The Covenant Sealed, Treatise · Chapter 7 · Section 18
SECT. XVIII. A further Corollary from the former doctrine.
All that are intereſted in Sacraments muſt come up to the termes of the Covenant.IT further followes, that all thoſe that intereſt themſelves in Sacraments, expecting benefit by Baptiſme, and comfort at the Lords Table; muſt come up to the tearms of the Covenant. They receive them as ſignes and badges of a people in Covenant with God; They receive them as ſeals of the Covenant, God puts to his ſeal, to be a God in Covenant: In their acception they engage as by ſeal to be his people in Covenant. The obligation now is mutual, in caſe man fail on his part, God is diſobliged: If any tye be upon him, it is to inflict the juſt merit of breach of Govenant upon them. I have ſpoken to the neceſſity that lyes upon the Miniſters of Chriſt, to bring their people up to the termes and Propoſitions of it, Treatiſe of the Covenant, chap. 20, 21. Here I ſpeak to it onelyonly as the intereſt in the Sacraments tyes to it: And this obligation hath all force and ſtrength in it. When God entred Covenant with man in his integrity, upon condition of perfect and compleat obedience, and gave him (as we have heard) Sacraments for the ratification and confirmation of it; when man failing in obedience, and falling ſhort of the duty of the Covenant, thoſe Sacraments were of no avail; notwithſtanding the tree of life man dyed, and notwithſtanding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, man became brutiſh in his own knowledge. It fares no better with thoſe that are under a Covenant of grace, and live and perſiſt in breach of Covenant; we ſee the heavy curſe that God pronounceth againſt them, Jer. 11.3, 4. Thus ſaith the Lord God of Iſrael, Curſed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this Covenant, which I commanded your Fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the Land of Egypt, from the iron Furnace, ſaying, Obey my voyce, and do them, according to all which I Command; ſo ſhall ye be my people, and I will be your God. And to this Jeremy adds his Amen or So be it, O Lord; which aſſent of his, though it may be referred to the Prophets duty in obedience of Gods Command, when he had ſaid to him, ver. 2, 3. Speak to the men of Judah, and inhabitants of Jeruſalem, and ſay unto them, Thus ſaith the Lord, Curſed be every man that obeyeth not, &c. The Prophet in theſe words ſays, What thou haſt enjoyn'd me I will do it; and ſo Junius and Tremelius underſtand it; or to the Prpphets earneſt deſire to have the promiſe fulfilled, which the Lord utters in the cloſe of his ſpeech, ver. 5. That I may perform the oath which I have ſworn unto your fathers, to give them a Land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. To which the Prophet anſwers, So, Lord, let it be, that this people being careful to keep Covenant with thee, may ſtill enjoy that land which thou didſt by oath bind thy ſelf to ſettle them in, as the laſt larger Annotations underſtand it, or to Jeremies anſwer in the name of the people binding themſelves to obedience, as Diodati underſtands it; yet doubtleſſe it alſo comprizeth the Prophets acknowledgement of the equity that the curſe ſhould fall on thoſe that obey not the words of the Covenant. The Amen is of that latitude, that it comprizeth the whole that goes before of the Prophets duty, his deſire, the peoples obligation, and the equity of the curſe that lyes upon diſobedience. As the Sacraments in Paradiſe could be no protection to man in ſin, ſo the Sacraments under the preſent Covenant (whether in the old diſpenſation of it in the dayes of the Fathers, or new diſpenſation of it in Goſpel-times) can be no protection of thoſe that lye in unbelief and impenitence. Let not an unbeliever, let not an impenitent perſon think to find ſhelter here, as the Jewes did think to find in the Temple, and ſay, They are delivered to do theſe abominations. Priviledge of Sacraments can help Chriſtians no more, then birth-priviledge could the Jewes, who are checkt by John Baptiſt for making it a plea to this purpoſe, and called to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, and amendment of life, Matth. 