be ordained with prayer , and laying on of hands of the eldership . that such churches as have not officers so ordained , are disorderly , there being something still wanting . of prayer . xxvi . we believe prayer is a holy ordinance of god , and that it ought to be performed by the help and assistance of the holy spirit ; and that not only the prayer christ taught his disciples , but the whole word of god is to be our rule how to pray , and pour forth our souls unto god : and that it is the indispensible duty of all godly families ( and others also ) as well as private christians , daily to pray for all things they need , and to give thanks every day for all good things they receive : and that the omission of this duty is a great scandal to religion , and a great evil when it is carelesly or negligently performed . of singing of psalms , &c. xxvii . we believe that singing the praises of god , is a holy ordinance of christ , and not a part of natural religion , or a moral duty only ; but that it is brought under divine institution , it being injoined on the churches of christ to sing psalms , hymns , and spiritual songs ; and that the whole church in their publick assemblies ( as well as private christians ) ought to sing god's praises , according to the best light they have received . moreover , it was practised in the great representative church , by our lord jesus christ with his disciples , after he had instituted and celebrated the sacred ordinance of his holy supper , as a commemorative token of redeeming love. of the christian sabbath . xxviii . we believe that one day in seven , ought to be solemnly observed in the worship of god ; and that by moses's law the jews and proselyted strangers were to keep the seventh day : but from the resurrection of christ the first day of the week ought by all christians to be observed holy to the lord , that being called the lord's day ; and the first time the church met together after christ's ascension was on the day of pentecost , which was the first day of the week , as tradition hath handed it down : and on that day the church also met together to break bread , and make collections for the poor saints : and no mention is made that any one gospel-church kept the jewish sabbath in all the new testament . and we believe that an apostolical precedent is equivalent to an apostolical precept in this case . of ministers , and their maintenance . xxix . we do believe that every brother that hath received a gift to preach , having first pass'd the probation of the church , and being regularly called by the same , ought to exercise the said gift to the edification of the church when desired ; and that no brother ought to take upon him to preach , until he has a lawful call so to do . moreover , we believe that it is the indispensible duty of every church , according to their ability , to provide their pastor , or elders , a comfortable maintenance ; as god hath ordained , that he that preaches the gospel , should live of the gospel , and not of his own labour ; but that he should wholly give himself up to the work of the ministry , and to watch over the flock , being to be freed from all secular business , and encumbrances of the world : and yet that it is abominable evil for any man to preach the gospel for filthy lucre sake , but he must do it of a ready mind . of the first covenant . xxx . we believe that the first covenant , or covenant of works , was primarily made with adam , and with all mankind in him , by virtue of which he stood in a justified state before the fall , upon the condition of his own perfect and personal obedience . but by the fall he made himself uncapable of life by that covenant . that the law god gave by moses to israel , was of the same nature of that given to adam , being a second ministration of it ; but not given for life , but to make sin exceeding sinful , and to shew how unable man was in his fallen state to fulfil the righteousness of god ; and so ( with the ceremonial law ) it was given in subservienty to the gospel , as a schoolmaster to bring sinners to christ. of the new and second covenant . xxxi . we believe the covenant of grace was primarily made with the second adam , and in him with all the elect , who as god-man , or mediator , was set up from everlasting as a common person , or as their head and representative ; who freely obliged or ingaged himself to the father for them , perfectly to keep the whole law in their nature that had sinned , and to satisfy divine justice by bearing their sins upon his own body , i. e. the guilt of all their sins , which were laid upon him : and that he sustain'd that wrath and curse in his body and soul , that was due to them for all their transgressions : and having received their discharge from wrath and condemnation , he gives it out to all that believe in him , and obtain union with him , who are thereby brought actually into the said new covenant , and have a personal right to all the blessings thereof . of election . xxxii . we do believe that god from all eternity , according unto the most wise and holy counsel of his own will , freely and unchangeably decreed and ordained , for the manifestation of his own glory , some angels , and some of the lost sons and daughters of adam , unto eternal life ; and that their number is so certain and definite , that it cannot be either increased or diminished : and that others are left or passed by under a decree of preterition . and that those of mankind that are predestinated and fore-ordained , are particularly and personally design'd unto eternal life : and these god , according to his eternal and immutable purpose , and good pleasure of his will , did chuse in christ ( the head of this election ) unto everlasting glory , of his meer free grace , without any foreseen faith or obedience and perseverance therein , or any thing in the creature as a condition or cause moving him thereunto ; and all this only to the praise of his own glorious grace . of final perseverance . xxxiii . we believe all those whom god hath chosen , and who are effectually called , justified , and sanctified in jesus christ , can neither totally , nor finally fall away from a state of grace ; but shall certainly persevere therein unto the end , and eternally be saved ; and this by virtue of their election , or the immutable decree of god , and the unchangeable love of god the father ; and by virtue of their union with christ , together with his death , resurrection , and intercession ; as also from the nature of the covenant of grace , and suretyship of christ ; and through the indwelling of the holy spirit , who abideth in them for ever . of the resurrection . xxxiv . we believe that the bodies of all men , both the just and vnjust , shall rise again at the last day , even the same numerical bodies that die ; tho the bodies of the saints shall be raised immortal and incorruptible , and be made like christ's glorious body : and that the dead in christ shall rise first . of eternal judgment . xxxv . we believe that god hath appointed a day in which he will judg the world in righteousness by jesus christ , or that there shall be a general day of judgment , when all shall stand before the judgment-seat of christ , and give an account to him for all things done in this body : and that he will pass an eternal sentence upon all , according as their works shall be . of marriages . xxxvi . we believe marriage is god's holy ordinance , that is to say between one man and one woman : and that no man ought to have more than one wife at once : and that believers that marry , should marry in the lord , or such that are believers , or godly persons ; and that those who do otherwise , sin greatly , in violating god's holy precept : and that ministers as well as others may marry ; for marriage is honourable in all . of civil magistrates . xxxvii . we do believe the supream ▪ lord of heaven and earth hath ordained magistrates for the good of mankind : and that it is our duty in all civil and lawful things to obey them for conscience sake ; nay , and to pray for all that are in authority , that under them we may live a godly and peaceable life : and that we ought to render unto cesar the things that are cesar's , and to god the things that are god's . of lawful oaths . xxxviii . we do believe it is lawful to take some oaths before the civil magistrate ; an oath of confirmation being to put an end to all strife : nay , and that it is our duty so to do when lawfully called thereunto : and that those that swear , ought to swear in truth , in righteousness , and in judgment . of personal propriety . xxxix . we do believe that every man hath a just and peculiar right and propriety in his own goods , and that they are not common to others ; yet we believe that every man is obliged to administer to the poor saints , and to the publick interest of god , according to his ability , or as god hath blessed him . finis . postscript . there is something contained in the 13 th article that may seem to want some explication , in these words ( speaking of a man actually and personally justified ) that his sins past , present , and to come , are all forgiven : we believing that if any sins of a justified person were afterwards charged upon him , it must of necessity make a breach in his unalterable and everlasting justification , which is but one act in god ; hence there is no condemnation to them which are in christ jesus : yet i find an able and worthy writer distinguisheth pardon of sin thus , viz. 1. fundamentally in christ , as a common person of all the elect before faith , which lieth in christ making full satisfaction for all their sins , meriting faith for them , &c. 2. actual , of all the elect in christ on believing ; this actual pardon being nothing else but the actual possession in their own persons of their fundamental pardon in the person of christ : and dr. tho. goodwin speaks to the same purpose , to which i agree . and that this actual pardon of the legal guilt is twofold . 1. formal , of all their sins past , removing their legal guilt . 2. virtual , of all their sins to come , preventing their legal guilt . dr. ames speaks to the same purpose , and many others . i cannot see how a believer should be for ever formally justified from all sins past , present , and to come , and yet not formally pardoned . this author which i have lately met with , distinguisheth well between legal guilt and gospel guilt ; the first obliging to divine wrath , or eternal punishment ; the latter , i. e. gospel guilt , obliging to gospel , or fatherly chastisement for gospel-sins . now i see not but that as soon as a believer is personally justified , all his sins , tho not yet committed , as to legal guilt , or vindictive wrath , i. e. that guilt that obliges to eternal condemnation , are pardoned , for the reason before . saith he , virtual pardon : keeps off legal guilt where it would be . to which i reply , if it be kept-off , so that it never comes upon believers , then it follows they were actually pardon'd before in that respect : yet he says , sins cannot be said to be formally pardon'd before formally committed ; but says , no guilt can come upon them to condemnation , tho new guilt ; yet no new legal guilt , because always justified . we see no hurt if his terms be admitted . object . what do believers then pray for , when they pray for the pardon of sin ? answ. 1. that god would not chastise them sorely , or afflict them as a father , according to the greatness of their offences . 2. that if his chastning hand is upon us , he would be pleased graciously to remove it . 3. that he would be pleased to clear up to our consciences , or give us the evidence of our pardon through christ's merits , and that we may know we are compleat in christ , or without spot before the throne in our free justification . 4. nay , believers are to pray to god to remove that sin from them ( saith this worthy author ) whose desert of punishment cannot be removed from it ; and to spread their sins before the lord in the highest sense of the deepest demerit of all legal punishment , so that they may put the higher accent upon the free grace of god , and estimate upon the full satisfaction of christ , whereby their persons are so fully freed from all actual obligation to any legal punishment , the whole and utmost whereof their sins deserve . 5. moreover , that god would continue , and never revoke his most gracious pardon , till he pronounceth the final sentence of it at the day of judgment , ( as well this author notes ) for a renewed sense and assurance of its grant and continuance : and thus to pray , saith he , there are both precepts and promises . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a47381-e1420 joh. 4.24 . job 11.7 , 8 , 9. psal. 90.2 . jam. 1.17 . exod. 3.4 . rev. 4.8 . deut. 6.4 . exod. 34.6 , 7. mat. 28.19 . 1 joh. 5.5 . eph. 1.4 , 11. rom. 9.22 , 23. gen. 1. heb. 11.3 . gen. 1.26 , 27 , 28. col. 3.10 . eph. 4.24 . 2 tim. 3.16 . eph. 2.20 . joh. 5.39 . deut. 17.18 . rev. 1.3 . acts 8.30 . gen. 1. & 3.15 , 16. job . 20.30 , 31. & 21.24 . gen. 3.5 , 6. eccl. 7.29 . rom. 3.23 . 1 joh. 3.4 . tit. 1.13 . rom. 5.17 . gen. 6.5 . jer. 17.9 . rom. 3.10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , &c. jam. 1.14 . 1 cor. 15.14 . rom. 5.6 . rom. 8.7 . col. 1.22 . mat. 15.19 . rom. 7.7 , 14 , 17 , 18 , 23 , 24. lam. 3.39 . rom. 6.23 . gal. 3.10 . job 11.12 . & 15.14 . & 25.4 . col. 3.10 . tit. 1.13 . psal. 51.5 . eph. 2.2 , 3. gen. 6.5 . rom. 7.5 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 23 , 24. ephes. 2.2 , 3. rom. 8.7 . job 24.13 . ephes. 4.28 . col. 1.21 . psal. 110.3 . rom. 7.11 , 17 , 18 , 23 , 24. ephes. 1.4 . rom. 3.20 , 21 , 22. gal. 3.21 , 22. 1 tim. 2.5 , 6. joh. 1.14 . galat. 4.4 . rom. 9.5 . luke 1.35 . col. 2.9 . heb. 7.24 , 25. phil. 2.6 . zech. 6.13 . joh. 1.14 . 1 tim. 2.5 . heb. 2.14 . mat. 2.26 , 38. luke 1.27 , 31 , 34 , 3● . gal. 〈…〉 . heb. 〈…〉 . 1 tim. 2.5 . heb. 2.17 . heb. 7.24 . act. 15.14 , 15 , 16. 1 joh. 2.2 . heb. 7.25 . & 10.21 . & 9.24 . isa. 33.22 . & 32.1 , 2. 1 cor. 15.25 . psal. 100. acts 3.22 . joh. 1.18 . 1 pet. 1.10 , 11 , 12. joh. 15.15 . & 20.31 . gal. 4.4 . heb. 12.23 . isa. 53.2 , 3. luk. 22.44 . mat. 27.46 phil. 2.8 . 1 cor. 15.4 . acts 2.24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 31. 1 cor. 15.4 . mark 16.19 . eph. 1.20 . acts 1.11 . & 17.31 . 1 pet. 3.22 . joh. 1.11 . tit. 3.5 , 6. eph. 1.13 , 14. 1 cor. 1.9 . eph. 2.8 . eph. 3.17 . 1 cor. 1.9 . 2 tim. 1.9 . 2 thess. 2.13 , 14. acts 2.37 . & 20.18 . ezek. 36.27 . john 6.44 , 45. rom. 3.23 , 24 , 25 , 26. eph. 1.6 , 7. tit. 3.7 . rom. 5.15 , 16 , 17 , 18. 1 cor. 1.30 . 2 cor. 5.21 act. 13.39 . 2 cor. 5.21 . phil. 3.7 , 8 , 9. rom. 10.5 . 1 john 3.1 . john 1.10 . rom. 8.14 . gal. 2.16 . 1 john 3.1 , 2. & 4.7 . & 5.1 . 2 thess. 2.13 . eph. 4.13 . rom. 6.5 , ● 7. rom. 8.29 , 30. rom. 5.1 , 2 , 5. & 14.17 . prov. 4 18. joh. 51.3 . 1 pet. 1.5 . 1 cor. 15.43 . mat. 25.23 mat. 10.32 1 joh. 3.2 . 1 cor. 13.12 . 1 thess. 4.17 , 18. 2 cor. 5.1 , 2 phil. 1.21.22 . luk 16 ●5 1 pet. 3.19 , 20. luke 16.23 , 24. acts 1.25 . 1 pet. 3.19 ps. 49.11 . john 9.28 , 29. 2 thess. 1.8 , 9. mich. 6.8 . 1 sam. 15.22 . rev. 2.14 . mat. 19.17 mat. 22.37 , 38 , 39 , 40. 1 joh. 3.4 . rom. 7.3 , 4 gen. 6.5 . rom. 3.9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , &c. ezek. 8.6 . 1 joh. 5.16 ps 78.17 , 32 , 56. exod. 34.6 rom. 3.25 , 26. gal. 4.4 . isa. 53.4 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 11. 1 pet. 2.24 . rom. 8.1 . john 5.24 . john 3.15 , 16. heb. 6.18 , 19 , 20. col. 2.12 . acts 15.9 . acts 2.36 . job 42.5 . 1 pet. 2.7 . john 3.3 . john 1.12 . isa. 26.3 , 4. phil. 3.9 . ephes. 2.8 . acts 2.37 . joh 2.12 . jer. 3.22 . & 31.18 , 19. ezek. 36.31 . 2 cor. 7.10 . isa. 1.16 , 17 heb. 6.1 , 2. zic . 12.10 . acts 2.36 . mat. 28.19 , 20. acts 2.42 , 46 , 47. neh. 8.8 . 1 cor. 14.24 , 25. acts 26.32 psal. 19.8 . rom. 1.15 , 16. acts 20.32 rom. 10.13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17. prov. 8.34 . 1 pet. 2.1 , 2. ps. 119.18 heb. 4.2 . 2 thess. 2.10 . jam. 1.25 . 1 pet. 3.21 1 cor. 12.13 . mat. 28.19 , 20. rom. 6.3 , 4 , 5. col. 2.12 , 13. gal. 3.27 . acts 2.38 . & 22.16 . acts 8.37 . col. 2.21 , 22. rev. 22.18 prov. 30.6 . mat. 28.19 , 20. mat. 3.16 . joh. 3.23 . acts 8.38 . rom. 6.3 . col. 2.13 . acts 2.41 , 42. & 5.13 , 14. 1 pet. 2.5 . luke 1.6 . acts 2.40 , 41 , 42. eph. 4.3 . acts 2.40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , &c. 1 cor. 16.1 , 2. heb. 10.25 . heb. 5.12 . & 6 , 1 , 2. acts 8. & 19.6 . eph. 1.13 , 14. acts 8. & 19. heb. 2.3 , 4. mat. 26.26 , 27 , 28. mark 14.21 , 22 , 23. luke 22.19 , 20. 1 cor. 11.23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27. acts 20.17 . 1 tim. 3.1 , 2 , &c. tit. 1.5 . 1 tim. 3.2 — 12. tit. 1.5 , 6 , 7 , 8. acts 13.3 . 1 tim. 5.22 . & 4.14 . phil. 4.6 . psal. 65.2 . 1 john 4.23 . 1 pet. 2.5 . rom. 8.26 . john 5.14 . psal. 47.7 . eccl. 5.1 , 2. jam. 5.16 . eph. 6.18 . 1 cor. 14.14 . col. 4.2 . josh. 24.15 . gen. 18.19 . jer. 10.25 . eph. 5.19 . col. 3.16 . acts 16.25 heb. 2.12 . jam. 5.13 . mat. 26.30 mar. 14.26 exod. 20. rev. 1.10 . act. 2.1 , 2. acts 20.7 . 1 cor. 16.2 1 tim. 3.2 . eph. 4.11 . 1 pet. 4.10 rom. 12.6 , 7. 1 cor. 9.9 — 14. rom. 15.27 . gal. 6.6 . 1 tim. 5.15 . 1 pet. 5.2 . gen. 2.17 . rom. 3.12 . rom. 10.5 . & 5.10 to 30. rom. 3.19 , 20. 2 cor. 3.9 , 11. rom. 7.7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13. gal. 3 10. zech. 6.13 . rom. 3.23 , 24 , 25 , 26. isa. 57.5 , 6 , 10 , 11. rom. 8.3 . heb. 9.15 , 16 , 17. heb. 7. ● luk. 2● 1 cor. 11. ● rom. 6.2 . & 8.16 , 17 , 1● . rom. 8.29 , 30 , 31. acts 13.48 . rom. 9.11 . 1 thess. 4.4 , 5. eph. 1.3 , 4 , 11. ● thess. 2.13 . rom. 8.28 , 29 , 30 , 31. joh. 10.28 , 29. rom. 8.38 , 39 ▪ rom. 8 . 3● ▪ 33 , 3● 2 tim. 2. ● 2 cor. 6.17 . acts 17.31 . 2 cor. 5.10 . eccles. 12. gen. 3.24 . mat. 19.5 . 1 cor. 6.16 . eph. 5.31 . rom. 7.4 . heb. 13.4 . rom. 13.1 , 2 , 3. tit. 3.1 . 1 pet. 2.13 . mat. 22.21 . exod. 20.7 . jer. 4.2 . gen. 24.2 . neh. 5.12 . heb. 6.16 , 17. exod. 20.17 . acts 5.4 . & 20.33 . notes for div a47381-e8130 rom. 8.1 . mr. tho. gilbert . dr. ames saith , that not only the sins of a justif●●● person that are past are remitted , but also in some sort these to come , num. 23.25 . joh. 5.24 . yet he distinguishes between a formal and virtual pardon : sins past , says he , are remitted to themselves , sins to come , in the subject or person sinning . a short confession of faith containing the substance of all the fundamental articles in the larger confession put forth by the elders of the baptist churches, owning personal election and final perserverance. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1697 approx. 52 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 26 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47606 wing k86 estc r24038 07944288 ocm 07944288 40608 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47606) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 40608) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1209:2) a short confession of faith containing the substance of all the fundamental articles in the larger confession put forth by the elders of the baptist churches, owning personal election and final perserverance. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. [7], 40 p. [s.n., london : 1697?] dedicatory signed: b. keach. reproduction of original in the union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng baptists -doctrines. 2005-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-06 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-07 haley pierson sampled and proofread 2005-07 haley pierson text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion confession of faith containing the substance of all the fundamental articles in the larger confession , put for t 〈…〉 the elders of the bapti 〈…〉 churches , owning personal electio 〈…〉 final perseverance . acts 24. 14. after the way 〈…〉 heresy , so worship we the go 〈…〉 ther 's , believing all things wh 〈…〉 in the law and the prophets 〈…〉 london ▪ printed in the 〈…〉 the articles of the faith of the. church of christ , or congregation meeting at horsley-down , benjamin keach , pastor , as asserted this 10th of the 6th month , 1697. london ; printed in the year 1697. to the congregation with whom i am a member ( and the unworthy overseer ) who are in god the father , and in our lord jesus christ ; grace mercy and peace be multiplied . most dear and beloved in christ : i hope i can say ( with the holy apostle ) that you are by me dearly beloved , my joy , and my crown ; yea you are my honour , and in you i would rejoice , being the ornament of my poor ministry , by which the most of you have ( through the blessing of god ) been converted to jesus christ : and if you stand fast in the faith in one spirit , striving together for the faith of the gospel , and do adorn your profession , living in love , and endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace , you will cause my latter days to be most sweet and comfortable to me , after all those troubles , sorrows , and reproaches i have met with , both from within and from without . evident it is god hath most eminently appeared to strengthen your hands : tho the archers have sorely grieved you , and shot at you , yet your bow abideth in strength ; and that the arms of your hands may still abide strong by the arm of the mighty god of jacob , shall be my continual prayers . my brethren , i here present you with that which you have so long waited for , and desired me to endeavour to do , viz. to state an account of the most concerning articles of your faith , which you have heard read , and have approved of , and which i thought good no longer to delay the doing of . ( 1. ) not knowing how soon i may put off this tabernacle , and therefore would leave behind me an account of that holy doctrine and order , in which through grace you are established ( for at your desire also i have drawn up the whole rules of your holy discipline , which you may have added unto this , and bound up together ) . ( 2. ) and the rather i have done this , because the general and more large confession of the faith of our churches , is now out of print ; but that is not all , for that being 12 d. price , some cannot well purchase it . ( 3. ) and also that all men may see what our faith is , and that we differ not from our brethren who bear other names in any fundamental point or article of faith ; and that they may discern the difference between you and some that bear the same name with you . ( 4. ) tho you agree in the general with all other churches of the same faith , in all those articles there inserted , yet therein your whole faith is not comprehended , viz. that of imposition of hands upon baptized believers as such , and singing of god's praise , &c. because some of our churches dissent from us therein : yet my desire is you would nevertheless shew all tenderness , charity and moderation to such as differ from you in those cases , and not refuse communion with them ; and indeed your late sweet temper appears to be such , that i need not press you to this . all that i shall say more , is to entreat you to labour after holiness , and to awake out of sleep , that you may adorn your sacred profession , and prepare to meet the lord ; that as you have a good doctrine , you may also have a holy and good conversation ; and then we need not fear who can harm us , whilst we are followers of that which is good , o let us bear one with another . and if in any thing we differ , let us avoid all animosities . brethren , great things are near , watch and pray , look out and be ready . but at present i shall conclude with the words of the apostle , finally , brethren , farewel ; be perfect , be of good comfort , be of one mind , live in peace , and the god of love and peace shall be with you . so prays your unworthy brother , pastor , overseer , and servant , who earnestly desires your prayers also , from my house in freemans-lane by horsley-down , southwark . aug. 16. 1697. b. keach . that the following articles contain what the foresaid church believes concerning those truths asserted therein , we whose names are hereunto subscribed , do testify in the name and by the appointment of the whole congregation , the 10th day of the 6th month , commonly called august , 1697. benjamin keach , pastor . benjamin stinton , teacher . john roberts , edward foley , joshua farrow , tho. stinton , john valley , isaac ballard , deacons . john hoar , sen . edward newbury , tho. turner , john seamor , ephraim wilcocks , james wilmott , daniel dines , richard thoubals , john weston , john clark , tho. ayers , john york , george starkey , sen . benj. harris , george starkey , jun. john beavis , tho. hill , joseph berry , william farmworth , joseph jennings , john fowle , sen . tho. fowle , john fowle , jun. henry skeer , john greensmith , jeremiah lions , william putman , nath. holden , william cattrel , tho. harvey , tho. richford , joseph worley , peter carter , william forister , sam. cox. john sparke , james king , william deale , simon agars , john hoar , jun. tho. gunning , william mais . the articles of faith of the church of christ meeting at horsley-down . of god , and of the holy trinity . i. we do believe , declare and testify , that there is but one only living and true god , who is a spirit infinite , eternal , immense and unchangeable in his being , wisdom , power , holiness , justice , goodness , truth and faithfulness . ii. that there are three persons in the godhead , the father , the son , and holy spirit ; and that these three are one god , the same in essence , equal in power and glory . of the decrees of god. iii. that the decrees of god are his eternal purpose according to the counsel of his will , whereby for his own glory he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass , even those evils that his wisdom and justice permits for the manifestation of the glory of those his attributes : and that god executes his decrees in the works of creation and providence . of creation . iv. that the works of creation are god's creating all things of nothing by his word of power , in six days , and all very good . that god created man male and female , after his own image , in knowledg , righteousness , and holiness , with power and dominion over the creatures . of god's providence . v. we believe that god's works of providence are his most holy , wise , and powerful preserving , and governing all his creatures , and their actions . of the holy scriptures . vi. we believe the holy scriptures of the old and new testament are the word of god , and are the only rule of faith , and practice ; all things being contained therein that are necessary for us to know concerning god , and our duty unto him , and also unto all men. that all persons ought to read , hear , and understand the holy scriptures . that the light of nature , and works of providence , tho they declare plainly there is a god , yet not so effectually as the holy scriptures ; nor can we know without them how , and in what space of time god created all things . neither came we any other ways but by the holy scriptures to the knowledg of christ the blessed mediator ; which indeed none can savingly know but by the word and spirit of god. of original sin. vii . we do believe , that god having created man , he entered into a covenant of life with him , upon the condition of perfect obedience ; making the first adam a common head to all his seed : and that our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will , fell from the estate wherein they were created , by eating of the forbidden fruit : and that adam being set up as a publick person , we all sinned in him , and fell with him into a state of sin , of wrath and misery ; the sinfulness of which state consists in the guilt of adam's first sin , the want of original righteousness , and the corruption of our whole nature : from whence all actual sins proceed , as water out of a filthy and an unclean fountain . so that not only by imputation all men became sinners in the first adam , but also as the same corrupt nature is conveyed to all his posterity , who descend from him in ordinary generation . by this sin all mankind lost the image of god , and communion with him , being liable to all the miseries of this life , and to death it self ; and also are dead in sins and trespasses , and obnoxious to the wrath of god , and the eternal pains of hell for ever . hence we say that all are conceiv'd and born in sin , and are the children of wrath , even the elect as well as others , being wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body , and utterly indisposed and disabled to do any thing that is spiritually good , and wholly inclined with a strong propensity to all things that are evil . of man's free-will . viii . we believe man in his state of innocency had freedom of will to do good ; but by the fall he hath utterly lost all that power and ability , being wofully depraved in all the faculties of his soul ; there being in the will and mind of all naturally much enmity against god , and a total aversion to him , and to every thing that is spiritually good ; loving darkness , and rebelling against the light. but when a man is renewed by divine grace , tho there is no force put upon the will , yet it is made willing , and acts freely , in the day of god's power : tho the work is not perfect in any faculty in the regenerate , nor will be in this life . of christ the mediator . ix . we believe that god having , out of his own meer good pleasure , and infinite ▪ love , elected some persons of the lost seed of the first adam unto everlasting life , from all eternity , did enter into a covenant of grace with the second person of the trinity , ( who was set up as the common head of all the elect ) to deliver them out of the state of sin and misery , and to bring them into a state of salvation and eternal happiness . that the second person in the godhead , ( being the eternal son of god , coessential , and coequal with the father ) according to that holy covenant and compact that was between them both , became man , or assumed our nature , and so was , and continueth to be god and man in two distinct natures , in one person for ever . and that he the son of god by his becoming man , did take unto him a true body , and reasonable soul , being conceived by the holy spirit in the womb of the virgin , and was born of her , yet without sin. of the offices of christ . x. we believe that the lord jesus christ , who is our redeemer , and the one blessed mediator between god and man , executeth a threefold office , both the office of a priest , the office of a king , and the office of a prophet . first , that he executeth the office of a priest , ( 1. ) in his once offering up himself a sacrifice , to satisfy divine justice , and to reconcile god to us , and us to god. ( 2. ) and in making continual intercession for us , that the merits of his blood may be made effectual unto us . secondly , that he executeth the office of a king in subduing us unto himself , and in giving us laws and holy precepts , by which we ought to walk ; and also in his restraining and conquering all his , and our enemies . thirdly , that he executeth the office of a prophet , in revealing to us by his word and spirit , the whole will of god concerning all things that appertain to faith and practice . of christ's humiliation and exaltation . xi . we believe that christ's humiliation consisted in that great condescension of his in assuming our nature , and being born in a low condition , made under the law , undergoing the many miseries of this life , the wrath of god , the curse of the law , and the ignominious death of the cross , continuing under death for a time . and that his exaltation consisteth in his rising again from the dead the third day , and in his ascending up into heaven , in sitting at the right-hand of ▪ god ; angels , powers , and principalities being made subject unto him ; and in his being made judg of the quick and dead . of effectual calling . xii . we do believe that we are made partakers of the redemption purchased by christ , by the effectual application of his merits , &c. unto us by the holy spirit , thereby uniting us to christ in effectual calling : and that effectual calling is the work of god's free grace , who by his spirit works faith in us , who are altogether passive therein ; and convincing us of sin and misery , enlightning our minds in the knowledg of christ , and renewing our wills , and changing our whole hearts , he doth perswade and enable us to imbrace jesus christ freely , as he is offered in the gospel . of justification . xiii . we do believe justification is a free act of god's grace , through that redemption which is in christ , ( who , as our head , was acquitted , justified , and discharged , and we in him , when he rose from the dead ) and when applied to us , we in our own persons are actually justified , in being made and pronounced righteous , through the righteousness of christ imputed to us ; and all our sins , past , present , and to come , for ever pardon'd ; which is receiv'd by faith alone . and that our sanctification , nor faith it self , is any part of our justification before god ; it not being either the habit , or act of believing , or any act of evangelical obedience imputed to us , but christ , and his active and passive obedience only , apprehended by faith : and that faith in no sense tends to make christ's merits more satisfactory unto god ; but that he was as fully reconciled and satisfied for his elect in christ by his death before faith as after ; otherwise it would render god only reconcileable , ( not reconciled ) and make faith part of the payment or satisfaction unto god , and so lessen the merits of christ , as if they were defective or insufficient . yet we say , it is by faith that we receive the atonement , or by which means ( as an instrument ) we come to apprehend and receive him , and to have personal interest in him , and to have our free justification evidenced to our own consciences . of adoption . xiv . we believe adoption is an act of god's free grace , whereby such who were the children of wrath by nature , are received into the number , and have right to all the privileges of the sons of god ; and that such who are adopted , are also by the spirit regenerated , and hence said to be born of god. of sanctification . xv. that sanctification is the work of god's free grace also , whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of god , and are inabled more and more to die unto sin , and live unto righteousness . and that the benefits we receive , and which flow from or accompany justification , are adoption , sanctification , peace of conscience , manifestations of god's love , joy in the holy ghost , an increase of grace , an assurance of eternal life , and final perseverance unto the end . of the souls of men at death . xvi . we believe , that at death the souls of believers are made perfect in holiness , and do immediately pass into glory ; and their bodies dying in union with christ , or dying in the lord , do rest in their graves till the resurrection , when they shall be raised up in glory . and that their souls being reunited to their bodies , they shall be openly acknowledged , and acquitted , and made compleatly blessed , both in soul and body , and shall have the full injoyment of god to all eternity . and that the souls of the wicked at their death are cast into hell , or are in torment : and that their bodies lie in the grave under wrath , and shall by virtue of the power of christ be raised from the dead ; and their souls being re-united to their bodies , shall be judged and condemned , and cast into a furnace of fire , or into unspeakable torment , with the devil and his angels , for ever and ever . of the law. xvii . we believe god requires obedience of man , and that the rule of that obedience is the moral law as it is in the hands of christ ; which teacheth all persons their duty to god , and to man ; the sum of all being this , to love the lord our god with all our hearts , with all our souls , and with all our strength , and our neighbours as our selves . and that tho the law is abolished as a covenant of works , and as so considered , we are dead to it , and that dead to us ; yet it remains as a rule of life and righteousness for ever . xviii . we believe no mere man , since the fall , is able in this life perfectly to keep the holy law of god ; and that every offence against the law deserves eternal death , tho some sins are more heinous in god's sight than others . and that god , as a simple act of mercy , will not , doth not , pardon any man ; neither doth it seem consistent with his holiness and justice so to do , without a full satisfaction : wherefore he substituted christ in our room and stead , perfectly to keep the whole law , and to die , or bear that wrath which we deserved for our breaking of it ; he being pleased in his infinite love and grace to transfer our sins , guilt and punishment , upon his own son , ( who took our nature upon him , as our blessed head and representative ) that his active obedience and righteousness might be our just title unto eternal life ; and his death ( who bore our hell-torments ) be our full discharge from the wrath of god , and eternal condemnation . and that all who would receive this title , and have this discharge so as to escape god's wrath , and the curse of the law , must fly to christ , and lay hold on him by faith ; which faith is known by its fruits , having lively , sin-killing , soul-humbling , self-abasing , christ-exalting , and heart-purifying operations , always attending it . of faith and repentance . xix . we believe that faith is a saving grace , or the most precious gift of god ; and that it is an instrument whereby we receive , take hold of , and wholly rest upon jesus christ , as offered to us in the gospel . that repentance unto life is also a saving grace , whereby a sinner , out of a true sense of sin , and apprehension of god's mercy in christ , doth with grief and hatred of his sins , turn from them . and that tho repentance is in order of nature called the first principle of the doctrine of christ , yet we believe no man can savingly repent , unless he believes in jesus christ , and apprehends the free pardon and forgiveness of all his sins through the blood of the everlasting covenant , and the sight and sense of god's love in a bleeding saviour ; being that only thing that melts and breaks the stony heart of a poor sinner , as the sight of a free pardon from a prince humbles the stout heart of a rebellious malefactor . of the means of grace . xx. we believe that the outward and more ordinary means , whereby christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption , are his holy ordinances , as prayer , the word of god , and preaching , with baptism , and the lord's supper , &c. and yet notwithstanding it is the spirit of god that maketh prayer , reading , &c. and specially the preaching of the word , effectual to the convincing , converting , building up , and comforting , through faith , all the elect of god unto salvation . and that it is the duty of all , that the word may become effectual to their salvation , to attend upon it with all diligence , preparation , and prayer , that they may receive it with faith and love , and lay it up in their hearts , and practise it in their lives . of baptism . xxi . we believe that baptism is a holy ordinance of christ , or a pure gospel-institution ; and to be unto the party baptized , a sign of his fellowship with christ in his death , burial , and resurrection , and of his being grafted into him , and of remission of sins , and of his giving himself up to god , through jesus christ , to walk in newness of life . we also believe that baptism ought not to be administred to any but to those who actually profess repentance towards god , and faith towards our lord jesus christ . that the infants of believers ought not to be baptized , because there is neither precept , or example , or any certain consequence in the holy scripture for any such practice : and we ought not to be wise above what is written . and that a human tradition or custom ought not to be regarded , but that it is sinful , and abominable . we believe also that baptism is only rightly administred by immersion , or dipping the whole body in water , into the name of the father , and of the son , and of the holy spirit ; according to christ's institution , and the practice of the apostles ; and not by sprinkling , or pouring of water , or dipping some part of the body in water , after the tradition of men. and that it is the indispensible duty of such who are baptized , to give up themselves to some particular orderly church of jesus christ , and to walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the lord blameless : baptism being an initiating ordinance . of a true church . xxii . we believe a true church of christ is not national , nor parochial , but doth consist of a number of godly persons , who upon the profession of their faith and repentance have been baptized , and in a solemn manner have in a holy covenant given themselves up to the lord , and to one another , to live in love , and to endeavour to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace : among whom the word of god is duly and truly preach'd ; and holy baptism , the lord's supper , and all other ordinances are duly administred , according to the word of god , and the institution of christ in the primitive church : watching over one another , and communicating to each other's necessities , as becometh saints ; living holy lives , as becomes their sacred profession ; and not to forsake the assembling themselves , as the manner of some is ; or to take leave to hear where they please in other places when the church is assembled , but to worship god , and feed in that pasture , or with that church , with whom they have covenanted , and given up themselves as particular members thereof . of laying on of hands . xxiii . we believe that laying on of hands ( with prayer ) upon baptized believers , as such , is an ordinance of christ , and ought to be submitted unto by all such persons that are admitted to partake of the lord's supper ; and that the end of this ordinance is not for the extraordinary gifts of the spirit , but for a farther reception of the holy spirit of promise , or for the addition of the graces of the spirit , and the influences thereof ; to confirm , strengthen , and comfort them in christ jesus ; it being ratified and established by the extraordinary gifts of the spirit in the primitive times , to abide in the church , as meeting together on the first day of the week was , act. 2. 1. that being the day of worship , or christian sabbath , under the gospel ; and as preaching the word was , acts 10. 44. and as baptism was , mat. 3. 16. and prayer was , acts 4. 31. and singing psalms , &c. was , acts 16. 25 , 26. so this of laying on of hands was , acts 8. & ch . 19. for as the whole gospel was confirmed by signs and wonders , and divers miracles and gifts of the holy ghost in general , so was every ordinance in like manner confirmed in particular . of the lord's supper . xxiv . we believe that the holy ordinance of the lord's supper , which he instituted the night before he was betrayed , ought to be observed to the end of the world ; and that it consisteth only in breaking of bread , and drinking of wine , in remembrance of christ's death ; it being appointed for our spiritual nourishment , and growth in grace , and as a farther engagement in , and to all duties we owe to jesus christ , and as a pledg of his eternal love to us , and as a token of our communion with him , and one with another . and that due preparation and examination is required of all that ought to partake thereof ; and that it cannot be neglected by any approved and orderly member without sin. of church-officers . xxv . we do believe that every particular church of christ is independent ; and that no one church hath any priority or super-intendency above or over another : and that every church ought to be organical : that an elder , or elders , a deacon , or deacons , ought to be elected in every congregation , according to those holy qualifications laid down in the word of god : and that the said elders and deacons so chosen , ought solemnly to be ordained with prayer , and laying on of hands of the eldership . that such churches as have not officers so ordained , are disorderly , there being something still wanting . of prayer . xxvi . we believe prayer is a holy ordinance of god , and that it ought to be performed by the help and assistance of the holy spirit ; and that not only the prayer christ taught his disciples , but the whole word of god is to be our rule how to pray , and pour forth our souls unto god : and that it is the indispensible duty of all godly families ( and others also ) as well as private christians , daily to pray for all things they need , and to give thanks every day for all good things they receive : and that the omission of this duty is a great scandal to religion , and a great evil when it is carelesly or negligently performed . of singing of psalms , &c. xxvii . we believe that singing the praises of god , is a holy ordinance of christ , and not a part of natural religion , or a moral duty only ; but that it is brought under divine institution , it being injoined on the churches of christ to sing psalms , hymns , and spiritual songs ; and that the whole church in their publick assemblies ( as well as private christians ) ought to sing god's praises , according to the best light they have received . moreover , it was practised in the great representative church , by our lord jesus christ with his disciples , after he had instituted and celebrated the sacred ordinance of his holy supper , as a commemorative token of redeeming love. of the christian sabbath . xxviii . we believe that one day in seven , ought to be solemnly observed in the worship of god ; and that by moses's law the jews and proselyted strangers were to keep the seventh day : but from the resurrection of christ the first day of the week ought by all christians to be observed holy to the lord , that being called the lord's day ; and the first time the church met together after christ's ascension was on the day of pentecost , which was the first day of the week , as tradition hath handed it down : and on that day the church also met together to break bread , and make collections for the poor saints : and no mention is made that any one gospel-church kept the jewish sabbath in all the new testament . and we believe that an apostolical precedent is equivalent to an apostolical precept in this case . of ministers , and their maintenance . xxix . we do believe that every brother that hath received a gift to preach , having first pass'd the probation of the church , and being regularly called by the same , ought to exercise the said gift to the edification of the church when desired ; and that no brother ought to take upon him to preach , until he has a lawful call so to do . moreover , we believe that it is the indispensible duty of every church , according to their ability , to provide their pastor , or elders , a comfortable maintenance ; as god hath ordained , that he that preaches the gospel , should live of the gospel , and not of his own labour ; but that he should wholly give himself up to the work of the ministry , and to watch over the flock , being to be freed from all secular business , and encumbrances of the world : and yet that it is abominable evil for any man to preach the gospel for filthy lucre sake , but he must do it of a ready mind . of the first covenant . xxx . we believe that the first covenant , or covenant of works , was primarily made with adam , and with all mankind in him , by virtue of which he stood in a justified state before the fall , upon the condition of his own perfect and personal obedience . but by the fall he made himself uncapable of life by that covenant . that the law god gave by moses to israel , was of the same nature of that given to adam , being a second ministration of it ; but not given for life , but to make sin exceeding sinful , and to shew how unable man was in his fallen state to fulfil the righteousness of god ; and so ( with the ceremonial law ) it was given in subserviency to the gospel , as a schoolmaster to bring sinners to christ . of the new and second covenant . xxxi . we believe the covenant of grace was primarily made with the second adam , and in him with all the elect , who as god-man , or mediator , was set up from everlasting as a common person , or as their head and representative ; who freely obliged or ingaged himself to the father for them , perfectly to keep the whole law in their nature that had sinned , and to satisfy divine justice by bearing their sins upon his own body , i. e. the guilt of all their sins , which were laid upon him : and that he sustain'd that wrath and curse in his body and soul , that was due to them for all their transgrestions : and having received their discharge from wrath and condemnation , he gives it out to all that believe in him , and obtain union with him , who are thereby brought actually into the said new covenant , and have a personal right to all the blessings thereof . of election . xxxii . we do believe that god from all eternity , according unto the most wise and holy counsel of his own will , freely and unchangeably decreed and ordained , for the manifestation of his own glory , some angels , and some of the lost sons and daughters of adam , unto eternal life ; and that their number is so certain and definite , that it cannot be either increased or diminished : and that others are left or passed by under a decree of preterition . and that those of manking that are predestinated and fore-ordained , are particularly and personally design'd unto eternal life : and these god , according to his eternal and immutable purpose , and good pleasure of his will , did chuse in christ ( the head of this election ) unto everlasting glory , of his meer free grace , without any foreseen faith or obedience and perseverance therein , or any thing in the creature as a condition or cause moving him thereunto ; and all this only to the praise of his own glorious grace . of final perseverance . xxxiii . we believe all those whom god hath chosen , and who are effectually called , justified , and sanctified in jesus christ , can neither totally , nor finally fall away from a state of grace ; but shall certainly persevere therein unto the end , and eternally be saved ; and this by virtue of their election , or the immutable decree of god , and the unchangeable love of god the father ; and by virtue of their union with christ , together with his death , resurrection , and intercession ; as also from the nature of the covenant of grace , and suretyship of christ ; and through the indwelling of the holy spirit , who abideth in them for ever . of the resurrection . xxxiv . we believe that the bodies of all men , both the just and unjust , shall rise again at the last day , even the same numerical bodies that die ; tho the bodies of the saints shall be raised immortal and incorruptible , and be made like christ's glorious body : and that the dead in christ shall rise first . of eternal judgment . xxxv . we believe that god hath appointed a day in which he will judg the world in righteousness by jesus christ , or that there shall be a general day of judgment , when all shall stand before the judgment-seat of christ , and give an account to him for all things done in this body : and that he will pass an eternal sentence upon all , according as their works shall be . of marriages . xxxvi . we believe marriage is god's holy ordinance , that is to say between one man and one woman : and that no man ought to have more than one wife at once : and that believers that marry , should marry in the lord , or such that are believers , or godly persons ; and that those who do otherwise , sin greatly , in violating god's holy precept : and that ministers as well as others may marry ; for marriage is honourable in all . of civil magistrates . xxxvii . we do believe the supream lord of heaven and earth hath ordained magistrates for the good of mankind : and that it is our duty in all civil and lawful things to obey them for conscience sake ; nay , and to pray for all that are in authority , that under them we may live a godly and peaceable life : and that we ought to render unto cesar the things that are cesar's , and to god the things that are god's . of lawful oaths . xxxviii . we do believe it is lawful to take some oaths before the civil magistrate ; an oath of confirmation being to put an end to all strife : nay , and that it is our duty so to do when lawfully called thereunto : and that those that swear , ought to swear in truth , in righteousness , and in judgment . of personal propriety . xxxix . we do believe that every man hath a just and peculiar right and propriety in his own goods , and that they are not common to others ; yet we believe that every man is obliged to administer to the poor saints , and to the publick interest of god , according to his ability , or as god hath blessed him . finis . postscript . there is something contained in the 13th article that may seem to want some explication , in these words ( speaking of a man actually and personally justified ) that his sins past , present , and to come , are all forgiven : we believing that if any sins of a justified person were afterwards charged upon him , it must of necessity make a breach in his unalterable and everlasting justification , which is but one act in god ; hence there is no condemnation to them which are in christ jesus : yet i find an able and worthy writer distinguisheth pardon of sin thus , viz. 1. fundamentally in christ , as a common person of all the elect before faith , which lieth in christ making full satisfaction for all their sins , meriting faith for them , &c. 2. actual , of all the elect in christ on believing ; this actual pardon being nothing else but the actual possession in their own persons of their fundamental pardon in the person of christ : and dr. tho. goodwin speaks to the same purpose , to which i agree . and that this actual pardon of the legal guilt is twofold . 1. formal , of all their sins past , removing their legal guilt . 2. virtual , of all their sins to come , preventing their legal guilt . dr. ames speaks to the same purpose , and many others . i cannot see how a believer should be for ever formally justified from all sins past , present , and to come , and yet not formally pardoned . this author which i have lately met with , distinguisheth well between legal guilt and gospel guilt ; the first obliging to divine wrath , or eternal punishment ; the latter , i. e. gospel guilt , obliging to gospel , or fatherly chastisement for gospel-sins . now i see not but that as soon as a believer is personally justified , all his sins , tho not yet committed , as to legal guilt , or vindictive wrath , i. e. that guilt that obliges to eternal condemnation , are pardoned , for the reason before . saith he , virtual pardon keeps off legal guilt where it would be . to which i reply , if it be kept off , so that it never comes upon believers , then it follows they were actually pardon'd before in that respect : yet he says , sins cannot be said to be formally pardon'd before formally committed ; but says , no guilt can come upon them to condemnation , tho new guilt ; yet no new legal guilt , because always justified . we see no hurt if his terms be admitted . object . what do believers then pray for , when they pray for the pardon of sin ? answ . 1. that god would not chastise them sorely , or afflict them as a father , according to the greatness of their offences . 2. that if his chastning hand is upon us , he would be pleased graciously to remove it . 3. that he would be pleased to clear up to our consciences , or give us the evidence of our pardon through christ's merits , and that we may know we are compleat in christ , or without spot before the throne in our free justification . 4. nay , believers are to pray to god to remove that sin from them ( saith this worthy author ) whose desert of punishment cannot be removed from it ; and to spread their sins before the lord in the highest sense of the deepest demerit of all legal punishment , so that they may put the higher accent upon the free grace of god , and estimate upon the full satisfaction of christ , whereby their persons are so fully freed from all actual obligation to any legal punishment , the whole and utmost whereof their sins deserve . 5. moreover , that god would continue , and never revoke his most gracious pardon , till he pronounceth the final sentence of it at the day of judgment , ( as well this author notes ) for a renewed sense and assurance of its grant and continuance : and thus to pray , saith he , there are both precepts and promises . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a47606-e1080 joh. 4. 24. job 11. 7 , 8 , 9. psal . 90. 2. jam. 1. 17. exod. 3. 4. rev. 4. 8. deut. 6. 4. exod. 34. 6 , 7. mat. 28. 19. 1 joh. 5. 5. eph. 1. 4 , 11. rom. 9. 22 , 23. gen. 1. heb. 11. 3. gen. 1. 26 , 27 , 28. col. 3. 10. eph. 4. 24. 2 tim. 3. 16. eph. 2. 20. joh. 5. 39. deut. 17. 18. rev. 1. 3. acts 8. 30. gen. 1. & 3. 15 , 16. joh. 20. 30 , 31. & 21. 24. gen. 3. 〈◊〉 , 6. eccl. 7. 29. rom. 3. 23. 1 joh. 3. 4. tit. 1. 13. rom. 5. 17. gen. 6. 5. jer. 17. 9. rom. 3. 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , &c. jam. 1. 14. 1 cor. 15. 14. rom. 5. 6. rom. 8. 7. col. 1. 22. mat. 15. 19. rom. 7. 7 , 14 , 17 , 18 , 23 , 24. lam. 3. 39. rom. 6. 23. gal. 3. 10. job 11. 12. & 15. 14. & 25. 4. col. 3. 10. tit. 1. 13. psal . 51. 5. eph. 2. 2 , 3. gen. 6. 3. rom. 7. 5 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 23 , 24. ephes . 2. 2 , 3. rom. 8. 7. job 24. 13. ephes . 4. 28. col. 1. 21. psal . 110. 3. rom. 7. 11 , 17 , 18 , 23 , 24. ephes . 1. 4. rom. 3. 20 , 21 , 22. gal. 3. 21 , 22. 1 tim. 2. 5 , 6. joh. 1. 14. galat. 4. 4. rom. 9. 5. luke 1. 35. col. 2. 9. heb. 7. 24 , 25. phil. 2. 6. zech. 6. 13. joh. 1. 14. 1 tim. 2. 5. heb. 2. 14. mat. 2. 26 , 38. luke 1. 27 , 31 , 34 , 35. gal. 〈…〉 heb. 4. 〈…〉 1 tim. 2. 5. heb. 2. 17. heb. 7. 24. act. 15. 14 , 15 , 16. 1 joh. 2. 2. heb. 7. 25. & 10. 21. & 9. 24. isa . 33. 22. & 32. 1 , 2. 1 cor. 15. 25. psal . 100. acts 3. 22. job . 1. 18. 1 pet. 1. 10 , 11 , 12 , joh. 15. 15. & 20. 31. gal. 4. 4. heb. 12. 23. isa . 53. 2 , 3. luk. 22. 44 mat. 27 ▪ 46 phil. 2. 8. 1 cor. 15. 4. acts 2. 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 31. 1 cor. 1● . 4. mark 16. 19. eph. 1. 20. acts 1. 11. & 17. 31 ▪ 1 pet. 3. 22. joh. 1. 11. tit. 3. 5 , 6. eph. 1. 13 , 14. 1 cor. 1. 9. eph. 2. 8. eph. 3. 17. 1 cor. 1. 9. 2 tim. 1. 9. 2 thess . 2. 13 , 14. acts 2. 37. & 20. 18. ezek. 36. 27. john 6. 44 , 45. rom. 3. 23 , 24 , 25 , 26. eph. 1. 6 , 7. tit. 3. 7. rom. 5. 15 , 16 , 17 , 18. 1 cor. 1. 30 2 cor. 5. 21 act. 13. 39. 2 cor. 5. 21. phil. 3. 7 , 8 , 9. rom. 10. 5. 1 john 3. 1. john 1. 10. rom. 8. 14. gal. 2. 16. 1 john 3. 1 , 2. & 4. 7. & 5. 1. 2 thess . 2. 13. eph. 4. 13. rom. 6. 5 , 〈◊〉 . 7. rom. 8. 29 , 30. rom. 5. 1 , 2 , 5. & 14. 17. prov. 4 18. 1 joh. 51. 3. 1 pet. 1. 〈◊〉 . 1 cor. 15. 43. mat. 25. 23 mat. 10. 32 1 joh. 3. 2. 1 cor. 13. 12. 1 thess . 4. 17 , 18. 2 cor. 5. 1 , 2 phil. 1. 21. 22. luk 16 ▪ 5 1 pet. 3. 19 , 20. luke 16. 23 , 24. acts 1. 25. 1 pet. 3. 19 ps . 49. 11. john 9. 28 , 29. 2 thess . 1. 8 , 9. mich. 6. 8. 1 sam. 15. 22. rev. 2. 14. mat. 19. 17 mat. 22. 37 , 38 , 39 , 40. 1 joh. 3. 4. rom. 7. 3 , 4 gen. 6. 5. rom. 3. 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , &c. ezek. 8. 6. 1 joh. 5. 16 ps 78. 17 , 32 , 56. exod. 34. 6 ▪ rom. 3. 25 , 26. gal. 4. 4. isa . 53. 4 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 11. 1 pet. 2. 24. rom. 8. 1. john 5. 24. john 3. 15. 16. heb. 6. 18 , 19 , 20. col. 2. 12. acts 15 , 9. acts 2. 36. job 42. 5. 1 pet. 2. 7. john 3. 3. john 1. 12. isa . 26. 3 , 4. phil. 3. 9. ephes . 2. 8. acts 2. 37. joel 2. 12. jer. 3. 22. & 31. 18 , 19. ezek. 36. 31. 2 cor. 7. 10 isa . 1. 16 , 17 heb. 6. 1 , 2. zec. 12. 10. acts 2. 36. mat. 28. 19 , 20. acts 2. 42 , 46 , 47. neh. 8. 8. 1 cor. 14. 24 , 25. acts 26. 32 psal . 19. 8. rom. 1. 15 , 16. acts 20. 32 rom. 10. 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17. prov. 8. 34. 1 pet. 2. 1 , 2. ps . 119. 18 heb. 4. 2. 2 thess . 2. 10. jam. 1. 25. 1 pet. 3. 21 1 cor. 12. 13. mat. 28. 19 , 20. rom. 6. 3 , 4 , 5. col. 2. 12 , 13. gal. 3. 27. acts 2. 38. & 22. 16. acts 8. 37. col. 2. 21 , 22. rev. 22. 18 prov. 30. 6. mat. 28. 19 , 20. mat. 3. 16. joh. 3. 23. acts 8. 38. rom. 6. 3. col. 2. 13. acts 2. 41 , 42. & 5. 13 , 14. 1 pet. 2. 5. luke 1. 6. acts 2. 40 , 41 , 42. eph. 4. 3. acts 2. 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , &c. 1 cor. 16. 1 , 2. heb. 10. 25. heb. 5. 12. & 6. 1 , 2. acts 8. & 19. 6. eph. 1. 13 , 14. acts 8. & 19. 〈…〉 heb. 2. 3 , 4. a 4 ▪ 4 ▪ ●at . 26. 26 , 27 , 28. mark 14. 21 , 22 , 23. luke 22. 19 , 20. 1 cor. 11. 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27. acts 20. 17. 1 tim. 3. 1 , 2 , &c. tit. 1. 5. 1 tim. 3. 2 — 12. tit. 1. 5 , 6 , 7 , 8. acts 13. 3. 1 tim. 5. 22. & 4. 14. phil. 4. 6. psal . 65. 2. john 4. 23. 1 pet. 2. 5. rom. 8. 26. john 5. 14. psal . 47. 7. eccl. 5. 1 , 2. jam. 5. 16. eph. 6. 18. 1 cor. 14. 14. col. 4. 2. josh . 24. 15. gen. 18. 19. jer. 10. 25. eph. 5. 19. col. 3. 16. acts 16. 25 heb. 2. 12. jam. 5. 13. mat. 26. 30 mar. 14. 26 exod. 20. rev. 1. 10. act. 2. 1 , 2. acts 20. 7. 1 cor. 16. 2 1 tim. 3. 2. eph. 4. 11. 1 pet. 4. 10 rom. 12. 6 , 7. 1 cor. 9. 9 — 14. rom. 15. 2● . gal. 6. 6. 1 tim. 5. 15. 2 pet. 5. 2. gen. 2. 17. rom. 3. 12. rom. 10. 5. & 5. 10 to 20. rom. 3. 19 , 20. 2 cor. 3. 9 , 11. rom. 7. 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13. gal. 3. 10. zech. 6. 13. rom. 3. 23 , 24 , 25 , 26. isa . 57. 5 , 6 , 10 , 11. rom. 8. 3. heb. 9. 15 , 16 , 17. heb. 7. 22. luk. 22. 2 〈…〉 1 cor. 11. 2 〈…〉 rom. 6. 2 〈…〉 & 8. 16 , 17 , 18. rom. 8. 29 , 30 , 31. acts 13. 48. rom. 9. 11. 〈◊〉 . thess . 4. 4 , 5. 〈…〉 ph . 1. 3 , 4 , 11. 2 thess . 2. 13. rom. 8. 28 , 29 , 30 , 31. joh. 10. 28 , 29. rom. 8. 38 , 39 rom. 8. 3 〈…〉 33 , 3 〈…〉 2 tim. 2. 2 cor. 6. 17. acts 17. 31. 2 cor. 5. 10. eccles . 12. gen. 3. 24. mat. 19. 5. 1 cor. 6. 16. eph. 5. 31. rom. 7. 4. heb. 13. 4. rom. 13. 1 , 2 , 3. tit. 3. 1. 1 pet. 2. 13 : mat. 22. 21. exod. 20. 7. jer. 4. 2. gen. 24. 2. neh. 5. 12. heb. 6. 16 , 17. exod. 20. 17. acts 5. 4. & 20. 33. notes for div a47606-e4580 rom. 8. 1. mr. tho. gilbert . dr. ames saith , that not only the sins of a justified person that are past are remitted , but also in some sort those to come , num. 23. 25. joh. 5. 24. yet he distinguishes between a formal and virtual pardon : sins past , says he , are remitted in themselves , sins to come , in the subject o● person sinning . the glory of a true church, and its discipline display'd wherein a true gospel-church is described : together with the power of the keys, and who are to be let in, and who to be shut out / by benjamin keach. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1697 approx. 83 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 37 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47522 wing k66 estc r19810 12352725 ocm 12352725 60040 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47522) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 60040) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 213:10) the glory of a true church, and its discipline display'd wherein a true gospel-church is described : together with the power of the keys, and who are to be let in, and who to be shut out / by benjamin keach. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. iv, 5-69 [i.e. 72] p. [s.n.], london : 1697. reproduction of original in british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng church discipline -early works to 1800. baptists -government. baptists -doctrines. 2005-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-07 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-08 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2005-08 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the glory of a true church , and its discipline display'd . wherein a true gospel-church is described . together with the power of the keys , and who are to be let in , and who to be shut out . by benjamin keach . mat. 18.18 . whatsoever ye shall bind on earth , shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth , shall be loosed in heaven . london ; printed in the year 1697. to the baptized churches , particularly to that under my care. my brethren , every house or building consisteth both of matter and form : and so doth the church of christ , or house of the living god. the matter or materials with which it is built are lively stones , ● . e. converted persons : also the matter and form must be according to the rule and pattern shewed in ●he mount , i mean christ's institution , and the apostolical churches constitution , and not after mens inventions . now some men , because the ty●ical church of the jews was na●ional , and took in their carnal seed ( as such ) therefore the same mat●er and form they would have under the gospel . but tho a church be rightly built in both these respects , i.e. of fit matter and right form , yet without a regular and orderly discipline , it will soon lose its beauty , and be polluted . many reverend divines of th● congregational way , have written most excellently ( it is true ) upon th●● subject , i mean on church-discipline ; but the books are so voluminou● that the poorer sort can't purchas● them , and many others have not tim● or learning enough to improve them to their profit ; and our brethren th● baptists have not written ( as i ca● gather ) on this subject by it self● therefore i have been earnestly desired by our members , and also by on● of our pastors , to write a small and plain tract concerning the rules 〈◊〉 the discipline of a gospel-church that all men may not only know our faith , but see our order in this cas● also . true , this ( tho plain ) is bi● short , but may be it may provoke som● other person to do it more fully . certainly , ignorance of the rules of discipline causes no small trouble and disorders in our churches ; and if this may be a prevention , or prove profit able to any , let god have the glory , and i have my end : who am , yours aug. ●● ▪ 1697. benj. keach . the glory of a gospel-church , and the true orderly discipline thereof explain'd . concerning a true and orderly gospel-church . before there can be any orderly discipline among a christian assembly , they must be orderly and regularly constituted into a church-state , according to the institution of christ in the gospel . 1. a church of christ , according to the gospel-institution , is a congregation of godly christians , who as a stated-assembly ( being first baptized upon the profession of faith ) do by mutual agreement and consent give themselves up to the lord , and one to another , according to the will of god ; and do ordinarily meet together in one place , for the publick service and worship of god ; among whom the word of god and sacraments are duly administred , according to christ's institution . 2. the beauty and glory of which congregation doth consist in their being all converted persons , or lively stones ; being by the holy spirit , united to jesus christ the precious corner-stone , and only foundation of every christian , as well as of every particular congregation , and of the whole catholick church . 3. that every person before they are admitted members , in such a church so constituted , must declare to the church ( or to such with the pastor , that they shall appoint ) what god hath done for their souls , or their experiences of a saving work of grace upon their hearts ; and also the church should enquire after , and take full satisfaction concerning their holy lives , or good conversations . and when admitted members , before the church they must solemnly enter into a covenant , to walk in the fellowship of that particular congregation , and submit themselves to the care and discipline thereof , and to walk faithfully with god in all his holy ordinances , and there to be fed and have communion , and worship god there , when the church meets ( if possible ) and give themselves up to the watch and charge of the pastor and ministry thereof : the pastor then also signifying in the name of the church their acceptance of each person , and endeavour to take the care of them , and to watch over them in the lord , ( the members being first satisfied to receive them , and to have communion with them . ) and so the pastor to give them the right hand of fellowship of a church , or church organical . a church thus constituted ought forthwith to choose them a pastor , elder or elders , and deacons , ( we reading of no other officers , or offices abiding in the church ) and what kind of men they ought to be , and how qualified , is laid down by paul to timothy , and to titus . moreover , they are to take special care , that both bishops , overseers , or elders , as well as the deacons , have in some competent manner all those qualifications ; and after in a day of solemn prayer and fasting , that they have elected them , ( whether pastor , &c. or deacons ) and they accepting the office , must be ordained with prayer , and laying on of hands of the eldership ; being first prov'd , and found meet and fit persons for so sacred an office : therefore such are very disorderly churches who have no pastor or pastors ordained , they acting not according to the rule of the gospel , having something wanting . of the work of a pastor , bishop or overseer . 1. the work of a pastor is to preach the word of christ , or to feed the flock , and to administer all the ordinances of the gospel which belong to his sacred office , and to be faithful and laborious therein , studying to shew himself approved unto god , a work-man that needeth not be ashamed , rightly dividing the word of truth . he is a steward of the mysteries of god , therefore ought to be a man of good understanding and experience , being sound in the faith , and one that is acquainted with the mysteries of the gospel : because he is to feed the people with knowledg and vnderstanding . he must be faithful and skilful to declare the mind of god , and diligent therein , also to preach in season and out of season ; god having committed unto him the ministry of reconciliation , a most choice and sacred trust. what interest hath god greater in the world which he hath committed unto men than this ? moreover , he must make known the whole counsel of god to the people . 2. a pastor is to visit his flock , to know their state , and to watch over them , to support the weak , and to strengthen the feeble-minded , and succour the tempted , and to reprove them that are unruly . 3. to pray for them at all times , and with them also when sent for , and desired , and as opportunity serves ; and to sympathize with them in every state and condition , with all love and compassion . 4. and to shew them in all respects , as near as he can , a good example in conversation , charity , faith and purity ; that his ministry may be the more acceptable to all , and the name of god be glorified , and religion delivered from reproach . 5. he must see he carries it to all with all impartiality , not preferring the rich above the poor , nor lord it over . god's heritage , nor assume any greater power than god hath given him ; but to shew a humble and meek spirit , nay to be clothed with humility . the office and work of deacons . the work of deacons is to serve tables , viz. to see to provide for the lord's table , the minister's table , and the poor's table ( 1. ) they should provide bread and wine for the lord's table . ( 2. ) see that every member contributes to the maintenance of the ministry , according to their ability , and their own voluntary subscription or obligation . ( 3. ) that each member do give weekly to the poor , as god has blessed him . ( 4. ) also visit the poor , and know their condition as much as in them lies ; that none , especially the aged widows , be neglected . of the duty of church-members to their pastor . 1 st . 't is the duty of every member to pray for their pastor and teachers . brethren , pray for us , that the word of the lord may run and be glorified . again , saith paul , praying also for us , that god would open unto us a door of utterance , to speak the mystery of christ. prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto god for him . they that neglect this duty seem not to care either for their minister , or their own souls , or whether sinners be converted , and the church edified or not . they pray for their daily bread , and will they not pray to have the bread of life plentifully broken to them ? motives to this . 1. ministers work is great : who is sufficient for these things ? 2. the opposition is not small which is made against them . 3. god's loud call is ( as well as ministers themselves ) for the saints continual prayers and supplication for them . 4. their weakness and temptations are many . 5. the increase and edification of the church depends upon the success of their ministry . 6. if they fall or miscarry , god is greatly dishonoured , and his ways and people reproached . 2 dly . they ought to shew a reverential estimation of them , being christ's ambassadors , also called rulers , angels , &c. they that honour them , and receive them , honour and receive jesus christ. esteem them very highly in love for their work sake . again , he saith , let the elders that rule well , be accounted worthy of double honour , especially they who labour in word and doctrine : that is , as i conceive , such that are most laborious . 3 dly . 't is their duty to submit themselves unto them , that is , in all their exhortations , good counsels and reproofs ; and when they call to any extraordinary duty , as prayer , fasting , or days of thanksgiving , if they see no just cause why such days should not be kept , they ought to obey their pastor or elder , as in other cases also . obey them that have the rule over you , and submit your selves . 4 thly . it is their duty to take care to vindicate them from the unjust charges of evil men , or tongue of infamy , and not to take up a reproach against them by report , nor to grieve their spirits , or weaken their hands . 5 thly . 't is the duty of members to go to them when under trouble or temptations . 6 thly . it is their duty to provide a comfortable maintenance for them and their families , sutable to their state and condition . let him that is taught in the word , communicate to him that teacheth , in all good things . who goeth a warfare at his own charge ? who planteth a vineyard , and eateth not of the fruit thereof ? &c. even so hath the lord ordained , that they that preach the gospel , should live of the gospel . if we have sown unto you spiritual things , is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things ? they should minister to them chearfully with all readiness of mind . ministers are not to ask for their bread , but to receive it honourably . the ministers maintenance , tho it is not by tythes , &c. as under the law , yet they have now as just a right to a comfortable maintenance as they had then , the equity of the duty is the same : our saviour , saith dr. owen , and the apostles plead it from grounds of equity and justice ; and all kind of laws and rules of righteousness among men of all sorts calls for it . 7 thly . it is their duty to adhere to them , and abide by them in all their trials and persecutions for the word . ye were not ashamed of me in my bonds , &c. 8 thly . dr. owen adds another duty of the members to their pastor , viz. to agree to come together upon his appointment : when they were come , and had gathered the church together , &c. query , are there no ruling elders besides the pastor ? answ. there might be such in the primitive apostolical church , but we see no ground to believe it an abiding office to continue in the church , but was only temporary . 1. because we have none of the qualifications of such elders mention'd , or how to be chosen . 2. because we read not particularly what their work and business is , or how distinct from preaching elders ; tho we see not but the church may ( if she sees meet ) choose some able and discreet brethren to be helps in government : we have the qualifications of bishops and deacons directly laid down , and how to be chosen , and their work declared , but of no other office or officers in the church , but these only . quest. may an elder of one church if called , warrantably administer all ordinances to another ? answ. no surely ; for we find no warrant for any such practice , he being only ordained pastor or elder of that particular church that chose him , &c. and hath no right or authority to administer as an elder in any other where he is not so much as a member . quest. may a church call out a teacher that is no ordained elder to administer all ordinances to them ? ans. you may as well ask , may a church act disorderly ? why were ministers to be ordained , if others unordained might warrantably do all their work ? if therefore they have no person fitly qualified for that office , they must look out from abroad for one that is . yet ( as we say ) necessity has no law ; provided therefore they can't do either , it is better their teacher be called to do it , than that the church should be without their food , and church-ordinances neglected ; yet let all churches take care to organize themselves , and not through covetousness , or neglect of duty , rest incompleat churches , and so under sin. god is the god of order , and not of confusion , in all the churches of the saints . and how severely did god deal of old with such that meddled with the priests work and office , who were not of the priesthood , nor called by him to administer in holy things ! of the reception of members . quest. what is the order of receiving members into the church , that were no members any where before ? answ. 1. the person must give an account of his faith ; and of the work of grace upon his soul before the church ; and also a strict enquiry must be made about his life and conversation : but if through bashfulness the party cannot speak before the congregation , the elder and two or three more persons may receive an account of his or her faith , and report it to the church . but if full satisfaction by the testimony of good and credible persons is not given of the party's life and conversation , he must be put by until satisfaction is obtained in that respect . moreover , when the majority are satisfied , and yet one or two persons are not , the church and elder will do well to wait a little time , and endeavour to satisfy such persons , especially if the reasons of their dissent seem weighty . quest. what is to be done when a person offers himself for communion from a church that is corrupt , or erroneous in principles ? answ. 1. the church ought to take an account of his faith in all fundamental points , and of the work of grace upon his heart . 2. and if satisfied , then to send also to that corrupt people , to know whether they have any thing or not against his life and conversation : if satisfied in both these respects , the church may receive him . quest. to whom is it members ●oin themselves ? is it to the elder , or to the church ? answ. they are joined to the whole community of the church , being incorporated as members thereof , and thereto abide , tho the pastor be removed by death . the power of the keys , with church — discipline , and members duties one to another . 1. we judg it necessary that a day monthly be appointed particularly for discipline , and not to manage such affairs on the lord's-day , which should be spent ●n the publick worship of god , of ● different nature : besides , such ●hings may ( on the account of discipline ) come before the church which may not be expedient to be ●eard on the lord's-day , lest it ●isturb the spirits of any members , and hinder their meditation ●n the word which they have ●ewly heard : tho in small congregations perhaps a day in two or three months may be sufficient . 2. the power of the keys , or to receive in and shut out of the congregation , is committed unto the church : the political power of christ , saith dr. chauncy , is in the church , whereby it is exercised in the name of christ , having all lawful rule and government within it self , which he thus proves , viz. 1. the church essential is the first subject of the keys . 2. they must of necessity to their preservation , purge themselves from all pernicious members . 3. they have power to organize themselves with officers . yet i humbly conceive i may add , that the concurrence of the presbytery is needful hereunto . 4. if need be that they call an officer from without , or one of another church , they must first admit him a member , that they may ordain their officer from among themselves . 5. they have power to reject a scandalous pastor from office and membership . ' this power of christ is exerted as committed to them by the hands of the elder appointed by christ , the due management whereof is in and with the church to be his care and trust , as a steward , whereof he is accountable to christ and the church , not lording it over god's heritage . and that the power of the keys is in the church , appears to me from mat. 18. if he will not hear the church ; it is not said , if he will not hear the elder , or elders . as also that of the apostle , in directing the church to cast out the incestuous person , he doth not give this counsel to the elder or elders of the church , but to the church ; so he commands the church to withdraw from every brother that walks disorderly . purge out the old leaven , that you may be a new lump . of church-censures . now as to church-censures i understand but two besides suspension , viz. ( 1. ) withdrawing from a member that walks disorderly . ( 2. ) casting out , o● excommunicating such that are e●ther guilty of notorious or scanda●lous crimes , of heresy , &c. o● of contemning the authority o● the church . briefly to each of these . 1. suspension is to be when'● member falls under sin , and th● church wants time fully to hea● the matter , and so can't withdraw from him , or cast him out . 2. if any member walks disorderly , tho not guilty of gross scandalous sins , he or she , as soon as it is taken notice of , ought to be admonished , and endeavours to be used to bring him to repentance : for we hear that there are some which walk disorderly , not working at all , but are busy-bodies . such as meddle with matters that concern them not , it may be ( instead of following their trade and business ) they go about from one member's house to another , telling or carrying of tales and stories of this brother , or of that brother or sister , which perhaps may be true , or perhaps false , and may be too to the reproach or scandal of some member or members , which , if so , it is back-biting ; and that is so notorious a crime , that without repentance they shall not ascend god's holy hill. back-biting is a diminishing our neighbours , or brother's good name , either by denying him his due praise , or by saying any thing to his charge falsely or irregularly , or without sufficient cause or evidence , thus our annotators . but this of disorderly walking does not amount to such a crime , but evils not so notorious ; now them ●●at are such , we command and exhort by our lord jesus christ , that with quietness they work , and eat their own bread. they must be admonished . 1. an admonition is a faithful endeavour to convict a person of a fault , both as to matter of fact and circumstance ; and this admonition must be given first , if it be private , by that brother that knows or has knowledg of the fault or evil of the person offending , whether the elder , or member ; for any private brother ought to admonish such with all care and faithfulness before he proceeds farther . but if it be publick , th● church ought to send for the offender , and the pastor must admonish him before all . 2. but if after all due endeavours used he is not reclaimed , bu● continues a disorderly person , the church must withdraw from him . now we command you brethren , is the name of our lord jesus christ , that you withdraw from every b●●ther that walketh disorderly , and not after the traditions he received from us . this is not a delivering up to satan , excommunicating of dismembring the person ; for this sort are still to be owned as members , tho disorderly ones : the church must note him ▪ so as not to have communion or company with him in that sense ; yet court him not as an enemy , but exhort him as a brother : if any man obey not our word , note that man. it appears that such who refuse to adhere to what the pastor commands and exhorts to , in the name of christ , are to be deemed disorderly persons , as such are who meet ●ot with the church when assembled together to worship god , or ●hat neglect private or family prayer , or neglect their attendance on the lord's-supper , or to contribute to the necessary charges of the church , or suffer any evils unreproved in their children ; all such may be lookt upon disorderly walkers , and ought to be proceeded against according to this rule , or divulge the private resolves of the church , as well as in many like cases . of private offences of one brother against another . 1. as touching private offences , the rule mat. 18. is to be observed , only this by the way must be premised , viz. if but one brother or two have the knowledg of some members crime , yet if it be publickly known to the world , and the name of god be reproached , it being an immoral act , 〈◊〉 private brother is not to proceed with such an offender , according to mat. 18. but forthwith to brin● it to the church , that the public● scandal may be taken off . 2. but if it be a private offenc● or injury done to a brother 〈◊〉 sister in particular , and not bei●● a notorious scandalous sin , tha● brother must not mention it to one soul , either within , or without the church , until he hath proceeded according to the rule . ( 1. ) he must tell his brother his fault . moreover , if thy brother shall trespass against thee , go and tell him his fault betwixt thee and him alone ; if he shall hear thee , thou hast gained thy brother . thou must labour in love and all affections to convince him o● his fault ; but if he will not hea● thee , ( 2. ) thou must take one or two more , but be sure see they are discreet persons , and such that ar● most likely to gain upon him ; and they with thee are to labour with all wisdom to bring him to the sense of his fault : 't is not iust to speak to him , as if that were enough ; no , no , but to take all due pains , and to strive to convince him , that so the matter may be issued , and the church not troubled with it : but if he will not hear thee , take one or two more , that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established . 3. but if he will not hear them after all due means and admonitions used , then it must be brought to the church ; and if he will not hear the church , he must be cast out : the elder is to put the question , whether the offending brother be in their judgments incorrigible , and refuseth to hear the church ; which passing in the affirmative by the vote of the congregation , or the majority of the brethren by the lifting up of their hands , or by their silence ; the pastor after calling upon god , and opening the nature of the offence , and the justness of their proceedings , in the name and by the authority of christ , pronounces the sentence of e● communication to this effect . that a. b. being guilty of great iniquity , and not manifesting ●●feigned repentance , but refusing to hear the church , i do in the name , and by the authority of christ committed unto me as pastor of this his church , pronounce and declare that he is to be , and is hereby excommunicated , excluded or cast out of the congregation , and no longer to be owned a brother , or a member of this church ; and this for the destruction of the flesh , that his spirit may be saved in the day of the lord jesus . and this we believe is the substance of that which the apostle calls a delivering up to satan , he being cast into the world , which is called the kingdom of satan , where he rules and reigns . the delivery unto satan ( saith dr. chauncy ) signifies only the solemn exclusion of a person from the communion of the church , the visible kingdom of christ , and disinfranchizing him , or divesting him of all visible right to church privileges , casting him into the kingdom of the world , where the prince of darkness rules in the children of disobedience . and this being done , he is to be esteemed to be no better than an heathen man , or publican , or as an evil person , and not to have so much as intimate civil communion withal . of scandalous persons guilty of gross acts of immorality . if any member fall into any gross acts of sin , as swearing , lying , drunkenness , fornication , covetousness , extortion , or the like , and it is known and publickly spread abroad to the great scandal and reproach of religion , and of the holy name of god , his church , and people ; the said offender so charged , the church must send one or two brethren to him to come before the congregation : if he will not come , but doth slight and contemn the authority of the church , that will bring farther guilt upon him , for which offence he incurs the censure before mentioned but if he doth appear , his charge is to be laid before him , and the witnesses called ; and after he ha● made his defence , and said all he hath to say , and the congregation finds him guilty , then the same censure is to pass upon him , to the end he may be brought to unfeigned repentance , and the name of god cleared ; and some time must be taken to make it appear that he hath true repentance , by the reformation of his life and holy walking afterwards , before he be received again , and the censure of the church in a solemn manner be taken off . dr. chauncy puts this question , quest. how is a church to proceed in case of open and notorious scandals ? the answer is , ' the matter of fact , as such , being beyond all question ; the church is to proceed immediately to censure , to vindicate the honour of christ and his church , and to manifest to the world their just indignation against such notorious offenders , and wait for a well-grounded and tryed evidence of his true repentance under that ordinance of christ which is appointed to that end . observe , it is the opinion of the doctor , that tho the person be penitent , yet because his sin is open and scandalous , he ought to be cast out to vindicate the honour of christ and the church , as part of his just punishment ( that being one reason of the ordinance of excommunication ) as well as to bring the person to thorow repentance ; and we are of his mind . paul takes no notice in the case of the incestuous person of his immediate repentance ; or if he repent not , then , &c. but says he , deliver such a one to satan , &c. saith the lord , if her father had but spit in her face , should she not be ashamed seven days ? let her be shut out from the camp seven day : ( speaking of miriam ) and after that let her be received in again . of dealing with hereticks and blasphemers . as touching hereticks or heresy , the same censure , when they are convicted , ought to pass against them ; heresy is commonly restrained to signify any perverse opinion or error in a fundamental point of religion , as to deny the being of god , or the deity of christ , or his satisfaction , and justification alone by his righteousness , or to deny the resurrection of the body , or eternal judgment , or the like . yet our annotators say , the word signifies the same thing with schism and divisions ; which if so , such that are guilty of schism or divisions in the church , ought to be excommunicated also . heresies are called damnable by the apostle peter ; without repentance such cannot be saved , as bring in damnable heresies , denying the lord that bought them . two things render a man an heretick according to the common signification of the word . 1. an error in matters of faith , fundamental or essential to salvation . 2. stubbornness and contumacy in holding and maintaining it . a man that is an heretick , after the first and second admonition reject . now that this rejection is all one with excommunication , appears by what paul speaks , 1 tim. 1.20 . of whom is hymeneus and alexander , whom i have delivered unto satan , that they may learn not to blaspheme . their heresy , or blasphemy was in saying the resurrection was past . some would have none be counted an heretick but he who is convicted and condemned so to be in his own conscience , mistaking paul's words , knowing that he that is such , is subverted , being condemned of himself . he may be condemned of himself , tho not for his heresy , yet for his spending his time about questions , and strife of words , to the disquieting the peace of the church ; or tho not condemned of himself directly , yet indirectly ; according to the purport of his own notion , or what he grants about the point in debate , &c. else the apostle refers to some notable and notorious self-condemned heretick . it is a great question , whether hymeneus and alexander we●● condemned in their own consciences , about that heresy charged upon them , and yet were delivered up to satan . however the rule is plain , respecting any that are subverted , and resolutely maintain any heretical notion , i. e. after he hath been twice ( or oftner ) admonished , that is , after all due means used , and pains taken with him , to convince him of his abominable error ; and yet if he remains obstinate , he must be delivered up to satan ; that is , the righteous censure of the church must pass upon him , as in the case of other notorious crimes . heresy is a work of the flesh : and hence some conceive such ought to be punished by the civil magistrate . quest. what is an admonition ? answ. it is a faithful endeavour to convict a person of a fault both as to matter of fact , and his duty thereupon , charging it on his conscience in the name of the lord jesus with all wisdom and authority . quest. what is a church admonition ? answ. when an offending brother rejecting private admonition by one , or by two or three persons ; the complaint being brought to the church by the elder , the offending member is rebuked and exhorted in the name of the lord jesus to due repentance ; and if convicted , and he repents , the church forgives him , otherwise casts him out , as i before shewed . quest. may a church admit a member of another congregation to have communion with them , without an orderly receiving him as a member ? answ. if the person is well known by some of the church , and that he is an orderly member of 〈◊〉 church of the same faith , he being occasionally cast among them ▪ they may admit him to transie●● communion for that time ; but i● he abides in that town or city remote to the church to whom he belongs , he ought to have his regular dismission , and so be delivered up to the care and watch of the church where he desires to communicate . quest. if an excommunicated person hath obtained of god true repentance , and desires to be restored to the church , what is the manner of his reception ? answ. upon his serious , solemn and publick acknowledgment thereof before the church , and due satisfaction according to the nature of his offence being given , the elder solemnly proceeds and declares in the name of the lord jesus , that the sentence which a.b. was laid under ( upon his unfeigned repentance ) is taken off , and that he is received again a as member , &c. to the praise and glory of god. q. how ought a pastor to be ●●●lt withal , if he to the knowledge of the church , or any mem●ers thereof , walketh disorderly , ●nd unworthily of his sacred of●ice , and membership ? take the answer of another author here . answ. ' those members , to whom this is manifestly known , ought to go to him privately , and unknown to any others , ( and with the spirit of meekness , in great humility ) lay his evil before him , and intreat him as a father , and not rebuke him as there equal , much less as their inferiour ; and if they gain upon him , then to receive him into their former affection and esteem , for ever hiding it from all others . but if after all tender intreaties , he prove refractory and obstinate , then to bring him before the church , and there to deal with him ; they having two or three witnesses in the face of the church , to testify matter of fact against him to their personal knowledge . 2. but before he be dealt with they must appoint one from among themselves , qualifyd for the work●● a pastor , to execute the church censure against him , &c. yet n● doubt , the church may suspend him from his communion , & exercisin● of his office presently , upon hi● being fully convicted . but seeing in the multitude of counsel there i● safety , sure no church would so proceed without the advice of the presbytery , or of a sister church at least . q. suppose a member should think himself oppressed by the church ; or should be unjustly dealt with ; either withdrawn from , or excommunicated , has he no relief left him ? answ. we believe he hath relief ; and also , that there is no church infallible , but may e●● in some points of faith , as wel● as in discipline . and the way proposed , and agreed to , in a general assembly , held in london , 1692. of the elders , ministers , and messengers of our churches , we approve of , which is this ; viz. the grieved or injured person may make his application to a sister ▪ church for communion ; and that church may send some brethren in their names , to that congregation that have dealt with him , and they to see if they can possibly restore him to his place ; but if they cannot , then to report the matter charged , with the proofs , to the church that sent them : and if that congregation shall , after a full information , &c. be perswaded the person was not orderly dealt with , they may receive him into their communion . of such that cause divisions ; or vnduely separate themselves from the church . this i find is generally asserted by all congregational divines , or worthy men , i. e. that no person hath power to dismember himself : i. e. he cannot , without great sin , translate himself from one church to another ; but ought to have a dismission from that church where he is a member : provided that church is orderly constituted , nothing being wanting as to any essential of salvation ; or of church-communion : but if not , yet he ought to indeavour to get his orderly di●mission . nor is every small differenc● in some points of religion , ( o● notions of little moment , ) an● grounds for him to desire his dismission . that he cannot , nor ought no● to translate himself , see what 〈◊〉 reverend writer saith : he cannot , saith he , for many reasons : 1. it is not decent , much le● an orderly going away ; but very unmannerly , and a kind o● running away . 2. such a departure is not approved of in families , or civi● societies . 3. it destroys the relation o● pastor and people : for wha● may be done by one individua● person , may be done by all . 4. what liberty in this kin● belongs to the sheep , belongs t● the shepherd ; much more he ma● then also leave his flock at h● pleasure , without giving notice o● reason thereof to the church . 5. it is breaking covenant wit● christ , and with the congregation , and therefore a great immorality ; he being under obligation to abide stedfastly with the church ; i. e. till the church judge he hath a lawful call to go to another congregation . 6. it 's a schism : for if there be any such thing in the world , it 's of particular societies . 7. it is a despising the government of the church . 8. it is a particular member's assuming to himself the use of the keys ; or rather stealing of them . 9. there is as much reason persons should come into a church when they please , without asking consent , as depart when they please . 10. it is very evil and unkind in another church , to receive such an one , as not doing as they would , or should be dealt with . 11. such practices can issue in nothing else than the breach and confusion of all particular churches ; and make them like parishes . 12. such departures cannot be pleaded for in the least , but upon the notion of a catholick visible church , wherein all members and officers are run into one organized church , which will , and must introduce , a co-ordinate ( if not a subordinate ) pastoral government , by combination of elders , over all the churches ; and therefore by synods and classes . 13. it is like a leak in a ship , which , if not speedily stopped , will sink at last . 14. it tends to anarchy , putting an arbitrary power in ev'ry member . 15. it breaks all bonds of love , and raiseth the greatest animosities between bretheren and churches . 16. it is a great argument of some guilt lying-on the party . thus the dr. again he saith , it is no more in the just power of a particular member to dissolve his church-relation , than in a man to kill himself : but by his said withdrawment he doth schismatically rend himself from his communion , and so separate himself sinfully . ★ quest. what is the just act of the church , that cloathes this irregular separation , with the formality as it were of an excomcommunication . he answers . ( calling ) this a mixt excommunication i. e. originally proceeding from , and consists in , the act of the brother himself , and is the formality of his offence ; upon which proceeds the just and unviolable act of the church . the judgment of the church publickly declared by the elder of the congregation ; as the dr. words it ; viz. that a. b. having so and so irregularly and sinfully withdrawn himself from the communion of the congregation , we do now adjudge him a non-member , and one that is not to communicate with the church , in the special ordinances of communion , till due satisfaction is given by him . yet we believe , as the dr's opinion is , that a church may , ( if they find the case to be warranted by the word of god ; or as it may be circumstanced ) give a dismission to a member , when insisted on , to another regular church , tho not in every case of small offence , or dissent in some small points of different notions , or from prejudice ; for , that may tend soon to dissolve any church : for what church is it , where every member is of one mind in every particular case and thing about notions of religion ? and such that make divisions , and cause schisms , or discord among brethren , to disturb the peace of the church , if they cannot be reclaimed , must be marked , and dealt with as great offenders : it being one of those things that god hates , and is an abomination to him . quest. what is a full and lawful dismission of a member to another church , upon his removing his habitation , or on other warranted cases . answ. vve answer a letter testimonial , or recommendation of the person ; and if he intends to abide there wholly , to give him up to that communion , and fellowship , to be watched over in the lord. of disorders , or causes of discords , and how to be prevented , corrected , and removed . i. one cause of discord is , through the ignorance in some members of the rules of discipline , and right government ; particularly when that rule in matth. 18. is not followed . but one person ●●kes up an offence against another , and speaks , of it to this or that person , before he hath , told the brother offending , of it ; which is a paspable sin , and a direct violation of christ's holy precept : and such must , as offenders themselves , be in a gospel way dealt with . to prevent this , the discipline , of the church should be taught ; and the members informed of their duties . ii another thing that causes trouble and disorder in a church , is want of love , and tender affections to one another ; as also not having a full sight and sense of the great evil of breaking the bonds of peace , and vnity : o that all would lay this abominable evil to heart , how base a thing it is to break the peace of a private family , or neighbourhood ; but much more sinful to disturb the peace of the church of the living god , and break the bonds of the vnity thereof . behold , how good , and how pleasant it is , for brethren to dwell together in vnity ! but , o how ugly and hateful is the contrary ! iii. another disorderly practice is this , when one member or another knows of some sinful act , or evils done by one or more members , and they conceal it ; or do not act according to the rule ; pretending they would not be lookt upon as contentious persons : but hereby they may become guilty of other mens sins , and also suffer the name of god , and the church , to lye under reproach , and all thro their neglect . this is a great iniquity . iv. when an elder , or church shall know that some persons are scandalous in their lives , or hereretical in judgment , and yet shall bear or connive with them . v. when members take liberty to hear at other places , when the church is assembled to worship god : this is nothing less than a breaking their covenant with the church , and may soon dissolve any church : for by the same rule , one may take that liberty , another ; nay , every member may . moreover , it casts a contempt upon the ministery of the church , and tends to cause such who are hearers to draw off , and to be disaffected with the doctrine taught in the church , ( they knowing these dissenters do belong unto it . ) i exhort therefore , in the name of christ , this may be prevented : and any of you that know who they are , that take this liberty , pray discover them to the church . we lay no restraint upon our members from hearing such , who are sound in the faith at other times . vi. the liberty that some take to hear men that are corrupt in their judgments ; and so take in unsound notions , and also strive to distil them into the minds of others , as if they were of great importance . alas , how many are corrupted in these days , with arminianism , socinianism , and what not ! this causes great trouble and disorder . vii . when one church shall receive a member or members of another congregation without their consent or knowledge : nay such that are disorderly and may be loose livers , or cast out for immorality ; or persons filled with prejudice without cause . this is enough to make men atheists , or contemn all church authority , and religion : for hath not one regular church as great authority from christ as another . viii . another disorder is , when members are received without the general consent of the church ; or before good satisfaction is taken of their godly lives , and conversations : or when a church is too remiss in the reception of her members . ix . another disorder is , when a church shall receive a charge against a member , ( it being an offence between brother and brother ) before an orderly proceed has been made by the offended person . x. when judgment passes with partiality ; some are connived at , out of favour or affection : levi was not to know his father or mother in judgment . xi . when members do not constantly and early attend our publick assemblies , and the worship of god on the lord's-day especially , but are remiss in that matter : this is a great evil. xii . when part of a church shall meet together as dissatisfied , to consult church-matters , without the knowledge or consent of the church , or pastor : this is disorderly , and tends to division ; and such should be marked . xiii . another thing that tends to disquiet the peace of the church is , when there are any undue heats of spirit , or passion shewed in the pastor , or others , in managing the discipline of the church . have we not found by experience the sad effect of this ? therefore things must be always managed with coolness , and sweetness of spirit , and moderation ; every brother having liberty to speak his mind , and not to be interrupted , until he has done ; nor above one speak at once . xiv . when one brother or more dissents in the sentiments of their minds from the church , in any matters circumstantial ; either in repect of faith , practice , or discipline , and will not submit to the majority , but raise feuds ; nay , will rend themselves from the church , rather than consent . i quaery , what reason , or ground , hath any man to refuse communion with a church that christ hath not left , but hath communion with ? xv. when any member shall divulge , or make known to persons , not of the congregation , nor being concerned in those matters what is done in church-meetings , the church in this respect ( as well as in others ) is to be as a garden inclosed , a spring shut up , a fountain sealed . this oft times occasions great grief , and the disorderly person should be detected . is it not a shame to any of a private family , to divulge the secrets of the family ? but far greater shame do these expose themselves unto . xvi . another disorderly practice is this ; viz. when a member shall suggest , and seem ●o insinuate into the minds of other members some evil against their pastor , yet will not declare what it is ; and may only be evil surmisings , & out of prejudice ; and yet refuses to acquaint the pastor with what it is : this is very abominable , and a palpable violation of the rule of the gospel , and duty of members to their minister . such a person ought to be severely rebuk'd , and if he confess not his evils , and manifesteth unfeigned repentance , to be dealt with farther . moreover , it is a great evil in another to hear such base ▪ insinuations , and neither rebuke the accuser , and so discharge his duty , nor take two or three more to bring the person to repentance . if he deal thus by a private brother , it is a great evil , but far worse to an elder , whose name and honour , ought with all care and justice , to be kept up , as being more sacred . xvii . another disorderly practice is , ( which causes much trouble ) when the publick charges of a church are not equally born ; but some too much burdened , when others do but little or nothing . and also , when every one does not contribute to the poor , as god has blessed them , on every lord's day , or first day of the week , as he hath commanded . xviii . another disorder is this ▪ when members refuse to communicate with the church at the lord's table , because some person , or persons , they think are guilty of evil , and yet they have not proceeded with them according to rule : these either excommunicate the church , or themselves , or those persons at least , they censure unwarrantably . i beseech you for christ's sake , that this may never be any more among you : you ought not to deal thus with them ; or refuse your communion , ( tho faulty ) until the church has dismember'd , or withdrawn from them ; or at least suspended them . xix . when one member , shall believe , or receive a report against another , before he knows the truth of the matter . xx. when an accusation is brought against an elder , contrary to the rule , which ought not be without two or three witnesses , as to the matter of fact. xxi . when the word of god is not carefully attended upon , on week , or lecture-days , by the members generally ; tho the said meeting being appointed by the whole church . xxii . vvhen days of prayer and fasting , and of publick thanksgiving , or when days of disciplining are not generally attended upon . lastly , vvhen gifted brethren are not duely encouraged : first privately to exercise their gifts ; and being in time approved , called forth to preach or exercise in the church : and when encouragment is not given to bestow learning also upon them , for their better accomplishment . what will become of the churches in time to come , if this be not prevented with speed ? what tends to the glory and beauty of a true gospel-church . i. that which primarily tends to the glory of a church is the foundation on which it is built , which is jesus christ. now this is a blessed and glorious fou●dation . i. in respect of god the father , who laid this foundation in his eternal purpose , counsel , and decree ; behold i lay in sion ; and this is as the result of his infinite wisdom , love , and mercy to his elect. ii. in respect had unto christ himself , who is this foundation . 1. he is a suitable foundation . 1. in respect to the glory of god in all his attributes . 2ly . in respect to our good ; he answering all our wants , who are united to him , or built upon him . 3. in respect of the preciousness of christ , as a foundation ; a stone ; a precious stone . 