pose, ut sisteret sibi, to settle such a glorious church, without spot, or wrinkle, holy to himself, is reserved for the triumphant time when she shall be in possession of that beauty, which Christ foresaw in her, long before when he said, Thou art all fair my love, and there is no spot in thee 18; and when we that shall be the children of the marriage-chamber, shall be glad and rejoice, and give glory to him, because the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready 19; that is, we that are of that church, shall be so clothed, as that our own clothes shall not defile us again, as Job complains that they do, as long as we are in this world; for, though I make me never so clean, yet mine own clothes defile me again, as it is in that place.

But yet, beloved, Christ hath not made so improvident a bargain, as to give so great a rate, himself, for a church, so far in reversion, as till the day of judgment: that he should enter into bonds for this payment, from all eternity, even in the eternal decree between the Father, and him, that he should really pay this price, his precious blood, for this church, one thousand six hundred years ago, and he should receive no glory by this church till the next world: here was a long lease, here were many lives; the lives of all the men in the world, to be served before him; but it is not altogether so; for he gave himself, that he might settle such a church then, a glorious, and a pure church: but all this while, the church is building in heaven, by continual access of holy souls, which come thither, and all the way he works to that end, He sanctifies it, and cleanses it, by the washing of water, through the word, as we find in our text.

He therefore stays not so long, for our sanctification, but that we have means of being sanctified here; Christ stays not so long for his glory, but that he hath here a glorious Gospel, his word, and mysterious sacraments here. Here then is the writing, and the seal, the word, and the sacrament; and he hath given power, and commandment to his ministers to deliver both writing, and seal, the word and baptism to his children. This sacrament of baptism is the first; it is the sacrament of inchoation, of initiation; the sacrament of the supper, is not given but to them, who are instructed and presumed to understand all Christian duties;

and therefore the word, (if we understand the word, for the preaching of the word) may seem more necessary at the administration of this sacrament, than at the other. Some such thing seems to be intimated in the institution of the sacraments. In the institution of the supper, it is only said, Take, and eat, and drink, and do that in remembrance of me"; and it is only said that they sang a psalm, and so departed. In the institution of baptism there is more solemnity, more circumstance; for first, it was instituted after Christ's resurrection, and then Christ proceeds to it with that majestical preamble, All power is given unto me in heaven, and in earth; and therefore, upon that title he gives power to his apostles, to join heaven and earth by preaching, and by baptism: but here is more than singing of a psalm; for Christ commands them first to teach, and then to baptize, and then after the commandment of baptism, he refreshes that commandment again of teaching them, whom they baptized, to observe all things, that he had commanded them. I speak not this, as though baptism were ineffectual without a sermon; St. Augustine's words, Accedat verbum, et fiat sacramentum, When the word is joined to the element, or to the action, then there is a true sacrament, are ill understood by two sorts of men; first by them, that say that it is not verbum deprecatorium, nor verbum concionatorium, not the word of prayer, nor the word of preaching, but verbum consecratorium, and verbum sacramentale, that very phrase, and form of words, by which the water is sanctified, and enabled of itself to cleanse our souls; and secondly, these words are ill understood by them, who had rather their children died unbaptized, than have them baptized without a sermon; whereas the use of preaching at baptism is, to raise the whole congregation, to a consideration, what they promised by others, in their baptism; and to raise the father and the sureties to a consideration, what they undertake for the child, whom they present then to be baptized; for therefore says St. Augustine, Accedat verbum, There is a necessity of the word, Non quia dicitur, sed quia creditur, Not because the word is preached, but because it is believed; and that belief, faith, belongs not at all to the incapacity of the child, but to the disposition of the rest; a "Mark xiv. 26. 22 Matt. xxviii, 18.

2) Matt. xxvi. 26.

sermon is useful for the congregation, not necessary for the child, and the accomplishment of the sacrament.

From hence then arises a convenience, little less than necessary, (in a kind) that this administration of the sacrament be accompanied with preaching; but yet they that would evict an absolute necessity of it, out of these words, force them too much, for here the direct meaning of the apostle is, that the church is cleansed by water, through the word, when the promises of God expressed in his word, are sealed to us by this sacrament of baptism: for so St. Augustine answers himself in that objection, which he makes to himself, Cum per baptismum fundati sint, quare sermoni tribuit radicem. He answers, In sermone intelligendus baptismus, quia sine sermone non perficitur. It is rooted, it is grounded in the word; and therefore true baptism, though it be administered, without the word, that is, without the word preached, yet it is never without the word, because the whole sacrament, and the power thereof is rooted in the word, in the Gospel. And therefore since this sacrament belongs to the church, as it is said here (that Christ doth cleanse his church by baptism) as it is argued with a strong probability, that because the apostles did baptize whole families, therefore they did baptize some children, so we argue with an invincible certainty, that because this sacrament belongs generally to the church as the initiatory sacrament, it belongs to children, who are a part, and for the most part, the most innocent part of the church.

