ay which master'upon the whole he chooses; for the double minded man is unstable in all his ways. But Christ does not desire men to make a profession of being his disciples till they have sat down and counted the cost, and are come to a settled determination; as is plain from Luke xiv. 25-33. And when men are come to that settled determination, which our Saviour there describes, they may say that they have come to it. And this is all the profession which we desire.

*

P. Thus far I have acted the part of a disputant, and I have now done. Suffer me therefore once more to reassume that honest character which I sustained in my first visit; for let others say what they will, I design to act an honest part. Now the truth of the case is this, I am not specially concerned to know by what rule the church must be governed in admitting members; neither am I concerned to know what they must do who are in doubt about themselves: the only question about which I am exercised, relates to my own particular case. I know I have no grace. I know I am uncon

verted. I told you so at first, and so I have told all the ministers with whom I have conversed; and how any man, that knows he has no grace, can profess a compliance with the covenant of grace, and speak true, I could not understand, years ago. It was this that induced me to own the covenant, as the phrase is, and not to join in full communion, that so I might have my children baptised. Not one of the ministers with whom I have conversed, appears to justify the principles upon which I acted; but all as one man, say, there is but one covenant, and this one covenant is the covenant of grace: indeed, they explain away the covenant of grace, till they bring it down into a graceless covenant, and then tell me I can comply with that, and ought to do so, and thus join in full communion. But you have fully convinced me of the inconsistence and absurdity of this; and yet I would beg leave to inquire, why might not the covenant of grace be voted out by the church, and a graceless covenant be substituted in its room? and then such as I am could consistently profess a compliance with such a covenant, and have baptism for their children.

M. But if a church should vote out the covenant of grace, or, which is the same thing, in other words, should vote out Christianity, how could it any longer be considered as a visible church of Christ, or as having a visible right to the visible seals of God's covenant? And besides, should you bind your child to one of your neighbours, to learn some mechanic art, why, in this case, might not the covenant be sealed, ratified, and confirmed by the administration of baptism, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?

P. The proposal shocks my mind. It would be a profanation of God's holy ordinance, to take God's seal, appropriated to God's covenant, and put it to man's covenant.

M. But this ungracious covenant is man's covenant, and not God's. And to take God's seal, appropriated to God's covenant, even to the covenant of grace, and apply it to a covenant which God never made, to a covenant made by men, is to profane the holy ordinance: and knowingly to profane God's holy ordinance, is not a duty, nor is this to put ourselves in the way of a blessing.

P. What need is there of any covenant at all?

M. It is not the manner of men to put seal to a clean piece of paper. Nor did God ever appoint seals to be put to a blank. God's seals were appointed to be put to God's covenant; and we have no right to put them to a blank; and besides, it would be to give up the import of the actions, and to render sealing ordinances unmeaning, empty, useless cere

monies.

P. What shall I do?

M. Repent and believe the Gospel. Thus preached John the Baptist: thus preached Jesus Christ; and thus his apostles. And therefore, being emboldened by their examples, I say unto you, Enter in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

P. 1 thank you, sir, for your kind and friendly instructions. I ask your prayers.-I must go.

M. I will detain you but a minute longer. You remember your former minister, the author of the second Dialogue concerning the half-way covenant, said, "There is no half-way covenant. Doubtless it is the covenant of grace. No one