4. in respect to the durableness of it i. e. a tryed stone ; a sure foundation . brethren , a foundation of a house must of necessity be laid ; no house can be built without a good foundation , that will stand firm , and unmovable ; it is the strongest part of the building , and it beareth all the weight of the whole superstructure : so doth jesus christ. iii. the beauty and glory of a true church , consists in the true and regular , or right constitution of it ; nothing being wanting that is essential to it , upon this account . iv. it consisteth in the excellency , glory , and suitableness of the materials 't is built with , answering to the foundation ; all precious stones , lively stones ; all regenerated persons . v. in that all the stones be well hewed and squared ; all made fit for the building , before laid in . vvere it thus , there would not be so great a noise of the hammer and ax , in church discipline , as indeed there is . it was not thus in the type , i mean in solomon's temple . vi. it 's beauty and glory consisteth in that all the stones being not only united by the spirit , to christ the foundation , but also to one another in sincere love and affection . in whom all the building , fitly framed together , groweth up unto an holy temple in the lord. vii . it consisteth in the holiness and purity of the lives and conversations of all the members : be ye holy , for i am holy . holiness becomes thy house , o god , for ever . viii . it consisteth in that sweet union and concord that ought to be in the church ; all like the horse : in pharoah's chariot , drawing together : endeavouring to keep the vnity of the spirit in the bond of peace . by this shall all men know ye are my disciples , if you love one another . ix . in their having the divine presence with them : or when the glory of god fills his temple . x. in keeping out all unsanctified , or unclean persons , or if they get in , to purge them out by a strict and holy discipline , or else it will soon loose it's beauty . xi . in that zeal and equality that should be shewed in all to keep up the honour , peace , and comfort of the church , and the ministery thereof . xii . in the administration of right discipline ; to see no neglect nor delaying of justice , thro carelesness , or partiality : ( 1. ) no ways partaking of other mens sins ; which may be done by conniving at it ; ( 2. ) by lessening or extenuating of it ( 3. ) by countenancing , or any ways incouraging any in sin. ( 4. ) by not restoring a brother , that confesses his sin when overtaken . ( 5. ) not bringing in a just charge against an offender , nor rebuking him ; and yet have communion with him . 2ly . not to wrest judgment , out of it's true and right channel : nor to inflict a greater censure than the law of christ requires on any . 3ly . timely to acquit , and discharge a penitent person . 4ly . not to do any thing on● of prejudice , but in love , and bowels , of affection ; and to do all in christ's name , or by his authority . xiii . to sympathize with the afflicted , succour the tempted , and relieving the poor and distressed : rejoicing with them that rejoice , and mourning with them that mourn . xiv . to speak evil of no man ; not only speaking no evil of their brethren , but of no man , to his hurt or injury , detracting from his worth and honour : see sirach , whether it be to friend or foe , talk not of other men's lives ; and if thou canst , without offence , reveal them not . we must not discourse his faults , unless in a gospel-way ; and that too , to amend the person , and not out of passion , or prejudice to expose him , but out of love to his soul. yet we may speak of the evils of others , ( 1. ) when called to do it , in a legal or gospel-way ; and it is a sin then to conceal his crime . ( 2. ) or when it is to prevent another , who is in danger to be infected by his company , or ill example . ( 3. ) or in our own just defence and vindication . moreover , consider the evil of reproaching of others . first as to the causes why some do it . i. one cause is from want of love : nay from malice ; and hatred . 1. from the baseness , ill nature , and cruelty of the accusers disposition . 2. 't is occasioned from that itch , of talking and medling in the affairs of other men. 3. or perhaps to raise their own esteem and honour , some degrade their brother ; which is abominable . consider it is theft , or robbery ; nay , and 't is worse than to rob a man of his goods , because thou takest away that which perhaps thou canst not restore again . moreover consider , that such who reproach others , lay themselves open thereby to reproach . 3. moreover know , he that receives , or hearkens to the scandal , is as guilty as the accuser ; he is like a person that receives stolen goods , and so is as bad as the thief . this being one of the grand and notorious evils of these days i speak the more to it . if you abominate this evil , and avoid it , you will shine in grace and vertue the more clearly . alas , in our days , some that would be thought to be great professers stick not to vilifie christ's ministers , even some of the best of men ; and are so full of malice , they care not what wrong they do to their brethren , nor to the truth it self , or interest of god , and so expose themselves to a lasting shame , and their spirit , and practice , to an abhorrance ; they are like cursed cham who discovered his fathers nakedness ; these persons violate all laws , both humane and divine . 3ly . when they bear one anothers burdens , and so fulfil the law of christ : and that you may do this ; consider where is that church in which there are no burdens to be born. [ motives thus to do . ] 1. consider what a burden jesus christ hath born for thee . 2. what a burden thou hast to bear of thine own . 3. mayst not thou in some things be a burden to thy brethren ? 4. wouldst thou not have others bear thy burden . 5. may not god cause thee to bear a more heavy burden ; because thou canst not bear thy brother's ? 6. 't is a fulfilling the law of love , nay the law of christ. xv. the glory and beauty of a congregation , is the more manifest , when the authority of the church , and the dignity of the pastoral office is maintained . how great was the evil of the gain-saying of corah ? the apostles speaks of some that are selfwilled , presumptious , who are not afraid to speak evil of dignities . god has put a glory and high dignity upon the church and in it's authority and power ; whom ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven . moreover , the pastoral office , is an office of dignity ; they are called rulers , angels , fathers : for any therefore to cast contempt on the church , or pastor , is a great evil , and a reproach to christ , and tends to disorder and confusion . lastly , when holiness , righteousness , charity , humility , and all true piety is prest upon the consciences of every member , and appears in the minister : also that all strive to excell therein , with their uttermost care and diligences . the conclusion . know my brethren , that god loves the gates of sion more than all the dwelling places of jacob : therefore the publick worship of god ought to be preferred before private . 1. this supposeth there must be a visible church . 2. and that they frequently meet together to worship god. 3. that they have an orderly ministery and one ordained elder , at least , to administer all publick ordinances . 4. moreover , that all persons have free liberty to assemble with the church , and to partake of all ordinances , save those which peculiarly belong to the church ; as the lord's supper , holy discipline , and days of prayer and fasting . then the church of old separated themselves from all strangers . yet others may attend on all other publick ordinances with the church ; as publick prayer , reading , and preaching the word and in singing god's praises , as hath formerly been proved . may others my brethren , join in prayer with us , and not praise god with us ▪ but , o my brethren ! let me beseech you to shew your high value , and estimation for the publick worship of god. [ motives hereunto . ] 1. since god prefers it thus : or has so great esteem of his publick worship . 2. because he is said to dwell in sion ; it is his habitation for ever . the place , where his honour dwells . 3. here god is most glorified . in his temple every one speaks of his glory ; my praise shall be in the great congregation . 4. here is most of god's gracious presence ( as one observes it . ) 1. his effectual presence , in all places ; where i record my name , thither will i come ; and there will i bless thee . 2. here is more of his intimate presence : where two or three are gathered together in my name , there am i in the midst of them . he walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks . 5. here are the clearest manifestations of god's beauty , which made holy david desire to dwell there for ever . see the appearance of christ to the churches , rev , 2. cap. 3. 6. in that it is said , that those that should be saved , in the apostles days , god added unto the church . 7. here is most spiritual advantage to be got : here the dews of hermon fall , they descend upon the mountain of sion . here god commands the blessing , even life for evermore . i will abundantly bless her provision , and satisfie her poor with bread. here david's doubt was resolved . 8. here you received your first spiritual breath , or life , many souls are daily born to christ. that good which is most diffusive , is to be preferred ; but that good which most partake of , is most diffusive ; o magnifie the lord with me ! let us exalt his name together . live coals separated , soon die . 9. brethren ( as a worthy divine observes ) the church in her publick worship is the nearest resemblance of heaven , especially in singing god's praises . what esteem also had god's worthies of old , for god's publick vvorship ? my soul longeth , yea , even fainteth for the courts of the lord. how amiable are thy tabernacles , o lord of hosts ! 10. see how the promises of god run to sion , or to his church : he will bless thee out of sion . o let nothing discourage you in your waiting at the posts of christ's door : david desired rather to be a door-keeper in the house of god , than to dwell in the tents of wickedness . yet nevertheless do not neglect , for the lord's sake , private devotion ; viz. secret , and family-prayer : o pray to be fitted for publick worship ! come out of your closets to the church ? what signifies all you do in publick , if you are not such that keep up the worship of god in your own families ? o neglect not prayer , reading , and meditation ! and take care also to educate and catechise your children ; and live as men and women that are dead to this world : and walk for the lord's sake as becomes the gospel . see that zeal and knowledge go together ; a good conversation . and a good doctrine go together these two together , are better than one. brethren , he that makes the vvord of god his rule , in whatsoever he doth , and the glory of god his end in what he doth , shall have the spirit of god to be his strength . this is like solomon's three-fold cord ; that will be one , or it will be three ; it can't be two ; not can it be broken . the solemn covenant of the church of christ , meeting in white-street , at it's constitution ; june , 5. 1696. we who desire to walk together in the fear of the lord , do , through the assistance of his holy spirit , profess our deep and serious humiliation for all our transgressions . and we do also solemnly , in the presence of god , of each other , in the sense of our own vnworthiness , give up our selves to the lord , in a church state according to the apostolical constitution that he may be our god , and we may be his people , through the everlasting covenant of his free grace , in which alone we hope to be accepted by him , through his blessed son jesus christ , whom we take to be our high priest , to justify and sanctify us , and our prophet to teach us ; and to subject to him as our law-giver , and the king of saints ; and to conform to all his holy laws and ordinances , for our growth , establishment , and consolation ; that we may be as a holy spouse unto him , and serve him in our generation , and wait for his second appearance , as our glorious bridegroom . being fully satisfied in the way o● church-communion , and the trut● of grace in some good measure upon one anothers spirits , we do solemnly join our selves together in a holy vnion and fellowship , humbly submitting to the discipline of the gospel , and all holy duties required of ● people in such a spiritual relation . 1. we do promise and ingage to walk in all holiness , godliness , humility , and brotherly love , as much as in us lieth to render our communion delightful to god , comfortable to our selves , and lovely to the res● of the lord's people . 2. we do promise to watch over each others conversations , and not to suffer sin upon one another , so far ● god shall discover it to us , or any ● us ; and to stir up one another to l●●● and good works ; to warn , rebuke , a●● admonish one another with meekness according to the rules left to us of christ in that behalf . 3. we do promise in an especial manner to pray for one another , and for the glory and increase of this church , and for the presence of god in it , and the pouring forth of his spirit on it , and his protection over it to his glory . 4. we do promise to bear one anothers burdens , to cleave to one another , and to have a fellow-feeling with one another , in all conditions both outward and inward , as god in his providence shall cast any of us into 5. we do promise to bear with one anothers weakeness , failings , and infirmities , with much tenderness , not discovering to any without the church , nor any within , unless according to christ's rule , and the order of the gospel provided in that case . 6. we do promise to strive together for the truths of the gospel , and purity of god's ways and ordinances , to avoid causes , and causers of division , endeavouring to keep the vnity of the spirit in the bond of peace ; ephes. 4 3. 7 we do promise to meet together on lord's days , and ●●●ther times , as the lord shall gi●● 〈◊〉 opportunities , to serve and glorify god in the 〈◊〉 his worship , to edify one 〈…〉 and to contrive the g●●● 〈…〉 church . 8. we do promise according to our ability ( or as god shall bless us with the good things of this world ) to communicate to our pastor of minister , god having ordained that they that preach the gospel should live of the gospel . ( and now can any thing lay a greater obligation upon the conscience , than this covenant , what then is the sin of such who violate it ? ) these and all other gospel-duties we humbly submit unto , promising and purposing to perform , not in our own strength , being consciou● of our own weakness , but in th● power , and strength of the blessed god , whose we are , and whom we desire to serve : to whom be glory now and for evermore . amen . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a47522-e320 act. 2.41 , 42 , 43 , 44. act. 8.14 . act. 19.4 , 5 , 6. eph. ● . 1 , 2. and ● . 12 , 13 , 19. col. 1.2 , 4 , 12. 1 pet. 2.5 . act. 5.13 , 14. rom. 6.17 . heb. 6.1 , 2. rom. 6.3 , 4 , 5. 1 pet. 2.4 , 5 , 6. eph. 2.20 , 21. col. 2.19 . psa. 66.16 . act. 11.4 , 5 , 6 , &c. 23 , 24. 1 pet. 3.15 . 2 cor. 8.5 . jer. 50.5 . heb. 13.17 . 1 pet. 5.1 , 2. of an organical church . 1 tim. 3.2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7. tit. 1.5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10. tit. 1.7 . act. 6.6 . 2 tim. 5.22 . notes for div a47522-e960 1 cor. 9.16 , 17. act. 20.31 35. 2 tim. 2.15 . 2 cor. 4.1 , 2. 1 tim. 3. jer. 3.15 . 2 tim. 4.2 . 2 cor. 5.19 act. 20.20 , 27. pro. 27.23 . 1 thess. 5.15 . 1 tim. 4.12 . jam. 2.4 . 1 tim. 5.21 . 1 pet. 5.3 . and 5.6 . notes for div a47522-e1430 the deacons work. act. 6.1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10. acts 5.7 , 8 , 9 , 10. 1 cor. 16.2 . acts 6.1 . notes for div a47522-e1570 1 thess. ● . 25 . heb. 13.18 . notes for div a47522-e1700 2 cor. 2.16 . 1 cor. 16.9 . 1 tim. 4.3 , 4 , 5. 2 cor. 3.19 , 20. 1 thess. 3.13 . 1 tim. 5.17 . heb. 13.5 , 17. jer. 20.10 . zeph. 2.8 . 2 cor. 11.21 , 23. gal. 6.6 . 1 cor. 9.7 , 8. ver . 14. ver . 11. mat. 10.9 , 10. see dr. owen ' s eshod , p. 21 , 22. 2 tim. 4.16 , 17 , 18. eshod , pag. 27. act. 14.27 . rom. 12.8 . 1 tim. 3. tit. 1.5 , 6 , 7. act. 20.17 , 27 , 28. tit. 1.5 . 1 cor. 14.40 . 1 tim. 3. 1 cor. 14.33 , 38. notes for div a47522-e2820 of the reception of members into the church . psal. 66.16 . acts 9.26 , 27. 3 joh. 9 , 10. rom. 14.17 , 19. 1 pet. 3.15 . 1 cor. 14.40 . rom. 15.1 , 2. acts 11.2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6. to whom members join themselves . act. 2.47 . & 5.11 , 15. notes for div a47522-e3170 a monthly day to be appointed for discipline . the power of the keys committed to the church . acts 16.5 . 2 thess. 1.3 , 6. dr. chauncy on the power of the keys , p. 335. 1 cor. 5.4 , 5. 2 thess. 3.6 , 14. 1 cor. 5.7 . notes for div a47522-e3490 of church-censures . 2 thess. 3.11 , 12. psa. 15.1 , 3. 2 thess. 3.12 . 2 thess. 2.6 . disorderly members only to be withdrawn from . 2 thess. 2.14 , 15. heb. 12.25 . notes for div a47522-e3810 of private offences between brother and brother . mat. 18.15 . mat. 18.16 . dr. chauncy , p. 345. the sisters are not to vote in the church . the act of excommunication or church-censure . 1 cor. 5. pag. 345. mat. 18.17 . notes for div a47522-e4160 of scandalous crimes or evils . the church censure on notorious offenders is the same with that in mat. 18. pag. 343. 1. tim. 5.24 . act. 5.11 . jud. 23. 1. cor. 5. 2 cor. 7.11 . numb . 12.14 . notes for div a47522-e4500 of dealing with hereticks . see pool's annot. on 1 cor. 11.19 . 2 pet. 2.1 . who is an heretick . tit. 3.10 . 1 tim. 1.19 , 20. what an admonition is . the manner of the reception of a communicate person . mat. 13.18 . 2 cor. 2.6 , 7. 1 tim. 5. how to proceed against a scandalous pastor . ● see not if they have none fitly qualified , but the church may cast him out , relief for a member unjustly dealt with . notes for div a47522-e5410 the cause of disorders in the church . rom , 6 , 17. heb , 6 , 2 , 3 dr. chauncy pag. 337. phil. 1.27 . tit. 2.10 . the great danger of making a rent in a church . rom. 1.31 . acts 2.42 . 1 cor. 12.6 , 14.7.5.1.20 , 21 , 25. heb. 10.25 . jude , 19. ☞ ★ jude 19. 1 cor. 1.10 . & 3.3 . & 11.18 . heb. 10.22.23 , 25. mixt excommunication . rom. 19.17 , 18. 2 thess. 3.6.14 , 15. jude 12. let none call the church a prison , since all do voluntarily covenant with it , and 't is dangerous to break christ's bonds . 2 timo. 2.23 . 2 thess. 3.14 . prov. 6.16 . of a let●er of re●ommenda●ion . rom 16.1.2 . acts 18.27 . notes for div a47522-e6440 mat. 18.15 . disorders corrected & removed . iohn 13.12 , 17 , eph. 4.3 . heb. 13.1 . eph. 4.31 , 32. & cap. 5.2 . psal. 132.1 . jam. 3.16 . acts 5.3.8 . levit. 19.17 . acts , 4.23 . pet. 2.2 . acts 9.27 . mat. 18.15 . psal. 63.1 . cant. 7.12 . mark 16.1 . 1 cor. 1● 25. romans 16.17 . 2 tim. 2.25 . jude , 19. jam. 3.14.16 . cant. 4.12 . rom. 1.29 . 1 tim. 6.4 . zech. 7.10 . 1 tim. 5.19 1 timo. 5.19 . 1 cor. 8.14 . ● cor. 16.2 . math. 18. ier. 20.10 . 1 tim. 5.19 . isa. 55. ● . acts 2 , 1 , 2. acts , 10 , 33. ioel 2 , 1● . notes for div a47522-e7210 what tends to the glory of a church of christ. 1 cor. 3 , 4. isa. 28.16 . isa. 28.16 . 1 pet. 2 , 5 , 6. 1 kings 6 , 7. eph. 2.19 , 20 , 21. 1 pet , 1 , 16 , psalm 93.5 . cant. 1.9 . eph. 4.3 . exod. 20.24 . mat , 18 , 20 , 1 cor. 5.5 , 6.7 . 2 cor. 8.14 . tit. 3.2 . eccl. 19.8 . apoc. 3 iohn 9 . 1● . gen. 9.22 . gal. 6.2 . 2 gal. ● . ● . rom. 3.10 . iude , 11. numb . 22.7 , 21. 2 pet. ● . 10 rev. 2.1 . 1 tim. 3.5 . act. 23 , 5. psal. 110.3 . 1 pet. 1.25 . notes for div a47522-e8460 psal. 87.2 . neh. 1.2 . how should sinners else be converted , and the church increased . psal. 132.13 . psal. 26.8 . psal. 29.9 . exod. 20.24 . mat. 18.20 . rev. 1.13 . psal. 27.4 . acts 2.47 . psal. 132.3 . psal. 130.15 . psal. 73.16 . ●7 . psal. 87.5 . psal. 34.3 . psal. 84.1 , 2. isaiah 35. psal. 128.3 . isai. 51.3 . prov. 8.34 . psal. 26.14 . psal. 87.4 . mat. 6.6 . jer. 10.25 . eph. 6.4 . phil. 1.27 . eccl. 4.9.10.11.12.13 . notes for div a47522-e9390 ezek. 16.6 , 8. 2 cor. 8.5 . hos. 2.23 . 2 cor. 6.16 . church-communion proved . exod. 26.3.4 , 6. isa. 62.5 . psal. 122.3 . eph. 2.23 . eph. 4.16 . 1 pet. 2.5 . psal. 93.5 . isa. 55.8 . luke 1.74.75 . 2 cor. 7.1 . 1 tim. 6.11 . 2 pet. ● . 6 , 7. act. 20.19 . phil. 2.3 . ioh , 13 , 34 , and 15 , 12 , 1 pet , 1 , 22 , lev. 19 , 17 , heb , 10 , 24 , 25 , 1 thess , 5 , 14 , 15 , rom , 15 , eph. 6.18 . iam. 5.16 . col , 4 , 12. gal , 6 , 2 , heb , 12 , 12 , heb , 13 , 31 rom , 12 , 15 2 cor , 11 , 29 , 1 iohn 3.17 , 18 , gal 6 , 1 , 1 thess , 5 , 14 , rom , 15 , 12 , eph , 4 , 31 , 32 , iude , v , 3 , gal , 5 , 1 , tit , 3 , 9 , 10 , 2 iohn v , 10 , heb 3 , 10 , and 10 , 25 , mal , 3 , 16 , rom , 14 , 18 and 15 , 16 , 〈…〉 26 , ● cor , 9 , 7 , ● , 9 , -12 , 13 gal , 6 , 6 , zion in distress, or, the sad and lamentable complaint of zion and her children wherein are demonstrated the causes of her miserable calamities, and her faith in god ... : also shewing the dreadful controversie god hath with the beast of rome ... keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1666 approx. 85 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 31 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47095 wing k108 estc r18256 12349532 ocm 12349532 59937 this keyboarded and encoded edition 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47095) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 59937) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 213:14) zion in distress, or, the sad and lamentable complaint of zion and her children wherein are demonstrated the causes of her miserable calamities, and her faith in god ... : also shewing the dreadful controversie god hath with the beast of rome ... keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. [8], 52 p. printed in the fatal year, london : [1666] in verse. written by benjamin keach. cf. bm. later editions are entitled: sion in distress. date of publication from wing. reproduction of original in yale university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng 2005-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-12 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-11 taryn hakala sampled and proofread 2006-11 taryn hakala text and markup reviewed and edited 2007-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion zion in distress : or , the sad and lamentable complaint of zion and her children . wherein are demonstrated the causes of her miserable calamities , and her faith in god , touching her perfect redemption , & the latter days glory . also shewing the dreadful controversie god hath with the beast of rome , and mother of harlots , and all adversaries and nations of the world for zion's sake . lam. 1.12 . is there any sorrow like unto my sorrow ? vers . 17. zion spreadeth forth her hands , and there is none to comfort her . london . printed in the fatal year . the author to the reader . courteous reader , if these ensuing illiterate and homespun-poems come to thy hand , let me crave this of thee , viz. diligently and impartially to peruse them ; and do not censoriously judge , nor prejudicially condemne the plain and simple-hearted author thereof : neither doe thou slight them because of the lowness and meanness of the stile that they run in : but esteem them rather for the honesty of the matter , then for their elegancy ; more for their vertue , than for the variety of scholastick expressions . i never learned the art of rhetorick , nor courted the universities . neither have i studied to deliver my self in that stile that might tend either to the pleasing of the mind , fancies , or vain humours of any ; nor to delight the ear , but to affect the heart ; not to stir up the mind to mirth , but to move the soul to mourn . and if , courteous reader , thou art a christian , one that art truly and really born from above , of the free woman , and brought up vertuously in the heavenly family ; if so , i am perswaded that i need not inforce many arguments to induce thee to a kinde acceptance of what i present thee with , because it treateth of the state of her whose womb did bear thee , and whose paps have spiritually giv'n thee suck . shall thy dear mother be in a miserable languishing state and condition , and not her own dear children incline with all diligence to her mournful complaints ? god forbid . if i have misrepresented the state of zion this day , in any thing , i humbly crave pardon : i have writ according to the measure of light received . the subject is divine , and i confess too high and good to be so low and badly handled ; too worthy for such an unworthy vvorm to meddle with . such as it is , i here present to you : i have , with mary , done what i could ; you must not expect a mans head upon a childs shoulders . and if it prove acceptable in your eyes , i matter not how i and it are censured by others : it cannot speed worse then she doth for whose sake i have writ these lines . this onely i intreat of thee . let zions captivity be thy misery , and never adde thou to her afflictions : so shall i be thine for ever , in all christian service . farewel . let zealots carp at homer , if they will , and barke like dogs , until they barke their fill : true protestants will not offended be ; 't is onely popish imps will snarle at me . to his friend the author . what muse is this doth thus possess thy brain , that leads thy genius to so high a strain ? must thy aspiring thoughts needs now rehearse thy mothers groans in such a kind of dress ? what , poet-like , thy self deliver now ? is prose too mean , to let the world know how she is opprest by rome's black hellish crew , how in her blood they did their hands imbrew ? let thy endeavour ● prosper ; let them prove to be rome's shame : a token of thy love to thy distressed mother , ( now the scorn of black-mouth'd imps , the sons of satan born . ) aspiring soul ! what from her sorrows clime to a prophetick spirit in thy rime ! fore-telling how she shall delivered be from all those bloody ▪ hounds , whom thou do'st see god will destroy ; and will thy mother make heavens glory & earths joy , for his name sake . jehovah bless thy work , this book , though small , and make it prove a preface to rome's fall. vale. zion in distress : or , the sad and lamentable complaint of zion and her children . zion's sons . attend all people , hearken and draw near : what doleful noise is that soun●s in my ear ? me thinks i hear a very dismal cry , like one that doth lament most bitterly ; and by the mournful voice that i do hear , some vvoman is in great distress , i fear . the more i mind t●is cry , and do give heed , the more my heart is pierc'd and made to bleed : o how i thirst to know who this should be , that makes my soul to grieve and sigh in me ! a person of great honour and descent , doubtless this vvoman is , that doth lament ; highly descended ; born she 's from above ; nurs'd in the chambers of the fathers love : espoused to a prince of high degree ; for king of kings , and lord of lords is he. alas , alas , poor zion ! is it thou ? o mourn my soul , and let my spiri bow : let all that love the bridegroom , mourn for grief ; for zion weeps , as one past all relief . but why , o zion , lov'd of the most high , dost thou lament and mourn so bitterly ? zion . ah! poor i am , mean , low , and desolate ; and few there be that pity my estate : a long time i have in the vvilderness vvander'd about in sore and great distress ; hiding my self from the beasts furious rage , and there have been until this very age : and having lately look'd a little out , again he spy'd me , and doth search about : for to destroy me 't is his full intent , or drive me back again his mind is bent : no rest nor peace to me or mine he 'll give , declaring that we are not fit to live . the dragon too , hath with this beast combin'd to spoil both me and mine , when us they find . th' old lion , lioness , and lions vvhelp , come out against me , other beasts to help . dogs , bulls , and bears , and vvolves do all agree to rend and tear , and make a spoil of me . o that e'er i , so delicately bred , and my dear babes , at the kings table fed , should be this day as one even quite cast out , and they as sheep now scatter'd round about . now to deliver me , there 's none dare venter ; the truth would fain , but knows not how to enter : and justice that is made to stand far off ; vvhilst i become the object of mens scoff . zion am i , that no man doth regard ; mens hearts against me now are grown so hard : hurl'd to and fro , and tost as with the wind ; and not one dram of comfort can i find . my children , which both young and tender are , the fierce looks of these beasts do greatly scare . and some they seiz upon as their own prey , and them into their dens do bear away ; where they are kept in sore captivity , mourning for me , and their extremity ; who for christ jesus sake , with much content , do from their foes indure all punishment : for they in prison rather chuse to lie , then to obtain , by sin , their liberty . the spoiling of their goods with joy they take , before they will the lord of life forsake ; or to be sent out of their native soyl , before they will their consciences defile ; or otherwise to suffer or be slain , than to expose the gospel to disdain . these are the souls i love , i love most dear , who for the gospels sake exposed are to all those troubles i before did tell , that they with christ for evermore might dwell : but o that men should ever be so blind , who lived have where gospel-light hath shin'd , my children dear thus for to persecute ▪ because they can't gods holy name polute ! if they were cast amongst the turks or jews , doubtless they would not them so badly use , as some of mine have been within this nation , for witnessing against abomination . ah! wo is me ! for this is a sad time ; now godliness is counted for a crime : the gospel now , poor souls , you must not preach ; for of their laws , they say it is a breach ; nor meet together in christs holy name , but to the goal you must go for the same : if you do venture once more and again , then banishment or death must be your pain . alas poor souls ! if this falls to your lot , 't will be for good : don't care for it a jot . though i c●●not forbear to grieve and mourn , that you thus dealt with are , whom i have born ; yet i had rather you s●ould chuse to die , than any of you should your lord deny . but i lament , and greatly , for all those who out of ignorance do you oppose ; who shall ere long be brought in unto me , for whom in pa●n i travel ti●l it be . but there are thousands more within this land , who with the beast are like to fall or stand . i do grieve a●so , and that very sore , because the gospel wants an open door ; instead whereof , a piece of stuff is read , whereby poor souls in no wise can be fed , no better then the body of a man can nourish'd be with husks , or chaff , or bran : which my beloved never did compose , nor ever on poor men at all impose ; but the inventions are of mens own brain , o that therefore all would it much disdain . they to impose it , think it policy , to keep themselves in safe security : thus jeroboam too , by his g●eat sin , thought with himself in sa●ety to have bin . gods threshold is digg'd down by wicked ha●ds , and in its room another threshold stands : but hark ! methinks i hear my foes a hisling , as if some of my sons of late were missing : o let me mourn , as w●ll indeed i may , for those dear sons i lost the other day : but not because they 're to their father gone ▪ for so they 're out o' th' storm that 's coming on ; but ●ather ' c●use they might have useful been to me , if god t' have spar'd them good had seen : and also ' cause the en●my doth boast saying , tour expectation is quite lost . my very heart is pierced , whilst they say , where is the god to whom so oft you pray ? for they having escap'd his mighty hand , resolv'd to make more strong my heavy band . they do blaspheme , swear , curse , and domineer , as if nor god nor devil they did fear . but to return , and of my great loss speak , this thing doth cause my very heart to ake ; for i do fear some did these idolize , as others to their worth did not them prize : offe●ded doubtl●ss is my righteous god , that he hath struck me with his heavy rod ; and yet my children they do not agree that do remain , nor live in unity . alas , i see hat love doth much decline even ev'ry day , in these poor babes of mine : strifes and debates amongst them are so high , they envy one another piteously : they grieve themselves in this , and me also ; and unto christ and truth much wrong they do . o that they all were once but as one man , how would the gospel spread an●●lourish then ! but ah ! this rod their ju●gements han't inform'd , nor yet their conversation ●eform'd ; for some there are , that walk but carnally , and little m●nd the stroke of the most high : alas with these it will go very bad , whom frowns nor smiles will turn , nor yet the rod. o mou●n , my children ; you have not done well , the voice within this rod doth plainly tell . o mourn and weep , i say ; cry bitterly : for i , your mother , weep , lament , and cry : your father loves you dear , and so ●o i ; in love h' hath smitten you assuredly : it 's doubt●esly to purge your souls from s●n , which you of late have much abounded in . and if that you your ways do not amend , some greater judgement surely god will send : besides the great reproach you bring to me , my dawning glory you will hardly see . the day is dark that i have lived in ; and here of late much darker it hath been : thick clouds do hide the glorious glistering skies , some mists or fogs do shade or blind my eyes . because the day abides of my distress , some children fall now in the wilderness , who murmur in their hearts against the lord , that canaan to them he doth not afford . alas , i shall be thin , before that i be ready for that blessed liberty : and some there are that seemingly do feed amongst my sheep , of whom i would be freed ; for though that they are called by my name , yet they do cause i● for to suffer shame : some truths of christ indeed these do profess , but not his saving grace and life possess : i never brought them forth ; they are not mine : do thou , o hagar , own them ; for they 're thine : after the flesh they 're born , and so do walk ; though of the spirit they do sometimes talk . the day draws near when such shall be afraid , all hypocrites in me shall be dismaid . for such i therefore now do greatly grieve , because that they do thus their souls deceive . when the bridegroom doth to his chamber come , these in that glorious place will finde no room ; but they must go into eternal pain , if quickly now they are not born again . thus do i spend my days in grief and care , because so few the mighty god do fear . though fearful judgements he doth oft times send , it 's not his word nor works will make them bend ; nor minde the operation of his hand ; they slight strange prodigies by sea and land ; which of great ruines are a plain symptom , that from the god of vengeance soon will come : for greater judgements there are still behind , the truth of which you all shall quickly find . zion's sons . o how can we this lamentation hear ? or patiently this doleful mourning bear ? that our dear mother should take on her thus ; our hearts are pain'd , our spi●its fayl in us . whence comes that beast of whom thou hast complain'd● ▪ what is he , and how long hath he thus raign'd ? zion . from hell beneath , this monster did proceed , as in the revelations you may read : he is the little horn , the man of sin , above twelve hundred years my foe hath bin . once he receiv'd , i know , a deadly wound , but for the same a cure he since hath found ; and ●eing heal'd , he glories in his power , as if he would me presently devour . zion's sons . shall we arise against this beast of prey , to rescue thee , and take his strength away , who hath so long time been thine enemy , ruling o'er thee and thine in cruelty ? or shall he eve●●eign and domineer , as he hath done , without controul or fear ? zion . no , stay a while ; i shall deliver'd be from his fie●ce wrath , and cruel ●yranny . when the set time is come , i fully know i shall deliver'd be , as truth doth show ; for he that sitteth in the heavens doth scorn at this great rebel ; for his son that 's born heir of the world , and prince of kingdoms too , shall surely ●eign , because it is his due : for god hath promis'd that his son shall have the c●own , the k●ngdom , and the scepter brave : nations shall serve him ; kings that have abhorr'd his name , shall pay him homage , as their lord : to jesus all shall bow ; he shall be king , and to poor zion shall redemption bring . wherefore my children , i do say again , do you not stir ; he hath some time to reign : him to destroy , it is beyond your skill ; your wisdom and your strength is to fit s●ill , till his long months be out , yea , the last hour , none can consume or take away his power . to suffer still it is for me appointed , till some to do this work shall be anointed with gods good spirit , that most holy oyl ; and then they shall this cruel beast quite foyl . your present work is therefore for to pray , to be prepared for that blessed day . be therefore ready , for the time draws near when he shall fall ; of this you need not fear . but since i see you active fain would be , revenge your selves , i give you liberty , on one which a long time my foe hath ●in ; if you would know his name you shall , 't is sin ▪ arise now , kill and slay ; upon him fall ; a worser foe i 've not among them all . spare not ; it 's he which always doth oppose both you and i , and all that with christ close . until he is beat down , i shall not rise , nor be deliver'd from my enemies . because of sin my very heart doth ake , and much of this complaint doth therefore make . for it is sin , together with the devil , that is the cause of all my p●esent evil . o strive against them in gods holy power , and give no place to them not for an hour . besides them and the beast , there is the whore , some wrongs i must impute unto her score ; for she doth call my children hereticks , , phanaticks , also , for by such her tricks she keeps the world in such blindness , that so there 's very few that do my children know : she takes from them their souls most precious food , because they can't partake with her vile brood : besides , of her i have cause to complain , for she hath many of my children slain ; she makes the beast to run at me , and roar , and with his horns oft-times my sides to goar . she hath some brats too , cloath'd in black & white , which st●ike at me this day , with all their might ; but amongst all he● cursed hellish train , none shall speed worse then they , when she is slain . zion's sons . mother , what whore is that ? for she shall rue : hath she so many of our brethren slew ? l●t veng'ance be on her , gods saints do cry , whose d●aths are precious in their father's eye : ●hough she hath taken our good name f●om us , ●et her not think she shall escape it thus . ●e do estèem our names as precious oyl , ●hich she hath labour'd so much to defile . 〈◊〉 know whom she should be , we do think long , 〈◊〉 hath unto us all done thus much wrong . zion . she is great babylon , of whom you 've read , wh●ch owns not christ in truth to be her head. this is that romish antichristian harlot , who for long time hath sat bed●●k'd in scarlet , upon the beast which from the sea did rise , whose fore-head's spread with names of blasphemie● ; who with the golden cup that 's in her hand , invites the rich and noble of the land , for to commit the sin of fornication , which to the lord is great abomination . and now because that i abhor this sin , she to this day my enemy hath been ; and makes the mighty ones me to oppress , for laying open her great wickedness . zion's sons . shall we arise ? why should this wicked whore blaspheme our god , or wrong us any more ? she glories , and doth live deliciously : both god , his christ , and us , she doth defie . and more then this , she thousands doth annoy ; both souls and bodies too , she doth destroy . she stretcheth forth her hand ; and still doth crave poor innocents , that them she might inslave . yea , to the whole world she has done such wrong , we her abhor more then the stinking dung. shall we now fill to her in the same cup that she hath fill'd to us for to drink up ? yea double to her double , saith gods word ; no mercy unto her at all afford . shall we arise , o zion , full of ire , to eat her flesh , and burn her in the fire ? zion . you instrumental in this work shall be ; your brother john long time since told it me . esay also , and jeremy before , did clearly show you should destroy this whore. and i perceive you this do understand , which comforts me too , on the other hand : you are enlight'ned with the angels glory , as it hath been fore-told in sacred story . as for my children who before did live , light from this angel they could not receive . but you , my sons , brought forth in these last days , great things shall do , though many it gain-says . and you , i see , are earnest for to know the time when you this whore shall overthrow : and i can't blame you in this very thing , because great glory to me it will bring : the gospel too , over the world shall spread , and men instead of husks shall feed on bread : and gospel-freedom you shall then enjoy , no popish prelate you shall more annoy : nor shall the locusts of you make a prey , because that tythes to them you cannot pay . those wicked fiends of hell shall then no more have power for to sting and hurt the poor : they shall be cast with shame , as 't is most fit , into that dismal , dark and smoaking pit : thither they shall , i say , with wrath be turn'd , and with those lasting flames they shall be burn'd . but to reply to what you have enquir'd , at present you must keep your selves retir'd ; to make attempts you ought for to defie , till strength be given from the lord on high . you now within the streets do lie for dead , not knowing yet how to lift up your head ; but you shall then appea● to be alive , the spirit of the lord shall you revive . god hath ( i know ) let down the time exact , when he 'll begin his strange and dreadful act , to the amazement of your enemies , when god shall call his mighty ones to rise : and from the heav'ns you then shall hear a voice , the which shall cause your souls for ●o rejoyce ; and that will be to you so clear a call , that you straight way shall on this st●umpet fall . wait now with patience therefore on the lord , until his saving strength he doth afford ; and make to him always your supplication , for from him onely is my expectation . o sigh with me , and in your spirits groan , and send stro●g c●ies up to his gracious throne ; do you give him no rest , until he hath made me the only praise of all the earth : and i 'll lift up my voice to god on high , and make my moan to him , and thus will cry : o lord , my lord , consider my estate ; let me remain no longer desolate . am i not dear and precious in thy sight ? my sad complaint do thou nor therefore slight ; but let thy bowels now towards me move , for sure i am thou dost me dearly love ; thou hast redeem'd me with thy precious blood , and nothing thou hast thought fo● me too good . lord , though i sinned have , do thou forgive , and let my children dear in concord live : teach them all truly to know thee , o lord , and worship thee in peace , with one accord . let not the wicked of me make a spoil ▪ who thee abhor , and me esteem most vile . thou dost cast down , and raise up ; wound and cure ; and nothing is to hard for thee , i 'm sure . thou knowst my grief , there 's nothing hid from thee arise , o lord , for to deliver me . long time between the serpent vile and me , thou know'st there has been bitter enmity ; above five thousand years h' hath bruis'd my heel , and i this day that grievous sore do feel : thou hast declar'd , o lord , my seed shall break his cursed head ; for thou wilt vengance take on this vile serpent , and his cursed seed , which first did wound my heel , and made it bleed . but when , o lord ? is not the time yet come , that thou wilt put an end to his kingdom ? in achor's valley open thou a door , and make me sing , as once i did before . o do thou break the bonds of my distress , and bring me , lord , out of this wilderness : let me break forth , like to the sun most bright , and as an army terrible in fight . o take away the vail that covers me , and these thick clouds , that i may clearly see what is thy mind in this thy dispensation , and know the work of th●s my generation . it 's time for thee , o lord to plead my cause , for wicked men make void thy righteous laws . obedience to their law , they say is reason ; thine to obey , they make as bad as treason . lord where thou sittest , thou dost see and hear that in their shame they glory without fear : thy fearful judgements they do not regard , but sin the more , their hearts are grown so hard . judgements deferr'd , in sin doth make them bold , scorning in their vile course to be control'd ; as if thy dreadful hand their lives did spare , to sin against thee without fear or care ; saying within thei● hearts , we a●e past by , to serve our lusts , in all iniquity . thinking that god who doth forbear to strike , of them and their debauched ways doth like : or else as if some interposing cloud from gods all-searching-eye could be a shrou● : supposing that thy seat is so on high , that thou their sinful doings canst not spy : or that since thou their judgments hast delay'd , thou l't do it still ; they are no whit afraid . thus they thy blessed patience do abuse , and true repentance wickedly refuse ; whereby they do unto themselves procure great wrath from heaven , which they shall sure endure ; and fit themselves for the great day of slaughter , when into sorrow shall be turn'd their laughter . thy sev'n last plagues thou wilt pour forth on them , because they do both grace and truth contemn . and how canst thou with them so long forbear , who to thy face thee scornfully do dare ? saying , make speed , that we thy work may see , and know thy counsel , whatsoe'er it be . is not their sinful cup fill'd to the top , that thou mightst off these mighty cedars lop ? cut down these trees , o lord , but spare thy vine , which thou amongst the trees hast chose for thine . make that , o god , to flourish and be green , and fruitful , as before time it hath been . thou brought'st this vine from egypt heretofore ; from thence , lord , bring it out again once more : make room for it to ●oot , the land to fill ; the boughs thereof , let shade the highest hill. from sea to sea let her her branches send . and from all w●ongs her graciously defend . make up her hedge , her fence , which like a wall , secure and safe should keep her now from all those wild beasts of the field , with the wild boar , who to devour and waste will ne'er give o'er . visit thy vine , o lord ; do thou behold that which thou plant'st and prisedst more then gold do they not burn and of it make a spoil ? and thou dost hide thy face too all this while . who is this vine , but me whom thou hast chose ? both vine , and lily , and thy sharon rose . i am thy love , dove , undefiled one ; why dost thou then let me be trod upon ? by thy own grace , i am made thus to thee ; consider now therefore my misery : for i am scorch'd and burnt in grievous pain ; and shall i never more thy love obtain ? hast thou withdrawn thy self for evermore ? and will these days of sorrow ne'er be o'er ? o i am wounded , and in bitter smart ! sure it 's not long ere these will break my heart . zions sons . mourn , mourn , o heav'ns ; and thou , o earth bewail ; and weep , ye saints , until your spirits fail : for she that is the glory of the earth , most high and mighty , and of precious birth , lies sadly weltring almost in despair ; her grievous sorrows no tongue can declare . and now , my brethren , come , i pray , come hither ; and in gods fear let us confer together : doth not g●ief seiz on you , my brethren dear ? doth not your hearts dissolve into a tear ? doth not your eyes like to a fountain run ? doth not all joy now into mourning turn ? doth not your sleep also from you depart ? are you not peirced to the very heart ? are you , or are you not in bitterness , because of zion , and her sore distress ? how can our hearts delight in things below ? how can we sleep in peace as others do ? how can we comfort have , or comfort find : or how can we the worlds concernments mind ? how can we eat or drink with hearts content , and not with grief poor zion's state lament ? because that our dear mother is a crying ; she sighs and sobs , as if she were a dying : she languisheth , and is in bitter pain , and in this state all do her much disdain : she is reproach'd by every drunken sot , being cast out , like to a broken pot : she is despis'd and trod upon like dung , the drunkard of her makes his dayly song . but i will turn , and will expostulate the case with zion , touching her estate ; why art thou sometimes up , then down again ? sometimes at ease , sometimes in bitter pain : they 're doubtless throes ; chear up , and do not fear ; deliverance , dear soul , is very near : and though thy throes and pains should now give o'er ▪ don't fear , thou shalt not die ; one or two more shall bring that child into the world , which thou hast travel'd with in bitter pangs till now . o cry to god , thy midwife he will be ; for i am sure he will deliver thee : he is the god that brings unto the birth , he also 't is that gives strength to bring forth . o stay thy self upon thy blessed lord , his gracious strength he will to thee afford : vpon his promises do thou depend , and thou shalt see deliverance at the end . zion . alas poor hearts ! my god hath me forsook , my sighs he doth not mind , nor on me look ; to pity me ▪ he hath now quite forgot ; his anger 's kindled , and his wrath is hot : it burneth sore against me ; let me mourn ; for i am sorely spoiled , rent and torn : like to a ship with raging tempests toss'd , that suffers shipwrack , ready to be lost . ah wo is me , that ever i did on , and so unfaithful to my god have bin ! how beautiful and comely once was i ? like to a pearl in his most blessed eye : i could not speak , but he would answer me , but now i lie in sore captivity . i cry and call , but he doth stop his ear , and answers not , as if he had no care of me ; but i will prove him once again , and not give over till i do obtain : of bowels he is full , and can't retain his anger , but will ease me of my pain . o lord , i come ; i come again to thee ; o pardon , lord , and do thou pity me : for when i said i was of thee forsaken , i see that i therein was much mistaken ; for i engraven am upon thy hand , and in thy sight for evermore shall stand . awake , o arm of god , and do not stay ; my sorrows are so great , o say not nay . hear me , dear jesus , unto thee i cry ; my heart doth bleed : o save me , or i die . christ . in heav'n where i do sit in majesty , a voice sounds in mine ears continually ; and now of late much louder it doth cry : sing therefore hall●lujah . and doubtless 't is the voice of her i love , my bowels in me do so greatly move ; i will therefore to her now faithful prove sing therefore hall●lujah . alas , poor heart , thy mournful voice i hear ; and will come down to help ; be of good chear ; for thou art precious to me , and most dear . sing therefore hallelujah . go to ; for all thy sorrows i well know , and will deliver thee from them also ; and will again th' egyptians overthrow . sing therefore hallelujah . i am that i am , that is still my name , the proudest of thy foes shall know the same ; and they shall never more put thee to shame . sing therefore hallelujah . in thy afflictions , great distress , and pain , of which thou dost so grievously complain , i am affli●ted , and made grieve again . sing therefore hallelujah . f`or all the hurts and wrongs they do to thee , i take as if they did them all to me ; and this indeed ere long they all shall see . sing therefore hallelujah . it was for thee that i did bleed and die ; i love thee as the apple of mine eye : fear not thou then thy proudest enemy . sing therefore hallelujah . although , 't is true , thou in their hands art now ; yet power 's mine , and wisdom : i know how to strengthen thee , and make them all to bow . sing therefore hallelujah . and i will rise now in great jealousie ▪ to shew my power and great soveraignty , and make them to the rocks and hil●s to fly . sing therefore hallelujah . the day of vengeance now is in my minde , and where to hide themselves they shall not find , though with the powers of hel they have com●in'd . sing therefore hallelujah . thy controversie throughly i will plead , and will bring down each high and lofty head : the mighty ones like mortar i will tread . sing therefore hallelujah . though silent for a long time i have stood , i 'll be reveng'd for all the righteous blood , that hath run down , like to a mighty flood . sing therefore hallelujah . though judgement on them i did long delay , yet what is due to justice they shall pay ; and but a little longer will i stay . sing therefore hallelujah . for now besides the wrongs thou dost repeat , the martyrs blood doth loudly me entreat ; i will come forth therefore in fury great . sing therefore hallelujah . i will perform my strange and dreadful acts , and thou before me very strong shalt wax ; for i 'll make thee to be my battle-axe . sing therefore hallelujah . thy horn shall iron be , and thy hoof brass , with which thou shalt be at down the serpents race ; and quickly will i b●ing this thing to pass . sing therefore hallelujah . thy sons that scattered are , the earth throughout , i will soon gather them , do thou not doubt , and bring them forth too , with a mighty shout . sing therefore hallelujah . the mighty they shall overcome with slings , the nobles also , and the heathen kings , with fetters they shall binde , and such-like things . sing therefore hallelujah . o t●ou who art with raging tempests tost , without all comfort , ready to be lost ; thy expectation shall not long be crost . sing therefore hallelujah . i 'll lay thy stones with colours fair and sure , and thy foundations shall be saphirs pure , which shall indeed for evermore endure . sing therefore hallelujah . for a small time i have forsaken thee , but with great mercy thou shalt gather'd be ; and from all bondage i will set thee free . sing therefore hallelujah . though i have thee afflicted heretofore , i 'll turn my hand upon the bloody whore , and will not now afflict thee any more . sing therefore hallelujah . because thou dost my holy name profess , i will establish thee in righteousness , and break in pieces them that thee oppress . sing therefore hallelujah . i will come down also from heaven above , and will from thee oppression far remove ; ' gainst thee no weapon form'd , shall prosp'rous prove . sing therefore hallelujah . thy children too , shall all be taught of me ; also great peace for ever there shall be , and i 'll bring in the gentiles unto thee . sing therefore hallelujah . though many do thee grievously deride , thy borders i 'll enlarge on every side , and to thy seed the whole earth will divide , sing therefore hallelujah . for i did promise them , i do confess , that they should fully all the world possess ; and i 'll perform it now in righteousness sing therefore hallelujah . i will come now unto my holy hill , the heathen at my presence shall be still ; the earth with knowledge i will also fill . sing therefore hallelujah . exalted i shall be ; and sit on high , above all earthly kings in majesty ; and thou shalt reign with me triumphantly ▪ sing therefore hall●lujah . all kingdoms of the earth shall now be mine , and then be sure that they shall all be thine , and thou in beauty like a queen shalt shine . sing therefore hallelujah ▪ zion . o matchless grace , and love beyond degree ! now am i sure there is none like to thee in heaven nor earth , were there ten thousand more , for thou hast found a sal●e for eve●y sore . by thee i ravish'd am , o thou most high : o how my spirit and my soul doth cry to thee , o lord , by whose enlarged grace ▪ my heart's enlarg'd to run the blessed race . thou shalt me lead unto thy living springs ; from thence i 'll mount up , as with eagle's wings , unto the heavenly mount of faith's desire , where i thy glory great may much admire : and then will i descend down from above , to be imbraced in the arms of love : i 'll hold thee fast , and never let thee go ; for by the loss of thee , what grievous wo did i sustain ? o what great misery ! thou hidst thy face , and troubled sore was i. thee having , though nought else , what have i not ? without thee , though all else , what have i got ? lord , having all things , and not thee , what have i ? let me enjoy but thee , what further crave i ? without thee , lord , things be not what they be ; all things are nothing , when compar'd with thee : i am thy portion , lord , though didst me chuse ; and thou my po●tion art , i 'll ●e'er refuse . but thou , o god , shalt be my heritage ; thou art a god of grace from age to age : and therefore evermore i 'll dwell with thee : for thou , o god , my hiding place shalt be . in time of trouble and of fury great , i will unto thy holy name retreat ; which is a tower strong to all that fly with care and speed , from their iniquity . thou light in darkness art , and joy in grief ; though i in trouble am , thou send'st relief : when i am down , thou lift'st me up on high ; and i thy name , o god , will magnifie . and with much patience i will undergo thy indignation , lord , for well i know that i have sinn'd against thy holy name , and therefore 't is that i do suffer shame . and though this day i am but low and mean , poor and despis'd , and so long time have been ; yet for my good i know that thou wilt make it , and with content i therefore now will take it ; and will wait on thee till thou dost arise to break in pieces all our enemies . my precious cause then i will leave with thee ; which thou , o lord , wilt doubtless plead for me . thy voice , great god , is to my soul so sweet , i am reviv'd , and set upon my feet : o i can sing , in hopes of what i see , thou hast , o lo●d , laid blessings up for me . and now , o whore , that art my bitter foe , my day is near , i would have thee to know : my god han't me forsook , for he will now set me on high , and make thee for to bow , and shalt with shame cover thy filthy head , whilst i in triumph shall upon thee tread . because so long thou hast upon me ●rod , and in contempt hast said , where is thy god ? he will therefore in right retaliate , and bring just judgements down upon thy pate . babylon . zion , thy self mistake thou dost ; the day will still be mine , wherefore then dost thou proudly boast , as if it would be thine ? i for my wounds have got a cure ; at ease i am , and well : i very safe am , and secure ; and so i know shall dwell . my glory is return'd to me , which i had lost indeed : no widowhood more shall i see , from sorrow i am freed . a queen i am , so shall remain , and have my pleasures still : for so long as my lord doth raign , i can do what i will. for he doth me most dearly love ; and mighty strength has he ; all other lords he is above , they all his servants be . he is the chief in all the earth , and sits in peter 's chair : the keys of hell and death he hath , and is past all compare . the dragon , from whence did derive his power , strength and seat , thee to the wildernesse did drive , there for to seek thy meat . and they have got the same pow'r still : who da●es make wa● with them ? to spoil them , is beyond the skill of all that them condemn . one emperor , and also kings , love me , as doth appear : my name in every court so rings , ruine i do not fear . my sons , likewise , are noble men , for dukes and lords they be ; they will secure me alwayes , when great dangers they do see . their honours , and their riches too , from me they have them all ; they know they should them lose also , if ever i should fall . the lawyers too , and priests , i know , dear children to me are , to keep me from an overthrow , their lives they will not spare . the merchants , yea , and thousands more , will all lend me their hand ; ce●tain , i am , from hence therefore ▪ secure i long shall stand . and thus thou clearly may'st behold , what strength is on my side ; and although i am now grown old , with glory i shall ride . and as for god , the lord most high , he hath spar'd me so long ; he doth love me assuredly , and will do me no wrong . falsly accus'd am i therefore , as if god did mean me , when he speaks of the wicked whore , that shall destroyed be . 't is some one else , that god doth mean ; his church , in truth , am i , and from all sin , i am wash'd clean : thy speech i do defie . zion . leave off , leave off , 't is thou , o bloody whore , do not thou think , thou shalt for evermore thus dominere , in pomp and wicked pride : for god , ere long , thy rulers will divide ; those mighty ones , in whom are all thy trust , long shall not hold , but into pieces must be surely broken ; this thou soon shalt see : here , here , begins thy bitter misery . those that did love thee most , will hate thee so , that they will seek thy utter overthrow ; as was their love , their hatred now will be , and to destroy thee , they will all agree : for thou hast them inslav'd unto thy lust , whilst they , like simp●e ones , in no wise durst offend , or cross , thy vile and bloody mind , for they have been bewitch't , they now will find ; by thy alluring voice and lustful eye , to joyn with thee in all iniquity . thy flatteries sha●l them no more deceive , nor thy base whoredoms thousands more bereave of inward good , and outward riches , so as they have been to their eternal wo. they then shall see thy vile and ill intent , in setting them against the innocent . to sati●fie thy lust and base desire , their sinful hearts , alas , were set on fire : and through the provocation of the devil , have yeilded to commit such horrid evil , that there 's no pen can write , no tongue declare , what things were acted almost every where . for throughout europe , either more or less , there hath been wrought indeed such wickedness ; which surely would cause hearts of stone to melt , when they consider what my children felt , and did indure from savage tyrants great , who cruelly those tender lambs did treat ; more then did ever the blood-thirsty turk : which tyrants thou didst always set on work . some hints of which , here briefly doth insue , which i shall now present unto your view . and what at this time i lay to thy charge , i 'd briefly speak , and shall not much en●arge : for men have writ great volumns , thou dost know , which of thy cruelties do largely show . thou hast all men opprest in every age ; but eve●mo●e thy spiteful hellish rage ▪ was always set against my children dear , who could not to thy wicked ways adhere . thou mad'st the magistrates their enemies ; a●d the worst torments that thou couldst devise thou madst them suffer , sto●ie plainly shows ; some thou didst hang by th' head , some by the toes . and thousands thou didst burn , and broil on coals , and others starve to death in stinking holes . some thou didst cut to pieces very small , and infants brains were dash'd against the wall , on bodies of the saints thou trod'st like dung ; thou spard'st no sex , neither the old nor young . by thy curs'd crew women were ravished ; and after cruelly were knock'd o' th' head. some had their eys and tongues by thee pull'd out , some ha●borless were made , and forc'd about to wander , and in woods and caves to lie , until their days were spent in misery . thousands were famish'd so , till forc'd to eat worms , frogs & toads , and spiders for their meat . thy c●uelties all people may admire , thou hast poor children forced to set fire to that same wood in which their parents dear , by burning flames consum'd to ashes were . by cruel massacres were thousands slain , who did endure the most in humane pain that bishops , monks , and fryars could devise ; whose blood aloud to god for vengeance cries . what precious blood was shed in italy , in spain also , yea and in germany ? how were the merindolians put to death ? for cruelties were e'er the like on earth ? the massacres in piedmont were sad ; and many more in france there were as bad . as for spain's inquisition-cruelties , and of those many horrid miseries that they invented for religions sake , 't would fill a volumn should i them relate : but i 'll forbea● to speak of them at large , and leave them to the day wherein the charge of all the righteous blood that hath been shed , shall come with vengeance down upon the head of all thy proud and persecuting crew , that studied have , the righteous to undoe ; the precious blood , which wicked hands did spil in ireland , i do remember still ; thou there didst play a very cruel part , poor innocents were there stob'd to the heart ; yea grievous tortures those poor lambs did bear , because they would not buy thy popish ware . but to come nearer home , within this land , how many blessed saints , at thy command , were crue●ly to ashes burnt at stake , because god's truth they no wise durst forsake ? as in the marian dayes ; ye , and before ; i dare not say that yet thou hast giv'n o're , and hast forgot to make attempts again ; for i do clearly see , there doth remain the self-same spirit ; hadst thou but the power , both me , and mine , thou quickly wouldst devour : for secretly , i do perceive , this day , thy romish ruffins , like to beasts of prey , do now contrive , and privately design to work the ruine both of me and mine . wi●l not those horrid wretched cruelties that thou hast done , thy raging lust suffice ? why thou art drunk already , and dost reel , and yet thou cryest , o give , o give me still the blood of hereticks , that i may drink , o fill my cup up to the very brink . 't is full , o whore , for this i clearly see , all precious blood the lord doth charge on thee , that e'er was shed , from righteous abels daies , ' t●ill all be found in thee , the scripture saies . o shameless , vile , and wretched bloody whore ! hast drunk so much , & wouldst thou yet have more ▪ what blood of prophets and apostles too , of christ , the lord , whom thou hast also slew ? and since those dayes , hast many millions slain , whose blood , and souls , do to the lord complain for righteous judgements to be pour'd on thee , for all thy vile and bloody cruelty . prepare thy self for ruine , for i 'm sure , the patient god much longer won't indure , ere he avenge the cause of his dear son , for all the wrongs thou hast unto him done ; those who would see more of thy cruelties , let them read my son fox his histories . babylon . o why dost thou father christs death on me ? this is a lie , all people plain may see that i am free of this , all people know , fo● who put him to death , the scriptures show ; don't charge his death on me , for i am clear , but hereticks fit were not to live here ; i therefo●e did such kill , and sweep away , and so 't is fit i should this present day ; for if to holy church they won't be turn'd , 't is fit , in truth , that they should all be burn'd . zion . that this is true , vile whore , i 'le prove it plain , that thou hast my most blessed jesus slain ; for if all precious blood is found in thee , that e'er was spilt by hands of cruelty , it followeth then , by consequent most clear , that thou hast shed the blood of christ , most dear ▪ the former's so ; i shew'd it thee before , therefore 't is true : be silent , say no more , but stop thy mouth , for this i further see , that many times he hath been slain by thee ; under thy romish pow'r , his flesh did die , in spirit since thou didst him crucifie : and what thou hast unto god's servants done , he takes as if thou didst it to his son. he also is the head , they members are of his own body , whence it doth appear , thou hast tormented him in every part , and hast oft-times pluckt out his very heart . thou hast imprison'd , scourged him also , ye burnt and hang'd , and starved him i know : can the dear body thus be put to pain , and not the head the like sore grief sustain ? and more then this , to shew what thou hast done , the father , son , and blessed saints are one ; what ere therefore thou hast done unto me , thou hast it done unto the trinity : who touch god's saints , the apple of his eye do also touch ; o dreadful tyrannie ! for men to persecute the lord of life , and with the mighty god to be at strife ! when saul afflicts the saints , then christ doth cry , saul , saul , 't is me that thou dost crucifie . this is the reason of thy wicked spight thou bear'st unto the blessed saints of light ; it is , because that they do testifie against thy whoredoms and adultery . as they are men , thou dost not persecute , but 't is because they won't god's name pollute ; 't is christ in them , and them fo● his name sake , that thou dost hate , and such a spoil dost make ; but it is from the lord , that they can't now unto thy whoredoms and thy falsehoods bow ; revenge thy self on god , who is the cause why they contemn all thy invented laws ; let these alone , do not in mischiefs run , for these , alas , what have these poor lambs done ? ye persecutors all , mind well i pray , the dreadful work you are about this day . but i 'le return , and talk with thee yet further who guilty art , most clear , of horrid murther ; and yet dost wipe thy mouth , and proudly say , i innocent have been unto this day , and am in truth christs holy ch●rch , i know h●s love is such , there 's none shall me o'rethrow . but to confute thy lies and insolence , and stand in truths and blessed saints defence ; no other arguments need● to bring , for to disprove thee in this very thing ; for 't is most clear , by all this horrid evil , that thou vile whore , art of and from the devil ; thou art no church of christ , he doth thee hate , and with his soul doth thee abominate ; christ's church his members never did annoy , nor persecute , and millions thus destroy . to blind mens eyes , thou hast thy former tricks , to tell the world that they are hereticks ; but after that way thou call'st heresie , that god they worship , whom thou dost defie . and here vile worm , dost thou think to contend with god the lord , whom thou dost thus offend ? o● thinkest thou he hath quite passed by , all thy vile acts and cruel tyrannie ? dost think he won't fulfil his holy word , and in his fury draw his glittering sword ? dost thou not at his presence fear and quake , who with a frown will make all nations shake ? dost think that man can save thee from his stroke , that thou go'st on , and still dost him provoke ? dost think , because he hath spar'd thee so long , he 'l ne'r avenge on thee my grievous wrong ? or dost thou think the pope , that fiend of hell , who 'bove all gods , doth in god's temple dwell , can save thee from that great and dreadful blow , which will produce thy utter overthrow ? alas vile wretch , for all thy mighty strength , there is no hope but down thou must at length . what god resolves to do , on sea or land , no beast , nor devil , can the same withstand . as to the pope , let me speak in thy ear , his time is short for to continue here ; for he that hath presum'd kings to depose , shall soon destroyed be by some of those of whom he now nor dreads , nor stands in fear ; the t●uth of this , ere long , will plain appear . this is the beast , that did from hell ascend , and thither shall be cast too in the end : this , this is he that ha●h so often swell'd thee with hopes , and hath unto this day upheld thee ; for his false pardons , and uncivil power , incourag'd thee my children to devour . though his foundation 's laid as deep as hell , and doth in strength abundantly excel the g●eatest potentate , who heretofore e'er swaid a scepter ; nay , i add much more ; though he himself doth greatly magnifie , above the blessed stars that are on high , yet he sh●ll fall , and never rise again : thy hopes thou hast of him is therefore vain ; he is condemn'd , the sentence that is gone , his day of execution doth come on ; and to be short , i fear thee not at all , do now thy worst , you both together shall drink of one cup , with all thy lovers too , for thou shal● surely know what god can do . thy magpy-merchants then shall cry and howl , and mou●nfu●ly thy ruine thus condole . alas , alas , this city great and fair , sumptuous and very brave , beyond compare ; how in a moment are her judgments come , her fall , her ruine , and her final doom : our trade is gone , and all our merchandize , and ah ! there 's none pitties our grievous cries : alas , alas , we all are quite undone , what shall we do , or whither shall we run ? o that the mountains , and the hills would cover us , till the vengeance of the lord be over ! but to conclude , all people , this i say , from babylon see that you haste away ; for if you don 't , then you too late will mourn , and curse the day that ever you were born . like as the hee-goat doth before the flock , so haste away , and fly to christ your rock : for if you follow her , then i am sure , you will destru●ion to your souls procure ; for you like oxen to the slaughter go , though like a bird insnar'd , you do not know the danger you are in , and what 't will cost , till soul , and body , life and all is lost ; many sh 'as wounded , and has strong men slain ; let all gods saints then , from her wayes refrain : her wayes do lead unto the depths of hell ▪ who follows her , shall with the devils dwell . the authors request . i. some things , great god , my soul doth long to have , before these mortal days of mine be o'er , which things , lord of thee i do humbly crave , before i go from hence and be no more ; until which things , o lord , i do obtain , i shall be fill'd with sorrow , grief , and pain . ii. alas , my sorrows they do greatly double ; o that thou wouldst be pleas'd to hear me lord , so should my soul thereby be freed from trouble , if that these things to me thou wouldst afford ; until , o lord , thou grants me my request , i can't give o'er , nor give thee any rest . iii. 't is not for riches of this wicked world , nor for vain honour , lord that i do cry ; they with a puff alas , oft-times are hurl'd , they get them wings and quite away dofly ; these things i know , dear god , uncertain be , i ask them not , some better things i see . iv. nor are they earthly momentary pleasures for which , great god , i come now unto thee , but it is for thy everlasting treasures , which now i seek and beg , o lord , for me ; can riches , honours , pleasures to me give , the things that i do want whilst here i live ? v. no , no , o lord , the things i ask of thee more precious are ; the first that i shall urge , thy blessed presence , lord , give unto me ; my heart from sin , lord , also do thou purge . these are the things , in part , for which i cry , lord , grant me this before i come to die . vi. thy presence is more sweet unto my heart then hony , or the hony-comb , indeed ; and i will chuse , o lord , the better part , from sin therefore , o let my soul be freed ; and i thy holy name shall magnifie , and happy be , when e'er i come to die . vii . let thy good spirit ever be my guide , and in thy house for ever let me dwell ; and from thy truths , lord , never let me slide , nor find my conscience to be like a hell. and i thy name , lord , evermore shall praise , and happy be , when ended are my daies . viii . and whatsoever , lord , my state is here , let me therein alwayes be well content ; when i in trouble am , lord , then be nere , and from me never do thy self absent ; and then , o lord , i never more will fear , what e'er i suffer for thy name-sake dear . ix . teach me alwayes , o lord , that heavenly skill , my dayes to number , as thy saints have done ; and ever let me yeeld unto thy will , and wait on thee until my glass is run ; so shall i then thy holy name adore ▪ and sound thy praise , o lord my god , therefore . x. lord , bridle thou my tongue , and make me see how few my dayes are , o how short their length ! incline my heart alwayes to trust in thee ; remove thy scourge , o lord , or give me strength : be thou my way , my strength , my truth , my light , so shall i learn to live and die upright . xi . when , lord , i hungry am , be thou my meat ; when i in darkness am , be light to me ; and when i weary am , lord , be my seat ; and when in prison , do thou set me free : and i thy name , o lord , will glorifie , and walk in thankfulness until i die . xii . in time of wrath , o lord , and fury great , be unto me a fence , and tower strong ; and let me to thy blessed name retreat , till thou avenged art for all the wrong that wicked men , o lord , have done to me , and unto all , dear god , that do love thee . xiii . let me , with patience , run that blessed race , and from my weights which grievious have bin ; lord set me free , that i may run apace , and the immortal crown , the prize , may win : grant me thy fear , o lord , guard well my path , o give me patience , and with patience , faith. xiv . make thy dear saints , great god , all of one heart , let their divisions end also by thee , let them unite again , and never part whilst there is either earth or sea ; and then thy praises , lord , i will declare , for i shall then be freed from all my care . xv. thy saints , dear lord , are many members joyn'd to make one body , whose blest head thou art ; let all thy children , lord , be of one mind , let this one body , lord , have but one heart ; then shall i see indeed a blest increase , of zions glory , and of israels peace . xvi . thy children dear . o lord , offended have , do thou in mercy all their sins pass by ; have mercy , lord , thy mercy do i crave , that they may live thy name to magnifie ; and i thy mercy , lord , will shew to all , and warning take , l●st that i also fall . xvii . zion remember , lord , in all her grief , she mourns , she weeps , she cries , and is in pain ; do thou in mercy send her such relief , that she with cause may never more complain ; and then , o lord , my sorrows will be o're ▪ and i thy praises , lord , will sing therefore . xviii . o'er all the world , now let thy gospel spread ; all popish enterprizes lord prevent : let papists never here get any head , as is their purpose , lord , and full intent ; and then ▪ i shall , o lord , without all shame , ascribe the glory to thy holy name . xix . lord , cast thine eyes upon those cruel foes ; prevent their purpose , who this day combine against thy flock , o god , that thou hast chose ; do thou make them like chaff before the wind ; preserve thy heritage out of their hand , establish truth and peace , lord , in the land. xx. o thou , great god , whose judgements are severe , whose mercies too are full of sweet compassion ; do thou , lord , scourge thy foes both far and near , and grant to me the joy of thy salvation ; and i will spend the remnant of my dayes in psalms of thanks to thee , and songs of praise . xxi . make haste , great god , to judge the bloody whore ▪ thy righteous judgements do thou execute ; o let her fall , and never rise no more , lord , don't deny me this my earnest suit : but let me see her down before i die , that i thy name therefore may magnifie . xxii . establish , lord , the kingdom of the just ; o let thy son , upon his blessed throne , destroy the kingdom , lord , of the vile beast ; let christ , his foes to conquer , now go on , that in the heights of zion i may sing , hosanna , in the highest , to my king. xxiii . what thou , o lord , hast un●o zion told , of blessings that thou hast for her in store ; those things , great god , o let my eyes behold , and then let me go hence and be no more . no more , dear god , i mean , as now am i , for i shall live to all eternity . xxiv . there 's one thing more , o lord , i beg for me , let me alwayes be well prepar'd to die ; and this do i , lord , also crave of thee , to reign with christ to all eternity . and then , great god , when this short life is o'er , with angels i will sing for evermore . xxv . what ever of my sute thou dost deny , grant me true faith , let me alwayes believe , that through christs death , when ere i come to die , a paradise from thee i shall receive . o grant , dear god , to me this one request , let me enjoy but thee , and i will rest . for having thee , o lord , i all things have , and having thee , there 's nothing more i crave . an alarm to the wise and foolish virgins . i. all you that fear the lord , give ear to what i do indite , there is a cry , the bridegroom 's nigh , t is now about midnight . ii. awake , awake , your lamps to take , ●nd longer do not slumber ; them do you trim , to tend on him ●nto the wedding chamber ▪ iii. you virgins all , to you i call ; what oyl have you in store ? if you have none , you are undone , look to it now therefore . iv. watch you alway , our lord doth say , none knows the day nor hour ; watch carefully , for now it 's nigh , the day of his great pow'r . v. wherefore arise , open your eyes , the day-star doth appear ; rise from your bed , lift up your head , redemption now draws near . vi. all who are wise , their time do prize , preparing for their lord ; to them he will his word fulfil , his presence to afford . vii . but fools do haste , their time to waste , in sleep and slothfulness ; yet they do dream , i do presume , of glory ne'ertheless . viii . but they indeed , on fancies feed ; 't will come to such an ebb , that they shall see , their hopes will be , like to the spiders web. ix . they still do keep themselves asleep , and know not where they be ; were they awake , how would they quake , their woful state to see . x. you who remain , carnal and vain , in a cold formal state ; and all the while , have got no oyl ; you 'l mourn when 't is too late . xi . you who profess , and not possess , the truth in life and pow'r ; your state is bad , and will be sad , before this day is o'er . xii . what is the shell to the kernel , or chaff unto the wheat ? you husks do take , and do forsake your souls most precious meat . xiii . 't is the last day ; o , therefore pray , and faithful now abide , unto the lord , with one accord , and be on the lambs side . xiv . and have a care , you do not dare , in babel to remain ; for if you do , then also know , with her you shall be slain . xv. come , come away , without delay , with all speed and indevour ; her end is come , her fatal doom ; your souls therefore deliver . xvi . you now do hear , her ruin's near ; your sins therefore forsake ; and you 'l prevent , great punishment , of which she must pertake . xvii . all her pleasures , and rich treasures , abhor as a great evil ; gods word doth show , who love them do , shall go unto the devil . xviii . do you remove , your souls , dear love , from earth , and things thereof ; for this hath bin , your very sin ; now cast it therefore off . xix . on things above , set you your love , affections and desire ; these things below , god will o'erthrow , with his consuming fire . xx. alas , poor souls , be not such fools , to labour for the wind ; the wealth you heap , you shall not keep , 't is true , ere long you 'l find . xxi . do you not rest on self-int'rest , but wholly for the lord ; for he 'l at last , you surely blast , according to his word . xxii . there are some men , cry lord , when , when , wilt thou in glory come ? who will repent , and then relent , they pray'd for his kingdom . xxiii . for it will be , they then shall see , as when on scapes a bear ; that being gone , comes a lyon , doth him in pieces tear . xxiv . subdue your sin , for it hath bin , your chiefest enemy ; i say , again , let it not reign , throughly it crucifie . xxv . for in this land , there 's none shall stand , and happy be indeed , but onely those , whom god hath chose , who on christ jesus feed . xxvi . continually , o , therefore cry , for christ and precious grace ; that with his blest , you all may rest , when you have run your race . xxvii . and the bridegroom , when he doth come , he will you entertain ; and you shall then , be happy men , and with him ever reign . xxviii . yea , gloriously , in majesty , your honour shall excel ; here will i end , who am your friend , and bid you all farewell . a postscript : or , an after-word to england . to thee , o land , this after-word i write , which doth love darkness , and abhor the light ; i finish can't this work , until that i , against thy wickedness do testifie ; and do pronounce the righteous gods decree , which will with vengeance executed be in a short time ; and that because thou hast , let zion , like a barren field , lie waste : she hath bin trod upon in great disdain , and yet from thee no comfort could obtain ; thou hast not succour'd her in great distress , nor helped her , though in the wilderness : she , as a stranger , fain would so●ourn here , but thou not willing art , as doth appear , her to imbrace ; no nor the gospel neither , but fain thou would'st be rid of them together . alas , thou sinful nation , most unwise , that hates thy friends , and loves thy enemies ; what wilt thou do over a little space ? i much lament thy sad and heavy case ; thy sins more vile then sodoms doth abound : some righteous ones , indeed , in thee are found , or else , before this time , i fully know , god had , like sodom , wrought thy overthrow . god hath with great compassion born with thee , but yet thou art as vile ; this i do see : judgements therefore already are begun , and god will make thee bow ere he has done ; he 'l break thy heart , and make thee for to cry , lord , i have sin'd , thy name i glorifie . god hath begun to make thy people few , and made them know , that they are like the dew , which early passeth , when the sun doth rise , or like the shadow which so swiftly flies . the glory of thy city god hath stain'd , which like a queen so long a time hath reign'd . but yet , the worst , o england , is behind ; alas , these judgements i do clearly find , have made thee worser then thou wert before ; instead of healing , they have made thy sore appear so dangerous , that i do see , there is no help , nor cure now for thee . wo , wo , unto all people high and low , my soul doth mourn and bleed , because i know the day of vengeance doth draw very near , wherein all people shall cry out with fear ; they then will weep , and bitterly will mourn , and curse the day that ever they were born to see such dayes , the which will surely come , which will be like , though not the day of doom . thou wilt repent that ere thou didst provoke the righteous god ; for why , his dreadful stroke will be so sore , that some will seek to die ; but death , alas , from them away will fly ; while others they their bitter dayes shall end , a just reward , from god , whom they offend . some now there be alive , which shall behold , the dreadful things which to thee have bin told . with nineveh , therefore , with speed repent , if happily thou mayst gods wrath prevent ; which otherwise will come on thee , o land , before which wrath , alas , no flesh can stand . cease to do evil , i do thee advise , learn to do well , i do thee advertise ; break of all yoaks , set the oppressed free , and labour for a christian liberty . the pope , that hellish beast , do thou withstand , and all who ready are at his command , to yeeld unto that wicked bloody whore , who thinks to have the day again once more ; do thou in time their purpose frusterate , who enemies are both to prince and state. yeeld thou obedience unto god and king , rebellion is a vile and cursed thing ; which i exhort thee to defie and hate , and utterly for to alominate : for like the sin of witch-craft , 't is i know , and those that guilty are god will o'erthrow . if thou this counsel take , i dare not say , but god may turn his furious wrath away ; and thou mayst notwithstanding at the length , shine forth in glory and in perfect strength . finis . an answer to mr. marlow's appendix wherein his arguments to prove that singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, was performed in the primitive church by a special or an extraordinary gift, and therefore not to be practised in these days, are examined, and clearly detected. also some reflections on what he speaks on the word hymnos, hymnos: and on his undue quotations of divers learned men. by a learned hand. by b. keach. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1691 approx. 85 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 29 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47361 wing k43a estc r223737 99834022 99834022 38501 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47361) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 38501) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1834:22) an answer to mr. marlow's appendix wherein his arguments to prove that singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, was performed in the primitive church by a special or an extraordinary gift, and therefore not to be practised in these days, are examined, and clearly detected. also some reflections on what he speaks on the word hymnos, hymnos: and on his undue quotations of divers learned men. by a learned hand. by b. keach. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 55, [1] p. printed for the author, and sold by john hancock in castle-alley on the west side of the royal-exchange, and by the author at his house near horselydown in southwark, london : 1691. the first occurrence of "hymnos" in the title is printed in greek characters. also issued as part of keach's the breach repaired in god's worship. a reply to: marlow, isaac. appendix (unpublished?). reproduction of the original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng marlow, isaac. -appendix -early works to 1800. music in churches -early works to 1800. 2005-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-05 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-07 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2005-07 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an answer to mr. marlow's appendix . wherein his arguments to prove that singing of psalms , hymns , and spiritual songs , was performed in the primitive church by a special or an extraordinary gift , and therefore not to be practised in these days , are examined , and clearly detected . also some reflections on what he speaks on the word ὑμνοσ , hymnos : and on his undue quotations of divers learned men. by a learned hand . psal . 119. 141. i am small and despised : yet do not i forget thy precepts . 1 cor. 14. 22. wherefore tongues are for a sign , not to them that believe , but to them that believe not : but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not , but for them that believe . by b. keach . london , printed for the author , and sold by john hancock in castle-alley on the west side of the royal-exchange , and by the author at his house near horselydown in southwark . 1691. to all the saints and churches of jesus christ , christian salutation . honoured , and beloved ; it grieves me i have further occasion to trouble you after this manner : i know not what should move mr. marlow to write his appendix , just at a time when he was told i was writing an answer to his first discourse : he might have had a little patience , and have staid till my treatise was published , whereby he might the better have perceived , whether what he wrote the last year would abide the test or trial of god's word or not : this is therefore his second attempt in publick against god's holy ordinance of singing of psalms , hymns , &c. before any body appeared visibly to oppose , or put a stop to his undue proceedings . for what call he had to begin this controversy at such an unseasonable time , i know not ; but since he has done it , certainly none can see any just cause to blame me for standing up in the defence of that truth of jesus christ , which i am so well satisfied about , and established in , and that too as it is practised by the church , to whom i am related as an unworthy member , and above twenty baptized congregations besides in this nation . tho before i went about it , i offered my brethren ( him or any other ) a sober and friendly conference in the spirit of meekness , which i could not obtain , tho i did not give such a publick challenge as my brother intimates in that strange epistle he hath wrote to me ; but upon the coming forth of his book , i was troubled , and would have had it been discoursed in the general assembly , but that was not consented to ; and then i told my honoured and reverend brethren my purpose was to give an answer to his book , but did not enter upon it till i was urged by several , and particularly by mr. marlow himself , before divers witnesses , in such kind of words as these , i. e. answer me like a man. whether he is answered like a man , or but like a child , is left to your consideration , 't is done according to that light and ability god hath been pleased to bestow upon me . but if he , or any of his helpers , do see cause to reply , they must answer such persons who have wrote upon this truth , like men , and men too of great parts , learning and piety , or let them not trouble me nor the world any more . as touching his epistle to the churches , i shall take but little notice of it , nor of that he hath writ to my self , sith in my judgment , neither of them signify much ; you are men of greater wisdom than to be frightn̄ed out of an ordinance , or deterred from seeking after the knowledg of it , with these scurrilous names of error , apostacy , human tradition , prelimited forms , mischievous error , carnal forms , carnal worship , &c. these are hard words , and do not bespeak a trembling heart , nor a humble spirit , and better becomes a man that pretends to infallibility . but what some men want of sound arguments , they think to make up by hard words and confidence ; but this will never do with you . how hath our practice of baptizing believers , &c. been branded with the reproachful name of error ? and 't is very observable how some men of far greater parts and ability than my brothers or mine , either have cried out against the reign of christ , conversion of the gentiles , and calling of the jews , as a gross error , as witness mr. richard baxter particularly of late . 't is arguments i know you look for , and if you find those of mr. marlow's to prevail against what i have said , do not regard what i have wrote in the least ; for i would have your faith ( as the apostle speaks ) to stand in the power of god , and not in the wisdom of men. the smallness of the number of our churches who are in the practice of this ordinance , i also know will signify nothing with you , provided it be proved to be a truth of jesus christ : what tho there was not one of our churches that had light in it , it would certainly the more concern them to enquire after it . and tho he hath so coursly saluted me , &c. yet i am not concerned at it further , than to bewail his confidence and ignorance , to say no worse , i know no men in any age , who appeared first to vindicate a truth , which others call an error , but have met with the same usage i meet withal from our brother ; who , i hope , is a good man , and means well , yet is he strangely beclouded . as i have been a preacher up of spiritual worship ( as he says ) and that too more than thirty years ( tho a poor and unworthy one ; ) so through the grace of god , i hope shall continue to do unto the end of my days ; and 't is only spiritual worship , you may perceive , i plead for , in contending for singing of psalms , hymns , and spiritual songs , none of which three can be without their special and particular form . but must they needs be therefore carnal and humane forms which appertain unto them ? i see 't is time to stand up for the form of ordinances , for the form of doctrine , and for the form of sound words ; for if we must part with singing of psalms , hymns , &c. from his pretended arguments about forms , all external ordinances must go as well as that of singing : in a word , we must give up our whole visible profession , and wait for those extraordinary gifts of the spirit that were in the primitive time , if we must not sing till we have that extraordinary gift to do it , which some had in the apostles days , and the like in discharge of every gospel-ordinance , which were to abide in the church to the end of the world. he may as well therefore say , i do but counterfeit that excellent gift in preaching ( when i preach ) which was in the primitive gospel-church , as thus to charge me in the case of our singing by the ordinary gifts of the spirit : read his epistle to me , append. p. 15. it seems to me as if my brother does not understand the nature of moral duties , or natural worship , but mistakes , and thinks natural or moral worship must needs be carnal , tho we never plead for the performance of any duties that are moral naturally in themselves , without the help and assistance of god's spirit , and the graces thereof in our hearts . is it not part of natural religion and worship , to fear god , to love god , and trust in god , and that too with all our hearts , and with all our souls , and with all our strength , and love our neighbours as our selves ? &c. these duties appertain to natural religion ; yet without the divine help and influences of the spirit , we can do none of them in a right manner ; no more , say i , can we pray , nor sing the praises of god , which are duties comprehended in our fearing , honouring , worshipping , and loving of him . and whereas mr. marlow reflects on me , as if i singled out my self more than others in london , in pushing on this practice of singing . i must tell him , i have abundance of peace in my spirit in what i have done therein : and if our people ( i mean , the church to whom i belong ) are one of the first churches of our perswasion in this city , found in the practice of this sacred ordinance , i am satisfied it will be to their great honour , ( and not to their reproach ) and that not only in succeeding ages , but also in the day of jesus christ . but , blessed be god , the greatest number of our worthy london-elders are as well satisfied in this truth as my self , and many of their people too , and will generally , i doubt not , in a little time get into the practice of it . our reverend brother knowllys 't is known is clear in it , and has practised it for some years , though at present 't is not used in his congregation . he told me lately , he is about to write in vindication thereof , which he intends to publish in a short time , if the lord please to spare his life . and whereas mr. marlow affirms , as if i had brought singing into our congregation , to the grief and trouble of many of our members ; it is false , for 't is known the church hath been in this practice near twenty years after breaking of bread , and near 14 years on thanksgiving-days in a mixt congregation . and what was done of late in bringing it in after sermon on the lord's days , was done by a regular act of the church in a solemn manner : and though some of our worthy brethren and sisters are at present somewhat dissatisfied with it , yet i doubt not but will in a little time see their mistakes , if such busy men as he do not in an undue manner blow up coals of contention amongst us . can any sober christian think he hath done well to publish the private affairs of a particular church to the whole world ? it seems to some as if he has hopes there will be a breach in the church , upon the account of our singing the praises of god ; but i hope he will find our worthy brethren understand themselves better than to go about to impose on the church or consciences of their brethren , or to strive to pull down that which the church and themselves too , have been a building for so many years . can there be a man so left of god as to countenance any persons to make a schism in a congragation , because they cannot forgo a duty they have so long been satisfied in the practice of , and so the whole body to submit to the sentiments of a few persons , as if they had power over our faith ? we do not say our dissatisfied brethren shall sing with us , or we will have no fellowship with them ; no , god forbid we should impose on their consciences . we do not look upon singing , &c. an essential of communion ; 't is not for the being , but for the comfort and well-being of a church . we have told our brethren ( since we sing not till after our last prayer ) if they cannot sing with us , nay , nor stay with the church whilst we do sing , they may go forth , and we will not be offended . should any countenance , through a hot and unaccountable zeal , such a schism , it would make strange confusion in our churches . and since he thus publickly hints at this private case amongst us , i had i thought a clear call to open the matter plainly as it is , to clear my self and the church , to all who may read his epistle and this my answer , for we have done nothing we have the least cause to be ashamed of , or unable to justify in the sight of god or man. i shall add one word to the consideration of the brethren of our church , i doubt not but they will consider it . 1. if they look upon us as equal in knowledg and uprightness towards god with themselves , they may see we have the same ground to be offended with them in diminishing from god's word , as they may be with us , for adding ( as possibly they think ) to god's word . 2. and let them consider 't is a horrid evil to break the bond of spiritual union , and unawares to wound the body of christ . whose work is it thus to do , but the devil's ? and what a reproach doth it bring upon the truth ? and how grievous is it to all truly godly ones , and grateful to the enemies of our sacred profession ? besides , upon such a trifle , can it be so hainous a crime to be found often in that duty , which they with us have so often and long been in the practice of , and in a mixt assembly too , many and many times ? besides , brought in by almost an unanimous agreement in a solemn church-meeting , there being not , above five or six that shewed any publick dissent , nor they neither signifying any such dissatisfaction , i. e. that if we sang at such times , they could not bear it ; nor do i hear they do desire us now to decline the said practice . love will cover a greater fault than this , for they may see cause to believe 't is not self-interest , but the glory of god we wholly aim at . but to return . the truth is , i wonder any should be taken with his book , for i never saw any thing come out in print upon any controvertible truth , that has less of argument in it , or more of confidence . and 't is not my thoughts alone , nor more destructive mediums made use of to the whole of the external parts of religion . nay , one told me very lately , that one of our dissatisfied members intimated to him , as if our bible was not truly or rightly translated ; and it seems to rise from what mr. marlow hath asserted in his book about the word hymnos . i fear'd that would be the effect of his attempt , if any body regarded what he hath said upon that account . but , pray , what call has he to rebuke me , after this publick manner , especially before the whole world ? if i had done any thing amiss in his judgment in that matter , i could wish he had had more wisdom and prudence , or else lest the controversy to some more discreet and abler pen. i cannot forget the two brethren that oppoposed singing the praises of god , and would not comply with the church , ( though they did not separate themselves from the church ) when first the practice of it was received amongst us near twenty years ago . one of them soon after brought a great reproach upon religion by immoral actions , and came to nothing , and the other sometime after turned quaker , and to my face denied the resurrection of his body , &c. as to that way mr. marlow speaks of praising of god in prayer , without singing of praises , as being more suitable ( as he thinks ) to the ordinary gifts of the spirit . i must tell him , god's word is our rule ; and since god doth require his people to celebrate his praises by singing psalms , hymns , &c. doubtless that suits as well with the ordinary gifts of the spirit , as such gifts suit with prayer , preaching , &c. and i fear one day he will not be found able to give any good account of himself in his bold attempt , in seeking to rob god of his glorious praise by singing to him , as he hath enjoined us to do ; nor do i fear , but through the help and authority of god's word , i shall , in the day of christ , stand with joy and confidence before him , upon this respect , when possibly he may be ashamed , if he has not sincere repentance for what he has done . is it not a false assertion for him to say as he doth , ( in his epistle to me ) that as to our way of vocal singing together , there is neither command nor example for it , either in the old or new testament ? i shall leave it to the consideration of all wise and sober men. certainly all will conclude the man is strangely left of god , especially considering he builds his main confidence from a remote and indirect signification of a greek word , and yet , as i am told , understands not that language neither . my portion is , i perceive , to undergo hard censures from men ; but 't is no more than my blessed master met with ; and what am i that i should complain ? one said , he was a good man : but others said , nay , but he hath a devil , and deceiveth the people . john ● . 12 , 20. the lord increase love among all the saints , and a bearing and forbearing , a gentle and christian spirit . we all know but in part . and o that the lord would be pleased to deliver men , who profess the gospel , from that horrid sin of backbiting of their neighbours , and from that bitter and unaccountable spirit of prejudice that seems to be gotten into the hearts of some ; from whence they seem to tear the names of their brethren to pieces through undue offences . these thnigs are matter of lamentation , and i fear the forerunner of a dismal hour that is coming upon us . cannot christians have the liberty of their consciences from their brethren , to practise a truth according to their light , without being charged and censured after this manner , with carnal forms , and mischievous error ? &c. i shall not retain you longer , but desire you , whoever you are , impartially to read and well weigh my sober reply to my brother's appendix : i am glad it came forth before all my treatise was printed off , though it is true it makes the price more than i intended . there is a reverend and learned friend , who meeting with mr. marlow's appendix , finding him quoting learned authors in an undue and unaccountable manner , to little purpose , ( which because , it might possibly amuse the unlearned and more unwary reader ) he has , in love to this sacred truth , and to deliver the souls of men and women from mistakes , made some reflections on what he has wrote on that account , at the close of this reply . if the lord please to bless what i and my reverend friend have said to the further clearing up the truth , i shall not be troubled at my pains nor charge . i have been forc'd to repeat some things twice or thrice , by reason of his leading me in such an unusual path. this is all at present , from him who is your unworthy brother in the gospel and service of jesus christ , b. keach . an answer to mr. marlow's appendix . first of all you tell us , that to praise god , or praising of god , is not confined to songs of praise ; but that there are other ways and manner of praising of him than such melodious singing . answer . we never yet asserted there was no other way or manner to praise god , than by singing of his praise . nor is there a man who affirms any such thing that i know of ; but it is one thing to own those other ways of praising of god , and another thing for you utterly to deny this way , or the way we use in singing his praise . but i must tell you , most learned men , nay , all that i have met with , do conclude , the disciples , or those children you speak of matth. 21. 16. luke 19. 37. did sing those hosanna's to the son of david , as i have shewed in the first chapter of the foregoing treatise . i perceive you have now at last raised the auxiliaries against this blessed truth of jesus christ . but as a worthy brother hinted the other day , dr. owen is a press'd man , and as forced in so , he doth you no service at all , as will appear by what follows ; but more especially by what my worthy friend has wrote at the close of this our answer . the doctor , from heb. 2. 12. from the greek word hymneso se , i will hymn thee , i. e. i will praise thee ; saith , ( 1. ) what christ will do , viz. he will sing praise to god. ( 2. ) where he will do it , i. e. in the midst of the congregation . the expression of both these ( he saith ) is accommodated unto the declaration of god's name , and praising of him in the temple . the singing of hymns of praise unto god in the great congregation , was then a principal part of his worship , &c. 2. that chearfulness and alacrity of the spirit of christ in this work , he would do it with joy and singing . these are the doctor 's words , as cited by you , appendix , pag. 4. and thus did christ sing with his disciples , in that great representative church , as our annotators call it . now what is this to your purpose ? the doctor tells you , that hymneso se is singing praises to god : and how do you know but christ might also often sing in the temple , and in other great congregations , though we do not read of it , since 't is said , that many other things did jesus that are not written ? joh. 21. 25. 1. especially considering , since it was prophesied of him , that in the great congregation he should sing god's praise . 2. because , as the doctor observes , singing in the temple was one great part of god's worship ; from whence 't is not likely our saviour should neglect that part . moreover , he positively affirms , christ did , with chearfulness and joy , give praise to god by singing . 't is well known dr. owen owned no other singing than what we do ; he doth nowhere talk of the essence of singing in our spirit , and so exclude vocal or proper singing . 1. he acknowledges singing , is praising of god , so do we ; and say , 't is one of the highest ways of praising him too . 2. he intimates there are other ways of praising of god , besides singing his praise ; though it clearly holdeth forth that our saviour would praise god that way , namely , by singing . and you would do well to observe what our late learned annotators speak upon that of heb. 2. 12. these are their words . christ and they are of one father , ( that is , the saints are here called his brethren ) he by nature , and they by grace , and from one humane parent , luke 3. 23 , 38. and both of one flesh ; he solemnly sung and praised his father with them ( say they ) at his supper , matth. 26. 30. in that representative church , mark 14. 26. yet we , as i said before , do readily grant , as the doctor intimates , those other ways of praising of god , and that prayer , the word of faith , and the fruits of obedience , hath a tendency to the praise of god : but if the doctor , and some other learned men , should intimate , that that greek word hymnos should in a remote sence signify praising of god without singing : we ask , whether any of them say those ways of praises , without singing , is the immediate , genuine , direct and primary signification of the word ? all your helpers will fail you here . there are other greek words to express those other ways of praise to god besides hymnos . you are upon a dangerous rock ; you make it your business to trouble our people with the signification of the greek word hymnos , a hymn , ( though you understand not that language ) just after the same manner that the pedobaptists do with the word baptizo ; say they , it signifies washing , as well as dipping , which learned fisher grants . but how ? take his words , 't is ( saith he ) so taken improperly , indirectly , collaterally , by the by , or remotely , it so signifys , viz. a washing : but ( saith he ) the direct , immediate genuine and primary signification of the word baptizo , is immersion , dipping , or to dip , &c. you , it seems , take the same way to destroy the ordinance of singing god's praises , as they take to destroy the ordinance of baptism : but this will do your business no better than that will do theirs ; dipping is washing , but every washing is not dipping . theirs is ( as mr. fisher observes ) an improper , remote , or indirect baptism , that they infer from the improper signification of the greek word baptizo , and so no true baptism at all . so you , asserting from those learned men , that the greek word hymnos signifies a meer or common praising of god in prayer : 't is , say i , but an improper , indirect and remote sort of singing of god's praise , that the word will admit of in that sense , and so no singing at all . if you discourse with learned persons , they will tell you , that some greek words do , in an improper or remote sense , bear several significations ; but the direct , genuine , and proper signification of the word is singing , or , they sung . and now do you not think you are greatly to blame to make such a stir upon a word you understand not , after the manner you have done , and thereby cause doubts to arise in the minds of poor weak christians about the translation of the holy bible , and render our famous and learned translators unfaithful ? but i hope our people will not regard or mind what you unadvisedly have wrote and said upon this account . have not the translators , ( who compared divers greek copies together , ) been more faithful to give the proper , genuine and direct signification of the word , they hymned , they sung an hymn , than from the remote sense , they said grace , or gave thanks ? we read he gave thanks when he took the bread , &c. the word there in the greek is , he hymned . i have often said , to sing to god in aright manner , is praising of god , but all praising of god is not singing his praises ; therefore they that translate the word , they praised god , speak the truth , but they do not speak all the truth . but if our saviour and his disciples did no more than in an ordinary manner give thanks , as we do after supper , our translators do affirm a false thing , to say they sung an hymn , as elsewhere i have more fully demonstrated ; because singing is more , and a different thing from saying of grace , as you hint an old dutch translation reads it . but not to muster up a multitude of learned men , as i might do , who exactly agree with our translators on that word , take ( once again ) what dr. du-veil doth affirm , ( who understood , as i am informed , all the oriental tongues ) in his literal explanation of the acts of the apostles , acts 16. 