To conclude, as all those virgins which were beautiful, were brought into Shusan, ad domum mulierum 23, to be anointed, and perfumed, and prepared there for Ahasuerus's delight and pleasure, though Ahasuerus took not delight, and pleasure in them all, so we admit all those children which are within the covenant made by God, to the elect, and their seed, in domum sanctorum, into the household of the faithful, into the communion of saints: whom he chooseth for his marriage-day, that is, for that church which he will settle upon himself in heaven, we know not; but we know that he hath not promised, to take any into that glory, but those upon whom he hath first shed these fainter beams of glory, and sanctification, exhibited in this sacrament: neither hath he

23 Esther ii. 3.

threatened to exclude any but for sin after. And therefore when this blessed child derived from faithful parents, and presented by sureties within the obedience of the church, shall have been so cleansed by the washing of water, through the word, it is presently sealed to the possession of that part of Christ's purchase, for which he gave himself, (which are the means of preparing his church in this life) with a faithful assurance, I may say of it, and to it, Jam mundus es, Now you are clean", through the word, which Christ hath spoken unto you: the seal of the promises of his gospel hath sanctified, and cleansed you; but yet, Mundatus mundandus, says St. Augustine upon that place, it is so sanctified by the sacrament here, that it may be further sanctified by the growth of his graces, and be at last a member of that glorious church, which he shall settle upon himself, without spot or wrinkle; which was the principal, and final purpose of that great love of his, whereby he gave himself for us, and made that love, first a a pattern of men's loves to their wives here, and then a means to bring man, and wife, and child, to the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

SERMON LXXXVI.

PREACHED AT A CHRISTENING.

1 JOHN V. 7, 8.

For there are three which bear record in heaven; the Father, the Word, and

the Holy Ghost; and these three are one: and there are three which bear record in the earth; the spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three agrec in one.

IN great and enormous offences, we find that the law, in a wellgoverned state, expressed the punishment upon such a delinquent in that form, in that curse, Igni et aqua interdicitor; Let him have no use of fire, and water, that is, no use of anything, necessary for the sustentation of life. Beloved, such is the miserable con

24 John xv. 3.

dition of wretched man, as that we come all into the world under the burden of that curse; Aqua, et igni interdicimur; We have nothing to do, naturally, with the spiritual water of life, with the fiery beams of the Holy Ghost, till he that hath wrought our restitution from this banishment, restore us to this water, by pouring out his own blood, and to this lively fire, by laying himself a cold, and bloodless carcass in the bowels of the earth: till he who baptized none with water, direct his church to do that office towards us; and he without whom, none was baptized with fire, perfect that ministerial work of his church with the effectual seals of his grace; for this is his testimony, the witness of his love.

Yea, that law, in cases of such great offences, expressed itself in another malediction, upon such offenders, appliable also to us, intestabiles sunto, let them be intestable. Now, this was a sentence, a condemnation so pregnant, so full of so many heavy afflictions, as that he, who by the law was made intestable, was all these ways intestable: first, he was able to make no testament of his own, he had lost all his interest in his own estate, and in his own will; secondly, he could receive no profit by any testament of any other man, he had lost all the effects of the love, and good disposition of other men to him; thirdly, he was intestable, so, as that he could not testify, he should not be believed in the behalf of another; and lastly the testimony of another could do him no good, no man could be admitted to speak for him. After that first, and heavy curse of Almighty God upon man, Morte morieris, If thou eat, thou shalt die, and die twice, thou shall die a bodily, thou shalt die a spiritual death (a punishment which no sentence of any law, or law-maker could ever equal, to deter men from offending, by threatening to take away their lives twice, and by inflicting a spiritual death eternally upon the soul,) after we have all incurred that malediction, Morte moriemur, we shall die both deaths, we cannot think to escape any less malediction of any law, and therefore we are all intestabiles, we are all intestable, in all these senses, and apprehensions, which we have touched upon.

We can make no testament of our own; we have no good thing in us to dispose; we have no good inclination, no good dis

VOL. IV.

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