his Death and wistfully viewing him from first to last as an exact Mirror of Divinity peculiarly fixing on his Death when his Body was broken and his Blood pour'd forth being pierc'd with grief at the remembrance of those Sins which help'd to pierce his sacred Body and full of Astonishment that it should be apt to have such light thoughts of that which was so full of Malignity that it needed his precious Blood to make Atonement It views the appointed Emblems but it looks beyond them and with sorrow considers the share it had in that doleful Tragedy which is thereby pointted at It concernedly reflects on the need it stands in of a share in the Benefit of that Sacrifice which they represent it rejoyces in its own Capacity of being interested in it it takes the sacred Emblems when offer'd with a mixture of Joy and Sorrow Fear and Love and embraces a crucified Saviour in the Arms of Faith yielding up the Heart to him as a part of the Victory and Conquest of his Love resigning up it self and its all entirely to his Disposal Management and Government not as a free Gift but as his just Right which to with-hold from him would be the highest Sacriledge and as an Offering infinitely beneath the desert of his Matchless Obligations It contentedly quits all other things whatever as but Dung and Dross without a Christ being perfectly asham'd to think that any Creature should be his Rival It declares it self satisfy'd with him as a Portion by reason that in him and with him it will have all that is needful and cares not what it wants nor how it fares nor what it parts with so it may but share in his Merits and his Spirit his Grace and his Glory It not only throws it self into its Saviour's Arms for an instant but with a design to abide there detesting whatever tends to with-draw it from him with whom it is so enamour'd It renounces Sin Satan and the World as his known Enemies fetching strength from his Cross to resist and oppose them It disclaims Self as an Usurping Tyrant renouncing it so far as 't is opposite and firmly resolving to subject it so far as 't is capable to his Scepter and Government In humble Dependance on his promised Aids it takes a New Oath of Fealty to him it engages to a thorow Discipleship solemnly swearing over his sacred Emblems heartily to be subject to him to study to resemble him to carry it as one of his Followers to stick to his Interest to fight against his Enemies to follow his Conduct to submit to his Discipline to be content with his Allotments and patiently to wait for his Rewards It embraces that Covenant which his Death so firmly ratify'd stands amaz'd at the inestimable Blessings made over in it and firmly engages strenuously to apply it self to answer the Demands of it And out of a sense of its own weakness which time past hath but too much discover'd it sends up the most Pathetical Supplications to its once crucify'd but now glorify'd Redeemer for fixing stablishing confirming preserving persevering Grace and constant Supplies of it that so the sense of such Obligations as he hath laid upon it and such Bonds as it is voluntarily enter'd into to him may by nothing ever be defac'd or worn out In hope whereof it triumphs and rejoyces magnifying adoring blessing and praising all the three Persons in the sacred Trinity the Father the Son and the holy Spirit on the Account of their distinct Concern and Agency in the Redeeming and Saving of lost Sinners 3. LET 's view the same Soul immediately after the Renewal of such Sacramental Vows and we shall find its first Work to be the Recollecting what past in the foregoing Transaction How did I burn and glow says such a Soul when I found my self under the Direct Beams of my Saviour's Love at his Table And what shall I do to retain my Warreth Or How little was I affected suitably to such a Solemnity And what can fire my frozen Heart Such a Soul cann't rest in the Work done or think all 's at an end when the solemnity's over It cann't forbear either commending or chiding it self according as the posture and carriage hath been it cann't forbear endeavouring to drive things home Follow it close and you 'll find it upon the first convenient Opportunity running all over again in its thoughts and endeavouring to rivet good Impressions and fix pious Resolutions and establish and confirm holy Purposes and back Renew'd Vows with strong enforcing Considerations and doing what it can to engage it self to answer it's Engagements and Obligations to its God and Saviour Shall I go and undo what I have been doing by a lazy Indifferency a negligent and careless course of Life Shall I forget whose I am and who I am to serve and what are my Engagements and to whom and how I am bound Will not my Guilt be much encreas'd my dear Saviour more offended the blessed Spirit more griev'd and my Heart more deaden'd than ever if I return again to Folly Was not what I did in Renewing my Vows the Effect of Consideration Is not every thing that I have vow'd antecedently my Duty Hath not every part of my Duty Benefit attending it Is not He with whom I have been Transacting able to assist me And hath he not given me his Promise in his Word and seal'd it at his Table He will never change or draw back Why then should I No I have vow'd and I 'll stand to it Christ is mine and I 'll be his Him I 'll love Him I 'll serve and follow He shall have my Heart and my Life And alas That little All I am able to give him is not the thousandth part of what I owe Him These and such as these are the Retir'd Thoughts and Reasonings of a sincere Soul presently after Renewing Sacramental Vows 4. THE former Exercise is no sooner over but if you 'll persist in your suit you 'll find the same Soul wrestling with God in Prayer and sending its most earnest Petitions and Supplications upwards for Grace and Strength to pay the Vows Renew'd I have vow'd indeed O Lord says such a Soul to God that I 'll be thine I have anew Consecrated my self to my Blessed Redeemer and I desire not to draw back But I have of my self no strength to perform all my sufficiency is of thee Lord keep a sense of my Renew'd Engagements ever fresh and warm upon my heart Thou know ' st my Weakness and my Treachery I beseech thee to aid me constantly by thy powerful Spirit that how numerous soever my Infirmities and Imperfections be I may in no case wickedly depart from thee O that I who have been viewing a crucify'd Iesus and engag'd to be his constant follower might be crucify'd unto the World and have that crucify'd unto me O that I who have been commemorating my de Lords Dying for Sin may by vertue
many times between the Infant Adult state of Persons Baptiz'd That duringtheir Infancy they were in a state of favour with God on the account of their Believing Parents as a part of whom they were then considered and with the requisite Solemnity were admitted into Gods Visible Family here on Earth and yet when they come to grow up and stand on their own Legs they are rejected on the account of their Impenitence and Infidelity and the Ungodliness of their Lives Tho' there is I say many times as great a difference as this comes to manifestly discernable in this case vet is not God in the least chargeable with Changing but 't is we that Change and make the difference The Gifts and Calling of God says the Apostle are without Repentance He Repented not of the kindness he engag'd to shew the Israelites for their Fathers sakes ' I was they who by breaking the Covenant in which they were bound to him forct him to punish their Disobedience So God Repents not of the kindness he in the Ordinance of Baptisin engages to shew to the Children of Believing Parents He is willing to make every thing good to a tittle that he then engag'd to But the Persons I am speaking of who openly break with him and renounce his kindness in the face of the World by living in the wilful violation of their Solemn Vow make it inconsistent with his Honour to own them for his by their Rebellion against him so long as they persist in it they incapacitate him to deal with them as with faithful Subjects which they are not But it is more proper to say That such Persons throw themselves out of Gods Family than that they are thrown out of it Observe further 2. THAT tho' a willful and allow'd