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perfectly love and praise him with Christ, and all the glorified church; and the rest into everlasting punishment.

1. The souls of the righteous go presently at death to Christ, in paradise or heaven; and the wicked to misery, which is hell. 2. Christ's second glorious coming is the day of our great deliverance and joy, which all true believers love and should long for.

3. The doctrine of the resurrection is fully opened by Christ, (John v.,) and by Paul, (1 Cor. xv.,) of which Christ's own resurrection is our pledge.

4. The last judgment is that which endeth all controversies, and finally and perfectly justifieth believers, who were but initially and preparatorily justified before. Christ will be both judge and our advocate. The law of grace and not innocency is it that we must be judged by; but according to the divers editions of that law which men lived under. And the works that they shall be judged by, are the performance or not performance of the conditions of this law of grace. For by the works of the law of Moses, or of innocency, none can be justified. Nor yet by any commutative merit of his faith, love, or gospel obedience; but only as they are the terms on which God giveth the life, which is purchased by the death and perfect righteousness of Christ; which in the thing itself and value is a mere gift, though the order of giving it is by the law of grace, by which we must be judged. So that Christ justifieth by his own merits, satisfaction, and free gift thereon, against the charge of our deserving damnation for sin, as sin against the law of innocency and works, so be it we be otherwise justifiable against the charge of being infidels, impenitent and ungodly. For Christ did not repent and believe for us, nor was holy to excuse us from being holy; but we must believe, repent, and be holy ourselves by his grace; and by these themselves be justified against the false accusation that we are unbelievers, impenitent and unholy.

Christ doth not take away the faultiness of our actions, or the guilt of sin, as sin simply in itself, so that we shall be reputed innocent or sinless; but he taketh away the guilt of punishment, and the guilt of sin, respectively as binding to punishment, and no more.

5. The glory of saints will be, 1. In the full perfection of their own souls and bodies; 2. In the perfect knowledge, love, and praise and service of God, for his own sake, as the infinite

Good and object of love and praise; 3. And in the full reception and joyful sense of God's love to us, and to all the church. 4. And in the fruition of Christ in glory; 5. With the blessed society of all the glorified angels and saints; and this to all eternity. This faith foreseeth, love fore-tasteth, and we must joyfully expect by hope, and seek in obedience.

6. The wicked shall be miserable with the devil and his servants in their own sin, and the loss of the favour of God and the tormenting sense of both on their consciences, and in bodily misery, and despair of all remedy for ever.

Q. 9. You have told me what you believe: tell me now what is the full resolution and desire of your will, concerning all this which you believe.

A. Believing in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I do presently, absolutely, and resolvedly give up myself to him, my Creator, and reconciled God and Father, my Saviour, and my Sanctifier; and, repenting of my sins, I renounce the devil, the world, and the sinful desires of the flesh; and denying myself, and taking up my cross, I consent to follow Christ the Captain of my salvation, in hope of the grace and glory promised; which I daily desire and beg, as he hath taught me, saying, "Our Father which art in heaven," &c.

1. The will is the man, and, according to the will, we are esteemed of God. Knowledge and belief is but the entrance of grace to the heart and will, where love is the heart of the new creature. The hour when we truly make this heart-covenant and consent we are converted, sanctified, justified, and adopted; and not till then.

But children are as parts of their parents; who are bound to enter them into the covenant of God; and whose will chooseth for them till they have natural reason and will to use themselves.

It is faith in God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, which is Quly saving, and not in one alone; even a consenting practical faith, which is our true Christianity itself; nor are we justified by any other.

2. The Lord's Prayer, being the sum of our desires, belongeth to this head; it being but the will's prosecution of that good which it consented to, and hopeth for.

Q. 10. What is this practice which, by this covenant, you are obliged to?

A. According to the law of nature, and Christ's institu

tions, I must (desiring perfection) sincerely obey him, in a life of faith, and hope, and love: loving God as God, for himself, above all; and loving myself as his servant, especially my soul, and seeking its holiness and salvation; and loving my neighbour as myself: I must avoid all idolatry of mind or body, and must worship God according to his word; by learning and meditating on his word; by prayer, thanksgiving, praise, and use of his sacrament: I must not profane, but holily use his holy name: I must keep holy the Lord's day, especially in communion with the church-assemblies: I must honour and obey my parents, magistrates, pastors, and other rulers: I must not wrong my neighbour in thought, word, or deed, in his soul, hist body, his chastity, estate, right, or propriety; but do him all the good I can, and do as I would be done by; which is summed up in the ten commandments, "God spake all these words, saying," &c.