3. I do not ſay that unleſſe you are aſſured, that you do believe to juſtification, and repent in ſincerity and unfeignedneſſe, that you muſt not come to the Lords Table. I have declared my ſelf to the contrary, but I ſay you muſt make it your buſineſſe to believe; your work to repent in truth and ſincerity, or elſe you ſhall never find here acceptation. The Covenant of works was for mans preſervation in life, and Adam could have help towards immortality in the tree of life no longer then he made it his buſineſſe to keep up to that which the Covenant required. The Covenant of grace is for mans reſtitution to life, none under this Covenant can find any help towards life in any Sacraments annext to it, otherwiſe then in keeping up faith and repentance, which are the termes and conditions of it. Which way doeſt thou expect life in the Sacrament, either of thy initiation, or confirmation, either in Baptiſme, or the Lords Supper? is it in the Sacrament it ſelf? or is it in Chriſt that thou ſhouldeſt ſeek and look after in the Sacrament? If thou lookeſt for it from Sacraments, thou Idolizeſt them and deceiveſt thy own ſoul. Bread and Wine never were, nor ever can be ſaviours: Our Fathers ate Manna in the Wilderneſſe, and are dead, Joh. 6. We may eat bread at the Lords Table, and eternally dye. All Iſrael in the wilderneſſe did eat of Manna, and drank of the Rock which the Apoſtle calls Spiritual meat, Spiritual drink, being Sacramentally ſuch, yet with many of them God was not well pleaſed, but they were overthrown in the Wilderneſſe, 1 Cor. 10.5. If thou ſayeſt thou lookeſt for life in Chriſt, I deſire to know where thou findeſt that men in unbelief have life in Chriſt. The Apoſtle ſaith, I live, yet not I, but Chriſt liveth in me; and preſently adds, The life that I live in the fleſh, I live by faith in the Son of God, Gal. 2.20. And the ſame we may ſay of repentance, Chriſt with his own mouth denounceth death and deſtruction to the impenitent, I tell you, Nay, except ye repent, ye ſhall all likewiſe periſh, Luk. 13. Where he gives life he gives repentaace to life, Act. 11.18. I have ſaid that the Sacrament may be improved with the help of the Word towards converſion; But if there be no ſuch change already wrought in thy ſoul, nor any ſuch thing in thy endeavour, then this great Orinance is ſadly prophaned; thou pretendeſt to Chriſt, when indeed thou treadeſt under foot the blood of Chriſt; ſeemingly wouldſt have thy intereſt in his blood, and doſt become guilty of his blood. Here Chriſts death is ſet out, his ſufferings for ſin, called to remembrance. Art not thou now affected with delight in his death when thou art affected with delight in thy ſin? when thou ſeeſt a man murthered and ſporteſt with the murtherers, with thoſe whom thou knoweſt to have had the alone hand in the murther, how then doſt not thou be come an acceſſory? This is the caſe of the man that comes to the Sacrament, and will keep his ſin. He looks not upon Chriſt Sacramentally broke to the breaking of his heart, but he looks upon him to his hearts rejoycing. Look upon all that hath been ſaid of the danger of unworthy receiving, by all that have written practically upon this ſubject; all is thy danger that art in ſin, and reſolveſt not to relinquiſh: thou art admitted into the Church by Baptiſme, and upon that account art of that number, and reckoneſt thy ſelf among thoſe that are called Chriſtians, and here perhaps thou haſt hopes, highly prizeſt this priviledge; as ſometimes the Jews did circumciſion in order to the favour of God, and aſſurance of eternal life: And doubtleſſe rightly underſtood it is to be prized, otherwiſe God would not have given it, it is an honorarium, or token of love to his people. Nor would the Apoſtle Peter have ſaid that Baptiſme ſaves, 1 Pet. 3.21. But our building of hopes upon Scripture-words without Scripture-Comment doth undo us. When the Jewes took themſelves to be ſecure againſt all the judgements that the Prophets could denounce by reaſon of ſin, upon the priviledge of