Breach of the Baptismal Vow Liv'd in doth directly forfeit the Blessings engag'd to on Gods part yet doth it not irrecoverably forfeit them For be it known to all so Gracious is God that he is backward to take advantages against us He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance How open and notorious soever have been our Breaches of our Baptismal Vow there 's still room for Repentance Upon our serious Profession whereof the door stands open in order to our Re-admission to all forfeited Church Priviledges and our Gracious God is ready again to receive and embrace us our Abused Saviour to Interceed for us and the Affronted Spirit to Assist and Help us all the Blessings we have forfeited may be Recover'd and Restor'd upon our Repentance and Reformation our Renewing our Vow and after keeping it sincerely But yet a Forfeiture there certainly doth ensue upon willful and allow'd Breaches of it both of Church-Priviledges and Special Covenant Blessings Which all those would do well seriously to consider of who have receiv'd the Christian Badge call themselves Christians and hope to be dealt withal as such and yet lead Unchristian and Ungodly Lives 3. IT may be observ'd that the after Exercises of Religion which build on Baptism as their Foundation have this for their great design to engage and help us to keep the Vow of God we then came under or to restore us and renew the force of it upon us when we have broke it It is the great design of Catechization to ground us well in the great Principles of our Faith and Rules of Practice that we may distinctly know what we are to Believe and Do. It is the great design of the Preaching of the Word which the Spirit is wont to accompany with his Efficacy to those who seriously and faithfully attend upon it to for those things a National knowledge whereof will be of no avail home upon our Hearts to warn us of our Danger when running on in Sin to Rouz us from our Sloth and Carnal Security to Re-call us from our Wandrings to Press us with the most Urgent Arguments and Motives to be heartily his who alone can make us Happy and to live to him to whom we are Devoted and to Encourage Further and Help us in the way of Well-Doing if our Hearts are truly set Heaven-ward It is the great design of Publick Prayers by our joint Entreaties in the Assemblies of Gods People to Supplicate for Grace and the Super-natural Aids of the Divine Spirit to render our Tempers and Lives agreeable to our Christian Profession And of our Publick Praises by Celebrating the Divine Perfections of our Great Creator Redeemer and constant Benefactor with one common Ardour especially his Kindness Grace and Goodness to engage our hearts to him and stir up our selves for shame to some suitable Returns of Holy Obedience It is the great design of the Lords Supper and its frequent Repetition to keep our Hearts under the most lively sense that is possible of Redeeming Love and to give us an oportunity of Renewing our Baptismal Vow with great Solemnity over the Memorials of that Sacrifice that is of Everlasting Vertue of which more in the Sequel And it is the design of all Church Censures wherever they are kept up agreeably to the end of their Institution to curb open Sin and Vice to prevent Scandals and Blemishes to Religion to recover Offenders and to promote Sincere Piety and Holiness to keep from Transgressing and stimulate to the Obeying of the Laws of Christ to which we have in our Christian Vow all sworn Subjection All Christian Ordinances Duties and Exercises some how or other relate to this Vow and are design'd either to Instruct us in the Latitude Compass and Extent of it or to stir us up to keep it or to help us to perform it either to keep us from breaking it or to convince us of our Breaches and deter us from persisting either to help us to repeat it with a renew'd Ardour not having wickedly broke it or to help us to renew it after Repentance for having broken it to bind our Souls more and more closely to God by it and either to draw or drive us to act like those that have a Sacred Vow of God upon us 4. A Fourth Observation I have to make is this That a Recognition of the Baptismal Vow is necessary in Persons admission to the Lords Table Nothing can be more plain Than that Baptiz'd Persons as such are not therefore to be admitted to the Lords Supper For some renounce the Faith which they were Baptiz'd into some that were Solemnly Devoted to God in Infancy have no Fear of him before their Eyes when they come to Maturity and instead of spending their Lives in his Service to which they were bound they give themselves to commit all manner of Iniquity with greediness Would to God there were not multitudes of such Persons among us Others that yet are not by far so bad as the former never think seriously of the Obligation which they were laid under by their Baptismal Consecration never study how to answer it It 's as plain as the
Sun that such Persons are unfit for such an Ordinance as the Lords Supper for they are incapable of reaching the ends of its Institution Since therefore none but Baptiz'd Persons may approach the Lords Table but all Baptiz'd Persons may not the Question is Where the discrimina tion of some from others of them proper to this case lies And what it is that is necessary as a pre-requisite Qualification I answer the difference lies here That some stand to their Baptismal Engagement and others don 't and the qualification pre-requir'd is an owning of it For if Persons don't own the Vow they once came under 't is to no purpose to think of Repeating it again NOW the owning of this Vow is pre-requir'd to Persons Right Receiving of the Lords Supper in a double respect either with Reference to God or the Church 1. WITH Reference to God and so the Hearty owning the Obligation of this Vow is necessary without which we cannot approve our selves to him or so transact with him as to reap those Benefits which he designs for us by that Ordinance whereto we are suppos'd to pretend Our Hearts must be really Consecrated and our Lives Devoted to him according to the tenour of our Engagement in Baptism before we can justly pretend anew to strike Covenant with him who searcheth Hearts and trieth Reins as we are to do at his Table 2. OUR owning our Baptismal Vow is also requisite with reference to the Church to our admission to the Lords Table We must make a Credible Profession of adhering to it of which kind is every such Profession as is not contradicted by an Unsuitable Life and Conversation This Credible Profession of an Adherance to the Baptismal Vow is necessary that it may appear there is a difference between those that are admitted to Church Communion and those that are debarr'd it and for the same reason it would be well if it were Publick It would be very becoming and Advantageous did Persons every where before they first Communicated freely profess their Sincerity and Constancy in their Baptismal Covenant or Vow and openly declare themselves in the face of a Christian Congregation Enemies to the Devil the World and the Flesh And this is the most considerable part of that which hath been wont to be call'd Confirmation A thing much practic'd and insisted on in the Primitive Church tho' of later times much neglected and by some quite laid aside as useless the more 's the pity IT much Rejoyces me therefore and I cann't forbear mentioning it on this Occasion to know and hear of several even of the Dissenting Congregations in the Nation wherein this Practice is still kept up Among whom 't is usual for the Pastors after their private Transactions with those who are to be Admitted to the Lords Table either on some day in the preceeding Week or just before the Administration of the Holy Communion Publickly to demand of them whether they don't stand to their Baptismal Vow and take it on themselves Whether they don't cordially give up themselves to God the Father Son and Spirit according to the tenour of it And whether they don't engage to walk agreeably to all the Laws of the Gospel Or to that purpose Which is really a thing of great weight and moment and I could wish 't were more universally minded This as I was saying is the most considerable part of that which the Antients us'd to call Confirmation And