comest not to take away our water, and the neceffaries of life from us, for which we must needs fight: As for other goods, if I am richer than thee, I am ready to give thee of mine; and if I have lefs, I will not think fcorn to thank thee for thine.' Alexander, highly pleafed with his words, made him this reply; Thinkeft thou, that this meeting of ours can be without fighting? No, no; thou haft won nothing by all thy fair words; for I will fight and contend with thee in honefty and courtesy, and thou shalt not exceed me in bounty and liberality.'

I fay with Taxiles, I had never armed against you, had you not come to take away our water, and the neceffaries of life; I mean, the covenant of God with Abraham, which contains the rich charter of the Gentile believers children, and make it an abolished Adam's covenant, and told us, that we must come up to the primitive purity in these things; that is, in renouncing it as a covenant of grace, and relinquishing infants baptifm, as grounded thereon.

Sir, were my own father alive, I muft and would oppose him, fhould he attempt what here you do. Infant-baptifm, with you is not; finging of pfalms, that plain and heavenly gospel ordinance, with you is not; and will you take away our Benjamin alfo? What! the covenant of God with Abraham and his children in their generations? All these things are against us. No, fir, we cannot part with that covenant, as an abolished Adam's covenant, nor will I give it up for all the friendship in the world.

And yet I will fay with Alexander, I will contend with you in friendship and courtefy, even whilst I earnestly contend againft you for the truths of GOD, which you have here oppofed, and I have endeavoured to vindicate.

One word more before I part with you; I do affure you, and the whole world, that in this controverfy with you, I have not, knowingly or advisedly, mifreprefented your fenfe: If you fhall fay I did fo in my fecond argument, from the words, page 179, I affure you, both myself, and others, could understand you no otherwife than I did in the papers I sent you; and when you told me, you meant there was no pardon in either of those covenants, but that it plainly directed to Abraham's covenant, you will find, I have given you as fair a choice as you can defire, either to ftand to your words in the firft fense, wherein I understand them, or (which will be the fame to me) to your own fenfe, in which you afterwards explained it to me. And whereas I blame you over and over in my epiftle and conclufion, for putting the proper subject of baptifm amongst the highest things in religion; let the reader view your conclufion, and fee, whether you do, or not. If you fay, you speak of the covenant there, as well as of baptifm, I allow that you do fo; yet I hope it is equally as bad, nay, in deed and truth, a great aggravation of your fault, to make this article, viz. God's covenant with Abrahain, Gen. xvii, an abolished VOL. VI.

3 B

Adam's covenant, one of the highest concernments of a Chriftian, the baptifm only of adult believers another. My confequences, from your words, are just and regular, how furprizing foever they feem to you.

If you think fit to rejoin to this my anfwer, I defire you will avoid, as much as you can, á tedious harangue of words, and speak strictly and regularly to my arguments, by limiting, diftinguishing, or denying, as a difputant ought to do: If fo, I promise you a reply; but if I find no fuch thing, it shall pass with me but for waste paper; nor will I waste time about it. The Lord give us unity in things necelfary, liberty in things indifferent, and charity in all things!

SACRAMENTAL MEDITATIONS

UPON DIVERS SELECT PLACES OF

SCRIPTUR E:

WHEREIN

BELIEVERS are affifted in preparing their HEARTS, and exciting their AFFECTIONS and GRACES, when they draw nigh to GOD in that moft awful and folemn ORDINANCE of the LORD's SUPPER.

:

Chriftian Reader,

TO THE READER.

HRIST may be faid to be crucified three ways; by the Jews

Cadually, in the facrament declaratively, and by unbelievers at

his table interpretatively. Among fins, blood-guiltinefs is reckoned one of the moft heinous; and of all blood-guiltinefs, to be guilty of the blood of Chrift, is a fin of the deepeft guilt, and will be avenged with the moft dreadful punishment, 1 Cor. x. 27, 29. If vengeance be taken seven-fold on him that flew Cain, what vengeance shall be taken on him that crucifies afresh the Lord of glory?

The heaviest blow of divine juftice is ftill ready to avenge the abufe of the best mercy: what can the heart of man conceive more folemn, more facred, or more deeply affective, than the reprefentation of the moft gracious love of the Father, and the moft grievous paffion of the Son? What fin can be more provoking to God, than the flight and contempt of those most awful mysteries? And what punishment can be more terrible, than for such a wretched foul to eat and drink dam

nation to itself? Melancthon records a very dreadful example of God's righteous judgment upon a company of profane wretches, who, in a tragedy, intended to act the death of Chrift upon the crofs. He that acted the foldier's part, instead of piercing with a spear a bladder full of blood hid under his garment, wounded him to death that was upon the crofs, who falling down killed him, who (in a disguife) acted the part of the woman that stood wailing under the cross. His brother, who was first flain flew the murderer, who acted the foldier's part, and for flaying him was hanged by order of juftice. Thus did the vengeance of God speedily overtake them, and hanged them up in chains, for a warning, to all that should ever dare to dally with the great and jealous God.

These are terrible ftrokes, and yet not fo terrible as those which are more ordinarily, but less sensibly, inflicted on the inner man for the abuse of this ordinance.

To prevent thefe judgments, and obtain those bleffings which come through this ordinance, great regard must be had to two things, viz. 1. The in-being. 2. The activity of true grace.