25. ( tho i quoted him before ) citing ruff presbyter of aquilia , in the title of the 72d psalm saith , hymns are songs which contain the praise of god : if it be praise and not of god , it is not a hymn ; if it be praise , and of god , if it be not sung , it is not an hymn ; it must therefore ( saith he ) that it may be an hymn , have these three things [ praise ] [ and of god ] [ and a song ] : therefore paul and silas , saith the doctor , sung praises to god for the honour put upon them , in that they suffered innocently for promoting the glory of christ . many of the learned men you quote , say hymnos is praise , you need not say any more to that , we all own and grant it ; but yet also say the proper and genuine signification of it , is praising of god by singing . now this being so , you basely abuse the translators , ( append. p. 12. ) in saying , surely it must be granted that the word sung and sing in those four scriptures were imprudent additions to those sacred texts . these are your words . 't is a shame a man of your learning should ( to defend your own fantasy ) charge the faithful and renowned translators after this sort . these things being so , what authority have you to say our saviour and his disciples did not sing ? or , what reason has any sober or godly christian to believe you , if you so boldly affirm it ? therefore i , upon good authority , in opposition to what you say , p. 12. that therefore from the signification of the word hymnos , there is a good and sacred foundation or warrant for such vocal melodious singing at or after the lord's-supper , seeing the word doth bear that as the direct and proper signification of it . and also we say that what christ did was a rule for us in that of singing , as well as in taking the bread and breaking it , and blessing it , and taking the cup , &c. must not we sing the praises of christ who have the spirit but in measure , because christ had the spirit without measure ? and because the primitive gospel-church had the extraordinary gifts of the spirit in prayer , preaching , and singing also , must we not pray , preach , nor sing ? if we must not do one of them , we must do none of them : and therefore in opposition to what you say , pag. 13. of your appendix , if the practice of christ and the primitive church , doth not bind us to the observation of one ordinance , viz. that of singing , it binds us to the observation of none ; 't is time to look about us , for your manner of arguing , i do declare , ( as 't was intimated to me the other day by my reverend brother knowles ) tends to the overthrow of all gospel-ordinances whatsoever ; therefore i warn all my brethren to take heed how they hearken to you in this matter , as they tender the glory of god , and the establishment of all gospel-worship and ordinances . but to proceed : 't is an easy thing ( for any wary reader , who is not willing to be deceived ) to perceive the man hath a bad cause in hand , and that he reasons not like a wise and enlightned understanding christian . which doth fully appear , if we consider the false and preposterous mediums or ways he takes to make out what he pretends to prove . 1. for one while he seems to assert , that the essence of singing , which is ( he says ) in our spirit , that will serve our turn in discharge of the duty of singing forth god's praises , without imploying our tongues or bodily organs in it , which , as i have again and again said , doth as well exclude vocal praying and preaching , &c. as singing . see pag. 8. of his first treatise . 2. then again at another time , because there are other ways to praise god besides singing of his praises , we must not sing his praises at all . appendix , p. 4 , 5. 3. at another time he seems to exclude all singing out of the bible , from an improper signification of a greek word , and strives to make it out 't was only common praises or thanksgiving in prayer . see the epistle to me , and appendix , p. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. and so quarrels with the translators of the holy bible , as if they wanted skill in the greek tongue , or else faithfulness in rendring the word , they sung an hymn , which he tells you they should have rendered , they gave thanks , or said grace . but further , to clear our godly , learned and pious translators of the bible ; let it be considered how carefully they were in other cases , particularly in respect of the word baptizo , which they never ventured to translate rantizo , sprinkling , to favour their own practice , but rather chose to leave the word in the original tongue , and not translate it at all , than to give a false signification of it . 4. but lest all these tricks and shifts should fail him , he flies to another broken refuge , viz. intimating that the ordinance of singing doth not belong to us now , but may be practised by the saints hereafter in the thousand years reign , or seventh thousand years of this world. which is a very doubtful point , i mean , whether there will be such a thousand years reign or not , in his sense ; and yet this duty lies amongst other gospel-ordinances and precepts given out by the spirit , and enjoyned on the churches , which is enough to shake the faith of our people in respect of other ordinances , which they have as much reason to say , may not belong to us , but shall be practised in time to come , when the church ( as the seekers say ) shall attain its first or original purity . see pag. 27. of his discourse . 5. and lastly , like a wary and fore-seeing man , to be sure to carry his cause , he retires to his last fort and strong-hold , and affirms , that the ordinance of singing of psalms , hymns , &c. was only in the primitive time performed by an extraordinary gift ; and unless we have such a gift , we must not sing the praises of god now in these days . tho i have said enough to detect this fond conceit , yet since he leads me in this path , i must , i perceive , reply again , as i have already done , that this objection lies equally against prayer , preaching , and interpreting the scripture , &c. sith all these gospel-duties and ordinances in the primitive and apostolical days , were performed by the said extraodinary gifts of the spirit . if he could make this appear , there was no need for him to trouble us with the greek word , nor with any of his other mediums he uses to exclude gospel-singing ; it cannot but appear by this last shift , he acknowledges that singing is somewhat more than that praising of god he speaks of : but these things betray the man's integrity , or rather his weakness , and shew he doth not argue , but plays the part of a sophister , though not a cunning one , because his nakedness plainly appears to the meanest capacity , through his pittiful threadbare covering . for if he had thought his other mediums would have served his turn , or held the test , we should not have , i am perswaded , heard any of this : but however , we will come to examine his pretended arguments he brings to prove this assertion . his first argument , to prove singing was always performed from a special gift , is in appendix , pag. 14. for as the grace of joy is the fruit of the spirit , ( saith he ) and as god had promised the oil , viz. the spirit of joy for mourning ; so the primitive church had some earnest of it , and did rejoice in hope of the glory of god ; and through the abundance of the spirit wherewith she was baptized , her ministers delivered the word of god in extraordinary ways and manners , viz. by prophesying , tongues , and melodious singing . answ . 1. have not believers now the holy spirit , as well as they had it then , though not in such an extraordinary manner ? and have not we the fruit of it , i. e. joy , peace , &c. in believing ? also you mistake your self , joy doth not appertain to the gifts of the spirit , but 't is a fruit of the graces of the spirit . do not the saints now rejoice in hope of the glory of god , as well as they did then ? there is no such cause or ground from the reception of tongues , or the extraordinary gifts of the spirit , ( as you intimate ) to sing the praises of god ; for many ( our saviour saith ) shall say in that day , we have prophesied in thy name , and in thy name have cast out devils , and in thy name have done many wonderful works . to whom he will say , depart from me , i know ye not . and the apostle saith , though i speak with tongues of men and angels , and have not charity , i am become as sounding brass , or a tinkling cymbal , 1 cor. 13. 1. from whence it appears that inward joy and peace of which you speak , as the cause of singing in the apostles times , did not flow from that extraordinary gift of the spirit , but from the saving graces of the spirit ; either it flows from the consideration of common or external mercies and blessings , wherein all are concerned to sing the praises of god , who gives them fruitful seasons , filling their hearts with joy and gladness ; or else it flows from those special and internal blessings which only concern the saints , viz. union with god , communion with god , faith , love , &c. tongues were for a sign , not for them who believe , but for them who believe not , 1 cor. 14. 22. extraordinary gifts were to convince unbelievers of the truth , and not for the joy and comfort of such who did believe . men that have the gift of tongues , may be graceless , and so without christ , and perish eternally in hell ; therefore the extraordinary gift of the spirit fits not , tunes not the heart nor tongue to sing the praises of god. you may as well deny the saints may not , ought not in these our days rejoice in god , nay , not praise him in any other manner of ways , as well as not sing , from this argument you make use of here on this account . therefore it follows that you strangely mistake , pag. 15. appendix , in intimating , when paul exhorts the saints to covet after the best gifts , he means the extraordinary gifts of the spirit ; for certainly those are the best gifts that most tend to the edification of the church , which tongues could not be said to do . and in the very next words he speaks of a more excellent way , viz. that of charity or love , which refers to the graces of the spirit . and of so little use were those special or extraordinary gifts to the church , that if there were no interpreter , they were to be silent , and not use them in the church at all who were that way gifted . 2. you confound tongues ( which did appertain to all sorts of gifts ) with prophecy and singing : he that had a doctrine , might have the gift of tongues to bring it forth ; so might he that had the gift of prophecy , and he also that had the gift to interpret ; and so might he also that had the extraordinary gift to bring forth a psalm . and , pray , why must ordinary praising of god be now admitted ? and preaching , prophesying , and interpreting the scripture by the ordinary gifts of the spirit be still allowed , and yet singing by the same ordinary gifts must not be admitted ? what reason do you give for this ? is not this to darken counsel with words without knowledg ? i have demonstrated , that the end of those extraordinary gifts that were then in the church in the administration of every duty and ordinance , was to confirm the ordinary practice of all those ordinances , and so to continue them in the church to the end of the world. and god hath equally honoured and confirmed singing of psalms , &c. to continue , and the practice thereof to abide , as of any other ordinance . you need not therefore spend your time to prove the apostles prayed , preached , prophesied , and also sung by an extraordinary gift ; we acknowledg it , but say , this is no more against our singing , than against our praying , &c. who have not now those special gifts . 2. he that had a psalm of david , might bring it forth in an unknown tongue , as well as he that had a doctrine , and so not to the edification of the church : for if he brought out a psalm of david in an unknown tongue , who could sing with him ? but if he had been to sing alone , the melody might have refreshed those who sung not , as some say they have been in hearing the french protestants sing , who understand not their language . but to prevent this , the apostle paul resolved when he sung , he would sing with the spirit , and with the understanding also , because 't is the matter sung that is fruitful to the understanding : and what is the melody without that ? your third reason or argument is taken from that in ephes . 5. 18. be ye filled with the spirit , speaking to your selves , &c. answ . doth not the apostle pray that god would fill all the saints with joy and peace ? rom. 15. 13. and pray , that they might be filled with the fruits of righteousness ? now singing flows from that joy that all the saints ought to labour after ; and also from the fruits of righteousness , we have an equal need to be filled with the spirit , to pray , to meditate , to praise god , and to preach and hear the word , as well as to sing psalms and hymns , &c. but you say , pag. 18. that the gifts of the holy spirit were not given alike to every member of the church . answ . 't is granted : but doth it follow , because some had the extraordinary gift of the spirit to pray , must not the others who had not those gifts , no more than we have them now , not pray at all ? brother , i am grieved to see how you are deceived , and would ●eceive others : but as they who had not the extraordinary gift of the spirit to pray , were , notwithstanding , to pray ; so they who had not the extraordinary or special gift to sing , were , nevertheless , to sing the praises of god. what you speak , pag. 18. about the diversity of gifts , but the same spirit , from 1 cor. 12. is rather more against the performance of those other duties and ordinances than singing , because singing is not there mentioned . but all that you say there , has been answered already ; so is what you infer from col. 3. 16. ephes . 5. 19. for to think the apostle refers to the special gift of singing in those places , is of a pernicious tendency ; for you may as well say the same of all other precepts enjoined on the churches , and so free us from all gospel-obedience for want of such gifts . why must not spiritual songs be allowed , as well as psalms and hymns ? what do you mean in pag. 23 ? brother , you were better be silent till you can distinguish better between psalms , hymns , and spiritual songs , and the manner of the bringing of them forth by a special gift . a doctrine may be as spiritual that is precomposed , as that which was brought forth by a special gift ; so may an hymn , or spiritual song , though 't is by the ordinary gifts or help of the spirit precomposed ; there cannot be an hymn , nor spiritual song , without its form ; but if it be a spiritual song , it has a spiritual form. the very word may convince yo● of your error ; if the song be taken out of christ's spiritual and sacred word , the form is spiritual ; and if it be sung with a gracious heart and tongue , 't is doubtless spiritual worship and acceptable to god. i shall conclude this section of yours with one honest and plain argument . that assertion or notion against singing the praises of god , that hath a natural tendency in it to overthrow the practice of all gospel-ordinances , as well as singing the praises of god , is a vile and pernicious assertion or notion . but for a man to assert , the saints and people of god now in these days , ought not to sing psalms , hymns , and spiritual songs , because we have not that special or extraordinary gift of the spirit to do it , hath a natural tendency in it to overthrow the practice of all gospel-ordinances in these days . ergo. that assertion is vile and pernicious . the major cannot be denyed : the minor i have abundantly proved in this treatise . in sect. 4. you seem to answer what we say about singing being a moral duty . which you say , is the refuge of some who cannot maintain their practice of formal singing by gospel-institution . append. pag. 27. answ . you mistake ; we need no gospel-institution , 't is as clear a precept in these scriptures , ephes . 5. 19. col. 3. 16. as any we have in the new-testament . but we say singing the praises of god is more than a mere positive duty . what you further say under this head , doth but betrary your own ignorance about moral precepts , and needs no answer , i having fully explained it in this treatise . is it absurd and irrational for us to make the moral law , or light of nature , a rule to exert the worship of god ? see append. p. 28. 't is not so much the matter of moral duties , as the manner of the performance of them , that renders them spiritual ; and for the more orderly and spiritual performance of such duties , that are in their own nature moral , they are brought under gospel-institution , as prayer , preaching , and singing the praises of god are ; and therefore all moral duties must be discharged by the help of the spirit , and with grace in the heart , if accepted of god. in pag. 33. of your appendix , you repeat your former objection against womens singing in the church , because the apostle saith , he suffered not a woman to teach , nor usurp authority over the man , but to be in silence . so that christ ( say you ) makes it an usurpation of authority , for a woman to teach , or to speak , or any ways to break her silence in the church . but then ( say you ) 't is objected , these scriptures that forbid womens teaching and speaking in the church , do intend only that they should not be the mouth of the church , as in prayer and doctrine , &c. to this objection against your exposition of these scriptures , you give your answers . 1. that such a sense as this we speak of , is against the letter of these texts . 2. by asserting that in singing together , there is teaching , instruction and admonition , pag. 34. answ . this kind of arguing against womens singing we have all ready fully refuted ; but for the sake of our good women , and to detect this falsity , i shall add a word or two further in way of reply . 't is a hard case that women should be debarred to speak in any sense , or any ways to break silence in the church , as you affirm through a mistake of the text. 1. for then they must not ask a friend how he or she doth when in the congregation . 2. she must not be suffered to be an evidence in the church against any offender , in the case of discipline . 3. then she must not ask , where the text is , if she comes too late , for that is in some sense a speaking and breaking silence . 4. nor must she then say amen at the close of prayer , for that 's a breaking silence . 5. which is worst of all , she must not in the church give an account of her conversion , or declare how the lord was pleased to work upon her heart : for i have shewed in that act there is much instruction , nay , 't is so full of teaching to others , that what some pious women have spoke in the church upon this account , god hath blessed to the conversion of sinners , as well as it has refreshed and sweetly comforted divers believers ; and therefore herein you abuse the sense of the holy ghost , and indeed are not , i fear , fit to be a teacher of others , but to learn in silence your self . 2. the way therefore to understand this as well as other scriptures , is to have recourse to the main drift or purport of the spirit of god therein . and evident it is , the main thing the apostle drives at in both these places , or doth intend , is this , viz. that women ought not to be allowed to take part in the ordinary ministration of preaching the gospel , or ministerially , or authoritatively to preach the word : because he that has received a just call so to do , may and ought to exhort and command in the name of our lord jesus with all authority , tit. 2. 15. and this work therefore women should not take upon them , because they must be in subjection , and not usurp authority over the man. to take the bare letter of the text , without shewing the scope and drift of the spirit of god in it , would make sad work , as i might shew from many scriptures , and has occasioned many abominable errors , any heresies , to abound in the world. 3. as to that teaching which is in singing , it doth not lie in a ministerial way , and therefore not intended by the spirit of god here ; preaching or teaching is not singing , nor singing preaching or teaching , though there is a teaching in it . you must learn better to distinguish between different duties and ordinances , before you take upon you to teach others . read what i have before said , and also what mr. cotton , sidenham , &c. have said , as you will find it repeated in this treatise , in respect of the nature of teaching and admonition that is in the ordinance of singing , and you may further see how you miss and abuse these scriptures : for he or she that reads the scripture may be said in some sense to teach , there is much teaching in it ; yet sure a woman may be suffered to do this , as a case may present it self , both in the church , or at home either , in her husbands presence , and not be deemed to usurp authority over him : for the usurpation the apostle speaks of , respects a womans own husband ( if not chiefly ) as well as others ; and therefore if she must not sing in the church , so by your argument she must not sing nor read the scripture at home in the presence of her husband , because there is a kind of teaching in both those duties ; and if she should , as you intimate , she would not only break silence , but usurp authority over the man , i. e. her head and husband , which is forbid . the lord deliver poor women , and men too , from such kind of doctrine as this . 4. 't is evident the apostle lays no other restraint upon women than what the law laid them under , they are to be silent , or 't is not ( saith he ) permitted unto them to speak ; but they are commanded to be under obedience , as also saith the law , 1 cor. 14. 34. and 't is as clear , they were always under the law suffered to sing in the congregation as well as the men , therefore it was not such a speaking or teaching as is in singing , that paul intends in those scriptures . 5. whereas you affirm , that women were not admitted to pray nor prophesy in the church neither in the old nor new testament , is doubless false , as our late annotators well observed on 1 cor. 14. 34. which is the very text you mention , take their words ; this rule must not ( say they ) be restrained to ordinary prophesying : for certainly , if the spirit of prophesy came upon a woman in the church , she might speak . anna , who was a prophetess in the temple , gave thanks to the lord , and spake of him to all them that looked for the redemption of israel : and i cannot tell how philip's daughters prophesied , if they did not speak in the presence of many . the reason given why women should be silent , is , because they are commanded to be in obedience . a woman ( say they ) might say , amen , to the publick prayers , and also sing with the congregation to the honour and glory of god , but for her to speak in an ordinary course of prophesy to instruct people , &c. she is forbidden . the apostle , saith a friend ( in a manuscript ) doth not prohibit all manner of speaking , for that is directly contrary to 1 cor. 11. 5 , 6. where women are admitted to pray and prophesy : for prayer , they may say , amen to the publick prayers of the church : and for prophesy they may sing psalms , the apostle using the expression according to the ideum of the jews , 1 sam. 19. 20 , 21. 1 sam. 10. 5. they shall prophesy ; and for they shall prophesy , the cald. paraphras . reads , they shall sing , and thou shalt praise with them . vid. wilson's dict. dr. hammond's annotat. on 1 cor. 11. 5. and so it 's used 1 chron. 25. 1 , 2 , 3. the prohibition , saith he , is not restrained only to church-assemblies , but holds good in all places , and at all times , and intends a subjection of women to their husbands , as plainly appears by comparing 1 cor. 14. 35. with 1 tim. 2. 12 , 13. with the occasion and scope of the text , and is of no greater restraint now , than lay on them under the law , 1 cor. 14. 34. where they were permitted to sing . object . but say you , if we should say such a vocal singing together is for a teaching , then where are the hearers , if all be teachers ? &c. appendix , p. 35. answ . we have shewed you singing is a distinct thing from that which is called teaching or preaching , tho in singing there is a teaching , but chiefly we speak to our own selves , as the apostle exhorts , in psalms , &c. and the matter of the psalm or hymn is full of teaching and admonition , yet 't is the matter sung which teaches , rather than the singers may be said to do it : nor is it any contradiction to say when i teach others , yet i am thereby taught and admonished my self . so that if it were admitted to be a common or ordinary teaching , which must not be allowed , and all might be said to teach , &c. yet nevertheless all are hearers also , and are in a sweet manner taught , admonished and instructed in singing the word of christ , in psalms , hymns , and spiritual songs , as elsewhere i have shewed : nor is it any contradiction to say , according to the sense of the apostle , women must keep silence in the church , and yet suffer them to sing , &c. no more than it contradicts their silence , when they speak at other times , which they are allowed to do . in sect. 6. you speak of those prophetical places of the psalms , &c. urged by us for singing under the gospel-days , where all the earth is exhorted to sing unto the lord , psal . 96. 1. psal . 95. 1 , 2. psal . 100. 1 , &c. 1. this you would have refer to the preaching of the gospel , i. e. as the apostles sound went forth into all the earth , rom. 10. 18. confounding preaching and singing together one time , and prayer and singing at another . 2. you would have it chiefly to refer to the seventh thousand years of the world , or reign of christ ; hinting in your first part as if then there shall be a singing , besides the essence of it in their spirits : but if that thousand years you speak of , shall be before the end of the world , or gospel-dispensation , pray where lie those precepts that will authorize them in those days to sing , and yet do not authorize , or warrant us to sing now ? shall they have a new bible for those times ? but if the precepts for singing then are contained in our holy scripture , and yet do not belong to us ; 't is good for us to consider , whether other precepts written therein , do not wholly refer to those times too , nay , all ordinances , till the spirit comes down in an extraordinary manner ; and so now we must throw off all gospel-administrations , and turn seekers . i am sorry to see such stuff as this published to the world. but what i have said or cited from the writings of other godly men , in respect of those prophetical psalms , and other places of scripture that enjoin the gentile-churches to sing the praises of the lord , i would have you and others consider well of , before you write again . in sect. 7. you heap up a company of confused words to no purpose , about premeditated matter for prayer , to oppose premeditated hymns , &c. append. pag. 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , &c. answ . 1. the form of prayer christ hath left us , is a rule for us in prayer ; and we may premeditate what we intend to lay before the lord , it appears from thence ; and so is the word of christ our general rule , by which we must premeditate and precompose our spiritual hymns and songs . 2. but prayer and singing differ the one from the other ; we may use other words in prayer than what we premeditated , as the spirit of god may help us . but we are limited by god's word to sing david's psalms , or else hymns and spiritual songs , composed out of the word of god. now let them be either , they must be so many words and no more , or else none can sing with him that has the hymn . now we say , the extraordinary influences for singing , preaching , interpreting , &c. are gone ; therefore every ordinance must be performed by the ordinary gifts and influences of the spirit , or else we must have none at all . was singing , or any other ordinance performed in the gospel-days by an extraordinary spirit , not performed then also , and afterwards as well and as acceptable to god by the ordinary gifts ? shew , if you can , that other ordinances which had such special gifts then to attend them as well as singing , do notwithstanding remain ordinances , and yet singing of psalms and hymns doth not so continue . if therefore a man should premeditate every word of his sermon by the assistance of the spirit , who dares to say he speaks not by the help of the holy ghost , or that his sermon is not part of spiritual worship ? 't is no matter whether we have our sermons or our hymns , mediately or immediately , composed and brought forth , provided they be spiritual , and done by the help of the spirit . but to close all , are not david's psalms part of spiritual worship ? and are not the churches exhorted to sing them ? in sect. 8. appendix , pag. 43 , 44 , &c. in answer to what we say , that our psalms and hymns are spiritual , though precomposed , you say , 1. that such forms are not spiritual worship , because singing in the primitive gospel-times , was from the special gift of the spirit . 2. though ( say you ) the matter of precomposed forms of singing be spiritual yet the heart must be spiritual too , or grace and melody must be in exercise in performing of them : the grace of joy must be raised in the soul to the heighth of melody , and so break forth ; or to that purpose you speak , pag. 44 , 45. answ . 1. we need no more the special gift in singing , to render our singing spiritual , than those special gifts in preaching to render our sermons spiritual . 2. as to have grace in our hearts , not only in the habit , but also in the exercise in singing , we acknowledg it is necessary to a right performance of it : and so 't is in prayer , preaching , and all other spiritual duties of religion . and let me tell you , we need no greater assistance of the spirit in singing , than in praying or rejoicing ; therefore what signifies that which you say pag. 45. viz. the least exercise of true grace in our hearts in prayer , gives essence or being to prayer ; so the least exercise of gracious melodious joy , gives essence to inward singing ? and ( say you ) as we ought not vocally to pray in the publick worship of god in the church , without a sufficient gift of the spirit ; so also we ought not vocally to sing in the church , unless it be by a sufficient gift of the spirit . and seeing we have not such a gift , we are not capable of vocal spiritual singing . and so we must be contented , as you intimate in pag. 46. with the essence of it in our spirits only . answ . by this way of arguing you may lay godly christians under temptations about prayer , especially in the church , because they may plead they have not the gift ; whereas the grace of prayer , viz. a broken heart , is that which god chiefly looks at , and so should we too . this makes no more against singing , than it doth against praying . and thus i must argue upon you , if i have not the special gift of singing , i must content my self with the essence of it in my heart , and yet ( as i have shewed ) the essence of it is not in the heart as it is in the voice ; and so since if i have not the special gift of prayer , i must be contented with the essence of prayer , only heart-prayer , and not pray vocally at all . but you intimate , that none ought to sing but such who are in the full assurance of the love of god. but you might as well say , none ought to rejoice in the lord , nor to praise him , but such only , as well as to say what you do here against their singing who want that assurance . but you hint , in pag. 46. as if we must be satisfied with your essence of singing , viz. inward joy in the heart , till we come to the primitive perfection of divine worship , &c. answ . we doubt not , through grace , but we are come to such perfection of divine worship , as to know what gospel-worship is , and also that we ought not to neglect one ordinance more than another ; because we are not arrived to the height of perfection . i am sure the way you would lead poor souls in , is not to bring them forward towards perfection in worship , but to keep them back , and hinder them in pressing on to that which some have not yet attained unto . moreover , your folly appears too much in calling our singing , an irregular way of worship , unless you had more strength of argument to convince your reader what you say is true . may be , if you had truth on your side , you might have answered like a man : but i am satisfied , all wise men will say , there appears nothing less than argument . in both parts of your book there are many words indeed , but little else as i can see . if what i have said have no more strength of argument and scripture , and good sense in it for singing of psalms , &c. than appears in your book against it , i do intreat my reader to reject what i have said , and esteem it as worth nothing ; but if it be otherwise , viz. upright , even words of truth , o then ye saints receive this ordinance , and let what i have said by the assistance of god's spirit , be as goards , and as nails fastened by the master of assemblies , which are given from one shepherd , prov. 12. 10 , 13. one word more to those texts in paul's epistles , ephes . 5. 19. col. 3. 16. where he enjoins those churches to admonish one another in psalms , hymns , and spiritual songs , &c. can any man suppose in these words the apostle exhorts ministers to preach , and so sing in preaching , or to admonish one another to pray , and so to sing in prayer ? how absurd would it be to affirm either ? why then , say i , he can mean nothing else but this ordinance of singing , &c. object : but say some , did not the lord's people of old in their captivity , say , how can we sing one of the lord's songs in a strange land ? psal . 137. 4. answ . 1. under that dispensation , the lord's people had a special and peculiar right to temporal blessings ; and when they were deprived of them , and in exile , they might not see they had that cause to sing the praises of god. but our promises and privileges are better and more inward , and spiritual : and therefore under the gospel-days , we find the saints sung in the midst of their greatest sufferings ; for as our sufferings do abound in us , so our consolation also aboundeth by christ , 2 cor. 1. 5. 2. i know not but we nevertheless might see cause to refuse , as they did to sing the lord's song , at the taunting and reproachful requests of an insulting enemy ; the lord's people are not to do the lord's work at the devil's instigation . 3. but blessed be god , we are not in exile , we are delivered like men that dreamed ; our liberty and mercies are great , if we do not sin them away . in the last place , consider how acceptable and well-pleasing to god his praises are in a song ; read psal . 69. 30. i will praise the name of god with a song ; and will magnify him with thanksgiving . vers . 31. this also shall please the lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs . two things you may observe from hence . 1. that to sing god's praises , is acceptable to him . 2. that 't is no ceremonial rite , but in it self a moral duty . sacrifices appertained to the ceremonial law , and though acceptable to god in their nature and design , yet moral duties have always had the preference . he hath shewed thee , o man , what is good , ( i. e. that excells , that which god most delights in ) to do justly , love mercy , &c. mic. 6. 8. and this of praising god in a song , seems from hence to be a duty of the same nature ; 't is not only acceptable , but very acceptable , it pleases god better than shadowy ordinances , or the offering of an ox or bullock . the●● few things , brethren , i thought good to add at the close , that you may stick close to this heavenly ordinance , and not be removed by the subtil opposition of any men whatsoever . remember there is no truth of christ but has met with its opposers ; but though we can't as yet agree to sing the praises of god together , yet let us love one another , and let not the practising or non-practising of this duty ( for want of light ) break our communion one with another , nor make a breach in our affections . let us walk as we have attained ; if any be otherwise minded , god may reveal it to them , phil. 3. 15. let us live holy lives ; and not sing god's praises , and soon forget his works ; that so though we can't all sing together on earth , yet may so walk to the praise of his glory , that we may sing his praises together in heaven . finis . some reflections on mr. marlow's undue citations of several learned men ; shewing the genuine and proper signification of the word hymnos . by another hand . the foundation of singing psalms , hymns , and spiritual songs in the publick assembly of the saints , is too firmly laid in scripture , and in the judgment and practice of christians in general , to be shaken by the new notions of some few amongst us , whom i hope the lord in his time will lead into the knowledge of this truth , and make them sensible of their injurous attempts to overthrow and remove it , particularly mr. marlow in his late book and appendix , which are answered in the preceding tract ; and no more is intended in these few pages , but some short remarks on the two first sections of the appendix . in the first whereof he would not have praising god , confined to songs of praise , or vocal and melodious singing . for my part i know not where he will find an antagonist in this point ; for without controversy it will be generally granted , that all creatures , according to their natures and capacities , are obliged to praise their great and bountiful creatour ; and the allowance hereof doth not in the least injure the duty , which he strenuously pleads against . as for his long citation out of the learned dr. owen on heb. 2. 12. to me seems very little for his purpose , for the doctor , after he had made some reflections on the translation of the former part of the verse , saith , in the rest of the words , viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , i. e. in the midst of the church i will sing praise unto thee : the original heb. psal . 22. 24. is expresly render'd ; for though 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be render'd simply to praise , yet it s most frequent use , when it respects god as its object , is to praise by hymns or psalms , as the apostle here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , sibi hymnos canam , i will sing hymnes unto thee ; or , te hymnis celebrabo , i will praise thee with hymns ; which was the principal way of setting forth god's praise under the old testament . here the doctor shews the genuine and proper signification of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; and although the doctor in his exposition of this place , extends the sense of the word to its utmost latitude , that it might include all ways whereby our blessed mediator was to praise the father : yet certainly he never intended to exclude that particular way principally pointed at both in the hebrew and greek word , which we find in the evangelical history so directly and expresly accomplished , mat. 26. 30. mark 14. 26. as were also all other things prophesied concerning him ; yet i grant that the prophecy had not its full and compleat accomplishment therein ; for the design of christ in the whole administration of his mediatorial kingdom , is to set forth the praise and glory of his father ; and every member of his mystical body should concur with him in this work , in all the modes wherein it can possibly be performed ; because god is to be served with all our strength and might . moreover , it is evident that the doctor never intended to undermine or overthrow the duty of singing ; for herein he would have opposed his own judgment , which he hath published to the world in the account he gives of the several parts of gospel-worship , where he makes singing one , though he terms it a fond imagination for any to think that god cannot be praised in the church without it ; and i doubt not but that all sober christians agree with the doctor therein . i shall now pass to ●he second section , and consider some parts of it , which i was desired to take notice of . mr. marlow begins with the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which , whatever he pretends concerning the generality of its signification , most properly denotes a song of praise ; and what he cites out of the learned ainsworth on psal . 3. to favour his purpose , will not serve it at all ; for he there intends nothing less than a song of praise , which is fitly composed to be sung , as will appear to any one who considers the whole paragraph without prejudice ; and this import of the word is agreeable to the common sense of learned men , notwithstanding what is cited to the contrary . his first citation is out of constantin's lexicon , whence he tells us that hymenaeus is a nuptial song . and what if it be , it is altogether impertinent in the present enquiry ; for this is a word of another family , and descends from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a word well known amongst learned anatomists . and if he consults any of them , he may soon know the full meaning of it , and also the reason why hymenaeus is used for a nuptial song . this word being thus dismist , as foreign to our present purpose ; we may consider 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which according to constantine , as cited by him , primarily and chiefly signify an hymn or copy of verses , made to praise , and to sing such an hymn or verse . and as for the latter word , he says also , it is used for saying or pronouncing such an hymn ; and the reason may be , because saying or pronouncing is necessarily included in singing : for singing is but a particular mode of saying or pronouncing . and if it was not thus , i might say it is the common fate of all words to be stretched beyond their prime and most proper signification ; and who can help it , seeing that the wit and fancy of men , are such luxuriant things , that will make bold sometimes , not only with words , but persons too . the object of an hymn , and hymning , according to their usage in prophane authors , hath been extended , with the like liberty , both to men and things , though the primary object was their gods. now i shall pass by two or three lines of unintelligible stuff , viz. hymno , etiam kateuphemismon pro conqueror , i. e. hymno ; also kateuphemismon is put for conqueror , to complain , only with this caution to the author , that when he makes his next essay to shew his scholarship in print , he would take better care , lest he meet with a more severe observator . as to what he further saith of the use of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to reproach , to accuse , to complain , &c. i readily allow ; but then he must take notice that all this was done in verse , composed and sung to these ends ; and the use of the word to these ends , doth not at all prejudice its primary signification , which is to praise with songs . and whatever the quick-sighted author thinks he sees in constantine or sympson concerning its signifyng simply to praise , for my part i can see no such thing , either in them or other authors , which i shall now inspect . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is render'd by scapula , carmine celebro , praise in verse , hymnis decanto , i sing in hymns : and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 celebratio quae fit hymnis ●el carmine , i. e. praising by hymns or verse ; ●ecantatio laudum , a singing of praises , greg. naz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is render'd by scap. hymnus , carmen , i. e. hymn or verse , and sometimes peculiarly signifies carmen in honorem dei , verse composed for the honour of god. thus we find 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . i. e. a hymn to the praise of apollo . hymnus est cantilena conti●ens laudem dei , i. e. an hymn is a song containing the praise of god. minsh . the same author derives it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which hesych varies by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which properly signifies to sing . vid. mart. lex & gl. cyril . isid . lib. 6. 19. now i shall enquire into the usage of this word in the holy scripture , and shall follow his method therein . the first instance which he gives as serviceable to his design is , psal . 78. 63. where he supposes the lxxii translators were not acquainted with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as a song of praise , or marriage-song , which is more than he can tell ; for it is very probable they mistook the radix 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , he grieved , or rather 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he lamented , for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , did not lament . of this you see more in musc . on the place . but such as took the radix 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 have translated the words otherwise , as jun. and term. non epithalami● celebratae sunt , i. e. were not honoured with a wedding-song ; and to this sense the words are render'd in six or seven translations more here the antecedent is put for the consequent ▪ viz. praising or honouring with a nuptial-song for marriage it self . hence appears the unskilfulness of this author , and his ignorance in imposing upon his reader . next he comes to mr. l. in his critica sacra , where you will find mr. l. giving this sense of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that it is carnem sed peculiariter in honorem dei , i. e. verse , but peculiarly designed for the honour of god. this is agreeable to what was said before from other authors . and further to confirm this sense of the word , i might here add , zanch. daven . beza , &c. then he proceeds to the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which he renders hymnum cano i sing an hymn ; this word is used mat. 26. 30. mark 14. 26. acts 16. 25. heb. 2. 12. and in all these places is rendred by beza ( who was eminently skilled in the greek tongue ) after the same manner , and on mat. 26. 30. he commends erasmus for correcting the vulgar latin , in changing dicto hymno , the hymn being said , to cùm cecinissent hymnum , i. e. when they had sung an hymn . on ver . 20. he gives an account out of josephus of the jews manner in eating the passeover , and closing it with an hymn , consisting of psalm 113. and the five immediately following , which the jews call their magnum hallelujah , their great song of praise to god ; and it is the opinion of many learned men , that christ sang this with his disciples , tho grotius thinks that christ made another on that occasion . now as to the three authors mr. m. mentions out of mr. l. who differ in their version of these words , we may justly suppose that by praises , they mean praises in verse , and by saying praises , they mean such a saying as was accompanied with singing , otherwise their rendering may be censured as improper . now mr. m. proceeds to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 isa . 25. 1. which is derived of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and in the conjugation hiphil , signifies hath praised , or confessed ; and , as it is in other words , the sense must be governed by the context ; and so in this place the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tho render'd by arias montanus , i will confess , yet if he doth not mean such a confession as was to be made by singing the song of praise to god , for his manifold benefits bestowed upon his church , his version is not so agreeable to the context , as that of the septuagint , who render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , i will sing praise ; and the like may be said of his version , isa . 12. 4. what is said in the third paragraph , and beginning of the fourth , concerning the rendring those words before mentioned , and some others , is of little importance in clearing the present controversy , seeing it is granted already that god may be praised without singing , tho singing is a principal way of setting forth the praise of god , as dr. owen saith . and certainly that which is the principal way of praising god , ought not to be excluded by christians ; neither can we think that these translators had any design to do it , seeing they use such words as include this as well as other ways of praising god. and whereas mr. m. thinks he hath got clear and undeniable evidence for his simple praising god only , he hath got none at all , unless three be not contained in the number four , because one is . solomon saith , the wringing of the nose brings forth blood ; and straining the words of these translators , may bring forth a sense which they never intended . i see no such restrictive terms used by them , which may reasonably be thought to restrain the duty of praising god to the particular mode of this author ; but if they did intend it , i could ( if the bounds of my paper would admit it ) produce six or seven translators who are generally esteemed by learned men very accurate , who have render'd the words for that way of praising god which is pleaded for in the foregoing treatise . the author which mr. m. cites out of marlorate on mat. 26. 30. pretends it is uncertain with what words they praised god ; that is , whether it was with the common passeover-hymn , or some other of christ's own , which might be more sutable to the occasion ; and whether they sang this praise , or spake it simply , the following words of the author not being well render'd by mr. tymme , i shall set down , they are these , graecum verbum laudem quidem , maxime quae deo debetur , includit ; non autem necessario evincit , quòd cecinerint , i. e. the greek word indeed includes praise , chiefly that which is due to god. but undoubtedly it doth evince , that they sang , 1. from the genuine signification of the original word . and , 2. from the current of learned men who go this way . to conclude ; i sincerely desire that the lord would make this friend sensible of the evil and vanity of this attempt , to remove out of the church this part of religious worship , which hath been kept up so many ages , both under the law , and under the gospel . finis . advertisement . there is in the press , and will be published next week , a treatise intituled , spiritual melody , containing some hundred of sacred scripture-hymns , chiefly on metaphorical scriptures , as they lie in a book intituled , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a key to open scripture metaphors , ( formerly published by this author , with many others on several occasions ) as they have been sung in divers congregations . composed and now published by b. keach , at the earnest request and desire of several christian friends . printed for j. hancock , and to be sold at his shop in castle-alley , on the west side of the royal exchange in cornhil . there is almost ready for the press , an exposition on all the parables , and express similitudes in the four evangelists . it will be above one hundreed sheets : the proposals whereof , with a specimen , which will contain two sermons , ( an exemplar of the whole work ) will be on the parabolical saying of our saviour in mat. 12. 43. when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man , &c. written by the foresaid author ; and will ( god willing ) be published in a very short time . a medium betwixt two extremes wherein it is proved that the whole first adam was condemned and the whole second adam justified : being a sermon lately preached on rom. 8:1 and now published to prevent the further controversy (in one main point) about justification : to which are added reflections on some passages in mr. clark's new book called scripture-justification / by benjamin keach. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1698 approx. 97 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 27 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-01 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47601 wing k77 estc r29062 10804927 ocm 10804927 45979 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47601) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 45979) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1387:18) a medium betwixt two extremes wherein it is proved that the whole first adam was condemned and the whole second adam justified : being a sermon lately preached on rom. 8:1 and now published to prevent the further controversy (in one main point) about justification : to which are added reflections on some passages in mr. clark's new book called scripture-justification / by benjamin keach. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. clark, samuel, 1626-1701. scripture justification. 52 p. printed for andrew bell, london : 1698. reproduction of original in the union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng bible. -n.t. -romans v, 18 -sermons. justification -sermons. 2005-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-04 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2006-04 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a medium betwixt two extremes . wherein it is proved that the whole first adam was condemned , and the whole second adam justified . being a sermon lately preached on rom. 8.1 . and now published to prevent the further controversy ( in one main point ) about justification . to which are added reflections on some passages in mr. clark's new book , called scripture-justification . by benjamin keach . rom. 5.18 . therefore as by the offence of one , judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; even so by the righteousness of one , the free gift came upon all men to justification of life . london , printed for andrew bell , at the cross-keys and bible in cornhill , 1698. to the reader . my preaching upon this subject was occasioned by what i met with from a gracious person 's mouth ( who is a member of the church under my charge ) who seemed very uneasy in her communion , because in my preaching she said , tho i hold forth the doctrine of free grace , and exalt christ , yet do positively maintain that the elect are under wrath , or in a lamentable state before calling , or before they are united to christ by the holy spirit , or are in a state of vnion with him : which might i fear be occasioned through a mistake of that doctrine some in this city of late so much insist on , viz. justification and vnion with christ before the spirit ( the bond of that vnion ) is received ; not that any of our brethren , i hope , that preach that doctrine do believe that the elect are not under the sentence of condemnation and wrath while they abide in the first adam : tho i fear they do not so carefully distinguish as they ought between our fundamental and virtual justification in christ , as our head and representative , and our actual or personal justification when we are united to him . and finding ill use made of that doctrine , i have been perswaded to publish the first sermon i preached upon this occasion , not knowing how far this notion might spread amongst weak and unwary hearers , and having some hope this may be ( through the blessing of god ) a prevention of it . one thing i cannot but bewail , i.e. that because we may differ perhaps in some respect from that doctrine before mentioned , that we must therefore be charged with arminianism , which error we abhor , and any other that tends to becloud or darken the doctrine of free justification by christ alone , without works or inherent righteousness . none have reason to think that i favour in the least the arminian or baxterian errors , considering what i have lately published on the great doctrine of justification , in two sermons on rom. 4.5 . which doctrine i have farther confirmed in those sermons preached from the text this is grounded upon , viz. rom. 8.1 . ( this being only the first ) in which the nature of our mystical vnion with christ is opened , and the sweet consolation that flows therefrom to all believers largly applied . reader , just as this sermon was going into the press , i met with mr. samuel clark's new book , intituled scripture-justification , and have made short remarks on some things he hath said : in a time of common invasion every man should take to his arms ; they need not wait for orders , as one notes ; for by this man's doctrine all is struck at . some think the difference between us and others who are unjustly called antinomians , consists more in words or terms than otherwise ; and i hope it is so : however if i differ from them in any thing , i cannot help it ; i have here asserted what i in my heart do believe , and i shall leave it to the censure of all my brethren , and others , with my earnest prayers that love , vnion , humility , and charity may be more prest after , which certainly is much wanting among us ; and remain thine to serve thee in the gospel , according to that small measure of light and ability received , horsly-down , in freemans-lane , 〈…〉 benja . keach . sermon i. rom . viii . 1. there is now therefore no condemnation to them which are in christ jesus , who walk not after the flesh , but after the spirit . in this epistle to the romans , the great apostle of the gentiles labours chiefly in the general to do two things . first , to establish the saints to whom he wrote , in the doctrine of justification by christ alone . secondly , to excite or stir up all justified persons to sanctification or holiness of life . and that he might effectually do the first , he in the three first chapters discovers the dismal state of all , both jews and gentiles , as considered in the first adam , or the condition of every soul by nature , and the weakness and insufficiency of the law by reason of man's pravity to obtain justification and eternal life thereby ; insomuch that the jews were in no better state than the gentiles , all being gone out of the way , and the whole world become guilty before god. but to revive their sinking hopes , he then displays the white flag of peace , through the free-grace of god in jesus christ , that tho the law pronounces nothing but wrath and condemnation to every soul of man , and also the remainders of sin , or the law in our members , doth distress and sorely afflict believers themselves ; yet he shews us that through jesus christ we have a blessed victory over the law of sin and death , so that sin cannot expose a true believer to eternal wrath , and that the law of god ( which holds all unbelievers down under guilt ) can no more oblige believers to eternal condemnation , because jesus christ in our nature hath answered all the demands , and born the penalty thereof . and from hence he brings in the words of our text , as the profitable use or application of that doctrine he had so well proved . there is now therefore no condemnation to them which are in christ jesus , who walk not after the flesh , but after the spirit . in my text you have three parts : i. a comfortable and consolatory proposition ; there is now no condemnation , &c. ii. a description of the state of the persons to whom this cordial of comfort belongs , viz. to them which are in christ jesus . iii. the character of the persons , or their qualification or property , as to the frame of their hearts , and the course of their lives ; viz. they walk not after the flesh , but after the spirit . or you may consider the former part of the text thus , viz. i. the subjects spoken of , them which are in christ jesus . ii. the predicate , or privilege asserted , viz. there is now no condemnation . we will consider the terms . there is no condemnation ; i.e. no sentence of divine wrath , no eternal punishment . 1. god pronounceth them justified and acquitted , and so for ever free from condemnation . 2. the justice of god acquits them , and hath nothing to lay to their charge , they being in christ jesus . 3. the condemnation of the law cannot reach them , it can't hurt them , because they are delivered from the curse thereof . none else have any power , who shall lay any thing to the charge of god's elect ? i.e. such of them that are called , and are united to jesus christ ; for before that both law and justice could charge them . it is god that justifieth ; who is he that shall condemn ? it is christ that died . who can arrest , impeach , accuse , find guilty , and condemn such ? object . perhaps some may say , ( 1. ) the devil may both accuse them and condemn them . ( 2. ) wicked men may traduce and condemn them . ( 3. ) and through satan's temptations , such that are in christ jesus may accuse and condemn themselves . answ . what of this ? for altho satan , wicked men , and their own hearts may lay many things to their charge , and so pass a false judgment upon them ; yet since god justifies them , neither law nor justice can condemn them , and none else can do it : let all the devils of hell condemn them , and all wicked men on earth , nay tho many good men should ignorantly accuse and condemn them ( as job's three friends dealt by him ) yet they stand justified persons before god. the apostle doth not say , there is no sin in them which are in christ jesus , nor any thing worthy or deserving condemnation : nor doth he say , there is no affliction , no correction , no fatherly chastisements to them which are in christ ; but there is no condemnation . 't is one thing to be chastned , and another to be condemned : tho all legal guilt is for ever gone , yet many infirmities may attend such as are in christ jesus ; and tho god punisheth them not as an angry judg , yet he may correct them as an offended father : when we are judged we are chastned of the lord , that we should not be condemned with the world. tho god is not so severe and unjust to condemn them , yet he is so wise , so holy , and so faithful as to correct them . [ now ] this [ now ] refers ( as some think ) to what precedes , others take it as an adverb of time , i.e. in time past it was otherwise ; once they who are now in christ jesus were in the first adam , dead and condemned adam ; and were under the law , and children of wrath by nature , as others ; and so under the sentence of condemnation . but now being transplanted into jesus christ , or into the second adam , they are actually freed , and for ever acquitted and delivered from condemnation , ( as were all those also under the law , when they were in christ ) which walk not after the flesh , but after the spirit . these are the happy persons , and this is their character that are in christ jesus . let me note here three things , 1. here is an account of their special vocation ; they are in christ jesus . 2. here is implied their justification ; there is now no condemnation . 3. here is comprehended also their sanctification ; who walk not after the flesh , but after the spirit . negatively , they walk not after the flesh , they are not unsanctified or unholy persons , they lead not ungodly lives ; they are not under the power and dominion of sin , nor carried away whither ever carnal affections would lead them . affirmatively , but after the spirit ; they are influenced by the holy spirit , they follow the dictates of the spirit ; tho there is flesh in them , much corruption in them , yet they walk not after the flesh , they resist sin , mortify sin , or have crucified sin , with the affections and lusts ; they walk in a holy course of life , and not as they did in times past : they live according to the rule of the new creature . note here by the way , that negative holiness is not enough ; we must not only forsake sin , but follow after holiness , and bring forth the fruits of righteousness ; not only cease from doing evil , but learn to do well . therefore , wherefore ? look back to the precedent chapters , particularly to chap. 7.25 . i thank god , through jesus christ : tho i have a body of sin in me that makes me cry out , and tho it be thus also with all believers , yet christ hath delivered me and them from the guilt , the power and slavery thereof ; there is now therefore no condemnation to them that are in christ jesus , who walk not , &c. and as this therefore may look backward to what precedes , so it may look forward to what succeeds , ver . 3. but first take notice of the 2d verse , for the law of the spirit of life in christ jesus hath delivered me from the law of sin and death . brethren , the law of sin and the law of god are opposites ; now the remainders of sin , or indwelling sin , the apostle calls , in chap. 7. the law of sin and death , or the law in the members , &c. by the law of sin therefore is doubtless meant the power and rule of sin : god's law is no where called the law of sin ; no , god forbid , the law is holy , just and good . by the law of the spirit of life in christ , i understand the root of all grace in the person of christ , which is made over to believers by the spirit in their mystical union ; in which sense christ is not only made to us wisdom and righteousness , but sanctification ( also ) and redemption . brethren , of that fulness of grace , or of the spirit which is in christ , we do not only all receive , and grace for grace , but the grace and spirit in him is ours , as he is our root or head. 't is worthy to be noted that the apostle brings in what he speaks in ver . 2 , and 3. to confirm what he speaks in ver . 1. yet i conclude what he speaks , ver . 2. for the law of the spirit of life in christ jesus , &c. refers to what he speaks in the close of the 1st verse , who walk not after the flesh , &c. and that in the 3d verse , refers to the former part of the 1st verse , for what the law could not do , &c. the law could not justify us , acquit us , discharge us from condemnation ; but contrariwise , through our inability to keep it , that condemns us : and so he illustrates and confirms his consolatory proposition of our free discharge , and justification by jesus christ , in ver . 1. by that in ver . 3. in the 2d verse , the spirit is set forth two ways . 1. by the subject , in whom it is radically ; i.e. in christ jesus . 2. by the property ; i.e. it is the spirit of life , which in our union flows to us , as sap from the root ; that so all the branches in the true olive might be made alive , and bring forth fruit to god , or lead holy lives . so much as to the parts , scope , and explanation of the terms of our text. from hence i shall observe this one proposition , viz. doct. that all those that are in christ jesus , or have obtained actual vnion with him , are justified persons , and for ever delivered from condemnation . in speaking to this doctrine , i shall , i. by way of premise , lay down four propositions . ii. shew you what it is to be in christ , or open the nature of the soul's union with the lord jesus . iii. shew you why such who are in jesus christ shall not , cannot come into a state of condemnation . iv. shew you what kind of persons they are which are in christ jesus . v. apply it . i. the first proposition is this , viz. that all mankind , even the elect as well as others , are under condemnation , before their actual vnion with jesus christ . 1. this i shall prove . 2. apply . first , because the elect as 〈◊〉 as others , fell in the first adam ; and by virtue of the fall they were brought under condemnation ; therefore as by the offence of one , judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; even so &c. not one soul of all his posterity escaped ; the sentence , judgment , and condemnation past not upon adam for his first sin as a single person , but as he was a common head , a publick person , or the representative of all mankind that proceed from his loins : that sentence that past upon adam unto condemnation , as he was a publick person , passed upon all men in him , even the elect as well as others ; but the sentence passed upon adam unto condemnation as he was a publick person ; therefore that sentence passed upon all men in him , even upon the elect as well as others . secondly , all men , even the elect as well as others , before faith , or their actual union with jesus christ , are under sin and horrid guilt : they are all gone out of the way , they are together become unprofitable , there is none that doeth good , no not one . mind what the apostle affirms , ver . 9. for we have before proved both jews and gentiles that they are all under sin ; that is , under the power , guilt and condemnation of sin. i am , my brethren , but a doing of that which paul laboured to do . but further to prove and demonstrate that this is so . 1st . evident it is , that all are born in sin , all come into the world with the stain and guilt of original sin upon them ; behold i was shapen in iniquity , and in sin did my mother conceive me . moreover , how doth paul aggravate this sin , and bewail himself for it ? this is beloved , the fountain and root of all sin ; our corrupt nature proceedeth from original sin , the first transgression : can man be clean that is born of a woman ? adam begat a son in his own likeness , i.e. a sinful creature like guilty , and unclean as himself ; not in god's likeness , having his image , resembling him , no , but contrariwise , was more like unto satan , and resembling him than god. there are three things in this sin , as it is noted by a worthy writer . 1. a particular act which he did , namely the breaking the law of the first covenant . 2. the legal guilt that flowed from that act both upon his own person , and upon all his posterity by imputation . 3. that natural pravity and corruption of our whole nature in soul and body ; the whole man being defiled . and from hence comes wrath and condemnation upon all men. now , brethren , let me here add one thing to your consideration , viz. tho adam fell by this sin in his own person under condemnation ( as well as we in him ) yet afterwards when he believed and received by faith the free promise of god , in the seed of the woman , he came into a justified state : adam no doubt was an elect person , the promise of christ being directly made to him ( who was also a figure of him that was to come . ) but now it would follow that if the elect were never under the sentence of wrath and condemnation , then adam notwithstanding what i have said , was not ; and if adam was not in his own person under it for his first sin , then none of his seed or posterity were . but how absurd and contrary such a notion is to truth , i leave to all mens consideration . 2ly . as all men are under sin and guilt by original transgression , so they are also by their own actual sins : the wages of sin is death , yea , eternal death ; for there is no difference , for all have sinned and come short of the glory of god. originally there is no difference in respect of sin and guilt , nor actually neither between jews and gentiles , the elect and reprobates , in respect of their state before grace . 3ly . this also further appears , because the elect before they are in christ are by nature the children of wrath as well as others . our sinful nature is the proper object of god's wrath , every one having a natural aversness to god in them , yea an antipathy to him , and enmity in their carnal minds against him : and hence also ▪ it is said , that god hates and is angry with all the workers of iniquity . thirdly , all men before grace and union with jesus christ are in a state of condemnation , because they are all under the covenant of works ; and if all unbelievers are under the covenant of works , then they are under guilt and wrath. now we know that whatsoever the law saith , it saith to them who are under law , that every mouth might be stopped , and all the world may become guilty before god ; that is , obnoxious to god's just judgment and condemnation . christ is the end of the law to every one that believeth : not to any other , not to any one that believeth not . if believers only are in the new covenant or covenant of grace , then all that are in a state of unbelief are in the covenant of works , and so under the curse and condemnation of the law : for all must be in one or the other covenant , and in the first or second adam . brethren , the sentence of the law lies upon the elect before they are in christ ; tho christ hath received their discharge for them , yet in their own persons they are not acquitted . sirs , christ came only to redeem them that were under the law , and the curse thereof : and now if the elect were not under the law , and the curse , who were they that he came to redeem ? it appears they were not the elect ( by this strange notion ) nor indeed if it be , as some hint , the elect had no need of redemption ; for if not under guilt , wrath , and condemnation , what redemption did they need ? but when the fulness of time came , god sent forth his son made of a woman , made under the law , to redeem them that were under the law , that we might receive the adoption of sons . fourthly , that the elect as well as others , before union , &c. are under the curse of the law , and condemnation , appears , because christ bore the curse of the law , and was condemned for them , or in their stead ; if they were not under the curse of the law , why did god lay jesus christ our surety under the curse thereof ? christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law ; being made a curse for us . how redeemed from that which we were never under ! now there is a twofold curse of the law. 1. an original curse in adam ; this past upon him ( as i have proved ) and upon all men in him . 2. an actual curse , or a curse for all actual sin which remains upon all whilst they abide under the law : for as many as are for the works of the law , are under the curse ; for it is written , cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them . thus by our actual sins we were brought also under this curse , is evident . obj. but doth not paul say , christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law ? ans . 1. it appears such whom he hath redeemed , &c. were once under it ; and if they were delivered before they believed , 't is necessary that such who assert that , should assign the time when they were delivered . paul tells the saints when they were delivered from sin , guilt , and the curse ; being then made free from sin : then , when ? why , when they believed , and received christ and his holy doctrine , and obeyed it from the heart . 2. it is evident that paul speaks it of believers , even of such as had received the spirit of adoption ; and so could call god father . 3. the price may be paid for the redemption of captives , and yet they may not presently be delivered , but may remain in bondage , in slavery , and lie in chains : a surety may satisfy the law for a criminal , or for a debtor , yea pay the utmost farthing ; but he may notwithstanding lie under the sentence of death , or remain in prison for a time , and not have his personal discharge . the sacrifice may be offered up , and an atonement may be made , but the blood may not be sprinkled ; the slaying the sacrifice is one thing , and the sprinkling the blood is another . so the atonement made for us by jesus christ , which is the price and meritorious cause of our redemption and justification , is one thing , and our receiving the atonement or the application of his blood to our personal and actual discharge from sin , guilt and condemnation , is another thing : for if when we were enemies , we were reconciled to god by the death of his son ; much more being reconciled , we shall be saved by his life . we grant god was not only made reconcilable by the death of his son , but by his death god was fully reconciled ; that is he received a full satisfaction by that one offering : faith adds nothing to the merits of christ's blood , or meritorious sacrifice , but it is by his life , by his intercession , that it is made effectual or efficacious unto us , who pleads with god for the spirit , which he purchased also for his elect , that so the saving benefits and blessings might be applied to them : and therefore the apostle adds in the next verse , and not only so , but we also joy in god , through our lord jesus christ , by whom we have now received the atonement . god hath , as if paul should have said , through christ's intercession given us a free and personal discharge purchased for us ; he hath given us faith to receive the atonement . the particle now hath its emphasis , denoting the privilege of all such as believe ; and hence it is that we glory in tribulation : we are now actually acquitted and for ever delivered from condemnation . sirs , since the strict time of the laying down the price of our redemption was not the time when many of the elect were actually acquitted and justified , why should it be asserted to be the time when any of them were ? for those believers that lived and died from adam till christ came , were justified , and went to heaven before the sacrifice was offered , and the atonement actually made : the father trusted the son according to that holy compact that was between them , christ covenanting and engaging that he would die for them . and now as adam received the atonement when he believed , and not till then ; so we when we are in christ , believe , do receive the atonement also , and not before : for at the same time , and upon the same terms , they under the law received it , we under the gospel-dispensation do receive it : by time i mean when they had , and we have actual union with christ , and believe , or do receive the spirit , the bonds of this union . brethren , tho all in the first adam were fundamentally and representatively condemned in him , his sin being imputed so to all his off-spring ; yet none are actually condemned until they actually exist and partake of his corrupt nature : so in the second adam all the elect were fundamentally and representatively justified in him , his righteousness being imputed so to all his spiritual seed , or off-spring ; yet none of them are actually and personally justified until they are united to him , and partake of his divine nature , fifthly , all men , the elect as well as others , are under condemnation before grrce , or actual union with christ , because it is positively said , that he that believeth not , is condemned ; and the wrath of god abideth upon him . the law condemns him , let him be who he will , even every soul that believes not savingly in jesus christ ; and it remains upon him because he believes not , or because he continues in the first adam , in condemned adam , and is not transplanted into the second adam , jesus christ : nay , and his unbelief binds all his sins , and the sentence upon him ; not believing is not the first disease , but it is the refusing the remedy . those stung with fiery serpents were mortally wounded , that was their disease ; and if any would not , did not look up to the brazen serpent , that was the reason they died , in respect of their refusing the remedy ; but their being stung was that which kill'd them . so 't is sin that is the breach of the law of god , which is the disease , and the cause why sinners perish ; all are condemned already , and their refusing of christ offered in the gospel for their cure , aggravates their sin and condemnation : and it leaves such that finally persist in unbelief , incurable for ever . sixthly , all before they are in christ are under condemnation , because the holy ghost frequently ascribes our actual or personal justification to faith ; and can't we read those scriptures without offence ? or do any think they understand this point better than paul , or the other apostles ? being justified by faith , we have peace with god , &c. therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith , &c. knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law , but by the faith of jesus christ : even we have believed in jesus christ , that we might be justified by the faith of christ , &c. and again he saith , that we might be justified by faith. in him all that believe are justified from all things , &c. he that believeth hath the son , and he that believeth not hath not the son , but the wrath of god abideth on him . brethren , where is it said in the scripture that any person was justified that believed not , or whilst an unbeliever , or before he believed ? and is it not good , nay best , to keep to the form of sound words ? for tho it is said that god justifies the vngodly , yet they are not ungodly when justified : true , that excludes all previous qualifications to faith ; but not that god justifies an unbeliever that is in his sins in the first adam , obj. is it not christ and his righteousness that which justifies us , or is the matter of our justification ? will ye make faith to be a cause , or the condition of our justification before god ? answ . no , by no means ; tho i know some learned men , and sound in the faith , seem to hint as if faith was a condition of our justification . but how that which god himself gives to us by his free and absolute promises , can be a condition of the covenant , or of our justification , i see not : that which is part of the covenant on god's part , can't be the condition of it on our part . also they call faith the instrumental cause of justification , which we must leave them to explain ( they mean , i think , but as the hand that applies a plaister is a cause of the cure. ) we must say with a late learned author , faith is no qualifying condition , nor any procuring cause of our justification ; tho without faith god declares no man a justified person . 2. faith doth not cause or render the satisfaction of christ any ways the more satisfactory unto god ; for god was as much satisfied in christ for his elect before faith as after , tho the satisfaction , merits and righteousness of christ , are not applied so as the man is pronounced a justified person until he is united to christ by the spirit , and so is help'd to believe on him ; faith being the hand that receives , or that apprehends jesus christ . brethren , the holy spirit in our union with christ , puts upon us the robe of righteousness , which was not upon us before we obtained that spiritual union ; it is offered unto all , but it is upon all them that believe . all our orthodox divines agree with us , that faith , neither as a habit , or grace , or as an act , much less in respect of the fruits thereof , justifies us : when therefore 't is said we are justified by faith , it intends not any moral or physical causality in faith as a qualification , but only by virtue of the object it apprehends . mr. bradford that holy martyr saith , not the action it self of believing , as it is a quality in man , doth so deserve , but because it taketh that dignity and virtue from the object jesus christ ▪ we do not mean , that faith by it self , and of it self doth justify us , which is only as an instrument whereby we apprehend christ who is our justice . faith was accounted to abraham for righteousness , not the action by which , but that which he did believe ; or faith not in respect of it self apprehending , but in respect of the object apprehended . faith justifies a sinner in the sight of god , not because of those other graces that do always accompany it , or of good works , which are the fruits thereof , nor as if the grace of faith , or any act thereof were imputed to him for justification ; but only as an instrument by which he receiveth and applieth christ and his righteousness . for any to say otherwise , is to render faith to be part of our reconciliation or satisfaction to god , which is to lessen the merits of christ , and take the crown from his head , and make justification not to be by grace alone , or by christ alone . faith we know is the creatures act , tho given of god , or a grace bestowed upon us , by which we are helped so to do ; yet with the heart man bel●eveth , &c. the doctrine of some men about faith justifying the sinner , tends to bring in a new covenant of works , i.e. a mild law of faith , and sincere obedience in the stead of the severe law of perfect obedience , and plainly renders the satisfaction and righteousness of christ defective or insufficient ; as if faith was part of our justifying righteousness , or as if we were not fully reconciled to god by the death of his son , but that he was only reconcileable ; and that it is faith and sincere obedience indeed , which compleats that reconciliation . brethren , faith , i say again , is said to justify us only in respect of the object jesus christ , whom it apprehended ; and it is no part of the matter which doth justify us ( the righteousness of christ being alone the material cause of our justification ) nor doth faith add any thing to christ's satisfaction , or to his righteousness which alone is imputed to us to our justification before god. tho we say that righteousness is not imputed to the actual and personal justification of any man till he has actual union with christ ; yet i deny that faith in order of nature is before union ( or at least before the reception of the spirit in order to union ) tho not as to time ; for christ takes hold of us before we can take hold of him ; also faith is a fruit of the spirit ; and sure the seed must be sown before there can be fruit. we are passive in regeneration , but not in the act of faith. but when a poor sinner receives the spirit , then it is that he in his own person is declared and pronounced righteous ; he being in christ is pardoned , and actually acquitted and discharged from that legal guilt , or from that obligation he lay under to condemnation in the first adam , the sentence being then taken off , and he loosed from those fetters and chains by which he was before bound ; and this therefore is more no doubt than simply justified in his own conscience . for tho christ as our surety when he rose from the dead , received a full discharge for us ; yet until we are united by the spirit unto him , by which faith is wrought in our souls , and our eyes are inlightned , we have not this great blessing made over to us . mind that passage of the apostle again , by whom now we have received the atonement . now the case is altered , now we are in christ jesus . brethren , we have not the portion until we have the person ; now the law 's sentence and condemnation can no more reach us ; now that husband is dead , that cruel husband , and we are married unto another ; now we are actually acquitted ; or not till now personally justified . some add justified foro dei , or in god's sight : but so expressing it , i fear hath clouded the matter , because known to god , before him , or in his sight were all his works from everlasting . justified before god may be taken two ways . ( 1. ) in distinction from that before men , or in a man 's own conscience : if they mean that , i grant it . ( 2. ) in respect had to that sight he hath of things ; who calls things , and seeth things that are not , as if they were . as abraham is called the father of many nations , when he was not then the father of one isaac . god saw us in the first adam condemned , and in the second adam justified , at one and the same time , even from eternity : but will it follow from thence that we were both actually condemned and actually justified from eternity ? yet as our annotators note concerning abraham , he was the father of many nations in god's sight , or before him ; who , as paul adds , quickneth the dead , and that calleth things that are not as if they were . will any say , as to matter of fact , that thing is , when god's word says it is not ? now they affirm this , because it was so to god , or before him ; who beholds things long before they are , or do exist , or have a being . so then , my brethren , the controversy ( if there be any ) lies not in the case of justification , in respect had to what a sight god hath of it , or how matters are before his eyes , before whom or in whose sight all things were done from eternity , which were not actually done until things , and persons , in time did , or do actually exist . but it lies in this , viz. when , or at what time a sinner is pronounced a righteous person , being actually pardoned , acquitted , and discharged from condemnation , or personally justified as to matter of fact. 3. brethren , that righteousness by which we are justified is call'd a gift . do we receive the righteousness of christ , before we received christ himself ? moreover , certainly no man receives christ till he receives the spirit of christ . now the apostle declares expresly , that when we receive grace ( at leastwise in the seed ) then also we receive the gift of righteousness ; they that receive abundance of grace , and the gift of righteousness , &c. from the whole it is evident , that until we do receive christ , and have union with him , we receive not his righteousness , or are not personally justified , but are under the condemnation of the law. seventhly , moreover , this further will appear , because justification of our persons makes a relative change ( tho not a real change ) a relative change is a change of the state of the person , viz. he that was dead , dead in law , is brought into a state of life ; there is , my brethren , the life of justification , and the life of sanctification ; i mean the former , viz. the life of justification : this thy brother was dead , and is alive again ; and was lost , and is found . he that was a child of wrath is now become a child of god : such who were not god's people , are now his people . he that was condemned , is now actually justified . but if we were delivered from condemnation before we were in christ jesus , and so personally justified , this act of justification makes no such relative change ; for then it will follow that the elect were never dead in law , but alive , and in a good state when unbelievers , and gross sinners , swearers , drunkards , whoremongers , thieves , and what not ; for such were some of you : and not the children of wrath before , but the children of god ; and not condemned , but justified ; not under the law , but under grace . or else this absurdity will follow , viz. that a man may be dead and alive , a child of wrath and yet a child of god ; be actually condemned , and yet be actually justified , at one and the same time . obj. the elect we say are not justified in their own consciences , or have not the evidence of it until they believe . they were acquitted and justified before , but they did not know it . ans . this will not help , nor alter the case in the least ; the purport of this is , i.e. my state was good , but i did not know it ; i was alive , a child of god and justified , but did not know it , or had not the feeling or sensible comfort and evidence of it in my own soul ; i had a personal right and title to the eternal inheritance , but the deeds and evidence were not in my own sight . brethren , it is one thing to have a thing in my own actual possession , and another thing to know i have it . i am not a speaking of what a sight god might have of men , or how he sees , or how things are before him ; before whom , or in whose sight the world was from eternity ; but of things that actually be , or do actually exist , and take hold of persons , &c. the decree and purpose of god without the execution of it , brings nothing actually to be or to exist : tho his decree doth render the thing certain to be in time . i deny not that fundamental , and representative justification of the elect in christ their head , or as a common person , which is before faith , which lies in christ making full satisfaction for all their sins , and meriting faith for them . i also grant a federal union of the elect with christ , as our surety and blessed sponsor , from eternity , who also then received a grant of a discharge for them from condemnation , upon his holy compact and covenant with the father , on the account of what he was to do and suffer , which made justification and salvation sure for them all , see 2 tim. 1.9 . tit. 1.2 . i say , it was sure for them , 1. by god's eternal and unchangable decree and purpose . 2. by virtue of that covenant made between the father and the son , in behalf of the elect , from eternity . 3. and also by the death and resurrection of christ , for christ was actually justified when he rose from the dead . now we grant that he was not justified as a single , but as a publick person , viz. as the head and representative of all the elect. see what a reverend author says : for this was a legal acquittance given to christ for all our sins , and so to us also considered as in him , his death was but the satisfaction and payment ; but this is the first act of absolution , yea and it is the original act which is upon record between god and christ ; and our justification and atonement ( when we are justified by faith in christ ) is but a copy fetch'd from this roll and court-sentence then pronounced . but notwithstanding this , i say , tho christ was thus justified , and we virtually in him , when he arose from the dead , and he received for us an actual discharge as our surety , yet the elect do not receive an actual discharge , or are not in their own persons acquitted or pronounced justified and righteous persons , until they have actual union with christ : and such as call this a contradiction , do but betray their own ignorance . take the said doctor again in what he farther says , viz. saith he , lest there be a mistake , let me add this , that it is necessary that we be justified in our own persons , by faith ( notwithstanding this former act thus legally passed ) whereby we lay hold upon what god did thus before for us in christ , to the end that god upon our believing , may , according to his own rules , justify his justifying of us unto all the world ; which until we do believe he could not do : for according to the revealed rules of his word ( which he professeth to proceed by at the latter day ) there is a curse and sentence of condemnation pronounced against us , under which we stand till he shall take it off by giving us faith , unto which he hath in the same word made the promise of justifying us in our own persons as before he had done in christ . yet still notwithstanding , so as altho when we first believe , then only justification is actually and personally applied to us , &c. thus the doctor , which i agree with . eighthly , all men are in a state of condemnation before they are in christ , or have actual union with him , doth appear , because ministers in preaching the gospel are commanded , and do preach it to lost , undone , and miserable sinners , or to such as are in a deplorable state , even under wrath and condemnation ; and do declare this to be the state of all out of christ , without exception . not to offer christ to justified persons , to such that are d●liver'd from condemnation , and so in a good state , but to such who are in a lost state , condemn'd to eternal misery , and under the curse of the law ( which is god's curse ) and children of wrath. i am told lately , that some there are who affirm the elect did not fall in adam ; but this i can't tell how to believe , why then did christ die ? brethren , must christ be offered to righteous persons , to justified persons , or to sinners condemned ? or do any of us preach that which we believe not ? do any preach thus , or have they any authority so to do ? viz. sinners , if you are elected , you are in a good state , and are actually justified whether you believe or not , only you do not know it , or have not the evidence of it in your own consciences . or do we not all preach to all out of christ as unto ungodly ones , to such that are under wrath and condemnation in their own persons , and so remain until they believe or have union with christ . our lord came not to call the righteous , as such , neither self-righteous ones , nor such who in a gospel-sense are righteous persons , but sinners to repentance ; to such that were really lost in the first adam , and under the bondage of sin , and the law. true , the jews said indeed , that they were free , and never were in bondage , &c. how saist thou , ye shall be made free ? — but what says our blessed lord , he that committeth sin , is the servant of sin — if the son therefore shall make you free , then are you free indeed . and doth christ make any free until they are united to him , and so believe in him ? but to put the matter to an issue , i find we are all agreed in this point who preach free grace . dr. crisp ( who i think is abused both by his friends and enemies ) says , all by nature are under the curse of the law. cursed , cursed , cursed , saith he , every moment , every hour . but how actual condemnation can consist with actual justification i see not ; or how a man can be under the curse of the law , and yet be blessed with the chiefest gospel-blessing , is strange to me . ninthly , and lastly , all are under condemnation , &c. before they are in christ jesus , appears , because the holy spirit by its convictions represents this to be the state of every elect soul by nature , namely children of wrath , even in a condemned state ; and not only so in their own consciences , but even as others . and hence , a minister when he meets with a person under convictions , on whom god hath begun a good work , asketh him , what do you judg your state is by nature ? o sir , saith he , a woful state and condition , as in the first adam , and without christ , under god's fearful wrath , being condemned to eternal misery , having originally and actually broken the law of god , which lays every man obnoxious to everlasting burning . now sure the divine spirit in convictions , would never hold forth or represent this to be the state of the soul before it is in jesus christ , if it was not really so ; because he is a faithful and true witness , and because he is god , and cannot lie . so much shall suffice to prove this premised proposition . application . caution 1. shall be a use of caution to such , to take heed how they seek to render the state of the elect to be good before grace and actual union with jesus christ . 1. because the holy word of god declares their state to be very bad ; and as to the present state of their persons whilst unbelievers , there is no difference . 2. because such a notion cannot tend to the glory of god , nor the profit of any person , either before or after they do believe . i challenge any to shew what glory it can bring to god , or benefit it can be to any sinner , to hear he is justified or discharged from wrath and condemnation before he is in christ ; or that it can be of profit to him when he doth believe , to be told that his state was good before he did believe in christ jesus , tho he knew it not . 3. but contrariwise it may tend to encourage unbelievers to conclude that their state is good , tho swearers , drunkards , and what not , and so harden them in their sins , and to disbelieve or cast contempt upon what some faithful ministers daily declare to the contrary . 4. it also clearly tends to lessen or extenuate the rich grace of god , in giving his spirit to regenerate the soul , and to work faith in us , if the relative and real change were not at one and the same time , which the scripture doth affirm it is ; but you are sanctified , but ye are justified , &c. also then grace received , could not be any sign of our being passed from a state of death unto a state of life , which the apostle asserts it is , by this we know that we have passed from death to life , because we love the brethren ; he that loveth not his brother abideth in death . the apostle no doubt intends a state of death . 2ly . it puts also a just rebuke upon such as cause trouble or divisions amongst christians on such a notion . brethren , were it a truth that the elect were actually delivered from condemnation , and were personally justified before they are in jesus christ , yet certainly it cannot be judged to be an essential of salvation nor of church-communion : are all such persons not to be communicated with that can't believe the elect are acquitted or delivered from condemnation , or personally justified before they are in christ jesus ? secondly , this i hope may tend to clear up the matter , and shew the present difference is but little , and rises rather from mistaking of words than otherwise : for according to what i have said and proved it appeareth , 1. that god sees things , even all his works from everlasting ; and calls things that are not as if they were . things before god or in his sight , is one thing ; and things as to us , or as actually existing , is another thing . that god sees the elect justified and glorified too from eternity , is evident , who are not actually and personally justified , nor indeed can be said so to be , until they personally exist and are in jesus christ . 2. that to be federally , fundamentally and representatively justified in christ is one thing , and to be actually and personally justified is another thing ; or christ's receiving our discharge and justification ( as our head and surety ) for us , is one thing ; and the application thereof , or his giving of it out unto us , pronouncing us just and righteous before god , in our own consciences , and before all the world , is another thing . thirdly , we infer from hence that god magnifies his rich grace exceedingly to us who believe , or that the work of grace is a glorious work upon the soul , and that union with christ is to be esteemed as one of the richest manifestations of his electing love. fourthly , that all men out of christ may see cause from hence to tremble , considering what a woful state they are in , and so strive to fly to christ with speed . fifthly , that such who are in christ have cause to admire god's free grace , and may from hence also take in a most precious and rich cordial of the highest comfort and consolation ; for therefore , now there is no condemnation to them who are in christ jesus . but no more at this time . a postscript , containing a few reflections upon some passages in mr. clark's new book , intituled scripture-justification . never more need for all that are orthodox ( i mean who are established in the doctrine of justification by the imputed righteousness of jesus christ , or by his active and passive obedience alone , according to the scripture , and as maintained by most of the antient fathers , and all our worthy modern protestant divines ) to cement together in love and union , and to pass by small matters of difference , considering what a grand design is carrying on by the great enemies of the true christian religion , for satan never appeared in his instruments more bold and bare-fac'd against this grand fundamental of christianity , viz. that of justification , since blessed luther's days , who as an instrument ( with others ) gave him such a wound , than at this present time . reader , we had need bestir our selves , and rouse up with holy zeal for god ; for all , even the foundation , is struck at . — just as this precedent sermon was going to the press , a book came to my hand wrote by mr. samuel clark , a man of great learning ; and who indeed writes without much seeming gall or invectives ▪ against any man's person ( the better to vent his indignation against the doctrine he opposes ) striving to revive and maintain the baxterian error , with such confidence and barefacedness , that if some able pen do not answer him , it may do much harm to weak and unwary christians . he says , he would not for a world lift up the least thought , much less a finger , or pen , or utter the least word derogatory to the free grace of god , or cast the least blemish or speck upon the reformation , or the worthy persons that were instruments in it . yet he hath been so unhappy as to attempt the razing and utter overthrowing of that grand truth , in which mainly the reformation consisted , viz. justification by the imputation of christ's active and passive obedience , through the free grace of god , apprehended and received by faith alone , without any thing wrought in us , or done by us ; not by imputing faith or any other act of evangelical obedience , but the imputing of christ's obedience and satisfaction exclusively of all things else whatsoever . and that faith is only said to justify us objectively , or in respect had to the object jesus christ , which it taketh hold of . to this purpose luther , melancthon , calvin , zanchy , perkins , ames , dr. vsher , dr. goodwin , dr. owen , dr. sibs , dr. preston , norton , burroughs , caryl , pemble , the assembly , and indeed all other antient and modern writers generally . but contrary to this doctrine see what mr. clark saith , viz. that justifying faith is the same thing in substance with effectual calling , repentance , regeneration , conversion , sanctification , renovation , forming of christ in the soul , &c. ans . what now is the purport of this notion ? why that faith in a large or comprehensive sense , i.e. faith with all other graces and inherent righteousness , god hath instituted and ordained to be our justifying righteousness in his sight , as in other places in his book he doth assert without mincing the matter . again , he saith , i would avoid many figurative expositions of scripture , which others are feign to make use of to salve their phaenomena , as when we are said to be justified by faith , they take it metonymically for the object of faith , viz. the righteousness of christ ; which what is it else than to make the scripture a meer nose of wax , and a leaden rule , and to comply with our fancies ? &c. answ . this is much like bellarmine in another case : it appears the doctrine we are established in , and upon which we build all our hopes of justification and eternal life , is but a fancy ; what is now become of that doctrine paul preached , and all our worthy reformers ? how will this make the papists and quakers * smile . 