such a Declaration as this made by Persons in the face of a Christian Congregation is really an Act of Confirmation for they do thereby further ratify and establish the Contract which is between God and them and by confessing it to be valid and good and openly owning that the Vow of God is upon them bind themselves still faster to him whose they were before Some may perhaps think this to be more ado then needs by reason the very coming to the Lords Table with antecedent Preparation and siting down there among the Faithful who are bound to God by Covenant is a Tacit or Virtual owning of the Baptismal Vow And at most they may apprehend that the doing this in private before the Pastor of the Church might be sufficient To whom I can without any difficulty grant that what I aim at is indeed virtually imply'd in such a case and that the private performance of it may suffice to render Persons worthy Communicants But yet it follows not but that the Publick Transacting of this matter may be much more Eligible Many Instances may be produc'd where very near as much depends on the manner of doing a thing as on the thing it self and this I take to be one For I pray observe Persons upon their first coming to the Lords Table pass out of the state of Infant into that of Adult Members of the Church The faster therefore they are bound to GOD the more likely will they be to credit Religion of which the generality of the World are apt to pass a Judgement from the Demeanor and Conversations of such Persons Now the more publickly such a Profession is made the more likely it is to influence them since they will have so many as Witnesses against them ready to admonish them upon occasion of their open Engagement which cann't but strike an awe And but that it would be too great a Digression I could make it appear that the Scripture favours such a publick Recognition of the Baptismal Vow and it is agreeable to the Practice of the Church in several Successive Ages True it is in process of time the Romanists in a shameful manner abus'd it but that 's no just Reason for our slighting or rejecting it who may have it pure and free from their Abuses However this I think is plain and clear That a Recognition of the Baptismal Vow is necessary to Persons Regular Admission to the Lords Table I add further 5. THAT the more Solemn this Recognition of the Baptismal Vow is 't is so much the better where I mean not Ceremonicus by Solemn as if this matter would be ever the better the more Ceremonious it was No that is far from my Intention The Papists indeed have made it a Sacrament and turn'd it all into Ceremony for they use Oil in the Administring it and Balsam and sign with the Sign of the Cross c. But of these things we can safely say They were not from the beginning for the time when they first began to be us'd in the Church can be mark'd out But my meaning in the word Solemn is this that the more Seriously and Gravely it is manag'd on the part of the Persons coming to Confirmation and the more Authoritatively on the part of the Minister as Christ's Officer the more likely is it to Answer its End The Establish'd Church of England hath taken care enough in this latter point as to the Authoritativeness of this Transaction but 't is the Desire and Wish of all sober
us to himself Our God is sensible of the slipperyness of our Hearts and therefore he 's for binding us as fast as may be He hath so ordered matters as that we are to be Consecrated and come under a Vow to him as soon almost as we begin to be this Vow we are with great Solemnity to own and renew as soon as we become capable of Transacting for our selves and afterwards we are requir'd frequently to give new security of our Fidelity over the Consecrated Elements at the Supper of our Lord And the design of all is only this the more effectually to engage us to that which is our unquestionable Duty wherewith our interest is closely connected In obliging us time after time to renew our Bonds God hath consulted our good designing thereby to further our security of reaching those Inestimable Benefits which he hath design'd for us We should therefore be so far from thinking much of them that we should prize our Bonds we should look upon our selves as so much the more Honour'd by how much the more they are multiply'd upon us CHAP. VIII Of an EXPRESS RENEWAL of our Christian Vows every time we come to the Holy Communion And DIRECTIONS about the right Management of it IT now follows that in the second place I show how the Express Renewal of the Christian Vow every time we come to the Supper of our Lord will help us the more effectually to reap the Benefits of that Holy Ordinance Which comes in very properly by way of Motive to that which I doubt is too commonly neglected by many Christians viz. Expresly Renew'd Covenanting at every Sacrament What I have to propound under this Head will I say properly come in by way of Motive For if I can make it appear That this is the way for our reaching the Benefits design'd for us by this Sacred Institution of our Religion I think there are none who are not their own enemies but must readily fall in with it and set themselves to put it in practice It is indeed certain and undeniable That Persons growth in Grace and Advancement in the Divine Life may be promoted by their Devout Partaking of the Holy Supper while yet either thro' Ignorance or Forgetfulness or Unskilfulnefs how to manage themselves at that Sacred Solemnity they may neglect the Express Renewing their Vows to be the Lords But if it be evident that this Ordinance would do them more good and be attended with much greater Advantage to the same Persons did they positively and expresly every time make an act of surrender of themselves to him who gave himself for them and anew engage to live to him who dy'd for them it will follow that they must be enemies to themselves if they continue Negligent Now this will be made appear from these three considerations viz. That our slipery Hearts will be more fix'd and aw'd our Faith and Hope be more eonfirm'd and strengthen'd and our Comfort more encreas'd by this means than could be otherwise supposable 1. THE Express Renewing our Vows every time we come to the Lords Table will much fix and awe our slippery Hearts None that are not great great strangers at home can be ignorant how apt our Hearts are to turn aside like a deceitful bow and to lose the sense of those things which ought continually to influence and govern us especially if remov'd from us by any distance of time how easily the continually surrounding objects of sense deface those Impressions which are at any time made on our minds by higher things and how difficult 't is to keep sensible from prevailing over Spiritual Engagements Alas the Sensual Carnal part is so powerful in the best and our Hearts are so apt to fall in with it and the Temptations we meet with to draw off our Hearts from God are so numerous and we so prone to yield unto them that we can hardly tye our selves fast enough or sufficiently multiply obligations on our selves to an Holy a Christian and a Divine Life If the sense of often repeated engagements is apt to wear off and who sees not that it too too often does so even in the best How unlikely is it that a single act of Consecrating our selves to our God and Saviour or the same repeated only now and then after large and considerable intervals should retain a constant governing power over us But the frequency and expresness of our Renew'd Vows if we take but care to apply our selves to them with any degree of that Seriousness that suits such a Solemnity will much promote their influence upon us For it will keep us under a standing sense of our Obligation it will fortify us against Temptations it will be a constant Fence and Spur and Monitor to us For if I have the least degree of Grace and resolve not in the most daring and provoking manner possible to trifle with God and my own Conscience Can I who month after month while I am feasting on the Memorials of Redeeming Love Renew my Self-Dedication to the Most High can I I say presently forget that I am anothers and not my own Can I or any one so easily forget this as if it were but once or twice in an whole Lives space that solemn Vows were made