him, and convinceth them: and they promise him to take time, as Saul did, to learn the true knowledge of the covenant of grace, that so they may consent to it themselves: and Saul before them all lamenteth his sinful life, and openly professeth his consent to the covenant, and they pray together for his confirmation.]

S. I bless the Lord for this day of grace. What would you yet advise me do?

P. One thing more, to God's glory and your comfort; that you will the next Lord's day communicate with the church in the sacrament of the Lord's supper, which is appointed to be the renewal of the baptismal covenant before the church; where God will set his seal to your pardon, and to his covenant part.

But withal, seeing you have been a known offender, that you will freely, before the congregation, confess your sinful life, and profess your repentance and resolution, for a new and holy course; and crave their prayers to God for your pardon and strength, and their loving reception of you, and give God the glory, and warn others to take heed of sinning against God and their baptismal vows.

S. This is sweet and bitter; I shall be glad to be admitted to the sacrament of communion; but I shall be ashamed to make so public a confession.

P. It is a shame to sin, but it is an honour to confess it and repent. I persuade you not to confess your secret sins before the church; but only those which are commonly known, and therefore are your shame already: and how will that shame be removed, till men have notice of your repentance? And you must not be ashamed of your duty, if you would not have Christ be ashamed of you.

S. But where doth God require such confession?

P. 1. Those that were baptised by John, confessed their sins. (Matt. iii. 6; Mark i. 5; Acts ii. 37.) The Jews confessed their killing of Christ, by being pricked at the heart, and crying out for help when it was charged on them. (Acts xix. 18.) The converts confessed their sinful deeds, and publicly testified it to their cost. (Jam. v. 16.) "Confess your faults one to another." (Prov. xxviii. 13.) "Whoso confesseth, and forsaketh them, shall have mercy." (See further Lev. xv. 5; vi. 21, and xxvi. 40; Numb. v. 7; Neh. i. 6; 1 John i. 9; Ezra x. 11; Neh. ix. 2, 3; Josh. vii. 19; 2 Chron. xxx. 22.)

2. You were publicly baptised, and you have openly sinned against that covenant; therefore, if you will be openly taken

for a penitent into church communion, you must openly profess repentance. Unless you would have us take all impenitent persons to communion.

3. You are obliged to be more tender of God's honour than of your own; and therefore to honour him publicly, as you have publicly dishonoured him, and stick at nothing that tendeth to his glory, as this will do.

4. You are bound to cast the greatest shame that you can on sin; it is the shameful thing that hath deceived and defiled you: if you have set it up above God, and now refuse to cast it down, by open shame, how do you repent of it?

5. You owe all possible help to others, to save them from the sin which hath deceived you. You have encouraged men to sin, and, for aught you know, some of them may be in hell for ever, for that which you have drawn them to; and should you not do your best now to save the rest, and to undo the hurt that you have done? See, therefore, that you tell them, with deep repentance, how sin deceived you, and warn them, and beseech them to take warning by you, and to repent with you, as they sinned with you. Your companions that are not there, may hear of this and be convinced.

a

6. You owe this to the church and godly Christians, that they may rejoice in your conversion, and may see that you are indeed a due object of their special love.

7. You owe this to yourself, 1. That you may remove your public shame, and have the comfort of Christians' special love: as God cannot delight in an impenitent sinner, no more should his servants. 2. That your conscience may have the comfort that your repentance is sincere; which it will justly be still doubting of, if you cannot repent at as dear a rate as open confession. How will you forsake all, and die for Christ, if you cannot so far deny your pride as to confess your sin?

8. Lastly, you owe this to me, that the church may not take me for a polluter of its communion by admitting the impenitent thereto.

S. You have said more than ever I heard of this, and it fully satisfies me. But would you have all that are converted and

repent do thus?

P. Some have lived with some kind of religiousness from

Paul frequently confesseth his sinful life; Acts xxii., and xxvi; Tit. iii, 3-5; 1 Tim. i. 13-15; Luke xxii. 32.

Jam. v. 15, &c.

their childhood, though with many ordinary sins, and have, by undiscerned degrees, grown up unto true godliness. These are uncertain when they first had special grace, and were not open scandalous violators of their baptismal vow; and, therefore, I can lay no such injunction on them.

But I would have all do thus, that have thus broken that vow, and are converted afterward to true repentance, for all the reasons which I now mentioned: and the universal church hath ever been for such public repentance in such a case; yea, and for particular gross lapses afterward. And the papists to this day call it the sacrament of penance, though they corrupt it by auricular confession, when it should be open; and by many unwarrantable adjuncts and formalities.

