PART III. Why should not chriftians make much of children. 337

Thefs. iii. 6. Now we command you brethren, in the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift, that ye withdraw yourfelves, from every brother that walketh difordery? Surely all muft allow it is a diforderly walk for a person to live in the neglect of God's inftitu ted Sacrament.

But the great difficulty, in what is noted from the law by Mofes, is the making fo much of children; and confidering them as meinbers of God's vifible Church.

But why fhould not chriftian parents and Churches be willing, to make fo much of children, and treat them as there directed by God? The Scriptures abundantly make tauch of children. If it fhould be ftill thought, that the old Teftament is not fo directly binding on us; go into the new; there we find the Apoftle giving the fame direction, Eph. vi. 4. For parents to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the LordWhy fhould not chriftian parents be willing to educate and train up their children, as God faid he knew Abraham would; and as he directed Mofes, to command the children of Ifrael to educate their children; to inculcate God's word upon them, and by their examplary lives, and ftrict obfervance of God's ordinances, excite in their children inquiry, into the meaning of God's word and ordinances; and to teach them the meaning of them; and bring them forward as foon as possible? And why should not the Church be ready to embrace them as foon as they profefs a knowledge and belief of the mean. ing of thofe ordinances? Why fhould there be that backwardness in chriftian parents, and Churches to own the relation of children? When Chrift the benevolent Saviour whofe name they bear, was fo ready to own and receive them! not

238 Chrif's readiness to accept, and blefs children. PART III. only when he took them into his arms and bleffed them: But when he lamented over Jerufalem, Mat. xxiii. 37. O Jerufalem, Jerufalem-how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! verfe 38. Behold your houfe is left unto you def olate. In Luke xiii. 34, 35. is the fame, saving there it is, as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings!

Here is a plain declaration of Chrift, that he wns children, as his brood, that he is ready and difpofed to take them under his wings, to broad and nourish them; but Jerufalem, the Church, would not! Therefore their houfe is left unto them defolate. Surely parents and churches, ought to be very cautious not to obftru&t Chrift's gathering their children under his wings, by neglect of duty toward them; or by difallowing, or difowning them to be under their wings.

To have no children nourished up in the house, is the direct way to have it defolate. And it is a matter worthy of folemn reflection, and ferious inquiry; whether the confidering and treating of children, as not belonging to the Church, and neglecting them accordingly; is not the reafon of the thinnels, of fo many of our churches! When Chrift expreffes fuch readiness to gather children under his wings, it defervedly fhould melt the heart of every parent, into the moft exalted gratitude to him; the greatest carefulness, to do noth ing to obftru&t him; and to do their part, with the greatest diligence, as God has directed, fo that Chrift may gather them under his wings, and nourish them up to ETERNAL LIFE.

SUMMARY and APPLICATOR?

CONCLUSION.

A

1. SUMMARY.

SUMMARY review of the foregoing TRATISE may perhaps be of fervice; as it need not be incumbered with thofe arguments and obviations which were unavoidable in the course of the Treatife.

It has been confidered that the Nature of Sacraments, is to excite and maintain in creatures a pro. per fenfe of God, of the reality of his existence and operations, and of the relation creatures are in to him.

The Neceffity of them arifes from the abfolute impoffibility for creatures to apprehend abfolute Deity, or to have any Idea of the Mode of his exiftence, or of his operations, only of the effects and relations thereby formed.

Hence the importance of Sacraments. Creatures being finite and fallable, are liable to loose a fenfe of the reality of that which is invisible; and of their relation to an invisible object. But rational intelligences, are in a special relation to, and connection with the Deity, who is the great and only original fupreme fource of all intelligence; they having all their intelle&ual powers, and every faculty from him. They are therefore effentially in relation to him, of abfolute dependence and fubordination; and all their life and happiness confifts in this relation and connection. Their being rational intelligences capable of contemplating the

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Nature and Necefity of Sacraments. SUN. CON. divine perfections, and their relation to the Deity; makes it effential to their life and happiness, to contemplate, adore, worship, obey and ferve him.

But as before confidered, Deity being abfolutely out of fight of creatures, makes it effentially neceffary, that there fhould be fome perpetual, fenfible fign or token, fitted to excite and maintain in the creature a fenfe of his relation to God, and conftant dependence upon him. This is what in this Treatife, is called a perpetual Sacrament.

It has been confidered, that the Sacramental token to Adam in innocency, was the reservation of the fruit of one tree in the Garden, which was as a feal to the covenant God made with him.

That after the fall of man that firft covenant could breathe nothing but death to the man, thou Shalt furely die.

God then made known to the man that he had provided life and falvation for man, by fo accepting of the life of another, as to fave the man from the death he had incurred.

God then gave the man a fenfible fign or token denoting his relation to God; which was the man's offering to God living creatures flain. The man thereby acknowleding his own defert of death, and apprehending the infinite grace of God, in accepting the life of another fo as to fave the man. Of this token God advanced further degrees, as people were in a condition to receive them. And efpecially at the exit of Ifrael from Egypt, he inftituted the paffover a full Sacramental token denoting all the principle Ideas of the man's relation to God, and of God's most gracious commutation for the falvation of man. This, bating the forty years they were in the wildernefs, was the effential Sacramental token God inflituted for man to obferve as

SUN, CON.

Incidental Saerament.

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the perpetual Sacrament, till the paffion of Jefus Christ.

From thence down to this time and 'till the end of the world, God has inflituted the Holy Supper, the perpetual Sacrament, to excite and maintain in us a fenfe of our defert of death and the wrath of God, of God's gracious commutation in fo accepting the life of another, as to fpare and fave us and of our abfolute dependence on him, for life and fupport. This Sacrament was literally inflituted to excite and maintain in our minds a fenfe and remembrance of Chrift, God manifeft in the lefh, and his fuffering death for fallen finful man. And Chrift, God manifeft in the flesh, will no doubt be the object of apprehenfion for all intelligent creatures to excite and maintain in them a proper fenfe of God, and of their relation to him forever, without intermiffion or end. Therefore I denominate ita perpetual Sacrament; which is common and neceflary for all rational intelligences, whether they have retained their primitive inne.. cency or not.

But man having finned, and therein apoftatized from God, departed from him, and thus became unclean. As before condered, all uncleannefs confifts in things being cat of proper place, or being in improper relations to each other. Hence there could be no falvation for man, but by cleanfing and bringing hirn again to God; the divine operation in this, as well as all other things, being invisible to creatures, needed fome vifible fenfible fign or token, which is therefore a Sacrament, peculiar to fallen man and could have had no place, bad not man finned, and God provided a way of restoration. This therefore is properly an Inci dental, Sacrament.

W