And doth not their Expresness as well as their Frequency add to their force For this implies not only a Recollection that we are the Lords but a Serious Resolution taken up in his Presence and form'd over the most awful Emblems of his Greatness and Majesty and Purity and the most Endearing Pledges of his Goodness Grace and Love that we will be his for the future more than ever we were before If we are Serious in such frequently Repeated Engagements we cannot but be made more Watchful more Considerate and Provident more Diligent and more Setled Christians both in our Tempers and Lives than we should otherwise be Consciences work will be made more easie For we shall have but a little way at any time to look back to that which of any thing that can be thought of will be the most likely to curb the fury of Lust and abate the violence of Temptation and quicken us to our Duty and cause Repentance and Rising again after our Sins and Falls Now this is one one of the Blessed Benefits design'd for us by the Institution of the Sacrament of the Supper no other way more likely to be gain'd than by this Practice of Expresly Renewing the Christian Vow every time we joyn therein 2. THIS Practice will help to strenthen our Faith and Hope There 's no Grace that is more employ'd at the Sacrament by Devout Communicants than Faith Its work is to view Christ thro' the Elements whereby he is Represented to receive him when offer'd and to return our all back to him again tho' not by way of Requital or out of any hope of Desert yet out of a sense of Duty and as a Token uf the highest
acceptably enough at other Instants during the Administration of this Ordinance But the Reception of the Elements seems to be the most advantagious season At every Sacrament therefore when thou takest the Bread and Wine as sensible Representations of Christ and his Benefits as visible Pledges of the Love of God through Christ to thy Soul do thou give up thy self afresh to God thro' Christ to live continually in his Love and Fear and in strict Obedience to his Laws till thou shalt be taken to Glory When the Minister as Christs Messenger puts the Consecrated Elements into thy hands then do thou after a thankful Adoration of the Divine Clemency and Bounty expressing it self by such inexpressible Gifts as are thereby represented then I say do thou from the bottom of thy Heart cry out I willingly accept of thine offer'd Covenant O Lord my Soul doth gladly take thee for my God and Father for my Saviour and my Sanctifier And here I give up my self to thee as thy Own thy Subject and thy Child to be sanctified and saved by thee to be beloved by thee and to be happy in loving thee to all Eternity O seal up this Covenant by thy Spirit which thou sealest to me in thy Sacrament that without Reserve I may be entirely and for ever thine Direct VI. EVERY time thou at the Sacrament Renewest thy Vows to be the Lords take care particularly to vow the Death of that Corruption that sticks closest to thee whereby God is most dishonoured and thy Comfort and Welfare most endangered Give it up freely to be sacrificed for him who gave himself a Sacrifice for thee Thy Darling Corruption is thy nearest thy closest and one of thy most dangerous Enemies Vow therefore to maintain a constant Combat against it that tho' thou canst have little hope of quite eradicating it yet Divine Grace assisting thee thou wilt not yield and give way to it thou wilt not be over-power'd by it Take care expresly to vow an opposition to that which by its prevalence would make all thy Vows ineffectual Direct VII THOU shouldst at every Sacrament not only vow to be the Lords in general but to be his in all Conditions Give up thy self time after time to be disposed of by him in all respects as he shall see good Take this particularly into thy Vows at the Lords Table That thou wilt Acquiesce in all the Disposals of Providence and be contented in every state whereinto God sees it fit to bring thee Disclaim being the Carver of thy own Lot By thy Renew'd Vows willingly resign all that belongs to thee to Divine Management and Conduct and resolve that thou wilt cleave to God whatever it cost thee that tho' he slay thee yet thou wilt trust in him that thou wilt follow him when he frowns as well as when he smiles that thou wilt bear his Rebukes as the Chastisements of a Father design'd for thy good that thou wilt look on every thing as best whatever he allots thee in a word that thou wilt intirely resolve thy will into his The doing this at every Sacrament seriously would prevent us a great deal of Trouble it would be a Spring of Peace and Comfort to us what ever were our Condition whatever should befall us Direct VIII TAKE care that the deepest Thankfulness be a constant Concomitant of all thy Renewed Vows No greater occasion for Thankfulness than this That we have any ground at all for hope of being accepted upon our Devoting our selves to God thro' Christ Tho past Vows have been broken we may be again accepted upon Renewing them That we have Hearts and Inclinations to Renew them that we have any ground to hope for strength from Heaven to enable us to keep them when we have Renew'd them that we have so advantagious a Season for Renewing them as the Sacrament brings with it all minister cause of Thankfulness Let 's therefore with an holy Exultation of Soul with that Chearfulness and Joy that are the Natural Indications of a Thankful Heart give up our selves to God from time to time that it may appear we don't look upon it as a piece of Slavery or Drudgery but as our greatest Happiness THESE few Directions well follow'd would make Sacraments otherguess things than they ordinarily are and would help us to a much more sensible encrease of Grace and strength by them than we are wont to receive CHAP. IX Of the Nature Sacredness and Strength of the Obligation that lies on all those to lead an HOLY LIFE who often repeat Sacramental Vows NOTHING's more obvious to be observ'd Than that Persons may in many cases be several ways oblig'd to the same thing Those who are under no Sacramental Vows at all do yet stand bound to the same thing to which they oblige those that are under them viz. To Love and Serve the Lord all their days with all their Heart and with all their Might to Live continually in his Fear and Walk in all Holy Obedience to his Laws All Rational Creatures as such are plainly oblig'd hereto without any such Vows Antecedent as those before explain'd or with part of them only Suppose Persons therefore to remain Unbaptiz'd which yet methinks none that are come to the use of their Reason who have any value for their Souls should be content to remain and so not to have come under the Christian Vow at all with any of the prescrib'd Solemnities or suppose them to have taken the Christian Vow initially upon them in Infant Baptism without a Solemn Recognition of it when at Age and without ever coming to the Lords Table to Renew and Repeat it which is the much to be lamented case of many who pass for Christians in the days we live in notwithstanding the defects in either case the Persons concern'd are yet highly oblig'd to be the Lords and to live to him Withal Vows made on a Sick Bed or in any hour of Distress and Danger give a Superadded enforcement to the same Obligation But there is a peculiar Sacredness and Strength and binding force in those Vows that are manag'd in the Order before describ'd and which particularly are frequently repeated at the Lords Table For 1. THE Obligation Persons are hereby laid under hath all the marks of Freedom and Voluntariness which is to be understood of their Confirming and Renewed and not of their Initial Vows Persons hereby freely oblige themseves to that whereto God had before oblig'd them They own the validity of the Obligation they were under to God antecedently to any consent or act of theirs by owning the Justice Equity and Reasonableness of his Claims and consenting to yield to them And so that which both was and is the matter of their Duty appears to be the matter of their Choice for of their own accord they bind themselves to a Faithful Performance Now this is a great Additional Obligation because it is a Self Obligation I am bound to be the Lords before