't is not , according to mr. clark , the object of faith , not jesus christ that faith apprehends , and we alone trust in , but it is faith that justifieth us comprehensively taken ; that is , faith , love , charity , good works , and sincere obedience that is imputed to us , to our justification in the sight of god : and that so far as you act in faith , holiness , and in sincere obedience , so far you are justified . for he positively affirms , viz. that our justification at present , while we are in this world , is but partial , imperfect , and incompleat . these are his words . answ . now if we are not perfectly justified , it follows then we are not perfectly delivered from condemnation , nor acquitted from the guilt of all sin , and so not in a state of life , nor made free indeed by the son of god ; and then also christ's dove is not without spot , nor undefiled in respect to justification : and then also it follows ( as the papists say ) there is no assurance can be had or attained in this life , or until death , nor can we be said to be compleat in christ ; besides , it confounds justification with sanctification , nay it makes them but one and the same thing : nay more , that by a law righteousness is to be obtained , and so christ is dead in vain . now i profess , i can see but little difference between this doctrine and that of bellarmin's and other papists . if famous luther and other worthy reformers , had wrought no better reformation than this , the church of god would have received but little benefit from them , nor would the papists have been so angry with them ; but the notion of mr. clark and his abettors certainly tends to raze and root out that antient doctrine which the apostles preached , and those worthy men laboured to restore about justification . did bellarmine ever deny , that their good works and inherent holiness , which they made the matter of their justification before god , were performed by the grace of god , and the assistance of the holy spirit ? this man only excludes legal works from having any thing to do in our justific●●●on , but includes all gospel-works and sincere o●edience : he asserts these kind of works and free ●●ace are consistent ; and because not derogatory in point of salvation , therefore not in justification . he says that we must allow of gospel-works or holiness to concur to justification , and this doctrine will appear , &c. answ . yet he would feign insinuate that this doctrine of his is in effect the same with that of the old received doctrine of our divines * : who teach , saith he , that the sola fides solum , yet not fides sola , i.e. solitaria justificat ; tho faith alone , yet not that faith which is alone does justify . what 's the purport of this ? why because the faith of god's elect , by which alone we apprehend or receive the object , jesus christ , by whom we are justified , is attended with good fruits , as sanctification and holiness , by which it is known from a false and dead faith ; therefore faith , good works , and holiness is ( the matter , or ) that which doth justify us before god : or because faith in respect of its own excellent nature doth purify and sanctify us ; therefore god hath instituted and ordained faith and inherent holiness to justify us ; and because inherent holiness and sanctification tends to make us meet for heaven , therefore it is our only title for heaven . is it not said that god imputes righteousness without works , and justifies him that works not ? how then do works concur with , or are included , or joined with that righteousness that is our justification before god ? take a passage of reverend perkins , viz. it is objected that true faith is never alone ; i answer , saith he , thus faith is never alone in the person justified , nor in godly conversation , but is joined with all other vertues , yet in the act and office of justification it is alone ; the eye in the body is not alone , being joined with all other parts , hand , foot , &c. nevertheless the eye in seeing is alone , for no part of the body seeth but the eye . — he shews that faith alone is the eye which sees the object jesus christ , and apprehends him and his righteousness , whose righteousness only is the material cause of our justification before god. see the assembly's confession , &c. all whom god effectually calleth , he freely justifieth , not by infusing righteousness into them , but by pardoning their sins , and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous , not for any thing wrought in them or done by them , but for christ's sake alone ; not by imputing faith it self , the act of believing , nor any other evangelical obedience as their righteousness , but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of christ unto them ; they receiving and resting on him , and his righteousness by faith : which faith they have not of themselves , it is the gift of god. this agrees with that doctrine paul preached to the romans and galatians , &c. but from this doctrine mr. clark ( and many more ) are departed ; what saith the apostle ? if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than what you have received , let him be accursed . paul , as mr. perkins notes , saw the galatians to be corrupted in the point of justification ; false teachers being got among them , who preached justification by christ , and by the works of the law : they did not exclude christ's merits , but brought in the works of the law with christ , in justification before god ; as some now do the works of a new law , i.e. gospel law : but let them tremble . where 's paul's doctrine ? for it is palpable this new doctrine excludes not boasting , or ground of boasting . i argue thus , viz. that law doth not exclude boasting that commands works of obedience , as the condition of acceptance and justification : but this new law these men speak of , commands works of obedience , as the condition of our acceptance and justification . ergo , it doth not exclude boasting . but mr. clark intimates , that works of the law , performed by our own strength , or without special assistance only , admit of boasting . answ . the papists say , that all their works and inherent righteousness , are performed by god's grace or special assistance ; yet how do they boast ? let the creature perform good works , &c. by what assistance he will , yet the works are his works ; and if such by which he is justified , they admit of boasting . reader , the righteousness this man contends for , by which we are justified , is not the righteousness of one , but the righteousness of many , i.e. every man 's own faith and sincere obedience , contrary to what paul affirms , rom. 5.17 , 18 , 19. christ did not , saith mr. clark , obey the law in man's stead . answ . then say i , he hath not fulfilled all righteousness for us , nor answered all the demands of the law ; nor doth god's holy nature and justice require a perfect righteousness to our justification in his sight : was not perfect righteousness part of that debt we owed to god ? if so , who pays the debt for us ? the penalty was but one part of our debt . then also it seems , the law of perfect righteousness doth not result from the purity and holiness of god , but only from the sovereignty of his will , not from the rectitude of his nature . moreover , why then did not god give this mild law of faith and sincere obedience at first , and so have saved himself of buying it so dear , i.e. with the price of the blood of his own son ? christ's active obedience , he affirms , is not imputed to us ; nay he says , that imputing christ's righteousness to us , is not a scripture expression , 't is not found in any place of scripture ; tho he says he denies not the thing . answ . righteousness was imputed to abraham , and he was the father of all elect gentiles , that righteousness might be imputed to them also . now it must be abraham's own righteousness , and so our own righteousness , that is imputed , or else the righteousness of christ . again , he may as well say adam's active disobedience was not imputed to us ; for as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners , so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous . as adam's disobedience in his first sin was imputed to all his seed , so is the obedience of christ imputed to all his , or to all in him . this text i find he knows not how to answer , see pag. 97 , 98. but boggles with it . obj. they object , if the righteousness of christ be made ours , we may be said to be the saviours of the world as he was , or to save others as he did , &c. ans . take dr. owen's as to this , viz. the apostle declares , that as adam's actual sin is imputed unto us to condemnation , so is the obedience of christ imputed unto us to the justification of life ; but adam's sin is not so imputed unto any person , as that he should then and thereby be the cause of sin and condemnation unto all other persons in the world , but only that he himself should become guilty before god thereon . and so is it on the other side : and as we are made guilty of adam's actual sin , which is not inherent in us , but only imputed unto us ; so are we made righteous by the righteousness of christ , which is not inherent in us , but only imputed unto us ; and with it , not for himself but for us . object . the effects of christ's righteousness , &c. are imputed to us . answ . saith the doctor , in this imputation the thing is first imputed unto us , and not any of the effects of it ; but they are ours by virtue of that imputation . to say that the righteousness of christ , that is his obedience and sufferings , are imputed to us only in their effects , is to say that we have the benefit of them and no more , but imputation it self is denied ; so say ( saith he ) the socinians . again he saith , the righteousness of christ is imputed unto us , as unto its effects , hath this sound sense in it , viz. that the effects of it are made ours , by reason of that imputation ; it is so imputed , so reckoned unto us of god , as that he readily communicates all the effects of it unto us ; but to say the righteousness of christ is not imputed unto us , but the effects only , is really to overthrow all imputation . but mr. clark says , 't is the righteousness of god by which we are justified , not the righteousness of christ . he will not have it be the righteousness of him that was god , or take it in that sense ; but that righteousness that god hath ordained and instituted for our justification , viz. our faith and sincere obedience . answ . we do not only say it was the righteousness of him that was god as well as man , but also that righteousness which god hath found out , and approves of , as agreeing with his holy nature and infinite justice , and purity of his law , that he might be just : not the essential righteousness of god , but the righteousness of christ as mediator , who of god is made to us wisdom and righteousness , &c. where pray hath god made our imperfect righteousness a righteousness to justify us at his bar ? i am perswaded this man would not willingly be found in his own righteousness at death , let it be never so sincere . ay , but we must take the scripture in the plain literal sense about justification ; this he much harps at , tho his notion by thus doing brings in justification by works , which the apostle shews is inconsistent , and directly contrary to grace , rom. 11.6 . works are works , whether law-works , or gospel-works . he argues much as the papists in another case , and upon as grand a point ; thou art peter , and upon this rock will i build my church : i will appeal to all , whether the words in the letter do not seem to run smoother for the papists , i.e. for the church to be built upon peter , than upon christ that peter confessed ? and so this is my body , &c. mr. clark cries out against puzling perplexing distinctions , and taking faith metonymically , i. e. for the object of faith , tho it is clearly imply'd , and that way only it beareth a true analogy of faith. i infer ( saith he ) that we are not justified by the active righteousness of christ , or his obedience to the law of works imputed to us ; for then a man would be justified by the law , and by the deeds and works thereof , as much to be reckon'd his own , as if they were done personally by himself , ( for that is their sense of justification ) then we are justified by the law or covenant of works , in a legal and in an evangelical way ; for then the law is fully satisfied by christ our surety , and we stand recti curiâ , and the law has nothing to say to us , or charge us withal ; as if a surety in bond pay the full debt , the creditor has no action against the principal debtor , and there 's no favour at all show'd him in his discharge . answ . in all places where in the new testament it is said , a man is not , cannot be justified by the works of the law , or by the deeds of the law , 't is evident that the apostle speaks of that obedience to the law , that frail , depraved and impotent man is able to yield thereunto ; and the reason why no man can be justified hereby , is , 1. because he hath both originally , and actually broken it ; and as it admits of no pardon for what is past , so also it affords no strength to keep it for time to come : hence , what the law could not do , god sent his own son : what for ? was it only to make god amends for our breach of it , and so to purchase a new , a milder and better law of works , & c ? no sure : where is there the least shadow of proof for this ? see what this gentleman 's reverend father saith , speaking of christ's fulfilling the law for us ; he saith , that it was not meerly obedience , but a meriting obedience ; there was an intrinsick worth and excellency in christ's obedience , answering to our salvation : hence , tho we have justification of meer grace , yet in respect of christ , it was justice and debt ; so that in christ the covenant of works was fulfilled , tho in us the covenant of grace : this work christ finished and compleated ; first , in that he did it wholly and universally ; there was not one tittle of the law which he did not fulfil . secondly , he finished it universally for parts , and not only so , but fully for degrees : he did not only love god , but loved him as much as the law requires ; all that he did , was so fully done , that there wanted not the least degree of grace in any duty . thirdly , because he had not only an objective perfection in parts and degrees , but also a subjective ; all within was throughly and perfectly holy : so that as we are originally and actually polluted , he was originally and actually holy ; so that the law had no fault to find with him . fourthly , he finished it in respect of duration , the law requiring continuance , tho there were perfection of parts and degrees , and subjective perfection also : yet cursed is he that continueth not therein . again he saith , for to obey the law of god , and to suffer all the wrath that was due to our sins , was a bitter cup to drink . thus christ fulfilled the law for us as our surety , and in him it was fulfilled in us , there being a legal or law-union between him and us . now since this perfect , this compleat and constant obedience to the law , was our duty , and that debt we owed to god , dare you deny christ as our surety , paid it ? certainly had he not fulfilled the preceptory part of the law ( as well as born the penal part ) for us , we could not be justified from the charge and curse thereof : but why must we ( because we say surety hath done this ) be justified by the law or covenant of works ? are we saviours or mediators , because we have his righteousness imputed to us of meer grace ? is the debtor the surety , because the surety's payment is accepted for him ? the old covenant-righteousness was an inherent righteousness , a righteousness in a man's self , i. e. adam's own righteousness , not a righteousness imputed , but inherent : the righteousness of your new law , is a legal or law-righteousness , and looks more like an old covenant-righteousness , because 't is inherent , or infused into you , not put upon you , or imputed to you , as being wrought out for you without you . and , sir , is there no favour shewed to us , because our surety has paid this debt ? was it not great love , great grace and favour for god to accept of a surety ? nay , to substitute his own son in our stead to satisfy all the demands of the law and justice ? true , we are not simply dealt with in a way of mercy , ( i mean pardoned only ) but in a way of justice and righteousness also : justification has more than pardon in it ( as your notion allows ; ) we found not the surety , but god found him ; therefore all is of god's free grace , tho also all is by the obedience of christ , i. e. by his keeping law for us , and dying in our stead . to plead for a righteousness by obedience to any mild law , is no other than to plead for a legal righteousness in our selves to justify us ; and that is as opposite to the righteousness of god , as the trusting in the moral and ceremonial law , it being opposite to grace : the righteousness therefore of the law , by which no flesh can be justified , is a righteousness rested in , or trusted to , that is inherent in us , whatsoever thoughts a person may have of it , i. e. as perfectly , or only sincerely kept . but to proceed : did not god send his son , that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us , & c ? that is , in our nature , in our head. christ and believers ( as i said before ) are one in a law-sense ; and evident it is , that the righteousness of the law is not fulfilled in us in sanctification , because that is imperfect , that is far from fulfilling it ; and there is no other way it can be said to be fulfilled in us , but by imputation . moreover , by christ's coming to keep the law in our nature , god hath magnified the law , and made it honourable ; and hereby we do not make void the law through faith , but establish the law , in that the son of god , in man's nature , yielded perfect obedience thereto , and died for our breach of it , whose obedience is ours by imputation to our justification at his bar. pray observe that through faith we attain a perfect righteousness , i. e. are interested in the most compleat obedience of christ to the moral law ; but now if christ only satisfied for our breach of the law by his death , and his perfect active obedience has no hand in , or is not the material cause of our justification before god , how do we by believing in him establish the law ? i say the righteousness of the law ( which is so called ) which the apostle decries as unable to justify us , is a resting in or trusting to our inperfect conformity to it , or to any other law tho never so sincerely performed ; for this sort of righteousness is always opposed to the righteousness of faith or of grace , if it be of works ( of any works whatsoever ) it is not of grace : all works of sincere obedience to any law of god , are alike materially good . but god has not ordained any law of sincere obedience to justify us , because grace excludeth all works done by us in point of justification in god's sight . we can no more be justified by the law of the gospel , i.e. the new law , than by the old. mr. clark says , the justification paul speaks of in the romans , and that which james speaks of is the same . and further he says , to be justified by faith according to paul , and by works according to james , is all one ; justification by works springing from faith , is justification by faith in this sense . answ . now we and the orthodox say , that paul speaks of our justification before god , or of the person ; james of the justification of our faith , good works demonstrating our faith to be of the right kind , or do declare to men , and to our own consciences , that we are justified persons . paul speaks of the justification of a sinner , james of the justification of a believer ( as it is said , the people justified god , that is , declared he was just ) ; so our gospel-works springing from faith , declare that our faith is true , and we sincere believers . yet he would have his reader believe he is no heterodox person in this point . paul speaks of justification and absolution of a sinner at god's bar , through the imputation of christ's righteousness . james speaks of the manifestation or declaration of that justification to the conscience . paul speaks of the cause of our justification before god. james of the signs of it before men. paul speaks of the imputation of righteousness . james of the declaration of righteousness . paul speaks of the office of faith by god's ordination , as it apprehends christ , &c. james of the quality of faith , or of its own excellent virtue . paul speaks of the justification of a person . james of the justification of the faith of that person . paul speaks of abraham how justified . james of abraham's good works , as already justified , and as declaring him so to be . paul speaks of justification in a proper sense , as god's gracious act , through christ's righteousness , whereby a man is imputed or counted just and righteous in god's sight . james speaks of justification whereby we are not made just before god , but declared to be justified , being sincere believers , and free from hypocrisy . paul had to do with legal and judaizing christians , such who either brought in a law , or a self-righteousness , instead of god's grace in imputing christ's righteousness , or else setting up an inherent righteousness with it ( as these men do now . ) and james had to do with such , who might be justly called antinomians , i.e. such that abused the grace of god , or doctrine of free grace , to encourage themselves in sin , boasting of a false and presumptuous faith , a dead faith. now james's work is to shew the effects and nature of true faith ; therefore he speaks not of justification in a proper sense , when he says abraham was justified by works , but declaratively only . faith wrought not with abraham's works , in the justification of his person at god's bar , but in declaring and evincing that his faith was true and saving , not a dead faith ; good works being the fruits of saving faith ▪ if this was not so , how could he say , in vers . 23. that the scripture was fulfilled , which saith , abraham believed god , and it was imputed to him for righteousness ? ( not his act of faith , but the object his faith believed in , or took hold of . ) the justification of a sinner in a proper sense is one thing , and the justification of a believer , as such a one , is another thing . how then can mr. clark say , the justification paul speaks of , and that which james speaks of , is all one and the same thing ? this man contends for a mild law ; certainly the moral law remains a perpetual rule of perfect obedience : let this man shew us where and how he can prove that god in the gospel only commands sincere imperfect obedience to the moral law : the law surely loses no part of its sanction by the gospel ; that is as holy , just and good as ever : be ye perfect as your father in heaven is perfect . we are still to love the lord our god with all our hearts , with all our souls , and with all our strength . our faith , love , patience , &c. ought to be perfect ; the law or commands of the gospel know no bounds or limits : tho the law is abrogated as a covenant of works , yet not as a rule of perfect obedience . see what reverend mr. cross says , i.e. either the gospel law , or law of faith must require perfection in those duties , or some other divine law , or else god would become an indulger of sin by law ; if it be by another law , viz. the moral , that requires perfect obedience , and this sincere only : then these laws differ but in degree , not in specie or kind ; because both require the same duties or works : and so this gospel law would be no distinct law , but only the measure of sincere obedience , would receive a new use of its giving right , &c. which we own it has , to wit , to be an index or mark of our justification , tho we can't own that use of giving right , &c. — a distinct law they must hold , or quit their cause , or this foundation of it ; for the text sets the law of faith down as an opposite law to that of works , and that they hold : then if it be a perfect law requiring perfect obedience , there is no possibility of justification in this life — but this is not all the difficulty , for it 's the adding a load to a burden : is this gospel to a man that is not able to perform the least part of the moral law , to tell him that god or the mediator requires perfect obedience to it for the future , and another too ? or is this gospel , to say you shall perish eternally , and have the fire of hell seven times heated , if you obey not the gospel ! it's indeed a conditional hell , but it is more dreadful than the fire of hell ; and the condition is more impossible , because we have less power to shun this difficulty of two perfect laws : mr. bull owns no other perfect law but the gospel , since man fell ; but by shunning one difficulty he falls into as great . ( 1 ) then the moral law is abrogated , besides the falseness of the doctrine it self ; for it is impossible that should cease to be our duty to love god with all our hearts and souls . what advantage brings in christ's death , to abrogate one perfecting law , and establish another ? here is little gospel . a second difficulty , i. e. we must either say christ has purchased to us pardon for sins against the gospel law , or none at all but that one sin of adam's , if the moral law be abrogated ; after the fall we never sinned against any law but the gospel , for we were under no other law according to him , &c. thus mr. cross ▪ is not much of our obedience under the gospel , obedience to the moral law ? nay , is not the moral law the rule of all our obedience to god in all positive gospel-precepts ? reader , this mild law of theirs they say requires sincere obedience as the condition of justification ; now there is no sincere obedience without it be universal , &c. how then may this fill a poor christian with terror , and slavish fear ? i do all i hope sincerely , but i may not obey universally , some precept through ignorance i may lie short of ; i can't tell when my obedience is full : also according to them i can be but partially justified in this life , and therefore i am partially condemned : and thus the creature hangs till death , between heaven and hell. ah poor england , poor church of god , where are thy brave old heroes , that stood up to maintain the truths of christ ? what apostacy is here from the orthodox faith ? what decay of doctrinal and practical christianity ? what dark clouds spread over our heavens ? how are many fallen from the faith ? but i must leave mr. clark to an abler pen , i design'd no more than to make a few remarks to provoke some others to reply to the argumentative part of his book , which i see no great difficulty to answer . now that the lord would scatter this cloud , and all other dangerous errors , let it be all our prayers both day and night . yet i doubt not but the present opposition against this fundamental point of faith will cause the truth in the end to shine more clear and bright , which the lord grant in his infinite mercy , to the praise of his own glory . amen . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a47601-e400 the scope of the epistle to the romans . rom. 8.3 . rom. 3. parts of the text opened . the terms explained . rom. 8.33 . 1 cor. 11.32 eph. 2.3 . rom. 6.14 . rom. 13. ult . the 2d and 3d verses of rom. 8. explained . rom. 7.12 . 1 cor. 1.30 . joh. 1.16 . the method proposed . 1st proposition by way of premise . the elect fell in the first adam , and were brought under condemnation . all men by nature under guilt of original sin. rom. 3.12 . psal . 51.5 . job 25.4 . caryl on ob , chap. 25. p. 706. rom. 5.14 . all men naturally under the guilt of actual sins . rom. 6.23 . all men by nature children of wrath. eph. 2.3 . rom. 8.7 . psal . 7.11 . psal . 5.5 . rom. 3.19 . rom. 10.4 . gal. 4.4 . vers . 5. heb. 9.15 . the elect were once under the curse of the law. gal. 3.13 . gal. 2.10 . rom. 6.17 . heb. 9.19 , 20 , 21. rom. 5.10 . heb. 10.14 . vers . 11. 2 pet. 1.4 . sinners that believe not , condemned already . joh. 3.18 . and 36. rom. 5.1 . rom. 3.28 . gal. 2.16 . gal. 3.24 . act. 13.35 . joh. 3.36 . rom. 4.5 . faith no procuring cause or condition of justification . rom. 3.22 . fox , p. 1659. the later helvetian confession . zanchy on phil. 3. assemblies large catechism . rom. 5.11 . before god or in his sight all things were from eternity . rom. 4.17 . an elect sinner not pronounced justified before he is in christ . rom. 5.17 . when we receive christ we receive his righteousness , and not till then . justification makes a relative change. luk. 15.32 1 cor. 6.9 , 10 , 11. there was a federal vnion of the elect with christ . the elect virtually justified when christ rose from the dead . dr. tho. goodwin , christ set forth , p. 76. pag. 77. ministers preach to sinners as under wrath and condemnation . joh. 8.33 , 35 , 36. see his book , christ alone exalted , p. 235. the holy spirit in convictions represents to sinners their state is bad . eph. 2.3 . rom. 3.22 . 1 cor. 6.11 . 1 joh. 3.14 . notes for div a47601-e4980 called scripture-justification . in his introduction , pag. 1 , 5. pag. 62. pag. 85. * phrasis hac , side justificamur , metonymica est , & aquipollet huic : merito christi side apprehensio justificamur . welleb . compend . pag. 163. can. viii . pag. 18. joh. 8.36 . cant. 4.7 . chap. 5.2 . gal. 2.21 . * but certainly all may see it is in effect the same with the papists . 2 vol. on gal. pag. 210. gal. 1.8 . rom. 3.27 . pag. 43. pag. 100. pag. 96. pag. 97. rom. 4.11 . rom. 5.19 . dr. owen on justification , p. 307. pag. 105. pag. 85. pag. 46. rom. 8.3 . mr. sam. clark , pastor of the church at bennetfink , his medulla theologiae , or the marrow of divinity , pag. 280. rom. 8.3 . rom. 3.31 . rom. 11.6 . pag. 71. see pool's annot. jam. 2.23 . mat. 5.48 . serm. on rom. 4.5 . a summons to the grave, or, the necessity of a timely preparation for death demonstrated in a sermon preached at the funeral of that most eminent and faithful servant of jesus christ mr. john norcot who departed this life march 24, 1675/6 / by benjamin keach. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1676 approx. 100 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 52 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47613 wing k95 estc r29890 11217632 ocm 11217632 46869 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47613) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 46869) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1444:29) a summons to the grave, or, the necessity of a timely preparation for death demonstrated in a sermon preached at the funeral of that most eminent and faithful servant of jesus christ mr. john norcot who departed this life march 24, 1675/6 / by benjamin keach. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. [19], 79, [1] p. printed for ben harris ..., london : 1676. errata at end. reproduction of the original in the union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng norcott, john, d. 1676. death. funeral sermons. sermons, english -17th century. 2005-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-05 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-07 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2005-07 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a summons to the grave or . the necessity of a timely preparation for death . demonstrated in a sermon preached at the funeral of that most eminent and faithful servant of jesus christ mr. john norcot . who departed this life march 24. 1676 by benjamin keach , a cordial and an unfeigned lover of the deceased . mic . 7. 2. the good man is perished out of the earth . london , printed for ben. harris at the stationers arms in sweethings rents , near the royal exchange . 1676. to all sincere christians that were the hearers of this sermon , but more especially to that poor , afflicted , and sorrowful congregation , which is in god the father , and in our lord jesus christ , meeting in old gravel-lane , near wapping , london . when i think of that separation death hath made between you and your beloved pastor ( my dear brother ) it causes sadness to seiz my spirit ; sure , such stroaks of the almighty should bring us upon our knees ; i wish you are not hereafter made more sensible of the nature of these sore rebukes , then at present you can be ; however let us learn this lesson by it , not to overprize or value any thing or person short of jesus christ ; 't is good in all things to labour against inordinateness of affection ; we can't , 't is true , love god too much ; nor christ too much , but we may love ministers too much , nay , idolize them , esteem them above what is meet , as many in former times have done , or we may esteem them not enough ; whether any of you have bin guilty herein or no , will now i am perswaded be discovered ; if duty to god , our solemn vow and covenant with god and the church , and our love to jesus christ , will not make us to know and keep our places , what may we judge of our selves , or others judge of us : i am not without fears i speak of some in respect of temptations of this kind , i pray god deliver them from it , lest they bring up a reproach upon the good ways of god ; you had or would be looked upon all of you , to have a real and cordial love for him that is now taken from you , o then do nothing after his death that would have grieved his soul were he alive ; labour to live in love , and strive to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace ; i having this opportunity , thought it not amiss to give a hint or two of this nature and now beloved , as concerning this sermon , had it not been preached in part to fulfil the desire of the deceased , i should not have presumed to have taken so weighty a work upon me , especially in the presence of so many able and worthy ministers , as i am not so , ( the lord knows , i look upon my self no ways meet , or fitly qualified and capacitated for such a weighty work i am called to ) and truly , brethren , 't is not any excellency and worth that is in this broken sermon that is the cause of its publication , 't is the desire and importunity of several amongst you , and some others , that hath brought it forth ; i do think , nevertheless , for the sake of him at whose desire and at who'e funeral it was preached , you will entertain it though never so poor and mean a work . i told you what sorrow had seized my spirit , i preached with a heavy heart , and with a mournful spirit , i know you fate under the hearing of it ; alas , i cannot blame you for your mourning , he was a most sweet and choice preacher , most excellent skill had he to dive into gospel-mysteries ; he saw , if i may say without offence , as far into a text of scripture , as most men now surviving , and as careful in dividing of the word that every one might have a portion in season ; o how sweetly has this trumpet sounded in your ears , what spiritual joy hath it raised in your hearts ! o how powerful in prayer hath he been ! hath not his prayers and tears over sinking sinners , tended to melt their adamant hearts ! o the thronging there hath been about him , no marvel he had precious bread always to break unto the children ; he knew how to feed with milk , and how and when to feed with strong meat ; it was his delight , i am satisfied , to do his masters work , and in doing of it , i may say , he loved not his life unto the death . he is gone to eat the fruit of his labour , and i wish , that all those choice sermons you have heard from his lips may not be buried with him , i hope the fruit of them will be seen in your lives ; and could some of them be made publick , they might be very serviceable unto the people of god and others in general . i shall at present say no more , but earnestly desiring the lord to continue the labourer you have , and send some other in due time amongst you , to the making up that great loss which at present you do sustain , so that sinners may be in the midst of you converted , and true believers strengthned , encouraged and comforted , and all built up together in love , to the end that you may be found without blemish in the day of jesus christ , and that it may be so , is the desire , and shall be the prayer of him who is willing to serve you to his power , for christ and his truths sake , benjamin keach . to the reader . impartial reader , svpposing thee to be one that was not at this late funeral ; or if thou wert there , could'st not have the opportunity to hear the sermon ( by reason of the straightness of the place , and the multitude of people ) and perceiving it is partly for thy sake , the printing of it has bin so much desired , i thought it might not be unnecessary to offer a word or two briefly unto thee , whether it deserves such a publication or not , it will come now under thy censure ; however , if thou knowest the person that taught it , i am satisfied , thou wilt not lose thy expectation , nothing excellent thou dost expect , considering the weakness and shallowness of the preacher , how shouldst thou ; yet if thou hast nothing of prejudice in thy heart against him , from that contemnable apprehensions thou and others have of that he is not wholly without hopes , but that some small profit thou mayst gain hereby ; let the consideration of the subject prevail upon thee , however to give it the reading ; 't is , you hear , a summons to the grave : thou canst never hear too often of death ; and sure this sermon will not offend thee , if thou art one that dost live , i mean , live indeed , in the sight and stedfast belief of a future life , an eternity of happiness or misery ; i have read , that philip king of macedon , commanded one of his pages to awake him every morning and call aloud to him , sir , remember you are a man : this great monarch did not disdain to be rouzed every day from sleep with the news of death , though it was but by the mouth of his poor sorry page , and shall any of us slight the message , through want of affection to the messenger ; but perhaps , thou mayst be one that likes neither , may be thou dost not care to hear of the tidings of dying , and art ready to judge them melancholy fools that break their sleep about it ; these who are indeed prepared for it , have no cause to be disquieted in thoughts of it ; but what wilt thou do when death comes , that hast a guilty conscience ; have you not heard of that poor soul , who cried out in horrour and distress of spirit upon his death-bed , o what shall i do , i am so sick that i cannot live , and yet so unprepared that i dare not die : remember , that the thoughts of death , when it comes , will abate thy courage , 't will make the proudest heart to stoop ; 't is a pretty passage that i remember of a certain king of hungary , who being on a time very sad , his brother ( a jolly courtier ) would needs know what ailed him , o brother ( said he ) i have bin a great sinner against god and i know not how to die , nor appear before god in judgment ; these are ( said his brother ) melancholy thoug●●… , and withal made a jest at them ; the king replied nothing for the present but the custom of the countrey was , that if the executioner came and sounded his trumpet before any mans door , he was presently to be led out to the place of execution ; the king in the dead time of the night , sends the headsman to sound his trumpet before his brothers door , who hearing it , and seeing the messenger of death , springs in pale and trembling into the kings presence , beseeching him to tell him wherein he had offended ; o brother ( replied the king ) you have never offended me , and is this executioner so dreadful , and shall not i that have greatly and grievously offended god , fear to be brought before the judgement seat of christ ; death amazes none more when it comes , as it doth them who think not of it ; the egyptians used to carry about the table a deaths head at their feasts ; 't is good in the midst of all our delights and enjoyments , to be put in minde of the grave ; and if this sermon spake no more power fully to thee then a deaths-head to awaken thee , it may be worth thy pains to read it , god may bless weak endeavors to great advantage ; jesus christ could make five barley leaves and two fishes to feed five thousand men , and yet the fragments that were left might saetisfie many a poor hungry soul : what though thou art afterly served , god can heat it by his spirit , god can make it wholesom food for thy soul : if thou hast but an appetite i do not much fear thy relishing of it , for though the full stomack loaths the honey-comb , yet to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet . but because i would not weary thee , i shall only now give thee a summary account of the particular things insisted upon , and then commit thee to god. 1. thou hast the certainty of death amplified , or brieftly enlarged upon . 2. some awaking considerations and motives to a speedy and effectual preparation for it . 3. several directions and cautions in order to it . 4. you have dying ministers lamented , or several sad grounds of lamentation upon that account . 5. then fifthly and lastly , you have comfort against death , or how true christians may stay and support themselves in the hour of death , or in parting with godly relations : and because nothing is more effectual in order to this , then that comfortable assurance of present enjoyment , or being with christ at that very instant , when the breath leaves us ; somthing was offered to confirm the souls immortality , it was but a little which was said , had it been more it would not have bin too much : it was not delivered as it is matter of controversie , to grieve any who are differently perswaded : but as 't is matter of comfort , suiting with the occasion , that so sorrowful spirits might be consolated , having for several years found the usefulness and sweetness of the doctrine under the like dispensation my self : what is more plainly laid down in holy scripture then this : and those arguments that so much establish me in the beleef hereof are many , one is taken from our saviours own words , because man cannot kill the soul mat. 10. 28. if men cannot kill it then 't is not mortal : as also the consideration of its nature being spirit , might i not reason thus , if the noble part of man somtimes called soul be spirit , then 't is immortal : but 't is called spirit in several places : and again , doth not the name of spirit declare its nature : a spirit in its nature is invisible , and its very essence is life , if it should cease to live , if would be spirit no more . thirdly , the scripture shews , that at death the body goes one way , and the spirit goes another , namely , to god that gave it : we may judge also of the nature of the spirit or soul of man , if we consider how nothing but god himself can satisfie it , lives upon divine and immortal food , and therefore sure must be of like nature : what does shew more clearly that our bodies are earthly , or made of earth , as the consideration of their being fed , and sustained from the earth , so say i on the contrary hand in respect of the soul ; 't is sed with spiritual and immortal food , ergo such is its nature ; but not to trouble you with things of this kinde further , reader , let it be thy chief care to prepare for thy eternal state , for be sure it will be but a little while , and thou wilt find either to thy everlasting joy and comfort , or else to thy everlasting wo and sorrow : the truth of this doctrine of the souls ; immortality , and the effects thereof ; and that this broken sermon may prove , through gods blessing , someways for thy souls advantage and profit , is the sincere desire of thy affectionate and cordial friend and servant in the lord jesus b. k. an elegy on the death of that most laborious and painful minister of the gospel mr. john norcot , who fell asleep in the lord the 24th of this instant march 1675-76 . how doth my troubled soul amused stand , on thoughts of god's most sore chastising hand let heaven assist my pen , and help indite this mournful elegy i 'm mov'd to write . my grieved heart knows not what way to take , its love to shew and lamentation make . david for jonathan was sore distrest , and in like so 't has sorrow seiz'd my breast . beloved john is gone , dear norcot's dead ; that man of god , who hath so often fed our precious souls with manna from above : whose powerful preaching did ingage our love to jesus christ . o! h● had care and skill to feed poor souls and do hi● master 's will. but is he from us also took away , what , breach still upon breach ! lord jesus stay thy band such stroaks are hardly born , here 's cause for hundreds to lament and mourn . the loss is gr●at th● churches do sustain , poor sinners too live cause have to complain . there 's few like him surviving to arouse their fluggish souls cut of their sinful drouse . they now may sleep secure and not awake , until they fall into the seygian lake . this golden trumpet 's stopt , 't will sound no more , to warn them of what danger 's at their door . to win sinners to christ he did not spare his strength nor time , thought nothing was too dear . to part withall , if any wayes he might , their souls turn from false ways unto the right , like as a candle which much light doth give , doth wast itself , whilst from it we receive much benefit ; so did he clearly burn , to the wasting of himself unto the urn . this godly preacher in a little space . much work did do , he swistly run his race ; with 's might perform'd what e'r he found to do . god graciously did bless his work also , yea few ( i think ) have had the like success , in turning sinners unto righteousness . o were the worth of this good man but known , it might produce an universal groan . let brethren dear of different minds lament , for he for you in prayers much time has spent ; he lov'd you all , though i have cause to fear , the like affection some did scarcely bear . 't would pierce ones heart to think in such a time , obedience unto christ should be a crime : or that offence should in the least be took , ' cause from gods word he durst not turn nor look . he would own nought but what thus faith the lord , add would not he nor minish from gods word . come let us live in love , we shall agree , when at his port we all arrived be . let sinners mourn , who shall their loss repair , who for their souls so naturally did care . well may ye fear god will proclaim new wars , when he calls home his choice embassadors . what may a sodome look for from above , when such who stood i' th' gap , god doth remove , o tremble city , what is god about look for new flames , thy lots are calling out . and now chastized flock a word or two , i 've double sorrow when i think of you . when that the harvest doth for reapers call . to lose your labourer , this wound 's not small . o who shall bear the burthen of the day , if god doth take the labourers thus away . when pylots dye , how shall the seamen stear , ' mong'st rocks and sands , when storms also appear . have we not cause to think the crafty fox , we 'l out abroad and play upon the flocks . and ravening wolves also will grow more bold , and scare some silly lambs out of the fold ; if god proceed to call the shepherds home , o what will of so many flocks become . i th midst of all , in this doth comfort lie , the chiefest shepherds lives when others dye . and he be sure who for the sheep did bleed , will stick to them in times of greatest need . come cease your grief , don't you know very well , then care god has on his own israell . and it s no more which now is come to pass , the what by you some time expected was . and what is done is but our fathers will , therefore be silent every one be still : for should we yield to passion i have fears , we should grieve christ and wound our souls with tears . the narrow sluces too of dribling eyes , would be toostreight for those great springs that rise . but since our vessels fills up to the top . le ts empty them , for every sin a drop . for it le ts wish we were compos'd of snow , instead of flesh yea made of ice , that so we might in sense of sin and its loathing , melt with hot love to christ , yea , thaw to nothing . and should our sins deprive our souls of him , let tears run from our eyes till couches swim . yet let 's not grudge him that most happy bliss , who now in glory with christ jesus is . he did his work apace , his race is run ▪ he as touch'd the gole , yea , and the prize hath won . an epitaph . a sweet and godly preacher doth lie here , who did his master jesus love so dear ; and sinners souls , that he his strength did spend . and did thereby ( t is thought ) hasten his end , he brought himself by preaching to the grave , the precious souls of sinners for to save . he lies but here asleep , he is not dead : to god he lives , to christ his soul is fled , and o're a while must he awake again , and evermore with christ in glory raign . by b. k. another elegiack poem by a young man that dearly loved him . waves upon waves , methinks , begins to roule , some strange alarm afflicts my troubled soul , vvhich grieves my heart , by founding in mine ears and makes my eyes to flow in brinish tears . vvhat tragedy is this : death hold thy hand , vvhy , must the good man perish from the land. is nobcot dead , suffer me then to mourn , for now he 's gone , but never well return . oh father father , whither dost thou fly , and leave , my soul , in this perplexity . and if that i dear lord must stay behind , a portion of his spirit let me find . oh find thy spirit no● into my heart that it may gospell grace , to me impart and that it may , likewi● anoynt mine eyes , for to conceave those glorious misteries . of thy most sacred kingdom , heaven above , vvhere norcot s swallowed , in eternal love , faith love and zeal , did his brave soul adorn , and this did manifest , he was new born . norcot ( a boanerges ) was indeed could make the heart , of sturdy sinners bleed . and yet and evangelic●s , did prove vvith soveraign balm of sweet gospell love. great reverence dear soul , he used to bear to things that sacred , and coelestial were . oh with what gravity and zeal did he declare to sinners their sad misery . in praying preaching , christ alone he fyed , and when he had done , the will of god he dyed . a panegyrick , i do not intend neither with parasites , for to contend . yet much as to his vertues , i might say did i not know , the humors of the day . doubtless on whom . god honour doth confer , in our affections we highly should prefer . dear norcot's gone , that worthy man of god , lord this aloud ; bespeaks our ichabod . my soul cease for to mourn , he is not dead , he into everlasting bliss is fled . vvhole troops of angels , did his soul attend , vvhen he to jesus christ , did it commend . he now is swallowed up , in glory above , embrac'd in arms of everlasting love : and now dear soul he 's gone , his race is run , and faithfully his fathers work he hath done . the veil of enmity hath been removed , he could not love more then he is beloved . the veil of blindness that is ta'en away , and now with his dear soul 't is perfect day , the veil's removed he seeth , as he is seen , and praiseth him that did his soul redeem . he now sings halleh jahs heavenly hymnes , amongst coelesticall glorious seraphims . he hath fought the fight , the crown hath gain'd , yea , and to perfect visions hath attain'd ; and you his mourners here , the word doth say . the righteous from bad times are snatch'd away ; a prince and a great man you all can tell this day is fallen in our israel . oh israel mourn , thy chariots flee away , thy horsemen leave thee in an evil day . the godly fail , and ceaseth for to be , lord , is not this for our iniquity ? let 's tremble then , black clouds hang o're our heads , whilst we securely lie upon our beds : rouse , rouse my soul for shame , what sleepy still , hast thou not of luke-warmness had thy fill ? heark , dost not hear the bridegroom very nigh , oh then , by faith , thy self to him apply : get oyl , more oyl , thy heart to purifie , for now , methinks , i hear a louder cry , thousands there are which to the forme attain'd of godliness , yet without grace remain'd : they cry and howl , lord , open heavens gate , but he saith , no , you now are come too late . oh norcot , norcot , if it were but free to envy any , i would envy thee , because thou now invested art with glory , whilst i behind do write this mournful story . but stay my soul , pray why so passionate grown , wilt thou not suffer him to reap his own ? he sowed in tears , but now he reaps in joy , don't then by murmuring thy self annoy ; must he all day be labouring in the field , and now 't is night ▪ dost grudge him rest to yield : rather lament and mourn for thy own sin , and that 's the way for thee to follow him ; dost hear him call , mourn for thy self , not me , i from death , sin , and sickness now am free . farewel , blest saint , farewell ; thou art fled away , and left us in a black and stormy day ; and yet we hope to see thy face again , that so with thee in glory we may reign . acrostick . i s norcot dead ? ( no ) he is fallen asleep , o h then my soul , cease to lament and weep ; h e now in glory clearly doth behold n ought else but joys that never can be told : n ever more grieve for him : what is thy loss , o 't is his gain , for he hath left but dross . r epent , oh england , i filled am with fears , c ompel me not to mix my thoughts with tears . o gospel-grace will haster , if you scoff ; t o a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof . e. p. an epitaph on his tomb-stone . here underneath this stone lieth the dust of norcot ; whilst the r●si●g of the just . his soul to heaven is sled , and there doth stand with christ and all the saints at his right hand . and when on earth he was , he did not spare his life for christ , it was his daily care , to pray and preach , and unto god to crave , that sinners might repent their souls to save ; his work was done , his glass is run , and we may all conclude he 's blest t'eternitie . b. h. a sermon ●●●ached at the funeral of mr. john norcot , march the 28th . 1676. i need not tell you the ground and occasion of this present meeting ; certain i am this is a sorrowful assembly : whether i am fit to preach or no i cannot tell , but sure i am ripe to mourn . may i not on this occasion use the words of david upon abner's death , 2 sam. 3. 38. know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in israel ? who more worthy of honour than those god confers honour upon ( and to be employed as christs embassadors ) to treat in his stead with poor sinners about their eternal estate and condition , is no small dignity ; and to be deprived of such a one , what greater ground for grief and mourning ? but not to take up your time in a way of introduction , i shall commend to you that portion of holy scripture , which shall be the ground of my present discourse ; psal . 89. 48. what man is he that liveth , and shall not see death ? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave ? selah . the psalmist in the verses that doth precede is pleading with god under great afflictions and the hidings of gods face , upon consideration of the shortness of his dayes : how long wilt thou hide thy self ? for ever shall thy wrath burn like fire ? and ver . 47. remember how short my time is ; as if he should say , lord i have but a little while to live , my time on earth is short ; let me therefore enjoy thy favor : let the remainder of my dayes ( the days of my pilgrimage ) be good dayes : let me see thy face , have the light of thy countenance ; let them not be dayes of sorrow and darkness . from hence note this , that a gracious soul , whilst on earth , desires nothing more than the enjoyment of gods favor . communion with god is the onely thing his soul longs and breaths after . they having a sense of the shortness of their dayes , resolve to live well and to make good improvement of their time : they would not onely have the full enjoyment of god hereafter , but a sight of his presence and favour whilst here . and indeed those who would live with god in heaven , must first live to god on earth . now it is not thus with the unregenerate , if wicked men have a sight of the shortness of their lives , it hath not this effect upon their hearts ; they many times the more pursue their lusts : they endeavor to get as much pleasure as they can , and to gratifie their covetous , ambitious , and carnal appetites , and suck out what sweetness they can out out of this perishing world ; they resolve to have it as sweet as outward enjoyments can make it ; they know no higher or better good then what is earthly and sensual . oh miserable deceived creatures , how is their understandings darkened , having never attained a saving knowledge of god , nor spiritual relish of his grace and love , nor a sight of his favour and kindness towards them . they are dreadfully involved in egyptian darkness , they are ignorant of the satisfaction , joy and sweetness that is in him ; hence they cry not after god , nor seek after him here , that they might be made happy with him hereafter . but that i may come to the words that i have read to you , in the text you have a twofold interrogation or negative questions . 1. what man is he that liveth and shall not see death ? 2. can he deliver his soul from the power of the grave ? selah . the meaning is no man can avoid it , none can escape the grave , whatever he be . many such kind of questions are put forth and thus answered in holy scripture . here are two terms , before i proceed to any observation , that i judge needful to speak to by way of exp●ication : first , what is meant by the word soul in this place ? doth the soul go to the grave ? i answer , soul in holy scripture bears divers acceptations ; sometimes by it is intended one thing , sometimes another ; and from hence i judge it is , that so many persons miss in their understandings about the noble and superiour part of the creature . 1. by it is intended the whole man , gen. 46. 27. and the sons of joseph which were born him in egypt , were two souls ; all the souls of the house of jacob , which came into egypt , were threescore and ten souls ; the like you have in acts 7. 14. and joseph called his father jacob to him and all his kindred , threescore and fifteen souls ; that is so many persons : in acts 27. 37. all that were with paul in the ship , are said to be two hundred and threescore and sixteen souls . 2. it is taken for the life of the body , psal . 7. 5. let the wicked persecute my soul and take it , yea let him tread down my life upon the earth . 3. it is taken for the affections , desire , or heart of the creature , 1 sam. 1. 15. and hannah answered and said , no my lord , i am a woman of a sorrowful spirit ; i have drunk neither wine nor strong drink , but have poured out my soul before the lord. and in chap. 18. it is said , the soul of jonathan was knit to the soul of david ; that is , his affections were set and fastened upon him . in many other places , by soul we find some one or more faculty of the soul is intended . 4. it is taken for the stomach , prov. 27. 7. the full soul loatheth an honey-comb , but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet . 5. by it is meant oftentimes the noble and superiour part of man , distinct from the body ; for this see psal . 19. 7. the law of the lord is perfect , converting the soul ; mat. 10. 28. fear not them which can kill the body , but are not able to kill the soul . but probably some may say , if the word soul hath so many various acceptations , how may we know when the spirit or principal part is in scripture meant hereby . answ . i shall briefly lay down three or four rules , whereby you may know : 1. when you read of soul , as that wherein couversion is wrought , it can intend nothing else save the noble or immortal part ; for conversion is a change onely of the evil qualities of man's better or superior part ; psal . 19. 7. the law of the lord is perfect , converting the soul . conversion to god changes not the defects and qualities of the outward man. if a man be attended with such and such a disease , or distemper before conversion , he may be truly converted , and yet retain the same diseases ; the same lameness , blindness , deafness , crookedness , or what ever other blemish he may have of the like nature . 2. when you read of soul as that which rejoyceth in god , delights in god , longs and thirsts after god , lives and feeds upon god and christ , and united to and hath communion with god , cloathed and adorned with the holy spirit ; it alwayes holds forth the glorious spirit or soul of man : let me onely direct you to one or two scriptures upon this account , luke 1. 46. my soul doth magnifie the lord and my spirit rejoyceth in god my saviour , psal . 94. 19. in the multitude of my thoughts within me , thy comforts delight my soul . psal . 42. 1 , 2. as the hart panteth after the water brooks , so panteth my soul after thee , o god ; my soul thirsteth for god , for the living god ; when shall i come and appear before him . psal . 73. 26. my heart and my flesh faileth me , but god is the strength of my soul , and my portion for ever . 3. when you read of soul , as that which men cannot kill or destroy , is alwayes intended this excellent part ; see matth. 10. 28. fear not them that kill the body but cannot kill the soul . 4. lastly , when you read of soul , as that which lives when the body dies , or is commended into the hands of god at death ; you must alwayes take it in those scriptures for the same . 6. by soul sometimes is meant only the body distinct from the spirit or immortal part ; see josh . 10. 28 , 37. and the king thereof he utterly destroyed , and all the souls that were therein ; and they smote the king thereof and all the souls that were therein ; and in this sense soul is to be taken in this place . but that i may proceed , a word to explain the other term , to wit , the hand of the grave . by hand , beloved , often in scripture is meant power , isa . 50. 2. is my hand shortned , that it cannot redeem ? that is , have i lost my power to redeem ? so acts 4. 3. my text thus briefly opened , i shall proceed as most suiting with our present occasion , to take notice of one doctrinal truth from the words ▪ which take as followeth . doct. that all men must die . or thus , that no man whatsoever , can escape the power of the grave . i shall , god assisting , endeavor to demonstrate and confirm the truth of this proposition . the holy spirit doth not slightly pass it by , but puts a remora to it ; viz. that emphatical signal word selah , which shews us that this word calls for meditation and our diligent attention ; it doth lay a kind of an arrest upon our spirits , not passing from it till we have seriously weighed the matter . what man is he that liveth , and shall not see death ? death will be too hard for him , and too powerful to resist ; there is no withstanding the strength of this king , he will bring all into subjection : he is said in rom. 5. 12 , 14. to reign over all , and so he is called the terror of kings as well as king of terrors , he is so to the wicked ; and what king hath as many subjects as death hath ? and that i may demonstrate it , consider age cannot rescue any man from the hand of death ; the oldest man must die . all those that lived before the flood are dead . methuselah lived nine hundred sixty nine years , gen. 5. 27. but alass at last the words tell you , and he died ; he lived near a thousand years , but at last was forced to subject to the grave . 2. as the oldest man must die , so must the strongest . sampson was a mighty man , yet sampson must die . death will make the stoutest hearts to faint , and the strongest legs to tremble . one dieth in his full strength , being wholly at ease and quiet ; his breasts are full of milk and his bones are moistned with marrow , job 21. 23 , 24. if any were likely to encounter or grapple with death , we may suppose that this is the man ; he who is in his perfect strength , free from distempers ; signified by that word , wholly at ease and quiet : yet alass all will not do , this man was forced to yield , he is made deaths captive . 3. the wisdom and policy of man cannot deliver from the power of the grave . the wisest prince that ever late upon a throne was forced to stoop to the sovereign hand of death . wise men die , faith the psalmist , likewise the fool , psal . 49. 10. in death there is no remembrance of the wise more than the fool , eccl. 2. 16. the most grave and politick in all ages of the world , after all their famous and deep contrivances , have been overcome by death . 4. riches cannot deliver from death , if it could we should have few rich men die ; doubtless they would give their all to save themselves from the grave : they would leave but little to friends or executors , could they but bribe death with their silver and gold. i have read of one who would make a tryal , and so called for a bag of gold , when on a sick-bed , and laid it to his trembling heart ; but presently cried out , away , away with it ; it will not do . oh my beloved , riches will not avail you in the day of wrath , prov. 11. 4. and as it will not in the day of judgement , so it will not in the hour of death . the brutish person dies and leaves his wealth behind him , psal . 49. 10. the cardinal of winchester , who procured the death of the good duke of glocester in the reign of king henry the sixth , was shortly after taken with a grievous disease ; who understanding by his physicians that he could not live , murmurring and repining thereat , he cried out , ( fie ) will not death be hired ? will money do nothing , must i die , that have so great riches ? if the whole , realm would save my life , either by policy i can get it , or by riches i can buy it . but yet all would not do , the proud cardinal must submit to death . 5. as riches will not deliver from the power of the grave , so likewise earthly power and worldly sovereignty and greatness , cannot do it ; all the mighty potentates and monarchs , the holy scripture and ancient histories acquaint us of , where are they ? hath not death subdued them all ? after all their grandeur and pomp they were all cut down by deaths all-conquering hand , and now their glory lies in the dust . augustus caesar one day triumphs in the greatness of his strength , the next day is stabbed to death with bodkins herod king of the jews , one hour is admired as a god , the next hour is made a feast for worms , acts. 12. 22 , 23. the great conqueror alexander . who subdued he greatest part of the world , is at last overcome by death . death makes no difference between the king in his royalty on the throne , and the begger in rags upon the dunghill alexander having received 2 wounds at the siege of great city in india , finding himself to be sore wounded , was in some measure made sensible of his own fragillty ; and cried out to his flattering followers , you call me the son of jupi●er , but i perceive i am subject to wounds and death as well as other men . death bringeth down the loftiest looks of man. i have read that in the library of dublin there is a globe at the one end and at the other end the picture of death , to shew that though man was lord of the whole universe , i. e must submit to death . thus you see that all the pomp and glory of the world hath been cut down by the power of the grave . but again , 6. as worldly dignities cannot deliver from the power of the grave , so glorious titles will not do it . those worthies that god conferred glorious titles upon , yea so far as to give his own name unto them ; to be called gods . one would think that this , if any were the most likeliest to exempt a man from the grave , and yet it will not do , psal . 82. 6 , 7. i have said ye are gods , but with the same breath adds , ye shall die like men , and fall like one of the princes . but , 7. eminency in grace and spiritual endowments , or divine qualificacations , will not be able to rescue a soul from the power of the grave . all the patriarchs of old they are gone ; where are all those choice and renowned in grace that we read of , who shined in their day like the stars in the firmament ? oh! where are those troops of israelites that excelled in patience , chastity , temperance , holiness and humility ? these could not deliver themselves from death . the righteous perish , and no man layeth it to heart ; and merciful men are taken away : none considering that the righteous are taken away from the evil to come , isa . 57. 1. 8. lastly , no spiritual dignity , office , or place , can deliver from the hand of the grave ; though a person be never so much in the favour of god , and honoured by christ jesus ; though never so laborious for the good of souls , as to be an embassador of peace and minister of the gospel , yet these will not exempt from death : your fathers where are they and the prophets , do they live for ever ? zech. 1. 5. thus you have heard the doctrine made good and confirmed , that there is no man living that shall not see death , or be able to deliver himself from the power of the grave . i shall onely give you two or three reasons of the point , and so proceed to the application . if you question why all must die , take two or three things for an answer . 1. reas . because all have sinned . sin and death came into the world together . death came by the fall in the garden , 't is part of the punishment due to us for that transgression ; rom. 5. 12. wherefore as by one man sin entred into the world , and death by sin , so death passed upon all men ; for that all have sinned ; the wages of sin is death , rom. 6. 23. we may cry out in the words of a holy man , o sin , sin , 't is thou , which by thy just deserts hast caused all the funerals that ever have been . thus you see all must die , because all have sinned . 2. reas . because god hath decreed that all men must die , heb. 9. 27. and as it is appointed for men once to die , and after that to judgement . though death be natural and the punishment of our sins , yet we die by gods appointment . we let in death by our sin , and god causeth death to proceed upon us , to make good the justice and severity of his own threatning . i know , saith job , thou wilt bring me to death , to the house appointed for all living , job 30. 23. on the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die ; dust thou art , and to dust shalt thou return ; gen. 2. 17. 3. 19. 3. reas . lastly , why god will bring all men to the grave ; and i shall add no more , because he would thereby magnifie his glorious attributes ; as first out of infinite grace , commiseration and goodness , he brings his own children to the grave , knowing the miseries , sad afflictions and troubles that doth attend them in this life . here most times poor saints , with lazarus , have their evil things ; many are their afflictions , and this way god takes to deliver them out of them all . death opens a door to glory to every gracious soul ; and secondly god by death prepares the bodies of his saints for eternal bliss and happiness . he brings the body to the grave , that it may be purified and made a glorious and most amiable body ; 't is sown , that it might be raised more glorious , 1 cor. 15. 42 , 43 , 44. god doth with the bodies of his saints , with reverence be it spoken , as they do with their earthen vessels in china , they bury them in the earth for many years , and when they take them out , the nature and worth of them is far transcendent . 2. the ungodly must die , that god may magnifie on them his own infinite justice . death having seized their body , their souls must go to its place , to suffer the intollerable pains and incensed wrath of the almighty ; and that their bodies also , with their souls , when they shall hereafter meet together again , might he made fit fuel for eternal flames to kindle upon : for now as they are in this mortal state they cannot endure the terrible wrath of god , but would soon be freed of all bodily pain and extremity , were they cast into that lake that burns with fire and brimstone . thus much for the reasons of the point ; more might be said , but i must hasten to the application . i have onely four uses to make of it , as first an use of exhortation , secondly an use of direction , thirdly an use of lamentation , fourthly an use of consolation . first , by way of exhortation , is it so beloved , must all men die ? can none deliver his own soul from the power of the grave ? must every mothers child of us take up our lodging there ? is the dark grave the appointed house for all living ? shall the proudest and loftiest be brought down to the dust ? must that little cool house under ground hold us all ? then poor sinners shall i prevail with you to prepare for death ? let me exhort you to look about you and get ready . i remember , when the prophet came to good king hezekiah , isa . 38. 1. with that doleful tidings ( as upon some consideration and circumstances it might then appear to that holy man ) he bids him set his house in order , make provision for eternity : and this is the message that is brought to you this day : you must die and not live . and that i might enforce this word upon you , let me lay before you a few motives and awakening considerations . first , consider what a great favour and mercy it is that god hath let you and i live so long . others are long ago cut down and sent to the grave ; he hath not it may be given many half of those dayes which thou hast had : look upon this as a mercy indeed , considering thy life was forfeited before thou wert born . sirs we came into the world with the sentence of death upon us ; and if jehovah had cut us down in our sins many years ago , it would have been but a piece of justice . and what is the end of god in sparing of us , but that we might be fitted for the place whither we are going . oh how unwilling is god to strike the fatal blow , to cut men down before they are prepared for death . he is not willing they should perish , and that is the reason of his patience , long-suffering , and forbearance , sinners lay it to heart . secondly , consider what dreadful provocations you and i have given him to take us away , and command death in his name to arrest us . have we not grieved , burdened , yea even wearied him with our iniquities ? nay , have we not pierced him ? may he not cry out , as being pressed as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves , amos 2. 13. is it not a sad and most lamentable thing , thus to deal with a loving and gracious god ? thirdly , how often hath the lord called you , and yet you have rebelled ? hath not he stretched out his hand all the day long , and yet you have not hearkned ; but have rejected his counsel and cast his word and reproofs behind you ; yea , and often resisted his holy spirit in the common motions and workings thereof ? have you not many of you refused his grace , son , and divers sweet and precious calls and offers of love. and certain i am , you have had many of these in this place , nay , how many warnings have you had of the near approach of death ? nay , awakening summons to prepare for the grave , as you would answer it before the dreadful judge of heaven and earth ; by my dear brother that is fallen asleep ; whom we shall hear no more ? oh what pains did he take with some of you , that so you might be ready ? have not you and i notwithstanding all this hearkened to a base deceitful heart , and inticeing and tempting devil ? have you stouted it out against all pains and endeavours used for spiritual awakenings , and are you yet alive ? then consider how much this calls upon you to be ready to die ? will any dare , that are sensible of the worth of their immortal souls , neglect this concern any longer ? 4. consider , that the abuse of mercy and goodness will greatly aggravate thy misery in the day of wrath : oh remember what it is to sin against light , love , and patience . shall the goodness of god , that should lead to repentance , encourage and harden thee in thy iniquity ? how dost thou think to escape the judgement of god ? or despisest thou , as saith the apostle , the rich's of his goodness , forbearance and long-suffering , not knowing that the goodness of god leadeth thee to repentance ; but aftey thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of god ; who will render to every man according to his deeds , rom. 2. 4. 5 , 6. sentence is past against a sinner , but because it is not speedily executed , therefore the hearts of men are fully set within them to do wickedly , eccl. 8. 11. christ knocks at the door and yet sinners will not hear . christ may speak of sinners as god speaks of israel of old , my people will have none of me , psal . 81. 11. oh what have you to answer for abused mercy and favour ! what what will you do hereafter , when christ , who waits upon you now to save you , will then turn his face from you in the day of your calamity , and plead against you to condemn you ? see prov. 1. 28. 5. consider for christs sake of those advantages you have had and still have : if some had the like , we may conclude they would have made better use and improvement of them then some of you have done . hath not god afforded you the gospel beyond what he hath to divers parts of the world ? nay , what a gracious and powerful ministration of it hath there been continued for some time in this place ? you have had helps above thousands , god hath taken much pains with you that have attended upon the word here . where god gives many talents , he requires the improvement of them ; what will become of jerusalem and capernaum in the day of judgement ? and hath not gods spirit striven with you also ? nay , and hath not conscience endeavoured to awaken you ? have you not had summons and calls from thence ? hath not that often reproved you for neglect of seasons , flighting of sermons , and indulging your selves in iniquity and secret lusts and omissions of duty ? oh! how many sharp checks and rebukes have you had from within ? nay , and besides all this , what awakening judgements to prepare for the grave , have you and i had ; dreadful plague , fire and sword : and what further means could god make use of in an ordinary way for allarming and stirring of us up to prepare for our change , aud turning of our souls to himself , and fitting of us for eternity ? and shall none of these work upon you ? shall all means fail ? shall the gospel be preached in vain ? shall ministers spend their study , their breath , nay their strength , to no purpose : what will you do then in the end ? 6. do you know that you shall have all these helps continued to you ? will god still suffer his holy spirit to strive with you ? alass , death may soon have commission to seize you and carry you into the other world ; but should you live , are you sure god will still wait upon you : upon such rebels , who have slighted and undervalued his grace , son , and gospel ? sirs , i must tell you , alluding to that in genesis 6. which hath often been upon my heart ; that the blessed spirit shall not alwayes strive with man : means and advantages are like to be taken away . god ere long may say to conscience , be still , reprove that man , that woman no more : you may be left to commit wickedness without remorse or trouble . god may give you up to a hardened and sordid heart , to a seared and filthy conscience , yea , and refuse in mercy to afflict you any more ; see hosea 4. 14. may not he that hath taken away a minister , an able one , a sweet and precious labourer , take away ere long a sweet and precious gospel ; and what will become of your souls then ? 7. do you know for certain the gospel shall be continued to this land ? be you sure you shall hear the joyful sound ? let me tell you my thoughts freely , though i pretend not to a spirit of prophesie ; yet mark what follows : i tremble to think what is coming upon us as a punishment of our sins . i fear , beloved , the gospel is a going . ephraim hath grey hairs here and there , though he know it not ; and grey hairs are a sign that our morning or best days are gone ; secondly , they commonly bring a wrinkled face , or a decay of beauty ; our goodness , like ephraims , are even like the morning dew : thirdly , they bring feebleness , or a decay of strength : fourthly , they shew that death and mortality draws near . we have heard , some of us , that he was grey a great while ago ; i doubt he is white , by this time . there are sad symptomes upon us , i know not how soon we may have cause to cry ichabod , because the glory is departed . are we not in danger to be over-spread with popery , confusion , and darkness ; for if the gospel should continue , and gods people resolve to do their best , by their prayers and prizing of it , to hold it fast ; yet are you sure you shall have ministers to prcach unto you ? many have been taken of late away , and one at this time before your eyes is gone , a faithful and able one ; whom now you shall hear no more . but should there be ministers and opportunities , yet you may be left to your selves , to ripen for hell and ruin ? nay , is not christ already crying over you , as he did over jerusalem ; oh that thou hadst known in this thy day the things that belongeth to thy peace ; but now they are hid from eyes ; luke 19. 42. oh that these things might take hold and touch your conscicnces . 8. consider of the shortness and uncertainty of your dayes ? alas , what is your life , you know not how soon death may come and knock at your doors , or look in at your windows ? it may be some of you have had many years , but this consider of , you know not how few the rest may be behind ; you have no promise from god , no lease or assurance that you have one year more ; where hath god told you that you shall ? nay one half year ? you cannot assure your self you shall have one month , no not one week , no not one day . you may be stricken by death before you return home . boast not thy self of too morrow , for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth , pro. 27. 1. many that are young , hope that they may have many years ; the child thinks to be a youth , and the youth to be a man , and a man till he is full of dayes : but alass , they consider not how brittle they are ; they do not lay to heart the uncertainty of their lives . david desired to know his end and the measure of his days , that he might know how frail he was , psal . 39. 4 , 5. many do not take a right measure of their dayes , they measure not by a lawful rule . what say some , my father and grandfather lived to a good old age , and i hope to attain to their years . others measure by their present health ; they are not diseased nor sickly ; but of a good healthful constitution : but alass , this is no sure rule , thou mayest notwithstanding all this be quickly in the grave ; such sometimes death makes to stoop on a sudden , they go many times before sickly persons . others measure their dayes by their present strength , they fear not death upon that account ; yet they die as you have heard ; though wholly at ease : these do not go by the kings standard neither . let me tell you what is a right and true measure for your dayes , account them then by the morning dew and flower of the field . man that is born of a woman , saith holy job , is but of few dayes ; he cometh forth like a flower and is cut down : and flieth away like a shadow and continueth not . job 14. 12. naturalists tells us of a plant that lasts but for a day , this plant thou or i may be . the heathen hath observed that the rose grows old in its very budding . mankind is like jonah's gourd , that came up in a night and perished in a night . nothing fades sooner than a flower , oh measure thy dayes by that and by the vapour that appeareth for a little while and then vanisheth away ; the spiders web , the swift post , the weavers shuttle , or a ship under sail . persons never so rich or great , never so beautiful , never so weak of strong , wise or foolish , vertuous or vicious , as thou hast heard must die . may not the thoughts of this move thee to a preparedness for the grave ? 9. consider how you have loytered hitherto and lost much of your precious time which god hath lent you to prepare for the grave . upon the improvement of your present time doth your eternal happiness depend , and if it be squandered away , what will become of your immortal and never dying souls ? if a man hath much work to do , work of the weightiest concern that must be done , or the man undone : business that would take up all his day , and it should so fall out that he had lost the morning , nay above half his day ; would it not concern him to set about the work with all his might , so as if possible to do two hours works in one ; lest the sun go down before the work is finished . redeem the time , because the days are evil , eph. 5. 16. alas sirs , are not the shadows of the evening upon some of you ? the lord help you to lay it to heart . do not think the whole work of your lives can be done upon a dying bed. oh consider old age is unfit for labour , and it is folly with a witness to think 't is time enough to sow when thou shouldest reap . delays proves the ruin of many thousands ; the night cometh , saith christ , when no man can work . 10. and lastly , consider what will become of your precious souls , if death takes you before you are ready ; for it will not stay for you : will he be bribed or perswaded to come another time ? i remember a young maid in the countrey that was sick , and as she grew near her end , she cried out to be spared one quarter of a year , one month ; but when that would not be granted ; rather than fail , one week : but die she did , greedy death will have no denial . oh what a sad sight is it to see a christless soul a dying ! when death sits upon your trembling lips , and you not prepared , what would you give for peace and pardon then ? when pale death comes upon thee like a sturdy sergeant , and doth arrest thee in the name of the great king of heaven and earth , he will hale you along ; to prison you must go . death comes upon a wicked man like a hungry lyon , tearing their souls from their bodies ; to such he is indeed the king of terrors : he comes on them like a fiery serpent , with his venomous sting ; with which he wounds them and lays them a bleeding to all eternity . oh to have the soul dragged out of the body and cast into hell , is of a dreadful and amazing consideration . with this i shall conclude the use of exhortation . the next is an use of direction to poor sinners and all others that would be prepared for the grave , if this be so . first , doth not some poor soul hear say , oh what shall i do that i may be prepared for the grave ? have you a heart , a mind , a desire indeed to be fitted for that hour ? then in the first place labour to get a full sight and sense of your sins , and of your lost and undone condition by nature . oh what a miserable creature hath sin made man , or rather man by sin made himself ? that must needs be the greatest evil , that deprives man of the greatest good . god is mans chief good , sin deprives man of this good ; sin makes man hated or god , and causeth man to resemble satan ; who is the opposite of god. the carnal mind is enmity against god , this enmity must be removed , unless a man be born again , he cannot see the kingdom of god , john 3. 3. secondly , labour to get brokenness of heart , oh strive to melt in the sight and sense of your iniquity . sinner what hast thou done , wilt thou sin away thy mercies , sin away thy ministers ? gods hand is lifted up , we are under sore rebukes of the almighty , though i fear few are sensible that it is the fruit of their transgressions . may we not say with the prophet , no man repenteth him of his wickedness , saying , what have i done ? jer. 8. 6. god expects and looks for tears of repentance , a broken and a contrite heart is a sacrifice that he will not despise . if you are not broken in the sense of the odious and abominable nature of sin , broken into pieces now , you are like to be broken with horror under the weight of the punishment hereafter . oh! is it not better to be smitten and broken in a way of mercy , in order to healing ; then to be broken in a way of wrath and judgement , when there will be no help nor cure for you . thirdly , labour so get an interest in jesus christ . oh that this opportunity might have some tendency this way ! unless ye believe that i am he , saith jesus christ , you shall die in your sins . soul never rest and be satisfied , till thou canst say with thomas , my lord and my god , john 20. 28. can you still stand it out against such precious patience and offers of grace ? will you not yet open to christ ? shall he call and cry to you and will you give him no entertainment ? can you close in with a better friend ? how long hath he stood knocking at the doors of your hearts ? was he not graciously calling upon you the last lords day ? and now in mercy he is giving you another knock . oh fear lest he depart ! is he not ready to take his farewell of you ? have you not let him stand till his head was wet with the dew , and his locks with the drops of the night ? sinner , sinner , hasten to him , and open the door , do'st not hear that lovely voice that was spoken to the blind man , be of good comfort , rise , he calleth thee , mark 10. 49. it may be you will ask where ? i 'll tell thee , if thou art a weary and burdened soul , that feelest the weight of thy sin , there is a precious word spoken for thy sake , take hold of it ; matth. 11. 28. come unto me all you that are weary and heavy laden , and i will give you rest ; take my yoke upon you , and learn of me , for i am meek and lowly in heart ; and you shall find rest for your souls . oh the sweetness of that word , take it and receive it down . fourthly , labour in the strength of christ to oppose every sin . see that there be no sweet morsel hid , no dalilah , no pleasant nor profitable lust spared . o cry with david , search me , o lord , and try my heart ; prove me , and know my thoughts ; psal . 139. 23. fifthly , take heed you do not sin against light. neglect no conviction either of sin or duty , if you would be prepared for the grave : then shall i not , saith david , be ashamed , when i have respect to all thy commandments ; psal . 119. 6. sixthly , never be satisfied until you have all your sins subdued . sin must be crucified , or the soul must die , rom. 8. 13. to this i might add ( for i cannot enlarge ) make it your business also to get your sins pardoned ; so that you may have the feeling sense of the forgiveness of them in your own hearts . seventhly , labour after a pure conscience . what will stand your souls in greater stead , when you come to die than this ? paul's great care and endeavour was , to keep a conscience void of offence towards god and toward men , acts 24. 16. i must tell you , an accusing conscience will be a bad death-bed companion . i remember what our dear friend spake to me in the time of his sickness . oh brother , said he , a good conscience is the best refuge . that was his rejoycing , alluding to that text , 2 cor. 1. 12. the testimony of his conscience , that in simplicity and godly sincerity ; not with fleshly wisdom , but by the grace of god he had his conversation in the world . it matters not who reproach us , if conscience doth not ? conscience , as i told some of you lately , will be your best friend ; if a friend , a friend indeed , a friend in adversity ; a friend at death , and a friend in the day of judgement . oh what would some men give for such a friend ? but if constience be an enemy , he is the worst of enemies . conscience is a secret enemy , an enemy that is privy to all we have done ; he knows all our thoughts , yea those secret lusts and evils , that lie in our hearts ; and he will not be flattered . he will tell the truth and all the truth . conscience will lay all open in the dreadful day of account before angels and men , rom. 2. 15. holy job resolved to hold his integrity fast and not to let it go ; his heart should not reproach him as long as he lived , job 27. 5 , 6. sincerity of heart and a good conscience will be a good sanctuary at the hour of death . the lord help you to lay these things to heart . i might give you more directions which i am forced to omit , because of time . onely this , if thou wouldst be prepared for the grave , take this one , which was not then delivered ; which i am sorry i did omit . eightly , beware of resting in the form of godliness without the power . 't is an easie thing to conform to the outward part of religion ; to take up ordinances and come into churches : but oh what will become of the foolish virgins . sinners in zion ere long will be afraid , and fearfulness will surprize the hypocrites . many of you heard those excellent soal-searching sermons of your dear pastor now deceased on 2 tim. 3. 5. oh that you would labour to call them to mind ! and those upon a well-ordered conversation ; from psal . ●50 . and the last verse . what pains did he take with you , that you might not deceive your selves and miss at last of eternal life ? i think there was never more formality amongst christians and carnality amongst professors in the churches , than in these dayes : no marvel if god bring a day of dreadful tryals and afflictions upon us , that those that are approved , may be made manifest . tremble sranners , for god is a coming forth to refine his people ; he will search jerusalem with candles ; zeph. 1. 12. and woe to them that are at ease in zion ; however you appear now to men , your sins ere long will find you out . i now must come to the third use , which must be an use of lamentation ; and indeed i know not well how to enter upon it , my heart is full . is it so ? must all die ? can none deliver their own souls from the power of the grave ? must husbands die , dear husbands ? must fathers die , yea tender fathers ? must friends , our dearest friends die ? ministers , nay , our choice and godly pastors , must they die too ? oh greedy death ! oh cruel tirant ! oh that ever we sinned ! this may well be for a lamentation . samuel died , and israel made great lamentations for him . your samuel is gone , but no asking for him again , he cannot come . in acts 8. 2. it is said devout men carried stephen to his burial , and made great lamentation over him . o spare me a little , you have lost one who laboured to do the work of his generations in faithfulness . let me lay down some grounds that we have for a lamentation . 1. oh it 's grievous to loose a godly preacher , a pastor , a faithful labourer . 't is a day of mourning , my soul as well as yours is full . alas there is but few of them ! we have need of more , and lord do'st thou take away these we have ? 2. but if any should say we have many yet left behind , i must say not many such , who make it their main work and business to bring souls to jesus christ . there are but few who naturally care for the flock : few preach christ for christs sake , that are willing to spend and be spent for his name sake ; like our dear brother , now with the lord. may i not say with paul , some preach christ out of envy , and some of strife ; onely with this variation , are there not many who preach jesus christ not sincerely , but have self and sinister ends at the bottom . but to leave that , however , if god proceed and go on after this rate to take our preachers away , there will be few enough ere long . 3. you have not onely lost a pastor , a shepherd , a tender one , but you have lost a father . many of you must follow your father this day to the grave . you have many instructors in christ , yet not many fathers . he hath been an instrument through the word and the operation of the spiri● in his ministry , to beget many of you to jesus christ . may you not cry out with elisha when elijah was taken up from him , my father , my father , the horsemen of israel and the chariots thereof ; and he saw him no more , 2 kings 2. 12. he is now gone , you will hear him no more , see him no more . this golden trumpet is now stopped , you will hear it sound no more . 4. consider the time in which god hath taken him away , when the harvest is white , or when the fields are ripe to harvest ; when many sinners are ready to be brought in to jesus christ . the loss is great , oh how shall it be repaired ? how shall the harvest be gathered in , when the chief labourer in this field is gone ? 5. ministers are and fitly may be compared to pilots ; the church to a ship passing through a troublesome ocean , amongst many rocks and sands ; and when such die , how shall the poor marriners steer , especially , considering the dangerous and grievous stormes that do now appear : is not this a ground of lamentation ▪ 6. ministers are compared to shepheards , that are to keep the flock and watch over them to take care of the tender lambs ; and let me tell you , ravenous wolves are abroad , yea and the cunning fox , nay as crafty foxes as ever were in the world ; and the shepherd being gone , may we not fear that which will follow ; is not the flock in danger to be scattered . 7. ministers of the gospel may be compared to captains , to encourage us in our spiritual warfare , and now alas your leader is gone , he is taken from you , and are we not surrounded with enemies ? may we not say with leah in another case , gen. 30. 11. a troop cometh ; a troop of troubles , a troop of afflictions , a troop of temptations , a troop of miseries and persecutions ; i wish improve not a troop of division to the scattering of us : the lord i hope will prevent it . 8. ministers of the gospel are compared to trees , the trees of the lord are full of sap . psal . 104. 16. the lip of the righteous feed many ( saith solomon ; and this was a fruitful tree . oh the sweet fruit it did bear , most precious fruit it yielded us for many years . oh what good have many gathered out of the branches thereof . but now alas it is ( cut down ) it will bear fruit for you no more ; you shall hear him pray no more , preach no more , and is not this a ground of lamentation . 9. saints and ministers of the gospel are the interest of the nation , city , or place where they live . was not lot the interest of sodom ? i cannot do any thing till thou be come thither , gen. 19. 22. till lot was gone , fire and brimstone could not come upon that miserable city . oh what love hath god to the poor preachers of righteousness . but again , was not jacob the interest of labans family ? how did god bless him for jacobs sake ? the like might be minded of joseph to the egyptians ▪ ye , saith our blessed saviour , are the light of the world and the salt of the earth . to whom did he speak but to his disciples , his holy apostles , that he sent forth to preach glad tydings of great joy unto the nations . i might shew you wherein they are the interest of the place where they are , but i must hasten : take onely two or three brief hints . 1. they stand in the gap or in the breach . ours is a great one , the lord look upon us . they plead with god : when moses hands are up israel prevails , and when he lets down his hands amalek prevails , exod. 17. 11. oh how doth he cry out for a provoking generation . when jehovah cries , let me alone , that i may destroy them , exod. 32. 10. oh , saith joshua , what wilt thou do for thy great name ? if thou wilt not forgive their sin , saith moses , blot me out of thy book ▪ nay ▪ though god promised to make of him a great nation , yet he still lifts up a cry for them , exod ▪ 32. 10 , 11 , 32. 2. they are the interest of the nation where they are , by counselling , warning , and admonishing . 3. by their holy and exemplary conversations . except the lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant , we should have been as sodom and should have been like unto gomorrah , isa . 1. 9. 10. ground of lamentation , is because sin usually is the cause why god removes his faithful embassadors . he sends to treat with sinners about the concerns of their souls . i wish this stroke be not in judgement to some of your souls . the message they bring is often slighted , and thereby sinners slight and reject the king himself . they cry and lift up their voice like a trumpet , fore-warning of danger ; but none lays it to heart . they spend their strenght and weaken their bodies for the good of sinners souls ; but sinners slight it ▪ nay , if they should sweat drops of blood it would not do , it would not work in them remorse of conscience and repentance unto life . well , saith god , now i 'll wait upon thee no more , him that you despised and contemned , or neglected to hear , or whose counsel you did not regard , you shall hear no more . the taking 〈◊〉 of faithful preachers is one of the greatest judgement that can come upon sinners . but alas , it may not onl● be for the sins of the ungodly world ●●on unconverted sinners , but a punishment upon professors and church members ▪ for their inquiry ; they may not prize the mercy nor walk worthy of the blessing . they may not carry it as they ought to do to the labourer that is amongst them : they may grieve and wound his heart by their disorderly walking ; and god may from hence be provoked to take him a way . nay they may on the other hand overvalue him , they may idolize their teachers and look upon them above what is meet ; though sinful , yet 't is possible to eye man more than god by man. god may remove them . upon this account the apostle speaks of some that had mens persons in admiration . i am satisfied there is too great extreams in the world . we should have a care we do not receive the truth for the sake of a man , or to please men , because such and such says it ; but out of love to jesus christ , and because god hath commanded it . beloved , it may not be amiss to lay these things to heart , 't is good to hear the rod and to know who it is , and for what it is appointed . i do not charge any in particular . 11. and lastly , here is cause of lamentation , because evil and dark dayes many times follows the removal of gods worthies . when god take away so many faithful ones , what may we expect to look for . i might give divers instances of the sad effects , or what hath followed the taking godly persons & sincere labourers away * . but i am afraid i have been too tedious already , remember what the prophet saith , the righteous perisheth , and no man layeth it to heart ; merciful men are taken away ; and none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come . isa . 57. 1. thus much by way of lamentation and consolation . i have onely one use more , which shall be in the fourth place by way of comfort and consolation . 1. must all dye , the godly as well as the wicked ? is the grave the place prepared for all living ? must fathers , husbands , wives , children , ministres , and the dearest friends we have dye ? how shall we then comfort our selves against death ? if thou art a beleiver , i i have a word of comfort for thee ; there is none i am sure for christless souls . 2. consider death cannot hurt thee ; it cannot hurt those that are believers , because it hath lost his sting . death may hiss but cannot hurt : nothing makes death terrible to an ungodly man but it's sting . the sting of death is sin , but this is taken away from believers by jesus christ . oh death where is thy sting ? o grave where is thy victory ? 1. cor. 15. 55 , 56. 2. death cannot hurt a believer , because it cannot bring an annihilation of the body , though it bring an alteration upon the stare and condition of the body , yea and though the body be dissolved to dust , yet it shall not be lost , it shall rise to life again . 3. death cannot dissolve or break that blessed union there is between jesus christ and believers . though it may separate soul and body , yet it cannot separate either from jesus christ , and the soul immediately will be in a more glorious enjoyment of christ ; and though the body for a while must lie in the grave , yet that dust is precious dust in christs sight . 4. consider death cannot keep the body long under its power , nor keep soul and body apart ; 't is but a little while and they will meet again . death and the grave are conquered enemies . saints by faith can now , through jesus christ triumph over them , and shall have a compleat , a full conquest , over a short space . 5. death has not power to cast into hell , if conscience condemns thee not , if the word convicts thee not , if god passeth not the sentence upon thee , death has no power to do it . death can but bring to the grave , 't is sin that casteth the soul into hell . 6. consider death is thine , that is , 't will be for thy profit and advantage every way . remember that sweet word of paul to the corinthians , 1. cor. 3. 22. whether paul or apollo , or cephas , or life , or death , or things present , or things to come , all are yours ; it will be every way for thy good . consider what freedom thou wilt gain thereby . 1. it will free thee from a body of sin and death , that often makes thee go with a sorrowful heart . oh! hath it not oft made thee to cry out with st. paul , oh wretched man that i am , who shall deliver me from this body of sin and death ? oh what is a greater trouble to a child of god than indwelling sin ? he cannot do the things he would do . but now comes death and frees thee of all these soul perplexities and disquietments . sin makes a saint to groan , being burthened ; but now thou shalt grieve christ and his spirit , nor thy own soul no more . is not this that a poor saint longs for ? 2. 't will free thee from a poor crazy , diseased , or distempered body . there will then be no crying out of back or bone , nor head not heart any more ; 't will be with thee as with the church in the glorious day to come , rev. 21. 4. there shall be no more death , neither sorrow , nor crying , neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things are passed away . 3. it will free thee from an evil and wicked world . oh what a defiling , ensnaring , and bewitching world is this ? what hinders us of our joy and peace in christ more than it ? what greater vexation to us ? oh how many precious saints are clogged and imprisoned by the cares of the world , which many times is ready to choak the seed of holy desires after christ : but by death thou shalt be delivered . 4. it will free thee out of the hands of presecutors . thou wilt , ( with our dear brother ) be out of their reach then : they shall not disquiet thee , imprison thee , nor torment thee any more . there , saith job ( speaking of the grave ) the wicked cease from troubling ; and there the weary be at rest ; there the prisoners rest together , they hear not the voice of the oppressor , job 3. 17 , 18. 5. death will free thee from an envious raging and tempting devil . he will have not more power to disturb thee , accuse thee , nor by his cursed suggestions , to vex and perplex thy soul ; no , nor any other ways to hurt or annoy thee . o will not this be to thy great advantage ? who would be unwilling to die , that hath an interest in jesus christ ? 6. thou wilt hereby also be freed from all the discords and troubles that rise amongst brethren . the unworthy and disorderly lives of professors shall sadden thy heart then no more . this was that which worried and grieved the blessed apostle , phil. 3. 18. our dear brother is set at liberty from all these things , disorders in the church , no loose walking of members thereof , will burden nor trouble him again . 7. nay and death will free thee of all that trouble that riseth from those inward becloudings and hideings of god's face . it will never be night with the soul any more ; thou wilt then be with christ and behold his face with joy for ever . 8. and lastly , thou wilt also be freed of all thy toilsome pains and labour , of what nature soever it be . o how good is rest to a weary soul ? blessed are the dead which die in the lord , yea , saith the spirit , that they may rest from their labours , and their works do follow them , rev. 14. 13. but then once again , consider what a blessed state thy soul will be in at death . if thou art a true beliver , thou shalt not onely have hereby a negative good , it will not simply a freedom from all those sorrows and troubles thou hast heard , but thy soul shall immediately receive transcendent joy with jesus christ . for me to live , saith paul , is christ , and to die is gain . the advantage the soul receives upon this account , made paul so much desire to depart and be with christ ; which he says is far better , phil. 1. 21. pray observe his words , he doth not say it will be gain to him when he rises again , no , but to die is gain * . i shall receive more joy , more consolation , more of the fulness of god and christ ( as if he should say ) when i die , then i can whilest i am in this body . mind that passage in 2 cor. 5. 1. for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved , we have a building of god , a house not made with hands , eternal in the heavens . compare this with ver . 6. therefore we are always confident , knowing that whilst we are at home in the body , we are absent from the lord. the apostle doth not say we know when this earthly house is broken down and raised up again , we have a building with god , eternal in the heavens . ( pray consider it ) but plainly when it is dissolved , when it is turned to its dusty crums : ( we have ) that is our souls , he can intend nothing else . by ( we ) he means their better part , which he compares to an inhabiter , and the body to the house or tabernacle in which it dwels . oh what an excellent thing is the soul of man over the body . and now beloved , that the soul or better part is capable of being separated from the body , and in its seperate state from the body , capable of glorious enjoyments of god and high raptures of joy with jesus christ , doth appear most evident from that passsage of the apostle in 2 cor. 12. 1 , 2 , 3. it is not expendient for me doubtless , to glory , i will come to vissions and revelations of the lord. i knew a man in christ above fourteen years ago , whether in the body , i cannot tell ; god knoweth : such a one caught up to the third heaven . ver . 4. says , he was caught up into paradise , and heard unspeakable words , which is not lawful for a man to utter . the soul or spirit then it appears may be seperate from the body . i from this place thus argue , 1. if the soul or spirit of man be not capable of being seperated from the house of clay or earthly tabernacle , then paul might have boldly and safely have said the whole man was taken up , a soul and body together , and not one without the other , because it is impossible to seperate them : but since paul says he knows not whether in the body or out of the body , he plainly shews what opinion he was of . and then secondly , i may from what he says , reason after this manner , viz. if the soul in its seperated state from the body , be not able or capable to enjoy or take in heavenly comforts or consolations of jesus christ , paul might boldly and positively have said he was taken up in the body , because however he was caught up , whether within or without the body , he heard and saw unexpressible things ; he had high and soul-filling raptures of joy . the lord jesus promised the penitent thief that he should ( that is his chief or better part ) be that day with him in paradice . lord jesus ( saith stephen ) receive my spirit . o what a blessed thing it is to die in christ ? o what a happy estate is our friend in , the gain is exceeding great . some may say what doth a godly man gain by death ? i answer , first , they gain a glorious place , heaven , the glorious paradice of god , the mansions of glory that are in our fathers house ! who is able to conceive what a glorious place heaven is ? but then , secondly , they shall enjoy glorious company too . they shall be with jesus christ , have his company , in whose presence there is fulness of joy , and at whose right hand there be pleasures for evermore ; be with christ , holy angels , and glorious spirits of just men made perfect . o what a blessed state and condition of soul have they gained that are gone thither ! thirdly , we shall gain sweet peace . 't is not onely peace in christ ( that gods people have as their portion here ) but it shall be peace with christ . a woman that has a dear husband who is gone to sea , he is it may be in another countrey , yet she hears from him , receives tokens of love , she has much satisfaction of the stedfasteness of his love , cordialness of his affection ; in this she has peace and comfort , but alas what is this peace to that when he comes home , when she has him , enjoys his company ? o we shall see christ , enjoy him , yea lie in his arms to all eternity . enter thou , saith christ , into the joy of thy lord. that joy is too much to enter into us , therefore we must enter into that . mark the perfect man and behold the upright , for the end of that man is peace . he has peace in death , peace beyond death , yea and peace to all etrernity . and now one word more particularly to you that have lost your pastor : your loss i must confess is great ( though he hath gained hereby ) and it may be some of you are crying out , what shall we do ? beloved , you must labour for a quiet frame , strive for contentedness of heart ; 't is the lords hand upon you , 't is what he has done ; remember david , i was dumb , i opened not my mouth , because thou didst it , psal . 39. 9. 2. consider also your loss is not so great , but god is able to repair it and make it up to you , though you may not see which way it can be done , let it be your care to wait upon god ; cry to him , look up to the lord of the harvest , and patiently wait to see what he will do for you . 3. to support you under this sore affliction , consider the great shepherd of the sheep never dyes , he lives for ever ; and sure he that dyed for the sheep whose own sheep they are , will take care of them ; he will feed them and preserve them from danger , isa . 23. 1 , 2 , 3. the lord is my shepherd , saith david , i shall not want : he maketh me to lie down in green pastures : he leadeth me besides the still waters : he restoreth my soul : he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness , for his names sake . and from hence he takes courage , yea , though i walk thorow the valley of the shadow of death , i will fear no evil . oh what a blessed thing it is to have confidence in god , and to have such a shepherd ; the keeper of israel never slumbers nor sleepeth . and now to conclude one word to dear relations , and to comfort us all under the present dispensation . 1. consider death shall not seperate us long , we shall see one another again over a short time , he is gone but a little before ; let us think upon that glorious meeting we shall have ere long in the air , read 1 thes . 4. 13 , &c. i would not have you to be ignorant , brethren , concerning them which are asleep , that ye sorrow not , even as others which have no hope ; for if we believe that jesus died , and rose again ; even so them which sleep in jesus , will god bring with him : for this we say unto you by the word of the lord , that we which are alive , and remain unto the coming of the lord , shall not prevent them which are asleep : for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout , with the voice of the arch-angel , and with the trumpet of god : and the dead in christ shall rise first , then we which are alive and remain , shall be caught up together with them in the clouds , to meet the lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the lord : wherefore comfort one another with these words . what can i speak that may be more seasonable for comfort , then that which the holy spirit hath left upon record , upon that very account it will be but a little while and we shall see him again , we shall have a joyful meeting and never part more . o therefore be quieted , consider what you have heard what death is to a believer . shall not our friend go to rest ? alas he hath laboured hard , and o how sweet is this rest to him . when a man hath worked hard all day and wearied himself , how willing is he to go to bed at night ? alas he is but gone to sleep , to take sweet and quiet rest until the morning . 2. shall not we be willing he should have inlargement to be freed out of prison . alas our souls are as it were but in prison whilst we dwell here below in these houses of clay ; death as a porter opens a door into that glorious palace above he is but gone home to his fathers house , and how earnest was he to depart , that he might be present with the lord. 3. shall not he eat the fruit of his labour , he that soweth in tears shall reap in joy , those that go forth weeping bearing precious seed , shall doubtless come again rejoycing and bring their sheaves with them . 4. he having overcome , shall not he receive the crown ? paul having fought the good fight of faith , knew there was laid up for him a crown of righteousness : to him that overcometh , saith our saviour , will i grant to sit with me in my throne . even as i also overcame , and am set down with my father an his throne , rev. 3. 21. 5. and now in the last place and to shut up all , consider , uncertain is thy life , and mind ; you know not but that in a very few dayes you may go after , it will not be long be sure , and thither we all must go : for , what man is he , that liveth and shall not see death ? shall be deliver his soul from the hand of the grave ? selah . finis erata . pag. 4. l. 9. blot forth cut , p. 4. l 10. also blot forth out , p 9. l. 25 for is read it , p. 11. l. 14. blot out word , p. 15. for augustus caesar r. julius caesar , p 17. l. 2. for if r. of , p. 18. for question r. query , p. 32. l. 8. blot out and , p. 32. l. 9. for and r. for , p. 58. l. 8. blot out and consolation , which escaped in s●me copies . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a47613-e3280 * mr. clark gives us several instances how the death of the righteous hath been the fore-runner of sad and lamentable judgements : begins with methuselah before the flood , whose very name was very significant upon this account . also i lately met with a sermon of a godly minister in new england that was preached sometimes before their late calamities and miseries broke forth there , and amongst their other signs of approaching judgement , that he seemed to be very apprehensive of , he minds that of the dropping away of many holy and godly persons . oh how many able and godly preachers and others have we lost in a short space ? we may look upon it as one sad sign or symptome of approaching evil . * some probably may object the dead are not sensible of time , 't is but as a sleep to them ; they die and their resurrection to them immediately follows ; no distance of time between death and judgement the dead , and so paul's gain he speaks of 〈◊〉 might not be till the resurrection ? aasw . though it be granted death to the body is but as a sleep , yet 't is not so to the soul . but that this is not the intent or meaning of the apostle , is plain ; which i make out thus : paul plainly shews that if he did presently depart or die , it would be gain to him ; now if that which you say were true , he would have lost by death , 't is easie to see how , suppose he might live twenty or thirty years longer on earth , would not thirty years sweet enjoyment of jesus christ be worth nothing ? is not one ▪ day with god , beholding his lovely face , better than a thousand ? all know , that if he died presently , he should never the sooner obtain the resurrection , of this body , than if he had lived a hundred years longer ; this being well weighed , to die presently would have been his great loss , were not the soul in a present enjoyment of christ at death . god acknowledged, or, the true interest of the nation and all that fear god opened in a sermon preached december the 11th, 1695 : being the day appointed by the king for publick prayer and humiliation / by benjamin keach. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1696 approx. 106 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 25 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47528 wing k67 estc r18483 12349816 ocm 12349816 59947 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47528) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 59947) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 213:11) god acknowledged, or, the true interest of the nation and all that fear god opened in a sermon preached december the 11th, 1695 : being the day appointed by the king for publick prayer and humiliation / by benjamin keach. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 41, [1] p. printed for william marshal ... and john marshal ..., london : 1696. errata: p. 41. advertisements: p. 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ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng bible. -o.t. -proverbs iii, 5 -sermons. god -sermons. 2005-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-05 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-07 andrew kuster sampled and proofread 2005-07 andrew kuster text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion god acknowledged : or the true interest of the nation , and all that fear god. opened in a sermon preached december the 11th , 1695. being the day appointed by the king , for publick prayer and humiliation . with some additions . by benjamin keach . psal. 65. 2. o thou that hearest prayer , to thee shall 〈…〉 come . psal. 46. 