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and life, by feeking to mortify all our fins, and labouring to walk more clofely with God than ever yet we have done; and will continue to worship God in public, private, and fecret; and this without formality or hypocrify: And more fully and faithfully than heretofore, to difcharge all covenant-duties, one to another, in church-communion.

SECONDLY, To walk, before God in our houfes with a perfect heart, and that we will uphold the worship of God continually therein, according as he, in his word, doth require; both in respect of prayer and reading the Scriptures, that fo the word of God may dwell richly in us: And we will do what in us lies to bring up our children for Chrift, that they may be fuch as have the Lord's name put upon them, as, by a folemn dedication to God in Chrift, ought to be: And will, therefore (as need fhall be), catechife, exhort, and charge them to the fear of the Lord; and endeavour to fet an holy example before them, and be much in prayer for their converfion and falvation.

THIRDLY, To endeavour to be pure from the fins of the times; efpecially thofe fins which have been, by the late Synod, folemnly declared and evidenced to be the evils that have brought the judgments of God upon New England; and, in our places, to endeavour the fuppreffion thereof, and be careful

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fo to walk as that we may not give occafion to others to fin, or fpeak evil of our holy profeffion.

Now, that we may obferve and keep this facred covenant, and all the branches of it, inviolable for ever, we desire to deny ourselves, and to depend wholly upon the power of the Eternal Spirit of Grace, and on the free Mercy of God, and Merit of Chrift Jefus; and where we fall fail, there to wait upon the Lord Jefus Chrift for pardon, acceptance, and healing, for his name's fake*."

TIME

MATHER ut fupra, p. 95.The Acknowledgment of Sins, mentioned in the foregoing bond, confifted of fourteen diftinct parts. The duty of confeffing the guilt of covenant-violation preceded that of covenant-renovation; and the manner of covenanting is defcribed, by this hiftorian, in the following terms: "In this Renewal of Covenant, there were fome Churches, who, from 1 know not what objections, of there being no express warrant for it in the New Teftament, and their doing it implicitly in every act of divine worship, and the imaginary danger of innovations, would not comply with the advice of the Synod: But all the virgins were not fo fleepy; and very remarkable was the blef fing of God upon the Churches which did not fo fleep. In short, many of the Churches having, on previous days of fafting and prayer, confidered the expectations of God concerning them, they were willing, a new to declare their most explicit confent unto the Covenant of Grace, and moft explicitly to engage unto a growing watchfulness in fuch duties of the covenant as were more peculiarly accommodated unto their prefent circumftances. They publicly devoted another day to fafting and prayer, whereat a vaft confluence of other neighbours were usually prefent; and, on this day, the * Kkkk

minifter

TIME would fail me to delineate the focial covenanting which took place in the Proteftant Churches, by their mutual fubfcription of each others Confeffions of Faith; yea, and their fwearing to maintain the articles contained in them, which they deemed the PRESENT TRUTH. Nor can I ftay to infert the various leagues which were formed for the fupport of the Proteftant caufe, fuch as the EVANGELIC UNION, &c. That love which difpofed the children of Chrift to furrender themselves unto him, as their rightful Lord, disposed them to rifk their life in the caufe of their brethren in him. And greater love hath no man than that he should lay down his life for the brethren.

minifter of the place having, in the forenoon, prayed and preached fuitably to the occafion, he proceeded then to read the Covenant; whereunto the affent of the Churches was then expreffed, by the brethren lifting up their hands, and the women only ftanding up: And many thousands of spectators will testify, that they never faw the special prefence of the great God our Saviour more notably discovered than on thefe folemnities." MATHER, ut fupra.

DISSER

ON THE

FOEDERAL TRANSACTIONS

OF OUR

RELIGIOUS ANCESTORS

BRITAIN AND IRELAN D·

HERE are no monuments of the Church,

TH

in our native land, as far as I know, to inform us as to her practice prior to the rise of Antichrift. But, fince his begun downfall, the Church of Scotland hath not come behind other Reformed Churches in respect of her Fœderal Tranfactions. At a time when MARY of Lorrain was violating every tie, and straining every nerve to wreath the iron yoke of Antichristian tyranny in the Church, and abfolute government in the State, upon the neck of this land, the Lord was pleafed to ftir up a Kkkk 2 few

few friends to the civil and religious liberties of mankind, to form themfelves into a CONGREGATION; unto whom, under God, we owe the prefervation of our Liberties in the State, and the Reformation of Religion in the Church. To accomplish thefe purposes, they entered into a folemn Covenant as follows:

WE, perceiving how Sathan, in his mem bers, the antichrifts of our time, cruelly do rage, feeking to overthrow and to destroy the Gospel of Chrift and his Congregation, ought, according to our bounded duty, to ftrive, in our Mafter's caufe, even unto the death, being certain of the victory in him. The which, our duty being well confidered, we do promife, before the Majeftie of God, and his Congregation, that we (by his grace) fhall, with all diligence, continually apply our whole power, substance, and our very lives, to maintain, fet forward, and establish, the moft bleffed word of God, and his Congregation; and fhall labour, at our poffibility, to have faithful mafters, truly and purely to minifter Chrift's Gospel and Sacra ments to his people: We fhall maintain them, nourish them, and defend them, the whole Congregation of Chrift, and every member thereof, at our whole powers, and waging of our lives, againft Sathan and all wicked power that doth intend tyranny or trouble against the forefaid Congregation. Unto the which holy word and Congregation we do joyne us; and fo do

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