S. What would you have me do after that?

P. I will record your name in the church book among the church communicants, and we will all pray for your confirmation and perseverance; and you must live as a member of the holy catholic church of Christ, in the communion of saints, and return no more to your ungodly, sinful life and come to me again, and I shall give you further counsel. In the mean time, you may do as the converted eunuch did, (the lord treasurer of the queen of Ethiopia, Acts viii, 39,) even go on your way rejoicing in this, that you are united to Christ, and are justified from all your former sins, and are sincerely entered into the covenant and family of God, and are made a fellow-citizen with the saints, and an heir of certain, endless glory.

THE FIFTH DAY'S CONFERENCE.

Directions to the converted against temptations.

Speakers. Paul, a Teacher; and Saul, a Learner.

PAUL, Welcome, neighbour. How go matters with your soul?

SAUL. I thank God and my Redeemer, and you, his minister, since I publicly repented, renounced my sin, and gave up myself to my God, and Saviour, and Sanctifier. I find myself as in a new world. My hopes revive, and I have had already more © Rom. v, 1-6,10.

Eph. ii. 12; Rom. viii. 16-18, 30, 32.

comfort in believing, and in seeking God, than ever I had in my life of sin. I am grieved and ashamed that I stood off so long, and have spent so much of my life in wickedness, and in wronging God, who gave me life. I am ashamed that ever such trifles and fooleries possessed my heart, and kept me so long from a holy life, and that I delayed after I was convinced. I could wish, from my very heart, that I had spent all that time of my life in beggary, slavery, or a gaol, which I have spent in a fleshly, sinful course. O had I not now a merciful God, a sufficient Saviour, a pardoning covenant of grace, and a comforting Sanctifier, which way should I look, or what should I do? It amazeth me to think what a dangerous state I so long liyed in. O what if God had cut off my life, and taken away my unsanc◄ tified soul, what would have become of me for ever! O that I had sooner turned to my God, and sooner cast away my sins, and sooner tried a holy life! But my soul doth magnify the Lord, and my Spirit doth rejoice in God my Saviour, that he hath pitied a self-destroying sinner, and at last his mercy hath d abounded where my sin did abound.

P. It is but little of his goodness which as yet you have tasted of, in comparison of what you must find at last. But that you may yet make sure work, I shall spend this day's con ference in acquainting you what temptations you have yet to overcome, and what dangers to escape, for yet you have but begun your race and warfare.

S. Your counsel hath hitherto heen so good, that I shall gladly hear the rest.

P. 1. The first temptation that you are like to meet with, is a seeming difficulty and puzzling darkness in all, or many of the doctrines and practices of godliness. You will think strange of many things that are taught you, and you will be stalled at the difficulties of understanding and believing, of meditating and praying, of watching against sin, and of doing your duty. And by reason of this difficulty, Satan would make God's service seem wearisome, uncomfortable, and grievous to you, and so turn back your love from God,

And all this will be, because you are yet but as a stranger to it; like a scholar that entereth upon books and sciences, which he never meddled with before; or like an apprentice that newly learneth his trade; or like a traveller in a strange way and country. To an ignorant and inexperienced person, that never d Ron. v, 12, 13, to the end.

John vi. 60; Heb. v. 11, 12; 2 Pet. iii. 16.

meddled with such things before, but hath been used to a contrary course of life, all things will seem strange and difficult at first.

S. What course must I take to escape this temptation?

1. When you meet with any difficulty, you must still remember that it is your own dark mind, or backward heart, that is the cause, and never suspect God's word or ways, no more than a sick man will blame the meat, instead of his stomach, if he loath a feast. But take occasion to renew your repentance, and think, 'All this is along of myself, who spent my youth in sin and folly, which I should have spent in hearing the word of God, and practising a godly life. What need have I now to double my labour to overcome all this!'

2. Resolve to wait patiently on God in the use of all his means, and teaching, time, and use, and grace will make all more plain, and easy, and delightful to you. Do not expect that it should come all on a sudden, without time, and diligence, and patience.

3. Keep still as an humble disciple of Christ, in a learning mind and way, and turn not, in self-conceitedness, to cavil against what you do not understand. This is the chief thing in which conversion maketh us like little children. (Matt. xviii. 3.) Children are conscious of their ignorance, and are teachable, and set not their wits against their teachers, till they grow towards twenty years of age, and then they grow wise in their own conceits, and begin to think that their tutors are mistaken, and to set their wits against the truth which they should receive. But of this more anon.

II. The second temptation will be, upon these difficulties and your mistakes in religion, to grow so perplexed as to be overwhelmed with doubts and fears, and so to turn melancholy, and ready to despair.

The devil will strive to lose you, and bewilder you in some mistakes, or to make you think that your conversion was not true, because you had no more brokenness of heart for sin, or because you know not just the time when you were converted. Or he will make you think that all religion lieth in striving to weep and break your heart more; or that you have no grace, because you have not such a lively sense of things invisible, as you have of the things that are seen. Or he will tell you that now you must not think nor talk of the world, but all your thoughts and talk must be of God, and his word and holy things,