And as for myself, you need not much fear me; I have not, nei- ther do I intend to vibrate my sting against you, unless I find you infecting or disturbing that hive to which I belong, and to which I am daily gathering and carrying honey ; and then who but a drone would not sting.
(4.) To conclude : in the close of your letter you fall into the for- mer strain of love, assuring me, ' That the ancient friendship of so many years, shall continue on your part.'
Reply. All that I shall return to this, is only to relate a short story out of Plutarch, in the life of Alexander; where he tells us. That ■whilst he was warring in the Indies, one Taxiles an Indian king, came with his company to meet him ; and saluting Alexander, said, !' What need you and I to fight and war one upon another ? If thou
A llEPLY TO MK. CARy's SOLEMN CALL. S77
comest not to take away our water, and the necessaries of life from us, for which we must needs fight : As for other goods, if I am richer than thee, I am ready to give thee of mine ; and if I have less, I will not think scorn to thank thee for thine." Alexander, highly pleased with his words, made him this re})ly ; ' Thinkest thou, that this meeting of ours can be without fighting ; No, no ; thou hast won nothing by all thy fair words ; for I will fight and contend with thee in honesty and courtesy, and thou shall not exceed me in bounty and liberahty.'
I say with Taxiles, I had never armed against you, had you not come to take away our water, and the necessaries of life ; I mean, the covenant of God with Abraham, which contains the rich charter of the Gentile believers children, and make it an abolished Adam's covenant, and told us, that we must come up to the primitive purity in these things ; that is, in renouncing it as a covenant of grace, and relinquishing infants baptism, as grounded thereon.
Sir, were my own father alive, I must and would oppose him, should he attempt what here you do. Infant-baptism, with you is not ; singing' of psahns, that plain and heavenly gospel ordinance, with you is not ; and will you take away our Benjamin also ? What! the covenant of God with Abraham and his children in their genera- tions ? All these things are against us. No, sir, we cannot part with that covenant, as an abolished Adam's covenant, nor v/ill I give it up for all the friendship in the world.
And yet I will say with Alexander, I will contend with you in friendship and courtesy, even whilst I earnestly contend against you for the truths of GOD, which you have here opposed, and I have endeavoured to vindicate.
One word more before I part with you ; I do assure you, and the whole world, that in this controversy with you, I have not, knowingly or advisedly, misrepresented your sense : If you shall say I did so in my second argument, from the words, page 179, I assure you, both myself, and others could understand you no otherwise than I did in the papers I sent you ; and when you told me, you meant there was no pardon in either of those covenants, but that it plainly directed to Abraham's covenant, you will find, I liave given you as fair a choice as you can desire, either to stand to your words in the first sense, wherein I understand them, or (which will be the same to me) to your own sense, in whiclj you afterwards explained it to me. And whereas I blame you over and over in my epistle and conclusion, for putting the proper subjects of baptism amongst the highest things in religion ; let the reader view your conclusion, and see, whether you do, or not. If you say, you speak of the covenant there, as well^is of baptism, I allow that you do so ; yet I hope it is equally as bad, nay, in deed and truth, a great aggravation of your fault, to make this article, viz. God's covenant with Abraham, Gen. xvii. an abolished
0/8 SACRAMENTAL MEDITATIONS.— TO THE READER.
Adams covenant, one of the highest concernments of a Christian, the baptism only of adult believers another. My consequences from your words, are just and regular, how surprising soever they seem to you. If you think fit to rejoin to this my answer, I desire you will avoid, as much as you can, a tedious harangue of words, and speak strictly and regularly to my arguments, by limiting, distinguishing, or deny- ing, as a disputant ought to do : If so, I promise you a reply ; but if I find no such thing, it shall pass with me but for waste paper ; nor will I waste time about it. The Lord give us unity in things necessary, liberty in things indifferent, and charity in all things 1
SACRAMENTAL MEDITATIONS
UPON DIVERS SELECT PLACES OF
Believers are assisted in preparing their Hearts, and exciting their Affections and Graces, when they draw nigh to GOD in that most awful and solemn Ordinance of the LORD'S SUPPER.
To THE Reader. Christian Reader,
VyHRIST may be said to be crucified three ways; by the Jews actually, in the sacrament declaratively, and by unbelievers at his table interpretatwely. Among sins, blood-guiltiness is reckoned one of the most heinous ; and of all blood-guiltiness, to be guilty of the blood of Christ, is a sin of the deepest guilt, and will be avenged with the most dreadful punishment, 1 Cor. x. 27, 29. If vengeance be taken seven-fold on him that slew Cain, what vengeance shall be taken on him that crucifies afresh the Lord of glory ?
The heaviest blow of divine justice is still ready to avenge the abuse of the best mercy : what can the heart of man conceive more solemn, more sacred, or more deeply affective, than the representation of the most gracious love of the Father, and the most grievous passion of the Son ? What sin can be more provoking to God, than the slight and contempt of those most awful mysteries ? And what punishment can be more terrible, than for such a wretched soul to eat and drink dam-
nation to itself? Melancthon records a very dreadful example of God's righteous jud^nent upon a company of profane wretches, who, in a tragedy, intended to act the death of Christ upon the cross. He that acted the soldier's part, instead of piercing with a spear a blad- der full of blood hid under his garment, wounded him to death that was upon the cross, who falling down killed him, who (in a disguise) acted the part of the woman that stood wailing under the cross. His brother, who was first slain slew the murderer, who acted the soldior's part, and for slaying him was hanged by order of justice. Thus did the vengeance of God speedily overtake them, and hanged them up in chains, for a warning, to all that should ever dare to dally with the great and jealous God.
These are terrible strokes, and ^et not so terrible as those which are more ordinarily, but less sensibly, inflicted on the inner man for the abuse of this ordinance.
To prevent these judgments, and obtain those blessings which come through this ordinance, great regard must be had to two things, viz. 1. The in-being. 2. The activity of true grace.