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There are too manie who never examine or care by what methods (whether juft or unjust, honefter fordide) they get Money and enrich themselves, fo be it by book or by crook they but get it, to them as Juvenal lays, lucri bonus eft odor ex re qualibet; it may Thame Chriftians to rejoice in difhonet gains, and,as too many do, lift up their face to God and bless him for them as if he had helped them thereto, when a Heathen could fay, Tisov &c. i, e. who of the gods ever helped or bleffed the unju.

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Now my meaning is, that ye carefullie fee, if the Religion which ye efpoufe & refolve to trade in, be the pure religion & undefiled, examine the grounds of your Principles, that ye may be folidly fatisfied that the reformed Chriftian Religion, is that which ye are alone to be exercised and conftant in,as bes ing conform to the Law and to the Teftimonie; for the most part of profeffing Chriftians implicitely and blindly embrace the Religion they were born and bred in, and has the force of the Civil Sanction of the Laws of the Land they inhabite, which I grant may happen to them to be the beft Religion, but they who come by the belt Religion only by hap, may happen too (when Trials & Temptations give occafion) to change the bett Religion for a worfe. But; O man of God, fee thou go by furet grounds, and that thou have the Warrant of a Di vine Statute for thy Chriftian Calling, and fo upe this bottom mayft thou ftand firm against all the qu arrantos that Devils or Men can bring in again

SECTION

SECTION III.

Direction. Enter your felves Burgess and Free

men in the Chriftian Commonwealth, enage in Cbrifts Oath of Fidelitie to be true to the Trade, and like wife that ye will concurre what ye an for defending the Priviledges and promoving e Interefts thereof, for if the Son (to wit Chrift) ake you free, then are you free indeed John 8.36.We ead Epb. 2. 12. Of the Commonwealth of Ifrael, Πολιτεία το Ισραελ, which imports as much as that he Church of God is like a body politick whereof the Members have their feveral Callings & Fun&ti ons, which make together for the good of whole, the members of our Chriflian Commonwealth have a Spiritual trade that lyes in a Land a far off, even in the higheft Heavens, where refides their Great Merchant and Correfpondent JESUS, with whom they Converfe by the letter rniffives of their Prayers & Supplications, whereby they make their Wants and Exigencies known unto Him, and thus, they are provided and furnished, and fo keep up Trade with Him. Hence fays the Apoftle, Phil. 3. Io. Our Conversation is in Heaven, Toile figni fies as much as our Citizenship, or Burgesfhip, or freedom of Employment as Citizens of the Leavenly Je.. rufalem therefore Mr.Baxter occafionally gloffing on this Text in his Life of Faith. Cap. 26 pag. 573. fpeaks moft appofitly to our purpose; when it is faid, that our Converfation is in Heaven, it fignifieth that our Burgesfhip is there, and our intereft & gre

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concerns are there, our Treading and Thriving bulinefs is there, and our Friends and Fellow-ci tizens, and thofe that we daily Trade and Converse with in love and familiarity are there, even as qur God, and our Head, and Inheritance is there. From which it is plain, there is a fpiritual freedom and fellow-burgesship with the Saints above, let us then enter our felves into this Right and Priviledge, by fubfcriving Chrifts Burgess oath An Authentick.co Ру whereof ye have Ifa.44.5 They shall Subscribe with their hand to the Lord; the plain thing I mean hereby is Personal covenanting folemnly engaging to Trade and Converfe with Him in Spiritual cos cerns & Affairs. Ye would alfo do well to get an Extra of your Burzefieticket or a fealed evidence of your being fworn Members of the Commonwealth of Ifrael, that is to fay,labour after the faith of Affor rance, as a clear Document & Charter of your being incorporated Members of that Myftick Body hath Commerce and Communion with Chrift the Head.

7 Dired. Make acquaintance with the Merchants or Factors who deal in the Wares ye are for, I will recommend you to fame of them;

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1.Make acquaintance with the Ministers of Christ thofe Stewards of the Mysteries of God, Gor 4.Ẹ, who are entrusted with Heavens Treafures & rich. ent Wares, to fell off and retail the fame as they find Caftomers, they are Scribes in fru&ted unto the kingdom of Heaven, i, e. are endued with plenty & va riety of Gifts, Graces, Experiences, Sc. and fo are

to bring forth out of their Treafures things me

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, i, e. to accommodat the feveral Cafes and Capacities

Capacities of their audience, Marth, 13. sz. Go then Hay unto them, propofe your Doubts, unbolom your Scraples, difcover your Wants, and let them know what of Chrifts Wares ye would bave, for they are fet over you as a part of the Lords Houfhold, to give you your portion of meat in due feafon, Luke 12, 42.

1. Make acquaintance alfo with folid experienced Chriflians, who having received much at the band of the Lord can acquaint you of His Dealings with them, and of their Dealings towards Him, & fome. times Chrift makes ufe of them too for vending off His Wares, Pfal. 66,16. Come and bear all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my foul. And Peter tells us, ■ Per. 3. 1, 2, 3, 4 that fome who would not be won by the word, may by Gods ble fing, be gained by a well ordered exemplary Converfation. And it hath been well known that fome wife religious Chriftians in their privat capacity, bave been bleffed Inftruments of gaining & building up fouls; have not some been very usefull in com. forting the fick in Body and diftreffed in Mind; in exhorting the untoward & carelefs,iu ftrengthning the weak, in rebuking and admonishing the undatis full and untender, in communicating experiences teo, & praying for their Chriftian bofom-familiars, for as Iron Sharpens Iron, fo Chriftians have sharpned & quickned one another in the Ways of the Lord.

3. Above all make acquaintance with our Lord Jefus, He bath the Monopoly of Heavens Wares in His Hand, He is the First-hand whole-fale ebant,and His Warehouse never runs out,

fhort of the best and most needfull commodities, ye can never chope Him wrong; and there is an ablo lute neceffity that ye make acquaintance with Him, it is alfo your undoubted intereft, Job 22, 21. 24. 25, 26, 27, 28, Acquaint now thy felf with Him tb.r.by good shall come unto thee, thou salt lay up Gold as duft, &c.

8. Dired. Mind your Business, and be diligent in your Calling, whatsoever thou finds in thy band to do, do it with all thy might, Eccl. 9. 10. Diligence and Intelligence are bighly requifite in a Merchant, viz. that he know from bis correfpondents bow mercats rule, and what is the true current value of things, & then that he be diligent in improving his intelli. gence to the bell advantage; fo a diligent Chriftian is readily a thriving Christian, and therefore in order to our growth in Grace, we must give all diligence, to add to our Faith Virtue, and to Virtue Knowledge, &c. 2 Pet. 1. 5, 6, 7. But feeing we are too liable to be loiterers, neglecting our business, therefore I will offer thefe following Motives for your excite ment to Diligence in all your Concerns, fpecially Spiritual.

1, Mot, Diligence hath the promise of the divine benedi&tian annexed to it, which brings along with it the anfwer of our reasonable votes for every man by Trading proposes Profit, and defires to be prof perous, the which Ends are atchieved most furely and moft fpeedily by being industrious in our lawful affairs, waiting on Gods blefling to fecond our en deavours; the band of the dilig nt maketh rich, and the of the diligent fhall be made fat, Prov. 1o. 4. & 13.4

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