circumciſion; Jeremy undervalues not circumciſion at all, but helps them to a right underſtanding of it; will have them to have it full and compleat, reckoning up many Nations by name, he ſaith, They are uncircumciſed, they were wholly deſtitute of it: and mentioning the houſe of Iſrael, ſaith, that they are uncircumciſed in heart, Jer. 9.26. They want the beſt and choiſeſt part of it, and ſo are in the ſame condition with uncircumciſed ones; and the Apoſtle after him beating down the vain confidence of the Jewes in their outward title called Jewes, and circumciſion, which was a badge of their relation to God as a people in Covenant, tells them, that he is not a Jew that is one outwardly, that was not enough to give a full and true denomination; but he is a Jew that is one inwardly, who is for God in ſoul, as well as in name, and circumciſion is that of the heart, Rom. 2.28. and he beats down the carnal opinion of the Jewes in circumciſion, by a definition given of the circumciſed, We are of the circumciſion, that worſhip God in Spirit and in truth, Phil. 3.3. And baptiſme of the fleſh can neither be, nor do more, then circumciſion in the fleſh: The Apoſtle therefore telling us that Baptiſme ſaves, is as willing to undeceive us, as the Prophet was to undeceive the Jewes, and tells us that he doth not mean the outward putting away of the filth of the fleſh (the application of water is but the outſide of Baptiſme) but the anſwer of a good conſcience towards God; when conſcience anſwers to that which this waſhing ſignifies, and to which it engages, then Baptiſme ſaves, not of it ſelf, but ſeales Salvation through the Reſurrection of Chriſt; when conſcience fails in its duty, Baptiſme fails in its efficacy, then it brings not Salvation, but is an aggravation of condemnation, as after may appear. Thou art admitted to the Supper of the Lord, upon that account, that through knowledge gained, and profeſſion made, thou art in a capacity for improvement of it for eternity; But if thou ſtay here, and thy remembrance of Chriſt broken for ſin, do not work thee to brokenneſſe of heart under ſin; canſt drink of this Cup, and gulf in wickedneſſe, here is no pardon ſealed, but condemnation heightened. I know on the other hand, to diſcourage men from endeavour, ſome ſay, that there is no acting for life, but from life; what can be gained by ſin? and all actions done in unregeneration, are no other but ſin. I marvel then, what that Counſel of our Saviour means, Joh. 6.27. To labour for the meat that endures to everlaſting life, The context acquaints us with the unregeneration of thoſe, to whom this Counſel is given; As alſo, what that complaint of our Saviour means, Ye will not come unto me, that ye may have life. Theſe works in unregenerate men are acts of obedience, and not (as is objected) ſins, onelyonly by accidental pollution they are ſinful; ſuch ſubtleties are above the Logick that we read in Scriptures, which gives duties in charge, in reference to their reſpective ends, without conſideration of the ſtate of the ſubject under command, whether in nature, or grace. Actions we know work to habits, and in caſe that rule hold, that. Habitus infuſi infunduntur more acquiſitorum, which Dr. Wilkin ſayes, is a golden rule in Divinity, Treatiſe of the gift of prayer, pag. 8. this is above controverſie. I yeeld to that of Auſtin, that as a wheel is not made round by turning, but turnes becauſe it is round; ſo a man is not made good by doing good, but is good through grace, and then does good; as the tree is firſt good, and then brings forth good fruit. But it is not Gods way to infuſe grace into the ſoul unfitted for it, no more then it is to infuſe life into the body unorganized. A new being is put of God into the ſoul, when reaſon appears to it, of cloſing with it. The Word, Prayer, Sacraments, may all have a hand in it. And all are in vain to the ſoul, Word, Prayer, and Sacraments, with all other Ordinances, and endeavours, unleſſe they lead the ſoul to it; make it thy buſineſſe to come up to the Covenant, or elſe it is without fruit, that thou comeſt to the Sacrament.