10. be still and know that i am god. london : printed for william 〈…〉 god acknowledged : or the the true interest of the nation , and all that fear god : opened in a sermon , &c. prov. iii. vi. in all thy ways acknowledge him , and he shall direct thy paths . wisdom in this chapter , particularly in the first verse , giveth to her son , most needful and necessary counsel ; which ought to be observed by all who would be truly wise , viz. my son forget not my law , but let thy heart keep all my commandments . by wisdom , in several places of this book of solomon , is meant jesus christ ; by law , here may comprehend christ's doctrine , his word and holy precepts . in the second verse , he lays down a precious motive , to stir up all understanding persons thus to do ; for length of days , and long life , and peace , shall they add unto thee : that is , length of good days , a joyful life and peace shall attend thee : in the third verse , he gives another holy precept , let not mercy and truth forsake thee ; bind them about thy neck , write them upon thine heart . by mercy and truth , is meant , that which ought to be in the heart of man ; and as these two are frequently joyned together , as they are in god , so they ought always to be in us ; not mercy without truth , but both together : mercy , denotes all that benignity , clemency , compassion and charity , and readiness to do good to others , according to the place or station where we are set , or are placed . truth , may comprehend that inward sincerity , faithfulness and uprightness of heart , which should be in us to god and man , according to the holy precepts of gods word , and rules of justice and righteousness ; and these should be written or engraven upon the fleshly tables of our hearts , and so they will be as a chain of gold about the neck , or a precious ointment to the soul. in the fourth verse , we have a blessed motive and encouragement to do this , so shalt thou find favour , and a good understanding in the sight of god and man : in a serious and constant exercise of religion , we shall meet with gods acceptance , and attain unto a solid and spiritual understanding , which will render us honourable among all good men. in the fifth verse , he subjoyns another indispensible duty , trust in the lord with all thine heart , and lean not to thine own understanding : he hereby shews , that we should wholly rely upon gods wisdom , strength , promises and providence , for help and relief in all our affairs and dangers ; and not to think we can by our wisdom ( let our understanding be never so great , acute and clear ) accomplish our designs , or manage our affairs . to which he adds the words of my text , viz in all thy ways acknowledge him , and he shall direct thy paths . in the text are two parts : 1. we have a duty enjoyned , in all thy ways acknowledge him. 2. a promise or motive annexed , and he shall direct thy paths . as to the explanation of the words , consider these things following : 1. the subject , on whom the precept or duty is enjoyned thou my son , or sons ; it may refer to one single person , or to any one man that would be wise , and succeed well in his affairs or enterprizes , in whatsoever he takes in hand ; or it may comprehend any wise and pious community of men , civil or ecclesiastical ; for that which is the duty and true interest of any one true son of wisdom , as so considered , is the duty of all in every place or station where they are set , whether in church or state. 2. observe the object , acknowledge him ; that is , the lord ; as repeated in the context , trust in the lord : so here , acknowledge him ; i. e. he that is your creator , your god and only counsellor . 3. consider the matter of the duty , or what the duty or precept is , in all thy ways acknowledge him , that is , know him , own him , acknowledge his being , his wisdom , his power , his soveraignty , and expect counsel and success from him . 4. the universality of the duty , in all thy ways acknowledg god , seek to him , consult with him , and that not only in one or two main cases , that are of the greatest moment , or in some difficult exigencies ; but in all thy ways , whatsoever thou attempt to do , for thy self , family , church or state , thou must acknowledge god ; cry to him , consult with him who sits upon the throne , who is the mighty counsellor , and everlasting father , and only potentate , and great ruler of the world. in all thy designs and undertakings , whether it be about the things of this life , or about matters and things that concern the life that is to come . secondly , you have the motive , and he shall ( or he will ) direct thy paths : he will give thee wisdom and counsel , and shew thee a right way , and bless thee , and give thee good success , in all those things thou settest thy hand to do , or in that work thou goest about , wherein his name and glory is concerned , and thy good . from the words thus opened , i shall only observe one proposition or point of doctrine . doct. that it is the indespensible duty of every man , or all men who are sons of wisdom , in every thing they enter upon or go about to do , to acknowledge god , which they must do , if they would prosper or meet with success . in speaking to this proposition , i shall endeavour ( god assisting ) to do these things following . 1. shew you what it is to acknowledgd god , or open the purport of that word more largly . 2. shew you in what ways more particularly we should acknowledg god. 3. shew you how or after what manner we should acknowledg the lord. 4. give you the reasons of the point . 5. make application of the whole . 1. to acknowledge god , is to own the being of god , or that god is , or that there is one eternal and infinite being : it was a great while before proud pharoah would do this , and pharoah said , who is the lord , that i should obey his voice , to let israel go ? i know not the lord ; i am the soveraign lord of egypt , and i own no other superiour here ; what lord hath authority and power over me , to command me ? but the lord was resolved to make him know him and acknowledge him before he had done with him , and therefore poured forth his plagues upon him , and at last overthrew him in the red sea : those who will not acknowledge god , and so grorifie his dreadful name , he will glorifie himself upon them at last in their destruction : and the egyptians shall know that i am the lord , when i stretch forth my hand upon egypt , and bring out the children of israel from among them . moreover it was a great while before . nebuchadnezzer would be brought to acknowledge the most high god , therefore was he driven from men , and made to dwell with the beasts of the field , and to eat grass as oxen , and his body was wet with the dew of heaven , till his hairs were grown like eagles feathers , and his nails like birds claws . though this is the least degree of knowing and of acknowledging god , yet many do not thus acknowledge him in their hearts : they acknowledge him with their lips , but by their vvorks deny him : the fool hath said in his heart there is no god. 2. to acknowledge god , is not only to acknowledge his being , his holy essence , or deity ; but also that he is the absolute soveraign of the whole world , and sole governour of all things in heaven and earth : i know the lord is great , and that our lord is above all gods. vvhatsoever the lord pleaseth , that did he in heaven and in earth , and in all deep places , v. 6. there is no bounds to his power , but his own will ; and what his soul desireth that doth he . god's government is purely arbitrary , and none but his ought to be so ; his will , his law ; yet is his government most righteous , because he can will nothing but what is just and good. our god is in the heavens he hath done whatsoever he pleaseth : he hath power over all both men and devils , over kingdoms and nations , to dispose and determine them , and all things in them , as seemeth good to him . who shall say to him , what dost thou ? he that made all things , or gave being to all , must needs have power over all , and be lord of all ; 't is he that maketh war , and commandeth peace ; that sets up , and pulleth down ; that kills and maketh alive : 't is the glory of god ; he hath such an unlimated and an uncontroulable power , seeing he is perfectly just and righteous , as his power is inconceivable , so his will is incorruptible : i the lord have spoken it , it shall come to pass , and i will do it , i will not go back . as if the lord should say , it is my will it should be done , and therefore it shall be done : his counsel shall stand , and he will do all his pleasure . and this brethren we should know ; and this it is to acknowledge god. but , 3. to acknowledge god , is to own and acknowledge that all things come to pass by his all-wise providence : according to his eternal decree ; either by his special commission , or by his permission ; to say all things come to pass by gods special commmission , is to make him the author of sin ; but this know assuredly , that god did determine , before time , that he would do such things , or permit or suffer such things to come to pass , and be done , or else it was impossible it should ever be done : all the motions of the creature , even the most violent , and to appearance , contingent motions of the creature , are under the direction , yea , under the dominion of god. all things brethren , move as they are influenced by his power , and directed by his wisdom . is there any evil in the city , and i the lord have not done it . afflictions do not rise out of the dust , job . 6. 5. what evil soever cometh upon kingdoms or nations , cities or families , or particular persons , 't is by god's wise providence : evil came down from the lord to the gates of jerusalem . mich. 1. 12. god did not only make the world , but he disposeth of all affairs and matters therein , as he pleaseth ; the government of the world is as much of god and his work , as the making of it ; there is in all occurrences or transactions of men , a wheel within the wheel , and this we ought to know and to acknowledge : this is to acknowledge god. 4. and from hence it followeth , that to acknowledge god , is to acknowledge his omnisciency : the eyes of the lord run too and fro , through the whole earth , to shew himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is upright towards him , 2 chron. 16. 9. if god had not a perfect knowledge of all things , how could he govern the world ? the text that i mentioned last , shews two things . 1. the perfect knowledge god hath of whatsoever is done throughout the whole earth . 2. his providence over all , even over the whole earth , in ordering and disposing of all things therein , and particularly his care of his own people ; his eyes behold , his eye-lids try the children of men , psal. 11. 4. the lord doth not only know all things and persons , but he hath a clear understanding of them : all things are naked and manifest to his eyes with whom we have to do . heb. 4. 13. the eye of god signifies the knowledge of god , he sees as well what is in man , as what is done by man ; he knows our thoughts a far off , before they are conceived , he knows what they will be ; there is nothing done , nor intended to be done , but it is known by the almighty ; his eyes are like a flaming fire , of a piercing and and penitrating nature : the eyes of the lord are every where , beholding the evil and the good , prov. 15. 3. man sees the face , the outside , but god searcheth and discerneth the heart ; the eyes of man may be deceived , but the eyes of god cannot ; christ 't is said , needed not that any should testifie of man , for he knew what was in man , joh. 2. 25. this shews that he is the eternal god , for , thou knoweth all things , ( saith peter ) thou knoweth that i love thee , 21. 17. god's sight of man , and of his ways are universal , and everlasting ; he saw all things with one single look from everlasting to everlasting ; he knows all things past , present , and to come : for his eyes are upon all the ways of man , and he seeth all his doings ; there is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves , job 35. 21 , 22 : and as god is a god of knowledge , so to acknowledge him , is to acknowledge his omniscience . 5. to acknowledge god , 't is to acknowledge and own his infinite wisdom ; or , that he is a most wise god : and as he made all things in wisdom , so he governs all things in wisdom also , no men have any true wisdom but what they receive ▪ from god : the in finiteness , the omniscience , the unchangeableness , and the simplicity of god , &c. are incommunicable attributes ; but the wisdom of god together with his holyness , justice , and mercy , are communicable , i. e. god doth give , or communicate holiness and wisdom , &c. unto angels and men : god indeed , is said to be only wise , because none hath wisdom of and from themselves but he , nor are any so wise as he ; his wisdom so far excells the wisdom of men and angels , that none are said to be wise but the lord only ; none are originally wise but god ; the wisdom of god is not a separable quality from him , ( or from his being , ) as the wisdom of man is ; many ( as one notes ) are men , but not wise men. 6. to acknowledge god , is to acknowledge his justice and holiness , judgment and justice are the habitation of his throne , psal. 97.2 . he can do no man any wrong , because he is justice and righteousness it self ; whatsoever god brings upon a nation , or people , or particular person , 't is right , or in righteousness . righteous art thou , o lord , when i plead with thee , jer. 12. 1. shall not the judge of all the earth do right ? gen. 18. 25. we may judge of his justice and righteousness , by considering of the nature of his law , that is just , holy , and good ; what is the law of god , but a written impression of his holy nature ; also the justice and righteousness of god is seen in his punishing the wicked for their sin ; but more especially , in punishing his own son when he came to stand in our stead and law-place , as our sponsor and blessed surety ; he spared not his own son , as an act of justice , when he undertakes to pay our debts , or satisfie divine justice for our offences . god will render unto every man according to the fruit of their doings : he will not lay upon man more than is right , job 34. 23. he hath punished us less than our iniquities deserve , ezra . 9. 13. 7. to acknowledge god , is to acknowledge his goodness , mercy , and faithfulness , his mercy endureth for ever ; there is none good but god , that is essentially good , perfectly good , and so there is none righteous but he ; he is a god ready to forgive , plenteous in mercy and goodness ; who is a god like unto thee pardoning iniquity , transgression and sin , mich. 7. there is in god not only pardoning goodness , but protecting preserving , redeeming , strengthning , and comforting goodness . god is infinitely and immutably good. 8. to acknowledge god , is to own and acknowledge him to be man's chief good , and that our only happiness lies in him , not in the creature , but in the creator ; not in having great portions of worldly goods , but in having a special interest and portion in god : many say who will shew us any good , psal. 4. 6. what was that good ? why , corn , oyl , and wine ; but what saith david , lord lift up the light of thy countenance upon us , thou hast put more joy into my heart , than the time when their corn and wine encreaseth , verse 7. 8. earthly things may be called our goods , but not our good ; they that never tasted , how good god is , never knew true good . that cannot be man's chief good , that cannot answer the necessities of his better part ; namely , his soul ; god is a soul good , a soul satisfying good , a soul inriching good ; the heathens laboured to find out what was the chief good ; and finding nothing in this world could satisfie the soul , neither riches , honours , pleasures , nor knowledge ; concluded , there was some superiour being , or an infinite god , that must be man's chiefest good : that cannot be our chief good , that cannot fill our desires , nor make us truly and everlastingly happy . men may in the fulness of all their sufficiency be in straits , and be miserable , who are possessed of never so great riches , honours , and earthly pleasures ; that which sickness and death may rob us of , cannot be our chiefest good. sirs we never rightly acknowledge god until we know by our own experience , and acknowledge him to be our chiefest and only happiness . 9. to acknowledge god , is to fear and reverence his dreadful name , and serve him as our god and only soveraign of our souls : if i be a master , where is my fear ? faith the lord of hosts , mal. 1. 6. the whole of man's duty is expressed sometimes by fearing of god ; said joseph , do thus , and live , for i fear god ; he acknowledgeth god this way , and himself to be his servant ; i fear god , i cannot , dare not sin ; how shall i do this great wickedness , and sin against god ? they that fear not god , are men of no religion : the fear of god is the beginning of wisdom . pray remember to acknowledge god , is to fear him , and dread to offend or displease him . 10. to acknowledge god , is to trust in him at all times , to make him our hope and help , to depend upon him for counsel and direction in all we go about , and submit our wills to his will , and patiently to take and endure whatsoever he lays upon us . to trust in god , is to have confidence in god , 't is to lean upon god , upon his wisdom , upon his conduct , on his strength , faithfulness ; and gracious promises , and not to depend upon our own wisdom ; see the verse before my text , trust in the lord , and lean not to thy own understanding , acknowledge him , that is , trust in him . to trust in god , is also to expect and hope from god , and to wait for counsel ; indeed , it is the character of a godly man to trust in god , as well as it is his wisdom and safety : we can ( as one observes ) never trust man too little , nor in god too much ; curssed be the man that trusteth in man , and maketh flesh his arm , jer. 17. 5. but blessed is the man that trusteth in the lord , and whose strength the lord is . 11. to acknowledge god , is to acknowledge jesus christ to be god ; not god by office , but god by nature , the only wise god , the eternal god , co-equal with the father , phil. 2. 6. who being in the form of god , thought it no robbery to be equal with god , though a distinct subsistence or person from the father ; yet one in essence subsisting in the form of god , imports not christ's appearance , in exerting of god's power , but his actual existence in the divine nature : to the only wise god our saviour be glory and majesty , dominion and power , jude 25. we are in him that is true ; even in his son jesus christ , this is the true god , and eternal life , joh. 5. 20. this it is to acknowledge god , viz. to own christ to be god ; ye believe in god , believe also in me , i. e. ye acknowledge the father is god , acknowledge the son also to be the same god ; it would be idolatry to give divine adoration to christ , if he was not the true eternal god : moreover , it would justifie the blasphemy of the jews , who charged him to be a deceiver , and a blasphemer ; who , because he was ( as they thought , ) no more than a meer man , made himself equal with god ; not to acknowledge christ to be god , is not truly and fully to acknowledge god , because christ is god ; we ought not only to acknowledge the being of god , but also his manner of being , or the three persons in the god-head . 12. to acknowledge god , is to acknowledge all the good things we receive to come from him , whether temporal or spiritual , even life and all the comforts of life , wisdom knowledge , riches , honours , friends , peace , health , relations , prosperity : and also 't is to acknowledge all afflictions , troubles , reproaches , trials , even all kind of adversity to cōme from god ; for whoveer may be the instruments , yet god is the only agent and orderer of them . 13. and lastly , to acknowledge god , is to love him above all ; and to seek unto him , in all we do , and to strive to promote his glory ; he that is our chief good should be our last end , our ultimate end : in all we do , we should aim at the glory of god , and to carry on ( with all uprightness ) his interest ( to the utmost power that is in us ) in the places and stations where we are set by him . thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart , with all thy soul , and with all thy strength . so much as to the first thing proposed to be opened ; namely , what it is to acknowledge god. secondly , i shall shew you in what ways of ours more particularly we should acknowledge god ; or wherein we should acknowledge him . 1. in entring upon no civil nor religious action , without consulting with god , in and by his word ; we should put this question to our own hearts , viz. is the thing that i am a going to do good , is it warranted by the word of god , is it according to his will , will it tend to his glory , is it not only lawful , but is it also expedient , if the matter i am a going to do be not justified by the word of god , though my end may be good , yet the thing is evil ; may i do it and not offend god , or will it not hurt my brother , or cause him to stumble ? were such questions put by all men to their own hearts , it would prevent many evils in men's civil actions . also , when men enter upon any religious duty , they should consult the word of god , see whether the thing be warranted , hath god commanded me to do this thing , have i precept , or presedent to justifie me in doing of it ? brethren , we are not to consult , men , general counsels , nor ancient fathers , but the word of god ; 't is not custom here will carry the cause , though it be of some hundred of years standing ; if from the beginning it was not so , nor is it sufficient , though many learned men , nay , holy men , assert it to be a truth , if it be not written in god's word . where god hath no tongue to speak , we should have no ear to hear , nor hand to do ; but alas ! some men more consult their own carnal reason and interest , their own profits , their own passions than god's word and his glory ; many peruse their unwarrantable blind zeal , like paul , when a pharisee , who verily thought he ought to do many things against the name of jesus of nazareth , though it was to the making a fearful slaughter of christ's blessed members . 2. men should acknowledge god in all their purposes , or about what they think to do , or intend to do , before they put them into execution . man sometimes purpose ▪ and god disappoints : go to now , you that say to day or to morrow , we will go into such a city , and continue there a year , and buy and sell and get gain , whereas you know not what will be on the morrow . 3. men should , before they enter upon any action civil or religious , seek to god , by prayer , for vvisdom and direction ; and also for strength , aid , and assistance ; and they that do not this , do not as they ought , acknowledge god : and thus , i say , in a more general way , we should do ; though it be in the smallest matters , and in the doing of things that are lawful to be done ; if they would have success therein . but to descend to some few particular things and cases , about the doing , or entering upon the doing of which , we should seek to god ( and so in a right way acknowledge him . ) 1. when any young men , or any persons begin to set up for themselves , or to trade in the world ; they should acknowledge god , or seek to him for counsel and direction about that affair ; that they may succeed well therein , and receive a blessing from him ; for in vain do men rise up early and sit up late , unless god be sought unto , and is pleased to prosper them in their undertakings : how was jacob blessed as a shepheard ? which was his employment ; who in all he did , acknowledged god , and called upon him : riches got , and not by the almighty , or in a lawful way , will prove a curse to him that getteth the ▪ 't is a god provoking evil , to say in thine heart , my power , and the might of my hand , hath gotten me wealth ; but thou shalt remember the lord thy god , for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth , deut. 8. 17 , 18. riches and honour , which are a blessing , and tendeth not to puff up a man or woman , cometh from god. 2. men and women , should acknowledge god in changing their condition ; this is a great thing , and the comfort of mens lives much consist in this matter : a prudent wife is from the lord , prov. 19. 14. but alass ! now a days , people in this matter , act like to the wicked men of the old world ; they take them wives of all which they choose gen. 6. 2. which is charged upon them as a great sin , and one cause of the destruction brought upon them by the flood ; how did sampson suffer by his dalilah , whom he chose , because he liked her well ? perhaps she was fair , but he consulted not with god : but , how well did abraham's servant succeed , in obtaining a wife for isaac , his master's son ? by seeking unto god and acknowledging him . you young men and women , that truly fear god , see you to it ; that you in the choice of yokefellows , acknowledge god ; consult his vvord , choose such that are godly , such that believe in christ , let his vvrod be your rule in this matter : be not unequally yoaked with unbelievers : your peace with god , and the comfort of your lives depend on this matter ; do not as the sons of god in the old world did , and as sampson did , viz. choose such as you like ; but such as god likes and approves of . 3. we should acknowledge god , in removing from one place to another , from one countrey to another , or from one habitation to another , or from one trade or employment to another : we should first seek the kingdom of god. will this remove make for the profit of my precious soul ? will it turn to the glory of god ? it should not be , what air , or what earthly profit may i find there , where i am going ? but is the gospel preached there , in the purity of it ? can i have communion with godly christians there ? or , will not my spiritual loss be more than my earthly gain ? so in the other case ; say , will not more snares attend that calling i am about to enter upon ? shall i not run my self into temptations by doing it ? doth not my present employment bring me in food and rayment , and ought not i therewith to be content ? i only mentino these few cases as to our paths , in respect of civil affairs : you may add any other way or work you go about . o! how doth it concern us to acknowledge god , for preservation and a blessing in all things ? even in taking journies by land , or voyages to sea , and when we go out in the morning , and return in the evening ; when we lie down , and when we rise up , or enter upon any religious work. 1. about our receiving , retaining or declining , of any one , or more principles of religion . vve should acknowledg god and consult with him , in and by his holy vvord ; we ought to examine and try the point or principle , we are about to receive or leave : is it according to what is written ? doth god's word confirm it to be a truth ? then receive it ; but cry to god for vvisdom and understanding in the case ; be fully perswaded in thy own conscience from the word of god about it : on the other hand , if thou upon searching , canst not find that doctrine or particular practice , thou hast received formerly , is agreeable to gods word ; or that 't is not in thy judgment proveable therefrom ; then after seeking unto god , thou oughtest to reject it ; though many good men , learned men , assert and maintain it to be truth ; thou art not to consult with men , nor acknowledge them to be thy rule , but god's vvord : to the law and testimony : search the scripture : gods word giveth understanding to the simple , psal. 19 9 , 10. that is a lamp to thy feet , and a light to thy paths , psal. 119. 105. men , no not ministers , shall be allowed to answer for thee at christs bar , about any error thou hast received and dost maintain ; every one must give an account to god for himself ; it will not be a good plea in that day , to say , lord , such an able minister held this principle , preach'd it , practiced it ; god may reveal some truth more clearly to an aquilla and a priscilla , than to an eloquent apollo , act. 18. 26. 2. thou art to acknowledge god , & seek to him , concerning what minister , or ministers , thou dost purpose to hear , and know their doctrine well , and their lives also ; see that they preach christ , that they preach the gospel clearly ; whose main design , is to exalt jesus christ and the free grace of god ; and particularly , that they are sound about the doctrine of free justification by the righteousness of christ , as it is imputed and received by faith alone , without any mixture of mans own inherent righteousness : o take heed ; this day is perilous ; there are many that are corrupters of gods vvord , and perverters of christs gospel ; thou mayst before thou art aware , be undone by dangerous heresies . 3. acknowledge god and seek to him , when thou art about to joyn thy self with some church , in point of communion ; examine their faith , their constitution , their discipline ; see they all hold weight with god's word . and if thou art tempted to leave a true church , because of some offence taken ; acknowledge god , seek to him , consult with the word of god , least it be from satan , a temptation , and arises from thy own evil heart ; say , shall i not be a covenant breaker , a disorderly person , and an evil example to others ? vvill it not offend god , or stumble my weak brother ? thus reason with thy self ; say , shall i consult with flesh and blood , and gratifie my corrupt part ? this may deter thee from it . 3. acknowledge god and seek to him , when thou comest to hear the word of god preached ; say , lord 't is thou must prepare my heart to meet with thee this day ; o open thou my understanding , incline my vvill , move upon my affections ; deliver me from drousiness , deadness , unbelief , & from all kind of pride & conceitedness , & from prejudice against the minister , or any truth that he may deliver , that i want light in . what i know not teach thou me . 't is not man can reach thy heart ; not the ministers voice , that can make thee hear and live ; but the voice of christ ; 't is god that can turn thee from darkness to light , & from the power of satan unto god : thou mayest reform thy way , or get some degree of reformation , by thy natural powers improved , by the word preached ; but 't is god alone must change thy heart ; a new heart must be created in thee by god's mighty and glorious creating-power , and his spirits operating influences ; it is god that commanded the light to shine out of darkness , that must shine into our hearts , to give us the light of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ , 2 cor. 4. 6. we have this treasure in earthen vessels , that the excellency of the power may be of god , and not of us , verse 7. do not trust to thine own power , nor rebellious will , 't is god must make thee willing ; he must draw thee , move thee , before thou canst come to christ ; faith is not of our selves , 't is the gift of god , ephes. 2. 8. 9. 't is god must turn thee from thy evil way , and change those vicious habits that are in thee , and in all men naturally ; can the aethiopian change his skin , &c. turn thou me , and i shall be turned . o! thus acknowledge god , & cry to him who works all our works in us , and for us ; 't is not in him that willeth , nor in him that runneth , but of god that sheweth mercy , rom. 9. 17. did men thus acknowledge god , he would soon direct their path , and give success to them in their duties . ministers should also acknowledge god in their gifts and endowments ( what have they which they have not received ) and their own insufficiency . 5. we should acknowledge god , when we come to draw near to him in the holy supper of the lord ; it is he that must prepare our hearts , for this his sacred ordinance also ; the preparation of the heart in man , and the answer of the tongue are from the lord , prov. 16. 1. what heavenly comfort do we meet with , or have we met with at one time more than at another ? how lively are our spirits , and active our graces , when god vouchsafeth his divine influences , and quickens us in our duties ? did we muse , the fire might soon burn : 't is god must deliver us from vain thoughts , worldly thoughts , when we draw near to him , and stir up our affections , and raise our spirits ; therefore thus let us acknowledge him , that we may set under christ's shadow with delight , that his fruit may be sweet to our taste . but no more as to these more ordinary ways of ours , whether civil , or religious ; but to proceed to that which is the chief work of this day . we ought to acknowledge god in divers special cases . 1. as in choice of ministers , to watch over us , and take the care of our souls , we should acknowledge god who hath promised to give us pastors after his own heart , to feed us with knowledge and understanding , jer. 3. 15. 2. in choice of magistrates to rule us , or to represent us in national synods , and make civil laws ; we ought to acknowledge god , who hath promised to give judges as at the first , and counsellors as at the beginning . how good was jethros's counsel to moses , exod. 18 . 2● . moreover , thou shalt provide out of all the people , able men , such as fear god , men of truth , hateing covetousness ; and place such over them to be rulers , &c. did jethro speak this only , or hath not god spoken it also ; the god of israel said , the rock of israel spoke to me ; he that ruleth over men , must be just ruling in the fear of god , 2. sam. 23. 3. i am afraid many men do not in this case so consult with god , nor acknowledge him as they ought ; were such men always chose , what a happy people should we be , or would england be . but , 3. we should acknowledge god , and look to him , when difficult cases may be before a king , and his people ; in which the good and welfare of a whole nation is concerned ; nay , many nations ; and not only so , but also the good of god's israel , as now at this day : o how should we cry to god , who only is able to give counsel , and direct our worthy senators : by me kings reign , and princes decree judgment , ( saith our lord jesus ) prov. 8. 15. all great and good things that kings and princes do , is from god , and by the influences of jesus christ : god sits amongst the gods ; he can rule , and over-rule men's hearts at his pleasure , at such a time as this : ezra sought a right way , to do , which , he acknowledge god , he sought to him : we may bless god who put it into the hearts of the king and parliament , to seek god at this difficult time ; certainly the finger of god is in this matter : saith ezra , and i proclaimed a fast there at the river ahava , that we might afflict our selves before our god , and seek a right way for our selves , and for our little ones , and for all our substance , ezra 8. 21. for i was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen , to help us against the enemy , because i said the hand of our god is upon all them that seek him for good , verse 22. this it appears is the right way , most pleasing to god , the only way to obtain the mercy we want , viz. to humble our selves , and seek to god ; this is that way god directeth us to take : call upon me in the day of trouble , and i will deliver you , and ye shall glorifie me , psal. 50. 14. 50. 't is the right way to obtain mercy , to exalt the eternal being , to magnifie god ; yea , and this is the right way according to the avowed principles of all true christians : i was ashamed , saith this good man , to ask a band of soldiers ; because our god hath promised his hand shall be with us for good ; that he was able and ready to help them that seek him , and put their trust in him : i might also note from hence , that we are allowed to cry to god , not only for our selves , and little ones ; but that god would bless and preserve our substance also . 4. another special occasion that calls upon us in an extraordinary 〈◊〉 knowledge god , and seek unto him , is in a time of great 〈◊〉 ; when god's people are in distress and great danger . thus did jacob , gen. 33. when he heard , how his enraged brother 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 coming out to meet him with 400 armed men , to cut him off , with his wives and children . how did he wrestle with god ? he 〈◊〉 and made supplication ; & also said , i will not let thee go , except thou bless me , gen. 32 26 and he said , what is thy name ? and he said , jacob ; and he said , thy name shall be called no more jacob , but israel ; for as a prince hast thou power with god and men , and hast prevailed , verse 27. all that thus wrestle with god , god accounts princes ; they are prevailers with god ; they overcome god in a spiritual manner , and prevail over men , nay , over devils , and all hellish lusts , and the powers of darkness . fsau shall not hurt thee , ( as if god should have said ) i will prevent thy present fear and danger : thus jacob at this time , when in great straits and afflictions , acknowledged god. this also did the children of israel in egypt , under their grievons bondage and misery : they cryed to the lord , and god heard their crys and their groans , exod. 2. 23. 24. and looked upon them , and had respect to them , verse 5. moreover , thus moses and poor israel acknowledged god , when they were pursued by bloody pharoah , and brought to the red sea : stand still , saith moses , and see the salvation of the lord ; have your hope in him , trust in him , acknowledge his power , in this time of your dismal danger : the egyptian , whom ye have seen to day , ye shall see them again no more for ever . let not your hearts fail , sink , nor stagger through unbelief ; but with faith and quiet minds look to god , and you shall ( as if moses should have said ) soon see an end of your cursed enemies . also thus did samuel with all israel , look to god , when the philistines came against them , they fasted on that day , and said , we have sinned against the lord , 1 sam. 2. 6. likewise thus did good king jehosaphat , when the children of moab and amon came against him , and against judah : jehosophat feared , and set himself to seek the lord , and proclaimed a fast throughout all judea , 2 chron. 20. 3. moreover , when nehemiah saw how the remnant of god's people that were left of the captivity , were in great afflictions , and the wall of jerusalem was also broken down , he acknowledged god , and cry'd to him , neh. 1. 3. o lord , i beseech thee let now thine far be attentive unto the prayer of thy servant ; and the prayers of thy servants , who desire to fear thy name , &c. verse 1● . thus also did esther and mordecai , seek to the lord , and acknowledge him ; when the poor jews were in danger of being all cut off in one day , they fasted , and prayed unto god. 5. we should acknowledge god , when we have any great work to do for his holy name , as was when we are about to reform , or labour after reformation in religion , or to throw down idolatry or superstition : thus did good king josias in the twelfth year of his reign , he began to seek after the god of david , and to purge judah and jerusalem from the high places and the groves , and carved images , &c. 2 chron. 34. 4. moreover , when ministers enter on their ministry , they should seek to god , acknowledge him , wholly design his glory , and depend upon his strength , for help , and success . 6. when great things are near at hand , or some mighty appearance of god for the glory of his name , and salvation of his church , and exaltation of sion , and downfall of their enemies , god should be sought unto , and be acknowledged by his own people : thus did daniel , dan. 9. 2. i daniel understood by books , the number of the years , whereof the word of the lord came to jeremiah the prophet , that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of jerusalem . and i set my face unto the lord god , to seek by prayer and supplications with fasting , and sackcloth , and ashes , verse 3. brethren , thus it is with us , we understand by books , i.e. by the book of daniel , the revelations of st. john , and by the writings of good men , that the number of the years of our spiritual captivity under mistical babylon , is near expired ; and that glorious things are near ; and therefore we should now in an extraordinary manner cry to god , and acknowledge his power , and wisdom , and faithfulness . o look up , the vision will ( suddenly ) speak . thirdly , how we should acknowledge god , or after what manner he found in this duty ? 1. in the sense of our sins , and sins of the lord's people , & of the whole nation ; yea , with a through sight & sense of sin , and with self abhorrence for the same : thus did samuel acknowledge god , and poured out water before the lord , at mizpah ; 1 sam. 7. 6. and thus did daniel , he confessed his sins , and the sins of the people ; vve have sinned , and have committed iniquity , and have done wickedly , and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts , and from thy judgments , dan. 9. 5. neither have we hearkned unto the prophets which have spoken in thy name to our kings and princes , and our fathers , and to all the people . o what sins are we guilty of , and this vile nation guilty of , whom god hath been so good and gracious unto , and saved with an high hand , and deliver'd , when ( some time ago ) all was a going that is dear to us . 2. with all humility and brokenness of heart we should acknowledge , that whatsoever is come upon us , is in justice , and righteousness ; we must say with daniel , o lord , righteousness belongeth unto thee ; but unto us , confusion of faces , as at this day to the men of judah , and the inhabitants of jerusalem ; to all israel that are near and far off , &c. because of our trespasses : o lord , to us belongeth confusion , to our kings , and to our princes , and to our fathers , because we have sinned . how low should we lie every one of us , and labour to find out the plague of his own heart ; and to smite on our breasts , and say , what have i done ? we must say , it is of the lord's mercy we are not consumed ; that we are yet a people , and england a nation , not yet utterly forsaken of god ; in our acknowledging of god , we should humble our selves , and pray ; and not only so , but turn every one from his evil way ; so will god hear from heaven , and will forgive our sins , and heal our land , 2 chron. 7. 14. 3. we should acknowledge god with a sense of our weakness , ignorance , and short sightedness , and not trust to our own understanding : see the context , trust in the lord with all thine heart , and lean not to thine own understanding , prov. 3. 5. let not men think their wisdom is sufficient to act and accomplish those great designs that they take in hand ; because they are so acute , and have such clear natural parts , or acquired parts : let not the wise man glory in his wisdom ; nor the strong man glory in his strength . let not the learned man boast of his great learning , but let all know , true wisdom is from god ; 't is he must guide us in judgment ; brethren , 't is a good sign god will not leave us , in that he hath put it into the heart of our parliament ; to acknowledge god , and seek to him a right way : at this difficult hour , it argues that they see need to ask counsel of him , and would acknowledge him , from whom wisdom , to manage the great affairs of nations cometh , and would not lean to their own understanding : god is the great governour of the world. 4. we should acknowledge god in christ , come to him only , and look to him alone in a mediator ; if we do not wholly acknowledge him in the name of jesus christ , all we do will be in vain ; for out of christ he is a god of wrath and fury ; yea , a flaming and devouring fire ; but in christ , he is pacified and reconciled to all that so come to him ; samuel well knew this , and therefore he took a sucking lamb , and offered it for a burnt-offering , wholly unto the lord , 1 sam. 7. 9. this lamb no doubt tipified christ jesus , in and by whose sacrifice only , he forsaw god was appeased , and his justice satisfied , and the guilt of the sins of god's israel removed . christ is the only way to the father ; no man cometh to the father but by me , saith our blessed lord , john 14. 6. this brethren , and none but this , is the right way : sinners are only to draw near to god by christ ; this way is prepared for them , cast up for them ; this is that new and living way : and saints have no other way to come to god , nor to acknowledge god to be their god , but only in christ. o acknowledge god thus , god was in christ , reconciling the world to himself , 2 cor. 5. 19. god in christ is strong to save , strong to help , strong to deliver : christ is the power of god , and and the wisdom of god , 1 cor. 1. 18. the glory of his power , mercy , wisdom , justice , and goodness , are all united , and shine forth to save sinners in christ , and to save nations , who look to him , and acknowledg'd him in christ. almighty power was seen in creating of the world , and his power in conjunction with his justice was seen , in casting the angels that sinned , out of heaven , and man out of paradice ; and divine power , as it was joyned with divine mercy , shone forth , in saving and delivering israel at the red sea ; but in christ , the glory of his power , mercy and justice , and all other of his glorious attributes , are united together in sweet harmony , to save and help all that by christ come to him ; nothing can hinder our help and succour , if we acknowledge and come to him in jesus christ. we should acknowledge god manifested in the flesh , 1 tim. 3. 16. not only that christ is god , ( as i before hinted ) but the reason why he took unto him our nature , and what things he hath wrought out for us ; & how the glory of god shines forth in him . we never acknowledge god in the top glory of his wisdom , mercy , love , power , justice and goodness , unless we acknowledge him in christ ; nor can we know him any other way to be our god , nor come to him , nor expect any help , relief , pardon or peace , from him : we must acknwledge what christ is made of , god the father unto us , even wisdom and righteousness , sanctification , and redemption : he is our life , our light , our righteousness , our strength , our peace , our food , our guide , our king , to rule us , our priest , to attone for our sins , and to intercede for us , and our prophet to teach us . in him , god is our father , our friend , our portion ; in him , we may come to god with holy boldness ; all the promises of god are in him , yea , and in him , amen , to the glory of god the father . 5. we must acknowledge god by faith : god is never acknowledg'd in christ aright , but by faith ; we must believe , if we would be accepted , to believe in christ , or come to god by faith in christ , is the way to be justified , to be pardoned , and to obtain all things whatsoever we want . to believe , is to trust in god through christ , to relie upon god through jesus christ , to rest on god's power and mercy through christ , to receive him for all , as he is offered in the gospel , 't is to depend upon god's faithful promises : he that cometh to me , i will no wise cast out , john 6. 36. he is able to save to the uttermost , all that come to god by him ; seeing be ever liveth to make intercession for us , heb. 7. 25. o! remember that you acknowledge god by faith , in the death , resurrection , and intercession of jesus christ : we have an advocate with the father , jesus christ the righteous , 1 john 2. 1 , 2. whatsoever we ask in christ's name , in faith , that is agreeable to the will of god , we shall receive from him . 6. we should acknowledge god constantly ; always , from first to last ; not only when we stand in the greatest need , of him , when we are low , or poor , but also when we are high , rich , and in a prosperous condition ▪ hagar desired not riches , lest he should , when full , deny god , and say , who is the lord , prov. 30. 9. trust in the lord at all times , saith david : will the hypocrite always call upon god : no , no , in afflictions he may , and often doth , when god's chaistenings are upon him , then he will cry to him , and seek him ; but to call upon god , and acknowledge him , and seek his glory , and depend upon him , and look for success always in all things , at all times from god ; is only the character of a true christian. we can never be in so high a state , never arrive to such a degree of wisdom , or have riches in so great abundance ; but we have need to acknowledge god , and depend upon him ; no man living , but stands in need of god's help . and there is no man so low , so poor , so destitute , but god can raise him , help him , and relieve him : man's being , and well being , is only from god. 7. god is to be acknowledg'd in truth and uprightness of heart ; if we fail here , all our humiliations will be in vain ; hypocritical fasts are abominable to god ; is it because we have sinned , and god thereby hath been dishonoured ? or , is it not rather for corn , wine , and oyl , that we cry to god this day ? is it not for a deliverance from our miseries , rather than from our iniquities ? when you fasted and mourned , &c. did you ( saith the lord ) fast unto me ? zech. 7. 5. let all men see to this , for if we are not sincere , god looks upon our prayers with disdain : they have not cryed to me with their heart , when they howled on their beds , they assemble themselves for corn and wine , and they rebel against me , hos. 7. 14. they do it ( as if god should say ) for peace and plenty ; they have the world in their eye ; not my glory , but their own carnal interest , for they live still in their sins ; and rebel against me : let england , and the inhabitants of this city see to this , least they should be found in the like abomination this day , with israel of old . but to come to the reason of this doctrine . fourthly , vvhy we should in all our ways acknowledge god : first , because wisdom and counsel is from the lord ; none can act or do any thing for god , in a right way , and to a right end , or for their own good , unless helped and influenced by the almighty . there is a spirit in man , and the inspiration of the almighty giveth him understanding , job 32. 8. who is it that teacheth senators wisdom , but the lord : alas ! all mens meer natural wisdom , of which they sometimes boast , it is but foolishness ; when compared to that right spiritual wisdom , which he can give them : meer natural men , or men without the divine wisdom of god , are often influenced by the devil : satan is a great politition : go to , we will deal wisely , saith pharoah : ay , but that wisdom was from below , it was from the devil , and such wisdom god can soon confound ; man's wisdom is to take counsel of god , and seek to him ; the fear of god , is the beginning of wisdom . secondly , men ought to acknowledge god , because he doth require , and command them so to do : it is their duty to do it ; and their great sin that do not seek to him : brethren , what blessing can man expect to meet with in their undertakings , that asked not counsel of the lord : how were the people of israel blamed and punished , for doing some things without asking counsel of himt ? josh. 9. 14. but they asked not counsel at the mouth of god. it was about making peace with them that they were commanded to destroy , and not to make a covenant of peace with : god also pronounced a woe to his people , for their neglect herein ; woe to the rebellious children , saith the lord , that take counsel ▪ but not of me , &c. isa. 30. 1. that walkt to go down into egypt , and have not asked at my mouth ; to strengthen themselves in the strength of pharoah , verse 2. call upon me in the day of trouble , psal. 50. 14. prayer is owing to god for every thing , ( in prayer , &c. ) we should let our request be made known to the lord. thirdly , because god can give wisdom , to them that are esteemed simple , weak and ignorant men ; he can make the foolish , wise , and put his spirit upon them : what wisdom did he give to moses , who kept his father-in-law's sheep ? and what a famous judge and ruler did god make him to be ? it is true , he was trained up in the wisdom of egypt before , but that was foolishness with god. what wisdom did he give to david , who was but a shepherd , and to amos a herdsman : moreover , what wisdom did he give to the disciples of christ , who were some of them but fisher-men , and deemed unlearned and ignorant men ; god makes choice of the weak and base things of the world , to confound the mighty ; and of the foolish , to bring to naught the wisdom of the wise. fourthly , god ought to be acknowledged by all men , in all matters ; because 't is by his wise providence ( as you have heard ) that all things are governed , ordered , and disposed of , throughtout the whole earth ; not only the affairs of particular persons , but the concernments and affairs of nations and kingdoms much more . 1. in all civil affairs in respect of government , &c. all the counsels of the mighty are influenced by the lord : god judgeth amongst the gods ; the shields of the earth belong to the lord , psal. 47. 9. 't is by me kings reign , and princes decree judgment ; he sets up , and pulleth down at his pleasure . 2. all military actions of nations , are ordered by the almighty , war and peace are from him ; if he take peace from the earth , in vain do all counsellors and great statesmen meet , and consult about peace : hence god is called , the lord of hosts , and a man of vvar : or , the great general of armies . he hath opened his armoury , and has brought forth his vveapons of indignation . saith david , heteaches my hands to vvar , and my fingers to fight : he is a god of influence and authority ; he commands all , and none can stand before him ; at his command , frogs invade pharoah : from hence it appears , that a martial imployment is very honourable , viz. when the cause is good , when 't is for his glory , and for the honour and safety of a king , and people : god being called the lord of hosts ; the god of the armies of israel ; puts a lustre and dignity upon a general of an army engaged in a just cause . 3. in all ecclesiastical affairs , or matters respecting the church of god , he ought to be acknowledged ; nay , in this matter , before all things , we ought to seek unto him , who is in a peculiar sense stiled , the king of saint : , and god of israel . he that is the head of the church , is the absolute governour thereof ; the spiritual rights of his people , and the rule of men's consciences , is only under his power and influences ; and his laws only are the bond and limits of his government ; no altering , adding to , nor diminishing from his holy precepts : the power to rule the church , is christ's prerogative alone ; as he is god , it is essentially and absolutely in his hand ; and as mediator , this power is given to him by the father : all power is given to me in heaven , and in earth : go ye therefore teach all nations , mat. 28. 19 , 20. moreover , the peace and prosperity of god's church and people , as also all their trouble and adversity is from him . vvho gave jacob to the spoil , and israel to the robbers ? did not the lord against whom they had sinned ? whosoever are the instruments in either case , god is in a special manner the great agent in it , it was he that brought again the captivity of sion ; it was god that stirred up cyrus to proclaim liberty for the jews , to build their city and temple . and when he comes to build up sion , in these last days ; he will appear in his glory , and will undo all that have afflicted his people ; for they that touch them , touch the apple of his eye , let the french tyrant , pope and turk look to it ; their day is near ; for god will plead the controversie of sion , and come upon princes as upon mortar ; and as the potter treadeth the clay , isa. 41. 25. his sword is bathed in heaven , god will come with vengeance ; even god , with a recempence he will come and save you , isa. 35 ▪ 4 ▪ it will not be long before you will hear the voice of them that flee , and escap'd out of babylon , to declare in sion , the vengeance of the lord our god , the vengeance of his temple , jer. 50. 28. o! therefore let us look to him , acknowledge him , for these things are very near . again , as all affairs , both civil , military , and ecclesiastical , are in the hand of god ▪ and ordered by his wise counsel ; so are all creatures likewise . 1. the good angels are under his authority and influence , they all wait for his word , and obey his command , either to protect his own people , or execute his wrath upon their enemies . 2. the evil angels are also under his power ; satan is limited by him , he is in chains , god sets bounds to him , he can go no further than his chains will suffer him ; 't is not who he will , but who he may devour ; he could not touch job , nor any thing he had , till god gave him liberty ; the devils could not go into the herd of swine , till christ said , go . 3. all men also are subjected to his authority , & he can at his pleasure restrain the wrath of wicked men , or make it tend to his own praise : thou hast no power , except it be given thee of my father , saith christ to pilate . 4. all irrational creatures are at his command , he can stop the months of hungry lyons , so that they could do daniel no hurt : nay , and he can give david power to destroy both the lyon and the bear : the lord opened the mouth of the ass , to speak with man's voice , to rebuke the madness of the prophet . moreover , he caused two she bears to tare 42 children , for their reproaching of elisha ; and who was it but the lord , that sent the lyon to slay the young prophet , who transgressed against him . moreover , remarkable is the passage of his causing a raven to feed elisha when distressed . he hath also power over , and ruleth and disposeth of all inanimate creatures , the winds and sea obey him , and are at his command ; he can make the sun stand still , or go back , if he please ; 't is he that makes the grass to grow , the sun to shine , and the rain to fall ; 't is he that gives rain and fruitful seasons , and who sometimes sinites , and brings a blast and mildew upon the fruits the earth ; therefore all ought to acknowledge him . fifthly , we ought to acknowledge god , because , as all judgments and plagues are from him , so he can at his pleasure remove them . i form the light , and create darkness ; i make peace , and create evil ; i the lord do all these things , isa. 45. 7. and if he giveth quietness , who then can make trouble ; and when he hideth his face , who can behold him , whether it be done against a nation , or against a man only , job 34. 29. if god will give those nations quietness , where it is not , or continue it where it is ; there is no power on earth , or hell , can hinder , or prevent it : who can curse them that god will bless ? or , bless such that god doth curse ? there is no inchantment against jacob , neither is there any divination against israel , numb . 23. 23. but woe to that nation , or person , god hideth his face from ; for then he withdraws his gracious care and protection , and then he will not hear their prayers also , then he will not give them counsel ; nay , but will do more , he will leave them to their own counsel , as he did israel , psal. 81. 12. sixthly , we would acknowledge god in all things , because he can make use of unlikely ways , means , or persons to do his own work ; by the blowing of rams horns , he made the walls of jericho to fall down , josh. 7. 5. he spoiled pharaoh , and the egyptians , by an army of frogs , locusts , lice , flies , &c. what wonders did he do with 300 men ? god , as one observes , can strike a strait blow with a crooked stick ; 't is not for the worthiness of the instruments , that he doth work , but for his own glory . seventhly , because all success in our ways and undertakings are from god , rulers of nations , magistrates , and ministers , cannot do any thing unless god bless them , and his hand go along with them : i have planted , and apollo watered ; but it is god that giveth the increase , 1 cor. 3. 6. the plow-man plows in vain ; the trades-man buys and sells , and trades in vain ; the merchant and mariners venter to sea in vain ; the physician prescribes medicines in vain ; nay , magistrates rule in vain , and ministers preach in vain , and the people hear in vain ; if god denies success , or prospereth them not : in vain do men rise up early , and sit up late , and eat the bread of carefulness ; if god doth not bless the labour of their , hands ; behold , is it not of the lord of hosts , that the people shall labour in the very fire , and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity ? hab. 2. 13. 't is not the care of the husband-man to wait for the proper season to sow his seed , nor the industry of the trader , nor the skill of the physician , nor the wisdom and policy of the states-man , nor the learning of the gospel minister that will avail them , if god do not succeed them : many think by their skill , by their parts , by their policy , and by their learning , to do mighty things ; when , alas ! they see themselves suddenly blasted 〈◊〉 a secret way , by the hand of god , and all their devices brought to naught ; men of small parts and learning , god being with them , many times wonderfully prosper ; when men of great parts , learning , and wisdom , are confounded , because they acknowledge not the lord , nor seek to him ; by strength no man shall prevail : o! therefore , ye the sons of the mighty , acknowledge god , and lean not to your own understanding . eighthly , men should acknowledge the lord in all things they go about ; because they may be brought into such straits , and have such difficult cases before them , that they may see the work is too hard for them , or they may not know what to do ; their vvisdom may fail them , or men may be brought into such straits , as sometimes the sea men are , that they are at their wits end ; but god then can help the states-men how to project matters , and order their difficult cases ; and the seaman , when he crys to god , wants not help , god makes the storm a calm , and causes the proud waves to cease , and brings them out of all their troubles ; read psal. 107. at your leisure : men may want vvisdom , though they have great power ; or want power , though they have great vvisdom , or may want time , and a sit opportunity , tho' they have both vvisdom and power ; but god wants neither power , vvisdom , nor opportunity : therefore we should acknowledge him . ninthly , vve ought to acknowledge the lord in all our ways , because whatsoever he hath promised to do for his people , he positively says , he will nevertheless be sought unto , that he may do it for them : i the lord build the ruined places , and plant that that was desolate ; i the lord have spoken it , and i will do it : thus saith the lord god , i will yet for this be enquired of by the house of israel , to do it for them , &c. god will justifie us freely of his own grace , through the imputation of christ's righteousness ; but he will have us look to him , or believe in christ , that he may do it for us : moreover , he will give us the grace of faith , that we may believe in jesus christ ; but he will have us enquire of him ; we must pray to him , and attend on his word , that he may give that grace and power to us , to believe , &c. also god will pardon our sins , for his own name-sake , and not remember them any more ; but he will bring us to his feet , or humbly , with contrition of spirit , to cry to him , that we may receive that pardon : for , as a king may freely forgive a guilty rebel , yet he mirst come and confess his horrid treason , and beg pardon on his knees ; so god will cause the guilty sinner thus to do also : in like manner god will perform all his promises , and give counsel , direction , and wisdom to senators , and to ministers of justice , to godly magistrates and preachers of his word , &c. but he will be enquired of , and sought unto by them , that he may do it for them : and this he hath declared , and positively made known to be his will , and absolute pleasure ; therefore it would be high presumption , and pride , to expect these things of him , unless we comply with him in this matter . tenthly , all men ought to acknowledge god in all their ways ▪ because , not to look to god , seek to god , and acknowledge him , is brutish ; 't is to be worse than heathens and idolators ; for , they in straits and afflictions , or when they enter upon matters of moment , will cry to their gods ; they called on the name of baal from morning even until noon ; saying , o baal hear us ; but there was no voice : and elijah mocked them ▪ and said , cry aloud for he is a god , either he is a pursuing , or in a journey ; or , per adventure he steepeth , and must be awaked : moreover , the mariners that were with jonah in the ship , ( who were heathens ) in that storm they were in ; every man cryed unto his god , and seemed to be offended with jonah , that he did not cry to his god also : vvhat meanest thou , o sleeper , arise , and call upon thy god. the israelites usually asked counsel or god , by the ephod , the grecians , by their oracles ; but christians ought only to go to god by jesus christ , and ask counsel in his name . brethren , that god that brings a people , a nation , or particular person into trouble , ( and sometimes for great sins ) only knows how to bring them out of it ▪ such that eye not god in their trouble , never search into the cause of it ; and as they know not , consider not the cause of their disease , so they are as ignorant of the cure ; and from hence apply indirect medicines , not to acknowledge god , is to question the being of god : however , it argues , they do not depend upon him , that in their trouble do not seek unto him : shall heathens give greater glory to dumb idols , than christians give to the true and only god of heaven and earth . they that depend upon their own vvisdom , do in effect , deifie themselves ; for none hath a self-sufficiency in him , or is independant , but god alone : but , how like are some men to the swine , that greedily eat up the acorns that lie under the trees , but never look up to the tree from ▪ whence they come ; or like a dog , that seems angry , and sharles at the stone that is thrown at him , but never regards the hand of him that threw it , nor knows he the cause thereof . eleventhly , it followeth from hence therefore , that we ought in all our ways to acknowledge the lord ; because 't is hereby god is glorified : as not to acknowledge him , seek to him , and trust in him , doth detract from god , or lessen his glory ; nay , utterly rob him of that honour and glory that is due to him alone ; so hereby we give him that glory which is owing to him from his creatures : we by fearing him , shew that he is god , that he is our maker , our lord and only soveraign ; and by trusting in him alone , we acknowledge that he is our help , our strength , our hope , and that our dependance is upon him . he is great , and therefore to be feared ; he is faithful , therefore to be believed ; he is good , therefore to be beloved , and made the only object of our chiefest affection ; he is our only counsellor , and therefore we should look to him for direction , wisdom and counsel . twelfthly , we should seek to god , and acknowledge him , for all , and in all things , especially in a time of trouble ; bcause what deliverances , help or succour soever we receive , it is wholly to be ascribed to him ; but they that seek not to god for direction and success , will not look upon themselves obliged to praise god for all the mercy , help or deliverance received ; they will sacrifice to their own nets or drags , to their wisdom , policy , strength or care ; or to their own counsels , and so admire themselves . but the truth is , if men acknowledge not god , or neglecct to seek to him for the mercy they want , the mercy when received may prove a curse to them instead of a blessing : god gave israel food , but sent leanness to their souls . to these i might add , that gods counsel shall stand , he will do all his pleasure ; there is no counsel against him shall prosper ; he is the great disposer of all affairs of nations , &c. and if we comply not with his vvord , in acknowledging him , he may blast all our hopes ; there is no contending with the almighty ; they that subscribe not to his wise government , and exalt not him , he will at last cut them in pieces . in a word , 't is for our good ; 't is our interest to acknowledge god , as well as it tends to his glory . lastly , vve should acknowledge god in all our ways , because god can do vvonders in the way of his working for his people , when they seek to him : vvhat vvonders did he do of old ? his hand is not shortned that he cannot save : vvhen things are past help or remedy with men , 't is a fit opportunity for god to work : in the mount it shall be seen . he can restrain the passions of men , the waves of the sea , and the tumults of the people ; he changed esaus's heart to jacob ; he caused the egyptians to lend their jewels to the israelites ; he can cut off the spirits of princes , or strike them with a pannick fear , and cause them to fly when none pursues them : he raised up new troubles upon saul , and made him cease persuing of david , when he was in danger . god can soon infatuate the counsels of our enemies , isa. 44. 25. he frustrateth the tokens of the lyars , and maketh diviners mad , and turneth wisemen backward , and maketh their knowledge foolishness . he can make our enemies to act for our good ; he caused cyrus to proclaim liberty to build jerusalem , and god's own temple . and how did he turn the counsel of achitophel into foolishness , at the prayer of david . these things being considered , you may find there are reasons sufficient to shew , that it is our duty , in all our ways to acknowledge god ; but no more as to the doctrinal part. i shall now briefly endeavour to improve ( by way of application ) what hath been said . the application . from hence it appears , that it is a great and an abominable sin , not to acknowledge god in every thing we go about . 1. not to consult with god , is in effect to deny his special providence over us ; or that he orders all events that come to pass . the truth is , we here in england , of late , talk so much of fortune and of the fortunate ; that it seems as if we were in some heathen nation . i am sure no man can , or dares consult with god , or acknowledge him in any unlawful things , to gratifie their covetous appeties ; if they do , let them tremble . would they have god to patronize their wickedness ? brethren , we should never step one step , in doing any thing which we have cause to doubt is sinful ; or that which we cannot safely seek to god for a blessing upon . 2. not to acknowledge god , is a kind of atheism ; sure such do not sted fastly believe the being of god : for if there be a god that governs all affairs , why do they not seek to him , pray to him , trust in him as god. 3. or at least , not to acknowledge god in every undertaking , it argues unbelief ; and it doth cast contempt upon his wisdom , mercy , goodness , &c. slighting his soveraignty , care and providence over them . such shew their pride and folly with a witness , as if they were wise enough to manage their affairs themselves , without consulting with god , and seeking to him a right way . 4. god may for this great neglect , and evil , refuse to appear to help men in their necessities and great straits ; when matters are too difficult for them , god may let them fail in their counsels , and be confounded in their projects , to convince them they are but men ; and that without him they can do nothing . i am persuaded that god oftentimes ( upon this account ) infatuates the counsels of men ; ye shall conceive chaff , and shall bring forth stubble . though men may like achitophel give suitable counsel as cunning statesmen , yet god can obstruct or hinder such concerned to take it , or from closing with it ; but rather to take other counsel to their ruine , as absalem took the counsel of hushai , to his utter overthrow ; and this was all from god , the lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of achitophel , to the intent that the lord might bring evil upon absalem . 5. it shews , that such think it is in vain to seek god , possibly they judge the almighty doth not concern himself about their matters ; they are too low , too mean matters for the great god to take notice of ; or else they conclude , he is unmindful of his own word and promises to them that seek him ; or otherwise , they shew they have no faith in his word , nor dependance upon god. but did they give credit to the holy scripture , all their folly herein would soon vanish ; for is it not said that an hair of our head , nor a sparrow falls to the ground without god ; he hath interressed himself in all our concerns , and if we seek him , he will be found , he never said to the seed of jacob , seek ye my face in vain . 6. it shews , that such men do not take notice of the operations of gods hand , nor observe what he hath done in times past ; nay perhaps before their own eyes , but a little before : shall a heathen , or men strangers to god , outdo such that are called christians . potiphar saw and was convinced , nay and did acknowledge that the lord was with joseph , and prospered all things his hand . 7. it robs god of that sacred homage and worship which is due to him from all his creatures , and so overthrows the foundation of all religion . for by acknowleding god in all we do , we shew we own that divine worship , fear and trust that is due to him ; but they who do it not , seem to disclaim or disown gods chiefest glory , viz. that divine adoration that belongs to him alone , and which appears not only to be his right from revelation , but from natural light ; for 't is a branch of natural religion , to acknowledge and trust in god , and to seek to him for all things we want , and to praise him for all things we have or do receive . he that is the only object of our divine worship , is he that governs all things , and from whom all good comes , and delivers us from whatsoever is evil or hurtful to us ▪ but they that do not acknowledge god , will neither pray to him for what they need , nor praise him for what they receive ; therefore it destroys all true trust in god , fear of god , and love to god , not to acknowledge him : and it shews such do in effect , deny god's governing the world , who acknowledge him not , or pray not to him . the lord looked down from heaven to see if there were any did understand or seek god. he takes notice who they be that acknowledge his authority over them ; or who understands this , and so fear him and calls upon him , and trust in him : but alas ! the wicked say , are not our tongues our own , and who is lord over us : they think their wisdom is from themselves , to contrive , to project ; and their tongues their own , to speak and utter what their hearts conceive ; and their hands their own , to effect what their hearts contrive , and their tongues express . quest. who are they that do not truly acknowledge god. answ. 1. such that never or but seldom think of god. david , speaking of the wicked , saith , god is not in all their thoughts : or in none of their thoughts , they think not of god. 2. such who never consult with god in his word , about what they undertake , that do not enquire , whether what they are about to do , be just and agreeable with the word and will of god ; nor seek for a blessing upon what they are about to do . 3. such who pray not to god , or least wise , do not pray in faith or believingly . 4. such that depend upon their own wisdom , or trust in their own strength , or rely upon an arm of flesh : some trust in horses and some in chariots . but what said david , i will not trust in my own bow , neither shall my sword save me : ashur shall not save us , we will not ride upon horses . 5. such who in all they do , do not chiefly seek the honour of god , the interest of god , and the welfair of his people ; but in their prayers , rather eye their own interest , their own peace , safety and profit , or their own glory : these do not truly acknowledge god. 6. such who do not acknowledge , that all the good things they receive , to come from god ; but ascribe it to their care , wisdom and industry , or secondary causes : as i heard of a wicked man , who had a plentiful crop of corn ; and a neighbour observing it , bid him praise god for it ; praise god , said he , praise my dung-cart ( or to that purpose ) such men be sure acknowledge not god. 7. remember , that such who do not live by faith on god's promises and providences through jesus christ , or do not come to god in christ , for all spiritual and temporal blessings , or that trust not in him at all times and for all things , but either mur●●er against god , or despair of his mercy in the lord jesus ; or whosoever do not give god the glory of his wisdom ▪ mercy , justice , power , love and faithfulness , as they shine forth in christ ; do not truly acknowledge god. exhortation . let me exhort you all ( these things being so ) to acknowledge god , whosoever you be , whether high or low , rich or poor , young or old ; the king on the throne must acknowledge god , as well as him that grinds at the mill : 't is both the duty of the prince and of the peasant : there are none so high , but he can bring down , nor none so low but he can raise up 2. pray to him in faith , for prayer is one way to acknowledge him . and as for motives . 1. consider , that prayer is the duty of all men : though god will not hear sinners ; yet peter put simon magus upon prayer , pray , that the thoughts of thine heart may be forgiven thee : this shew ; the need of grace , of faith , and a changed heart ; if wicked men pray not , they sin , yet their prayers cannot please god. 2. you know that god will hear a godly mans prayer , if he prays in faith , and for such things that are agreeable to his will , but let him come in christs name : ask and ye shall receive , that your joy may be full . 3. prayer hath obtained great blessings of god ; nay , it hath done wonderful things : i mean the prayer of faith and of faithful persons . it hath opend and shut heaven : elias was a man subject to like passions as we are , and he prayed earnestly , that it might not rain , and it rained not on the earth , by the space of three years and six months ; and he prayed again , and the heavens gave rain , and the earth brought forth . prayer hath quenched the violence of fire , and stopt the mouths of lyons : faith and prayer divided the red sea , that israel went through it on dry ground it hath put to flight the armies of aliens . 4. prayer is gods ordinance , 't is his way wherein we ought to meet him . 5. it hath his promises , his word that is setled in heaven ; his promise is as firm as heaven it self . 6. prayer honours god many ways . 1. hereby we acknowledge his omnisciency , that he knows us , and our wants and necessities . 2. prayer honours god , in that by prayer we acknowledge his omnipotence , that he is able to help us , let our condition be what it will : and in that he can confound our enemies . 3. in respect of our dependance upon god , for in prayer we acknowledge , we do not know what to do , but our eyes are up to him and our trust is in him . 4. in prayer we acknowledge his authority over us , and his love and faithfulness towards us : but brethren , know that it is the prayer of the new creature that prevaileth , that pleaseth and honoureth him ; 't is the voice of the new born spiritual babe , that is sweet to him ; yea 'ts the voice of his own spirit that he hears , and which brings honour to him : moreover know , that 't is through christs intercession only , that our prayers are heard : christ offers up all the prayers of his own people with his own incense , and when he offerred up their prayers with his incense , their were voices , lightnings and thunder . 1. joyn confession of sins with your supplications : o find out , every one of you , the plague of his own heart , and lie low at the foot of god ; confess your own sins , and the sins of the nation , and the sins of god's people , thus you have heard daniel did : brethren , to confession of sin , add also deep humiliation , this must be joyned with our prayers and confessions ; nay , and reformation of life also , every one must turn from his evil way . see 2 chron. 7. 14. if my people that are called by my name , shall humble themselves , and pray , and seek my face , and turn from their evil ways ; then will i hear from heaven , and will forgive their sins , and will be al their land : if we regard iniquity in our hearts , god will not hear our prayers : 't is true , a national humiliation and reformation , may prevent national judgments , as in the case of nineveb : o that we could see but such an humiliation ( as was among them ) among us in england , for the sins of this nation are grievous in the sight of god , being attended with such lamentable aggravations , we are a people of exceeding great mercies ; but o! the wickedness of these days : god is therefore angry with us ; the inhabitants of england may see their sins in their punishment : doth not god touch us in our trade and coyn ? is it not , because those two things have been , as it were , the idols of england , or of multitudes among us ? sirs , let us look higher than to secondary causes of these present distresses that are upon us ; and acknowledge god to be just in permitting these evils to come upon the land : if we cannot find out the cause of our distempers , how shall we find out a cure ? i am afraid least this pretended fast , should be but as a mock-fast , or a day of humiliation in shew only , and not in heart ; if we see all persons reforming their ways , we shall have ground to hope better things . if magistrates do their part , not only in making good laws against vice and prophaneness ; but in seeing those laws put into due execution ; and they themselves , and every man to turn from his evil ways , and from the violence that is in his hand ▪ then may gods wrath and anger cease ; but if not , his judgment will break forth upon us . brethren , god is a jealous god , and will not be mocked ; what men sow they shall reap . 't is said of niniveh , ' and god saw their works , that they turned from their evil way , and god repented of the evil , that he had said , that he would do unto them , and did it not . it was not their words , but their works that god looked at ; 't is not what we speak , but what we do that will prevail with the allmighty . 1. terror and wo to them that cast off all fear of god , and acknowledge him not , or do it not in truth and sincerity . thou casteth off fear , and restrainest prayer before god. some men look upon it vain and uproficable to pray to god , or to acknowledge him ; what profit is it that we have kept his ordinances , and have walked mournfully before the lord of hosts ? but what will these men do in the day of wrath ? judgments shall bow them and break them , if mercies will not melt them . 2. those that refuse to acknowledge god , or who follow not his direction , and walk not in his ways , nor hearken not to his voice , nor wait for his counsel , he will in wrath and judgment leave , and give them up to their own hearts lusts , and to walk in their own counsel , as he did israel of old ; my people would not bearken to my voice , and israel would have none of me ; so i gave them up to their own hearts lusts , and they walked in their own counsel . god may iustly withdraw all his directing influences from such , and blind their eyes , who , through pride , think they have wisdom enough to manage their own affairs , and direct their own paths . god's counsel is to men , to forsake their sinful ways , to embrace his son , or believe in christ , and trust in him alone , and rest on his word , and cry to him in their trouble ; but when they refuse to do this , he oftentimes utterly leaves them , and then they fall , and bring ruin on themselves and others , whose counsellers they pretend to be , or chosen to be . the truth is , while the nation continueth in its rebellion against god , and all prophaneness aboundeth to such a degree , as to this day it dothe , what can we expect but wrath and fearful judgments ? what signifies a few formal prayers , whilst men hold fast their sins ? are such laws made and executed , to check and restrain the cursed enormities of the ungodly ? that may tend as an effectual way to accomplish such a reformation that god calls for . alas , whilst every mans hand at sea and land is up against god , fighting against him ; can we expect he should appear to fight for us ? o what horrid pride , uncleanness , oaths and blasphemy , and all prophaneness do we see and hear of every day ? 't is a wonder the earth opens not its mouth to swallow them up at land ( as it did them at jemeca ; ) and that the sea doth not swallow up our ships ( and those in them ) they having such a wait and load in them ▪ sin is a heavy burthen , and our sins are so heavy , they are enough to sink ( as one observes ) seventeen kingdoms . moreover , what errors and detestable heresies do abound among us ? and also what divisions , discord and animosities are there among professors ? one set against another , little love and charity being now to be found in the earth : much preaching , but little practise : are not many professors as proud , covetous , carnal and loose as others . o where is the life and power of religion ? what can we look for whilst things are thus , but some fearful calamity and dissolution . but to proceed to a use of comfort and consolation , to such who do in uprightness acknowledge god. observe the motive , or encouragement , that is laid down in the later part of my text , and he shall direct thy paths . i cannot now speak to this part of the words , as i might , for want of time ; but certainly here is great ground of comfort to all godly christians , yea to all that rightly acknowledge god. for , 1. he will shew us the right way , that we might , saith ezra , seek a right way ; none but god can lead us into a right way ; every mans way may seem right in his own eyes ; but no mans way is right , but such as god teaches and directs . 2. let our straits and distresses be never so great , nay , beyond the wisdom of man to find out a remidy , yet god can soon direct us , and all that seek to him , in a way for present relief ; nothing is too hard for him to do , who is wonderful in counsel , and excellent in working . 3. god can direct and save a people , when all say , there is no hope ; when every man despareth of succour and relief , and are at their wits end as it were . god can lead , guide and direct us infallibly : he only gives certain and infallible counsel ; there are none can defeat his counsel ; no wisdom nor craftiness of men can stand before the wisdom of god. there is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the lord : what encouragement is here to seek to god ? 4. as he can direct us , and none can withstand him ; or give us counsel , which none can overthrow ; so he can with ease , defeat all the counsels of his peoples enemies ; nay , can turn their crafty counsel to the advantage of his own people : he taketh the wise in their own craftiness , and the counsel of the froward is carryed head long : or as the prophet isaiah saith , the counsel of the wise shall be turned bac ward . omne consilium captatum in festinatione est stultitia . god can mingle a perverse spirit , and and make the princes of zoan to become fools . 5. when he is sought truly unto , he hath promised to direct a people or person that feareth him ; his special care is over such that trust in him : behold the eye of the lord is over them that fear him , upon them that hope in his mercy : mind my text , he shall direct thy paths ; the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord , and be delighteth in his ways . though the young lyons want and suffer hunger , yet they that fear god shall want no good thing : he will lead the blind , in ways they knew not , &c. though we are in our selves , blind and ignorant , yet if we acknowledge him , he will lead us , and will not leave us to the lusts of our enemies : brethren , we are still in god's hand and none can pluck us out ; my , and our times also are in his hand . 6. you that are godly , have interest in this mighty god ; he is your father , therefore he will teach and direct you ; his faithfulness and fatherly affections leadeth him thus to do . 7. do you also commit your selves to him and trust in him ; and will he , think you , ever fail such that so do : the poor committeth himself to thee : thou art the helper of the fatherless : if unfaithful man will not fail such that wholly trust in him ; will the faithful god not help and direct such that put all their trust in him ; though our sins be many , and our miseries and dangers many also , yet brethren , let us lye low before the lord , and humbly confess with the prophet our own insufficiency . o lord , i know that the way of man is not in himself , it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps . let us use all due means which god directeth us to , or be found in our duty , and leave the issue of all to god ; men not seeking constantly to god , nor relying on him , may be the cause they prosper not . but , let it go how it will with the land , or with the wicked therein ; yet saith the prophet , say to the righteouss , it shall go well with him . a dismal day must come and will come upon this land , and upon all nations of the earth ; we see already distress of nations and perplexities ; but these things are but the beginning of sorrows , but do you that fear god , look up , lift up your heads , for your redemption draws near . 8. god will bless , and give success to such that seek to him , that humbly and sincerely acknowledge him , yea in their civil affairs ; such shall find their endeavours crowned with a blessing ; and also in spiritual matters god will lead them : the meek will be guide in judgment , and the meek will he teach his ways : that is , the humble and lowly ones , that acknowledge god , and submit to his hand , and are willing and desirous to be lead , directed and governed by him in all their ways , in doing justice and judgment , who are not self ish or self-seeking persons , who lay not burthens on others to ease themselves ; but act in all righte ousness and equallity in what they do , in the station where they are set ; for as all the ways of god are mercy and truth , so should all the ways of men be , especially such that are rulers and magistrates , who are intrusted with the great concerns of a nation or people ; they ought to be men fearing god , men of truth , hating evil ; if not , god may justly leave them , and blast all their endeavours ; for they are the meek , the humble and righteous ones , that god will guide in judgment , and direct their paths . 9. know assuredly , that none teaches like god : what is man's teaching ? some glory in their phylosophical learning , but that only fills the head with knowledge ; it may make men criticks , but not christians : others boast of the teachings of natural reason , and will receive no principles of religion that is above this teacher ; and thereby , they cast contempt upon the gospel of jesus christ. all true knowledge flows from god's soveraign grace ; he guides and teaches whomsoever he pleaseth ; he can speak to the heart , nay , give a heart to understand , as well as instruction ; he can give a teachable frame , or a teachable spirit , as well as direct those whom he hath given such a frame , or heart , unto ; therefore it followeth , that to teach and direct our souls , is the effect of almighty power . be still and know that i am god. confess your weakness , your ignorance , and acknowledge my skill , my power ; as if god should say ▪ no man can come to me , except the father , which sent me , draw him : what is his drawing , but his teaching ; every one therefore that hath heard and learned of the father , cometh unto me ▪ men must be un-taught , or become ▪ fools , before they can be wise ; i mean , emptied of their own wisdom , and confess , they know nothing as they ought to know : christ's office and work , is to teach his people : he only hath the tongue of the learned ; therefore let all men learn of him , wait upon him ; acknowledge him , to be their only instructor and counsellor ; and say with david , thou shalt guide me with thy counsel , and afterward receive me to glory . and thus i shall end as i begun , in all thy ways acknowledge him , and he shall direct thy paths . finis . errata . page 6. line 41. for his will his law , read , his will is his law. p. 12. l. 31. for peruse r. persue . p. 13. l. 31. for chooser . chose . p. 21. l. 31. for acknowledged , r. acknowledge . p. 24. l. 7. for man r. men. p. 24. l. 10. for him● . r. him . p. 27. l. 22. for would r. should . books sold by william marinal at the bible in newgate-street , and john marshal at the bible in grace-church-street . 1. baptism discovered plainly and faithfully according to the word of god ; wherein is set forth the glorious pattern of our blessed lord jesus christ , the pattern of all true believers in his subjection to baptism ; together with examples of thousands who were baptized after they believed : by john norcot , late minister , the 3d edition ; corrected by william kiffin and richard claridge : with an apenddix by another hand . price bound 6d . you may also have it ready translated in welch , at the same price . 2. a treatise of baptism of believers : that of infants is examined by the scriptures ; with the history of both , according to antiquity ; making it appear , that infant baptism , was not practised for near 300 years after christ : with the fabulous traditions , and erronious grounds , upon which it was by the pope's cannon ( with gossips , chrysm , exorcism , baptizing of churches and bells and other popish rights ) founded : and that the famous waldensian and old brittain churches , with many others , have witnessed against it ; with the history of christianity amongst the antient brittains and waldensians : the 2d edition with large additions . price bound , 2s . 3. a treatise concerning covenant and baptism ; dialogue-wise : wherein is shewn , that believers only , are the spiritual seed of abraham ; fully discovered : by edward hutchinson , p. 2s . 4. mr. hercules collins , of believers baptism . price 4d . 5 there is now in the press , and will be suddenly published , a book entituled , light broke forth in wales , or , the english man's way to the antient brittains : being an answer to a book entituled , infant baptism from heaven ; printed in the welch tongue ; wrote by mr. james owen : in which , all his 12 arguments for infant baptism , are fully answered , both in english and welch : by benjamin keach . price bound in english in welch 2s . 6d . 6. the welch bible that was lately printed , is sold at a reasonable price . 7. you may likewise be supplyed with dr. crisp's works , and with several other authors , that have vindicated the doctrine of free grace : as , samuel crisp's , esq ( the son of dr. crisp ) christ made sin , &c. price 2s . 6. neonomianism unmask'd , or the antient gospel pleaded , &c. in answer to mr. williams's gospel truth . by dr. chauncy . and also esq edwards's , mr. lancaster's and mr. beverly's vindication of dr. crisps works . 8. the last sayings of j. bunyan , author of the pilgrims progress . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a47528-e130 the text opened . the doct. raised . what 't is to acknowledg god. exod. 5. 2. exod. 7. 5. dan. 4. 32. 33. psal. 53. the soveraignty of god to be owned . psa. 135. 5. job 23. 13. psal. 115. 3. gods providence over all . caryl the omnisciency of god. the wisdom of god must be acknowledged , caryl , god's justice . the goodness , mercy , and faithfulness of god must be acknowledged . god man's chiefest good . to fear god is to acknowledge him . to a knowledge god , when we trust in him . to acknowledge god , is to acknowledge ledge christ to be god. in all civil and religious actions god to be acknowledged . jam. 4. 13. 14. good counsel is from god. god to be be acknowledged , in changing our conditiòn . jer. 31. 23. exod. 14. 13. how we should acknowledge god. god must be acknowledged , in christ. god to be acknowledged in faith. god to be acknowledged always . god must be acknowledged sincerely . wisdom & counsel from god only . it 〈◊〉 mans duty to acknowledge god. god can give wisdom to the simple . god disposeth of all affairs . all judgments god can soon remove . god can make unlikely means or persons succesful . all success is from god. god can help in straits . god ' s promise is to them that seek to him . ezek. 36. 37. 1 king 18. 26. verse 27. jonah 1. 5. luke 19. 27. isa. 60. 1. isa. 44. 2 2 sam. 1 23. infer . 1. isa. 33. 11. 2 san. 17 7. to 140 gen. 39 ▪ 3. psal. 14. 2. psal. 44. 6. hos. 14. 3. acts 8. 2. 1 joh. 5. 1 15. joh. 16. 2 jam. 5. 18. exod. heb. 11 34. rev. 8. 3. dan. 9. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4. jonab 2. 1 job . 15. mal. 3. 1 isa. 28. 26 prov. 21. 30. job 5. 13. isa. 44. 25. psal. 37. 23. psal 10 14 jer. 10. 13 isa. 3. 10. psal. 25. 9. job 36. 22. john 6. 45 psal. 33. 24. the ax laid to the root, or, one blow more at the foundation of infant baptism, and church-membership. part i containing an exposition of that metaphorical text of holy scripture, mat. 3. 10. : being the substance of two sermons lately preached, with some additions, wherein is shewed that god made a two-fold covenant with abraham, and that circumcision appertained not to the covenant of grace, but to the legal and external covenant god made with abraham's natural seed, as such : together with an answer to mr. john flavel's last grand arguments in his vindiciarum vindex, in his last reply to mr. philip cary, also to mr. rothwell's pædo-baptisms vindicatur, as to what seems most material / by benjamin keach ... keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1693 approx. 112 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 20 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-05 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47391 wing k47 estc r39052 18207842 ocm 18207842 107120 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47391) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 107120) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1125:20) the ax laid to the root, or, one blow more at the foundation of infant baptism, and church-membership. part i containing an exposition of that metaphorical text of holy scripture, mat. 3. 10. : being the substance of two sermons lately preached, with some additions, wherein is shewed that god made a two-fold covenant with abraham, and that circumcision appertained not to the covenant of grace, but to the legal and external covenant god made with abraham's natural seed, as such : together with an answer to mr. john flavel's last grand arguments in his vindiciarum vindex, in his last reply to mr. philip cary, also to mr. rothwell's pædo-baptisms vindicatur, as to what seems most material / by benjamin keach ... keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. rothwell, edward, d. 1731. paedobaptismus vindicatus. [4], 32 p. printed for the author, and are to be sold by john harris ..., london : [1693] imprint date suggested by wing. imperfect: cropped with loss of imprint date; best copy available for photographing. reproduction of original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng flavel, john, 1630?-1691. -vindiciarum vindex. bible. -n.t. -matthew iii, 10 -criticism, interpretation, etc. infant baptism. 2002-11 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-01 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-02 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2003-02 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the ax laid to the root : or , one blow more at the foundation of infant baptism , and church-membership . containing an exposition of that metaphorical text of holy scripture , mat. 3. 10. being the substance of two sermons lately preached , with some additions . wherein is shewed that god made a two-fold covenant with abraham , and that circumcision appertained not to the covenant of grace , but to the legal and external covenant god made with abraham's natural seed , as such . together with an answer to mr. john flavel's last grand arguments in his vindiciarum vindex , in his last reply to mr. philip cary. also to mr. rothwell's paedo-baptismus vindicatur ; as to what seems most material . part i. by benjamin keach , pastor of a church of christ , meeting at horsly-down , southwark . rom. 9. 7. neither because they are the seed of abraham , are they all i hil dren , &c. — ver . 8. that is , they which are the children of the flesh , these are not the children of god. gal. 4. 24. which things are an allegory , for these are the two covenants . gal. 3. 29. and if ye be christ's then are ye abraham's seed . london , printed for the author , and are to be sold by john harris at the harrow in the poultrey 16●● the epistle to the reader . when i first entered on this text , i did not intend the publication of the sermons ; it was not at all in my thoughts : but after i had preached two of them , i was earnestly solicited by divers , to do it ; which , at last , i consented to do . yet , because some of the arguments about that two-fold covenant god made with abraham , being before publish'd , in my answer to mr. burkit , i was at a stand in my mind about it : yet meeting with mr. john flavell 's vindiciarum vindex , being ( as he says ) a full answer to mr. philip cary 's exceptions to his vindiciae legis & faedoris , together with a late treatise , wrote by mr. rothwell , called , paedo-baptismus vindicatus , i was resolved ( if the bookseller would take the copy ) to expose it to publick view , finding no person taking any notice of either of those late treatises , by way of answer . the former being so much cryed up , as a weighty piece , i thought it was necessary to examine and detect the seeming force of his chief arguments ; for tho' the author is deceased , yet i fear his writings on that subject , may do some wrong to the truth , by hindering such gracious persons reception of it , who are willing to be informed , because he was a man of great parts , learning , and ( i hope ) of piety : for , by sad experience , i perceive some people build their faith and belief of infant baptism , on the credit , and great veneration they have of the asserters of it , saying , how should such men be mistaken ? which is a poor argument ; and a great reproach it is to such persons : for their faith , it seems , stands in the wisdom of men , and not in the power of god , or certain testimony of his holy word — god may , reader , for some reasons known to himself , hide this and some truths , from some of his faithful servants , may be , as a rebuke to them for their over-valuing of humane learning , and to the people too upon the like account ; though the knowledge of the tongues i esteem in its place , and could wish , if the lord saw it good , all gospel ministers had the knowledge of the original languages ; but , ( as the apostle says ) god hath chosen the foolish things of the world , to confound the wise , 1 cor. 1. 27. and base things , and things that are despised hath god chosen , yea , things that are not to bring to naught things that are , ver . 28. that no flesh should glory in his presence , god makes use of men that are of no account , in the esteem of the learned world , to confound such who are of great repute . the truth is , that great author hath not missed the mark , only in asserting paedo-baptism , and in his dark notions , about the covenant of circumcision , but also in a point of far greater moment , viz. in asserting in this very book , the conditionality of the covenant of grace : these are his words , an antecedent condition , signifying no more than an act of ours , which , tho' it be neither perfect in every degree , nor in the least meritorious of the benefit conferr'd , nor performed in our own natural strength ; yet , according to the constitution of the covenant , is required of us , in order to the blessings consequent thereupon , by vertue of the promise ; and consequently , the benefits and mercies , granted in the promise , in this order , are , and must be suspended by the donor , or disposer of them , until it be performed : such a condition , we affirm faith to be , &c. this grand error ( for so i must call it ) the learned and reverend mr. chauncy ( whom god hath graciously raised up to defend his blessed truth , at this present time , and for whose labours we have great cause to praise the holy name of jehovah ) takes notice of , in his late treatise , which is newly come to my hand , before i wrote this epistle , tho' my copy is at the press , p. 128 , 129. mr. flavel ( saith he ) was a worthy man , but it may be , not without some hay and stubble : i wish it do not prove an attempting at another foundation , besides christ , &c. you tell us ( saith he ) what an antecedent condition is , that it signifies no more than an act of ours , and such is faith. i suppose you and he mean , in distinction from a consequent condition , the antecedent gains the estate , the lawyers reckon it the purchase-money ; the consequent condition keeps it , and it 's the quit-rent ; which , if it be not duely paid , the lord can enter and take the estate ; so that faith you 'll have , to be the antecedent : money , deposited and laid down , before you have any of your spiritual estate ; and you say , it signifies no more than an act of ours . i pray , whose should it be but ours ? if the condition be to be performed by us ; and , why is this put in ? it signifies no more , unless the meaning be , that christ's righteousness should be shut out , and it should be reckoned , under the nature of this condition , merely as an act of ours , without respect to christ , the author of it , and christ the true object of it : — see him at large . again ( he saith ) every faedoral condition is ex pacto meritorious , so that you may challenge your bargain upon performance , if it be but 20 guineys to purchase an 100 l. per annum , so that we have only your word for 't , that it is not meritorious , when it 's so in reality : the nature of the thing speaks it to the understanding of all men of sence . no , no , do not think to wheedle christ out of his merits , and god out of the honour of his free grace , and us , out of the comfort of both : you say , it 's not performed in our natural strength : no ; and yet a condition of a covenant made with man : a most unreasonable thing , to require a condition of a covenant of one , that we know hath no strength to perform it . if a rich man should offer an estate of 1000 l. a year to a poor man , that he knew was not worth a groat , provided he fetched him 20 l. of his own money , this act would be reckoned a mocking , and ridiculing this poor wretch . god did not require that small condition of adam , but that he actually had strength to perform it ; you will say , god will give him ability to perform : so he did to adam , previous to the covenant , &c. see his farther answer , p. 130. god will , in due time , bring down and abase the pride of man ; o what a doctrine do some men preach ! 't is time , indeed , now to lay aside our lesser differences , and make head against such capital errors . the foundation seems now to be struck at — reader , since i preached these sermons , i met with reverend mr. cotton on the covenant , who confirms the same thing , concerning the ax being laid to the root of the trees , speaking of that text , mal. 4. 1. the day cometh that shall leave them neither root nor branch : there are two things in the root , ( saith he ) 1st . the first is the root of abraham 's covenant , which this people much trusted upon , and that is it of which john the baptist speaks , now is the ax is laid to the root of the trees , &c. this is spoken in mat. 3. 9. after he had said , think not to say within your selves , we have abraham to our father , ver . 8. so that all their confidence they had in abraham 's covenant , temple , and tabernacle , and such things , is burnt up , and so they have no root left them to stand upon : but , 2dly , there is something more in it ; for , with this spirit of burning , the lord , by the power of this spirit , doth cut us off from any power of our own natural or spiritual gifts , whereby we thought to lay hold on jesus christ , and we are cut off hereby from all confidence that we have in our own sufficiency , &c. for there is an usual confidence that we have in our own state , tho' the lord hath cut us off from the righteousness of our parents , and from boasting of his ordinance ; yet we think there is some power left in us . cotton 's treaty of the cov. p. 177 , 178. again he saith , it is spoken of the ministry of john the baptist , which did burn as an oven , and left them neither the root of abraham 's covenant , nor the branches of their own good works . he cutteth them off from the covenant of abraham ; and so by cutting them off from the root , he leaveth them no ground to trust to , pag. 21 , 22. i hope , if this text be well considered , and our arguments , in the ensuing treatise , no wise and impartial person will find there is any ground for men to plead for infant baptism , from the covenant god made with abraham . i shall say no more , but leave what i have said to the blessing of the god of truth ( who is coming forth to shake all false foundations and states ; yea , both heaven and earth , that that which cannot be shaken , may remain ) and rest thy servant in the work of the gospel , from my house near horsly-down , southwark , this 6th . of march , 1693. benjamin keach . reader , my answer to mr. flavel and mr. rothwell , i find will not come into the first part ; but the second is going to the press , where you will have it . the ax laid to the root , &c. or , one blow more at the foundation of infant baptism , and church-membership . mat. iii. 10. and now also the ax is laid to the root of the trees , every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit ; is hewn down and cast into the fire . this text is metaphorical ; there is no great difference between a metaphor and an express similitude ; and for the better understanding the mind of god therein , i shall 1. open the scope and coherence thereof . 2. explain the parts and terms therein contained . 3. i shall observe some points of doctrine reducable there-from . 4. shall improve the whole by way of application . first , from the scope and coherence of the place , 't is evident , that john baptist endeavours to take off the jews , particularly the pharisees and sadduces , from the external and legal covenant god made with abraham and his fleshly-seed , or off-spring . see vers . 7. but when he saw many of the pharisees and sadduces come to his baptism , he said unto them , o generation of vipers , who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come . historians tell us , that there were three more eminent religious sects amongst the jews , the first were called essenes , of whom we do not read in the holy scripture ; their main doctrine was fate ; they ( say our annotators ) ascribed all things to it . secondly , the sadduces were directly opposite to the essenes , they ascribed nothing to fate , but asserted the liberty and power of man's will , in the most largest sence , or in the extravagant height ; they denied the immortality of the soul of man , the resurrection , angels , &c. all which , the pharisees owned . see act. 23. 8. the pharisees , were outwardly a very zealous sort of people ; and , tho' they were tainted with that false opinion of the freedom of man's will to do good , yet they ▪ ascribed much to the providence and grace of god ; they were interpreters of the law , and separated themselves from others ; they spent much time in fasting and prayer : 1. they held , nevertheless , a righteousness by the works of the law , by which they thought they were justified and accepted of god , and so stumbled at the stumbling-stone , rom. 9. 32. 2. they gave a very corrupt interpretation of the law. 3. they held many un-written traditions of equal force with the law of god ; by which means , they made void the commandments of god. 4. they were a mere hypocritical sort of men in their practices , being very strict and zealous for the smaller matters of the law , and neglected the weightier things thereof . whether these pharisees and sadduces came with an intention to be baptized , or only out of curiosity , is hard to be resolved , since 't is said , they rejected the counsel of god against themselves , being not baptized by john. john however , sharply treates them both , calling them a generation of vipers , a sort of serpents , of whom 't is said , they make way into the world through the bowels of their dam. it may be upon this account , he gave them that name , or so called them , who thought through the bowels ( as i may so say of their ancestors ) or being the seed of abraham , or the off-spring of godly progenitours , to come to heaven ; who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come . what is the reason that you come to my baptism ? whereas some of you think there is no resurrection , no heaven , no hell , no angels , nor no spirits ; or , you , who think you are so righteous , as you need no repentance , and so need fear no wrath to come , from whence comes this to pass that you seem to fear , or to be afraid of future wrath , and the vengeance of an angry god ? bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance , ver . 8. o come now and put your selves among the crowd of poor sinners , and godly penitent persons ; repent of your false doctrines you have taught ; repent of the corrupt and wicked notions and opinions you hold , and of the vain and hypocritical lives you have led , and think not that a bear profession of this will do neither ; for you must bring forth fruits of true repentance , fruits of true holiness , from a thorough change of heart that must be wrought in you . but , ( as if he should say ) i know your thoughts , i have heard what a belief you are of , you think you are in covenant with god , and so are faedorally holy , and in a saved and safe condition , because you have abraham to your father , you conclude , that covenant god made with abraham , and his natural or fleshly seed , was the covenant of grace ; and so the promise is sure to you : and therefore , he adds , ver . 