made with God; the condi- | Christian: stir up the grace

tion whereby thou wast re-
ceived into this covenant;
the warfare unto which thou
art hereby engaged." The
covenant is to be "a mem-
ber of Christ, a child of God,
and an heir of Heaven;"
or, the covenant of grace
and salvation: the condi-
tion is, 66
to renounce the
devil and all his works, the
pomps," &c. The warfare
thou hast undertaken, "is
manfully to fight under the
banner of Christ," against
these ghostly enemies; to
this end thy Christian name
is enrolled amongst the
musters of the Church mili-
tant, wherein thou hast pro-
mised " to continue Christ's
faithful servant and soldier
unto thy life's end."

of God within thee, and which was communicated unto thee, when first by holy Baptism thou wast enlisted a Christian soldier under the Captain of our salvation: draw not back thy foot from the combat, but take courage, and put thyself on manfully to resist the devil, and all his works of temptation unto sin: thou needest not to be afraid of all his fiery darts, for these cannot pierce but when enflamed by the fire of thine own concupiscence, covetousness, and pride, or the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, with luxury and voluptuousness, or the sinful lusts of the flesh; these are the weapons wherewithal the enemy wars against the soul: but by the steadfast belief of all the articles of the holy Christian faith, and a constant obedience to God's holy will and commandments, they are renounced, resisted, beaten back, and

"Thou art too delicate a Christian to dream of a victory without fighting for it, of a conquest without exercise of arms, of a triumph without the trial of strength" "the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus "," is not to be obtained but by contest with, and mastery over, This thou hast solemnly all our ghostly adversaries. vowed in the open face of "To him that overcometh Christ's Church, whosoever only is the promise made." thou be that art rightly callRouse up then thyself, ed Christian: and though thou secure and slothful thy Christendom was not • Rev. ii. 7, 17, 26, and chap. iii. 5.

Phil. iii. 14.

overcome.

thus right, orthodox, and legal, yet this must be performed, if thou wilt be, or being, continue within the covenant of grace, to the eternal salvation of thy soul.

Raise up, O Lord, we pray Thee, Thy power, and come amongst us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins

and wickedness we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, by Thy bountiful grace and mercy we may be enabled to withstand the temptations of the devil, the world, and the flesh, and with pure hearts and minds to follow Thee the only God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, &c.

Meditat. II.

Out of St. Gregory, Hom. xix. in Evang.
Marc. xvi. 16.

"He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved" -whereupon every one will readily answer, I believe, and therefore hope assuredly to be saved; it is true, alway provided that thy works do not contradict thy words of such false believers speaketh St. Paul, "who profess to know God, but in their works they deny Him":" and St. John also; "He that saith he knows God and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar," &c.

words thou dost perform in thy deeds. In thy Baptism thou didst promise "to renounce the devil, and all his works." Here, then, let every man examine himself, whether he have kept this promise to the uttermost of his power, he may then assure himself that he is a faithful servant to the Lord but if, otherwise, he hath frequently yielded to the temptations, which are the works of the devil; if he have followed "the pomps and vanities"-he cannot presume that he hath any true faith, being so unfaith

So that the truth of thy faith must be known in the examination of thy life; be-ful in the breach of his word

ing then truly faithful, if what thou hast promised in

P Tit. i. 16.

and promise. And yet the most merciful God will not

a 1 John ii. 4.

account of such as altoge- | Lord, by true repentance

OXFORD:

PRINTED BY I. SHRIMPTON.