beloved Lusts and Vowing and Swearing in the nearest presence of the Majesty of Heaven to which they are capable of being admitted a dutiful Affection faithful Obedience and holy Devotedness And the more to Awe themselves they call in all above them and round about them to bear witness to this their Act and Deed whereby they solemnly bind themselves to all that their holy Religion obliges them to And all this is done but from the Teeth outwards as I may say and very superficially their God and Saviour have not their Hearts but their Lusts bear sway they remain the same Men they were and by their Lives shew that all this was meer Trifling they never in reality cordially meant what they with such a Train of Solemnities bound themselves to and are as careless about the Performance as if none were privy to their Engagements And this not in a single Instance but a stated Course What Profaneness can be greater On such Persons the most sacred things its plain can strike no Awe For they in reality Ridicule what in the nature of the thing calls for the greatest Seriousness and that even whilst in appearance they are as much in earnest as they are capable of being in any thing If the Sin of Nadab and Abihu was great who offered strange Fire at the Altar of God how great must their Guilt then be who thus profane the holiest of Gods Institutions 2. THE highest Contempt is hereby pour'd on the Pretious Blood of Christ which is pretendedly highly priz'd and valu'd Those who are Communicants at the Lords Table profess a mighty value for that pretious Blood of his whereby we are Redeem'd They even by their Appearance there profess themselves under a full Conviction that that was the Blood whereby they were purchased that that is the Blood whereby they must be justify'd that that is the Blood that must purge their Consciences and cleanse them from all Sin in a word That that Blood is the only thing that can plead with God and procure from Him any Mercy for them By their frequent solemn partaking of the Memorial of it in the Sacramental Cup they pretend to be sensible that nothing's so dear to them nothing's so much esteem'd by them and therefore they magnifie its Vertue and extol its Worth on that they pretend to place their whole Dependance and on the Covenant thereby seal'd to ground all their hopes The partaking of the vertue of it is that of which they profess themselves most earnestly desirous in the contemplating the blessed effects thereof they pretend to take the most ravishing delight and the effusion of it they swear to revenge upon their Lusts which were the occasions of it This is the Language of the Celebration of the Ordinance of the Supper this in part is the common purport of his Discourse Profession and Petitions who is the Administrator wherein all that are present seem to fall in and it also is the distinct Language of the several Communicants And all this while the Persons I am pointing at count this Sacred Blood an unholy thing they do in reality whatever they may pretend no more value it ascribe no more vertue to it see no more excellency in it than in common Blood they in their Hearts slight and neglect it as a mean trivial insignificant worthless thing and this plainly appears by the Affronts they in the course of their Lives put on him whose Blood it is by their allowance of themselves in those Sins from which it was design'd to redeem them by their wilful Breaches of those Vows the keeping whereof is the the only way to secure them an Interest in it and their careless forfeiting the blessed Benefits of it without any considerable Remorse and Concern Now by their frequent trifling with the Blood of so sacred a Person as our Dear Redeemer in swearing over it to him that shed it and that on their Account that they will be his and his alone and depend on the vertue of his Atonement in the way he hath prescrib'd to which Vow and Profession their After-Life too plainly gives the Lie hereby they pour the highest Contempt upon it and so are guilty of the most egregious and daring Profaneness But 2. Such Persons are also chargeable with the basest Persidiousness for they profess the strictest Amity with the blessed God while yet they cherish Enmity against him and carry it in an hostile manner towards him Feasting with any one was ever esteem'd a Token of Friendship and to cover Enmity under the Symbol of Amity was ever esteem'd basely Perfidious and nothing is wont to be more heinously resented Now the Communicants time after time at the sacred Supper feast before God nay they feast with him at his own Table and thereby profess themselves to have laid aside all Enmity against him who shews himself so ready to be Reconcil'd to them And as the blessed God by the Pledges of his Love which he gives at his Table firmly assures of his Favour so doth the Communicant by receiving these Pledges solemnly engage a Return of Duty And yet in the mean time there 's an hostile Heart cover'd over with a Friendly Vail which abundantly appears in the After-Life 'T was reckon'd a great Aggravation of Achitophel's Crime by David that when he pretended to be his familiar Friend and ate of his Bread he yet listed up his Heel against him The same was reckon'd a great Aggravation of Iudas his Crime by our Saviour and the same is also a great Agravation of these Persons Guilt They pretend by their frequent feasting with God to be at Peace with him and Renew their Engagements to banish all things offensive to him from their Tempers and Lives as far as they are able every time they come to his sable But their Backsare no sooner turn'd but they carry on Hostility against him afresh as if he were their open Enemy Than which nothing can be more horridly base 3. NO Crimes carry in them greater Audaciousness than those of these Persons which highly aggravates them For 1. THEY in the most wretched manner that is conceivable attempt to impose on the blessed God Every Sin indeed of whatever kind it be doth imply an Attempt to impose upon the Heart-searching God a deep and riveted sense of whose Omniscience Universal Inspection and Omnipresence would be sufficient at any time to deter from it how great soever were the Temptation to it But none are chargeable therewith in so egregious a manner as these Persons who think to put him off with a mock Consecration of themselves to him which hath nothing of reality at the bottom of it who think to put him off with that which would not satisfie the meaneft and weakest of their fellow Creatures viz. often-repeated Promises without Performance and fancy they shall please him by mocking him in the most contemptuous manner and imagine they may undo all past faults by
I have done of the others Misery But that neither the former Chapter nor this may be wrested to serve different Purposes than they were design'd for it seems needful that I premise this Caution That as in the Chapter foregoing I aim'd at those and those only who live in such Breaches of their Sacred Vows as are inconsistent with Sincerity so what I have now to subjoyn is safely applicable to all who can approve their own Hearts sincere 'T is not indeed possible for any Mortal Man to assign such certain Universal Marks of Distinction between such Breaches with God as are consistent with Sincerity and such as are not so as will hold So great is the variety of particular Circumstances here falling under Consideration as makes this a matter uncapable of a general Determination And for my part I must declare that were I able positively to certify Persons what guilt they might contract how far and how often they might break their Solemn Vows and yet retain their Integrity I should not dare to do it for fear it should be abus'd But yet 't is certain there are many sorts of Breaches which may make Persons sincerity justly questionable and all wilful ones do so more or less and the more gross and habitual they are the oftner they are repeated and the more numerous and strong those Bonds are which Persons break the more dubious do they make it And on the other hand 't is as certain that the most upright have considerable frailties after their utmost care and pains and watchfulness they will be continually offending in many things Who can pretend to steer exactly in such a strait 't is