Firft, Examine thyfelf, reader, whether there be any gracious principle planted in thy foul, whereby thou art alive indeed unto God. It was an ancient abuse of the facrament (condemned and cast out by the * Carthaginian touncil) to give it unto dead men. Dead fouls can have no communion with the living God, no more benefit from this table than the Emperor's guests had from his table, where loaves of gold were fet before them to eat. There is more than a fhew of grace in the facrament; it hath not only the vifible fign, but the fpiritual grace alfo, which it reprefents. See that there be more than a fhew and a vifible fign of grace alfo in thy foul, when thou comeft nigh to the Lord in that ordinance: fee to the exercife and activity, as well as to the truth' and fincerity of thy grace.

Even a believer himfelf doth not eat and drink worthily, unless the grace that is in him be excited and exercised at this ordinance.

It is not faith inhering, but faith realizing, applying and powerfully working. It is not a difpofition to humiliation for fin, but the actual thawing and melting of the heart for fin; whilft thou lookeft on him whom thou haft pierced, and mourneft for him as one that mourneth for his only fon, for his first-born:' nor is it a difpofition or principle of love to Chrift that is only required, but the stirring up of that fire of love, the exciting of it into a vehement flame.

I know the excitations and exercises of grace are attended with great difficulties: they are not things within our command, and at our beck. Oh! it is hard, it is hard indeed, reader, even after God hath taken the heart of ftone out of thee, and given thee an heart of flesh, to mourn actually for fin, even when so great an occafion and call is

Concil. Carthag. Can. 6, Placuit ut defunctorum coporibus non detur euchariftia, &c.

given thee to that work at the Lord's table; for the fame power is requifite to excite the act that was required to plant the habit. Gratia gratiam poftulat.

However, the duty is thine, though the power be God's; why elfe are his people blamed, because they stirred not up themselves to take hold of him? Ifa. Ixiv. 7.

To affift thee in this work, fome help is offered in the following meditations it is true, it is not the reading of the best meditations another can prepare for thee, that will alter the temper of thy heart, except the Spirit of God concur with thefe truths, and bless them to thy foul but yet thefe helps muft, not be flighted, because they are not felf-fufficient. Man lives not by bread alone; but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God;' yet it were a fond vanity, and fin, for any man, upon that ground, to caft away bread, and expect to live by a miracle without it. We must lift up our hearts to God for a bleffing, and then eat. Do the fame here: first pray; then read; and the Lord quicken thee by it for duty.

There are two things of special concernment to thee, reader, when thou art to addrefs thyfelf to any folemn duty, especially fuch as this. 1. Prepare for thy duty diligently.

2. Rely not upon thy preparations.

1. Prepare with all diligence for thy duty. Take pains with thy dull heart; cleanfe thy polluted heart; compofe thy vain heart; remember how great a prefence thou art approaching. If * Auguftus thus reproved one, that entertained him without fuitable preparation, faying, I did not think we had been fo familiar ;' much more may thy God reprove thee, for thy carelefs neglect of due preparation for

him.

2. But yet take heed, on the other fide, that thou rely not upon thy beft preparation. It is an ingenious, and true note of Luther, t (fpeaking to this very point of preparation for the facrament) Never are men more unfit, than when they think themselves most fit, and beft prepared for their duty; never more fit, than when moft humbled and afhamed, in a sense of their own unfitnels.'

That the blefling of God, and the breathings of his good Spirit, may accompany thefe poor labours to thy foul, is the heart's de fire of,

Thy fervant in Chrift,

* Non putabam me tibi tam familiarem.

↑ Tunc passime difpofitus, quando aptiffime.

JOHN FLAVEL.

THE FIRST

MEDITATION,

UPON

PSALM Ixxxix. 7. God is greatly to be feared in the affembly of his faints, and to be had in reverence of all that are about him.

HERE are fpecial feafons, wherein the faints approach near. unto God in this life, and wherein the Lord comes near unto

THE

them.

It pleafeth the Majefty of heaven, fometimes to admit poor worms of the earth to fuch fenfible and fweet perceptions of himfelf, as are found above all expreffion, and feem to be a tranfient glance upon that glory, which glorified eyes more fteadily behold above: Believing, we rejoice with joy unfpeakable, and full of glory;' or, * glorified joy; as it is, 1 Pet. i. 8. And yet how fweet and excellent foever thefe foretaftes of heaven are, heaven itself will be an unfpeakable furprise to the faints, when they fhall come thither.

Now among all thofe ordinances, wherein the bleffed God manifefts himself to the children of men, none are found to fet forth more of the joy of his prefence, than that of the Lord's Supper: at that bleffed table, are fuch fenfible embraces betwixt Christ and believers, as do afford delight and folace, beyond the joy of the whole earth.

And where fuch fpecial manifestations of God are, suitable difpofitions and preparations thould be found on our part, to meet the Lord.

And, certainly, we fhall find reafon enough for it, if we will confider the importance of this fcripture before us; God is greatly to be feared in the affembly of his faints, and to be had in reverence of all that are round about him.' Wherein we have, 1. The object: 2. The fubject; 3. The mode of divine worship.

Firft, The object of worship, God; God is to be feared. In all divine worship, men and angels have to do with God. All things (faith the apoftle) are open and naked to the eyes of him with whom we have to do," Heb. iv. 14. With whom we have speech, or bufinefs; fo it may be understood. When we worship, we draw nigh to God; and that about the greatest concerns, and weightiest business in the world.

*

Αγαλλίασε χαρα ανεκλαλήτω και διδεξασμένη. Innerrabili,& glorificaty

Montanus.