1

them, is joined the poffeffion and actual enjoyment of the thing fignified: This is my body, take, eat. As one is put in poffeffion of houfes or lands, by earth and ftone given them according to law, upon a difpofition: 10 is the believer made partaker of Chrift, and folemnly put in poffeffion of all his faving benefits, by these means. The lefs principal end of the facraments is to be badges of our Chriftian profeffion, to diftinguish men from those that are without the church, Eph. ii. 11. 12. Wherefore remember that ye being in time paft Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcifion, by that which is called the circumcifion in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Chrift, being aliens from the commonwealth of Ifrael, and strangers from the covenants of promile, having no hope, and without God in the world.

I fhall conclude this difcourfe with fome inferences. Inf. 1. Great is the privilege of the covenant, and the benefits thereof, which God has thus appointed to be fealed. Seals are not used in small matters, but in those of great importance; how great then must those be which heaven feals?

2. Our gracious God has fhewn great kindness to and concern for the welfare and comfort of poor finners coming to him through his Son. Though his word be firmer than heaven and earth, he remembers our frame, that we are guilty, and therefore fearful and fufpicious creatures; and, for our eafe, that we may the better truft him, has appointed feals of his benefits promifed in his covenant.

3. Great is the fin of flighting the facraments, and neglecting to partake of them. God appended feals to the covenant of works, viz. the tree of life, and that of the knowledge of good and evil. He alfo appoint. ed feals to the covenant of grace, under the old dif penfation, and under the new too. So divine wif doin has feen them always neceflary. What an affront

to the wisdom and kindness of God, and his covenant, muft the flighting of them then be?

4. Lastly, Great is the fin of abufing and profaning the facraments, 1 Cor. xi. 27. Whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, fhall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. The unconverted profane the feals of heaven by fetting them to a blank, where there is no covenant. The faints in a

dead and fleepy frame do alfo profane them, while they are in no capacity to difcern what they are appointed to reprefent, feal, and apply. O then use the facraments in faith, according to Chrift's inftitution, and feek his bleffing upon them, that the benefits thereby fealed may become effectually yours.

The Number of the Sacraments, and the Nature of Baptifm.

I CORINTHIANS xii.

13.

For by one Spirit are we all baptized, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

MATTHEW xxviii. 19.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft.

HE firft of thefe texts, as before explained, holds out the number of the facraments of the New Teftament: and from thence we may draw this doctrine, viz.

DocT." The facraments of the New Testament are, baptism, and the Lord's fupper."

That this, and only this is the number of the facraments, we have the following evidences.

1. These were inftituted by the Lord Jefus, and no more, Matth. xxviii. 19. & xxvi. 26. 27. 28. No other bear the stamp of divine inftitution. And none can fhew any other holy ordinance inftituted by Chrift, wherein, by fenfible figns, Chrift, and the benefits of the new covenant, are reprefented, sealed, and applied to believers.

2. These two fully answer the neceffities of the faints in the cafe of facraments. Two witnesses are fufficient to one deed, and the great deed and grant of the covenant are fufficiently witneffed unto by these. What more is there for God's elect to expect in this world, but these two things, that they receive life and nourishment, that they be taken into the covenant, and kept in it? Baptifm is the fign of the one, and the Lord's fupper of the other. The one is the facrament of our ingrafting into Chrift, and the other of our nourishment in him. And there is no fpecial grace whatsoever, but what is fignified and fealed by

them.

3. The fame was the number and nature of the or dinary facraments of the Old Testament. They were no more but circumcifion and the paffover. And plain it is, that the New-teftament difpenfation is not more full of external rites and ceremonies than the Old one was. So that the Papifts feven facraments compared with the two Jewish ones, muft needs fhew Popery to be vaftly diftant from the fimplicity of the gofpel. Circumcifion was the initiating facrament then, as baptifm is now, fignifying the putting off of the body of the fins of the flesh, Col. ii. 11. as bap tifm the washing of them away, Acts xxii. 16.; the paffover fignifying Chrift crucified; 1 Cor. v. 7. as the facrament of the fupper alfo, Matth. xxvi. 26. First they were to be circumcifed, and afterwards to keep the paffover; and fo first to be baptized, and afterwards to communicate in the Lord's fupper, but no otherwise. Circumcifion was never reiterated, but the paffover frequently.

4. Lastly, As the apoftle in our text makes these two the bonds of Chriftian communion, and no more; fo he reduces the extraordinary Jewish facraments, in their uses and ends, to those of our two facraments. The being under the cloud, and paffing through the Red fea, he calls their being baptized, 1 Cor. x. 2. Their eating of the manna, and drinking the water of the rock, he calls their eating of the fame fpiritual meat, and drinking the fame fpiritual drink, as we do in the Lord's fupper, ver. 3. 4.

From this point I fhall draw a few inferences.

Inf. 1. Good and gracious is our God to his church and people under the gofpel in a special manner, who has inftituted two and but two facraments, and these eafy and clear. Here we have enough for the confirmation of our faith of the promises, and we have no reason to say we are under a heavy yoke. Here none of our blood is to be fhed, but Chrift's blood is most clearly represented as fhed for us.

2. The five facraments which the Papifts have added to our Lord's two, are but baftard facraments, not the badges of Chrift, but of Antichrift. Thefe are confirmation, penance, orders, marriage, and extreme unction.

Confirmation is the bifhop's anointing of the baptized with chrifm in the forehead, in form of a cross, with this form of words, "I fign thee with the fign of the

cross, and confirm thee with the chrism of alvation, "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft.' This has no manner of divine inftitution, nor is it at all to be found in the fcriptures; and derogates from the facrament of baptifm..

Penance is repentance, difcovering itfelf by external evidences. The matter of this pretended facrament, they fay, lies in contrition of heart, auricular confeffion, and fatisfaction; the form of it in abfolution, by the prieft, as a judge, pardoning their fin, not minifterially, only declaring it. But here is no

vifible fign at all, neceffary to contradiftinguish the facramental figns from the word. No fign at all is adminiftered to the penitent; no promise annexed to a fenfible fign here. Therefore no facrament. Be fides, auricular confeffion is not inftituted at all by the Lord. And judicial pardon is blafphemous, minifterial declaration of pardon being only competent to minifters, John xx. 23.

Orders is the ordination of church-officers; which is inftituted, but not to be a facrament, it having no promife of faving grace annexed to it. 1 Tim. iv. 14. fpeaks not of faving grace, but of the official gift, viz. authority to preach.

Matrimony has nothing of a facrament in it, fince it has no visible sign appointed by Chrift, no promise of faving grace annexed to it, is common to all the world as well as the church. It is mifgrounded on Eph. v. 32. where their corrupt tranflation reads a great facrament.

Extreme unction is the priest's anointing the eyes, ears, noftrils, mouth, hands, reins, and feet of a perfon thought to be at the point of death, with oliveoil confecrated by a bishop, using these words, " By "this holy oil and his tender mercy God forgive thee "all thy fins." It is built on Jam. v. 14. where the miraculous cure of difeafes is fpoke of.

3. See the bent of corrupt nature in meddling with God's inftitutions, the abominations of Popery, and the great mercy of our deliverance from it. We can never be enough thankful to God for the reformation from that grand apoftaty, idolatry, and fuperftition. We ought to hold firmly what we have attained, ard ftand faft in the liberty wherewith Chrift hath made us free, that we be not again entangled with any yoke of bondage. Let us fledfaftly adhere to all the ordinances and inftitutions of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and vigorously oppofe, in our refpective itations and places, all deviations from the fame, from whatever quarter they may come, or under whatever fpecious