God alone can guide When we have done our utmost he alone can keep from daugerous mistakes and abuses Let it suffice therefore to intimate That I would have all those who find themselves chargeable with frequent wilful Breaches of their Sacramental Vows give Conscience free leave to judge whether they are not in the dismal state before describ'd And on the other side I would have all those who find in the main that sin grows weaker in them and Grace stronger that they particularly get ground of their own Iniquity more abhor it strive more against it and are more griev'd at any discern'd vergencies towards it to satisfy themselves as to their own safety Such as they cannot but be sincere in their Sacramental Engagements and therefore are unspeakably happy I shan't go to heap up a Variety of Arguments to prove the Happiness of such Persons which were indeed all one as to go about to prove that there is a reality in Religion but I shall only briefly shew wherein it lies in order to the Allurement and Excitation of such as are yet Strangers to it and the Encouragement of those to whom it belongs and their Comfort and Joy NOW we may take a View of the Happiness of those who seriously come under Sacramental Vows to God and faithfully keep them in the following Particulars 1. THEY are drawn the nearer and bound the faster to God by every approach to him in the Ordinance of the Supper They come to his Table and sit down under his Shadow with great delight and find his Fruit to be sweet to their Tast and his Banner over them to be Love Whenever they come thither with prepared Hearts their dear Lord refresheth them with his Love replenisheth them with his Grace encourages them in his Ways and ravishes them with the sweetness of his Entertainment He puts forth his Hand to lift them up nearer Heaven and gives them a glympse of that which is to be their future Possession a tast of what is to be their everlasting Entertainment He warms their Hearts afresh till he makes them burn and glow and then their All is alas too little to offer up in Flames of Love to him that hath so many ways endear'd himself to them to him that hath so much power over them A separation from him is what they can now less bear the thoughts of than ever They give up themselves therefore to him anew resolving they will never forsake him and by such renew'd Vows and Engagements the Bond that fastens them to him is strengthen'd and the awe of Sacred Things which is so apt to wear off from the best is renew'd and further riveted Their Lord on his part as 't were embraces them in his Arms in token that the Bond is mutual and as a Pledge that the Union between them shall be inseparable and he sends them in fresh supplys of Grace for their assistance and support I am sensible how great unevenness there is in the best which may produce Spiritual Distempers Decays and Declensions whereby those sensible Incomes and reviving Influences that might otherwise be obtain'd in this Ordinance may be very much abated But something or other of this kind more or less hath been experienc'd at some such seasons by sincere Souls which by those who know how to value things aright cannot but be esteem'd far beyond any sensible Comfort or Refreshment 2. IT is no mean part of the Happiness of such that they take the most effectual method to secure their Peace and make it solid stable and lasting they take the right course to maintain both Peace with God and Peace of Conscience 1. THOSE who are serious in making and sincere in keeping Sacramental Vows take an effectual course to maintain Peace with God He can't slight or reject a sincere self-resigning Soul He can't but with Tenderness Love and Pity behold a Soul that seriously endeavours to keep close to him he can't break with that Soul that he sees carefully shuns breaking with him And tho' none use the utmost care they might tho' there are none in our present lapsed State but if they did would often halt and falter yet shall none of their Breaches which are consistent with Sincerity disanul or cancel that Treaty of Peace between God and them of which Christ is the powerful Mediatour or hinder their partaking of its blessed Effects To this Treaty God sets his Seal at every Sacrament The Devout Communicant at every such Solemnity thankfully accepts and joyfully embraces the Overtures of it and renews Vows of an holy Course of Life The sincere keeping these Vows secures God's Approbation and Special Favour 'T is Sin that is the only cause of separation between God and us and no Sin more than the Violation of Solemn Vows where this therefore is guarded against by a steddy course of faithful Obedience there remains no cause for any considerable breach between God and us For as for daily Infirmitys where the Heart is upright and the Course of the Life holy in the main God hath promis'd he will not remember them he 'll on the Account of Christ's Intercession easily overlook and pass them by and maintain Peace with us upon a general Repentance of them and Humiliation for them Now what Man is so happy as
he that hath Peace with the Blessed God And who can be so likely to reach this Happiness as he that is rightly sensible of and that in the main lives up to those Vows of his that he is under 'T is true all Peace with God is the effect of Christ's Death the Merit of his Blood and the Fruit of his Purchase and whereever 't is bestow'd 't is his Gift who is the Prince of Peace But we may be well assur'd he 'll bestow it on none who carry on Hostility against his Father which is the case of all habitually wilful and allow'd Breakers of Sacramental Vows we may be satisfy'd he 'll deny it to none that are stedfast in his Covenant and who earnestly study and faithfully endeavour to answer the Demands of it which is the case of those I am speaking of On them he 'll freely bestow it to them he 'll take care to continue it and the Blessed Consequences of it so that nothing shall intervene considerably to interrupt it 2. THEY also take the most effectual course to maintain Peace of Conscience For what is Peace of Conscience but an inward quiet and composure arising from a well-grounded sense and hope that things are as they should be between God and us Whatever therefore hath any tendency to promote or maintain our Peace with God doth naturally tend to make and keep us at Peace with our selves by preventing or allaying those disquieting Fears that naturally arise from an apprehension of the Divine Displeasure That these Persons therefore take the best course to secure Peace within is a genuine Consequence of the foregoing Consideration There 's no better ground for Peace of Conscience in the World than they enjoy who devoutly renew their Vows to be the Lord's time after time at his Table and live correspondently to them Tho' they have a Body of Sin and Death sticking fast to them under which they groan and from which they never expect to be fully freed so long as they are surrounded with a Vail of Flesh and till Mortality comes to be swallow'd up of Life yet may they sensibly discern that things in the main are well with them by their Hearts approv'd Integrity It could not methinks but be a great comfort to Peter who had so shamefully deny'd his Master to find himself able to make so solemn an Appeal to him as that Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I Love thee So must it needs be a great quieting to serious Persons to find themselves able in His Most Sacred Presence who is the Searcher of Hearts notwithstanding their sense of their own Infirmities which nothing can make them lose to stand to it that they will be the Lord's and his alone and to resolve and vow that nothing shall ever be discover'd to them to be his Will how difficult soever it be but his Grace enabling them they will do it and then afterwards to find that notwithstanding their many Frailtys the scope of their Lives answers the Resolution of their Hearts their Vows in the main are kept and not faithlesly broken Peace may for some time be suspended but it can't long be a Stranger to such Persons And I think I need not intimate how happy this bespeaks them Further 3. SUCH Persons are out of the danger of many Temptations that others meet with and are fortify'd against