talk of wars and enemies, but these are our greatest enemies; therefore, by God's help, let us all pray that the Lord may expel these enemies out of all our souls, and out of the souls of the people of all nations, and then we may depend upon inward peace, quietness, and assurance for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

But now concerning the character of the righteous and their profession, see my next following Book to this, which is most worthy of your consideration.-Therefore praise ye the Lord, all ye servants of his, praise our God. Amen.

END OF THE SEVENTEENTH BOOK,

BY EDWARD CROOK.

PRINTED BY J. PICKBURN, New road, ayLESBURY.

BOOK THE EIGHTEENTH.

The Holy Sacrament.

Circumcision, the Passover, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, are set forth in order from the Holy Scriptures, by chapter and verse, and are carefully revised and explained throughout, in such a clear, plain way, and manner, so that every one who rightly considers it, and is not bigoted to any singular sect or party, must own it right and consent thereto.

Now my friends, if we are Christians, it becometh us, and is our duty, and our privilege too, that we should make our profession known to the world, by these two sacraments, that is to say, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, and as there were two typical Sacraments by the covenant of grace, instituted in the Old Testament; so are there also now, two spiritual sacraments instituted, and substituted in the New Testament, in their stead. But now, first speaking from the Old Testament, it appears that God made a covenant with Adam by works, but this covenant of works we find was soon unhappily broken, so that we were soon exposed to sin and death; but God being so willing, and so kind, and so good, as to save our souls from sin and misery, and from eternal death, so that it appears to me, that Almighty God, did before that, or immediately, agree to the covenant of grace, through Christ, for the salvation of fallen man: therefore it is said, in words similar to these, that, The seed of the woman, shall bruise the serpent's head; and this we plainly see, hath been fulfilled by our blessed Lord and Saviour. But again, God was pleased to vouchsafe his mercy unto Abraham, by this covenant of grace, and it was sealed by this Sacrament, that is, The blood of Circumcision, and then after this, there was added, another Sacrament to his posterity, called the Passover.

Now those were two bloody Sacraments, and they both are a type of the precious blood of Christ, which was shed for the salvation of man: but, before this Sacrament called Circumcision, mark what God said unto Abraham, I am the Almighty God, walk before me, and be thou perfect; or that is in other words, be thou upright or sincere, and I will make my covenant between me and thee, and I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant; to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee; every man-child among you shall be circumcised. And it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and thee. (Gen. xvii.) Therefore, we see that God promised by covenant, to be Abraham's God; and by the same, Abraham obeyed, and was to be his faithful servant; therefore he was to make his profession known by that humble Sacrament, called circumcision which thing I believe denotes or betokens inwardly, that he gave his soul, heart, and affection, to his God; but understand, that there is no real merit in this, or in other words, there is no claim of salvation by these Sacraments, but at the same time, they are right and good in their place; for by entering into a covenant with God, and that with a penitent heart, 1 say, by so-doing, Christ is the merit of our salvation, and as we give ourselves up to him by repentance, so much the more, and that in a bounteous way hath he given himself up for us in suffering, and in mercy and love, and in righteousness for our salvation. Therefore he hath a claim of the Father for our salvation, and so was the covenant between God and Abraham, and it was sealed by a Sacrament called Circumcision, which thing is I believe, as I have said before, that it was a type of the precious blood of Christ, which was to be shed for our salvation. Now after this, God was pleased to establish his covenant with Abraham's posterity in a more supporting manner, for the Lord added unto this another Sacrament, called the Passover: and now we see that how the Lord's people of Israel had entered into a covenant with God, and humbled their souls and flesh, to the blood of Circumcision. Therefore by the Passover, that is by grace, the Lord spared them in the day of vengeance, for they eat and fed upon the Paschal Lamb, that was, upon the grace and goodness of Christ, for, in type, Christ was the

over. (1 Cor. x. 7.) Therefore Israel ate and fed, and

was nourished by the grace of Christ at the Passover, when the Lord did smite all the first born in the land of Egypt. (Exodus. xii, 29.) And so it will be at the end of time, them that are in Christ will live by him, but them that are not found in him must perish with the workers of iniquity, therefore in type, Christ was to be the prime, pure, and spotless Lamb without blemish, who gave himself up for us in the prime of life, in love and in righteousness, instead of our righteousness; and that by blood, as a lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And according to my judgment, my friends, I believe that this Sacrament called the Passover hath a great reference to that in the New Testament, called the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper: but see something more of this towards the end of this treatise. And now we come to the New Testament, and there we see that these types and shadows are all accomplished, because Christ is come and hast revealed himself unto us in the flesh, and hath been, and is, and hath made a sufficient, and a complete sacrifice, and an atonement for our sins, and redemption by his pure life and blood, and prayers, and agony, and by his cross and passion, death and resurrection, and his ascension into glory, and there to give repentance unto Israel, and the remission of sins. Therefore, my dear friends, we may see by the word of God that the Lord Jesus is a complete Saviour. And now we see that since Christ hath come into this lower world, and hath completed so great a work for our salvation; we see by this, I say, that these old Sacraments, types, and shadows are more at an end, and our blessed Lord hath for our comfort and encouragement, and for our profession, instituted, and ordained, and established two more easy, and more comfortable, and more spiritual ones in their stead, and these two Sacraments are called Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. Therefore the Lord is so good to us through the merits of Christ, that he still renews his covenant of grace with us, and it is sealed to us by Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. But now my fellow sinners, you that are weak, you must not think that by receiving or partaking of these sacraments alone, that they are sufficient to save you; no, my friends, the water and the bread and wine are no more of themselves than an outward acknowledgment of our profession of Christ, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. (Eph. ii. 8.) Now, by being baptized is our profession before God, and to

the world, that we possess this saving grace of God in our souls, it is an outside profession, of an inside possession, shown by those that repent of their sins, and turn to their blessed Redeemer: it is also a token or a sign of God's love, in which a poor repenting sinner makes known to the world, by his profession. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, saith our Lord, but he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark xvi. 16.) It is as this, if thou embrace the day of God's grace, and pray and believe in him, and forsake thy sins, then God will make his covenant of grace with you, and seal it with baptism, for a token to be thy Saviour; it is also for a profession, to declare to the world, what God hath done for thy soul. Whosoever therefore, shall confess me before men, saith the Holy One, him will I confess also before Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. (Matt. x. 32.) Therefore I believe that we ought to confess our Lord, in word, thought, and in deed, and so make our profession of him, in, and by every command that he hath ordained in his Church; and blessed are they which are baptized with the Holy Ghost. Now seeing that these things are so, some may be ready to say, why then are infants baptized which cannot perform these things which are required of a true Christian by the Lord Jesus? O, if you do not understand, I will remind you, and will bring to your remembrance what you were taught in your childhood, which things are very easy and plain if they are kept in mind.

my

Q. How many Sacraments hath Christ ordained in his Church?

A. Two only, as generally necessary to salvation, that is to say Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord.

Q. What meanest thou by the word Sacrament?

A. I mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof.

Q. How many parts are there in a Sacrament?

A. Two; the outward visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace.

Q. What is the outward visible sign or form in Baptism? A. Water: wherein the person is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Q. What is the inward and spiritual grace?