covenant; so that Abraham might properly on that account be said to be taken into covenant, as though his ancestors had not been taken into covenant: I answer, the alteration of the dispensation was in no measure so great as that after Christ's resurrection and ascension; and yet Mr. Williams will not allow, that the Jewish converts, received in Acts ii. on this new dispensation, were any more than continued in covenant, and in the church. So that, according to Mr. Williams's scheme, it must be Adam's profession of religion that was the individual profession which made all his posterity, in the line of the church, even to the Apostle's days, visible saints, or (as he himself explains visible saintship) such as we have rational ground to think are real saints, possessed of gospel holiness, and on that account have a right to sacraments. For so He says it is with the children of them that are in covenant, and their children, and their children for ever, until cut off and cast out by God.

So that now we have the scheme in a true view of it. The Pharisees and Sadducees that John baptized, whom Mr. Williams supposes John knew to be not of a good moral character, and whose doctrinal knowledge he did not inquire into before he baptized them; because they had before been admitted in their ancestors; even these were visible saints, and such as John had rational ground to think had sufficient doctrinal knowledge and were orthodox and real saints, having moral evidence that they had gospel holiness, because Adam, their original ancestor, made a profession of religion, in words of double meaning, without any marks of distinction or discrim ination, by which any might know their meaning!

And if we should go back no further than Abraham, it would not much mend the matter; supposing the case had been so, that we had the words of both Abraham's and Adam's profession written down in our Bibles: Whereas we have neither; no, nor have we the words of the profession of any one person, either in the old Testament or New, at their being taken into the church, if the things which Mr. Williams says are true; though he speaks so often of professions, and

words of professions, and declarations, made on such occasions, as if we had an express account of them in scripture.

V. As our author abundantly maintains, that unsanctified men in covenanting with God, may and do promise the exercise of saving Faith, repentance, love, &c. So he holds, that they promise to begin the exercise of these graces immediately, from this moment, and to live in them from henceforth, p. 25, 26, 28, 76.

Now I desire this matter may be looked into, and thoroughly examined. Not only the holy scriptures, and agreeable to them. Mr. Stoddard, and sound divines in general teach us, but Mr. Williams himself, maintains, that men who are unsanctified, do for the present refuse and oppose these things. In a forecited place of his sermon on Isa. xlv. 11, our author says, that "Unregenerate and unsanctified men oppose all means for the bringing them to these things, are willingly without them, and labor to find out all manner of difficulties and hindrances in the way of them; and if they pray for them, do not desire they should come yet, but would stay a while longer." Now, how is this consistent with such persons' promising with any sincerity at all, that they will comply with and perform these things immediately from henceforth without staying one moment longer? If God calls a man this moment to yield his whole heart to him in faith, love and new obedience; and if he, in answer to the call, solemnly promises and swears to God, that he will immediately comply with the call, without the least delay, and does it with any sincerity inconsistent with the most vile perfidy and perjury; then how does he now willingly refuse, oppose, and struggle against it, as choosing to stay a while longer?

Besides, such promises and oaths of unregenerate men must not only be contrary to sincerity, but very presumptuous, upon these two accounts. (1.) Because herein they take an

It must be observed, that Mr. Williams often speaks of the promise which an unregenerate man makes in covenanting with God as his oath. p. 18, 100, 101, 129, 130, 143.

There is

oath to the Most High, which, it is ten thousand to one, they will break as soon as the words are out of their mouths, by continuing still unconverted; yea, an oath which they are breaking even while they are uttering it. And what folly and wickedness is it for men to take such oaths? And how contrary to the counsel given by the wise man, in Eccl. v. 2, 4, 5, 6 ? And to what purpose should ungodly men be encouraged to utter such promises and oaths before the church, for the church's acceptance; which are so far from being worthy to be credited, or a fulfilment of them to be expected, that it is many thousands, and perhaps millions of times more likely to be otherwise? That is, it is so much more likely they will not be converted the very next moment. (2.) When an unconverted man makes such a promise, he promises what he has not to give, or that which he has not sufficiency for the performance of; no sufficiency in himself, nor any sufficiency in any other that he has a claim to, or interest in. indeed a sufficiency in God to enable him; but he has no claim to it. For God's helping a man savingly to believe in Christ is a saving blessing: And Mr. Williams himself owns, that a man cannot by promise claim any saving blessings, till he has fulfilled the conditions of the covenant of grace, p. 22, 28. So that in vain it is said by Mr. Williams, p. 27, "I pray that it may be thoroughly considered what is propounded in the covenant of grace, and on what stock a man is to finish." Meaning (as appears by the sequel) the stock of God's sufficiency. To what purpose is this said? When the covenant of grace promises or makes over no such stock to him who has no interest in the promises of it, as having not yet complied with the condition of its promises. Nor does an unconverted man promise any thing in a humble dependance on that stock; no such men do lay hold on God's strength, or trust in God's sufficiency: For this is a discriminating mark of a true saint; as our author himself observes, in that forecited passage, in his sermons on Christ a King and Witness, p. 19.