those whereby they are most likely to be assaulted which is no small Happiness What a safeguard had Ioseph against a strong Temptation wherewith he was assaulted altho' 't was both insinuating because of its suitableness to his Carnal Inclination the means of privacy in it and prospect of advancement upon his Compliance with it and at the same time shaking because of the Disgrace which thro' his Mistresses Malice would attend his refusal what a safeguard I say had he by this one thought strongly imprest upon him How can I do this wickedness and sin against God So what a safeguard are frequently repeated Vows seriously made and strongly imprest against most Temptations Let such Persons be tempted to Sin and they have this soon occurs to them How can I run into this and break my Vows to my God and Saviour Whenever the Devil doth any thing to entice them to himself the sense of their solemn Engagements strongly imprest will put them upon lifting up their Hearts in a strain much like that of my Text Thy Vows are upon me O God This in many cases is such a Preservative that where the Devil finds the sense thereof strong he wont so much as assault But suppose him by some or other of his subtle Artifices to have insinuated himself and to have got any footing he is no sooner discover'd than resisted by those who retain a fixed sense of the Vows of God they are under and he can't long be resisted by any but he 'll be put to flight For that 's a standing Truth Resist the Devil and â—…e will flee from you If those then are happy that have a Preservative from the hurt of Temptation and who can question it they are very happy that have a riveted sense of the Sacredness ofâ—…eir Sacramental Vows and that set themselves to square their Lives by them For none have a better a more general a more effectual and safe Preservative than they 4. THEY have many excellent Promises upon record which they upon just grounds may apply to themselves and take comfort from and live upon I 'll mention two or three All the Paths of the Lord are Mercy and Truth unto such as keep his Covenant and his Testimonies The Mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him to such as keep his Covenant and to those that remember his Commandments to do them Who can express the Comfort which such Persons may derive from such Promises as these As also from all those that are made to the Upright and in general to the Doers of God's Commandments Come to the New Testament Promises and you 'll find few but what such Persons may justly apply to themselves All the Blessings of the Covenant of Grace are promis'd to them and they may safely depend upon them There 's one Promise of which so much notice is not taken as it deserves which might methinks dwell in the thoughts of such He that hath my Commmandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him Such an one hath Christs Commandments not only in his hand but in his heart and he keeps them i. e. Faithfully obeys them and thereby shews the sincerity of his Love to his dear Saviour both the Father and Son therefore shall love him and Christ will manifest himself to them i. e. He will open and unfold to such those Gospel Mysteries whereto others notwithstanding all their light
are real strangers He will impart a full knowledge of himself to them and fill them with his Spirit which is a Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation He will manifest the Secrets of Divine Wisdom and the traces of Eternal Love to them so far as their present capacities will bear and in the future Life he will lay himself and all those Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge that lie hid in him open to their view that they may for ever entertain themselves with their Contemplation and Enrich themselves by a constant Derivation Such Promises as these that may be so comfortably apply'd by sincere Covenant Keepers with God unto themselves make their state and condition Exceeding Happy 5. THEY are provided with what may help to support them under any Crosses Troubles or Afflictions they may be Exercis'd with Come what will they are safe They may stand their ground without giving way they need not be terrify'd or dismay'd And Oh what a Happiness is this Who knows what Personal or Domestiek Troubles they may meet withe'er they Dye And how Terribly and Violently they may be Assaulted as strong as they apprehend their mountain to stand Who can fore-see what Publick Calamaties a wait us wherein all particular Persons must unavoidably be sharers now for Perfons to be able in whatever troubles they meet with to say with the Church All this is come upon us yet have we not forgotten thee neither have we dealt falsly in thy Covenant Our Heart is not turn'd back neither have our steps declin'd from thy way Foâ—… Persons then to be able to look back on their Sacramental Transactions and Remember the Seriousness and Devotion wherewith they oft have Renew'd their Vows to the Lord at his Table and to look back on their Lives and find a general stated correspondency thereto would be a spring of greater Refreshment to them than is well conceivable by them who have not had some experience of it Let 's suppose a Person to meet with great Distress in his Mind in his Body in his Estate or any other way if seriously looking upwards he can be able to say with David I have kept the way of the Lord I have not wickedly departed from my God it must needs be a great Comfort and Support to him Incredible is the Consolation which such Persons lay in against trying Times they may be call'd to pass thro' in the course of their Lives Great the Supports wherewith they are provided against the time when they shall be under the assaults of Death the King of Terrors To be able then to look back on seriously renew'd and faithfully perform'd Sacramental Vows will make those Pangs easy at which Nature trembles 't will make their Passage into another World safe and comfortable Who then can express their Happiness And then 6thly and Lastly THEY take the most Effectual Course to secure themselves from falling away That of the Perseverance of the Saints is a very comfortable Doctrine and rightly understood is so far from an evil and vicious tendendency as some imagine that it tends every way to make us better Now the satisfying Assurance of a true Christians Perseverance is built on these three grounds The Favour and Love of God to him the Sufficiency of the Divine Assistance and the Conscience of his own Integrity That these Persons take the best course to secure the Favour and Love of God hath before been made appear What can hinder those who often seriously Faederally transact with God and are stedfast in his Covenant from hoping for every thing from him which beloved Children may expect from a tender and kind Father As for the Sufficiency of Divine Grace they have no reason to question it And that they shall have it imparted to them in the measures and degrees wherein they need it is the purport of many promises which they upon just ground may apply to themselves And then as for the Conscience of their own Integrity on which the Personal Comfort of the two foregoing grounds depends none are so likely to get and keep it as those who often with great Solemnity renew the acts of their Self-Dedication to the Blessed God repeat their Vows of all prescribed Duty and in the main in their whole course demean themselves suitably What can shake such persons hopes of Perseverance Their frequent slips and failings need not For tho' they are to be lamented and bewail'd yet do they not forfeit those aids of Grace whereby they may be enabled to hold out yet do they not cut of the entail of Divine Favour whereby this perseverance is secur'd It is unquestionable that many may go far in Religion and yet fall off at last and come to nothing they may begin well and hold on for a time and for want of holding out lose the Crown that the Gospel propounds as a Reward to the Faithful But that which I assert is this That those who are serious in the frequent repeating and afterwards faithful in keeping their Sacramental Vows may on this very Consideration bottom a comfortable and well grounded hope of their own Perseverance that they shall not be in the number of them that fall away I am far from thinking that any are so far out of all danger as to have any reason to grow secure and if they do grow secure and careless 't is a plain evidence to me that they are not yet out of Danger But yet I doubt not but there are such things as that those who do them shall never fall And thus much I think may be plainly learnt from 2 Pet. 1. 