7. and think not to say within your selves , we have abraham to our father : for i say unto you , that god is able of these stones , to raise up children to abraham . you promise good to your selves , because you are the natural off-spring of believing abraham , you rest upon your descent from him . the very same plea we find they made to our blessed saviour , joh. 8. 33. we be abraham 's seed , and were never in bondage to any man. how sayest thou , yee shall be made free : we were never under the bondage of sin , as others are ; that covenant made with abraham being the covenant of grace , we are thereby set at liberty , and no man shall by his doctrine make us believe the contrary , we are a free people , in respect of our souls and spiritual privileges , ( for they could not mean otherwise , because they had often been in bondage to men , in respect of external liberty and freedom : first to pharaoh king of egypt , and then to nebuchadnezzar , and now were so in bondage under the romans ) i know ( saith our saviour ) that ye are abraham's seed , according to the flesh : they were his off-spring ; but that was no spiritual advantage to them , tho' it did give them right to legal privileges and ordinances under the law , yet it signify'd nothing now , it would not profit them under the gospel dispensation , they must be the spiritual seed of abraham , and do the works of abraham , and walk in his steps ; which they did not , and therefore the lord jesus told them , vers . 44. ye are of your father the devil , and the lusts of your father you will do . john baptist , intimates the same thing , when he called them a generation of vipers ; tho' they intituled themselves to the covenant of grace , ( like as some do now a-days ) upon that , in gen. 17. extended to abraham's seed , as well as to himself , and concluded , they were members of god's church , then on earth , and could not therefore be deny'd any privilege , or ordinance , that of right belonged to covenant children : but this great prophet knew how blind and deceived they were , not understanding , that there were two covenants made with abraham , and also a two-fold seed ( viz. ) a carnal or natural , and a spiritual seed : they thought that promise of god , made with abraham , must be made of none effect , if they should not be owned or allowed to be the seed of abraham ; but , ( saith the baptists ) god is able of these stones , to raise up children to abraham . if he should turn stones into men and women , who have abraham's faith , they would be certainly the true seed of abraham , and not such as they were , tho' they naturally proceeded from his loins , according to the flesh ; or , god could of the gentiles raise up children to abraham , and so make good his promise to him , who said , in thy seed , shall all the nations of the earth be blessed . and now farther to convince them , and so to take away , for ever , all their hope and pretences of right to gospel-ordinances , and church-membership , by vertue of the covenant made with abraham ; or , from the consideration of their being his natural or fleshly seed , he in the words i first read to you , says , and now also the ax is laid to the root of the trees , therefore every tree which bringeth forth not good fruit , is hewn down and cast into the fire , vers . 10. now , this now referrs to the time here in this place , sometimes it referrs to the matter or occasion of what is spoken , now the ax is laid to the root of the trees ; whatever is meant by the root of the trees , this is certain , the ax was not till now , or until this time so laid , or thus laid to the root : we cannot understand what the holy ghost intends hereby , unless we observe , and well consider the scope and coherence of the text , which do's clearly unfold the whole drift and purport of the baptists . he shew'd them before in the context , that their plea to gospel baptism , was not good nor pleadable , i. e. we are abraham's seed ; they might object , and say , obj. all the seed of abraham , were taken into covenant with god , and all that sprang from his loins , were members of the visible church ; and had right to the external rites , ordinances and privileges thereof . ans. this john baptist seems to grant , i. e. that it was so from abraham's time untill these days , or under the law or old covenant-dispensation ; they had , he denies not , a right to jewish church-membership , and legal ordinances : but what of that , now the ax is laid to the root of the trees ; that is , as abraham was the root , or common covenanting-father , as concerning the flesh , out of which root , all the jews , his natural off-spring , sprang ; and , upon which foundation , they and their natural church-state was founded : yet , now the ax is laid to this root , i. e. to this covenant , i. e. the legal , or external covenant made with abraham ; and down must the building fall , when the foundation is removed ; down goes the trees , when the root ( out of which they grew ) is cut down . so much as to the scope and coherence of the words . secondly , i shall explain the terms and parts of the text : 1. shew farther what is meant by the root . 2. what is intended by the trees . 3. what is meant by the ax. 4. what by laying the ax to the root of the trees , and by cutting down . 5. what by the fire , and casting into the fire . first , by the root is meant , that which bears up the branches , and on which the tree and branches stand and grow ; and 't is from hence , from this allusion , the baptists makes use of these words and expressions . now the root , whereof he speaks , ( as i conceive ) was that covenant god made with abraham , and his natural seed , or off-spring ; which covenant did , in a mystical sence , as clearly bear up the national church of israel , and all the trees , i. e. members or branches thereof , as a common natural root doth the tree , or trees that grow out of it . 2. and as by root may be meant that covenant made with abraham , and his natural seed , ( from whence the national policy , and church of the jews sprang , and was born up , and from whence it grew and was to abide ) untill the gospel dispensation came in , and was established ; so also by the root may be intended the foundation of all their hopes , confidence , and outward privileges : for that , they ( i mean the natural off-spring of abraham ) had great confidence in the flesh , by means of that legal or external ministration they were under , cannot be denied , and had many outward rights and privileges also , above all people then in the world ; and if so , ( i mean if this be granted , which i am sure cannot be denied ) then it follows there was some root , ground , or foundation , which they had , and upon which they built , and laid claim to those outward ecclesiastical and civil rights and privileges ; and that the ground root , or foundation of all this , was that covenant god made with abraham and his natural seed , is apparent to all who are not willingly blind ; for before those covenant-tranctions with abraham , we read not that the people , from whom abraham sprang , had any such rights or privileges granted to them , and what outward privileges god promised them afterwards by moses , 't is signify'd in divers places to be upon the account of the covenant made with abraham , &c. and according to the exact time , told by the lord to abraham , god brought his natural seed out of the land of egypt . this , from the scope and coherence of the words ; therefore i must affirm , is primarily , and chiefly intended by the root of the trees in this place : but , thirdly , by root , in a more remote sence , may be meant the state and standing of every ungodly , unbelieving and impenitent person ; let their hopes , expectation , and confidence , be what it will , if he be not a good tree , a believing and true penitent person , his root , or foundation on which he builds , let it be what it will , cannot secure him , for down he must go with all his vain hopes , works , expectation and confidence whatsoever with him , for now is the ax laid to the root of the trees . secondly , by trees are meant men and women , but chiefly the seed of the stock of abraham , according to the flesh ; of whom the national church of the jews was made up , and did consist ; as also , all wicked and unbelieving persons whatsoever , who embrace not the offers of grace , in the gospel , or believe not in jesus christ. for , as the church of god is compared to a good tree , and godly men , in particular , are called good trees , so is the adulterated church of the jews , compared to an evil tree ; and wicked and ungodly persons , called , evil and corrupt trees : yet it might be here noted , that they are in this place compared to fruit trees , tho' to such that bring not forth good fruit , as ( by the prophet ) the jewish church is compared to a vine , and an olive tree , tho' she brought forth sowre grapes , isa. 5. thirdly , as to the ax , we all know an ax is that instrument used by men to cut down trees , at the pleasure , or for the profit of the owner thereof ; by the ax here , may be intended divers things , by which god may be said to cut down impenitent sinners , or unfruitful churches , or bodies and souls of men. for cutting down may refer , 1. to the souls of men , &c. 2. to their outward rights and privileges . 3. to their bodies and souls both . 4. to their external , fleshly and corrupt church state. first , to the souls of sinners , which is done by an act of god's justice , when he cuts them off , from profiting by the means of grace , giving them up to unbelief and hardness of heart : and thus he in judgment dealt with the jews . 2. by giving them up to blindness of mind , when they have ears , and hear not ; eyes , and see not ; hearts , and understand not ; god utterly leaving them to a seared conscience , or gives them up to their own heart's lusts , and to walk in their own counsel . then they , in respect of their souls , may be said to be cut down in wrath for ever . 3. or , when he takes away the kingdom of god from them , i. e. the dispensation of the gospel . therefore shall the kingdom of heaven be taken from you , and given to another people , &c. secondly , it may referr to the cutting down their religious and civil rights , and privileges . 1. when god takes away all the external and spiritual immunities , blessings and favours , a people once enjoy'd . no gospel more preached to them , no ministers to preach it , the hedge of protection and preservation pluck'd up , and ravenous beasts let in to devour them ; like as god threatned the national church of israel , isa. 5. the sun to shine upon them no more , nor the clouds to rain upon them . this is a dismal cutting down . thirdly , their bodies left to be destroyed by mercyless enemies , or cut down by famine , or pestilence , as this very people were dealt with , when god brought in the romans upon them , and their souls cut off for their final unbelief and impenitency . fourthly , it may referr to the cutting down of their church-state , sacrifices , priest-hood , sabbaths , temples , and all taken away and overthrown , and another people , another seed , and more spiritual church , constituted and established in the room thereof . and thus god dealt with this people , i. e. the church of the jews also , they were broken off , or cut down , and the gentiles were grafted in , as the apostle shews at large , rom. 11. the ax , by which they are cut down , may be , first , the dispensation of god's providence , or time ; time is pictured with a sythe ; but then man is compared to grass , but it may be pictured with an ax , since men are compared to trees ; a syth is no fit instrument to cut down trees : men , as you have heard , are here compared to trees , and when once the time 's set for the jewish church to stand , or abide in the world , was expired , time , or the dispensation of god's providence , like an ax , cut it down for ever ; and so will the prefix'd time appointed by the lord , when 't is come , even cut down at the root , the bloody idolatrous church of rome , when the beasts 1260 years are expired , down she shall go with vengeance ; and unless time lays the ax at her root , and at the root of all other corrupt and national churches , there will be no cutting them down , nor will there be any , then able to save her or them : the standing of all humane and ecclesiastical states and constitutions , are determined by the almighty , who works all things according to the counsel of his own will. 2. the ax also may referr to the gospel : the word of god is an ax to hew and square some persons for god's spiritual building , and to cut down others also , as trees that are rotten , and bear no good fruit , therefore ( saith the lord ) i have hewn them by the prophets ; and what follows , mark it , i have slain them by the words of my mouth , hos. 6 , 5. the word of god either kills or cures ; 't is either a saviour of life unto life , or the saviour of death unto death , 2. cor. 2. 16. like as sweet-meats are to some pleasant and comfortable , and to others pernicious and deadly . the abuse of gospel grace cut the jews down , and so it will all others who slight and contemn it ; the word either softens , or hardens , like as the sun , who shining on the wax , it softens that ; but shining on the clay , it hardens that . when the word comes in judgment , then 't is like an ax in the hand of god's justice . i find one learned man speaking thus on this place , viz. the word of god , which is a spiritual ax , cutteth down spiritually wicked men , and hypocrites , like rotten and barren trees . this is it , which is elsewhere meant by plucking up , destroying , hardening , &c. some , ( saith he ) expound this , not of spiritual judgments , threatned in his word against impenitent sinners , but of the power of the romans , which were the instruments of god , to destroy utterly the unfaithful and wicked generation of the jews . the former is ( saith he ) the best exposition , but i conceive it may referr to both . 3. the ax may refer to men , whom god makes use of , as instruments in his hand , to cut down and destroy a wicked and god-provoking people : hence wicked rulers and kings , whom god raises up as instruments in his hand , to chastise and cut down a rebellious people , are called his sword , and the rod of his wrath and indignation , psal. 17. 14. arise , o lord , disappoint him , cast him down , deliver my soul from the wicked , which is thy sword. and thus the assyrian were an ax in god's hand , to use , as he pleased , and the romans afterwards , to the jews likewise . moreover , god's israel is called his ax , thou art my battel-ax , and weapons of war ; with thee i will break in pieces the nations , and with thee will i destroy kingdoms . god's people , in the last days , which are now very near , shall be his ax , by whom , as instruments in his hand , he will destroy babylon , jer. 51. 20 , 24. and i will render unto babylon , &c. all the evil they have done to sion , in your sight , saith the lord. reward her as she hath rewarded you , double to her double . rev. 18. 6. give her blood to drink , for she is worthy . the stone cut out of the mountains without hands , shall break to pieces all the powers of the earth , that oppose christ's kingdom , or , that stand in the way of its establishment , dan. 3. 34. 44. 4. by the ax , may in the general be meant god's wrath , however it is , or may be executed , or upon whom ; wrath will sooner , or later , cut down all the ungodly , both false churches , and tyrannical powers of the earth , and all who continue in unbelief and in rebellion against god. the laying the ax to the root , discovers the final fall and ruin of sinners , whether considered as a church , or as particular persons , dig up or cut down the root , and down falls the body and all the branches of the tree . fifthly , and lastly , therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit , shall be hewn down and cast into the fire . now he draws a necessary inferrence and conclusion from the premisses . every tree , that is , every man and woman , or every corrupt church , be they who they will , either jew or gentile , babylonian or christian , if not plants of god's planting , if not fruitful to god , if they answer not his design and end , if they bring not forth good fruit , they shall be hewn down and cast into the fire of external and eternal wrath ; a fire saith the lord , is kindled in my anger , and it shall burn to the lowest hell. wrath ceases , and shall cease on them here ; but at last they shall be cast into hell-fire , where the worm dies not , and the fire is not quenched , mark. 9. 46. 1. the words being thus opened and explained , i shall take notice of two or three points of doctrine . 1. doct. now the dispensation is changed , to be of the natural root , or of the national church of the jews , or the seed of abraham , according to the flesh , as such is no ground of church-membership ; or , 't is no argument to be admitted into the gospel church , or to gospel-baptism . 2. doct. now in the times of the gospel god is , and will be , severe with all ungodly , unbelieving and impenitent sinners he strikes at their root , at the root of all their hopes , false faith , or fleshly confidence whatsoever . 't is the first of these propositions i shall in the first place insist upon and as i may be enabled , explain and prosecute amongst you ; but the time being near gone , let me now with a brief word or two , conclude at this season . 1. caution . take heed on what you build your hopes of justification and salvation , what is that which bears up your spirits : for if you are trees that grow not out of the true root , jesus christ , and the covenant of grace ; if you have not union with the lord jesus , or are not built on that foundation , or corner-stone god hath laid in sion , down you fall ; for now the ax is laid to the root of the trees . 2. enquiry . is not morality a civil and honest life , doing to all as you would be done unto , the ground or foundation of your hopes ? do you build upon this ? if it be so , tremble : remember christ saith , except a man be born again , he cannot see the kingdom of god. joh. 3. 3. if you have no other ground of hope , but from your own moral righteousness , when death comes with his ax , down you will go , and be cast into the fire . 3. consider , all you prophane and ungodly ones , what is that which bears your hopes up , what do you build upon ; is it not on the mere mercy of god , or death of christ : god ( say you ) is gracious , slow to anger , and we therefore have hopes , and do trust to that : christ dyed for sinners , &c. you say right , god is mercifull ; but what then , will you therefore presumptuously go on in ungodly and wicked courses , oh ! know he is just as well as gracious , and will in no wise clear the guilty . exod. 34. 7. except ye repent therefore , ye shall all likewise perish , luk. 13. 3. 5. shall the goodness of god , which should lead you to repentance be thus evilly improved ; i. e. to strengthen your hands , and encourage you to sin against him , and provoke him ? 't is i fear with you as solomon speaks . eccl. 8. 11. because sentance against an evil work is not executed speedily , therefore the hearts of the sons of men are fully set in them to do wickedly . christ 't is true , dyed for sinners , but you have no true faith in him , he dyed to save sinners from their sins , and that they might live to him . see my text , now the ax is laid to the root of the trees , if you believe not on christ , if you are not made new creatures , 1 cor. 5. 17. the ax will cut you down , and that with vengeance , and wrath will at last cast you into the fire : you must learn to know the way of salvation , and how the mercy of god shines forth in a mediator : christ hath satisfied his justice , and by him you must come to god out of christ , he is a consuming fire . abused mercy , o sinner ! will be turned at last into fury ; except you obtain an interest in jesus christ , you are undone ; for the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men , rom. 1. 3. or are you self-righteous persons ? do you build on your own righteousness , like the jews and hypocritical pharises ; you , may be , think your states good , because you are not swearers , drunkards , &c. may be , you read , pray , and hear sermons , and give to the poor , and do much good ; but if you build your hopes of heaven on these things ; down this ax will cut you also : except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes , and pharises , you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven , matth. 5. 20. nay , you must be found in the righteousness of christ , all ours is but dung , phil. 3. 8 , 9. you must in a word , bring forth good fruit , every soul of you , or perish , and this you cannot do , till your hearts are changed , and so you become good trees : make the tree good , and then the fruit will be good ; an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit , &c. all works of unregenerate persons , yea their religious duties , are but dead works , not good fruits , nor can they bring forth good fruits , unless they are planted by faith into jesus christ : nay , i must tell you that gospel-holiness will not save us , it must be the righteousness of god by faith. sermon ii. mat. iii. 10. and now also the ax is laid to the root of the trees , every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit ; is hewn down and cast into the fire . the proposition i am to prosecute , you may remember is this , considering the context , viz. now the dispensation is changed to be of the natural root or the seed of abraham according to the flesh , is no ground for church membership , or no argument to be admitted into the gospel church , or to gospel baptism . you say you have abraham to your father , or you are the children of believers , or you have believing parents : well , but what of this , ( as if john should say ) this will do you no good now , this will stand you now in no steed , this will give you no right to gospel ordinances , nor particularly to gospel baptism ; ' tho' it did to circumcision , and legal ordinances , and jewish church membership . for hager and her son are cast out , that are the old covenant , and the fleshly seed ; this old root and right , now in gospel days is struck at . the ax is laid to the roots of the trees , i. e. to your old standing on the old covenant root , as you are the lineal seed of abraham : the time is come now , that the old covenant , and covenant seed , are to be rooted up , the old house and constitution pulled down ; god is now about to build a new temple , and a more spiritual house , a spiritual temple of living stones ; and rather then he will want materials , he can of these stones raise up children unto believing abraham , and so make good the covenant of grace , or gospel covenant made with him : now you must be united to a living foundation , i. e. believe in christ , whose way i am come to prepare , and make ready fit matter for this new building , namely , the gospel church , which is not to be , by natural descent from abraham as such , but only those who have the faith of abraham ; yea , that faith he had not in circumcision , but in uncircumcision , or before he was circumcised . you must grow out of a spiritual root , i. e. be married to christ ( your first husband , i. e. the law or old covenant is just at the point of death ) that so ye may bring forth fruit to god , rom. 7. 4. but to proceed , i shall prove this proposition , viz. that the dispensation is now changed , to be of that natural root or national church of the jews , or the seed of abraham , according to the flesh , is no ground for church membership , no argument for admittance into the gospel church , or to gospel baptism . 1. because 't is positively said , that there is a change of the whole law , i. e. the levitical priesthood , legal ordinance , legal church , and legal church membership are changed and gone : that so the bettercovenant , and more spiritual church , and church membership might be established ; for the priesthood being changed , there is made of necessity , a change also of the law. heb. 7. 12. 't is so changed , as 't is abolished , to make way for this : ( as the late annotators observe , ) the mutation of the priesthood , indispensably requireth the change of the legal covenant , which hereafter i shall prove , was not the covenant of grace , but is directly called the old covenant ; the covenant of grace is but one , and that never changeth . this was made necessary by the decree of god ( as they note ) who determined , that both the priesthood and law should expire together like , ( say i , ) as an old will or testament doth , when the testator hath made and confirmed his last will and testament . when christ , the gospel high-priest , had ( saith our annotations ) in his own person and work , perfected all of it in heaven , he roots out that order of priesthood , and demolished the temple and city , to which he confined the administration , and scatters the people which would cleave to it ; so as all designs and endeavours of jews , or of apostate christian to repair or restore it , hath been ineffectual to this day . what can be more clear , sirs , then this ? that the old house , or right of church-membership , is overturned at the very root , for if the covenant , for incovenanting the fleshly seed is changed or abolished , and no new law or new precept is given forth for the bringing them in again , what ground is there left for any wise , seeing , and faithful man , to plead for infants church-membership ; but it is evident , the former is true , i. e. that covenant , by virtue of which , they had right to circumcision and church membership ; or out of which root that sprang is gone , changed , and abolished for ever , and no new law or precept is given forth , for the bringing them into the gospel-church , as such . to this text let me add another , which farther confirms it . 2. for if that first covenant had been faultless , then should no place have been sought for the second ; but finding fault with them , he saith , behold the days come , saith the lord , when i will make a new covenant with the house of israel , and the house of judah , heb. 8. 7 , 8. it was not faulty in it self , but holy , just , and good ; it requiring perfect righteousness of him that would be justified , and therefore , could not give life ; the creature being weak and unable to perform the requirements of it ; and therefore , paul saith , what the law could not do , in that it was weak , through the flesh , god sending his own son in likeness of sinful flesh , and for sin condemned sin in the flesh , rom. 8. 3. it discovers sin , and condemns for sin , but could not justifie the sinner in god's sight from sin : he that kept it not perfectly , yea continued not in doing all things written therein , was cursed by it : he that was circumcised , was bound to keep the whole law that rite obliged them , it seems to perform perfect obedience ; and yet some affirm , it was a precept of the gospel covenant ; but more of this by and by : but say some , was not circumsion a priviledge ? did it not profit them ? the apostle answers this question : for circumcision verily profiteth , if thou keep the law , but if thou be a breaker of the law , thy circumcision is made uncircumcision : see how the apostle brings in circumcision , vers 23. thou that makest thy boast of the law , through breaking the law , dishonourest thou god. he , it is evident , shews , that circumcision appertained to the law , to the old covenant , or covenant of works ; for circumcision profiteth if thou keep the law , &c. no profit , no advantage by circumcision , unless the circumcised keep the law ; that is , ( saith the late annotations ) perfectly , to which circumcision obligeth , gal 5. 5. now this being so , the first covenant being weak , and faulty , ( i. e. through the insufficiency and weakness of the creature , he being not able to answer its just demands ; god in his infinite mercy sent his own son , in our nature and stead , to fulfill the righteousness thereof ) he sought and found out the second covenant , and the first is gone , which brings me to the third proof of the point . 3. heb. 10. 9. he took away the first , that might establish the second . there is a first and second covenant , or an old , or a new , the first must not be confounded with the second , nor the second with the first , because quite different in their nature , design and end : the first covenant was made , 't is true , primarily with the first adam , and all mankind in him ; that was the first original , or beginning of it ; and then to him it did give life , whilst he stood by his obedience to it ; but that ministration of it , of which the apostle speaks , and calls the first covenant , was that which god gave to abraham's seed , according to the flesh , by moses . and to assure abraham , that unto his seed should be given that law , or the oracles of god , &c. he gave him the covenant or precept of circumcision , rom. 3. 1 , 2. it served as a pledge of the law , and obliged them to keep it ; therefore under this old covenant , or first covenant , 't is evident , came in circumcision , and the policy and national church of the jews , and all other legal and external rights and privileges whatsoever , both the national church and church-membership ; but when the root was struck at , i. e. the first covenant was took away , all its rights , laws , privileges and appurtenances whatsoever , went with it ; so that now we ( saith the apostle ) know no man after the flesh , 2. cor. 5. that is , we prefer or esteem no man better then others , upon the score of the first covenant , or fleshly privileges , i. e. being of the seed of abraham , or of the church of jews , old things being past away , and all things being become new , all types , sacrifices , priest , and priesthood , legal place of worship , legal time of worship , legal ministers , and legal maintenance of those ministers , the legal church , and legal church-membership , were all taken away , when the covenant was took away ; and thus the ax is laid to the root of the trees , by the establishing the gospel dispensation , the anti-type being come , and the heir come to full age , god deals with us now , no more , as with children in non-age ; but as with men who are come to knowledge and understanding . this i desire may be considered , that whatsoever was a type or shadow , did appertain to the old covenant ; and a great error or mistake 't is , for any to say , the shadows of the ceremonal law were gospel , because they pointed to the gospel ; which mistake i shall farther clear up hereafter , and proceed to the fourth proof . gal. 4. 30. cast out the bond-woman and her son. what is meant by the bond-women agar , and ishmael her son , you may see , if you read vers . 23 , 24 , 25. it is written , that abraham had two sons , the one by a bond-maid , the other by a free woman , vers . 22. but he , who was born of the bond-women , was born after the flesh ; but he of the free woman was by promise . by being born after the flesh , is opposed to him that was born by the promise , the meaning is ishmael ; tho' he was abraham's seed or son , according to the flesh , yet he was not his seed nor son according to the promise , or covenant of grace , god made with abraham . which things are an allegory ; for these are the two covenants , the one from mount sinai , which gendereth to bondage . ver . 24. an allegory , is that by which another thing or things are meant ; or it hath a mystical signification ; more is to be understood then is expressed litterally . i. e. agar held forth the first covenant god made with abraham's fleshly seed , and ishmael the children of the first covenant ; sarah signified the gospel , or the new covenant ; and isaac the children of the new covenant . nevertheless what saith the scripture ? cast out the bond-woman and her son ; for the son of the bond-woman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman . ver . 30. the drift and scope of the spirit of god in ●his place is ( as i conceive ) first , to shew that there were two covenan● made with abraham , ( which no doubt he himself , who is called the friend of god , well understood ) one with his natural seed as such ; the other with his spiritual seed as such . secondly , that the casting out of the bond-woman shews the abrogation of the first covenant , and all the external foederal and fleshly rights and privileges thereof , and the casting out of the seed of the bond-woman , shews the utter rooting out , and rejection of the external and political church-state of the jews . thirdly , that none of the fleshly seed as such , should be heirs and partakers with the true spiritual seed of abraham under the gospel , or have a being in abraham's true spiritual house or gospel church . these things being so , what reason there is for any to plead for infants church membership , by vertue of the covenant made with abraham , let all men consider . see heb. 8. 13. therefore from hence i argue , that whatsoever external rights or privileges the jews had under the old covenant , it signifies just nothing to us , under the dispensation of the gospel ; even no more then a legacy bequeathed in a former will , is pleadible , which is left out in the last will and testament , confirmed by the death of the testator . i would have all men consider , that whether there is any more ground for men from thence to plead for infant church-membership , then for others to plead for ministers to have the first fruits , and the tenths of every man's increase ; or for me to argue thus , every child of a christian is born a member of the christian church ; because under the law every child of the jews , were born members of their church ; ( and it must needs be so then , because theirs was a national church ; ) or for every ministers son to plead for a right to the ministry : for evident it is , that all the sons of the priests under the law , had a right to the priest-hood ; ( tho' they were not to enter into the ministry untill such an age : ) also particularly to dedicate all our first-born to the lord , because the jews were required so to do . nay , i may say more , by the covenant of circumcision abraham's natural off-spring had a right to possess the land of canaan : shall we from thence say , all our seed have an equal right to that promise ; if we could persuade our selves of this , we may think of another holy war , and get our seed their rightfull possession : the like , as touching our keeping their sabbath . lastly , and evident 't is , all that were circumcised had an undeniable right to eat the passover ( which they that assert circumcision was a type of baptism , say , also was a figure of the lord's supper ) and if so , then it follows by the same argument and parity of reason , all our children that are admitted to the ordinance of baptism , may , nay , must be also admitted to the ordinance of the lord's supper ( as indeed they were by the ancient fathers , who first brought in the practice of infant baptism , and so it continu'd for some hundred of years : see exod. 12. 45. all the whole family had a right to eat the passover , except foreigners , and hired servants . but in a word , the ax is laid to the root of the trees , all these jewish rights and privileges are gone with their national , external church state : for as the first covenant , i. e. the bond woman is cast out , so are all her children also . obj. how can this be , that the children of abraham , and so the children of believers , who are abraham's seed , should not have right to gospel privileges and baptism , seeing you cannot deny but that it was the covenant of grace that god made with abraham . answ. i have told you already , that there was two covenants made with abraham ; the covenant of grace was that covenant which is called the promise , which god made with him , and nothing can be more clear , then that the fleshly seed as such , ( tho' they proceeded from abraham's loins , ) were not concerned in that covenant or free promise of grace . 〈◊〉 since this is doubted of by some , and utterly denied by others , viz 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was a two-fold covenant made with abraham , i shall endea 〈…〉 ke this very plain and evident , tho' indeed , what i have already sa 〈…〉 be sufficient to unprejudiced persons : but to proceed , i shall shew what promises and privileges appertained to the natural seed , as such , and what promises appertained to his true spiritual seed , and none else . first , i will begin with that covenant made with abraham's natural seed , as such , i never yet heard , but that the covenants take their denomination from the promises , and the promises are of two sorts , quite different in their nature , i. e. some domestick and civil promises , especially and absolutely respecting the house and natural seed of abraham and policy of israel . others only respecting those that are believers in christ , or evangelical ; belonging to them the gospel covenant belongeth . 1. the first that belonged to abraham's natural seed as such , that i shall mention , is that of his multiplying his natural seed by isaac . 2. the birth of isaac by sarah his wife , gen. 17. 16 , 19. 3. the continuation of his covenant , with all that should proceed from isaac , according to the flesh , gen. 17. 6. 4. the coming of christ out of isaac . 5. the bringing the natural seed of abraham , by isaac , out of egypt . 6. the promise of giving his natural seed the land of canaan for their possession , gen. 15. 8. now pray note two things : first , that as the covenant of grace bears the name of the promise of god , not a conditional , but an absolute promise ; so likewise say i , these promises , distinct from that free promise , contain the legal covenant made with abraham's natural seed . if you well mind the nature of these promises i have mentioned , you can't so much as once in the least imagine , any of them were made to his spiritual seed as such , i mean , that any of them do , or can concern us gentile believers . secondly , but to put the matter out of doubt , pray observe that the law of circumcision is expressly called gods covenant ; tho' i know some , to strengthen their bad cause , would have it be so called , only by a certain figure ; pray read gen. 17. and god said unto abraham , thou shalt keep my covenant , therefore thou and thy seed after thee , in their generations , vers . 9. this is my covenant which ye shall keep between me and you , and thy seed after thee , every male child among you shall be circumcised , vers . 10. and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your fore-skin , and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you : and that to this covenant was promised the land of canaan , 't is expressly said in vers . 8. and i will give unto thee , and to thy seed after thee , the land wherein thou art a stranger , all the land of canaan for an everlasting possession , and i will be their god. so in gen. 15. 8. in that same day god made a covenant with abram , ( not abraham ) saying , unto thy seed , have i given this land from the river of egypt , unto the great river euphrates . this covenant , and these promises i assert , cannot belong to the spiritual seed of abraham as such , but were blessings that belonged only to his carnal or natural seed , and directly agree with the covenant made with them by moses , viz. the land of canaan , riches , peace , plenty , and all other temporal and earthly blessings , if they kept god's covenant ( with their church state , and visible worship of god among them : ) now the new covenant it could not be , because that is established upon better promises , and no other people had any right to those outward blessings ; nor were they made only to the elect ones , who were of his natural off-spring , but to his fleshly seed as such , as well as they ; upon that condition , they kept the covenant of circumcision , and conformed themselves to the law god gave them , which they were obliged to do by the covenant of circumcision , as i shewed before . secondly , i shall now shew you , what those promises were , that respect the covenant of grace made with abraham , and his true spiritual seed , as such . 1. i have made thee a father of many nations , ( meaning gentile belie 〈…〉 2. in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed , gen. 12. 3. observe here what the apostle speaks , and the scripture foreseeing that god would justifie the heathen through faith , preached the gospel to abraham , saying , in thee shall all nations of the earth be blessed , gal. 3. 8. nay , and 't is for ever to be noted , that the holy apostle endeavours to do the very same thing in gal. 3. 16. which i am now about , viz. to prove , that the covenant of grace was not made with abraham's fleshly seed , as such ; read the text , now to abraham and to his seed was the promise made ; he saith , not to seeds , as of many ( meaning his fleshly seed , as such ) but to thy seed which is christ. and then in vers . 29. he concludes , and if ye be christ's , then are you abraham's seed , and heirs according to the promise . you must not reckon from abraham , but from christ : he must be blind that can't discern from hence , that there were two covenants made with abraham . compare these texts with that in rom. 9. 6 , 7 , 8. obj. but the jews might object ( they not seeing nor understanding this twofold covenant ) if we are rejected of god , and rooted out , god is unfaithfull and his promise made of none effect to abraham , and 't is his seed . 1. answ. the apostle answers , they are not all israel , which are of israel . vers . 6. 2. neither because they are the seed of abraham , are they all children , ver . 7. that is , though they be all the seed of abraham , according to the flesh , yet they are not all his spiritual seed , according to that covenant of grace made with abraham , all the true spiritual seed are the children of god , as isaac was , being begotten and brought forth as the product of almighty power , as fruit of god's free promise ; i will come , and sarah shall have a son : see the apostle's further answer , that is , they which are born after the flesh , these are not the children of god , but the children of the promise are counted for the seed , vers . 8. martin luther confirms the same great truth we contend for : paul therefore concludeth with this sentence ( saith he ) that they that are of faith , are the children of abraham ; that corporal birth , or carnal seed , make not the children of abraham before god ; as if he would say , there is none before god accounted as the child of abraham ( who is the servant of god , whom god hath chosen and made righteous by faith ) through carnal generation ; but such children must be given before god , as he was a father ; but he was a father of faith , was justified , and pleased god , not because he could beget children after the flesh , not because he had circumcision under the law , but because he believed in god. he therefore that will be a child of the believing abraham , must also himself believe , or else he is not a child of the elect ; the believing and the justified abraham , not the begetting abraham ; which is nothing else , but a man conceived , and born , and wrap'd in sin , without the forgiveness of sins , without faith , without the holy ghost , as another man is , and therefore condemned . such also , are the children carnally begotten of him , having nothing in them , like unto their father , but flesh and blood , sin and death ; therefore these are also damned : this glorious boasting then , we are the seed of abraham , is to no purpose . thus far luther , on gal. 3. p. 115. thus mr. perkins speaks also : the seed of abraham ( saith he ) is the seed , not of the flesh but of the promise ; and this seed is first christ , and then all that believe in christ ; for these are given to abraham by promise and election of god : moreover , the seed is not many ( as paul observeth ) but one . it is objected , that the word seed , is a name co-elective , and signifies the whole posterity of abraham . answ. it doth sometimes , ( saith he ) but not always ; for eve saith of seth , god hath given me another seed : again , ( he saith ) this one particular seed of abraham is christ jesus , here the name christ , first and principally the mediator , and then secondly , all jews and gentiles believing , that are fit and grafted into christ by faith : st. paul saith , the children of the flesh , those are not the children of god ; but the children of the promise , are the seed of abraham . thus mr. perkins . 2. now nothing is more evident then that by the promise is meant , the covenant of grace , the children of the promise , made with abraham , are children of the new covenant , and so generally owned by all , our true protestant writers ; and this promise or covenant we find , was only made with abraham's spiritual seed , as these two famous writers , and many more positively affirm . 3. yet also it is plain , there was a covenant made with abraham's natural seed , and that they were taken into an external , national church state , and covenant relation with god , and had divers peculiar immunities and privileges granted to them , as so considered ; all which fully evinces , that there was a two-fold covenant made with abraham : certainly none can suppose , but that their church state and legal rights were covenant blessings , and that they begun in abraham ; and that too , by those covenant transactings , god made him , is so clear , that nothing need to be said more unto it ; and i cannot but wonder that our eminent writers , should confound and jumble these two covenants together , as indeed i find generally they do . obj. but some will still object , that tho' this which i have said be granted , i. e. that there were two covenants made with abraham , yet say they , circumcision was a gospel covenant , or did appertain to the covenant of grace . answ. i answer , and positively affirm , that the covenant of circumcision was part of that legal , old , and external covenant , which is done away : and this in the next place i shall fully prove . 1. because the law , or covenant of circumcision , was , it appears , made in the design and end of it , to separate the natural seed of abraham in their national church , standing from all other nations of the world , and to give them the land of canaan , and to keep themselves pure , from mixing among the pople , from whom christ , according to the flesh was to come : and hence it was , that they were not to mingle themselves with the heathens , nor suffer any to join themselves to them , unless first circumcised . will any say that the covenant of grace , or gospel covenant , in the design of it , is to separate all true believers , and all their natural seed ( tho' some of them are the worst of men , i. e. vile and ungodly ) from all other people in the world , in a church state ? if they should affirm this , then the gospel church , for ever ceases to be congregational , but must be national as the jewish church was , which is contrary to the doctrine of the church of england ( whatever her practice is ) doth not she say , the church of god is a company of godly christians , among whom the word of god is truly preach'd , and the sacraments duely and truly administred ? and do not the godly independants say the same ? did christ ever , under the gospel , constitute any one nation , consisting of believers , and their carnal off-spring ( some godly , and some ungodly ) into a church ? read over the new testament , and see whether the direct contrary , is not apparent ; for they were only such , who believed were converted and professed faith in christ , and so were baptized , that were added to the church ; and of such only doth the gospel church consist . 2. but observe the other part of this argument , i. e. circumcision was a token to abraham's natural seed of god's giving unto them the land of canaan , see gen. 17. 7. and i will establish my covenant between me and thee , and thy seed after thee , in their generations , &c. and i will give unto thee , and to thy seed after thee , the land wherein thou art a stranger , all the land of canaan , &c. and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your fore-skin , and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you , vers . 11. the gospel covenant , the apostle tells us , is established upon better promises , not an earthly canaan , but heaven it self : what , tho' canaan was a type of heaven , that will not mend the matter , for then it follows that it belonged to the old typical and shadowing covenant : moreover , if that covenant was the gospel covenant , our children have an equal right to the land of canaan , with the natural seed of abraham ( as i said before ) and then how did that promise , viz. the possession of canaan belong then to the jews , as their peculiar right only . arg. 2. because there were some to whom the covenant of grace , or gospel covenant did not belong , were , nevertheless , commanded to be circumcised , as ishmael , esau , &c. doth the gospel covenant appertain to scoffing ishmaelites , and to prophane esau's ? no , god told abraham , his covenant should not be with ishmael . as for ishmael , i have heard thee , behold i have blessed him , but my covenant will i establish with isaac , gen. 17. 20 , 21. also , there were others who might be in abraham's family ; who , no doubt , might some of them be in the covenant of grace , that were not required to be circumcised , nor did it belong to them , viz. 1. all his male children , who dyed before eight days old . 2. all his female children . 3. there was also some other godly men , in the days of abraham , to whom circumcision of right did not belong , as melchisedec , lot , job , &c. doubtless , had circumcision been a law or precept of the covenant of grace , all these would god have required to have been circumcised as well as the others ; but the truth is , being in the covenant of grace , gave no right at all to any , no not to the male children of abraham , to circumcision ; but only god's express and positive command to him . arg. 3. 't is apparent , that the jews who were comprehended in that legal and external covenant , made with abraham's natural seed , and were accordingly circumcised , were nevertheless denyed gospel baptism , and their plea , we are abraham 's seed , was rejected by john baptist's . now had circumcision been a gospel-covenant , i see no reason why john should not admit them ; nay , and 't is plain also , that some godly ones of abraham's natural seed , who were circumcised , were nevertheless baptized . what , had they two seals of one and the same covenant ? for circumcision was in force at that time , when many of them were baptized ; for many subjected to that ordinance , before christ dyed , and abolished that rite with the old covenant . 1. from hence it appears , that circumcision was no gospel law , nor did it appertain to the covenant of grace ; but was part of the old legal covenant , which the ax was laid to the root of , and is gone . 2. it also follows from hence , that the covenant of grace , was not the adequate reason of circumcision , but the mere positive command of god to abraham , for the reasons and designs before-mentioned . from whence i argue thus , that covenant that was made with , or did of right belong unto the fleshly seed of abraham , as such , even to ungodly ones , as well as to the godly , was not the covenant of grace ; but the covenant or law of circumcision , was made with , or did of right belong unto the fleshly seed of abraham , as such , even unto ungodly ones , as well as to the godly : therefore the covenant of circumcision was not the covenant of grace . i have shewed you that circumcision did belong to ishmael and to esau , and to all isaac's natural seed , tho' ungodly , and to their male children also ; and i need not tell you what wicked men sprang from isaac's loins , according to the flesh , but let them be ungodly , and not have one dram of new covenant grace in them ; yet they were obliged to circumcise their male infants . this is enough ( one would think ) to convince our brethren , and all that differ from us , that circumcision did not appertain to the covenant of grace , or was no gospel covenant . also let them take heed ( who plead for pede-baptism , from the covenant of circumcision ) how they any more deny to baptize the children of ungodly parents , since the male infants of ungodly parents were circumcised . the truth is , it was not to be enquired , whether the parents were believers or not ? whether they had abraham's faith , or not ? were godly , or not , before their children were to be circumcised ? but were they the natural seed of abraham ? ( that was enough ) it was that according to the express and positive command of god to abraham , that gave their children , if males , a right to be circumcised . arg. 4. that circumcision was no gospel law , or covenant , appears yet further , because all in the gospel covenant , 't is expresly said , shall know the lord , jer. 31. 31. behold the days come , saith the lord , that i will make a new covenant with the house of israel , and with the house of judah , not according to the covenant that i made with their fathers , in the day that i took them out of the land of egypt ; which my covenant they break , although i was an husband to them , saith the lord. ver . 32. but this shall be the covenant that i will make with the house of israel after those days , saith the lord : i will put my law in their inward parts , and write it in their hearts , and i will be their god , and they shall be my people . ver . 33. and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour , and every man his brother , saying , know the lord : for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them , saith the lord , &c. pray observe , in the old covenant infants were members , who did not ( when taken into that covenant , and made members of that legal church ) know the lord , nor indeed their right hand from their left . therefore they , when grown up , had need to be taught , saying , know the lord ; and thus , upon this account , every one had need to teach his neighbour and his brother ; but in the gospel covenant , god saith , it should not be thus , for that all , whom he would make that covenant with , should know him , before they were received as members of that church , tho' afterwards 't is granted , they stand in need of further teaching and in this respect , the gospel covenant , and gospel church state , differs , or is not according to the old legal and external covenant , and church state of the jews , as well as in other things ; that being a conditional covenant , the new covenant absolute , i will , and they shall , that was a covenant of works , this of grace , &c. they shall all know me from the least to the greatest ; not one infant then be sure is in it , as a member of the gospel church , they are now required to repent , to believe , to bring forth fruits meet for re●entance . they must be made disciples by teaching as appears by the great commission , mat. 28 , 19 , 20. before baptized ; who are to be members of the gospel church . arg. 5. the covenant of circumcision could not be the gospel covenant , because the terms of it runs according to the sinai covenant , which is said , not to be of faith , but ( 1 ) the man that doth those things should live in them , gal. 3. 22. ( 2 ) life was promised to obedience to it , and death threatned to disobedience . ( 3 ) the promise of the sinai covenant , was the land of canaan , riches , peace , and prosperity , to be blessed in the basket and store ; and so runs the covenant of circumcision , see gen. 17. 9 , 10 , 14. thou shalt keep my covenant , &c. and i will give unto thee , and to thy seed after thee , the land of canaan , &c. ver . 8. and the uncircumcised man-child , whose flesh of his fore-skin is not circumcised , that soul shall be cu● off from his people , he hath broken my covenant , ver . 14. thus ran the law and covenant of circumcision , it was life upon the condition of obedience , death upon disobedience , 't was do and live ; but thus runs not the terms of the new covenant , but directly contrarywise , believe , and thou shalt be saved , are the terms of the gospel covenant ; from whence i shall draw this argument . that covenant that was in the nature and quality of it , as much a covenant of works , as the sinai covenant , could not be the covenant of grace . but so was the law and covenant of circumcision . therefore circumcision was no gospel law or covenant . arg. 6. the covenant of circumcision was of the letter , and not of the spirit . this the apostle lays down , rom. 3. 29. but he is not a jew which is one outward ; and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit , and not in the letter , whose praise is not of man but of god. doth he not clearly hereby intimate , that circumcision of the flesh was of the law , and not of the gospel ? for by letter , the law is meant , all expositors confess , in that paralell text , 2 cor. 5. who hath made us able ministers of the new testament , not of the letter but of the spirit , see our late worthy annotators , by the letter : here ( say they ) the apostle understandeth the law , or the law , is called the letter , rom. 2. 27. who by the letter and circumcision , doth transgress the law. the law ( say they ) in opposition to the gospel , is called the letter ; and again they say , the gospel is called the spirit , both in opposition to the carnal ordinances of the law , and because christ is the matter , subject , and argument of it . the law kills , but the gospel gives life ; yet some affirm , that law written in stones was the gospel , or a dark ministration of it : what law is it then that kills ? and what was the covenant of works , which as such is taken away ? but no more of that : here 't is plain , circumcision was not of the spirit , i. e. not of the gospel , but of the law. arg. 7. that covenant , in which faith was not reckoned to abraham for righteousness , was not the covenant of grace , or a gospel covenant : but the apostle shews us , that faith was not reckoned to abraham in circumcision , rom. 4. that faith was reckoned to abraham , for righteousness , vers 9. how then was it reckoned when he was in circumcision , or in uncircumcision , not in circumcision , but in uncircumcision ? ver . 10. what need was there for st. paul to argue thus against circumcision , if it were , as our brethren say , a gospel law , precept , or covenant ; and remarkable 't is , that the apostle puts , ( in this chapter ) the law and circumcision together , as being of one stamp , or of the same nature , and excludes them both from the free promise of god made to abraham , which i have shew'd was the pure gospel , or new covenant : reader , see mr. philip cory's solemn call , where thou wilt meet with this , and some other of these arguments largely opened , and his reply to mr. flavel , both worth thy reading . arg. 8. the law or covenant of circumcision , is ( as the said worthy writer observes ) contrary distinguished or opposed ) by the apostle , in rom. 4. ) to the covenant of faith , or gospel covenant , therefore could not be one , nor of the same nature , read 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , and 14 , verse● . arg. 9. that covenant or precept that profited none , unless they kept the law , could not belong to the covenant of grace ; but so the apostle speaks of circumcision , for circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law , rom. 2. 25. that is , as i have observed , if thou keep the law perfectly , but if thou break the law , thy circumcision is made uncircumcision , that is of none effect . 't is strange to me that circumcision should be a gospel covenant , and yet not profit any , unless they perfectly kept the law , and also obliged them so to do , gal. 5. 3. could a man have perfectly kept the law of the old covenant , he might have thereby been justified in the sight of god , and then no need of a christ to have fulfilled the righteousness of it for us , and in our nature . — but doth a gospel precept oblige any to the perfect keeping of the whole law : how then could this be a gospel precept ? o see how the law and circumcision agree , and comport together in their nature , end , use and design , and never plead for it as a gospel precept any more , unless you have a mind to bring your selves and children under the old covenant , and the curse thereof ; compare this with gal. 5. 3. for i testifie to every man among you that is circumcised , that he is a debtor to do the whole law . not as a late writer says in his opinion , or in his intention that was circumcised , that he was such a debtor : for it may be justly doubted , whether they so thought or not : nay , by the apostle's words it seems otherwise , i. e. they did not think any such thing ( tho' they might seek to be justified by the law , and circumcision , yet not that they thought themselves obliged to keep the whole law perfectly ) but they who were circumcised , were verily obliged by circumcision , to do the whole law , when circumcision was in force . whatsoever mr. john flavel hath said in his late book to the contrary , notwithstanding , in answer to mr. cary : and indeed , the annotators agree with us herein ; thus i find they express themselves . object . but did not the fathers then , by being circumcised , acknowledge themselves debtors to the law. answ. yes , they did acknowledge themselves bound to the observation of the law , and to endure ( upon the breaking of it ) the curse of it , but they were discharged from this obligation , by believing in the lord , jesus christ , who was made a curse for them . arg. 10. the covenant of circumcision could not belong to the gospel covenant , because 't is called , in express terms , a yoke of bondage , act. 15. 10. gal. 5. 1 , 2. now therefore why tempt ye god to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples , which neither our fathers , nor we , were able to bear . i wonder any should call circumcision a privilege ; the yoke was circumcision , which those false teachers would have put on men , who were believers among the gentiles ; see vers . 1. if the jews had any profit , advantage or privilege by it , it was chiefly , because unto them were committed the oracles of god , or ten commandments , not chiefly , because unto them was given the covenant of grace ; for had it been a gospel covenant , or a rite thereof ( as our mistaken opposers affirm ) he would have said so ; see his words , what advantage then hath the jew ? and what profit is there in circumcision , rom. 3. 1. much every way , but chiefly , because unto them were committed the oracles of god , ver . 2. it did not seal to them the covenant of grace , nor assure them of the blessings thereof ; for so a seal doth all the blessings and privileges of that covenant , to which it is prefix'd , but the direct contrary , i. e. it assur'd them , that they should have the law given to them ; the oracles of god , i. e. the sinai covenant , which law shewed them what a kind of righteousness it was , god did require of all men that would be justified in god's sight ; it was not given to them to give life , or righteousness , but to shew the exceeding sinfulness of sin , and to regulate their lives , to put a curb upon their lusts so hateful to god ; as also , to discover unto them , that nothing short of a perfect and compleat righteousness , could justifie the creature in the sight of god ; and so the law , through the weakness of the flesh , lay'd all men under death and condemnation , exacting hard service , but gave no strength to perform its demands ; it killed , but could not give life : and therefore , as it was a covenant of works , ( do this and live , or the man that doth these things shall live in them ) which christ abolished it by the blood of his cross. and since it appears by what the apostle says , that circumcision obliged ( while it was in force ) to do all the whole law , which he that did not so do , was cursed by it ; 't is evident , that instead of its being a covenant of grace , or the seal thereof , it rather sealed the curses of the law upon them , for their disobedience ; and therefore , such a yoke of bondage , which they nor their fathers were able to bear . circumcision , it appears then , was an earnest to abraham's natural seed of the sinai covenant ; which law was , ( 't is evident comprehended as a covenant of works ) in circumcision , and so circumcision was a part or branch of it ; god then , and at that time , taking his natural seed into an external covenant relation with himself , was thereby , in his wisdom , obliged to give the said law in tables of stone to them , for the reasons , use and end , befo●e mentioned ; and as 't is by our apostle frequently in his epistles hinted , the apostle ( as a learned writer observes ) doth not here begin a discourse , nor to the number of privileges and advantages ; for he names but one in all , but to the quality of this privilege , viz. that it was not an evangelical , or gospel privilege , but only a legal or old covenant rite and privilege ; this is the chief of all the advantages the jews had by circumcision , i. e. there having thereby an assurance , that the law of god , on mount sinai , should be given to them : so much as to the proof and demonstration , that circumcision was no gospel-precept , or covenant . obj. but , perhaps , some may object , if infants as such , were not included in the covenant of grace god made with abraham , how can dying infants be saved ? 1. answ. i answer , must infants of believers be comprehended in that covenant god made with abraham ? or else , cannot any dying infants be saved ? how then were any dying infants saved before abraham's days , or before that covenant was made with him ? 2. i never said no infants were included in the covenant of grace , god made with abraham , but not as such : no doubt , all elect persons , both infants and the adult , were included in the covenant of grace , and had or shall have the blessings of christ's blood and merits ; but the covenant of grace may be considered two manner of ways , or under a two-fold consideration . 1st . the inward invisible blessings , grace , and privileges of it . 2d . the visible and outward administration , or privileges thereof . 1. now who they be , that are comprehended , or included in the inward , and invisible blessings , grace and privileges of it , are only known to god , not to us : but the gospel , or covenant of grace , as to the outward administration , and privileges thereof , only belong to such who know the lord , or profess faith in jesus christ ; and therefore , all that have a right to baptism , and gospel church membership , must first be made disciples , by being taught by the word and spirit of god , and so truly believe in the lord jesus christ , according to the great commission of our saviour , mat. 28. 19 , 20. and the practice of christ himself , joh. 4. 1 , 2. and of his apostles , act. 2. 37. act. 8. 14 , &c. act. 10. and act. 16 , &c. god hath many ways ( as dr. taylor observes ) to save dying infants , which we know not ; he can apply the benefit , and merits of christ's blood to them , in ways we are wholly ignorant of , and ought not to trouble our selves with it : secret things belong to god , but revealed things to us , and to our children . 3. but if we did know which infants would dye , who do belong to the election of grace , or are in covenant with god , yet we ought not to baptize them , because we have no command from jesus christ , so to do ; for it was not the right of infants to be circumcised , because they were in the covenant of grace ( for then all other godly mens children , who lived in abraham's days , would have had the same right that abraham's children had ; nor was it the right of abraham's infants ( whether considered as his natural seed , or spiritual seed , as such ) but it was their right only . by that mere express and positive command of god , to abraham , it was , that , i say , gave all his male infants a right to circumcision , and nothing else : now baptism is also a mere positive precept , as circumcision was then , — therefore none have a right thereto , but such whom christ commands to be baptized , namely believers ; was abraham's females , or his males , under eight days old , circumcised ? or , had they any right unto it , tho' they might be in the covenant of grace ? 11thly , all those that were in the covenant of grace , god made with abraham , had thereby an undoubted right to all the blessings of the said covenant , and also had the privileges , and blessings thereof , by the spirit of god sealed to them , and were made sure of eternal life ; but all those that were in the covenant of circumcision , god made with abraham , or were circumcised , had not , thereby , an undoubted right to all the blessings of the said covenant ; nor had they the privileges , and blessings thereof sealed to them , nor was eternal life made sure to them thereby : therefore , the covenant of circumcision was not the covenant of grace , nor the seal thereof . the major is clear from rom. 4. 16. therefore it is of faith , that it might be by grace , to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed . what seed doth the apostle mean ? certainly all abraham's seed , that the covenant of grace was made with ; and none will deny , but that the promise here comprehends all the blessings and privileges of the covenant of grace ; compare this with that in heb. 6. for , when god made promise to abraham , because he could not swear by no greater , he swear by himself , ver . 13. saying , surely blessing , i will bless thee ; and multiplying , i will multiply thee , ver . 14. and so after he had patiently endured , he obtained the promise , ver . 15. for men verily swear by the greater , and an oath of confirmation , is to them an end of all strife , ver . 16. wherein god is willing , more abundantly , to shew unto the heirs of promise , the immutability of his counsel , confirmed it by an oath , ver . 17. the promise here referrs to the promise , or covenant of grace made with abraham , and 't is as sure to all his seed comprehended in that same covenant , as possibly can be ; the very oath of god is added , besides his faithful word to confirm it ; as to the minor , sure none can dream , that ishmael , or esau , or the ungodly jews that sprung from 〈◊〉 loyns , in their generations , till christ came , had undoubted right to , and interest in all the blessings and privileges of the covenant of grace ; or eternal life , made sure to them : do not we read that some of them were called sons of belial ? and of some of them ( our saviour saith ) they were of their father , the devil . 12thly , all those that were in the covenant of grace , god made with abraham , had thereby a sure and strong ground of consolation , that is , spiritual consolation ; but many of them 〈◊〉 were comprehended in the covenant of circumcision , had not thereby a sure and strong ground of consolation , that is , spiritual consolation , therefore , the covenant of circumcision , was not the covenant of grace ; see heb. 6. 18. that by two immutable things , in which it was impossible for god to lye , we might have strange consolation , who have fled for refuge , to lay hold upon the hope set before us ; which hope we have , as the anchor of the soul both sure and stedfast , and which entereth into that within the veil . now certainly , no man can think , all that the covenant of circumcision did belong unto , had such sure and strong ground of consolation thereby ; for ishmael had none , esau had none , and multitudes more of abraham's natural seed . application . first , i may infer from hence , that they who bring infants of believers into the gospel covenant , or gospel church , err exceedingly , and are severely to be reprehended , there being not the least shadow of ground , for their practice herein from the covenant god made with abraham , secondly , it also appears from hence , that the main pillar of infants baptism , is rooted up , the ax is laid to the root of the trees , the external or natural off-spring of abraham , or by descent from an external faedoral , or covenant relation to him ; or as they are the carnal off-spring of believers . thirdly , from hence also i inferr , that the children of believing gentiles , as such , are not the seed of abraham , to whom the covenant of grace was made : nay , let me tell you , that it appears from hence , that the children of believing gentiles as such , are neither the natural seed of abraham , nor his spiritual seed ; which to open yet more fully , let us now consider all the distinct sorts of abraham's seed , which , i find , were fourfold . 1. christ , personally considered to abraham and his seed , was the promise made , he saith , not as of seeds as to many , but as of one , and to thy seed which is christ , gal. 3. 16. now as the promise referrs to christ , so the infants of believing gentiles , all will say are not abraham's seed . 2. all the elect , or whole body of believers , who have the faith of abraham , and walk in the steps of abraham , these are called abraham's seed : now none can be so blind , as once to suppose , the children of believing gentiles as such , are the seed of abraham . can infants believe in god , as abraham did ? or , can they walk in his steps ? or , which is more , are their natural off-spring as such , of the election of grace ? doth it appear so ? or , doth it not appear , to the contrary ? viz. do not many of their seed prove wicked and ungodly persons , and so liveand dye ? certainly , were they all as such elected , they should be all converted , we are chosen to be holy , &c. eph. 14. 4. and if you be christ's , then are you abraham 's seed and heirs according to the promise , gal. 3. 29. 3. there was another i. e. a natural seed of abraham , to whom the promise was made ; and that was isaac , gen. 21. 22. but the children of believing gentiles as such , or as so considered , are not isaac in that respect , they cannot be the seed of abraham ; isaac was begotten of abraham's natural body according to the flesh , and all spiritual isaac's are regenerated persons . gal. 4. 28. 4. we read yet of another natural seed of abraham , to whom the promise of grace did not belong , as ishmael , and the sons of keturah , gen. 15. 5. but as they were the seed of abraham , none will say the children of beliving gentiles are the seed of abraham : now i affirm , that there is no mention made of any other seed of abraham but these four sorts , if any man can shew a fifth sort , let him : from hence i shall again draw this argument , viz. if the children of the believing gentiles as such , are not the natural seed of abraham , nor the spiritual seed of abraham ; then they can have no right as such to baptism , nor to church-membership by vertue of being abraham's seed : nor are they any ways as such , concerned in that covenant-transaction god made with abraham ; but the children of believing gentiles as such are not the natural seed of abraham , nor the spiritual covenant of abraham : therefore they can have no right as such to baptism , nor to church-membership , by vertue of abraham's covenant ; nor are they any ways concerned in that covenant-transaction god made with abraham . obj. the athenian society in p. 2. of their athenian gazette affirm , that the children of believing gentiles are the spiritual seed of abraham , until by actual sin unrepented of , they are otherwise . answ. to which i answer , ( as i have once already ) that then some of the true spiritual seed of abraham may eternally perish ; for certainly , many children of believers , who when they grow up , proving to be prophane , unbelieving and impenitent persons , and so live and dye , are eternally lost . 1. which if so , the covenant of grace is not so well ordered in all things , and sure , as we believe it is , and the scripture proves it is . 2. 't is also directly contrary to what st. paul positively affirms in rom. 4. 16. therefore it is of faith , that it might be by grace , to the end , the promise might be sure to all the seed , not to that which is of the law , but to that which is of the faith of abraham , who is the father of us all . if this be well consider'd , the plea for our infants , as such , being abraham's , seed is gone for ever : for i from hence argue again , that all that are in that gospel covenant god made with abraham , or are his spiritual seed have the promise of eternal life sure to them : but all the seed of believing gentiles , as such , have not the promise of eternal life sure to them , therefore the children of believing gentiles as such , are not the spiritual seed of abraham . 3. all that are in the covenant of grace , i mean all the true spiritual seed of abraham , have the faith of abraham , and walk in the steps of abraham , and have also all the privileges of the gospel covenant god made with him ; but so have not the natural seed of believing gentiles as such , nor are they by birth , i. e. by being born of believing parents in a better condition than others as such , being all being born in sin , and in the covenant of works : indeed if believers children as such , were in covenant as soon as begotten or born , then they are born in the covenant of grace ; and if so , not the children of wrath by nature , and if in the covenant of grace , then their state is good enough without baptism ; nor doth baptism bring them into it , and if they say as some do , that the children are brought into the covenant of grace by baptism , and so made the children of god , members of christ , and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven , then it follows , they had it not by vertue of being in covenant with their parents ; and then also it would follow , that 't is in the power of men and women to bring their children into the covenant of grace , or keep them out of it ; and so through negligence or ignorance , the parents may damn their children ; and others have power to save theirs , by getting a minister to baptise them . but if they do not suppose their seed as such , are indeed , truly and really in the covenant of grace , what signifies that which they call the covenant , to whom the blessing of the covenant do not belong ? and if it seals not the blessings of the covenant , what doth it seal , or what spiritual advantage do their children receive thereby ? either they have the internal blessings or privileges sealed to them , or else the external privileges thereof , or none at all : now i can't believe they judge they have right ( as such ) to the internal blessings and privileges , for then they must all be saved ; unless those to whom the promise is sure , ( it being confirmed by the oath of god ) may eternally perish ; i know they whom i have to do with , are averse to the doctrine of falling from grace . and if it seals the external privileges of the covenant to them , why are they denyed those privileges ? is not breaking of bread , and church-fellowship , the chief external privileges of the gospel-church ? we know as to bearing the word , prayers of the church , our children enjoy those privileges as far forth , as theirs ; besides , if they be not absolutely in the covenant , but only conditionally i. e. if they believe they shall , &c. even what is that more than what the children of unbelievers have ? shall not they be received into the covenant also , if they believe , and close in with christ ? i cannot learn , that they can inform us of any benefit their children above ours have , who are not baptised , ( or other mens ) by their baptism ; or as they are their seed as such ; tho' 't is evident abraham's natural seed had a right to many external privileges under that dispensation as such ; but i shall now proceed to answer some grand objection made against what i have said . obj. 1. the first is this , viz. there is an exact parallel or parity betwixt circumcision and baptism ; therefore as jewish infants were circumcised , so the children of christian gentiles may be baptised ; thus they argue . ans. i must deny that there is such a parity , or clear parallel , as they intimate between circumcision and baptism ; but if there were , yet the argument is good for nothing : but to prove the first , i. e. and that there is no such parity , but in most things a disparity , will now clearly be evinced . 1. circumcision was a shadow of christ to come , by whom we receive the great antitype of circumcision , i. e. the circumcision of the heart , col. 2. 12 , 13. baptism is a sign that christ is already come ; d●ad , bury'd , and rais'd again . 2. circumcision was a sign of the covenant with abraham's natural seed , above all other nations , and a token to them of many external blessings and privileges : baptism is a sign of the inward and peculiar graces of the spirit the person baptized hath received , if a true subject of that holy ordinance . 3. circumcision only belonged to abraham's male children : baptism belongs to all that believe truly in christ , both males and females , who are all one in christ jesus , no difference in that respect , under the gospel-covenant . 4. circumcision belongeth neither to no male children , but those born in abraham's house , or such who were bought with his money , &c. it did not belong to any other godly man's male children that lived in his days , unless they joyned themselves to his family ; but baptism belongs to all the disciples of christ , or to all true believers in all nations , mat. 28. 19. 20. 5. circumcision was to be done precisely on the eighth day , not before nor after . but baptism is to be done at any time , and is not limited to any precise day . 6. circumcision made a visible impression on the body , which the party might perceive when he came to age of understanding . baptism leaves no impression on the body . 7. circumcision signified the taking away the sins of the flesh , ( or the circumcision of the heart ) baptism signifies the death , burial and resurrection of christ , which circumcision did not . what parity or parallel there is between them , i know not , unless they say that circumcision was the initiating rite under the law , and baptism is the initiating rite under the gospel ; to which i answer , if this should be granted , yet it did not initiate any but male children ; the females were initiated without it , and by the same parity of reason , as dr. taylor observes , no female infant should be baptized , because none but males were circumcised . if they say there is another parity , viz. none were to eat the passover , but those who were circumcised ; so none are to partake of the lord's supper , but such who are first baptized ( we are all baptized into one body , ) yet i must tell them , all those who are circumcised , had a right to eat the passover , and why do they not then follow the paralell and give their children the lord's supper ? as indeed , the first ancient fathers did ( in the declining state of the church ) for many years , they gave children the lord's supper , abusing that text , in the case of baptism , joh. 3. 5. unless a man be born again of water , and of the spirit , he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven : they taking water there , to be meant of baptismal water , and thought baptism , did regenerate the children , and wash away original sin ; and accordingly , they abused ( and mistook ) that text , in joh. 6. 53. unless ye eat the flesh of the son of man , and drink his blood , ye have no life in you ; and from hence 't was , they gave infants the lord's supper , thinking ( as the papists do ) that our saviour intended the sacrament of the supper . i needed not have repeated these things , and that which follows , but that mr. roth-well of sussex , in his late treatise , still insists on this argument : you have the same in my answer to mr. burket . to this i might add a word or two of a reverend and learned person of our perswasion in this matter , they suppose baptism came in , or succeeded in the place , or room of circumcision ; which may ( saith he ) be understood many ways , as first , that those persons may be baptized , that were heretofore circumcised by god's appointment : and , in this sence , the argument must proceed , if it conclude , to the purpose ; but in this sence it is false , for females were not circumcised , which yet were baptized , act. 8. 12 , 13 , 14. and chap. 16. 14 , 15. and believers out of abraham's house , as lot , melchisedec , job , were not to be circumcised , but believing gentiles are universally to be baptized . 2. ( saith he ) it may be understood , as if the rite of baptism then began , when the rite of circumcision did , or was to end ; but this is not to be said neither ; for john baptist , and christ's disciples , baptized before circumcision , of right , ceased , joh. 4. 1. 2. 3. he answers , that of baptism , succeeding in the place of circumcision in signification ; which , as we have shewed in several respects , it doth not . but secondly , ( as i said ) if there were such a parity , or paralell , between circumcision and baptism , as they intimate , yet it would not do their business ; but thus to argue , as the said learned writer observes , may be very pernitious . for , ( saith he ) indeed if this argument be not warily , and restrainedly understood , an egg is laid , out of which manifest judaism , may be hatched ; but if it be taken restrainedly , it no more follows thence ; but baptism and circumcision , in some things , hold forth the same , which is more plainly said of noah's ark , 1. pet. 3. 22. and the red sea , and cloud , 1. cor. 10. 4. and yet we do not say , baptism succeeded into their place ; much less do we inferr any rite to be instituted in their stead , respecting the same person ; yea verily , it is to be seriously thought on . 1. that by such arguments , drawn from analogies , not conceived by the holy ghost , but drawn out of our wit ; a new kind of instituting r●tes , ( to wit from analogies , ) are brought in ; besides , our lord's precepts , and the apostles examples . 2. this being once said , by a like parity of reason and arguing , it will be lawful to bring into the church , under other names and forms , the whole burthen of jewish rites ; yea , almost out of what you will , to conclude what you will ; for , who shall put a bound to men's feigning analogies , when they go beyond the lord's precepts , and the apostles examples ? it is well known , that the divine appointment of tythes to be paid , and many other things , in the writings of divines , are asserted by this kind of argument ; besides , the rule of christ's precepts , and his apostles examples . 3. hereby will the opinion of the papists be confirmed , who affirm , from 1. cor. 10. 11. the sacraments of the jews , to be types of the sacraments of christians , which is rejected by divines , that dispute against bellarmine . 4. this manner of arguing , will countenance the arguments of the papists , for an universal bishop , because the jews had a high-priest , and justifie a linnen garment at mass , because there was such among the jews ; and for holy-water , purification of women , easter , penticoast , and many more such ceremonies , for which the papists do , in like manner , argue , as appears out of durandus's rationals , and other interpreters : yea , what hinders , but we may give children the lord's-supper , if we argue this way , since samuel , jesus christ , under age , were partakers of the passover ? and , of right , all males were thrice in the year to appear before the lord ; and therefore , it is certain they did eat the passover , &c. least any should take this for a light suggestion , i will add , that grave , godly , and learned men , have often warned , that we are to take heed , that we do not rashly frame arguments from analogies : among others , in their learned writings , in english , john pagit , in his defence of church-government , part 1. chap. 3. pag. 8. and else-where . john ball , in his reply to the answer of the new-england elders nine positions . posit . 2. p. 14. lastly , ( saith he ) it is to be considered , again and again , how by these argumentations , the consciences of men may be freed from the danger of will-worship , and polluting so remarkable an ordinance of christ , as baptism is ; especially this care lies on them , who by prayers , sermons , writings , covenants , and oaths , do deter christians from humane invention , in god's worship diligently , and 't is to be hoped sincerely : thus far this reverend divine . i now might proceed to answer divers others objections , as first , circumcision was a type of baptism . [ 2. ] infants were once in covenant , and never cast out . [ 3. ] circumcision was part of the ceremonial law , which was dedicated by blood ; therefore , no part of the covenant of works , or old covenant . [ 4. ] in circumcision god gave himself to abraham , to be his god , and the god of his seed . [ 5. ] circumcision was the seal of the righteousness of faith. [ 6. ] circumcision was an everlasting covenant . [ 7. ] there is but one covenant of works , and that was made with adam ▪ [ 8. ] paul circumcised timothy , therefore circumcision could not , in it self , oblige to the keeping of the whole law. [ 9 ] the root is holy , therefore the branches . [ 10. ] the privileges of the gospel are restrained , and narrower then the privileges of the law , if children are excluded . [ 11. ] the denying infant baptism , hinders the progress of the christian religion , mr. rothwell , p. 2. finis . the second part is in the press . spiritual songs being the marrow of scripture in songs of praise to almighty god from the old and new testament : with a hundred divine hymns on several occasions as now practised in several congregations in and about london : with a table of contents / by benjamin keach, author of the war with the devil. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1700 approx. 164 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 64 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47612 wing k94 estc r30480 11333207 ocm 11333207 47492 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47612) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 47492) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1465:8) spiritual songs being the marrow of scripture in songs of praise to almighty god from the old and new testament : with a hundred divine hymns on several occasions as now practised in several congregations in and about london : with a table of contents / by benjamin keach, author of the war with the devil. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. the second edition. [6], 103 p. printed for john marshal ..., london : 1700. contains texts only. reproduction of original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng hymns, english -early works to 1800. baptists -england -hymns. 2005-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-06 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-07 simon charles sampled and proofread 2005-07 simon charles text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion spiritual songs : being the marrow of the scripture , in songs of praise to almighty god ; from the old and new testament . with a hundred divine hymns on several occasions : as now practised in several congregations in and about london . the second edition ; with a table of contents . by benjamin keach , author of the war with the devil . eph. v. 19. col . iii. 16. london : printed for john marshal , at the bible in grace-church-street . 1700. where you may be supplied with most of the author's works . a table of contents of the songs . moses's song page 1 the second part 2 isaiah's song 4 isaiah's joyful song 5 the song of zacharias 6 the song of the blessed virgin 7 the song of simeon 8 the song of the lamb 9 part of hannahs song 10 the song of the lamb 12 a song of praise for the discovery of the plot 18 of the hymns . the eternity of god 5 the immensity of god 6 on the omniscience of god 7 the great wisdom of god 8 god's piercing eyes 9 the power of god 10 god's mercy shining 11 the covenant & faithfulness of god 12 on god's sovereignity 13 god's glorious bounty 14 abounding mercy of god in christ 15 the patience of god 16 another on god's patience 17 on the birth of christ 18 the second part 25th psalm tune 19 on the deity of christ 20 on christ's suretiship ibid. of christs divine love cant. 1. 22 the churches spiknard 23 he 's white & ruddy 24 deliverance from the pit 25 christ at the sinners door 26 all glory to god and the lamb 27 god's glory display'd 28 the soul rent , or glory shining 29 on the great salvation of the gospel 30 look unto jesus 31 the joy of believers 32 christ exalted 34 christ's glory 35 the saint indeed 36 at administration of baptism 37 the drooping spirit revived 38 evil thoughts abhor'd 39 the backslider healed 40 ephraim mixed among the people 41 the good samaritan 42 the voice of the turtle 43 — buy of me 44 a bleeding christ & bleeding heart 45 salvation great and glorious 46 the tender hearts triumph 47 the broken and contrite heart ibid righteousness of christ glorious 48 christ's peny or the laborours hire 49 the blessed death of the saints 50 the happy death of the godly 51 a hymn on psalm . 17 , 15. 52 salvation shining 53 the saints holy triumph 54 the power of god's word 55 boundless mercy 56 a call to obedience 57 spiritual joy encreasing 58 christ our glorious shepheard . 59 truth in its primitive purity . 60 the spiritual bridegroom 61 god's temple plants . 62 christ's vine-yard 63 the noble vine 64 redeeming love 65 spiritual food ibid. the honour of christ's servants 66 christ the saints strength and guide 67 hope for believers 68 the joy of believers ibid. christ's green pastures 69 the fulness of christ 70 to praise god becomes the upright 71 the ax lifted up 72 a hymn of praise 73 treasure in earthen vessels 74 grace abounding 75 hell in a rage . 76 jacob's ladder a type of christ 77 the wonder of pardoning grace 78 the unwearied saint 79 god's court , or , glory near 80 god pardons , guids , and leads 81 a call to young-men ibid. unity of saints 82 infinite mercy shining 83 the joy of repenting tears 84 the saints triumph in christ 85 christ a believer's all 86 go forth by the foot-steps of the flock 87 my beloved is mine . 88 a hymn of praise for the new birth 89 a preparation hymn ibid. saints happy at death 90 saints the salt of the earth 91 — he 's altogether lovely . 92 the rose of sharon . 93 a hymn on cant. 5. 12. 94 desert places rejoyce 95 a ransom found 97 on the resurrection &c. 98 a hymn of praise 99 on the answer of prayers 100 another 101 a sacred hymn on sanctification . 102 several scripture songs taken out of the old and new-testament . with some other spiritual songs ; &c. moses's song , on exod. 15. 1 i to the lord , will sing , triumph in him also ; the horses and the riders he into the sea did throw . 2 jehovah is my song , and my salvation ; my god , for whom i will prepare an habitation : 3 my father's god was he , whose glory i 'll proclaim , jehovah is a man of war , jehovah is his name . 4 proud pharoah , and his host , into the sea are cast , and his great captains drowned be , as through the sea they past . 5 they down to th' bottom sank , ev'n like unto a stone ; jehovah thy right hand in pow'r , most glorious is become : 6 thy right hand hath destroy'd those that against thee rose ; and in thy glorious excellency , thou hast o'erthrown thy foes . the second part. 1 thou didst send forth thy wrath , like stubble them to waste , lord , thou didst blow , and the proud waves , o'erwhelm'd them with a blast . 2 the sea stood up in heaps for israel , ( on each side ) the enemy said , i will pursue , i will the spoil divide ? 3 my lust i will fulfill , my sword draw out will i ? my hand shall now cut them all off , and ruin utterly ? 4 thou with thy wind didst blow , and they were covered , they in the mighty waters sunk , as if they had been lead . 5 lord , who is like to thee , in holiness glor'us , fearful in praise , and also doth things that are marvellous . a prophetical part of moses's song , deut. 32. 1 give ear , o heavens , i will speak , and let also the earth , hear the good words of my own mouth , which now i shall bring forth , 2 my doctrin like the rain shall drop , my speech distil shall as the dew does on the tender herbs , and showers on the grass . 3 because that i jehovahs name will publish and make known ; i will ascribe greatness to god , yea , and to him alone . 4 he is the rock , and perfect too his ways and judgments be ; a god of truth , and without sin , both just and right is he . 3 because their rock unto our rock is not to be compar'd ; yea , though our enemies themselves , as judges should be heard : 5 vengeance is mine , i will repay , in time their feet shall slide , their dreadful day it does draw near , and woe shall them betide . 6 because the lord his saints shall judg , and for them he 'll repent , when none shut up , or lift he sees , when all their powers's spent . 7 then sing ye nations with his saints , revenge their blood will he , and render vengeance to his foes , but kind to his saints be . the song of the prophet isaiah . chap. 5. 1 i to my well-beloved , now , and of his vine-yard ( will sing a sweet song ) which he has set , upon a fruitful hill ; 2 he fenced it , and gather'd out the stones that did offend , he planted it with choicest vine , and it he did defend : 3 a tower in the midst he built , and made a wine-press too , and lookt that it should bring forth fruit , his glory great to show ; 4 but it brought forth wild grapes : alass ! to thee , jerusalem , and judah also i 'll appeal , and to all thinking men ; 5 'twixt me and my vine-yard to judge ; what further do could i unto my vine-yard ? when i loo'kt , no fruit could i espy : 6 instead of grapes , it did bring forth wild grapes : o then go to , unto my vine-yard , i 'll declare what 't is that i will do . 7 i 'll take away the hedge thereof , my anger shall be shown , eat up it shall , and it 's strong wall shall quite be overthrown ; 8 and i will lay it waste , and it not dig , nor prune again ; but there shall come bryers and thorns , and on it fall no rain . 9 for the house of israel , and the men of judah be the pleasant vine-yard of the lord ; but when he lookt to see 10 judgment and true justice done , oppression did espy ; and when he look'd for righteousness , behold ! a bitter cry. isaiah's joyful song . isa . 12. 1 jehovah i will give thee praise , this is the very day , for thou dost sweetly comfort me , thine anger 's turn'd away : 2 behold thou my salvation art , i will not be afraid , jehovah is my strength and song , my trust and saving aid : 3 therefore with gladness i will draw water out of the wells of salvation ( for they be thy people israels . 4 and in that day shall ye all say , praise the lord , on his name not only call , but for his acts lift up his glor'us fame . 5 sing ye unto the lord , for he most excellent things has done ; and this throughout the earth also , is now most fully known . 6 cry out , and shout , and joyful be , all that in sion dwell ; for great the holy one's in thee , o happy israel ! the song of zacharias . 1 let israel's great god and king eternally be bless'd , whose come from heav'n to visit us , and see our bonds , releas'd . 2 in davids house a saviour's rais'd , to sit upon his throne ; this ever since the world began , his prophets have foreshown . 3 that he would save us from the pow'r and malice of our foes ; the mercy to perform to them , which he of old had chose . 4 he call'd to mind how he engag'd his truth , by covenant , his solemn oath to abraham sworn , that he his grace would grant 5 to serve him without fear ; from all our adversaries freed ; and to continue all our days , a holy life to lead . 6 by the remission of our sins , to make salvation known , to all his people every where , his tender mercy 's shown . 7 the day-star from on high is rose , and those who also sit in darkness , he in the right way of peace will guide their feet . the song of the blessed virgin. luke . 1. 1 my soul does magnify the lord , my spirit does rejoyce in god , my saviour , who deserv'st the praise of heart and voice . 2 for his poor hand-maid he regards , whose mind was sore deprest ; and all ages from hence forth shall call me most truly blest . 3 he that is great hath wonders done , and holy is his name ; his mercies hath for ever been to his saints , still the same . 4 he with his strength hath pulled down the mighty from their seat ; and them of low and base degree , are rais'd to honour great . 5 he fill'd the hungry soul , with good , the rich empty remain'd ; his mercy he has call'd to mind , his people help have gain'd . 9 the promise to our fathers made , in the which he long stood , engag'd to abraham and his seed , he hath at last made good . the song of simeon , luke , 2. 29. 1 now let thy servant , lord , depart in peace , to quiet rest , since i have thy salvation seen , and with the same am blest : 2 the prophecies are now fulfill'd , thy promises are true ; and thy mysterious love 's disclos'd , in all thy peoples view . 3 a light to lighten the dark earth , now this bright sun appears , the gentiles shall enlighten'd be , sweet comforts shall them cheer . 4 well may the long expected sight , make israel's joy abound ; before with special favours grac'd , but now with glory crown'd . the song of the lamb out of the revelations 1 all ye that serve the lord , his name see that ye celebrate ; and yet that fear him sing aloud his praise both small and great . rev. 19. 5. 2 o thou great ruler of the world , thy works our wonder raise , thou blessed king of saints , how true and righteous are thy ways , rev. 15. 3. 3 who would not fear and praise thy name , thou only holy one : the world will worship thee , to whom thy judgments are made known . 4 most holy , holy , holy lord , almighty is thy name , which was before all time , and is , and shall be still the same . ch . 4. 8. 11. 5 all glory , pow'r , and honour , thou art worthy to receive ; for all things by thy pow'r were made , and by thy pleasure live . cha . 5. 12. 6 to thee , of right , o lamb of god , riches and pow'r belong ; wisdom and honour , glory , strength , and every praising song . 7 thou as our sacrifice was slain , and by thy precious blood , from every tongue and nation hast redeem'd us unto god. 8 blessing and honour , glory , pow'r , by all in earth and heaven , to him that sits upon the throne , and to the lamb be given . part of hannahs song , 1 sam. 2. [ as 100th psalm . ] 1 my heart doth in jehovah joy , my horn in jah is lift on high ; my mouth 's inlarged o'er my foes , in thy salvation joy will i. 2 there 's none so holy as the lord , no , no , there is none beside thee of other rocks , there is not one ; that to our god compar'd may be . 3 talk ye no more so proudly then , let not arrogancy once proceed out of your mouth , for god doth know , and 't is by him actions are weigh'd . 4 the lord both poor and rich does make , he raiseth up and pulleth down ; thee poor he up from dust does take , and beggars from the dunghil crown . 5 and sets them on a princely throne , in glorious power and dignity ; the pillars of the earth's the lords , the world is his , him glorifies . 6 he keeps the feet of all his saints , preserves them so they shall not fail , the vile in darkness shall be still , for no man shall by strength prevail . 7 the adversaries of the lord , shall broken be both great and small ; the lord from heaven thunder will , and in his wrath destroy them all , 8 the lord shall reign most gloriously , unto the ends of all the earth : and his anointed horn exalt , therefore his highest praise sing forth . the song of the lamb. 1 break out ye saints with joy and sing , to the eternal king ; the angels do blest tidings bring , hosannah in the highest . 2 in bethlehem the babe is born , cease , cease , your bitter mourn , your sorrow now to singing turn , hosannah in the highest . 3 he 's come , he 's come , o happy day ! dark shadows fly away , the substance 's come to christ i say , hosannah in the highest . 4 see how the cherubs clap their wings , the glor'us host now sings ; th' eternal day , see how it springs ! hosannah in the highest . 5 behold the lord baptiz'd by john , and what a glory shone ! the father says , this is my son ! hosannah in the highest . 6 he 's come , he 's come down from above , full of eternal love ; and also sealed by the dove , hosannah in the highest . 7 the dumb do speak , the blind do see , the dead they raised be ; and lepers cleans'd of leprosie , hosannah in the highest . 8 he preaches with authority , god's kingdom doth draw nigh , and pardons all iniquity , hosannah in the highest . 9 behold him now beset with grief , angels bring him relief , they him adore because he 's chief , hosannah in the highest . 10 behold him in his agony , our sins on him did ly , god's justice he did satisfie , hosannah in the highest . 11 behold him now upon the tree ; he cry'd in miserie , oh! why hast thou forsaken me ? hosannah in the highest . 12 ah! hear him make most bitter moan , hearken to his last groan ; for now for us his life is gone , hosannah in the highest . the second part. 1 the first day now it doth begin ; an end is put to sin , eternal righteousness brought in hosannah in the highest . 2 the grave did ope thou didst arise , ye saints lift up your eyes , the morning 's come , all darkness flies , hosannah in the highest . 3 infernal spirits cry and howl , their overthrow condole , for ever now their hopes are cool , hosannah in the highest . 5 now , sin , death , devils and the grave , and th' world which did inslave , are all all o'ercome , and their death have , hosannah in the highest . 6 behold how his sweet arms were spread , whilst his dear blood was shed , that sinners might be gathered , hosannah in the highest . 7 our sins upon thee , lord , were laid , and all our debts hast paid ; of hell we need not be afraid , hosannah in the highest . 8 god's dreadful wrath thou didst appease , guilty conscience to ease , and now canst save whom thou dost please , hosannah in the highest . the third part. 1 christ will begin that work , which he knows must be wrought , if we eternal joys do ever see , hosannah in the highest . 2 lord thou wilt perfect it also , for very well we know , without thee we can nothing do , hosannah in the highest . 3 we that polluted once did ly in filth and misery , thou by thy blood dost purifie , hosannah in the highest . 4 we once were cursed by god's law , dreading death , no help saw , from that sad state thou dost us draw , hosannah in the highest . 5 all kind of sin thou dost pass by , where there 's sincerity , when unto thee , by faith , we fly , hosannah in the highest . 6 from death to life , saints raised be , once bound , but now set free , and made one spirit , o lord , with thee , hosannah in the highest . the fourth part. 1 o happy vnion ! ( is it done ? ) with the father and son , are we vnited and made one ? hosannah in the highest . 2 adoption is a precious thing , made sons of th' mighty king , most precious joy from hence doth spring , hosannah in the highest . 3 communion , lord , also with thee ; nay , with th' whole trinity , what higher blessings can there be ? hosannah in the highest . 4 we at thy table sit and feed , and have what our souls need , and find thy blood , lord , drink indeed , hosannah in the highest . 5 thou supst with us , and we with thee , a joyful sight to see ; sweet is the food and company , hosannah in the highest . 6 thou sayest , thy beloved's mine ? ourselves , lord , we resign up unto thee ; for to be thine ; hosannah in the highest . the fifth part. 1 thy righteousness , o lord , divine , imputed is to thine , by which they do most spotless shine ; hosannah in the highest . 2 thou art the way to god to go , th'truth by which we him know , the life which does to thy saints flow , hosannah in the highest . 3 by thee we justified be , and from sin are set free , and god accepts us all in thee , hosannah in the highest . 4 thou art our prophet , priest , and king , a prophet that does bring such light from whence true joys do spring , hosannah in the highest . 5 a priest that stands 'twixt god and men , who hast atton'd for sin . and hast us brought to god agen , hosannah in the highest . 5 a king that rules o'er all above , and all that here do move ; he 's king of kings , yet full of love , hosannah in the highest . the sixth part. 1 christ is our meat , our drink , our health , our peace , our strength , glory wealth , all things besides thee are but pelf , hosannah in the highest . 2 our mediator surety . and advocate on high , thro' thee , god passes all sin by ; hosannah in the highest . 3 our righteousness and wisdom too , redemption , from all woe , sanctification from thee does flow , hosannah in the highest . 4 what shall i say ? or jesus call ? for he is all in all , and reign he shall o'er great and small , hosannah in the highest . 5 he hath redeem'd us by his blood , when in our room he stood ; and made us priests , and kings , to god , hosannah in the highest . 6 and we on earth with him shall reign ( when all his foes are slain ) for quickly now he 'll come again , hosannah in the highest . a song of praise for the marvellous deliverance of our sovereign king , william , with the church , and whole kingdom , from the hellish plot , discovered , feb. 1695 / 6 1 no change of time shall ever shock our firm affections , lord to thee ; for thou hast always been a rock , a fortress and defence to me . 2 our king preserved is , o god , by thy own hand and mighty pow'r ; thou shield'st him when he is abroad , at home to him a lasting tow'r . 3 the chariot of the king of kings , or troops of mighty angels round , encompass him with rapid wings , and all his foes with shame confound . 4 black thund'ring clouds most thick conspir'd , with threatning rage our face to veil , but at thy brightness soon retir'd : upon our foes falls fire and hail . 5 the lord doth on our side engage , from heaven his throne our cause upheld , and snatch'd us from the furious rage of threatning waves that proudly swell'd ; 6 god his resistless pow'r employ'd , our cruel foes attempts to break ; or else they might have soon destroy'd the best defence that we could make . 7 and gods designs shall still succeed ; romes bloody sons can't stand the test , he 's a strong shield to all that need , and on his sure protection rest . 8 who then deserv'st to be ador'd , but god , on whom our hopes depend , or who , except the mighty lord , can with resistless pow'r defend . 9 o let th' eternal god be prais'd , the rock , on whose defence we rest o'er highest heav'ns his name be rais'd , who with salvation us hath bless'd ' 10 therefore to celebrate his fame , our greatfull voices to heav'n we 'll raise , let nations round dread his great name , and all be taught to sing his praise . 11 god to our king and nation sends ( tho' vile we be ) salvation sweet , deliv'rance to his saints extends , to praise his name therefore t is meet . 12 hosannahs we to thee do owe , let all the nations worship thee , and thee adore , yea thee alone , the father of eternity . 13 thy name in songs we will adore protect thy saints , and keep them pure ; to thee lets live for evermore , since from curst plots we are secure . a feast of fat things &c. containing , one hundred sacred hymns , &c. century 1. hymn 1. the eternity of the great god. in th' regions of eternal light , thou hast most holy god ; from everlasting in thy self , had thy own bless'd abode : before this world by thee was fram'd , or , earth's foundations laid ; or , the vast heavens were spread forth or any creature made . 3 thou didst in glory , lord , abide ; thy being hadst alone , in thy own self , and none beside , was with the holy one. 4 the eternity of thy great name , help us , lord , to adore : from everlasting thy dread fame shone , and shall evermore . 5 thou happy wast in thy own self , and that in th' high'st degree ; to thy essential glory , lord , nothing can added be , 6 thou need'st not us ; what canst thou have from any creatures hand ? yet to ascribe all praise to thee , is thy most just command . hymn 2. the immensity of god , the praise of the dread majesty of the great god above , with trembling heart i would sing forth , o with him fall in love ! 2 but what am i ? poor sorry dust that i should god admire ! be silent then , and let 's give place unto the heavenly quire ! 3 thousands , and ten thousands more of glorious angels , stand ' round thy high throne , and thee adore in songs at thy command . 4 hosannahs they sing unto thee , o lord , continually . they worship and most perfect be ; but , ah! what , lord , am i ? 5 a person of polluted lips ! how shall i then express the depth of thy immensity ? or thy infiniteness ? 6 i from thy presence cannot go ; what place , alass ! is there to hide from thee ? for i do know , lord , thou art every where ! hymn 3. on the immensity and omniscience of god. thy knowledge , lord , is infinite , there 's nothing hid from thee ; thou seest i' th' dark as in the light , our thoughts before thee be . 2 from sight of thy all-seeing eye , o whither can we go ! in all dark places thou dost pry , thine eyes walk to and fro . 