I would here take notice of it as remarkable, that though Mr. Williams had owned that a natural man can claim no say

ing blessings by God's promise, yet to help out his scheme of a natural man's engaging and promising, even with an oath, the exercises of saving grace, he, (in p. 27, 28, especially, 28) speaking of the great encouragement on which unsanctified men can promise these things, supposes God has given such encouragement to them who promise and engage themselves to God with that degree of earnestness and sincerity which he often speaks of as requisite to communion, that we have reason to determine that God never will fail of bestowing on them saving grace; so that they shall fulfil their promises. I say, he supposes that we have reason to determine this, because he himself determines it. His words are these: "Though there be no promise of saving good, exclusive of faith, yet there being a command and encouragement, there' are suitable springs of his endeavor and hope, in his engag ing himself to God and casting himself upon his mercy with all the earnestness and sincerity he can. God NEVER will be worse than his encouragement, nor do less than he has encouraged, and he has said, To him that hath, shall be given.”

Now, if this be so, and if this will make it out, that an unconverted man who is morally sincere may reasonably, on this encouragement, promise immediately to believe and repent, though this be not in his own power; then it will follow that whenever an unconverted man covenants, with such moral sincerity as gives a lawful right to sacraments, God NEVER will fail of giving him converting grace that moment, to enable him from thenceforward to believe and repent as he promises. And if this be so, and none may lawfully covenant with God without moral sincerity (as Mr. Williams also says) then it will follow, that never any one person comes, nor can come lawfully to the Lord's supper in an unconverted state; because when they enter into covenant lawfully (supposing them not converted before) God always converts them in the moment of their covenanting, before they come to the Lord's table. And if so, what is become of all this grand dispute about the lawfulness of persons' coming to the Lord's table, who have not converting grace?

VI. Mr. Williams greatly misrepresents me from time to time, in representing as though I had asserted, that “It is impossible for an unsanctified man to enter into covenant with God;" and that those who were unsanctified among the Israclites, did not enter into covenant with God; that the pretended covenanting of such is not covenanting, but only lying, wilful lying; and that no natural man can own the covenant, "But that he certainly lies, knows he lies, and designedly lies, in all these things, when he says them." P. 26, 22, 24, 31, 21. Whereas I never said nor supposed any such thing. I never doubted but that multitudes of unsanctified persons, and in all ages of the Christian church, and in this age, and here in Newengland, have entered visibly, and in profession, into the covenant of grace, and have owned that covenant, and promised a compliance with all the duties of it, without known or wilful lying; for this reason because they were deceived, and did not know their own hearts; and that they (however deceived) were under the obligations of the covenant, and bound by their engagements and promises: And that in that sense, they were God's covenant people, that by their own binding act they were engaged to God in covenant; though such an act, performed without habitual holiness, be an unlawful one. If a thing be externally devoted to God, by doing what ought not to have been done, the thing devot ed may, by that act, be the Lord's: As it was with the censers of Korah and his company. Numb. xvi. 37, 38.

What I asserted, was, that none could "Profess a compliance with the covenant of grace, and avouch JEHOVAH to be their God, and Christ to be their Saviour, i, e. that they are so by their own act and choice, and yet love the world more than JEHOVAH, without lying or being deceived. And that he, who is wholly under the power of a carnal mind, which is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be, cannot promise to love God with all his heart and with all his soul, without either great deceit, or the most manifest and palpable absurdity: Inasmuch as promising supposes the person to be conscious to himself, or persuaded of himself, that he