10. And of this number I take this course to be of serious Repeating and faithful paying Sacramental Vows For it argues the Heart to be establisht with Grace it seems to imply an incapacity of forsaking their Saviour whose Love hath taken so fast hold of them and bound them so firmly to himself it argues an incapacity of being guilty of such crying Provocations as those must be whereby the Blessed Spirit should be quencht or God oblig'd to desert them it argues Persons to be arriv'd at so fixed an habit of Goodness as cannot be lost and eradicated Needs then must it argue unspeakable Happiness in their state who have arriv'd to it Who ought therefore certainly to be fill'd with Thankfulness and transported with Joy and will be inexcusable if their Souls don't Magnify the Lord if their Spirit don't Rejoyce in God their Saviour CHAP. XII Of the difficulty of Living up to our Sacramental Vows with that Exactness that we ought With the Solution of some common Cases relating thereto NOTHING's more easie to be observ'd Than that many are the imperfections which attend those who are most faithful in paying their Sacramental Vows Hardly any thing creates some Persons so much perplexity as this And those must be great strangers to Religious matters who know not that 't is very difficult to walk evenly with God closely to
bring it to him he will soon afford thee help Do but hold on and persevere and thou wilt find according to Philip. II. 12. that in time God will work in thee to do as well as to will of his own good pleasure CHAP. XIII DIRECTIONS that may help us to live more Correspendently to our many Solemn Sacramental Vows WHERE a thing appears difficult help is generally acceptable I shall therefore do what I can to afford it in the Case of Living up to our many sacred Vows The foregoing Chapter will from most be apt to draw forth this further Enquiry How may we come to live correspondently to our many solemn Tyes What course must we take that the sense of our Christian Vows may not wear off What should we particularly do after we have Renew'd our Vows to our God and Saviour at his Table in order to the fastening of our Hearts and engaging our selves effectually to answer and pay them For whose satisfaction I lay down the following Directions and Cautions 1. BEWARE of Imagining that so weighty an Action as that of Renew'd Vowing and Covenanting terminates in it self and that all 's done when the Ordinance of the Supper is over Take not a Sacrament for a Charm that is to work Magically and to make you better by an unperceivable sort of a Physical Operation for that were to turn it into an Useless and Unprofitable Ceremony Don't think that your joyning in it altho' you were it may be in a serious frame during its Celebration is enough for you But reckon upon it that God minds your Carriage as much after wards as at that instant if not more For the great design of that Ordinance is to be an Engagement to and help for Holiness of Life God was there attempting to bind you fast to himself and his Son and you profest and pretended to bind your selves What can shew that you in this were sincere and hearty but your future holy and exact walking Whereby only you can rightly Answer the end of this Institution To sit down then contented with the bare promising over the sacred Symbols at the holy Supper that we will be the Lords as thinking that we thereby sufficiently acquit our selves would be all one as if in a matter of vast consequence between Man and Man and on which much depends we should satisfie our selves with signing a Contract and thereby obliging our selves under large Penalties thinking our selves thereupon presently discharg'd without taking any care to fulfil Articles Alas who would care a rush for such a Contract if he knew the engag'd Party would look no further So how can God at all regard those Vows of ours that stop even in the making and that Sacramental Seriousness that ends with the Ordinance If we rest in the Work done and think that enough 't is no wonder at all if any good impressions made are as the Morning Cloud and as the Early Dew which quickly passeth away 2. ENDEAVOUR by after serious and warm Meditation to rivet and strengthen your renew'd Resolutions Vows and Promises Think seriously with whom you have been transacting and what you have been doing Take pains with your own Hearts in your Retirements to drive things home Endeavour to fix the impressions you were under when you had the emblems of your Crucifi'd Lord before your Eyes so firmly on your Hearts as that nothing may be able to deface them Think how odious sin in general then appear'd to you how loathsome your own iniquities seem'd to be when you anew resolv'd against them And how necessary aimiable and lovely a Christ appear'd to you when you anew Consecrated your selves to his Service and how firmly then you seem'd bent against your Lusts and for your Saviour How Resolute to shake of every weight especially the sin that most easily besets you and to run with Patience and Perseverance the Holy Race that is set before you Think how you blam'd and condemn'd your selves for your past sin and folly and how asham'd you were to reflect on your own vileness and with what seeming warmth and vigour you Vow'd thro' the Assistance of Divine Grace to lead an Holy and a Pious Life Say each one to your selves Behold O my Soul I have enter'd into a new League of Friendship with God a League Firm and Strong and Solemn and Perpetual I must not I cannot I dare not I will not draw back I am come under new Bonds to my God and Saviour Bonds that will never be cancell'd Bonds that can never be discharg'd and therefore I 'll endeavour to be always paying the Debt I owe. My Saviour hath made himself and all his Benefits over to me in an Everlasting Covenant what could I then do less then return my self back to him Was not this Reasonable Just and Fit His I ought to be his I have engag'd to be and his I will be Drive things thus home to a peremptory Conclusion and you 'll find the Benefit of it This will be a satis-fying Evidence to you that your Vows were not the effect of a meer Passionate Transport which is flitting and transient and soon worn off but of a firm bent of Heart which is vastly better Think then seriously of what hath past between God and you and leave not off ruminating on the matter till you are brought to a fixed point Resolving to stand to what you have done Till you can cry out with David Psal. 119. 106. I have sworn and I will perform it to keep thy Righteous Iudgments Some time in the Evening after we have been at the Communion spent with this design might be very useful We should then find this work easier than afterwards And as bad as we are we are not so chilly but if we were at all serious we should find some sense of what we have been about remaining on our Hearts which would be an advantage to us in our setting our selves seriously to drive things home If we did the like the next morning after nay if we did something of the same kind every day almost tho' it should be but short 't would turn to a good account and we should have no cause to repent our pains 3. OFTEN recollect and think on the Mischiefs you your selves have found by your so frequent Breaches of your past Solemn Vows How sadly your peace hath been thereby interrupted your Consciences wounded your Graces weakned your Enemies gratify'd the Holy Spirit griev'd and your motions Heaven-ward retarded Have you not found tasted it to be a bitter thing to play fast and loose with God to falsify your Engagements and break his Bonds whence is it that he frowns upon you and withdraws his presence and his aids in any measure from you Whence is it that you go on so heavily still mourning and complaining that you are backward unto Duties cold and lifeless in them and little if at all the better for them Whence is it that the Devil