3 thro' the whole earth , where can we hide ? o! whither can we fly ? lord , from thy presence ; for thou art far off , and also nigh ! 4 shall we to heaven mount alost , lo , thou art present there ? or , if we should go down to hell , ev'n there thou dost appear ? 5 yea , should we take us morning wings and dwell beyond the sea , there would thy hand have hold on us , and quickly with us be ? 6 nay , if we say , the darkness shall shroud us , lord , from thy sight , alass ! the thickest darkness is to thee , like to the light ? 7 yea , darkness hideth not from thee , but night doth shine as day : let 's praise thee then both day and night , and sing to thee alway ! hymn 4. the wisdom of god great . 1 we of thy wisdom will , o lord , not only speak but sing ; for 't is from hence that all true good to us , o lord , doth spring . 2 thy wisdom and most sovereign grace most gloriously do shine ; let us see it with open face , and praise that name of thine . 3 in thy own wisdom let 's be wise ; thy wisdom let 's adore , and trust in it , so shall we , lord , sing praise for evermore . 4 thy wisdom is a mighty deep , which angels do admire ; creation-work demonstrates it , redemption rises higher . 5 the wonder of thy wisdom , lord , and sublime rule likewise , t is o'er all things , and persons here , and marv'lous in our eyes . 6 all wisdom saints and angels have , from thee it doth proceed ; and from thy wisdom we receive all good things we do need . 7 of thy amazing wisdom then we 'll sing continually ; and unto thee , let foolish men for wisdom daily cry ! hymn 5. god's piercing eyes . 1 ye saints remember god always , remember he is nigh ; nay , with us all in every place , and on us sets his eye . 2 o lord , out of thy piercing sight there 's none of us can go ; thou seest in darkness as in light , and know'st all things we do . 3 't is thy most great and glorious name we should for ever fear ; and unto thee loud praise proclaim , when to thee we draw near . 4 always let us , o lord , we pray , set thee before our eyes , and never grieve thy spirit , lord , by our iniquities . 5 let 's have a reverent awe of thee , and always thee adore and worship in sincerity ; so sing for evermore . hymn 6. the power of god. 1 who knows , lord , what thy power is , thou glorious art in might ; can ought be hard for thee to do , whose power 's infinite . 2 thine arm of strength , most mighty king , both rocks and hearts doth break ; o god thou canst do every thing which thou dost undertake . 3 o'er men and angels thou dost reign , all things thou dost uphold ; thou art the strength of all thy saints , thy power 's manifold . 4 thou power hast for to create , redeeming pow'r's in thee ; thou soon canst too annihilate all things which we de see . 5 none can before thy power stand , nor thy dread strength resist ; thy pleasure thou wilt do we know , yea , all things thou dost list . 6 we of thy power therefore sing , and in thy might rejoyce ; to god our strength , our hope and trust , ; we will lift up our voice . hymn 7. god's mercy shining : or , the chanel of divine mercy over-flowing . 1 we of thy mercy , lord , will sing , o it is infinite ! of all our joys it is the spring , let 's praise thee day and night : 2 our miseries will have an end , but thy mercies abide from age to age , it does extend like to a swelling tide , 3 that flows over all banks and bounds amazing to behold ; o'er all the world thy mercy sounds , o it is manifold ! 4 but thy redeeming mercy , lord , we chiefly do admire ; christ is the chanel where it runs , to raise the wonder higher ! 5 o mercy then ! mercy we need , thy pardoning mercy 's sweet ! preventing mercy does , in christ , with every mercy meet . 6 sinners ! take hold of mercy then ! let saints mercy adore : and for thy mercy let all men sing praise for evermore . hymn 8. the covenant and faithfulness of god. 1 o lord we will exalt thy name , and to thee we will sing ; thy eaithfulness we will proclaim , from whence our hopes does spring . 2 we with our mouths will , lord , make known thy faithfulness always , o help us for to trust in it , and that too all our days ! 3 thy covenant thou wilt hold fast . as thou hast sworn of old ; thy promises from first to last , fulfill'd shall we behold . 4 the heavens they shall praise the lord , for wonders thou hast done ; and all thy saints , with one accord , shall praise thy name alone . 5 thy loving kindness shall not fail ; nor shall thy faithfulness : o sing unto the lord , ye saints , and him for ever bless . hymn 9. a sacred hymn on god's sovereignty . 1 thou lord who didst all creatures make , hast power to dispose of them , as seemeth good to thee : some therefore thou didst chuse 2 unto eternal life and bliss ; and others didst pass-by : or didst them leave to their hearts lusts , and vile iniquity . 3 if thou hadst left all adams race unto their evil way , and not have giv'n one soul thy grace , o who dur'st thee gain-say ! 4 or have charg'd thee to be vnjust , since all deserv'd to die , 't is infinite grace that any be saved eternally . 5 thou sendest thy sweet gospel light to this , and to that place , but dost to many lands deny the word of thine own grace : 6 and some that hear it never feel its power on their heart ; all is as thou art pleas'd to act , and sovereign grace impart . 7 we therefore lord exalt thy name , that with our eyes do see , since thou hast made the difference , all praise belongs to thee . hymn 10. god's glorious bounty : or , grace shining . 1 thy love , o lord , is very great to such vile ones as we ; such who lay dead in trespasses , are quickened by thee : 2 thy bounty to these souls of ours ; who can of it conceive : and those thou dost regenerate this bounty do receive . 3 't is they who are delivered from that forelorn estate , they once were in , when they lay dead ; whose souls , lord , did thee hate . 4 't is they whose souls united be unto thy self , o lord , and have communion too with thee , thou dost this grace afford . 5 death can't dissolve this blessed knot , this union doth remain ; at death such do to jesus go , death unto them is gain . 6 well may such say unto their souls , return unto your rest ! for they at death to glory go , and ly in thy sweet breast . 7 their they do joyn with seraphims , in blessed harmony , to sing and celebrate thy praise unto eternity . hymn ii. abounding mercy of god in christ. 1 is there no mercy in the lord ? sinners ! can you say so ? of mercy sing with one accord , mercy doth overflow ! 2 the waters which are in the sea , and light that 's in the sun , are fewer than thy mercies are , to sinners quite undone . 3 thy bowels yearn in thee to those who in their blood do ly ; if they believe thou wilt forgive all their iniquity : 4 but some will not thy mercy have , they it do not desire ; in the right way , do it not crave ; nor after it enquire ! 5 but you that see the chanel , where mercy doth sweetly run , exalt god's name , and sing his praise , until your lives are done . 6 at death and in the judgment-day , god's mercy you shall find , if you do leave your evil ways and have a changed mind . 7 redeeming mercy that is sweet , and pardoning mercy sure ; in christ all mercies joyn and meet , and evermore endure . hymn 12. the patience of god. 1 what wrongs , great god , hast thou long born ? ( conceiv'd they cannot be ! ) by daring rebels , who provoke thee unto jealousie ! 2 all evils done in every place , before thine eyes they are throughout the world ; and yet dostthou these foes protect , and spare . 3 tho' for man's treason down he fell , by thy revenging hand ; yet he lifts up his bruised bones his maker to withstand ; 4 and , though a feeble foe he be , whom thou like moths can crush , yet still against the bosses of thy bucklar he does rush . 5 o what vile monsters are mankind ! thus given to rebel ! strange thou dost not , lord , smite the earth , and send them quick to hell ! 6 man's sin for vengeance loudly crys , yet patience doth abound ; though justice crys , cut these trees down ! why cumber they the ground ? 7 thy patience still sorbears , we see , o it is infinite ! therefore of it , we , lord , will sing , and praise thee day and night . hymn 13. another on god's patience . 1 would man forbear to seek revenge on such a cursed foe , who strives to murther him each day , and work his overthrow ? 2 but god waves all advantages of wrath , and vengeance too ; and , by amazing patience , doth daring man out-do ? 3 the creature doth disdain his god , by whom he 's cloath'd and fed , yet god still spares this rebel worm , who by the devil 's led 4 to fight against his sovereign with cruel spite and rage ; yet god doth still forbear with him , even from age to age. 5 fools ask not where th' almighty is , but glory to him give : is not his being most fully prov'd in suffering thee to live ? 6 was he not god , he could not bear such weights as on him ly ; weak mortals soon are set on fire , and for revenge do cry ! ! 7 why should not patience make us sing , and god's great glory raise ? lord , let thy patience joyn with love towards me all my dayes ! hymn 14. on the birth of christ . 1 awake my soul , awake my tongue , my glory ' wake and sing , and celebrate the holy birth , the birth of israels king ! 2 o happy night that brought sorth light , which makes the blind to see ; the day spring from on high came down to cheer and visit thee . 3 the careful shepheards with their flocks were watching for the morn , but better news from heav'n was brought ; your saviour is now born ! 4 in bethlehem the infant lies , within a place obscure , your saviours come , o sing gods praise ! o sing his praise for ev'r . the second part , 25 th psalm tune . 1 heaven is come down to earth hither the angels fly , hark how the heavenly quire doth sing , glory to god on high ! 2 blest news indeed , be glad ; simeon o'ercome with joy , sings with the infant in his arms , ; now let thy servant die ! 3 wise-men behold the star , which was their stedfast guide , until it pointed forth the babe : let god be glorify'd ! 4 heaven and earth rejoyce o lord ! and shall not i ? christ he is born ! sinners sing praise , for you he came to die ! hymn 15. a sacred hymn of the deity of christ . 1 in thee , lord christ , we may thy father's glory see ; thou his brightness and glory art , the god-head dwells in thee . 2 thou art a man , yet god , in thee both natures meet , that god and man thou mightst vnite in vnion great and sweet . 3 thou must be man to die : sing praise , ye saints , sing praise ! christ must be god to satisfie ; his glory therefore raise ! 4 such that behold thee , lord , the father also see ; and such a mediator 't did behove thee for to be . 5 thou lay'st thy hands on both , and dost to each display most equally thy dearest love ; and therefore we must say , 6 there 's none , lord , like to thee for in thy self does shine all glories which the father hath , most sacred and divine . hymn 16. on christ's suretiship . 1 lord we 've run out , and wasted all our riches and our store ; and now our credit is quite gone thou wilt trust us no more : unless there is a surety found we must in prison ly , and bear thy dreadful wrath , o god , unto eternity . 3 and therefore jesus thou didst send , no friend had we to bring ; all good from hence , we may perceive , doth from thy bowels spring , 4 't was from the worth and dignity which in christ's person lay , he did god's justice satisfie , and all our debts defray . 5 o let men dread how they despise such sovereign grace and love , because mysterious in their eyes , and also far above 6 depraved reason to conceive , that such who guilty be , should , by another's righteousness , from sin and guilt be free . 7 all praise and glory unto god , and to the son whom we adore ; and to the holy-ghost likewise , be praise for evermore . hymn 17. a hymn of christs divine love , on cant. 1. 1 come near , come nearer yet and move thy sweetest lips to mine ? for why , thy love , who art all love , excels the choicest wine ! 2 like to an ointment poured out , is thy sweet name , and favour ; wise virgins compass thee about , for thy good ointments savour . 3 o draw me with thy cords of love ! we will run after thee ; the king into his chambers hath in love conducted me . 4 thy rays will make our faces shine , ; in thee we will rejoyce ; thy love is better far than vv ine ; thou art the vpright's choice ! 5 but o thou , whom my soul doth love ! tell me , o tell me soon , where feeds thy flock ; where is the place thou mak'st them rest at noon ? 6 why should i stray and lose my way ? till i at last do fall among thy fellows flocks ( as they themselves do proudly call. ) 7 o fairest one ; if thou wouldst know where thou shouldst feed and ly , the foot-steps of the flock will show the way asuredly ? hymn 18. the churches spikenard , cantic . the 1 st . sung at the lord's-supper . 1 our king doth at his table sit , and i that love him well , will pour my spikenard on his feet , which gives a fragrant smell . 2 my well-beloved is to me a bundle of sweet myrrh , and with me he 'll make his abode , and from me never stir . 3 my well-beloved is to me , like to the choicest vvines ; like clusters of the camphire trees , amongst the fruitful vines . 4 o blessed jesus thou art fair , my beauty is from thee ! nay , thou art fair beyond compare , and precious unto me ! 5 let others on their dainties feed , and drink the richest vvine ; my feasts doth all their feasts exceed , when thou say'st i am thine . 6 i therefore will commend him still , and sing unto his praise , he dy'd for me , therefore shall be my joy and song always . hymn 19. he 's white & reddy , sung at the sacrament . 1 my hearts delight is red and white , the lilly and the rose : so sweet a grace adorns his face ten thousand he out-does ! 2 was he all vvhite and was not red ? no sufferer for my sin ? my blood would rest on my own head and no joy have within ! 3 but my dear lord is vvite and red , this mixture pleaseth me ; cause for my sins he suffered who from all sin was free ! 4 what a reviving sight is this ? a righteous saviour ' s blood is th' bath of sin , the spring of bliss most pure , most sweet and good ! 5 his god-head , and his government are infinite and pure ; his eyes are like the eyes of doves , most constant , so indure . 6 his mouth is most exceeding sweet , he 's altogether so ; down from his head unto his feet all joys and comforts flow : 7 o sing his praise for this is he my soul doth so admire ; this is my friend , if you would know , this is my hearts desire ! hymn 20. deliverance from the pit : or , a hymn of thanksgiving for gospel salvation . 1 how great is this salvation , lord , which thou for us hast wrought , by jesus christ our dearest friend , who our poor souls hath bought . 2 thou didst behold us when we lay polluted in our sin ; and to wash us found out a way to make us clean agin . 3 we slaves of sin and satan were , and in strong bonds were bound ; and when we were near to the pit a ransom then was found : 4 thy son out of thy bosome came , our souls to set quite free : all praise unto the blessed lamb , and equal praise to thee . 5 of this salvation we will sing , and will with one accord praise thee , from whom all blessings spring ; ye saints praise ye the lord. 6 thou sav'st our souls , o save this land , great things , lord , thou wilt do ; o haste , o lord , quickly appear , salvation-wonders show . 7 our dust shall wake , our souls unite , and then our glory shine ; our happiness shall be compleat ; halelujah ; amen . hymn 21. christ at the sinners door : or , a song of praise on gospel salvation . 1 we , lord , of thy salvation have a declaration had : o sinners know christ can you save ; rejoyce in him be glad . 2 salvation is brought very near , your saviour also stands now , now , o soul , ev'n at thy door , o yield to his commands ! 3 open to him , before his wrath is kindled in his heart , and he from you , with angry frowns , for ever doth depart . 4 if it a little kindled be , o happy , happy he , thou holy one , who doth believe , and puts his trust in thee 5 ye saints rejoyce , ye interest have in this salvation ; what is it you can further crave ? sing praise to th' holy one : 6 salvation is wrought out for you , your god and christ adore , blessings of life do over-flow ; sing praise for evermore . 7 rejoyce that ye accepted be in your eternal head , and quickn'd are , ( and vnion have ; ) who once in sin lay dead . hymn 22. all glory to god and the lamb : or , a hymn of thanksgiving for the great salvation of christ . 1 now let us sing our saviour's praise , and spread his glory forth ; his honour wholly let us raise that shines through all the earth : 2 who would not fear and praise thy name thou great and glorious one , the world shall worship thee , to whom thy grace and goodness's shown . 3 all glory , pow'r , and honour , thou art worthy to receive , for all things , lord by the were made , and by thy pleasure live . 4 to thee of right , o lamb of god , salvation doth belong , wisdom and praise , glory and strength , and every sacred song . 5 't is thou alone salvation wrought , by thine own arm 't was done , sing praise ye saints whom he hath bought , praise ye the holy one. 6 blessing and honour , glory power , by all in earth and heaven to him that sits upon the throne , and to the lamb be given . hymn 23. gods glory display'd : or , a hymn of praise on the great salvation . 1 what was thy end , o holy god , in our salvation ; but thy own glory ? therefore we will praise thee every one : 2 shall man assume some part of it ? let him ashamed be ; all is of god , all is of grace , all glory be to thee . 3 thou art the sacrificer , lord ; the sacrifice also ; 't is thou that dost sprinkle the blood , and all things else dost do . 4 lift up ye saints , ( exalt on high ) your great redeemer , then he shall have the preheminence ; ye saints say all , amen . 5 sinners , will you praise christ's great name , to whom all praise belongs , and celebrate his glorious fame with joy in holy songs ? 6 of this salvation then take hold , and of it get a part ; then shall ye sing , and not till then , with grace in your own heart . hymn 24. the soul rent : or , glory shining . a hymn of praise on gospel salvation . 1 all the seraphick train above are stooping down so low , to learn o' th' church that mystery past ages did not know : 2 but now the vail is rent in twain , the mystery is vnfol'd , justice and mercy , reconcil'd we do herein behold . 3 we now in gospel days may go into th' holy place , and in a bleeding jesvs see god's reconciled face . 4 ye sinners then this saviour view , that for your sins was slain ; and this salvation slight no more , o look , view him again ! 5 how can ye see him bleed , and still retain your cursed sin ? how can ye see him call to you and you will not come in ? 6 o dearest jesus , if a taste of love be here so sweet , what will it be when we with thee , our dearest lord , shall meet ? 7 o let us sing to him always , and him in truth adore , for the day 's near when we shall be with him for evermore . hymn 25. wonderous grace shining . a hymn of praise on the great salvation of the gospel . 1 o glorious and most holy king , the mighty prince of peace , by thee alone , o holy one , from sin we have release ! 2 o wond'rous love , yea , love indeed , that thou so great and high , who didst proceed from god , should bleed , and for poor sinners dye . 3 the curse which was , o lord , our due thou also didst endure ; and in th' grave lay till the third day our freedom to procure . 4 o depth , o length , o heigth of love , none may compare with thee , so low to lye that we so high at last might raised be ! 5 shall sinners slight thy love , o lord , salvation not regard ? no sin like this so great it is , was ever known or heard . 6 ye saints love you your saviour dear , sing forth his blessed praise ; o love him , and to him adhere , and serve him all your days . hymn 26. look unto jesus . a hymn of praise . 1 look unto jesus , sinners look , if you 'd salvation have , who 's god , the saviour , and none else , ' 〈◊〉 only he can save . 2 come let 's rejoyce with heart and voice before our heavenly king , tribute of praise let us always unto our saviour bring . 3 before the wicked world and hell let us his glory bear ; lord manifest thy glorious name in wonders every where ! 4 let sinners not neglect , o lord , salvation thou hast wrought ; for all that do thou wilt o'erthrow , to hell they shall be brought . 5 o sinners look , and fall in love with jesus , him embrace ; with wonder now his glory view who 's full of grace and truth . 6 ye saints and saved ones rejoyce , and halelujahs sing ; for you are his and he is yours , o praise your god and king ! hymn 27. the joy of believers , and the misery of gospel-neglecters . 1 most free rich grace unmix'd and pure , the gospel does proclaim ; for which , o lord , we do thee praise and sing unto thy name . 2 come saints and sinners also taste this water , milk , and wine , wine without dreggs that off the lees our saviour did refine . 3 here 's pardon without wrath at all , white garments without stain ; a conscience purg'd we may have here , and ease that 's free from pain . 4 we may have all if we receive the blessed lord of life ; but such who do reject this grace shall one day meet with strife . 5 wrath will pursue such wretched souls , and they escape shall not ; but bring upon themselves sad woe , yea , an eternal blot . 6 stand not then to dispute and die , free offered grace receive ; then good and thankful you shall be when once you do believe . 7 and you will say , salvation's great , and the great lord adore ; and sing unto his holy name praises for evermore . hymn 28. christ exalted . a hymn of praise . 1 love ye your lovely lord , ye saints , his praises also sing ; we will exalt thy name , o lord our god , and heavenly king : 2 to him that angels do adore be glory , honour , fame ; 't is he that did salvation work , o sing unto his name ! 3 to him that wash'd us in his blood , who lov'd poor sinners first ; to him that was made sin for us , and was for us accurst ; 4 to him be glory and high praise , o worship at his feet ! in him god's attributes do shine ; in union also meet . 5 who would not honour and admire , who would not thee adore ; who would not this saviour desire , and prostrate fall before ? 6 come let us halelujah sing unto this mighty one ; let sinners bow unto this king who sits upon the throne ! hymn 29. christ glory . a hymn of praise on gospel salvation . 1 sing praises unto god the lord , and call upon his name ; among the people all declare his works , and spread his fame . 2 sing ye unto the lord , i say , ye sing unto him praise ; and talk of his salvation great , exalt your god always . 3 in honour of his holy name rejoyce with one accord , and let the hearts also rejoyce of all that seek the lord. 4 seek ye the lord , o seek the strength of his eternal might ; o seek his face continually in christ , for that is right ! 5 lord thou to us salvation hath made known most graciously ; but such who do the same reject most wretchedly shall die ; 6 wrath will break forth upon them all , that day is very near ; but all thy saints , when christ doth come , in glory shall appear . 7 ye righteous then in god rejoyce , for you most happy be ; salvation great your portion is , and you the same shall see . hymn 30. the saint indeed . or , a hymn of praise for sanctification . 1 ye that are holy and sincere lift up your hearts and voice , sing to the lord and do not fear , you cause have to rejoyce ! 2 the fruit of christ's blest death in you most plainly does appear ; yea , that you are god's own elect , and do his image bear . 3 you shall ascend god's holy hill who undefiled be ; and shall with him in glory dwell unto eternity . 4 but as for you that have a name , but live as others do , you , you shall fall and perish all , god will you overthrow . 5 when godly ones shall joy in bliss , and shall in triumph reign , you mourn shall in that deep abyss , god will your glory stain . 6 o glorious lord , thy spirit then pour out upon us , so that we may live to thee on earth , and unto heaven go ! hymn 31. a sacred hymn on ephesians 4. 4 , 5 , 6. sung at the administration of holy baptism . 1 to the one lord and father dear , who 's high , and above all , we will sing praise , and always fear , and on him ever call : 2 and the one lord we will adore , and divine worship give , and sing his praise for evermore , by whom 't is we do live . 3 to the one spirit , by whose pow'r all saints are born again , we will sing to , and every hour under his wings remain . 4 in the one faith we will rejoyce , th' doctrin of faith is one ; and in that faith we 'll lift out voice and sing till life is gone . 5 in christ's one babtism also let us establish'd be ; let these thy children find it sweet who now have obey'd thee : 6 let such who for another plead , which is , lord , none of thine , ashamed be , and see the need of further light divine . 7 in unity of thy one church let each of us abide , and find our comfort to be such which none meet with beside . hymn 32. the drooping spirit revived . 1 come drooping saints , ye princely ones , why do your heads hang down ? tho' some do sall yet grace shall you with glory ever crown . 2 christ bids you ever to rejoyce , again he says rejoyce , whatever sin or satan saith 't is your beloveds voice . 3 why should you be discouraged , o heirs os special grace , for goodly is your heritage , and pleasant is your place ! 4 what e'r discouragments you find , our christ can answer all ; his arms are ready to lift up when you are near to fall . 5 you have had a sweet taste of god , he is to you most dear ; you feel the power of his word , be therefore of good chear ! hymn 33. evil thoughts abhorr'd : or , heart-purity 1 thy power , lord , is very great , to change the thoughts of men ; if evil thoughts so hatful be , o let us loath them then ! 2 lord , who can all his errors see ? o cleanse my heart within from evil thoughts ; and keep thou me from all presumptious sin ! 3 o let not sin have power to reign in me at any time ; and so shall i be free from stain , and ' scape the greatest crime ! 4 blessed , o blessed , are the pure , who pure are still in heart , that keep thy testimonies sure , and from all sin depart . 5 they 're such that cause have to rejoyce , thy praises forth to sing ; and unto them new comforts shall from thee , lord , daily spring : 6 they pardon'd are , and in thy love do evermore remain ; they born are also from above , and shall with jesus reign . hymm 34. the backslider healed : or , mercy for backsliders . 1 believers now , what have you more , what have you more to do ; but to sing praise to god on high from whom your help doth flow ? lord thou art good , thy mercy 's great , thy promises most sure ; salvation 't is which thou hast wrought , christ's blood did it procure . 3 exalt by faith your lord on high , through off your vnbelief ; and trust in christ continually , in whom is your relief : 4 say there is hope , and we do come , we come , o lord , to thee ; for thou alone , lord , art our god ; thy name exalted be ! 5 backsliders then return and sing , god will forgive you all ; and make you so firmly to stand that you shall never fall . hymn 35. ephraim mixed among the people . 1 the pure in heart are thy delight o thou most holy one ! all they that do what things are right may sing thy praise alone . 2 all mixtures , lord , in doctrin and practice , thou dost hate ; ourselves , therefore , with wicked men let 's not associate ! 3 and so shall we , lord , with much joy our hearts lift up to thee ; and nothing shall our peace destroy whilst circumspect we be , 4 let such that mingle not themselves thy praises therefore sing ; and to thy people let men join in faith , to praise our king. 5 come out of babel then all ye , and be ye seperate ; depart all godly ones , and flee before it is too late ! 6 o touch not the polluted thing , and god will own you then ; and drink you shall of his sweet spring ; thus sing , and say , amen . hymn 36. the good samaritan . 1 sinners rejoyce who wounded be , your blest physician 's near ; his oyl will heal his wine will cheer , our sickness he did bear : 2 't is jesus praise that we will raise , and set his glory forth ; there 's none like thee , all saints do see , in heaven or on earth . 3 thy blood 's our balm , who hither came to die upon the tree ! therefore , o lord , with one accord we will sing praise to thee . 4 thou hast a salve for every sore ; didst dye that we might live therefore to thee continually all praises we will give . hymn 37. the voice of the turtle heard in our land. 1 thy precious blood was shed , o lord , my soul to purge from sin ; which purchas'd grace my soul to change , when shall this work begin : 2 in sinners hearts , o now impart , that grace that they may sing : o own thy word , most holy lord , our god , and gracious king ! 3 the harmless turtle 's pleasant voice is heard , lord , in this place ; let fig-trees put forth their green figs , young converts deck with grace . 4 arouse ! the summer will soon pass , your day of grace will end ; o come to christ , whilst he doth call , and does his love commend ! 5 see how the saints do bud in grace , what gracious fruits abound , upon this liberty for all to hear the joyful sound : 6 arise , you who yet sleep in sin , make hast to come and live ; so shall you sing and joyful be , and honour to christ give . hymn 38. — buy of me . 1 come buy of thee ? lord let us see what 't is that thou dost sell ! the pearl of price and paradice , o lord what tongue can tell 2 what their worth are ! what fool is there who doth refuse to buy ? a bargain 's here ! and 't will appear so to eternity . 3 this pearl excells the rich beryl , the onyx and the sapphire ; rubies so rare can't with 't compare , no , nor the gold of ophir ! 4 begone vile lusts as things accurst , let every soul then say , this pearl will i purchase and buy without further delay ? 5 let 's look about , our glass runs out , and take such good advice ; what e'r you see the terms to be , to come unto the price . sing , sing , god's praise , you ought always , who this rich pearl have ; what would you be , what more can ye ask , seek , desire , or crave ? hymn 39. a bleeding christ , and the bleeding heart . 1 how gracious and how good , o lord , art thou to sinners vile ; thy wrath is o'r , and thou on us , in jesus christ , doth smile ? 2 sing praise ye tender-hearted ones , lift up god's praise on high ; for you shall live for evermore , yea , live and never die . 3 behold a bleeding christ ! o see his side , how did it run with purple gore ? can ye forbear to grieve , shed tears , and mourn ! 4 but did he die , and in our stead , that we might never die ? o love this lord , and sing his praise ; and on him all rely ! 5 the fruits of christ's most blessed death in bleeding hearts appear ; their sins , they see , have wounded him , and pierc'd him like a spear . 6 they look to him , therefore they mourn , and yet by faith rejoyce ; they cann't but grieve , nor yet forbear to sing with cheerful voice . hymn 40. salvation great and glorious . 1 great god of love send from above thy new jerusalem ; on jesus's head cause thou to spread his sparkling diadem . 2 hosannah sing continually , our jesus comes apace ; bow every knee ; all hell shall flee from th' terror of his face . 3 salvation high is now come nigh , salvation great indeed ; o sinners see and saved be by jesus who did bleed ! here 's life for you that believe do , the terms most easy are ; o come and drink before you sink i' th' depths of hell's dispair . 5 sing praise , sing praise , god's honour raise , ye who salvation have ; dear jesus love , who from above came , your poor souls to save : 6 now heavens work is here begun , the work of singing praise ; most holy live , rejoyce and sing until you end your days . hymn 41. the tender hearts triumph . 1 you tender-hearted souls rejoyce , and sing god's praises forth ; in sacred hymns lift up your voice whilst here you live on earth : 2 for god bestowed hath on such new covenant true grace ; and though they grieve and sorrow much , they shall lift up their face . 3 't is a new spirit that 's in you , your heart of stone is gone ; the bleeding heart shall sweetly sing when this sad life is done . 4 sin unto you most grievous is , you cannot it endure ; o is it thus ! then sing god's praise , for you shall sing for ever . hymn 42. the broken and contrite heart . what cause of joy ye saints is here ? have you a tender heart ? lift up your heads , be of good cheer , you have a blessed part ! 2 o lord , we praise thy holy name , for offering precious grace ; let us believe , so let us sing , for happy is our case : 3 thy word can break a heart of stone ; o lay on gracious blows , to sinners , and also to saints , let 's see what mercies flows . 4 a broken heart 's a sacrifice most choice , o lord , to thee a broken christ , and broken hearts , most sweetly do agree . 5 thou wilt , lord , dwell with contrite ones , and them revive also ; upon the humble sincere soul all lasting blessings flow . hymn 43. righteousness of christ glorious 1 christ's righteousness imputed is , to those who do believe ; sing praise to christ , and god on high , who do this grace receive . 2 your wedding garment is a sign of joy and sweet delight . sing praise , o soul , for thou art his , sing praise both day and night . 3 in this may saints rejoyce always , 't is this doth make them glad ; such may rejoyce well all their dayes who are so bravely clad . 4 your wedding robes they are , o know , richly embroidered ; no princess was e'er cloathed so , that king did ever wed . 5 it shines bespangled with gold ; and such who have it on the king with joy doth them behold , and loves to look upon . 6 how may we then continually in jesus christ rejoyce , and sing to him melodiously , with heart and cheerful voice ? hymn 44. christ's penny : or , the laborours hire . 25th psalm tune . 1 lord , happy are those souls who hired are by thee ; for such that thou approvest of they saved all shall be : 2 great 's their reward , o lord , their penny is not small ; they have a god , a christ have they , a crown ; they shall have all. 3 then sing ye chosen ones , his praises now set forth ; and in his vine-yard faithful be whil'st you do live on earth . 4 rewards of grace excell such which from debts arise ; rejoyce in god ye saints always , and your dear saviour prize . hymn 45. the blessed death of the saints : sung at the funeral of that vertuous gentlewoman , mrs. elizabeth bright ; decemb. 7th . 1693 / 4. 1 thy word , o lord , doth comfort those who on thee do believe ; yea , all of them which thou hast chose thy quick'ning grace receive : 2 in life it is a cordial sweet , at death it doth revive ; such comforts do thy saints meet with , of which , death can't deprive . 3 a door of bliss to weary saints , thou art ( grim death ) become ; secured is the jewel safe , whilst earth the corps intombs . 4 by death the saints do enter rest , prepar'd ready above ; they are for ever swallow'd up in endless joys and love. 5 cease grieving then for such who are to blessed jesus gone : for they in glory shine most bright , and the blest prize have won , hymn 46. the happy death of the godly : sung at the funeral of mr. john tredwel . 1 return to god , your resting place , ye sinners with all speed ; by christ , to god you must approach , for all things you do need . 2 lord there 's no rest for to be found but in thy self alone ; high praises therefore forth shall sound to thee the holy one ! 3 we sing below , but they above , in crowns excelling gold , triumph in their eternal bliss , amazing to behold : 4 and each of them in majesty do represent a king ; yea , angels like in dignity ; and with the cherubs sing . 5 immortal robes they all have on , and shine like to the sun ; let us prepare to follow them ; our glass will soon be run , 6 death is a sleep , it is a rest from all our sorrows here ; let 's so believe that we with christ in glory may appear . hymn 47. psal . 17. 15. — i shall be satisfied when i awake with thy likeness . sung at the funeral of mrs. sarah wilmot , july 14th , 1694. 1 sing to the lord , ye saints of his , and thankfully express how sweet the due remembrance is of his pure holiness : 2 and tho' his anger burns apace it quickly slacks again ; but , lord , thy favour and thy grace for ever doth remain . 3 tho' sorrows lodge with us all night , which makes us weep and mourn , yet joy comes in at morning light , and makes a sweet return . 4 by death thy saints enter to joys prepar'd for them above ; and the're for ever shall remain in endless life and love. 5 o there they see as they are seen , with clear unclouded views ! o there they hear lord ! nothing else but sweet and glorious news ! 6 anthems of joy , of love , and praise ; and hallelujahs sing ; who would be fond of this vain world , from whence such sorrows spring ? 7 we shall be fully satisfied when we awake and rise : if we do sleep in jesus christ we then shall win the prize . hymn 48. salvation shining . 1 o sing ye now unto the lord , a new and pleasant song ; for he hath wrought by his right hand ; to him doth praise belong . 2 salvation is , lord , wrought by thee , from sin from wrath and hell ; o sing to god continually , all who in sion dwell ! 3 't is thee , o lord , we will exalt , and spread thy glory forth . for thy right hand hast wonders done for us , who dwell on earth : 4 our enemies that are within , thou hast , o lord , brought down ; our foes also , that are without , by thee , are overthrown . 5 ye righteous in the lord rejoyce , his holiness proclaim ; be thankful , and with heart and voice sing to his glorious name : for why , the lord our god is good , and he has heard our cry ? since on our side , lord thou hast stood , let 's praise thee till we die. hymn 49. the saints holy triumph . 1 tremble all you who rest upon a form of godliness ; as also ye that do draw back , whether 't is more or less : 2 rejoyce ye saints and do not fear you all are in christ's hand ; there 's not a soul that is sincere but firmly it doth stand 3 upon a rock , and ne'er shall move , nor fall away ; besure gods own elect , who do him love , all trials shall endure . 4 come saints , triumph , in the dear lamb , your lord , that once did die ; we that believe in jesus , have e'erlasting caufe of joy . 5 come law of god , what hast thou now of us for to demand ? thy curses all did meet in christ ; who in our stead did stand : 6 tho' such do sin thou canst not curse , thy curses all did ly upon our bleeding lord , when he , our sacrifice , did die ? 7 come justice , where is now thy charge ; what hast thou now to show ? we do to thee present the blood which from christ's sides did flow : 8 we shall not fall who do believe ; well may such sing ; therefore draw back they can't so as to die ; sing praise for evermore . hymn 50. the power of god's word . 1 o lord , 't is matter of high praise thy word on us doth shine ; but happy they who feel it's rays , and glorious power divine . 2 o let poor sinners feel their sin prick them , as with a sword ; and purge out all that filth within ; so will we praise thy word . 3 enlightened souls have cause to sing , who wounded were by thee ; true cause of joy to such doth spring ; for they , lord , he aled be ; 4 and now in robes , most richly deckt , they to the king are brought ; surpassing angels ; for have they a robe so richly wrought . 5 we therefore throw our crowns below thy high and glorious throne ; and must all say , both night and day , thou worthy art alone , 6 all glory , pow'r , and praise to have , by us for evermore ; thus let us sing unto our king , and him in heart adore . hymn 51. boundless mercy . 25th psalm tune . 1 of mercy still , o lord , we will together sing ; and in sweet sacred songs os praise exalt our glorious king : 2 let heart and tongue rejoyce , and say , who 's like to thee ? among the gods there 's none that thus forgives iniquity . 3 we did not pardon crave , when in our blood we lay ; but t' was free grace that moved thee our cursed debts to pay . 4 this pardon is this day to sinners offered ; oh! is there none that will come in , whilst out thy hands are spread ! 5 you happy are , o souls , who now forgiven be ; and also over a short time you will it clearly see 6 then sing , tho' in the dust you ly a little while ; a day is near that will make all god's pardon'd ones to smile . hymn 52. a call to obedience . 1 thine ordinances are , o lord , like pipes that run with wine ; we praise thee now with one accord , for each command of thine . 2 repent ! lord that 's a mighty thing ; but all who do not so , thou down to hell at last will bring , thy wrath to undergo . 3 believe ! and shall we saved be ? o blessed be thy name ! for works can't not us justifie , since sinners we became . 4 baptized be ! lord , some we fear do not of that approve ; but such who are indeed sincere , and truly do thee love , 5 will do whatever thou dost say ; each precept , lord , is right ; and that which some do loathe and hate , is lovely in thy sight . hymn 53. spiritual joy increasing . 1 rejoyce ye that in houses dwell , in houses made of clay , for bodies of the saints excell ; and shall another day : 2 lord shew unto thy servants all thy favour and thy grace ; and let us all both great and small behold thy glorious face . 3 o put great joy into our hearts , so will we sing to thee : and cause have more than those whose corn and wines increased be : 4 sing to the lord in righteousness , his face do you behold ; in christ , god doth you richly bless with blessings manifold . 5 god is your god , you vnion have through christ , with him again ; your bodies and your souls are his , so ever shall remaiu : 6 some joy in wealth , and others do in pleasures much abound ; but such alone have cause of joy that have gods favour found . hymn 54. christ our glorious shepheard . 1 now let us to our shepheard sing ; the shepheard of the sheep ; blessed are they , o happy souls , whom thou , lord , christ , doth keep : 2 and will you then go still astray , o see the shepheard's come , he 's come to seek , to search and find , and convey you all home . 3 he looks about to see if he can find you in his fold ; can you forbear for to return , how can your love be cold ? 4 ah! he for you did shed his blood , he for his sheep did die ! and will you , souls , your dearest lord again now crucifie ! 5 besides , the wolves are got abroad ; o hear your shepheard's voice ! o sing unto your blessed lord , and in him all rejoyce : 6 thou art our shepheard and our guide . our prophet , priest and king , thou art our life , our light our hope , from thee , our joys do spring . 7 then ravish'd with thy sacred love , let us thy glory raise ; and mount our souls to heaven above , in songs of lasting praise ; 8 and hate to mind a strangers voice , thy doctrine let us hear , that we with thee may all rejoyce , when thou , lord , shalt appear . hymn 55. truth in its primitive purity . sung at the administration of baptism . 1 now let us make a joyful noise , and sing unto the lord ; and in god's fear unite our joys , in him with one accord . 2 o blessed day , in which we see god's ordinance restor'd ! worthy art thou , o holy one , to be in truth ador'd . 3 dark clouds of error god expells , and truth shines splendently : o may our brethren be convinc'd , give them a seeing eye : 4 you that believers are , arise , and all baptized be ; take heed you do not still dispise christ's holy baptisme . 5 and let us all thy name , o lord , for evermore adore ; that thy blest institutions are restor'd as heretofore . 6 if every truth , lord , be by us receiv'd in sincere love , it will to us an evidence be , we born are from above . hymn 56. the spiritual bridegroom . sung at the administration of baptism . 1 how pleasant is it , for to see poor sinners to espouse their dearest lord , who only is , the blessed sharons rose . 2 't is thou , lord jesus , we do preach , and thy high praises sing ; thou art our all , all grace's from thee , and spiritual blessings spring . 3 o who is like , lord , unto thee , thy beauty doth exceed ; thy glory is so infinite ; in thee 's all things we need : 4 there 's none thy glory can set forth , yet thou dost condescend to be the bridegroom of our souls , our joy , our god , our friend . 5 be thou to us above all things ; chief of ten thousand be ; let those enamouring lips of thine , endear our souls to thee : 6 o let thy saints be ravished with love begetting love ; fill'd with eternal joys divine , which flow down from above ! 7 o then with angels sing the praise of your most sacred friend : the glory of christ jesus raise , until your days shall end . hymn 57. god's temple plants . 25th psalm tune . 1 ye sinners now come in , christ doth invite you all ; return , return , make angels sing , return for christ doth call : 2 lord , thou art merciful , most ready to forgive , and pardon all that come to thee , and do thy son receive . 3 o leave your wicked ways before it be too late ; for those that love , and live in sin , god's soul doth loathe and hate : 4 but like a cedar tree , which lebanon forth brings , the just shall grow and flourish so as laden palm-tree springs . 5 god's temple plants shall thrive , in his blest courts each one ; and still produce their fruitful juice , when they to age are grown : 6 still fat and flourish shall , god's justice to express ; our rock is he , most pure and free from all vnrighteousness . 7 then sing his praises forth , him honour and adore ; for you shall sing unto your king in glory evermore . hymn 58. christ's vine-yard . 1 thy vine-yard , lord , was purchased , though wild it once did ly , and barren was as any ground thou couldst on earth espy ; 2 but thou much cost and pains hast shewn , that it might fruitful be . thy sun doth shine , and rain doth fall on it continually . 3 all praise therefore to god on high , how great is thy blest care of thy own church , and every soul who truly are sincere . 5 we will the praises of the lord in sacred hymns set forth ; and sing therefore with one accord , whilst we do live on earth , hymn 59. the noble vine . 1 there is on earth a noble vine , set in a fruitful place ; the root thereof is all divine , and full of precious grace : the lord by his right hand did plant this vine , and vine-yard too ; and shines upon each gracious saint , and waters it also . 3 into this vine-yard we are call'd , whilst others idle stand ; lord help us all to work therein , and yield to thy command . 4 thy care is great of thy own church , thou watcheth it each day ; but fruitless trees thou wilt pluck up , and throw them quite away . 5 but wilt prune such that fruitful be , we therefore thee adore , and in sweet hymns we 'll sing to thee , now and for evermore . hymn 60. redeeming love. 1 o that we could as angels do aloud god's praises sing , for wonders of redeeming love , from whence soul peace doth spring . 2 shall man , who at the gates of hell did pale and speechless ly , not find a tongue , and time to speak ? stones against such will cry 3 then ye , th' redeemed of the lord , your thankful voices raise ; who reconciled are to god ; sing your redeemers praise : 4 sing and triumph in boundless grace , which thus hath set you free ; exalt , with shouts , all who believe , your god continually . hymn 61. spiritual food . 1 our souls o lord , think thou upon , let us not them forget ; but cloathe them , o most holy one , and give them precious meat : 2 thou hast thought on our souls , we know , when they in blood did ly , for which we praise thy holy name , and will thee magnify . 3 how good art thou , to us , o lord , what plenteous food have we ; our paths drop fatness , therefore we 'll sing praises unto thee . 4 put us , o lord in remembrance the needful thing to do ; that satan may never prevail , nor work our overthrow . hymn 62. the honour of christ's servants . 1 ye servants of the lord of hosts who in his vine-yard be ; who wait on him , and do his work , praise him continually : your honour , o it is not small , if you accepted are ; and servants be , then you are all both sons , and daughters fair . 3 nay he espoused hath you too , and in his bosome will lay you to all eternity , your souls with joy to fill . 4 o then sinners , yield now come in , christ's servants to become ; so shall you have all crowns at last , and shine in his kingdom . the praises of this , lord , let us with joyful hearts sing forth ; or there is none like unto him in heaven nor on earth . hymn 63. christ the saints strength and guide . o lord we praise thee with our souls , thou dost us warning give of the great dangers we are in , and tell'st us how to live. 't is thou must give us pow'r and might , that we may watchful be ; o give us strength , that day and night we may sing praise to thee ! our steps direct , our souls protect , and in the way of peace lead us , we pray ; then to th' last day our joy will never cease . thou wilt not leave us , we do know , to fight , or war , alone ; but wilt assist us evemore , until all danger 's gone . worthy art thou , therefore , o lord , of praise continually ; let all that is in us give thanks , and praise thee till we die. hymn 64. — but they said , there is no hope . 1 lord , of thy mercy we will sing , thy mercy hath no bound ; they that have said , there is no hope , thy mercy sweet have found . 2 sinners break forth , and in amaze , do you rejoyce , and say , there 's hope , that we may mercy find , believe , and do not stay . 3 o lord , thou dost not look that men should worthiness obtain : or some inherent fitness get , much less be born again , before that they take hold on thee , but presently believe ; and on thy promise lay fast hold , and ghrist strait-way receive . 5 glory to god , glory to christ , let sinners say no more , there is no hope ; let all believe , and thy free grace adore . hymm 65. the joy of believers : or , the power of christ's intercession . 1 thy intercession , holy lord , doth yield us joy and peace . we therefore will with one accord , from singing never cease : o thou exalted priest of god , who hast thy father's ear ; all glory and high praise to thee , who our sad shame didst bear . 3 thy blood was shed , and we are fed and nourished by thee ; and by thy intercession are preserv'd continually . we need not fear what doth draw near , because thy pray'r is heard ; for thou , according to our day , wilt strength to us afford . ye saints rejoyce , lift up your voice , christ is at god's right hand ; between god's wrath and our poor souls he evermore doth stand . hymn 66. christ's green pastures . sung at the administration of baptism . 1 o thou beloved of my soul , thou hast a people free from all baese mixtures . cleansed clean ; o tell me where they be ! 2 thou hast thy institutions , and ordinances pure ; thou hast thy churches ; tell me when , and where i may be sure ! 3 * thou hast enclosures rich and fair , peculiar to thy sheep , and dainty nourishing pastures , where thou dost them always keep : 4 thou in communion fold's them up , in winter keeps them dry ; thou giv'st them shades from heat of sun ; o tell us where they ly ! 5 o add more sheep unto thy fold , lord bring them in to thee ; that they thy glory may behold , and comforted all be : 5 then shall they sing sweet songs of praise , and taste thy choicest love ; and ravish'd be too all their days , with comforts from above 7 in height of sion , holy one , when shall we sweetly sing ; arise , o mighty prince of love , our joy and heav'nly king ! 8 bring in poor sinners far and nigh ; o fill thy house , o lord , and we will praise thee evermore , with joy , and one accord . hymn 67. the fulness of christ . 1 't is thy high praise , o holy one , that we will ever raise , 't is jesus we must magnify , and live to all our days : 2 thou art our life , our hope , and stay , our sun that gives us light ; thou art our prophet , priest , and king , praise is thy due and right . 3 lord , thou th' brightness of th' father art , the god-head dwells in thee , and of thy fulness dost impart to such , o lord , as we . 4 worthy art thou , all praise to have , who for our souls was slain : thou art exalted , and shall too , o lord , for ever reign . 5 vnto the father and the son , and holy-ghost , therefore , be glory , honour , and renown , now and for evermore . hymn 68. to praise god becomes the vpright . 1 come let us sing most joyfully to god of saving might , to raise the praise of the most high , becomes all the upright . 2 't is he that justifies all those who justified be : but woe to them who do oppose his grace , his grace so free ! 3 lord not to us , not unto us , but to thy glorious name , let all the glory be ascrib'd , the honour and the fame . 4 our works alass imperfect are , to jesus we must fly , his righteousness , and his alone is comely in thine eye . 5 't is faith whereby we do receive free pardon of our sin ; 't is he alone who doth revive that glorious work within : 6 but faith , which doth us justify , most precious fruit doth bear , true faith , o lord , doth purify the heart , if it be there . 7 ye righteous sing unto the lord , his praise do you set forth and let all people look to him , to the ends of the earth . hymn 69. the ax lifted up : or , wrath pursuing the sinner . 1 o lord , thou just and holy one , wee the admire do , that fruitless trees are not cut down ; this doth thy mercy show : 2 thy ax is up , o let us fear , for thou most righteous art , the natural branches did'st not spare ; therefore with trembling heart 3 let sinners now to jesus fly , that grafted they may be in him , by faith , most speedily ; no other way can we 4 find out , for to escape thy wrath ; and blessed be thy name , that ever jesus , out of love , to save us , hither came . 5 o let us all good trees be found , and fruitful also be ; make thou our hearts sincere and sound , and we 'll rejoyce in thee ; 6 and sing thy praise , o lord , most high , for we have blessings store ; help us dear god , our wants supply , and we 'll sing evermore . hymn 70. hallelujah : or , a hymn of praise on approaehing glory . 1 rejoyce ye gracious ones , for god hath heard your moans , and soon will ease you of your groans , sing then hallelujah . 2 your sins are pardon'd all , whether they 're great or small ; and you from god shall never fall , ttherefore hallelujah . 3 to free you from your fear the mighty god is near , to save you quickly he 'll appear , therefore hallelujah . 4 in god you interest have , o therefore to him cleave ; for he his saints will never leave , therefore hallelujah . 5 to comfort great and small , babel shall quickly fall ; and christ shall rule and reign o'er all , therefore hallelujah . hymn 57. treasure in earthen vessels : or , all glory to god. 1 o praise the lord , and look to him , sing praise unto his name ; o all ye saints of heaven and earth set forth his glorious fame : 2 for sending his bless'd word to us , and ministers to raise , to preach the gospel of his son ; sing forth his glorious praise ! 3 we have thy treasure holy one , in earthen vessels , so that all the glory might be known from thy own self to flow : 4 to thee of right , o lamb of god , all honour doth belong ; wisdom , and glory , riches and strength and every praising song . 5 most holy , holy , holy , lord ; almighty is thy name , which was before all time and is and shall be still the same ; 6 come ye redeemed of the lord , your thankful voices raise ; can you be dumb , whilst angels sing our great redeemers praise ! 7 come let us joyn with angels then , glory to god on high , peace upon earth , good will to men , thus sing eternally . hymn 54. grace abounding : or , a call to come to christ . 1 hark sinners , hark , the trumpet sounds a call ; it is to you to come to christ ; tho sin abounds , gods grace doth overflow . 2 rebels ! ( saith god ) lay down your arms , and make your peace with me ; o quickly uow , come in to day , you shall forgiven be ! 3 with thee , o lord , there 's mercy found , therefore we will rejoyce ; god's grace , in christ , it doth abound , sinners lift up your voice , 4 let pray'rs and tears flow out amain , be overcome with love ; and never cease until you see your hearts to god do move . 5 o quickly now , agree with him , whom you offended have ; o saints praise him , and sinners know 't is christ alone can save 6 your souls from wrath , o look to him ! so may you sing likewise so you shall have true peace and be free from all enemies . hymn 73. hell in a rage : sung at the administration of baptism . 1 lift up your voice , sing and rejoyce , where are your melting tears ; do sinners turn , and to christ run , this fills satan with fears ; 2 this makes hell sad , and heaven glad , the cherubs claps their wings ; there 's joy above to see what love is in the king of kings . 3 to such as we that chosen be , and called by his grace ; who nat'rally in filth did ly , condemn'd with adam ' s race , 4 but now made near and sav'd from fear , being rais'd up on high ; wash'd in christ's blood , enjoying good ; sing praise continually . 5 lord let these know , and away go assured of thy love : and live each day that all may say , they born are from above : 6 that we may see continually , cause to rejoyce in them , who being sincere , may each appear with christ , amen , amen . hymn 74. jacob's ladder , a type of christ . 1 behold , and wonder now , in a most sacred song ; o let 's exalt the name of christ , to him doth praise belong . 2 a wonder sure it was , and that in every part ; eor while he lay i th' virgins womb he lay in her own heart . 3 that son the mother bore , the mother did create ; both perfect god , and perfect man , a wonder to relate . 4 lord christ , thou art the priest , and yet the sacrifice : the altar too art thou likewise , and gift that sanctifies . 5 thou god-man , king , and priest , almighty art yet meek ; thou art most just yet merciful , the guilty cam'st to seek . 6 thou never any fail'd , that sought thee in their need ; thou never quencht the smoking flax , nor broke the bruised reed . 7 thy life a wonder was ; but here 's a wonder more , that thou that didst all kingdoms make , shouldst make thy self so poor . 8 and wonderful it is , [ that we this thing do see , ] that thou , who art all life and love , yet few , alass ! love thee . hymn 75. the wonder of pardoning grace . 1 come stand and wonder every one , the way that god hath found to pardon us , it is such grace , that strongly doth abound . 2 o let us of thy goodness sing , thy goodness let 's adore ; and with thy grace exalt our king , and saviour , evermore . 3 no pardon , lord , without thy blood , for us , be poured out ; by thy atonement , lord , thou hast our pardon brought about : 4 our surety for us did die , o blessed be thy name ! let saints praise thee with one accord , yea , highest praise proclaim . 5 sinners , your pardon ready is , o fall at jesus's feet ; believe on him , and you shall have his pardoning mercy sweet ! 6 o let us say , o lord , who is it that 's like unto thee ? who pardon 's all our horrid sins , yea , all iniquity . hymn 76. — i will put a new spirit within you : or , the vnwearied saint . 1 o blessed lord , what hast thou done ? what kind of spirit 's this , that makes thy saints with joy to run , and thy sweet lips to kiss ? 2 how heavy and how dull are they , ( how dead and carnal too ; ) who in the old nature do abide , they nothing freely do . 3 thy saints are fired with thy love , they in thy ways rejoyce ; and upwards they to thee do move , and sing with cheerful voice . 4 thy acceptation , lord , of us , thy love and favour kind , is wages now enough for us ; this blessing let us find . 5 and we will praise thy holy name , and sing continually ; and of thy ways ne'er weary be , until we come to die. hymn 77. god's court , or , glory near . 1 o all ye nations on the earth , praise ye the lord always ; and all the people every where , set forth his glorious praise . 2 for great his goodness is to us , his truth it does endure ; wherefore praise ye the lord our god , praise him ye saints for e'vr. 3 ye who attend god's holy courts , and in his house do dwell . sing forth his praise ev'n all your days , bless him with israel . 4 you 'll quickly hear the lord doth reign , look up , and ready be ; sion's in travail , and ye shall her blest deliverance see . hymn 78. god pardons , guides , and leads . 1 sing praise ye saints , ye pardon'd ones your debts forgiven are , for christ hath paid all you did owe , sing praise for evermore . 2 o sinners fly with speed to christ , god's wrath in him is o'er , take hold of him and you shall sing sweet praise for evermore . 3 and let the saints rejoyce in god , who cancels all their score : who heals all our infirmities , and doth our souls restore . 4 't is he that leads , 't is he that guides , and gives us rest and peace ; o sing christ's praise , you pardon'd ones , your joy shall never cease ! hymn 79. a call to young-men . 1 christ's trumpet sounds yet once again , to bring poor sinners in ; 't is voluntiers he would obtain , to fight against their sin. 2 and faithful laborours he likewise , is come to seek and call : young men , will you not now arise and enter's vine-yard all . 3 christ worthy is , his service too , will raise you very high ; his wages is a crown of life , his servants never die. 4 o then desert and come away , you serve a cruel foe ; desert his service now this day , and unto jesus go ! 5 when any come , the angels sing , it causes joy above ; all such who come may also sing , for they enjoy his love. hymn 80. vnity of saints . 1 unite our hearts unto thy self , o lord , we do thee pray , so will we sing thy praises forth , and walk with joy each day . 2 thy saints above united be , they sing with one accord ; o let us with one heart and voice sing to the living lord ! 3 singing together clearly shews , thy people should one be ; for vnion 's a most lovely thing , unite us all to thee ! 4 and in thy truth and bonds of love , let us all live together in vnity , so will we sing thy praises , now and ever . hymn 81. infinite mercy shining . 25th psalm tune . 1 t is of thy mercy , lord , of goodness and of love. that we will sing and magnify , which shines from thee above . 2 we may , lord , tell the stars , and sands on the sea-shore ; as we account thy mercies can , in number they are more . 3 in christ it is alone , the fountain's opened , from whence thy love and goodness flows , and all things we do need : 4 let sinners then believe , and know assuredly , thou wilt forgive and pardon all , their great iniquity . 5 and let thy saints rejoyce , and sing with joy of heart ; for they shall one day be with thee , and never more depart . hymn 82. the joy of repenting tears . 1 thy ways , o lord , most pleasant be , and all thy paths are peace ; the joys of all that cleave to thee , shall never , never , cease . 2 what are all sinful pleasures here , which are sinners delight ? will they not hateful all appear when sin is in their sight ? 3 more joy is there in leaving it , and in repenting tears ; then they do find who it commit , who filled are with fears . 4 o young-men , young-men , will you then christ's gracious call obey ? now hear his voice , i say again , no longer do delay ! 5 all praise to god , thus let us say and sing continually ; who says to sinners , hear and live : believe and do not die. hymn 83. the saints holy triumph in christ. 1 come le ts triumph in the dear lamb , our lord , who once did die ; we that believe in jesus , shall have everlasting joy . 2 come law of god , what hast thou now of saints for to demand ? thy curses all did meet in christ , who did our surety stand ? 3 come justice , where is now thy charge ? what hast thou now to shew ? we do to thee present the blood that from christ's sides did flow : o blessed wisdom infinite , 't is thou hast done the thing ; justice and mercy now are join'd , by our most blessed king ! 5 but woe to such who slight this grace , salvation to neglect ; god's attributes with angry face will them at last reject : 6 but saints shall hallelujahs sing , because they are set free ; their crowns they throw , lord , at thy feet , and will give praise to thee . hymn 84. christ a believers all : to be sung at the lord's-supper . 1 now unto jesus christ let 's sing , before him let us fall ; he that did our salvation bring , ev'n he is all in all. 2 thou art , bless'd one , the lord of lords , thou art the king of kings , thou art the sun of righteousness , with healing in thy wings . 3 thou art our meat , thou art our drink , our physick and our health , our light , our strength , our joy and crown , our glory , and our wealth : 4 to thee let us give all the praise , thy glory not divide , for god did thee to glory raise , to pull down all mans pride . 5 salvation is in thee alone , which is a thing not small : pardon and peace , and life 's in thee , o thou art all in all ! 6 what is there more , what can we say , but in the great'st amaze , even stand and think , and evermore sing forth thy glorious praise ? hymn 85. go thy ways forth by the footsteps of the flock . 25th psalm tune . 1 o thou my fairest one ! thus my dear lord doth speak , if thou wouldst know what thou must do , and with my saints partake ; 2 go up to yonder mount , thence look , and thou shalt ' spy , clear as the sun , what must be done , presented to thine eye ? 3 seest thou that folded flock , whose heart the spirit tyes ; whom gospel-order calls into distinct societies ? 4 seest thou the pastures where they do together feed ; the shepheard stands with both his hands to give them all they need ? 5 their magna-charta is my word ; that is thy guide ; o follow them that follow me , and thy foot ne'er shall slide ! 6 thither i 'll go , and join , there will i feast and feed ; there will i sing my shepheard's praise , who doth supply my need ! hymn 86. — my beloved is mine . sung at the receiving of the lord's-supper . 1 o blessed day when we can say , lord jesus thou art mine ! o blessed day when we can say , lord jesus i am thine ! 2 christ he is ours by deed of gift , and that 's a title good ; and saints are his by purchase right , he bought them with his blood. 3 say then , i 'll have no love but he , i like my choice so well ; and for his spouse he will have me , together let us dwell . 4 he feeds among the lillies white , there he doth most frequent ; amongst his saints is his delight , to smell their fragrant scent . 5 their graces are his sweet repast , their prayers and praises are a banquet to him , and their faith , is his delicious fare . 6 o let but me and this church be , a garden of delight ; to thee lord , and with one accord , we 'll praise thee day and night . hymn 87. a hymn of praise for the new-birth . 1 you that are born again rejoyce , and sing god's praises forth ; with one accord lift up your voice , who experience the new birth : 2 and you that are not yet renew'd , have cause to sing also ; because god doth afford the means , through which this grace doth flow . 3 but none sweet music truly make , in god's most holy ear , but such who do thy grace partake , and truly changed are . 4 o tremble then , and take good heed , rejoyce with holy dread ; lord whilst we live let 's sing thy praise , and do it as we read ! 5 ev'n sing with grace in all our hearts , and with thy spirit too , do 〈◊〉 inrich our inward parts , that we thy praise may shew . hymn 88. a hymn on preparation for ordinances . 1 't is thou , o god , that must prepare our hearts , we therefore cry , cleanse us from every sin and spot ; o purge iniquity ! 2 that we may hear and sing to thee ; so as with thee to meet ; and find thy word and ordinance to us exceeding sweet . 3 that so we may in thee rejoyce , and thy great name adore ; and filled be with inward peace , and praise thee evermore . 4 with faith and holy diligence , let us attend thy word ; that cause we may have still to sing unto our blessed lord. hymn 66. saints happy at death . sung at the funeral of mr. john loyns , june the 26th . 1692. who ( to the great grief of his godly friends ) was accidentally drowned in the river of thames . 1 the length of all our life and age , o lord , is in thy hand ; and we must go when thou dost call , and yield to thy command . 2 our days are few , and pass away , like as a shadow flys ; let 's ready be , o lord we pray , and shun all vanities . 3 when we go out of our own doors , none knows what may befall , or come on us , e'er we return ; life's uncertain to all . 4 o call to mind , remember then , our time consumeth fast ; why hast thou made the sons of men , as things in vain to waste ? 5 what man is he that liveth here , and death shall never see ? or , from the hand of the dark grave , can , lord , deliver'd be ? 6 but blest are they , who die in christ , their death to them is gain , their souls do go to paradice ; the wicked go to pain . 7 praised be god for jesus christ , who gives such victory unto thy saints , o'er sin and death ; sing praise continually . 8 the godly ly in a sweet sleep , they sleep in jesus do ; and no more pain , nor sorrow shall for ever undergo . hymn 90. saints the salt of the earth . 1 if saints , o lord , do season all amongst whom they do live , salt all with grace , both great and small they may sweet relish give ; 2 and blessed be thy glorious name , in england salt is found ; some savoury souls who do proclaim thy grace , which doth abound . 3 but o the want of salt , o lord , how few are salted well ; how few are like to salt indeed , salt thou thy israel ! 4 now sing ye saints who are this salt , and let all season'd be with your most holy gracious lives ; great need of it we see . 5 the earth will else corrupt and stink o salt it well therefore , and live to him that salted you , and sing for evermore . hymn 91. he is altogether lovely . 25th psalm tune . 1 the gracious words that drop from christ's sweet mouth so free , are sweeter than the sweetest myrrh , to all that do love thee . 2 in short , this is the man , he 's altogether love ; yea , altogether lovely's he to whom my soul doth move ! 3 you daughters this is he , this my beloved is ? no tongue can tell , no language can express that love of his ! 4 the drops that fill the seas , go , count them every one ? then join the number , if you please , of stars till there is none ? 5 to these , the sands , the hairs , and all things else in sight ; hyperbolize immensity , and run to infinite ? 6 this my beloved is , he is the total sum of all perfections , and the bliss of all that to him come . 7 then sing his praise , and say , thou dost excell all men ; thou fairer art than ten thousand ; hallelujah . amen . hymn 92. the rose of sharon . 1 sharon the garden of the world , the pride of palestine ; whose natural soyl more glory bore than solomon could resign ; 2 could ne'er produce so sweet a rose as i will be to thee . so fair a lilly never grew , sharon must stoop to me. 3 o blessed jesus , dost thou say , who 'll have a rose so sweet ! who will refuse our sharons rose , that knows its fragrant scent ? 4 upon the cross thou was distill'd , we taste in distillation , the sweetness of the absent rose , by faith and acceptation . 5 thou art a rose , my soul's repose , o let me never be , my dearest lord , a thorn to thee , who art so sweet to me . 6 thou art the lilly of the vale , a matchless purity . and i will sing thy praise since thou dost in my bosom ly . hymn 93. cant. 5. 12. — his eyes are like the eyes of doves . 1 i 'll tell you farther , that if such a person you shall see , whose eyes like doves are wash't with milk and water this is he ? 2 he hath a killing eye , 't will pierce through adamantine ears ; and wound a rock but with a look , and melt it into tears . 3 eyes that are clear and fitly set , that can see all things past , and all things present and to come , as long as time shall last : 4 whose eyes are pure , holy and chast , never defil'd with sin ; that never was in the least promp't to take foul objects in . if such a one you meet , whose eyes like flames , and lamps of fire strikes dead , and yet gives life thereby , t is he that i desire ? 6 this is the man i seek , and praise , all-seeing , and all-eye : tell him , if such a one you meet , 't is for his love , i die ! hymn 44. desert places rejoyce : or , babel's downfall ; the snare broken and we are escaped . 1 let england , and god's sion now rejoyce and sing christ's praise , on whom the gospel sun doth shine , and send it 's glorious rays . 2 sing to the lord , sing a new song , praise him all ends of th' earth . o let this isle of the great sea , his glory great fet forth . 3 let th' wilderness and desert place , lift up to god their voice ; and all that hear of thy great acts , in thee always rejoyce . 4 lord , we thy glory will declare , and praise thee in this land , for still to us thou art a friend , and up for us doth stand . 5 blessed are they who so do hear , that for the time to come they are prepar'd , and ready be , before their dismal doom : 6 god quickly will awake and rise ; ye saints rejoyce therefore ; great babel and all enemies , shall e'er long be no more . 7 in vain are all their hellish plots , thy name , o lord , we praise ; our king yet lives ; we saved are , iet's praise thee all our days . hymn 95. beautiful on the mountains : or , a ransome found . 1 how beautiful upon the mount , are they that peace proclaim , that unto rebels offer grace , in their great masters name . 2 that unto captives do declare glad tidings ; and do tell to sinners , there 's a ransom found , to save their souls from hell. 3 who say to saints , who interest have in thee , their dearest lord , thou wilt them all for ever save , such grace thou dost afford : 4 mount sinai's fiery law can't break a heart that 's like a stone ; the creature 's arrows at the walls of brass , in vain are thrown . 5 't is only pardon that doth melt , and love doth sinners draw : we therefore , lord , will sing thy praise ; grace do's exceed the law. 6 those who are , lord , united to thy self , in faith and love , may sing thy praise on earth , for they shall also sing above . hymm 96. a hymn out of the psalms , on the resurrection and joys at god's right hand . 25th . psalm tune . 1 when i awake , o lord , i shall behold thy face in righteousness , be like to thee , ev'n filled with thy grace . 2 full joys , lord are with thee , yea , in thy presence store , and at thy right-hand also are pleasures for evermore . 3 ye angels great in pow'r , praise ye , and bless the lord ; which to obey , and do his will , immediately accord . 4 yea , all in every place , praise ye his holy name ; my heart , my tongue , and all my soul , for ever do the same . 5 o praise jehovah all ye nations far and nigh ; for great his truth and kindness is , praise him continually . hymn 97. an hymn containing some select verse out of the book of psalms . 1 sing praises to our god , sing praise ; sing praises to our king ; praise to the king of all the earth , with understanding sing . 2 o praise the lord , praise him , praise him , praise him with one accord ; praise him , praise him , all ye that be the servants of the lord 3 my soul give laud unto the lord , my spirit do the same ; and all the powers of my soul , praise ye his holy name . 4 for he it is that doth forgive all thine iniquities ; 't is he that heals thy sad disease , yea , all infirmities . 5 come let us bow and praise the lord , before him let us fall ; and kneel to him , and him adore , for he hath made us all . 6 he is the lord , he is our god , for us he doth provide : we are his flock , he doth us feed , his sheep , he doth us guide . 7 i will give thanks unto the lord , because he hath heard me ; and is become most graciously a saviour unto me . hymn 98. a hymn on the answer of prayers , out of the psalms . 1 to render thanks unto the lord ; how great a cause have i ; my voice , my pray'r , and my complaint ; he heard most readily . 2 thou art my strength , thou art my stay , o lord , i sing to thee : thou art my fort , my fence and aid , a loving god to me . 3 what thing is there that i can wish , but thee , in heav'n above ; and in the earth , there is , lord , none like thee , that i can love. 4 for why , the well of life so pure , doth ever flow from thee ; and in thy light we are full sure , thy lasting light to see . 5 my heart would faint but that in me my faith is fixed fast ; thy goodness in the earth i see , which doth for ever last . 6 for this god is our god , and he will ever so abide ; he is our god , and he will be to death , our sure guide . hymn 99. another out of the psalms . 25th psalm tune . 1 the lord is my defence , my joy , my mirth , my song ; he is become my saviour , and my strength , and refuge strong : 2 thou art my god , and i will render thanks to thee : thou art my god , and i will praise thy mercy towards me . 3 o come let 's to the lord , sing forth with joyful voice ; to th' rock of our salvation , : le ts make a joyful noise 4 let us with holy songs , approach his presence now ; and sing sweet psalms triumphantly , before him let us bow . 5 for he will quickly come and judge the earth will he , yea all the world 't is he will judg , in truth and equity . 6 o give thanks to the lord , for gracious is he because thy mercy , does endure for ever we 'll praise thee . hymn 100. a sacred hymn on sanctification . 1 the fountain of true holiness jehovah is most high ; his name it is that we will bless and praise continually . 2 thou perfect art , in holiness , thy glory let us see , o shine upon us more or less , and make us all like thee , 3 amongst the fruitful lillies thou dost love lord christ to feed , o let my soul a lilly be , no more a stinking weed . 4 until the glorious morn shall break , and shadows flee away , o let the glorious lord be mine , and i ne'er from him stray ! 5 o perfect , lord , thy handy-work , begun upon my heart ; make up thy jewels ; unto me , thy image , lord , impart ! 6 turn , my beloved , to my soul , be like a pleasant roe ; and i will sing thy praises forth , whilst in thy paths i go . 7 a glorious day is coming on , when all shall sing thy praise ; 't is holiness thou wilt perfect , in those longed for dayes . the end of the first century . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a47612-e12860 * au. mr. m. mr. d. psal . 103 21. psa . 117. 1 , 2. psal . 47. 6. psal . 135. 1. psal . 103. 1. 2. psal . 95 6. psal . 118. 21. psal . 28 6. psal . 59. 17. psal . 73. 25. psal , 36. 9. psal . 25. 13. psal . 48. 13 psal . 118. 13. 14. psal 95. 1 psal 96. 13 ver . 29 pedo-baptism disproved being an answer to two printed papers (put forth by some gentlemen called the athenian society, who pretend to answer all questions sent to them of what nature soever) called the athenian mercury, one put forth november 14, the other november 28, 1691 : in which papers they pretend to answer eight queries about the lawfulness of infant-baptism : likewise divers queries sent to them about the true subjects of baptism, &c. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1691 approx. 134 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 18 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47602) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 95726) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 717:5) pedo-baptism disproved being an answer to two printed papers (put forth by some gentlemen called the athenian society, who pretend to answer all questions sent to them of what nature soever) called the athenian mercury, one put forth november 14, the other november 28, 1691 : in which papers they pretend to answer eight queries about the lawfulness of infant-baptism : likewise divers queries sent to them about the true subjects of baptism, &c. keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. the second edition : to which is added twenty sylogistical arguments to disprove infant-baptism. [2], 24, 8 p. printed for the author, and sold by john harris ..., london : 1691. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng infant baptism. 2005-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-06 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-07 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2005-07 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion pedo-baptism disproved ; being an answer to two printed papers ( put forth by some gentlemen called the athenian society , who pretend to answer all questions sent to them of what nature soever ) called the athenian mercury , one put forth november 14. the other november , 28 , 1691. in which papers they pretend to answer eight queries about the lawfulness of infant-baptism . likewise divers queries sent to them about the true subjects of baptism , &c. the second edition , to which is added twenty sylogistical arguments to disprove infant-baptism . london , printed for the author , and sold by john harris at the sign of the harrow in the poultry . mdc xci . price four pence . an answer to the athenian mercury , vol. 4. numb. 14. concerning infant-baptism . with an account of divers questions sent by the author ( and some others ) to the athenian society , which they have not yet answered . gentlemen , who he was that sent you the first questions about infant-baptism , i know not ; whether he was an antipedo-baptist , or a pedo-baptist , is a question : but your calling upon all who had any doubts about it , to send in their objections , argues a great degree of confidence of your ability , of doing more than all before : for 't is strange you should attempt to call for all our objections , when it appears you intended to write but one half sheet of paper in answer to them ; as if you could do that in a few lines , which others , as learned as your selves , could never yet do in great volumes ; this savours ( as some judg ) of great pride , and casts much contempt upon you , and lessens your reputation among wise men who are for pedo-baptism , as well as others . and yet after all the great and mighty noise , you have not so much as in the least touched the chief questions , which , to my knowledg , were sent you near a fortnight before your said mercury came forth . and therefore to shew how disinge●●ous you have been herein , i thought it might not be amiss to spend a few spare hours upon your mercury . 1. the first question you pretend to answer is this , i. e. whether baptism ( as it is commonly taught ) is the proper and natural antitype of circumcision ? reply . as to what you speak of the customs of nations , linguisms , and of men being ignorant of radixes , or original significations in langages , seems remote to the business , and serves for little else than to blot paper , or rather to darken counsel : certainly the ordinance of baptism , one of the two great sacraments of the new-testament , doth not lie so obscure in god's word , either what it is , or who are the proper subjects thereof , that men must be at a loss about it , unless they understand the radixes , or original significations of languages . but to proceed , you would , it seems , have baptism to be the proper antitype of circumcision in some respect , and not in others . first , from the customs of the jews in proselyting the gentiles into their religion : so far you say indeed circumcision was not a type , but a continuance of a custom . now how absurd and ridiculous that is which you affirm upon this account , may appear to all . will you assert and stand by it , that baptism was a jewish custom , and so no pure gospel-institution ? doubtless , if so , the pharisees might have soon given our saviour a ready answer to his great question , viz. the baptism of john , whether is it from heaven , or of men ? mat. 21. 25. certainly there was no baptism of this nature of divine institution , before john received it from heaven . but , say you , if john baptist undertook any now way of proselyting the jews into the gospel , they had not only struggled with the opposition of his new doctrine , but also of his new practice ; therefore ( say you ) it was that this custom was continued , and had the super-addition of the full force of baptism , viz. a consignation or seal of the covenant . reply . as you confess his doctrine was new , so was his baptism no doubt ; for , as our annotators observe , his baptism was part of his doctrine . pray , what was the doctrine he preach'd ? was it not baptism of repentance for the remission of sins ? m●rk ● . 4. moreover , we do not read they were more displeased with his new doctrine , than with his new practice . 2. but what authority have you to affirm , gospel-baptism was but the continuance of a jewish custom , or was a legal rite , or rather indeed a human tradition ? for 't is evident the jews were not required , or commanded of god to baptize their proselytes , or others ; for circumcision was the only rite by which proselytes ( who were males ) were added to the jewish church , as we find god commanded abraham . and if baptism had been so frequently practised amongst the jews , as you assert , wherefore did the pharisees say to john , why dost thou baptize , if thou art not that christ , nor elias ? john 1. 25. moreover , baptism is directly called a principle of the doctrine of christ , heb. 6. 1 , 2. which doctrine our saviour saith he received from his father . if it be a principle of the doctrine of christ , it follows undeniably , he instituted it , and gave it forth . furthermore , if baptism was practised all along among the jews , i argue , either they practised it as a mosaical rite , or else as a tradition of their own : not , say i , as a mosaical rite , because moses never commanded them so to do ; for he speaks nothing of it , and yet declared all things god commanded him ; and did every thing according to the pattern shewed him in the mount. and if it was a human jewish tradition , what is become of one of the great sacraments of the new testament ? must it be look'd upon from henceforth to be nothing else than the continuance of a jewish tradition taken out of their fabulous and erronious talmud ? what kind of poisonous stuff is this you trouble the world with ? what tho the jews , who had made the commandments of god void through their traditions , did practise some such thing ; must you affirm gospel-baptism in its rise and original sprung from their custom ? and because they baptized proselytes both men , women and children , must christians do so too ? sure the custom of the romish church in baptizing of infants , as a human tradition , is every way of as good authority to warrant us so to do , as the custom of the unbelieving jews . but pray take what a learned pedo-baptist , and a son of the church of england , hath said in answer to this vain conceit ; 't is sir norton knatchbull , in his animadversiones in lib. novi testamenti , pag. 313. a● cum videam summi judicii viros in his temporibus ex rabbinis fundamenta petere veritatis , &c. but when i see in these times some men of the greatest judgment to fetch the foundation of truth from the rabbins , i cannot but stick at it : for whence was the talmud sent to us , ( they are the words ( saith he ) of buxtorf in his synagoga judaica ) that we should give so , much credit thereto , that we should believe that the mosaick law either was or ought to be understood therefrom , much less the gospel , to which they are professed enemies ? the talmud is called a labyrinth of errors , and the foundation of jewish fables ; it was perfected and acknowledged for authentick five hundred years after christ , and out of it maimonides drew his doctrine , as all the rest of them ; therefore we cannot acquiesce in such testimony — gentlemen , either answer no more questions about religion , or take more heed to what you say : for your pleading for infant-baptism , from such grounds , all may perceive tends to cast an odium and contempt on the christian religion . therefore i infer , your proof for this practice from the custom amongst the jews about baptizing of proselytes both men , women and children , proves nothing ; you were better , for the authority of it , to urge the decrees of popes and general councils ; a popish innovation is as good as a jewish one . but however , you do allow that our blessed saviour did add something to this pretended jewish custom , and hath not only put it in full force , but also made it a consignation or seal of the covenant ; and this , say you , is further strengthened by several undeniable texts of scripture , which anabaptists themselves can never get clear of ; and ask them , they must either be silent , or give such a paraphrase as we do . the texts are these : first , col. 2. 11 , 12. in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands , in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh , by the circumcision of christ . buried with him in baptism , &c. the second , that of baptizing the israelites in the red-sea , 1 cor. 10. 2. the last is the saving of noah and his family in the ark , 1 pet. 3. 21. reply 1. but is it so indeed ? did our saviour in instituting gospel-baptism do no more than put a jewish custom to be in full force , and make it a consignation or seal of the covenant ? were you not learned and ingenious men , i should not so much admire at your notions . 2. but the truth is , in the second place , if you had not told us in your next words , to what purpose you mention those scriptures , we should have been at a great loss about it , or not well have understood your intention ; but you , like the ingenious painter , soon inform us , and tell us what 't is — i. e. you tell us , you urge not these things to prove any thing else , but the parallel betwixt circumcision and baptism , or to speak ( say you ) more properly , the necessary continuance of the old manner amongst the jews of continuing their way of proselyting the heathen . 3. was it necessary then , that a human tradition of the jews should be continued ? i am sure the apostle tells you that christ nailed all the jewish ceremonies of the mosaical law to the cross , and that they all ceased when the antitype was come ; and besure had the baptism you speak of been indeed a mosaical rite , i mean appointed or commanded of god , it had vanished with its fellows : but 't is hard christ should abolish all legal customs , or ceremonial ordinances , and yet confirm , with some addition , a custom of the jews own inventing . 4. you do not seem to distinguish between your twofold answer to the question ; i thought you had brought those scriptures to prove baptism the proper antitype of circumcision ; but you urge the former old custom again , so that here 's no scripture nor argument brought by you to prove the thing in hand . as touching what you say of the parallel betwixt circumcision and baptism signifies nothing ; if in some things there should be a parallel , it doth not follow therefore baptism was the antitype of circumcision . what tho circumcision was the initiating ordinance of the male children into the jewish church , and baptism is that initiating ordinance into the gospel-church ; this doth not prove the one the type of the other . 5. but pray , what is it that the anabaptists can never get clear of , or being ask'd the exposition , they must be silent , or give such a paraphrase as you do ? i must tell you , i know no text more full for our practice of baptizing believers , than that in col. 2. 11 , 12. we say from thence , that the proper antitype of circumcision in the flesh , is the circumcision of the heart , and therefore not baptism ; tho 't is granted by us , that in baptism there is a representation of the new birth , and mortification of sin , which circumcision was the express type of : and this cannot weaken nor silence us , but rather strengthen our hands . all that can well be inferred from this text , col. 2. 11 , 12. where the apostle mentions circumcision and baptism , is no more than this , viz. where baptism is administred upon a proper subject , it represents the spiritual and mystical circumcision of the heart , i. e. that the soul is dead to sin , or that he hath put off the body of sins of the flesh by the circumcision of christ ; which may refer to the power of his death in the effects thereof , by the effectual sin-killing operations of the holy spirit on the heart . and as we being dead to sin , we are also buried with christ in baptism , both in the sign , i. e. covered all over in the water , which resembles in a lively figure his burial , and also in signification , i. e. the power and blessed effects of his death , having been the death of the old man , or that body of sin in us● wherein also in like manner we are also risen with him through the faith of the operation of god ; and this is likewise held forth both in sign and signification in true baptism . now if this be not your paraphrase on this text , we cannot help it . i know many learned men who own pedo-baptism , speak to the same purpose ; nor is there any reason for you to say we must be silent , &c. as if we knew not what to say to this text : but what is this for infant-baptism , or to prove baptism the antitype of circumcision ? doth sprinkling represent a burial ? doth the sign or figure of christ's burial appear in sprinkling a little water on the face , and as it is done to infant , in whom faith and regeneration is not wrought ? what doth there appear in signification ? doth not the church of england say , that baptism is the outward sign of an inward spiritual grace ? sure that is but a mock-baptism , where there is neither the sign or figure of christ's death and burial , &c. nor that inward work wrought upon the person baptized , which is signified , or ought to be signified thereby , viz. that the said person is dead to sin , and raised up by the faith of the operation of god to walk in newness of life . but alas , this it seems is not the thing ; 't is not so much to prove baptism to be the antitype of circumcision , as 't is to prove baptism to be the continuation of a jewish custom : for to speak more properly , you intimate , that to this purpose , you mention these things . sure all understanding men , as well pedo-baptists as others , must needs loath your notion ; but i know you are not alone herein , there are some others who have asserted the same thing ; which perhaps incouraged you thus to write : but to correct your rashness , and silence you and them too , consider what i and the fore-mentioned gentleman have said . is it not enough that infant-baptism should be built upon no better a foundation than the tradition of the apostate gentile church , and the decrees of popes and general councils , but that it must also be grounded on the erronious customs of the jewish talmud ? but to proceed , that circumcision may answer , or run parallel with baptism , you bring in the practice of some heathen nations who circumcised their females . we shall have it anon ; the truth is , the proof and explanation of infant-baptism shall be suffciently made out before you have done ; if fabulous and erroneous traditions of jews , heathens , and apostate christians will do it : but if no better authority or proof can be brought for it than what is contained in your mercury , 't is time for all good christians with shame enough to cast it off . should i tell my reader why some heathens circumcised their females , it might greatly expose you . but to close with your first question , take what dr. jer. taylor , la●e bishop of down , hath said upon this conceit , i. e. that circumcision figured baptism ; these are his words , viz. the argument , saith he , from circumcision is invalid upon infinite considerations : figures and types prove nothing , unless a command go along with them , or some express to signify such to be their purpose : for the deluge of waters , and the ark of noah , were figures of baptism , saith peter . if therefore the circumstances of the one should be drawn to the other , we should make baptism a prodigy rather than a rite . the paschal lamb was a figure of the eucharist , which succeds the other , as baptism doth to circumcision : out because there was in the manducation of the paschal lamb no prescription of sacramental drink , shall we thence conclude that the eucharist is to be administred in one kind ? and even in the very instance of this argument , suppose a correspondency of the analogy between circumcision and baptism , yet there is no correspondency of identity ; for tho it be granted , that both of them did consign the covenant of faith , yet there is nothing in the circumstances of children being circumcised that so concerns that mystery , but that it might very well be given to men of reason ; because circumcision left a character in the flesh , which being imprinted upon the in●●nt , did in work to them when they came to age ; and such a character was necessary , because there was no word added to the sign ; but baptism imprints nothing that remains on the body ; and if it leaves a character at all , it is upon the soul to which the word is added , which is as much a part of the sacrament as the sign it self : for both which reasons it is requisite that the party baptized should be capable of reason , that they may be capable both of the word and of the sacrament , and the impress upon the spirit : since therefore the reason of the parity does wholly fail , there is nothing left to infer a necessity of complying in the circumstance of age , any more than in the other annexes of types : then the infant must also precisely be baptized upon the eighth day , and females must not be baptized at all , because not circumcised ▪ but it were more proper , if we would understand it aright , to prosecute the analogy from the type to the antitype , by the way for letter and spirit , and signification ; and as circumcision figures baptism , so also the adjuncts of the circumcised shall signify some thing spiritual in the adherence of baptism ; and therefore as infants were circumcised , so spiritual infants should be baptized , which is spiritual circumcision ; for therefore babes had the ministry of the type , to signify that we must , when we give our names to christ , become children in malice , and then the type is made compleat . thus the worthy doctor hath answered your question , and you too . if circumcision must be a type of baptism , he hath shewed how , and how not , if it be so taken ; but the truth is , all types cease when the antitype is come , the one must give way to the other ; but circumcision did continue in full force some years after baptism was in full force ; for circumcision ended not till christ nailed it to his cross ; therefore it could not be the type of baptism : and how a shadow or sign should be the proper antitype of a shadow i see not . but enough hath been said to this , and i should not have said so much to it , but because your notion seems new to some . as touching the other two scriptures you mention , viz. that in 1 cor. 10. 't is very impertinently cited for your business , to prove circumcision the type of gospel-baptism ; for this text speaks nothing of that in the least , nor no more doth that in peter . suppose the red-sea was a figure of baptism , and so also the water and ark of noah ; what of all this , if you had urged the fathers and children were baptized to moses in the sea and in the cloud , and therefore children may be baptized ? i would have answered you that was but a figurative baptism , and proves nothing ; besides , it would prove unbelievers may be baptized also , because there was a mixt ▪ multitude as well so baptized , as were the fathers and their children ; besides , much cattel were with them in the sea , and under the cloud . quest . 2. what certain indubitable grounds can we have for the practice of infant-baptism . you answer , the certain ground is from the scripture , and first from the words of the commission , matth. 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 disciple all nations ; and then follows , baptizing them in the name , &c. from the order of which words ( you say ) infants are not excluded from baptism , as is generally believed by anabaptists ; a person may be baptized before he is taught ; for say you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mathetusate , signifies , to disciple all nations personally and subjectively ; being a general word , it contains the other two that follow , viz. baptizing and teaching , it being a word of the imperative mood , and the other two only participles ; so that the commission of it is that , and the mood of it these : but in the mood , baptizing them precedes teaching them to observe all things , &c. reply . because there is a teaching follows baptism , doth it therefore follow , according to the order of the sacred commission , there is no teaching indispensibly to go before the person is baptized ? you have cause to tremble for trifling and basely inverting the order of the commission of our . blessed saviour ; what though the greek word discipliz , or make disciples , be a word of the imperative mood ; o strange ! have you found it out ? will this do your business ? doth it therefore contain the other two ? i ask you , whether a man may not be made a disciple , and not be baptized , or , be baptized , and yet not be discipled ? matth. 13. 52. 't is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in matth. 28. 't is disciple ye ; here 't is discipled , instructed , or that is taught , and 't is from the same verb with the other : 't is evident notwithstanding all your flourish , that teaching , according to the order of the commission , goes , and must go before baptizing , though the person baptized is to be taught afterwards ; also , all things that christ commanded his disciples , both as to doctrine and practice , that so they may be faithful followers of christ unto the end . this teaching after baptism indeed the baptists cannot deny , unless they should be so foolish as to say , a baptized believer needs no further teaching , &c. but you know in your consciences , we deny , and that too by the authority of the commission , that any ought to be baptized but such who are made disciples by their first being taught . doth baptism , sirs , make either children or others disciples ? if you do not asfert that , what do you say : and if all nations , or any in the nations , are to be baptized before they are taught or made disciples , why may not a minister , by the authority of the commission , baptize turks , pagans and infidels , with their children , as well as the infants of christian people ? moreover ; if so be baptizing may go before teaching , or persons being made disciples , why did philip answer the eunuch after that manner , when he asked him why he might not be baptized ? the answer is , if thou believest with all thy heart , thou mayest ; intimating , unless he so believed , he might not . also why did christ make disciples first , and then baptize them ? ioh. 4. 1. i must also tell you , that your exposition of the commission in matthew , doth tend to invert the order of the same commission in mark 16. 15 , 16. where our saviour commands his disciples to go and preach the gospel to every creature , and then saith ▪ he that believeth and is baptized , shall be 〈…〉 't is not he that is baptized and the●●●lieveth . but to give divers godly and learned pedo-baptists their due , they i find dare not attempt to invert the order of the holy commission , as you seem to do , though it shakes the foundation of their own practice : see reverend mr. perkins on these words , teach all nations , baptizing them ; saith he , i explain the former thus ; first of all , it is said , teach them , that is , make them my disciples , by teaching them to believe and repent . here we are to consider the order which god observes in making with men a covenant in 〈…〉 ; first of all he calls them by his w●●d and spirit to believe and repent . then in the second place , he makes a promise of mercy and forgiveness . and then thirdly , he seals his promise by baptism . they , says he , that know not , nor consider this order which god used in covenanting with them in baptism , deal preposterously , over-slipping the commandment of repenting and believing , and is the cause of so much prophaneness in the world. much to the same purpose saith mr. baxter , right to baptism , p. 149 , 150. speaking of the order of this commission christ gave to his disciples ; their first task ( says he ) is to make disciples , which are by mark called believers . the second work is to baptize them , whereto is annexed the promise of salvation . the third work is to teach them all other things which are after to be learned in the school of christ . to contemn this order , saith he , is to contemn the rules of order , for where can we find it if not here ? i profess my conscience is fully ▪ satisfied from this text , that ●●ere is one sort of faith saving — that must go before baptism , the profession whereof the minister must expect . your second scipture-ground is that of whole families being baptized . reply ; you cannot be ignorant that this proof hath been often invalidated : how many families are there in this city , in which there is not one infant ? besides , 't is said , paul preached the word to the jailor , and to all in his house : also 't is expresly said , he believed in god with all his house . we have as much ground to believe that in these families there were some servants or children who were unbelievers , as to belie●● there were little babes ; and because whole housholds are said to be baptized , therefore unbelieving servants , sons and daughters , as well as lit●●● children . others may infer ungodly servants and unbelieving children , that were grown up to be men and women , w●●● baptized also in those families . in jailors families now a-days 't is evident there are too many wicked and ungodly ones ; and this jailor was none of the best before converted , 't is plain . besides , whol●●●r all , doth not comprehend always every individual person , as 1 sam. 21. 28. moreover , dr. hammond saith , that to conclude , infants were baptized , because housholds are mentioned so to be , is , saith he , unconvincing , and 〈…〉 demonstration , it being so uncertain whether there were any children in those families : his letter p. 471. sect. 21. your third scripture-ground is that of the promise ( you say covenant ) made to you and 〈…〉 children . reply ; how often have we shewed that this text proves not that any children , quatenus as such , should be baptized , nor , as such , that they are in the covenant of grace , or have the promise made to them ; the promise runs to the jews and to their offspring , and not to them only , but to gentiles also , who were said to be afar off : but prav●observe , 't is to no more of the jews and their children or offspring , and such who were afar off , than the lord shall call or make disciples by the word and effectual operations of the holy spirit . my sons and daughters are as much my children when they are twenty or thirty years old , as well as when babes . dr. hammond also grants , children in this text doth not refer to insants as such , but to the posterity of the jews , p. 490. sect. 81. if ye be christ's , then you are abraham's seed , and heirs according to the promise . the children of the flesh , saith paul , these are not the children of god ; but the children of the promise are accounted for the seed , rom. 9. 8. not if you he the offspring of abraham according to the flesh , or seed of believers . your fourth scripture-proof is , that of such is the kingdom of heaven . reply . this proves no more children ●●●ght to be baptized , than they ought to receive the lord's supper , baptism being a mere positive precept , and only depends upon the will and sovereign pleasure of the great law-giver jesus christ . a thousand such instances prove not they ought to be baptized , except there was a precept annexed , or precedent for it in god's word . besides , of such , &c. ( as one well observes ) may intend such and such that have like qualities , viz. harmless , meek , &c. as children : therefore the anabaptists ( as you call them ) are not uncharitable , who say , infants have no m●re right to baptism than unreasonable creatures ; for what can give them right thereto , but the authority of god's word ? you ask what priviledg the children of believers have above unbelievers ? we answer , they have the advantage of their parents prayers . instruction , godly education , and good example . but , say you , they are holy . answ . we deny it intends federal holiness , such as qualifies children for baptism . we read in mat. 2. 15. of marriage , and that children begotten in lawful wedlock are called a godly seed , in opposition to their being illegitimate . now that it was about marriages the corinthians wrote to s. paul , is evident , they doubting of the lawfulness of abiding with their unbelieving husbands and wives : and to satisfy them about this matter , he tells them , the unbelieving husband was sanctified by ( or rather to ) the believing wife , &c. that is set apart or consecrated to each other in lawful marriage , ( for 't is doubtle●● no other sanctification ) else were your child 〈…〉 , that is , bastards ; but now are they holy , that is , lawfully begotten . and we find divers learned men give the same exposition on these words . ambrose on the place saith , the children are holy , because born of lawful marriage . see melancthon on this text , who asserts the same . erasmus saith , children are legitimately holy , the conversion of husband or wife did not dissolve the marriage . to which i might add camerarius , and divers others . we we read in zachary , that the bells and pots of the lord's house were holy ; may be the papists from thence presume to baptize bells , and they have as much reason so to do , as there is by the authority of god's word for any to baptize infants . as touching what you speak of little children coming to christ , that the original or greek word is the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to proselyte , what signifies that ? how often is that word mentioned in other places , to signify any manner of coming to ? &c. 't is a strange way of proselyting persons , and never to teach or instruct them . see these scriptures where the same word is used : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mat. 26. 7. there came unto him . mat. 26. 17. the disciples came ; gr ▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mat. 26. 49. forthwith he came to jesus ; gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mat. 26. 69. there came unto him ( a girl or ) a damsel ; gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mat. 26. 73. and after a while ( or a while after ) came unto him they that stood by ; gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but you proceed further to prove infants ought to be baptized , and that from the universal coment of the churches in all countries : for ( as you say ) tortul . de praescripturâ haeret . ch . 28. etquid verisimile , &c. had the churches erred , they would have varied , &c. reply . if you cannot prove infant-baptism from scripture , you are gone for ever ; for this argument of yours to prove it is like that of the papists , to prove their church the true church , viz. universality and antiquity , &c. it was not the practice of the churches first planted by the apostles , that 's plain ; and 't is as evident other errors were as universally received , and some very early too ; besides , you can't be ignorant how the greek church va●ies from the latin. but pray take what dr. barlow hath said to this , a worthy b●shop of the church of england . i believe , and know , saith he , that there is neither precept nor example in scripture for pedo-baptism , nor any just evidence for it for above 200 years after christ ; that ●●●tullian condemns it as an ●●w●rantable custom , and naz●anzen a good while after him dislikes it ▪ sure i am , that in the primitive times , they were catechumeni , then illuminati or baptizati , and that not only 〈…〉 and children of pagans converted , but children of christian parents : the truth is , i do believe pedo-baptism , how or by whom i know not , come into the world in the second century , and in the third and fourth began to be practised , though not generally , and defended as lawful from the text , john 3. 5. grosly misunderstood : upon the like gross mistake , john 6. 53. they did for many centuries , both in the greek and latin church , communicate infants , and give them the lord's supper ; and i confess they might do both as well as either , &c. thus both your arguments from universal consent and antiquity , the learned doctor hath sufficiently answered . and i rather let him answer you , than to answer you in my own words , thinking what he says , may be more regarded by some than what i say ▪ but to prove from antiquity , that infant-baptism was practised in the first , second and third centuries , you say you are able to demonstrate , and that there was never any particular congregation of anabaptists till about three hundred years after christ ; and seem to build much upon these three last arguments . reply . if you had said there were no baptized congregations , i. e. such who only baptized believers , you had asserted a great untruth , sith all the primitive apostolical churches were such , none being admitted to baptism for the first and second centuries , but the adult , i. e. such who professed their faith , as in due time may be sufficiently proved , notwithstanding all your flourish and pretences ; but suppose it be granted there were no congregations till then called anabaptists , what doth that signify ? it was because there were not till about that time any ( as 〈…〉 〈…〉 and divers others say ) who practised pedo-baptism . baptists could not be called anabaptists , or re-baptizers , till there were some who 〈…〉 for infant-baptism ; so that this directly makes against you . moreover , many rites which you disown as human traditions , crept very early into the world , and were practised generally too in the apostacy of the church . quest . 