Because the Ten Commandments are plain themselves, and parents yet must read fuller expositions of them to their families, than I must here lay down, I shall give no other expositions of them but only, 1. That every Commandment both forbiddeth evil, and commandeth the contrary good. 2. That every commandment reacheth to thoughts and affections, words and actions. 3. That the things commanded are not to be done always, but in their proper seasons; but nothing absolutely forbidden must ever be done; but things forbidden only in some cases, may be done out of those cases. 4. That the Commandments must be understood by Christ's exposition with the addition of his gospel institutions: and obeyed as Christ's, joined to the new covenant; and not as given by Moses, as belonging to the covenant of works made with the Jews, or as part of the covenant of innocency made with Adam at the first.

Forms of Prayer, Praise, and Catechism, for the use of Ignorant Families that need them.

READER, I purposely avoid overdoing and preparing thee too much work, lest my intended help should prove a hinderance. But because all have not the same leisure, I have given you both longer and shorter forms that you may use that which is fittest for the time and persons.

I. When you awake, let your hearts thus move towards God: Thou, Lord, who art the life of all the world, hast mercifully preserved me in life this night, when I could do nothing to keep myself. I thank thee for my health, and rest, and peace. Oh! now let thy mercies to me be renewed with the day: and let me spend this day in thy protection, by the help of thy Spirit, in love and faithful service to thee, and in watchfulness against my corruptions and temptations; for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.

II. Those that have opportunity to pray secretly before family prayer, should speak freely, without book, from the feeling of their own wants, if they are able: if not, they may use the same prayer which is for families, so far as their wants and cases are the same.

III. A Morning Prayer for a Family.

O, all-mighty, all-seeing, and most gracious God, who hast created us and all things for thy glory! we, sinful worms, encouraged by thy own command and promise, and the mediation of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, do humbly cast down ourselves before thee, to acknowledge thy mercies, to confess our sins, to beg thy grace, and to tender thee our praise and service.

We thank thee that thou hast made us reasonable creatures, to know, and love, and serve our Creator, and capable of everlasting happiness in thy glory. We thank thee that we, who were born in sin, and were thy enemies in our fleshly state, were not forsaken by thee in our sins, nor left with the devils to helpless desperation; but have a sufficient Saviour given us by thy love, who hath redeemed us by his blood, and given a free pardon and title to life, in his covenant of grace, to all that heartily accept him as their Lord and Saviour. We thank thee for his holy Gospel, for his holy example, for his Holy Spirit, given to his apostles, ministers, and all true believers. We thank thee for our birth, our education, our friends, our health, our peace and liberty, and all our comforts of this life. We thank thee for our public teaching and our private helps, the comfort of thy holy worship, and all the means of our salvation; but especially that thou hast blessed any of it to our good, and didst not forsake our sinful souls, and give us over to the blindness of our own minds, and the hardness of our hearts, and the slavery of our fleshly desires and wills. How great was that mercy, which did not only spare our lives, and keep us out of hell while we were

sinning, but at last convinced any of us of our sin and misery, and awakened our sleepy souls unto repentance, and made us know the vanity of this world, and the certainty and glory of the life to come, that we might know thee and seek thee, our end and happiness! How great was thy mercy, which opened to us the mysteries of thy Gospel, and drew us to thy Son, as the way to thee!

But, alas, we have ill requited thee for thy love; our original sin hath been too fruitful in our sinful lives; our childhood and youth was spent in too much folly, and fleshly sensuality! How long did we forget our God and our souls, our death and our everlasting state, as if we had no life to live but this, and we had been made to live and die like beasts! How long did we live in ignorance and unbelief, and little knew the nature and office, our want, and the worth and riches of Christ! How long did we live before thy love in Christ did melt us; and before we knew the life of faith; and before we were brought to the hatred of sin, and love of holiness, and before that ever we loved thee, our God, and the heavenly kingdom, above this world! Alas! we were deceived by the vanities here below, and followed the sinful desires of the flesh, and resisted thy Spirit which moved us to repent and turn to thee. And since we consented to thy holy covenant, we have too often yielded to temptations, and loved thee so coldly, and served thee so slothfully, and lived so unfruitfully, and made so ill an use of thy mercies, and of our afflictions, that thou mightest justly have taken thy Spirit from us, and suffered us to return to our for-mer misery.

But O do not enter into judgment with us; forgive us for his sake, who is the sacrifice and propitiation for our sins. Charge not upon us the sins of our corrupted nature, or of our lives; of our childhood, youth, or riper age; our sins of omission or commission, of knowledge or of ignorance, of rashness or negligence, of sinful lust, passion, or of sloth. Wash us in the blood, and accept us for the merits of the perfect holiness and sufferings, of our Redeemer. We dare not come to thee, but in his name, nor expect any pardon or mercy from thee, but for his sake, and by his hand. Let our hearts be sincere in consenting to his covenant by a lively faith, that we may be one with him, our blessed Head, and may receive the continual communications of his Spirit. Our souls are by corruption dead to God, and dark through ignorance, error, and unbelief, and disaffected to thee

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