disputes its being the covenant of grace; no one DARE DENY IT." And your present patron says much the same. You remember also, that in your second visit, I told you, that to say this, was implicitly to " yield up every point for which we contend;" and, in this view, I added, "nor do I doubt, if this controversy should go on, it will soon appear, that there is one who dares deny it. For otherwise all men of sense will see, that gentlemen on that side of the question are grossly inconsistent with themselves." And now it hath come to pass, that one of the most discerning gentlemen on that side of the question, has published a laboured piece, to prove, that in order to enjoy sealing ordinances for ourselves and our children, we are not to profess a compliance with the covenant of grace, but only with a graceless covenant. This therefore is the only point that needs to be settled, in order to settle the whole controversy; to this point, therefore, I advise you to give a most serious attention. For, if it can be proved that baptism and the Lord's supper are seals of the covenant of grace, and not of a graceless covenant, the are will be laid to the root of the tree. Attend, therefore, to the subject with the utmost impartiality, that you may obtain not only light in your head, but also reap saving advantage to your soul. I have known some Christless sinners, by the means of this controversy, awakened to a greater concern about their eternal salvation than ever they were before. And, be assured, sir, that the truths of the Gospel, if they are not unto your own soul a savour of life unto life, will be a savour of death unto death. Eternity, an endless eternity, lies before you. You have slept secure in sin long enough; it is high time you should awake. Every circumstance of your own soul, and every circumstance of your dear offspring, calls upon you without delay to awake, and turn to God through Jesus Christ, in sincerity and truth. O, what joy would it give me, ere long to admit you into full communion with the church, on a profession of a compliance with the

should you

appear

covenant of in which grace, to act understandingly and honestly! That salvation may thus come to you and to your household, may God of his infinite mercy grant, through Jesus Christ.

My dear sir, farewell.

DIALOGUE IV.

A reply to the parishioner's letter, concerning qualifications for Christian communion; printed at New-Haven.

PARISHIONER. SIR, three times I have been with you heretofore, to get my child baptised; and I am now come to make you a fourth visit, with the letter lately printed at New-Haven, in my hand.

MINISTER. I am willing, sir, and ever have been, to oblige you in all things wherein I lawfully may. And particularly, I am willing to baptise your child, if you really, understanding the true import of the action, are willing to offer your child in baptism; even to dedicate it to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; in whose name it is to be baptised. But, if you do indeed love God so well, as that you are willing to give him your child, to be his for ever, why are you not as willing to give him yourself? And why should you not, first of all, give yourself up to God through Jesus Christ; and then, after that, give your child to him? In this way God will become your covenant God and Father in this world, and your eternal portion in the next. This is all I wait for. And this is what I have, from the beginning, been urging upon you, as your immediate, indispensable duty. You remember what I said to you in your first visit, "if you love God so as to be willing to have him for your portion; if you love Christ so as to be willing to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him; you may have your choice: you may do as you like: come, for all things are now ready. And if you would now in fact make this choice, it would put an end to your present difficulties about your child. Nothing,

therefore, can hinder the baptism of your child, but your continuing to reject God and the Redeemer, by which you practically renounce your own baptism, and forfeit all the blessings of the covenant." And you remember my parting words in your last visit, "every circumstance of your own soul, and every circumstance of your dear offspring, calls upon you without delay, to awake, and to turn to God through Jesus Christ, in sincerity and truth. O, what joy would it give me, ere long, to admit you into full communion with the church, on a profession of a compliance with the covenant of grace, in which you should appear to act understandingly and honestly!" And you are my witness, that at all times I am ready to instruct you, to pray for you, and if need be, to rebuke you with all tenderness and kindness.

P. Inspired by the spirit which runs through the NewHaven letter, I must say, that I despise your rebukes, p. 4. and do not desire your prayers. p. 18. "Could I sufficiently dissemble, I should give you joy, and gain a speedy, easy admittance into your church;" p. 10.-but, for my part, I look upon you as little or nothing better than the very worst of heretics. For "your principles, sir, are too near of kin to those most shocking principles lately broached in the land, by several who have a fondness for being authors; particularly by Mr. Sandeman, and Mr. Hopkins. Mr. Sandeman says, that faith is obtained, as the most remarkable discoveries have been obtained, the use of the magnet, Jesuit's bark, and many chymical discoveries ; i. e. not when these things, but something else, was looked for -Mr. Hopkins says, it is indeed, as great an absurdity as can be thought of, to suppose that the corrupt, vicious heart, dves any thing towards becoming holy, &c. for all the exercises and volitions of the corrupt unregenerate heart are certainly the exercises of sin."

"These principles, sir, I look upon of the most dangerous tendency, of any that were ever broached in the Christian world, deism itself not excepted." p. 20.

M. My dear sir, be cool, and think a minute or two who you are, and what you say, and what you have been doing. You are my parishioner. In this character you have made me three visits before this. In this character you are now talk