VOL. VI. L 1
530 lydia's conversion.
of heart ; but a gracious holy man sees spiritual things by a spiritual light in their own kind.
A man that is bom in a dungeon, and never saw the light, when he hears discourse of the sun and stars, and earth, and flowers, and plants, he hath imaginations what they should be, but he fancies other things. So a man that never had spiritual eye-sight to see spiritual things in their kind, he fancies them to bo this and that, but he sees them not by their own light. Many speak and talk of good things, but it is by the spirit of other men, out of books and hearing, and not by a spirit of their own. Ho that attends by grace, speaks out of a spirit of his own, and not out of other men's spirits. He sees spiritual things in their own colours. Thus we see how to discern spiritual attention.
4. And he that knows what tbis means, what it is to have his heart opened to attend, when he goes from hearing the word, he judgctk of his profiting hy it, not by ivhat he can say by heart, but by how much the meeker he is, how much more patient, how much more able to bear the cross, to resist temjjtations, and to have communion with God. So he values his attending upon the means and hearing the word by the growth of his grace, and the decay of his corruptions : * she attended to the things that were spoken of Paul.'
' She was baptized, and her household.'
She had the means of salvation, and she had the seal likewise, which is baptism. We have all need of seals. We have need to have our faith strengthened. God knows it better than w^e ourselves. We think bap- tism and the communion small matters, but God knows how prone we are to stagger. He knows that all seals are little enough. Therefore it is said here, * she was baptized, and all her household.' Baptism is a solemn thing ; it is the seal of the covenant of grace. You are "well enough acquainted, I imagine, with the thing ; therefore I will not enter into the commonplace. It is needless. As the whole Trinity was at the baptism of Christ, so every infant that is baptised is the child of Christ. And it is a special thing that we should meditate of.
We slight our baptism, and think it needless. You see the holy woman here would be baptized presently ; she would have the seal of the covenant. There are many that are not book-learned, that cannot read, at least they have no leisure to read. I would the}-- would read their book in their bap- tism ; and if they would consider what it ministers to them upon all occa- sions, they would be far better Christians than they are.
Think of thy baptism when thou goest to God, especially when he seems angry. It is the seal of the covenant. Bring the promise : Lord, it is the seal of thy covenant ; thou hast prevented * me by thy grace ; thou broughtest mo into the covenant before I knew my right hand from my left. So when we go to church to ofler our service to God, think, by baptism we were consecrated and dedicated to God. We not only receive grace from God, but we give ourselves to God. Therefore it is sacrilege for persons baptized to yield to temptations to sin. We are dedicated to God in baptism. When we are tempted to despair, let us think of our baptism. We are in the covenant of grace, and have received the seal of the covenant, baptism. The devil is an uncircumcised, damned, cursed spirit. He is out of the covenant. But I am in the covenant. Christ is
* That is, ' anticipated.'— Q.
lydia's conversion. 531
mine ; the Holy Ghost is mine ; and God is mine. Therefore let us stand against all the temptations of that uncircumcised, unbaptized, damned spirit. The thinking of our baptism thus will help us ' to resist the devil,' James iv. 7. He is a coward ; if he be resisted, he will flee ; and what will better resist him than the covenant of grace and the seal of it ? When we are tempted to sin, let us think, What have I to do with sin ? By baptism I have union with the death of Christ; he died to take away sin, and my end must be his. I must abolish sin in my nature. Shall I yield to that that in baptism I have sworn against ? And then if we be tempted to despair for sin, let us call to mind the promises of grace and forgiveness of sins, and the seal of forgiveness of sins, which is baptism. For as water in baptism washeth the body, so -the blood of Christ washeth the soul. Let us make that use of our baptism, in temptations, not to despair for sin. And in conversing among men, let us labour to maintain the unity of the Spirit ' in the bond of peace,' Eph. iv. 3, to live peaceably. Christians must not fall to jar. Why ? ' There is one faith, and one baptism ; ' have we ' not all one Father,' ver. 5, one inheritance, one baptism, one religion ? and shall we break one with another for trifles ? They forget their baptism that are so in quarrels. Thus if we would think of it, it is such a book as would be ready at hand for all services.