3. whether infant-baptism is to be found in the scripture ? 1. you answer ; not expresly in the letter , but from necessary and unavoidable consequences , as you say you have already shewn . reply . 't is a hard case that one of the great sacraments of the lord jesus should in your thoughts , lie so dark and obscure in the new testament , that it can't be proved from it but by consequences ; but harder that learned men of your way , should affirm that your consequences for it , drawn from those texts you mention , are not natural , and prove nothing ; besides , you can't be ignorant that the first asserters of infant-baptism never undertook the proof of it from such scripture-grounds or consequences , ●●t from the authority and power of the church : for , as you think the church ●●th power to change the act of baptizing unto sprinkling , so they affirmed she had like power to change the subject , and instead of believers , to baptize infants who have no understanding . pray what precept of the mosaical law lay so dark or obscure , that it could not be proved without consequences ? did not moses make every law , precept or command plain , that he that runs might read it ? and yet christ is said to exceed moses , being faithful as a son over his own house , heb. 3. those consequences you have drawn , all impartial men may see prove nothing . moreover , what you speak about those great articles of the christian religion , as if they could not be proved without consequences , must not by any means be allowed ; nor can i take it to be true . cannot we find the doctrine of the trinity in the scripture , and that christ is god and the second person , and that he was born of the virgin , without consequences ? is it wisdom in you in such a corrupt age as this is , to lay down such assertions ? were those things the matter of controversy between you and me , you should hear what positive and plain scripture . proof might ( as you know hath often already ) be brought upon that account . but to pass by this , i affirm the baptism of believers lies plain in god's word , but infant-baptism is not to be found therein . quest . 4. why was not christ baptized before he was thirty years old ? you answer , from the same reason that the jailor , the eunuch , and st. peter's converts were not , viz. there is no adhering to a doctrine before it is instituted or preached ; but , say you , infant baptism was much before our saviour's time , as amongst those of riper years since , and that , you say , is proof enough . reply . it can't be proof enough to answer the question , and as to prove infant-baptism it utterly fails ; but if infant-baptism was much before our saviour's time as an institution of god , there was no want of an institution when he was a babe ; and therefore your reason why he deferred his baptism is gone . was it in being long before , and yet not instituted or appointed by jehovah ? do you not herein implicitly confess that custom amongst the jews was humane ? nor will it serve your turn to say , it was instituted a-new as a gospel-ordinance , because you affirm baptism under the gospel was the continuation of that old custom , with the super-addition of the full force of baptism , viz. a consignation or seal of the covenant . do you not intimate it was not instituted anew , but rather a custom continued ? upon which you ( with that addition , and some others before you ) seem to lay the great stress of your infants baptism . and if some additions were made to the old custom , why might there not be some diminutions also ? and if it were a-new instituted , it is all one as if it had never been in being before ; for the right any have to baptism and manner of administration , and all things appertaining to it , must of necessity wholly depend upon the new institution or law of christ : if therefore gospel-baptism wholly depends on the new institution , then the old custom is gone for ever ( had it been a mosaical rite ) like a legacy bequeathed in a will , made void by the testator's last will and testament ; though some part of the same thing may be repeated in the last will , that was in the first , yet the last must decide the controversy : but in christ's last will and testament , infant-baptism is not to be found , nor was it indeed an ordinance ordained of god before christ's time . see my answer about this in answer to the first question . 2. certainly had it been the will of god , children should have been baptized as such , christ had been baptized when in his infancy ; no doubt god who is a free agent could not want an administrator ; he could have sent john into the world sooner , or have commissionated some other person to have done it . but since the holy ghost in the gospel relates the time of his baptism , and that it was not till he was about thirty years old , it clearly shews us that adult persons ought to be admitted to that ordinance only , and not babes : by which example of his he hath strengthned his commission , or at least wise shewed the congruity or sweet agreement there is between this precept and his own practice . question 5. why sprinkling , and not dipping ? you answer , our church denies not the latter , ( that is , dipping ) but looks upon it as a clear representation of our saviour's descending into the grave , abiding there , and rising up again , &c. but say you , the church has power to dispense with circumstantials and manner of acting , tho not with the act it self , &c. reply . what your church is i know not ; the church of england doth acknowledg , i must confess , that baptism is dipping , but i never heard they have of late times so practised . but how dare you 〈…〉 , the church hath power to dispense 〈…〉 dipping ▪ and change it into sprinkling ? who gave her such power ? where do you read of it ? you call it a circumstantial , but i am not of your mind ; i must say 't is ●●sential ; nay , 't is no baptism at all , if not dipping ; for baptize is to dip , which to confirm i could give you a cloud of witnesses learned in the greek tongue ; therefore 't is not the manner of the act , but the act it self ; to baptize is one act , and to rantize or sprinkle water is another ; the manner of the act of dipping , or baptizing ▪ 〈…〉 to put the whole body into the water backward , or forward , 〈…〉 , of with a swift or gentle motion . 〈…〉 is dipping , and sprinkling sprinkling , which act will never be baptizing whilst the world stands . you say well , dipping or burying the body in the water , is a clear and lively representation of the death , burial and resurrection of christ . and hence 't is said , that such who are indeed baptized , are buried with christ in baptism . to which you might have added , 't is also a sign of our being dead to sin , and of our being raised up with christ by the faith of the operation of god , to walk in newness of life . and hence i infer , infants ought not to be baptized , because there doth not , cannot appear in them that glorious internal work of the spirit which ought to be signified thereby ; and as they for this reason cannot be the proper subjects of baptism : so likewise it cannot be done by sprinkling , because that act cannot represent those signs and gospel-mysteries , which the law-giver intended should be held forth in that holy administration . but why do you say this is a circumstantial thing ? was not nadab and abihu's transgression , and that of uzzah's , more like circumstantials than this is ? and yet their error cost them their lives . or , hath the gospel-church a greater dispensing power in such cases , than the church had under the law ? — suppose the jews should have changed circumcision , or cutting off the foreskin of th● flesh , to the paring the nails of their children , or to cut off a little skin off of the fingers ends ; would that have been circumcision ? no doubt a better circumcision than sprinkling is baptism . gentlemen , will you call any part , or branch , or thing that appertains to a positive precept , a circumstance which the church has power to dispense with ? if you should , whither would this ●ead you ? you may after that notion strangely curtail christ's institutions in other respects . question 6. what think you of those that die in infancy unbaptized ? you answer , of such are the kingdom of heaven . reply . so saith our blessed saviour , but they have , say i , no right thereto , or belong unto the kingdom of heaven , because sprinkled with a little water ; nor would they have any further right , should they be indeed baptized , since there is no command of god for it . quest . 7. if children be saved whether baptized or not , what signifies baptism ? you answer , 't is a padg of christ , an evident note of diffinction from the children of infidels : and as we come to the knowledg of spiritual things by sense , so 't is an evidence of a greater assurance of the favour of god to them , being invisibly introduced into the covenant of grace . reply 't is no badg of christ besure , because he never gave it to them ; and if it be an evident note of distinction from the children of infidels , 't is wholly of man's making . you know what wonderful things are ascribed to chrism by the papists , who use salt , oil and spittle , &c. in baptism , and to other devised rites and ceremonies used by them ; and i have as much ground from god's word to believe what they say , as what you say , who affirm and prove not ; why , do you not say they are thereby made members of christ , children of god , and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven ? pray , what an assurance can that give them of the favour of god , unless he had appointed it , and imparted some spiritual grace thereby to them ? nay , and what arguments do you bring to prove they thereby are introduced into the covenant of grace ? can any outward act bring or introduce people either young or old into the covenant of grace , if they are brought thereby into the covenant of grace ? i hope they shall all the saved that are baptized ( as you call it . ) i hope you are not for falling away , or that any soul who is in the covenant of grace shall perish eternally . moreover , how can they come to the knowledg of spiritual things by sense ? indeed in the case of circumcision , which left a mark in the flesh , they might more probably understand by the sight of the eye , those spiritual things signified by it ; but baptism leaves no such mark : nothing appears to their senses when they come to knowledg that can have any such tendency ; i fear rather it is a great means when they are grown up , to blind their eyes , and cause them to think ( as many ignorant people do ) that they are made thereby christians , and so in a saved state , and never look after the work of regeneration . quest . 8. whether have children faith or no , since faith and repentance are prerequisites to baptism ? your answer is , that you have shewed , that according to the words of the commission , baptizing goes before teaching ; therefore there is not such a prerequisiteness as some dream of . you have said so i must confess from the commission , but have not proved it , but rather made work for repentance , by striving to ●●vert the order of the sacred commission of our saviour , &c. but say you admit faith as pre-requisite to baptism ; we could answer , that children have faith potentia , tho not in actu visibili : as an artist when he is indisposed or asleep , is potentially an artist , ●ho not actually . — reply . strange you should attempt to affirm children have faith potentia ! who to●● you so ? when was thi●●●aginary faith infused into them ? it 〈…〉 either by nature , art , of grace , or else your simily is lost . you are look'd upon indeed to be philosophers , but this is above my understanding , or your own 〈…〉 . but you suppose that passage in matth. 18. doth your business : whereas 't is evident that our saviour speaks there of such little ones who were indeed capable to believe ; it was not such a little one as you would have baptized . we doubt not but god doth oft-times infuse grace very early in the souls of some very young , and calls them to believe , 〈…〉 to the knowledg 〈…〉 truth ; but what is this to all infants 〈…〉 ? but more fully to answer what you say about children having faith , take what dr. taylor hath wrote upon this conceit . whether infants have faith or no , is a question ( saith he ) to be disputed by persons that care not how much they say , and how little they prove . 1. personal and actual faith they have none , for they have no acts of understanding : and besides , how can any man know that they have , since he never saw any sign of it , neither was he told so by any that could tell ? 2. some say they have imputative faith , but then so let the sacrament be too ; that is , if they have the parents faith , or the churches , then so let baptism be imputed also by derivation from them : and as in their mothers womb , and while they hung on their mothers-breasts , they live upon their mothers nourishment ; so they may upon the baptism of their parents , or their mother the church : for since faith is necessary to the susception of baptism , and they themselves confess it , by striving to find out new kinds of faith to daub the matter up ; such as the faith , such must be the sacrament : for there is no proportion between an actual sacrament and an imputative faith , this being in immediate and necessary order to●hat . and whatsoever can be said to take from the necessity of actual faith , all that and much more may be said to excuse from the actual susception of baptism . the first of these devices was that of luther and his scholars ; the second of 〈…〉 and his ; and yet there is a third device which the church of rome teaches , and that is , that infants have habitual faith , but who told them so ? how can they prove it ? what revelation or reason teaches any such thing ? are they by this habit so much as disposed to an actual belief without a new master ? can an infant sent into a 〈…〉 be more confident for christ 〈…〉 when he comes to be a man , than ●●●e had not been baptized ? are there any acts precedent , concomitant or consequent to this pretended habit ? this strange invention is absolutely without art , without scripture , reason or authority , but the men are to be excused unless there were a better . and aga●● to this purpose , pag. 242. and if any man runs for succour to that exploded cresphugeton , that infants have faith , or any other inspired habit of i know not what or how , we desire no more advantage in the world than that they are constrained to answer without revelation , against reason , common sense , and all the experience in the world. as to what you speak as to those young children you mention , it proves nothing ; and some of your stories seem childish , and do not look as if they came from men of such pretended ingenuity . but to close all ; we have the worst of you at the last , wherein you in a very scurrilo●s manner cast reproach upon a great body of godly people ( who differ not from other orthodox christians in any essentials of salvation , no nor in fundamentals of church-constitutions , save in the point of baptism ) and will you by reason of the enormities of some who formerly bore the name of anabaptists , mentioning the old munster story , condemn as such all that bear that name ? in answer to which i ask you , whether the like reflections might not have been cast on christ's apostles , because they had a ju●●● among them ? or on the church of the coritthians , because if the incestuous person ? besides , you know not but it may be a lie raised upon those people by the envious papists , who have rendred cal●● and luther as odious as you do these anabaptists . you would think it hard , if i should ask you what sort they were that ralph wallis used to expose , and fill his carts with ? or of those clergy-men who were pedo-baptists , yet were for filthy crimes executed . to conclude , i wish that all bitterness of spirit was expelled , love and charity exercised towards all , tho in some things we may differ from one another . queries for the athenian society to answer , some of which were formerly sent to them , but were passed by in silence . 1. whether infants are the subjects of baptism . and , 2. whether baptism is dipping or sprinkling . first ; whether there was not a twofold covenant made with abraham , one with his fleshly seed , and the other with his spiritual seed , signified by the bond-woman and the free-woman , and their sons ishmael and isaac ? if so , i query , whether circumcision was an ordinance that appertained to the covenant of grace , and was the seal of it ? 1. because 't is contradistinguished from the covenant of grace , or free promise of god , rom. 4. 2. and 't is also called a yoke of bondage . and , 3. 't is said also , that he that was circumcised , was a debter to keep the whole law. and , 4. because ishmael , who was not a child of the covenant of grace with esau , and many others , yet were required to be circumcised as well as isaac . and , 5. since 't is positively said faith was imputed to abraham for righteousness not in circumcision , how was it imputed then , when he was circumcised , or uncircumcise●● not when he was circumcised , but when he was uncircumcised . rom. 4. 10. secondly ; whether the being the male-children of believers , as such , gave them right to circumcision , or not rather the nicer positive command of god to abraham ; since we do not read of any other godly man's seed in abraham's days , or since , had any right thereto , but only such who were born in his house , or bought with his mony ? thirdly ; whether circumcision could be said to be the seal of any man's faith save abraham's only , seeing 't is said , he received the sign of circumcision , a seal of the righteousness of the faith he had [ mark ] yet being uncircumcisied , that he might be the father of all that believe ; which was the priviledg of abraham ●●ly : for how could circumcision be a seal to children of that faith they had before circumcised , seeing they had no faith at all , as had abraham their father , they being obliged by the law of god to be circumcised at eight days old ● fourthly ; what is it which you conceive circumcision did , or baptism doth seal to children , or make sure ; since a seal usually makes firm all the blessings or priviledges contained in that covenant 't is prefix'd to ? doubtless if the fleshly seed of believers , as such , are in the covenant of grace , and have the seal of it , they shall be saved ; because we are agreed , that the covenant of grace is well ordered in all things , and sure , there is no final falling , therefore how should any of them miss of eternal life ? and yet we see many of them prove wicked and ungodly , and so live and die . if you say it seals only the external part and priviledges of the covenant of grace : fifthly ; i demand to know what those external priviledges are , seeing they are denied the sacrament of the lord's-supper , and all other external rites whatsoever ? if you say when they believe that shall partake of 〈…〉 blessings ; so , say i , shall the 〈…〉 believers as well as they . sixthly ; if the fleshly seed , or children of believing gentiles , as such , are to be accounted the seed of abraham ; i query , whether they are his natural seed , or his spiritual seed ? if not his natural seed , nor his spiritual seed , what right can they have to baptism , or church-membership , from any covenant-transactions god made with abraham ? — seventhly ; whether those different grounds upon which the right of infant-baptism is pretended by the fathers of old , and the modern divines , doth well agree with an institution that is a meer positive rite , depending wholly on the will of the legislator , doth not give just cause to all to question its authority ? 1. some pedo-baptists asserted , it took away original sin , and such who denied it were anathematized . 2. some affirm , that children are in the covenent ; and being the seed of believers , are federally holy , therefore ought to be baptized . 3. another so●● of pedo baptists say , they ought to be bapt●●● , by virtue of their parents faith. 4. others affirm , they have faith themselves , and are disciples , and therefore must be baptized . 5. another sort baptize them upon the faith of the●● sureti● 6. and 〈…〉 of pedo baptists say , it 〈…〉 power and authori●● 7. 〈…〉 that , 〈…〉 affirm ▪ 〈…〉 the word 〈…〉 god 〈…〉 institution , the 〈…〉 divided and 〈…〉 themselves . eighthly ; is it not an evil thing , and very absurd for any to say ▪ baptism is a symbol of present regeneration , and yet apply it to babes , in whom nothing of the things signified thereby doth or can appear ? and also to say , i baptize thee in the name , &c. when indeed he doth not baptize , but only rantize the child ? and to say baptism is a lively figure of christ's death , burial , and resurrection , and yet only sprinkle or pour a little water upon the face of the child ? ninthly ; whether that can be an ordinance of christ , for which there is neither command nor example in all the word of god , no●●● promise ●●de to such who do it , nor th●●●s denounced on such who neglect it or do it 〈◊〉 ? for though there are both promises made to believers baptized , and threa●● denounced on such who neglect it , yet where are there any such in respect of infant-baptism ? tenthly ; whether a pagan , or indian , who should attain to the knowledg of the greek tongue , or of the english , or any other tongue into which the original should be translated , by reading over the new testament a thousand times he could ever find infants ought to be baptized ; if not , how doth it appear the faith of people about pedo-baptism stands in the power of god , and knowledg of his word , and not rather in the wisdom of men , who having endeavoured , with all the art and cunning they can , to draw pretended consequences for it , tho after all they do not naturally and genuinely follow 〈…〉 the premises to which they refer ? 〈◊〉 ; whether christ having 〈◊〉 the qualifications ●● such as 〈◊〉 baptized , viz. actual repentance , 〈…〉 and the answer of a good consci 〈…〉 ▪ doth not thereby exclude all those 〈…〉 not capable of those qualifications ? 〈◊〉 ; whether it doth not reflect up●● the care , wisdom , and faithfulness of jesus christ , who as a son over his own house , exceeded the care and faithfulness of moses , to affirm , infants ought to be baptized , and yet it cannot be found in all the ne● 〈◊〉 an it be 〈…〉 should be a gospe●● recept , nay , a 〈◊〉 , and yet christ speak nothing of it ? or could it be in the commission , and yet the apostlet never to mention it , but contrariwise , require faith●●● all they admitted to baptism ? paul says , he declared the whole counsel of god , and said nothing of it in any of his epistles , nor any where else . how many thousands of children were born to baptized ●●●ievers , from the time of christ's ascension , to the time john ●●●●e the revelations , but not one word of 〈…〉 one child baptized ? thirteen ; whether in matter of positive right , such as baptism is , we ought not ●● keep expresly and punctually to the revelation of the will of the law-giver ? fourteen ; whether the baptism of infants be not a dangerous 〈◊〉 since it tends to deceive and blind the ey●● of poor ignorant people , who think they are thereby made christians , and so never look after regeneration , nor true baptism , which represents or signifies that inward work of grace upon the heart ? fifteen ; whether the ancient church , who gave the lord's supper to infants , as well as baptism , might n●●●e allowed as well to do the one as the other , since faith and holy habits are as much required in those who are to be baptized , as in such who come to the lord's table ? and all such in the apostolick church , who were baptized , were immediately admitted to break bread , &c. and also the arguments taken from the covenant , and because said to be holy , and to belong to the kingdom of heaven , are as strong for them to receive the lord's supper , there being no command nor example for either , and human tradition carrying it equally for both for several centuries . sixteen ; whether nadab , abih● , and 〈◊〉 transgressions were not as much circumstantials , and so as small errors , as to alter dipping in ●o sprinkling ; and from an understanding believer , to a poor ignorant babe ? and whether to allow the church a power to make such alterations , be not dangerous ? see r●● , 22. and doth 〈…〉 open a door to other innovations ? seventeen ; whether there is any just cause for men to vilify and reproach the people called anabaptists , for their baprizing believers , and denying infants to be subjects thereof , seeing they have the plain and direct word of god to warrant their practice , i. e. not only the commission , but also the continual usage of the apostles and ministers of the gospel all along in the new testament , who baptized none but such who made profession of their faith ? and the ch●●●● of england also saith , faith and repentance . are required of such who are to be baptized . we ●●●e not baptize our children , because we cannot find it written ; 't is from the holy fear of god , lest we should offend and sin against him , by adding 〈◊〉 his word . eighteen ; what should be the reason that our faithful translators of the bible should leave the greek word baptism , or baptisma , and not turn it into english , seeing the dutch have not done so , but contrariwise translate , for john the baptist , john the dooper ; and for he baptized , he dooped , or dipped them ? nineteen ; whether those who translate out of one language into another , ought not to translate every word into the same language into which they turn it , and not leave any word in the same original tongue , which the people understand not , and for whose sakes they undertook that work ; and not to translate every word , but also to give the right , literal , genuine and proper signification of each word , and not the remote , improper , or collateral signification of it ? which if our translators of the bible had so done , i query whether the doubt among the unlearned , concerning what the word baptisma signifies , 〈…〉 ? twenty ; seeing the greek church uses immersion & not aspersion ▪ may it not be look'd upon as a great argument against sprinkling , especially seeing they disown the baptism of the latin church , beca●●● they use sprinkling ; for doubtless the greeks best knew the genuine and proper signification of that word , that tongue being their own natural language in which the new testament was wrote ? 21. whether if a minister should administer the lord's supper in one kind only and so doing , it cannot answer the great design of christ the law-giver , i. e. the breaking of his body , and shedding of his blood , would not prophane that holy institution ? if so , whether such , who instead of dipping the whole body , do but sprinkle or pour a little water on the face , do not also prophane the holy sacrament of baptism , since it is not so done to represent in a lively figure the death , burial and resurrection of christ , with our death unto sin , and vivification unto newness of life ? rom. ● . col. 2. 11 , 12. 22. whether all such who have only been sprinkled , ought not to be deemed unbaptized persons , since aspersion is not immersion , or rantizing not baptizing ? for though the greek word baptizo , in a remote and improper sense may signify to wash , yet , as the learned confess , it is such a washing as is done by dipping , swilling , or plunging the person or thing all over in the water . 23. since you say children have faith potentia : i query , whether unbelievers , and all ungodly persons , have ▪ not also the like faith potentia as well as children , and so the same right to baptism ? we grant they may have faith hereafter ; what tho ? there is one assertion and argument laid down by you , that i omitted in my answer ; which as it is new , so it must needs expose you , viz. if god be pleased to radiate or shine upon the souls of children in heaven , and they do behold the face of god , as our saviour says ; then it follows that they have faith in heaven , and why not on earth ? see heb. 11. 27. these are your very words ▪ 〈…〉 reply ; i had thought that in heaven the faith of the adult ceases , i. e. the strong and saving faith of believers : doth not the apostle say , then we come to receive the end of our faith ? and is not faith turned there into vision ? is not faith the evidence of things not seen , and the substance of things hoped for ? heb. 11. 〈…〉 . divines say , faith , hope , &c. cease then , and that 't is only love that continues . what is it they have not received in heaven , which they trust in god for ? nor is your conclusion good , had they faith there , they may have it here . the text you cite , heb. 11. 27. refers to that faith moses had on earth , who saw him that was invisible . god seems so to us here ; but what a sight we shall have of him in heaven , we know not . doth not the apostle say , we shall behold face to face ; and the pure in heart shall see god ? shall that be such a sight that moses had whilst on earth ? questions relating to the fathers , with respect t●●●e controversy about inf●●-baptism . first ; what reason can be given why nazianzen , an eminent greek father , should counsel the deferring the baptism of infants , until the third or fourth year of their age , ( except in danger of death ) , if it were in nazianzen's time , as some suppose it-was , the opinion of the whole church , as also his own , that infants , by an apostolical tradition , were to be baptized as such , that is , as soon as born ? secondly ; whether all the fathers of the third and fourth century , both of the greek and latin church , who have wrote any thing abou●●●nfant-baptism , do not unanimously give this as the reason why infants should be baptized , viz. the washing away original sin , or the putting them into a capacity of salvation ; and some of them , p●●ticularly st. austin , sentencing infants to ●●ernal damnation if not baptized ? thirdly ; if so , whether the fathers might not be mistaken in the right of infants to baptism , as well as 〈…〉 the judgment of most protestants they are , in the reason why they should be baptized ? four other queries . 1. whether god hath allowed or enjoined parents to bring their ●●ttle ●●bes , of two or ten days old , into a covenant with him by baptism , since 't is nor to be found in the sc●●●●ure he either hath allowed or enjoined them so to do ? 2. if it cannot be proved he hath required any such thing at their hands , whether that covenant can be said to b●nd their consciences when they come to ●ge , especially since they gave no consent to it , no● were capable so to do ? 3. if this pretended covenant was not of god's appointment , i query , how these children who refuse to agree to the said covenant when at age , can thereby be guilty , 1. of rejecting christ , 2. of renouncing the blessings of the gospel , 3. and that 't is rebellion continued against their maker , 4. that 't is ingratitude and ●●jury to their redeemer , 5. gross injustice to their parents , 6 , that 't is self-killing crueltie to their own souls , 7. and a damning sin ? 4. i query , whether this be good divinity , not rather a strange doctrine ? and whether unwarrantable articles of faith , taken out of the jewish talmud , or . turkish alcoran , may not by as good authority be put into a christian catechism , as such assertions as these ▪ four queries sent by another hand to the athenian society . gentlemen , i humbly conceive , that no man knoweth what is a duty but by the scriptures : and since pedo-baptism cannot be proved by the word of god , as every man may know , and is generally acknowledged by the most learned assertors of that practice ; it therefore plainly followeth , in my judgment , that infant-baptism is no ordinance of god's appointment , but an innovation . i therefore feriously query ; i. wheth●●●radition ; jewish talmuds , the opinion of private doctors ▪ schoolmen , &c. be a sufficient warrant for the churches to establish such a practice , that hath neither precept nor example in the holy scriptures ? ii. since the pretended foundation of infant-baptism , ( viz. its absolute necessity to salvation ) proving ●o be a mistake of the text , john 3. 5. as is generally acknowledged by protestants , whether the structure ought not to fall with it , as it did in the case of giving the child the eucharist ? iii. whether the faith of the parent , or gossip on the child's behalf , be required of god , or will be imputed to the child by god ? if not , why ventured on , and not rather a waiting for faith in the subject , as required in holy writ , by the apostles and primitive churches , and seemingly by the church of england in her cate●●●sm ? iv. whether the church hath a good warrant that will justify her before god , in changing the mode from dipping to sprinkling ? and whether that alteration doth so well answer the design of the holy god , as that ceremony which himself appointed ? gentlemen , i knew nothing of that gentleman's animadversions , or that he , or any body el●● intended to take notice of your mercury , till i had wrote what i intended to say , tho when it was too late i saw it . postscript . containing some remarks upon the athenian mercury , vol. 4. numb . 18. published saturday , novemb. 28. 1691. gentlemen , just as my answer to your first mercury about infant-baptism was finished , and almost printed off , your second paper on the same subject came to my hand : and tho i was not concerned in the paper called , animadversions on your other mercury ; yet , till a further answer is prepared , i shall make some reflections upon what you have said in your pretended reply to that gentleman , &c. 1. sirs , you go too fast to conclude , you by that paper understand wherein our strength lies , as ( by this time ) you may perceive , nor don 't conclude you have it all yet . 2. what you say about your pretended proof of infant-baptism , from that unscriptural tradition or custom among the jews of proselyting whole families to the jewish religion by baptism , you may see fully answered before i saw your last mercury . have you proved that custom among them was jure divino ? or , if so , that it remained and was continued by christ ? secondly ; what you have said about baptism , being the proper antitype of circumcision , is also answered : nor does what you speak of types and antitypes , not agreeing in every thing , help you . have not we shewed that the proper antitype of circumcision in the flesh is that of the heart ? thirdly ; as to your logical argument , ●● viz. an ordinance once enjoined , and never repealed , is always in force ; but the ordinance of childrens incovenanting , was once in the old testament enjoined , and was never repealed . ergo ) . we answer , if the ordinance of children incovenanting ▪ under the law , was circumcision , that ordinance is repealed ; is no● circumcision repealed ? 2. if you say notwithstanding , children of the flesh , or the natural seed , being once in the covenant , and never cast out , ( by reason that law or covenant , for their incovenanting being not repealed ) is always in force . reply 1. that the old or first covenant , for their incovenanting is repealed is plain ; he took away the first , that he might establish the second . 2. also 't is said , that hagar and her son are cast our , viz. the legal covenant , and fleshly seed , and no new law is added to bring them into the gospel-church by baptism , i. e. the fleshly or natural seed , as such . now is the ax laid to the root of the trees . fourthly ; your citing heb. 8. and jer. 31. to shew what baptism seals to infants , proves nothing . we deny not , but all who are actually in the new covenant , viz. by faith ingra●ted into christ , have right to remission and salvation ; and that that covenant secures and preserves them to eternal life ; therefore the children of believers as such , are not in it : and if they are no otherwise in it than conditionally , that is , if they repent , believe , &c. i ask you what priviledg that is , more than what the children of heathens and infidels have ? 〈◊〉 if they believe and repent , shall they not have the same blessings & priviledges of the covenant also ? as to the adult professors , we say , if they fall finally away , it shews they never indeed were in the covenant of grace . as to adult true believers , the holy spirit seals remission and salvation to them , and they shall be saved : a sign of what is actually in them , is held forth in baptism , there being nothing signified by that ordinance as to a death unto sin , but what they experienced wrought on their souls before baptized ; tho , 't is true , they thereby , for the time to come , covenant to walk in newness of life . fifthly ; as touching the great commission , mat. 28. where you urge baptizing goes before teaching , we have fully answered you in the precedent reply ; we prove , there is a teaching goes before baptism , and yet also a teaching after . why do you attempt to blind the eyes of the unwary reader ? sixthly ; to what purpose do you mention jairus's daughter ? do we deny but that the parents faith and prayer , may procure outward blessings , nay , and spiritual ones too ; and as much perhaps for their poor carnal neighbours and friends ? my servant job shall pray for you . the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much , but it doth not give right to their friends or children to baptism . seventhly ; as to your syriac translation , that the jaylor and all the sons of his house were baptized : i argue , all his sons , no doubt , were grown up to age , because 't is said , he believed , with all his house . if he had sons grown up , and yet did not believe , then , by your argument , unbelievers may be baptized ; but to this see our answer . eighthly ; as to your proof from that passage , i. e. suffer little children to come unto me . take the words definitely or indefinitely , it proves nothing for you ; for christ baptized no child , for with his own hands he baptized no person at all ; joh. 4. 1 , 2. 't was to lay his hands upon them , not to baptize them . moreover , i have before told you , those little ones mark 9. 42. were adult , whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me : i affirm , our saviour speaks only of such little ones as were grown up to such age , as in very deed did believe in him , and not babes of two or ten day● old . but , you say , we would have no children proselyted , but such as timothy , &c. to which you answer , that according to the original , those children that did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which word we have shewed signifies any common coming , ( and may be such who come in their parents arms ) . let babes come to christ this way or that , he baptized none of them : i may infer as well , because little children come or were brought to christ , and of such are the kingdom of heaven ; therefore they may partake of the lord's supper , as you infer they may be baptized . ninthly ; tho the gospel did not spread into all nations , &c. yet sure you conclude all were to be baptized in all nations wheresoever the gospel did come , or was preached ; or else , as we say , none in those nations , but such who were made disciples , i. e. did believe and repent : for if but some in those nations ●here the gospel comes , were to be baptized , and not all , and yet more ought so to be ; then such who are discipled first : pray ▪ who are they , or how shall we know them to be included in the commission ? for , as mr. baxter saith , if we have it not here , where have we it ? this being the great rule or charter of the church for this rite , unto which we ought to adhere in this matter . tenthly ; what signifies what some of the ancient fathers believed , i. e. that federal holiness of parents made children candidates for baptism ? they said , other things too that you decry as well as we , many errors being early let into the church : besides , we have tertullian against tertullian , or one father against another , which is ground enough to believe you abuse tertullian , or to doubt of the truth of your history . eleventhly ; you ask whether children have not as much right to their baptism as that of adult females ? for 't is no where said , she that believeth , and is baptized ; where have we one instance of female-baptism ? reply . we ak you whether male and female is not intended in mark 16. 16. he or she ? and so john 3. 3. unless a man be bor● again ; the woman is included ; or , have women no souls ? did you never read of the figure sylepsis , or conceptio , that comprehends the less worthy under the more worthy , indignioris sub dign●ore ? as for example , ●uid tu & soror facitis , 〈…〉 & mater miseri ; perimus●●● & uxor qui ad●●stis testes estote ? and it 's no less true in divinity ; see that full and never to be baffled place , 1 cor. 6. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they two shall be one flesh . see gen. 5. 2. and he called their name adam . moreover , do we not read women were made disciples as well as men , and so had the same right to baptism from the commission . but to detect your ignorance of the scripture , pray see acts 8. 12. when they believed philip , preaching the things concerning the kingdom of god , and the name of jesus christ , they were baptized both ●●n and women . also acts 16. 15. 't is said lydia was baptized ; i thought she had been a woman . gentlemen , you shew you are but younger brethren , and will do t●●● edobaptists no service ; shew such a proof for the baptism of infants , and your work is done . but tho children lose no spiritual right by christ's coming , yet they may lose some legal rites . as ministers sons now are not born to the ministry●●s they were under the law as well as their fleshly seed had right , as such , to their jewish church membership . furthermore ; because believers are made holy by the operations of the spirit , are all their children made holy in like manner also ? blush for christ's sake ! the blessing of abraham sirs , only comes upon the gentiles through faith , not by natural generation , as you imagine : as the blessing runs to the parents , viz. through faith , so to their children ; they must believe also if they would be the children of the promise , or spiritual seed of abraham , gal. 3. ult . twelfthly ; as touching what you say further , as to universal consent of the antient churches , it proves nothing . should we believe your histories , as firmly as we do believe there was an alexander the great , or a cato , &c. if there is no infant-baptism in the scripture , 't is utterly gone : ●●t we challenge you to shew from authentick history , that one infant was baptized in the first or second centuries , which we are not able to disprove by as good authority . thirteen ; if ●here was not a congregation called anabapti●●● ●ill 300 years a●●● christ , it signifies nothing , as we have shewed . moreover , we affirm , that all the apostolical primitive churches were baptists , i. e. such who only baptized believers , and so continued till the apostacy . see our further answer of this to your first mercury . we can prove there was a testimony born against infant-baptism before 380 years after christ ; nay , before the end of the third century . see tertul. in his book de baptismo ▪ c. 18. who opposed infant-baptism , 1. from the mistake of that text , mat. 19. 14. suffer little children to come unto me ; the lord saith , says he , do not forbid them to come unto me ; let them come therefore when they grow elder , when they learn , when they are taught why they come ; let them be made christians when they can know christ . he adds six arguments more ; and to confirm this testimony of tertullian , see dr. barlow ; saith he , tertullian dislikes and condemns infant-baptism as unwarrantable and irrational . daillé also saith , that tertullian was of an opinion , that infants were not to be baptized ; the like say divers others , as mr. danvers shews , which his opposers could not refute . so that it appears you are ignorant both of scripture and history too , and do but abuse your selves and the world also in this matter . gentlemen , you were better give over , than a-fresh to blow up ●●● fire and coal of contention . you mistake in your third column , we are not to prove a negative , i. e. that no infant was baptized in those churche● you must prove they were . fourteen ; your reply about our saviour's not being baptized till thirty years old , it was because he was a jew , and proselyted heathens were only baptized when young , is a fig ▪ leaf , still insisting upon the old jewish custom ; to which we have given you a full answer . fifteen ; what you say about dipping , and mention 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that authors shew that it signifies only a bare and slight washing , and that plunging and washing are very distinct : this word comes from the same verb you say signifies to dip or plunge . and whereas you hint , that beza would have us baptize them , but not drown them ; you are resolved to prevent that danger , who only sprinkle or rantize them . i affirm , dipping or plunging all learned in the greek tongue , and criticks , do generally assert , is the literal , proper and genuine signification of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; and if it any where refers to washing , 't is to such a washing as is done by dipping or swilling in the water : all sorts of washing are not distinct from dipping ; and that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to baptize , is to wash , unless it be such a washing as is by dipping , we deny : is it not the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ? also the septuagint do render the word tabal by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and which all translators , saith a good author , both latin , dutch , italian , french and english , do translate to dip , and always signifies to dip , as 2 kings 5. 14 , &c. grotius saith it signifies to dip over head and ears . pasor , an immersion , dipping , or submersion . leigh in his critica sacra saith , its native and proper signification is to dip into the water , or to plunge under the water ; and that it is taken from a diers fat , and not a bare washing only : see casaubon , bucan , bullinger , zanchy , beza , &c. to close ; have we not cause to affirm you reproach us , to say our ring-leaders come to ill deaths ? what signifies your story of john bocold of leyden , and as if erasmus , &c. had an ill opinion of the anabaptists of his time , does it follow you may vilify the baptists of these times from thence ? they might hold some errors , and so may some so called now adays , as well as some pedo-baptists , who are papists , arians , antitrinitarians , socinians , and what not ; and some of them debauched livers , and made as shameful ends ; these things cannot be unknown to you , but how base it is in you thus to write , let all sober men judg . your pretended zeal will not acquit you from a slanderous tongue , and speaking evil of them you know not . are not the papists pedobaptists , and some of the first and chief assertors of it , and what an erronious crew are they ? do you think we cannot parallel john of leyden amongst some of the pedobaptists . were those stories true of him and others ? — are there not some bad men of every perswasion as well as good ? i exhort you to consider what account you will be able to give , for asserting babies rantism , or infants sprinkling , since 't is not commanded of god , &c. in the dreadful day of judgment : or how dare you affirm we disturb the church of christ with false doctrine , who assert , believers only are the subjects of christ's true baptism , and that baptism is immersion , i. e. dipping , since both lies so plain in the word of god ? we fear not our appearing upon this account at christ's tribunal : and for all your great confidence , your practice we do●●t not in the least will be foun● to be no truth of the gospel , but an unwarrantable tradition . what tho sir tho. more , a papist , was glad he had not proselyted persons to his youthful errors ; must we therefore be afraid to promulgate a positive truth of christ ? is it not said , this sect is every-where spoken against ? if you had called for syllogistical arguments , you might have had them , but you ask for queries ; you may have logical arguments enow if you please , but you had better desist . to conclude with your postscript . i can't see mr. eliot has done the pedo-baptists any service , or that any honour redounds to him for that work of his . how in the gospel-church-state , the promise runs to believers and their children or off-spring , we ●●ve shewed ; and that babes of two or ten days old , are or can be said to be disciples , is without proof , and irrational . what though they may belong to the kingdom of heaven , or be saved , baptism is of a meer positive right ; that argument , i tell you again , will admit them to the sacrament of the lord's supper , as well as to baptism . and as for antiquity , we deny not but that it was received by divers as an apostolical tradition , a little time before nazianzen or austin ; yet that it was preached as necessary to salvation , before austin did it , you can't prove , though we ●eny not but 't was practised before austin's days . see dr. taylor , lib. proph. p. 237. and the truth of the business is , ( saith he ) as there was no command of scripture to oblige children to the susception of it ; so the necessity of pedo-baptism was not determined in the church till the canon that was made in the milevetan council , a provincial in africa , never till then . i g●●nt , ( saith he ) it was practised in africa before that time , and they , or some of them , thought well of it ; and though that is no argument for us to think ▪ so , yet none of them did ever pretend it to be necessary , nor to have been a precept of the gospel . st. austin was the first that ever preached it to be necessary ; and it was in his heat and anger against pelagius , who had so warm'd and chased him , that made him innovate herein . thus far the doctor . as to clemens , ireneus , &c. you make such a stir about , is contradicted by history . clemens asserts who are the right subjects ; and in what order they ought , after due examinations and instructions , to be baptized . see jacob merningus , in his history of baptism , p. 2. upon cent. 2. p. 209. out of clem. epist . 3. also dutch martyrology . ignatius , in his discourse about baptism , asserts , that it ought to be accompanied with faith , love and patience , after preaching ; see h. montanus , p. 45. and jacob dubois , p. 16 , to 22. and dutch martyrology , where ign●●ius's letters are mentioned to polycarp traliensis , and to them of philadelphia . all that we can find of ireneus , is , lib. 2. cap. 39. adv . haeres . that christ did fanctify every age by his own susception of it , and similitude to it , all , i say , who by him are born again to god. in all which is no word of infant-baptism : unless you wiredraw consequences from his words , as you do from the scripture , to support a tottering structure , built on a false foundation . that ireneus , or any other but origen's testimony was in the case , you have dr. taylor , in his dissuasive against popery , p. 1. 18. printed 1667 , one of his last pieces , saying thus , viz. that there is a tradition to baptize infants , relies but upon two witnesses , origen and austin ; and the latter having received it from the former , it relies upon a single testimony , which is but a pitiful argument to prove a tradition apostolical : he is the first that spoke it , but tertullian , that was before him , seems to speak against it , which he would not have done , if it had been a tradition apostolical ; and that it was not so , is but too certain , if there be any truth in the words of ludov. vives , saying , that anciently none were baptized , but persons of riper age. and as to origen's works , there is cause to question , whether they are to be regarded : for mr. perkins and others doubt about them , because no greek copies thereof are extant . and dr. taylor saith , that many of his works are corrupt a●● erroneous , particularly in the point of baptism , and fell into ill hands , &c. to conclude , the learned curcelaeus , instit . lib. 1. cap. 12. thus saith , poedobaptismus duobus primis à christa nato saeculis fuit incognitus , &c. pedo-baptism was unknown in the two first ages after the birth of christ , but in the 3d and 4th it was approved of by a few ; in the 5th and the following ages , it began to be generally received . and therefore ( as afterward he saith ) this rite is indeed observed by us as an ancient custom , but not as an apostolical tradition . the same author , de peccato originis , numb . 56. saith , morem infantes baptizandi non coepisse ante tertium à christa nato saeculum , &c. that the custom of baptizing infants , did not begin till the 3d age after christ ; but in the two former , no footstep of it doth appear . and afterward , ( saith he ) sine ipsius [ christi ] mandato introducta est . it was introduced without the command of christ . now let the reader consider , if our authority is not greater than the bare testimony of zuinglius , a● late prejudiced writer . an appendix to the answer to two athenian mercuries , concerning infant-baptism , containing divers syllogistical arguments to disprove pedo-baptism , and to prove the baptism of believers . gentlemen , since you desire syllogisms , i have gratified you therein . arg. 1. if none are to be baptized by the authority of the great commission of our blessed saviour , matth. 28. but such who are first made disciples by being taught ; than infants , who are not capable to be taught , ought not to be baptized . but none are to be baptized by the authority of the great commission of our blessed saviour , but such who are first made disciples by teaching ▪ ergo , little babes ought not to be baptized . arg. 2. if infant-baptism was never instituted ; commanded , or appointed of god , infants ought not to be baptized . but infant-baptism was never instituted , commanded , or appointed of god. ergo , they ought not to be baptized . as to the major ; if one thing ma●●● practised as an ordinance without an institution or command of god , another thing may also ; so any innovation may be let into the church . as to the minor ; if there is an institution for it , &c. 't is either contained in the great commission , matth. 28. mark 16. or somewhere else . but 't is not to be found in the commission , nor any where else . ergo. the major none will deny . the minor i prove thus . none are to be baptized by virtue of the commission , but such who are discipled by the word , as i said before , and so the greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies . if any should say , christ commanded his disciples to baptize all nations , and infants are part of nations , therefore are to be baptized . i answer ; arg. 3. if all nations , or any in the nations ought to be baptized before discipled ; then turks , pagans , unbelievers and their children may be baptized , because they are a great part of the nations . but turks , pagans and unbelievers , and their children , ought not to be baptized . ergo. besides that , teaching ( by the authority of the commission ) must go before baptizing , we have proved ; which generally all learned men do assert : if the institution is to b●●ound any where else , they must shew the place . arg. 4. faith and repentance are required of all that ought to be baptized . infants are not required to believe and repent , nor are they capable so to do . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized . the major is clear , acts 2 , 8 , 10 , 16 chapters ; and 't is also asserted by the church of england . what is required of persons to be baptized ? that 's the question . the answer is , repentance , whereby they forsake sin ; and faith , whereby they stedfastly believe the promise of god made to them in that sacrament . the minor cannot be denied . arg. 5. that practice that tends not to the glory of god , nor to the profit of the child , when done , nor in after-times when grown up , but may prove hurtful and of a dangerous nature to him , cannot be a truth of god. but the practice of infant-baptism tends not to the glory of god , nor to the profit of the child when baptized , nor in after-times when grown up , but may prove hurtful and of a dangerous nature to him . ergo. see levit. 10. 1 , 2. where moses told aaron , because his sons had done that which god commanded them not , that god would be sanctified by all that drew near unto him ; intimating , that such who did that which god commanded not , did not sanctify or glorify god therein . can god be glorified by man's disobedience , or by adding to his word ; by doing that which god hath not required ? matth. 16. 9. in vain do you worship me , teaching for doctrine the commandments of men : and that that practice doth profit the child , none can prove from god's word : and in after-times when grown up , it may cause the person to think he was thereby made a christian , &c. and brought into the covenant of ▪ grace , and had it sealed to him , nay , thereby regenerated , for so these gentlemen in their mercury , decemb. 26. plainly intimate , and that infants are thereby ingrafted also into christ's church . sure all understanding men know baptism of believers is not called regeneration , but only metonymically , it being a figure of regeneration . but they ignorantly affirm also , that infants then ▪ have a federal holiness ; as if this imagined holiness comes in by the child's covenant in baptism , which may prove hurtful and dangerous to them , and cause them to think baptism confers grace , which is a great error . how can water , saith mr. charnock , an external thing , work upon the soul physically ? nor can it , saith he , be proved , that ever the spirit of god is tied by any promise , to apply himself to the soul in a gracious operation , when water is applied to the body : if it were so , then all that were baptized were regenerated , then all that were baptized should be saved , or else the doctrine of perseverance falls to the ground . some indeed , says he , say , that regeration is conferred in baptism upon the elect , and exerts it self afterwards in conversion . but how so active a principle as a spiritual life should lie dead and asleep so many years , &c. is not easily conceived . on regen . p. 75. arg. 6. if the church of england says , that faith and repentance are required of all that ought to be baptized , and in so saying , speak truly , and yet infants can't perform those things ; then infants ought not to be baptized . but the church of england says , that faith and repentance are required of all such , &c. and speak truly , and yet infants cannot perform these things . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized . object . if it be objected , that they affirm they do perform it by their sureties . answ. if suretiship for children in baptism is not required of god , and the sureties do not , cannot perform those things for the child : then suretiship is not of god , and so signifies nothing , but is an unlawful and sinful undertaking . but suretiship in childrens / baptism is not required of god , and they do not , cannot perform what they promise . ergo. do they , or can they cause the child to forsake the devil and all his works , the pomps and vanities of this wicked world , and all the sinful lusts of the flesh ? in a word ; can they make the child or children to repent and truly believe in jesus christ ? for these are the things they promise for them , and in their name . alas , they want power to do it for themselves , and how then should they do it for others ? besides , we see they never mind nor regard their covenant in the case : and will not god one day say , who has required these things at your hands ? arg. 7. if there be no precedent in the scripture , ( as there is no precept ) that any infant was baptized , then infants ought not to be baptized . but there is no precedent that any infant was baptized in the scripture . ergo. if there is any precedent or example in scripture that any infant was baptized , let them shew us where we may find it . erasmus saith , 't is no where expressed in the apostolical writings , that they baptized children . union of the church , and on rom. 6. calvin saith , it is no where expressed by the evangelists , that any one infant was baptized by the apostles ▪ instit . c. 16. book 4. ludovicus vives saith , none of old were wont to be baptized but in grown age , and who desired and understood what it was . vide ludov. the magd●burgenses say , that concerning the baptizing the adult , both jews and gentiles , we have sufficient proof from acts 2 , 8 , 10 , 16 chapters ; but as to the baptizing of infants , they can meet with no example in scripture . magdeb. cent. l. 2. p. 469. dr. taylor saith , it is against the perpetual analogy of christ's doctrine to baptize infants : for besides that christ never gave any precept to baptize them , nor eyer himself nor his apostles ( that appears ) did baptize any of them : all that either he or his apostles said concerning it , requires such previous dispositions of baptism , of which infants are not capable , viz. faith and repentance . lib. proph. p. 239. arg. 8. if whatsoever which is necessary to faith and practice is left in the holy scripture , that being a compleat and perfect rule , and yet infant-baptism is not contained or to be found therein , then infant-baptism is not of god. but whatever is necessary to faith and practice , is contained in the holy scriptures , &c. but infant-baptism is not to be found therein . ergo. that the scripture is a perfect rule , &c. we have the consent of all the ancient fathers and modern divines . athanasius saith , the holy scriptures being inspirations of god , are sufficient to all instructions of truth . athan. against the gentiles . chrysostom saith , all things be plain and clear in the scripture ; and whatsoever are needful , are manifest there . chrysost . on 2 thess . and 2 tim. 2. basil saith , that it would be an argument of infidelity , and a most certain sign of pride , if any man should reject any thing written , and should introduce things not written . basil in his sermon de fide. augustine saith , in the scriptures are found all things which contain faith , manner of living , hope , love , &c. let us , saith he , seek no farther than what is written of god our saviour , left a man would know more than the scriptures witness . aug. in his 198 epistles to fortunat. theophilact saith , it is part of a diabolical spirit , to think any thing divine , without the authority of the holy scripture . lib. 2. paschal . isychi●●s saith , let us who will have any thing observed of god , search no more but that which the gospel doth give unto us . lib. 5. c. 16. on levi● . bellarmin saith , that though the arguments of the anabaptists , from the defect of command or example , have a great use against the lutherans , forasmuch as they use that ●i●● every where , having no command or example , theirs is to be rejected ; yet is it of no force against catholicks , who conclude the apostolical tradition is of no less authority with us than the scripture , &c. this of baptizing of infants is an apostolical tradition . bellarm. in his book d● bapt. i. 1. c. 8. mr. ball saith , we must for every ordinance look to the institution , and never stretch it wider , nor draw it narrower than the lord hath made it , for he is the institutor of the sacraments according to his own pleasure ; and 't is our part to learn of him , both to whom , how , and for what end the sacraments are to be administred , ball , in his answer to the new-england elders , p. 38 , 39. and as to the minor , 't is acknowledged by our adversaries , it is not to be found in ●●e letter of the scripture . and as to the consequences drawn therefrom , we have proved , they are not natural from the premises ; and though we admit of consequences and inferences if genuine , yet not in the case of an institution respecting a practical ordinance that is of meer positive right . arg. 9. if infant-baptism was an institution of christ , the pedo-baptists could not be at a loss about the grounds of the right infants have to baptism ▪ but the pedo-baptists are at a great loss , and differ exceedingly about the grounds of the right infants have to baptism . ergo , 't is no institution of christ . as touching the major , i argue thus ; that which is an institution of christ , the holy scripture doth shew , as well the end and ground of the ordinance , as the subject and manner of it . but the scripture speaks nothing of the end or ground of pedo-baptism , or for what reason they ought to be baptized . ergo , 't is no institution of christ . the minor is undeniable ; some affirm , as we have shewed , p. 15. it was to take away original sin. some say it is their right by the covenant , they being the seed of believers . others say , infants have faith , and therefore have a right . others say , they have a right by the faith of their sureties . some ground their right from an apostolical tradition ; others upon the authority of scripture . some say , all children of professed christians ought to be baptized ; others say , none but the children of true believers have a right to it . sure , if it was an ordinance of christ , his word would soon end this controversy . arg. 10. if the children of believing gentiles , as such , are not the natural nor spiritual seed of abraham , they can have no right to baptism , or church-membership , by virtue of any covenant-transaction god made with abraham . but the children of believing gentiles , as such , are not the natural nor spiritual seed of abraham . ergo. arg. 11. if no man can prove from scripture , that any spiritual benefit redounds to infants in their baptism , 't is no ordinance of christ . but no man can prove from scripture , that any spiritual benefit redounds to infants in their baptism . ergo. arg. 12. that cannot be an ordinance of christ , for which there is neither command nor example in all god's word , nor promise to such who do it , nor threatnings to such who neglect it . but there is no command or example in all the word of god for the baptizing of little babes , nor promise made to such who are baptized , nor threatnings to such who are not . ergo. that the child lies under a promise who is baptized , or the child under any threatning or danger that is not baptized , let them prove it , since it is denied . arg. 13. if no parents , at any time or times , have been by god the father , jesus christ , or his apostles , either commended for baptizing of their children , or reproved for neglecting to baptize them ; then infant-baptism is no ordinance of god. but no parents at any time or times have been by god commended for baptizing of their children , &c. ergo , infant-baptism is no ordinance of god. this argument will stand unanswerable , unless any can shew who they were that were ever commended for baptizing their children , or reproved for neglecting it , or unless they can shew a parallel case . arg. 14. if men were not to presume to alter any thing in the worship of god under the law , neither to add thereto , nor diminish therefrom , and god is as strict and jealous of his worship under the gospel ; then nothing ought to be altered in god's worship under the gospel . but under the law men were not to presume so to do , and god is as strict and jealous under the gospel . ergo. the major cannot be denied . the minor is clear ; see thou make all things according to the pattern shewed thee in the mount , exod. 25. 40. and levit. 10. 1 , 2. see how nadab and abibu sped , for presuming to vary from the command of god , and uzzah , tho but in small circumstances as they may seem to us . how dare men adventure , this being so , to change baptism from dipping into sprinkling , and the subject , from an adult believer , to an ignorant babe ? add thou not unto his word , &c. arg. 15. whatever practice opens a door to any humane traditions and innovations in god's worship , is a great evil , and to be avoided : but the practice of infant-baptism opens a door to any humane traditions and innovations in god's worship . ergo , to sprinkle or baptize infants is a great evil , and to be avoided . the major will not be denied . the minor is clear , because there is no scripture-ground for it , no command nor example for such a practice in god's word . and if without scripture-authority the church hath power to do one thing , she may do another , and so ad infinitum . arg. 16. whatsoever practice reflects upon the honour , wisdom and care of jesus christ , or renders him less faithful than moses , and the new testament in one of its great ordinances , ( nay , sacraments ) to lie more obscure in god's word , than any law or precept under the old testament , cannot be of god. but the practice of infant-baptism reflects on the honour , care and faithfulness of jesus christ , and renders him less faithful than moses , and a great ordinance , ( nay , sacrament ) of the new testament , to lie more dark and obscure than any precept under the old testament . ergo , infant-baptism cannot be of god. the major cannot be denied . the minor is easily proved : for he is bold indeed who shall affirm infant-baptism doth not lie obscure in god's word . one great party who assert it , say , 't is not to be found ●● the scripture at all , but 't is an unwritten apostolical tradition : others say , it lies not in the letter of the scripture , but may be proved by consequences ; and yet some great asserters of it , as dr. hammond and others , say , those consequences commonly drawn from divers texts for it , are without demonstration , and so prove nothing . i am sure a man may read the scripture a hundred times over , and never be thereby convinced ; he ought to baptize his children , tho it is powerful to convince men of all other duties . now can this be a truth , since christ who was more faithful than moses , and delivered every thing plainly from the father ? moses left nothing dark as to matter of duty , tho the precepts and external rites of his law were numerous , two or three hundred precepts , yet none were at a loss , or had need to say , is this a truth or an ordinance , or not ? for he that runs may read it . and shall one positive precept given forth by christ , who appointed so few in the new testament , be so obscure , as also the ground and end of it , that men should be confounded about the proofs of it , together with the end and ground thereof ? see heb. 3. 5 , 6. arg. 17. that custom or law which moses never delivered to the jews , nor is any where written in the old testament , was no truth of god , nor of divine authority . but that custom or law to baptize proselytes either men , women or children , was never given to the jews by moses , nor is it any where written in the old testament . ergo , it was no truth of god , nor of divine authority : and evident it is , as sir norton knatchbul shews , that the jewish rabbins differed among themselves also about it : for , saith he , rabbi eli●zer expresly contradicts rabbi josh●a , who was the first i know of who asserted this sort of baptism among the jews : for eli●zer , who was contemporary with rabbi josh●a , if he did not live before him , asserts , that a proselyte circumcised and not baptized , was a true proselyte . arg. 18. if baptism ●● of mere positive right , wholly depending on the will and sovereign pleasure of jesus christ , the great legislator : and he hath not required or commanded infants to be baptized : then infants ought not to be baptized : but baptism is of mere positive right , wholly depending on the will and sovereign pleasure of jesus christ , the great legislator , and he hath not required or commanded infants to be baptized . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized . this argument tends to cut off all the pretended proofs of pedo-baptism , taken from the covenant made with abraham ; and because children are said to belong to the kingdom of heaven , it was not the right of abraham's male children to be circumcised , because they were begotten , and born of the fruit of his loins , till he received commandment from god to circumcise them . had he done it before , or without a command from god , it would have been will-worship in him so to have done . moreover , this further appears to be so , because no godly man's children , no● others in abraham's days , nor since , had any right thereto , but only his children , ( or such who were bought with his money , or were proselyted to the jewish religion ) because they had no command from god so to do , as abraham had . this being true , it follows , that if we should grant infants of believing gentiles , as such , were the seed of abraham ( which we deny ) yet unless god had commanded them to baptize their children , they ought not to do it ; and if they do it without a command o● authority from christ , it will be found an act of will-worship in them . arg. 19. all that were baptized in the apostolical primitive times , were baptized upon the profession of faith , were baptized into christ , and thereby put on christ , and were all one in christ jesus , and were abraham's seed and heirs , according to promise . but infants , as such , who are baptized , were not baptized upon the profession of their faith , nor did they out on christ thereby , nor are they all one in christ jesus , also are not abraham's seed and hoirs according to promise . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized . mr. baxter confirms the substance of the major . these are his very words , i. ● . as many as have been baptized have put on christ , and are all one in christ jesus ; and are abraham ' s seed , and heirs , according to the promise , gal. 3. 27 , 28 , 29. this speaks the apostle , saith he , of the probability grounded on a credible profession , &c. baxter's confirm ▪ reconcil . pag. 32. the minor will stand firm till any can prove infants by a visible profession have put on christ , are all one in christ jesus , are abraham's seed and heirs according to promise . evident it is , none are the spiritual seed of abraham , but such who have the faith of abraham , and are truly grafted into christ , by a saving-faith . if any object , we read of some who were baptized , who had no saving-faith , but were hypocrites . i answer ; had they appeared to be such , they had not been baptized , not had they a true right thereto . arg. 20. baptism is the solemnizing of the souls marriage-union with christ , which marriage-contract absolutely requires an actual profession of consent . infants are not capable to enter into a marriage-union with christ , nor to make a profession of consent . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized . the major our opposits generally grant , particularly see what mr. baxter ●aith , our baptism is the solemnizing of our marriage with christ . these are his words , p. 32. the minor none can deny : no man sure in his right mind , will assert that little babes are capable to enter into a marriage-relation with christ , and to make a profession of a consent : and the truth is , he in the next words gives away his cause , viz. and 't is , saith he , a new and strange kind of marriage , where there is no profession of consent ; p. 32. how unhappy was this man to plead for such a new and strange kind of marriage : did he find any little babe he ever baptized ( or rather rantized ) to make a professioo of consent to be married to jesus christ . if any should object , he speaks of the baptism of the adult . i answer , his words are these , our baptism is , &c. besides , will any pedo-baptist , say , that the baptism of the adult is the solemnizing of the souls marriage with christ , and not the baptism of infants . reader , observe how our opposits are forced sometimes to speak the truth , though it overthrows their own practice of pedo-baptism . arg. 21. if the sins of no persons are forgiven them till they are converted , then they must no● be baptized for the forgiveness of them , till they profess themselves to be converted ; but the sins of no persons are forgiven them till they are converted . ergo , no person ought to be baptized for the forgiveness of them , till they profess they are converted . mr. baxter in the said treatise lays down the substance of this argument also , take his own words , i. e. as their sins are not forgiven them till they are converted , mark 4. 12. so they must not be baptized for the forgiveness of them , till they profess themselves converted , seeing to the church , non esse , and non apparere is all one . repentance towards god , and faith towards our lord jesus is the sum of that preaching that makes disciples , acts 20. 21. therefore , saith he , both these must by a profession seem to be received , before any at age are baptized ; p. 30. 31. and evident it is , say i , from hence none but such at age ought to be baptized . philip caused the eunuch to profess before he would baptize him , that he believed that jesus christ is the son of god. saul had also , saith he , more than a bare profession before baptism , acts 9. 5 , 15 , 17. p. 28. the promise it self , saith he doth expresly require a faith of our own , of all the adult that will have part in the priviledges : therefore there is a faith of our own , that is the condition of our title ; mark 16. 16. p. 16. he might have added by the force of his argument ; therefore infants should not have the priviledges : for i argue thus , viz. arg. 22. if there is but one baptism of water left by jesus christ in the new testament , and but one condition or manner of right thereto : and that one baptism is that of the adult ; then infant-baptism is no baptism of christ . but there is but one baptism in water left by christ in the new testament , and but one condition and manner of ●●ght thereto , and that one baptism is that of the adult . ergo , infant-baptism is no baptism of christ . mr. baxter saith , faith and repentance is the condition of the adult , and as to any other condition , i am sure the scripture is silent ; the way of the lord is one , one lord , one faith , one baptism , ephes . 4. 4. if profession of faith were not necessary , saith mr. baxter , coram ecclesiâ , to church-membership and priviledges , then infidels and heathens would have right ; also , saith he , the church and the world would be confounded . he might have added , but infidels and heathens have no right to church-membership , & c. ergo , t is a granted case among all christians , saith he , that profession is thus necessary , the apostles and ancient church admitted none without it ; pag. 21. and if so , why dare any now adays admit of infants , who are capable to make no professior . he adds , yea christ in his commission directeth his apostles to make disciples , and the ●●baptize them , promising , he that believeth , and is baptized , shall be saved , mark 16. 16. pag. 27. furthermore he ●aith , if as many as are baptized into christ , are baptized into his death , and are buried with him by baptism into death ; that like as christ was raised from the dead , so we also should walk in newness of life , &c. then no doubt , saith he , but such as were to be baptized , did f●●t profess this mortification , and a consent to be buried , & c. in our baptism we put off the body of the the sins of the flesh , by the circumcision of christ , bring buried with him , and raised with him through faith , quickned with him , and having all our trespasses forgive● , col. 2. 〈◊〉 , 12 , ●3 . and will any man ( says he ) yea , will paul ascribe all this to 〈◊〉 that did no● so much as profess the thing● 〈◊〉 ? will baptism , in the judgment of a wise man , do all this for an infidel , ( or , say i for an infant ) that cannot make a profession that he is a christian ? pag. 31 , 32. he proceeds . arg. 23. the baptized are in scripture called men washed , sanctified , justified ; ●●●y are called saints , and churches of saints , 1 cor. 1. 2. all christians are sanctified ones : pag. 33. now let me add the minor. but infants baptized are not in scripture called men washed , sanctified , justified , they are not called saints , churches of saints , christians , nor sanctified ones . ergo , infants ought not to be baptized ▪ if any should say , why did you not cite these assertions of mr. ba●ter's whilst he was living ? i answer , more then twelve years ago i did recite and print these assertions , and many other arguments of his to the same purpose , to which he gave no answer . arg. 24. if there is but one way for all , both parents and children to be admitted into the gospel-church to the end of the world , and that it is upon the profession of faith to be baptized ; then both parents and children must upon the profession of their faith be baptized , and so admitted , & c. but there is but one way for all , both parents and children , to be admitted into the gospel-church to the end of the world , and that is upon the profession of their faith to be baptized . ergo. arg. 25. that cannot be christ's true baptism wherein there is not , cannot be a lively representation of the death , burial and resurrection of jesus christ , together with our death un●o sin , and vi●ification to a new life . but in the r●●●●ing or sprinkling of an infant , there is not , cannot be a lively representation of christ's death , burial and resurrection , & c. ergo. arg. 26. that pretended baptism that tends to ●ru●trate the glorious ●●d and design of christ in his instituting of gospel-baptism , or cannot answer it , i● none of cl●●st's baptism . but the pretended baptism of infants tends to frustrate the glorious end and design of christ in instituting of gospel-baptism . ergo. the major will not be denied ▪ as to the minor , all generally con●●●● the end or design of christ in instituting the ordinance of baptism , was in a lively figure , to represent his death , burial , and resurrection , with the person 's death unto sin , and his rising again to walk in newness of ●ife , that is baptized , as the sacrament of the supper was ordained to represent his body was broke , and his blood was shed . but that a lively figure of christ's death , burial , and resurrection , appears in sprinkling a little water on the face , i see not ; and as done to an infant , there can no death to sin , and rising again to walk in newness of life , be signified ; and therefore christ's design and end therein is frustrated . arg. 27. if baptism be immersion , as to the proper and genuine signification of the word baptizo , as also of those typical and metaphorical baptisms and the spiritual signification thereof ; then sprinkling cannot be christ's true baptism . but immersion is the proper and genuine signification of the word baptizo , and also of those typical and metaphorical baptisms spoken of , and the spiritual signification thereof . ergo , sprinkling is not christ's true baptism . 1. that the proper and genuine signification of the word baptizo is immersion , or to dip , & c. we have proved , which is also confessed by the learned in that language . 2. the figurative baptism was , 1s● . that of the red sea , wherein the fathers were buried , as it were , unto moses in the sea , and under the cloud . fools annotations on 1 cor. 1● . 2. others , saith ●e , more probably think that the apostle useth this term , in regard of the great analogy betwixt baptism ( as it was then used ) the persons going down into the waters , and being dipped in them ; and the israelites going down into the sea , the great rec●p●acle of water , though 〈◊〉 water at that time was gathered on ●●aps on either side of them ▪ yet they see●●ed buried in the water , as persons in that age were when they were baptized , 〈◊〉 . the ●d . was that of noah's ark. s●e 〈…〉 k●a●e●bull : the ark of noah and baptism , saith he , were both a type and figure of the resurrection , no● the sign of the washing away of sin , though so taken metonymically , but a particular ●●gnal of the resurrection of christ ▪ of this baptism is a lively and emphatical figure , as also was the ark of noah , out of which he returned as from a sepulchre , to a new 〈◊〉 3. metaphorical baptism is that of the spirit and of affliction : the first signifies not a sprinkling of the spirit , but the great effusion of the spirit , like that at pentecost , acts 1. 4 , 5. shall be baptized , &c. on which words casaubon speaks thus : see dr. d●v●il on acts. 2. the greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to dip or plunge , as it were to die colours , in which sense , saith he , the apostles might be truly said to have been baptized : for the house in which this was done , was filled with the holy ghost ; so that the apostles might seem to have been plunged into it as in a large fish-pond . also oecumenius on acts 2. saith , a wind filled the whole house , that it seemed like a fish-pond , because it was promised to the apostles , that they should be baptized with the holy ghost . and the baptism of affliction are those great depths or overwhelmings of afflictions , like that of our saviour's suffering , i. e. no part free ; matth. 20. 22. where you have the same greed word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and like that of david , who saith , god drew him out of great waters . 4. the spiritual signification thereof is the death , burial and resurrection of christ , and of our death to sin , and vivification to a new ●ife . this being so , it follows undeniably sprinkling cannot be christ's true baptism , it must be immersion , and nothing else . and in the last place , finally , to confirm that baptizo is to dip , both from the literal and spiritual signification thereof , as also from those typical and metaphorical baptisms mentioned in the scripture , i might add further , that this evidentl● appears from the practice of john baptist and the apostles of christ , who baptized in rivers , and where there was much water : and also , because the baptizer and baptized are said to go down into the water , ( not down to the water ) and came up out of the water . john baptist is said to baptize them into jordan , as the greek word renders it , which shews it dipping and not sprinkling . would it be proper to say , he sprinkled them into jordan ? the lord open the eyes of those who see not , to consider these things . finis . the marrow of true justification, or, justification without works containing the substance of two sermons lately preached on rom. 4:5 ... : wherein the nature of justification is opened, as it hath been formerly asserted by all sound protestants, and the present prevailing errors against the said doctrine detected / by benjamin keach ... keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. 1692 approx. 140 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 25 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47599) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 59952) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 213:13) the marrow of true justification, or, justification without works containing the substance of two sermons lately preached on rom. 4:5 ... : wherein the nature of justification is opened, as it hath been formerly asserted by all sound protestants, and the present prevailing errors against the said doctrine detected / by benjamin keach ... keach, benjamin, 1640-1704. [4], 39, [1] p. printed for dorman newman ..., london : 1692. errata: p. 39. advertisements: p. [1] at end. reproduction of original in british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng bible. -n.t. -romans iv, 5 -sermons. justification -sermons. sermons, english -17th century. 2005-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-06 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-07 rachel losh sampled and proofread 2005-07 rachel losh text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the marrow of true justification or , justification without works . containing the substance of two sermons lately preached on rom. 4. 5. and by the importunity of some gracious christians , now published with some additions . wherein the nature of justification , is opened , as it hath been formerly asserted by all sound protestants ; and the present prevailing errors against the said doctrine , detected . by benjamin keach , pastor of a church of christ , meeting at horsly-down , southwark . i will raise unto david a righteous branch : and this is the name whereby he shall be called , jehovah , our righteousness , jer. 23. 5 , 6. justificatio est doctrina stantis & cadentis ecclesiae , saith luther . london , printed for dorman newman , at the king's arms in the poultrey , 1692. the epistle dedicatory . to all who desire to be found in the righteousness of christ , and count their own but as dung in comparison thereof ; particularly to the congregation , meeting at horsly-down , the hearers of these sermons , grace , mercy , and peace be multiplied . brethren , as i was put upon preaching on this great subject ; so i am satisfied it was at a very seasonable hour , this doctrine being greatly struck at by too many persons , though of different sentiments in many points of religion . and as it was well accepted by you , who heard these sermons ( and the others that followed ) when preach'd ; and having been prevail'd with to publish these to the world , so i hope some may receive advantage hereby : though for the meanness of the author , and weakness of the work , they may not meet with that entertainment from some as the subject deserves ; yet for your sakes whose souls are committed to my charge , and for whom i must give account to the great shepherd of the sheep at the last day , i readily consented to this publication ; as also that all may see that we are in this , and in all other great fundamentals of religion , established in the same faith with our brethren , and all sound aud orthodox christians in the world : and cannot but look upon our selves greatly concerned , to see how men by craft and subtilty endeavour , through satan's temptations ( though i hope some do it not wittingly ) strive to subvert the gospel of christ , and corrupt the minds of weak christians . an error in a fundamental point , is dangerous and destructive ; but should we mistake some men we have to do with , we should be glad : the lord help you to stand fast in the truth , as it is in jesus ( in which through grace you are well established : ) our days are perillous ; satan seems to be let loose upon us , and is in great rage , his time being but short . brethren , 't is a hard case that any of those who maintain the old doctrine of justification , should be branded with the black name of antinomians . as for my part , if dr. crisp be not mis-represented by his opposers , i am not of his opinion in several respects ; but i had rather erre on their side , who strive to exalt wholly the free grace of god , than on theirs , who seek to darken it and magnifie the power of the creature , though we fear the design is to wound the truth and us , through that good man's sides , who , i doubt not is gone to heaven : o when shall we see that truth , peace , and vnion longed for ! my brethren , the doctrine we preach does not open a door to the least licentiousness ( as ' iis unjustly said to do by some , who are either wilfully or ignorantly blind . ) no , god forbid . nothing can promote holiness , and gospel-sanctification like unto it , only it teaches us to act from high , sublime , and right evangelical principles : it shews the only way to attain to gospel-purity , flows from our vnion with christ ; and that no man can arrive to any degree of true holiness , or expect to meet with any success therein , without a principle of spiritual life , or saving faith in our lord jesus christ . the nature of men must first be changed , and that enmity that is in their hearts against god , be removed , before they can be holy : the tree must first be made good , or the fruits will be evil . the image of god must be formed in our souls , which puts the creature into an actual bent and propensity of his heart to the practice of holiness . if a man hates not sin , be not out of love with sin , how should he be in love with god and holiness ? now because we say sanctification is not necessary , as antecedent to justification , but is the fruit or product of vnion with christ ; though we deny not but the habits of holiness are infused at that same instant that faith is wrought in the soul , must we be look'd upon as promoters of a licentious doctrine ? must we make our own performances , or obedience a condition of justification , or be laid under infamy and reproach ? 't is by faith only , that we come to have actual enjoyment and possession of christ himself , and of remission of sin ; and not only so , but of eternal life ; and so of holiness also , and no other ways . the good lord help you to a right vnderstanding of these things , and make you all a holy people , to the praise of his glory , and honour of your sacred profession . the holy apostle having asserted justification by the righteousness of god , which is by faith in jesus christ , desired to know him and the power of his resurrection , &c. which he did not to be justified thereby , but as a fruit flowing therefrom , or as a further evidence thereof : the first he had attained ; but there was a higher degree of sanctification in hts eye , which he pressed after , as then not having attained : whose example let us follow . i shall say no more : you own a rule of gospel-holiness ; let me exhort you to labour after sincere obedience : and pray forget me not in your prayers , that god would graciously help me through all my troubles and temptations , and preserve me and you to his heavenly kingdom ; who am your servant for jesus's sake , and so shall abide till death . benjamin keach . the marrow of justification . or , the doctrine of justification opened , in divers sermons , at horsly-down . rom. iv. 5. but to him that worketh not , but believeth on him that justifieth the vngodly , his faith is counted for righteousness . this text is given me ( as i told you the last lord's day ) by an unknown hand , and though it may seem to interfere with my design and intention , in speaking to another scripture , on a different subject ; yet i readily imbrace this motion , and answer the desire of those christian friends , who so earnestly request and intreat me to speak to the doctrine of justification , and that for these reasons following . 1. because the doctrine of justification is one of the greatest and most weighty subjects i can insist upon ; it being by all christians acknowledged to be a fundamental of religion and salvation . hence this article is justly stiled , by worthy writers , articulus stantis , vel cadentis religionis : the very ●illar of the christian religion . other subjects a minister may preach upon , and that unto the profit and advantage of the people ; but this he must preach , this he cannot omit , if he would truly preach the gospel of jesus christ . 2. because i fear many good christians may not be so clearly and fully instructed into this doctrine as they ought , or it might be wished they were , though they may be rightly built upon the true foundation , or upon that precious corner-stone god hath laid in sion ; yet are but babes in christ , and therefore need farther instruction , for their establishment in this , and other essentials of the true christian religion . 3. because the present times are perillous , and many grand errours in and about this great fundamental point too much abound and prevail , ( as many have with grief observed of late , ) and that too in and about this city , which caused a worthy minister lately to say , that it greatly concerned pastors of the churches , &c. to strive to establish their people in this blessed truth , since there are some who with all their might endeavour to sow the seeds of errour and heresie almost every where , and many are sadly corrupted thereby already . 4. because if a person err herein , or be corrupt and of an unsound faith , in the case of justification , he is in a dangerous condition , though he may seem to be otherwise a good christian and of a holy life ; for 't is evident that there are damnable principles , as well as damnable practices , according to that of the apostle peter , 2 pet. 2. 1 , 2. and as our saviour said to the jews , vnless ye believe that i am he , ye shall die in your sins , joh. 8. 24. so must i say , unless ye have a true and right faith in him , ye must die in your sins ; for 't is not enough to believe christ is the true saviour ; but we must have also a right faith in that object ; unbelief and a mis-belief are alike destructive and pernicious : was it not an errour about justification that caused the jews to miscarry eternally , viz. they being ignorant of god's righteousness , went about to establish their own righteousness , &c. rom. 10. 3. 5. because this doctrine tends so much to the honour of god , and the magnifying of his infinite wisdom , and his free grace , and mercy in jesus christ , and also to the abasement of the creature : was it not the exaltation of the glory of god in all his attributes and blessed perfections , which was the result of that glorious counsel , held above between the father and the son , before the world began , in the bringing in and establishment of the covenant of grace ? what did god , as i may say , design or aim at therein● more than his own glory , and to abase sinful man ? and if so , how doth it behove us to see to our utmost to open the channel , that this sovereign grace may run freely , and not be obstructed by the mud or cursed notions and errors of men's dark minds , who seek to eclipse the doctrine of god's free grace ? 6. because from this doctrine doth proceed all the hope we have of eternal life : destroy this foundation , and what can the righteous do ? i may say of justification through the imputation of christ's righteousness , as david speaks of the covenant of grace , this is all our salvation and our hope , &c. 2 sam. 23. 5. if we come not to heaven this way , i know no other ; for other foundation can no man lay , than that is laid , which is jesus christ , 1 cor. 3. 11. 7. because 't is a doctrine that affords so much sweet and divine comfort to our souls , when rightly understood and apprehended ; and i am perswaded 't is through the want of light , and clear knowledge of this doctrine , so many doubts and fears attend many good christians : for ( as i have told some of you lately ) divers weak saints are ready to judge of their justification according to the degree and measure of their sanctification ; and can hardly be brought to believe , such vile creatures as they are , who find such evil and deceitful hearts , and so many great evils and infirmities in their lives , can be justified in the fight of god ; ( not that i ever denied that sanctification and holiness , is a mark or evidence of a justified person ; ) though i deny justification to be a gradual act , as sanctification in us is ; or that a person is not perfectly justified until he is perfectly sanctified , or actually delivered in him self from the pollution and defilement of all sin ; for then it would follow , no believer is actually justified in this life : but that which i intend , and hint at , is this , that if some weak christians can but arrive to holy and spiritual frames in duty , and get power over their corruptions , then they think they have good grounds to believe and hope they may be justified ; as if it were ●nherent grace and holiness that justifies them in god's sight . so much , briefly , as to the grounds and reasons which induced me to answer the call i had to insist upon this text and subject . secondly , to proceed the more orderly , i shall give you the scope and coherence of the text it self , for the better understanding the design and main drift of the holy ghost therein . and as to this we need go no further back than to the 9 verse of the 3 chap. where the apostle proves , that all men , both jews and gentiles , are under sin : what then are we better than they ? no , in no wise ; for we have before proved , ●oth jews and gentiles , that they are all under sin , verse 9. this he confirms by the scriptures of the old testament ; particularly , by that of david , there is none righteous no not one , verse 10. all men , naturally , as considered under the fall , are ungodly and vile in the sight of god ; and although the jews thought themselves in a better condition than the gentiles were , and boasted of their knowledge and sanctity ; the apostle declares , they were notwithstanding abominable sinners , and in no better state , but deceived themselves ; and that he might make this farther manifest , he proceeds more particularly to discover their wretched pollution and filthiness : there is none that understandeth , verse 11. 1. he shews that all the faculties of the soul are corrupted , viz. their minds and understandings are blind and darkned , being ignorant of god , or without the knowledge of his pure and spotless nature , justice , and holiness : there is none that seeketh after god. 2. by this he shews also the poyson and venom that was got into the will ; for as they have lost god , so they will not seek after him , like that of our saviour , ye will not come to me that ye might have life , joh. 5. 40. now till a man comes to see his own wretched and woful condition , and understands the nature of god , and the nature and tenure of the holy law of god , he cannot discern that absolute necessity there is of a perfect and compleat righteousness to justifie him in god's sight . 3. and that their will and affections are also depraved , and in like manner corrupted , he proceeds farther to cite what david in the same psalm saith , viz. they are all gone out of the way , they are altogether become unprofitable , there i● none that doth good , no not one , verse 12. now least any one zealot should fansie himself in a good condition , and excluded from this black indictment , and so in a justified state , by his own righteousness , he confirms again his former universal charge , all are gone out of the way , they are altogether become unprofitable ; and therefore not one of them can be justified . and as the faculties of their souls are corrupt , so the apostle proceeds to shew the infection had seized on the members of their bodies ; therefore he saith , their throat is an open sepulchre , with their tongue they have used deceit the poyson of aspes is under their lips , verse 13. whose mouth is full of cursing an● bitterness , verse . 14. their feet are swift to shed blood , verse 15. both tongues lips , throat , and feet , are polluted and abominable , being instruments o● unrighteousness . in verse 19. he seems to answer , by way of anticipation , an objection which the jews might bring against what he had said , as if they should say , what you speak doth not concern us , but the prophane gentiles ; we have the law and that relieves us , and thereby we may be justified ; to which he reasons thus , to cut off all their hopes , viz. now we know that whatsoever the law saith , it saith unto them that are under the law , that every mouth may be stopped , and all the world become guilty before god. by the law is not only meant the law as it was given to israel in the two tables of stone , but as the substance of the same law was written in the hearts of all mankind ; the apostle means the law of the first covenant which was broke by our first parents , by the breach of which all the world became guilty before god originally ; and also by their actual breach thereof for that neither jews nor gentiles lived without sin : but contrariwise wer● guilty of the breach of that law , under which they lived : but although all the world were under the law of the first covenant , and had the same law as to the substance of it , as a rule of life ; yet the jews had the upper hand of the res● of the world , by their having the oracles of god committed to them , by which means they had greater advantages to come to the knowledge of sin , and also by means of divers figures and prophecies to the knowledge of the messias . but what of all this ? the apostle shews them that the law on which they rested , was so far from relieving them , that it served chiefly to convince them of their horrid guilt , and bound the sentence upon them , so that they and all the world were subject to the just judgment of god , and under his wrath and curse . 2. and therefore he infers , that by the law ( either as it was written in the two tables , or in the heart , which the gentiles had as well as the jews ) no man could be justified so , ver . 20. therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight ; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 3. but lest upon this , the lost world should be left under utter despair , the apostle proceeds to shew us there is a way found out in the infinite wisdom of god , and according to his unspeakable grace and goodness , to deliver us from sin and guilt ; and so to justifie us before god ; and therefore he adds , but now the righteousness of god without the law is manifested , being witnessed by the law and the prophets , v. 21. even the righteousness of god , which is by faith of jesus christ unto all , and upon all that believe ; for there is no difference , v. 22. for all have sinned , and come short of the glory of god , being justified freely by his grace , through the redemption that is in jesus christ , v. 23 , 24. no wonder there is no difference , when both jews and gentiles lie under the guilt of adam's transgression , it being imputed to them , he being the common head and representative of the whole race of mankind , rom. 5. 12. and since also all of them partake of the same original corruption or depraved nature , inherent in them , from whence proceed all those actual transgressions , by which means it appears that all come short of that glorious image of god , in which they were at first created ; and also of the eternal glory above : yet to the praise of god's grace , the lost world is not left in a hopeless condition , god having sent his son to satisfie the law and divine justice , or to be a propitiation through faith in his blood , to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past , through the forbearance of god , v. 25. 4. in the 27th verse , he adds , a god-honouring , and a self-confounding inference from what he had said ; where is boasting then ? it is excluded . by what law ? of works ? nay , but by the law of faith. 5. and hence he draws another conclusion , viz. ver . 28. therefore we conclude , that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law ; and in the 4th chapter he proceeds to prove his main argument ; i. e. that a sinner is justified by faith without works , by the example of abraham ▪ for if abraham were justified by works , he hath whereof to glory , but not before god , chap. 4. 2. 6. this is the apostle's argument : if abraham was justified by works , he had somewhat whereby he might boast and glory ; but abraham had nothing whereof to boast or glory ; and therefore he was not justified by works . but to put it further out of doubt , he affirms what the scripture saith ; viz. that abraham believed god , and it was counted , to him for righteousness , v. 3. 7. in the next place , he proceeds to prove this blessed doctrine from the nature of works and grace , they being quite opposite , and contrary the one to the other . now to him that worketh , is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt , v. 4. if therefore it was granted , a man could perform the condition of perfect obedience ; yet he could not he justified . 1. because all , ( as he had shewed before , ) have sinned . 2. because there is no reward as a due debt from god , because we can do no more than our duty , we being the lords , and all our abilities and services can ne'er make a reparation for the wrong we have done against the law , and the holiness , and justice of god. and thus i come to my text , ver . 5. but to him that worketh not , but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly , his faith is counted for righteousness . to him that worketh not ; that is , worketh not , thinking thereby to be justified and saved . though he may work ; i. e. lead a holy and righteous life ; yet he doth it not to merit thereby ; nay , though he be wicked , and an ungodly person , and so worketh not , or hath no moral righteousness at all ; yet if he believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly , his faith is counted or imputed for righteousness : not as a simple act , or as it is a quality or habit , or in us , as the papists teach ; ipsa fides , saith bellarmine , censetur esse justitia , faith it self is counted to be a justice , and it self is imputed unto righteousness : no , nor in respect of the effects or fruits of it ; for so it is part of our sanctification . but as it is a hand to take hold of , or receive , or apply christ and his righteousness . manus accipientis , saith dr. downham , the hand of the receiver is the grace of justifying faith : 't is not faith , but the object and righteousness faith apprehends or takes hold of , that justifies the ungodly . 1. the apostle doth not intend by these words , that if a man hath the works here meant , he cannot be justified , unless he throws them away , and become openly wicked and prophane ; and so sin that grace may abound : no , as the apostle says , god forbid , rom. 6. 1. but his meaning is , that the absence or want of good works , or moral righteousness , cannot hinder a man's justification , if he believes in jesus christ , though he be never so wicked and ungodly . that justifieth the ungodly . every man is ungodly before he is acquitted and justified , having till that very instant a great mountain of guilt and filth lying upon him . justifie ; 't is verbum fore●se , a judicial word , used in courts of judgment , or a law-term , which usually is opposed to condemnation . and it signifies to absolve , to acquit from guilt , and accepting a man as righteous , or to pronounce him just and righteous , or give sentence for him , deut. 25. 1. , prov. 17. 15. not the making a person inherently righteous ; but to count or impute righteousness to one , that is in himself a sinner , or as my text , ungodly . obj. but may be you will say , what ungodly ones doth god justifie : if it be an impenitent , ungodly one , how can you reconcile this text with that of solomon ; he that justifieth the wicked , and he that condemneth the just , even they are both abomination to the lord ? prov. 17. 15. 1. answ . i answer ; 't is not meant of justifying of any ungodly act of a wicked person ; for god can as soon cease to be , as so to justifie the ungodly . 2. nor secondly , he means not justifying the person in his committing of any sinful deed ; for that is as opposite to god's holy nature , and all one with the former . 3. nor in the negative , are they such ungodly ones that are righteous in their own eyes , like as many of the jews and pharisees were , and paul also before his conversion , phil. 3. 4 , 5 , 6 , 7. when a persecutor . for although such who are righteous in their own sight , are the worst of sinners in the sight of god ; yet they are such whom god , while they retain that conceit of themselves , will never justifie : christ did not come to call the righteous , but sinners to repentance . there is , saith solomon , a generation pure in their own eyes ; yet are they not cleansed from their filthiness , prov. 30. 11. our saviour compares this sort of men to painted sepulchres , who appear beautiful without , but are within full of dead men's bones , and of all uncleanness , matth. 23. 27. what pollution is more loathsome than the filth of a rotten and stinking sepulchre ? the proud pha●isee crys out , god , i thank thee i am not as other men are , extortioners , vnjust , adulterers , or even as this publican : i fast twice 〈◊〉 the week , i give tithes of all that i possess , luke 18. 13. these men boast of ●heir good works , prayers , and alms-deeds ; but never saw their horrid ●ride , hardness of their hearts , unbelief , and cursed hypocrisie : they make ●lean the outside of the cup and platter ; but are abominable inwardly in his eye ●ho beholds their hearts . these men are wicked and ungodly , notwithstan●ing they look upon themselves to be righteous ; and yet are not therefore ●he ungodly whom god will justifie . 't is said , the publican who cried , lord ●e merciful to me a sinner , went away rather justified than the proud pharisee . 4. and in the fourth place , neither are they such wicked and ungodly ●nes , who though openly prosane and wretched creatures , such that love , and ●ive in sin ; yet glory presumptuously of christ's death , and say , through ●im they hope to be saved : they believe in christ ; and therefore do not ●oubt of their salvation ; faith is one thing , and presumption is another . i ●m afraid , brethren , that this conceit and delusion of the devil sends daily many thousands to hell ; because god hath abounded in his grace , they abound 〈◊〉 sin and wickedness , and presumptuously trust to lying words : these un●odly ones are not the persons which god doth justifie ; but rather positively ●ondemns in his word , and will condemn for ever , unless they believe , truly ●elieve in jesus christ . 5. therefore in the fifth place , they are such ungodly ones in the affirma●●ve , who do see themselves to be ungodly and vile ; they are such , whom god brings to see their sickness , to feel themselves wounded , who find them●elves lost and undone ; nay , though s