the unregenerate are "totally depraved," and in "a state of enmity against God;" and that they do not perform "any truly holy obedience." So that his external covenant, if conditional, is a graceless covenant.

But it is conditional; for,

3. He says in his first book, "that none but such as profess the Christian religion, and will endeavor to conform their practice to the rules of it, ought to be admitted into the church." And accordingly, he insists that the "disorderly and vicious" should be debarred. But if it is a conditional covenant, and if it requires merely graceless qualifications as the condition of its privileges, then it is a graceless covenant; for that covenant which promises its blessings to graceless men, on graceless conditions, is a graceless covenant.

4. If Mr. M.'s external covenant promises certain blessings and privileges upon some certain conditions, so as that those who are so and so qualified may be members of the visible church, and no others, then it is of great importance to know precisely what these conditions, what these qualifications are, as otherwise no man can possibly determine whether he hath them, and so whether he may lawfully join with the church, and seal the covenant. And this is more necessary on Mr. M.'s scheme than on any other, because he holds, which we do not, that no man may enter into covenant with God in a public profession of religion, and join with the church, unless he infallibly knows that he has the necessary qualifications; unless he is as certain of it as a man, called to give evidence in a civil court, is of a fact which he sees, and to the truth of which he can make oath before the civil magistrate. But if men must be thus certain that they have the requisite qualifications, before they can with a good conscience join with the church, then they must, in this high sense, be certain what qualifications are requisite; yea, there are four things, concerning which they must have the same degree of certainty as they have about any fact which they see with their eyes, before they can on his plan, with a good conscience, join with the church. 1. That the Bible is the word of God, because this is the grand charter of all church privileges. 2. That Mr. M.'s external covenant is contained in the Bible, and is that on which the visible church is constituted; because otherwise no man has any right on this plan to join with the church. 3. What qualifications are necessary, according to this external covenant, to fit them to join with the church and attend sealing ordinances. 4. And then, they must be as certain that they have these qualifications, as that ever they

saw the sun. Now he thinks, that on our scheme, many true saints will be kept back from the Lord's table; but on his scheme, it is evident that no one graceless man, whose conscience is awake, and who knows any thing considerable about his own heart, can join with the church, because there never was, nor will be, any such sinner, who can say that he is as certain of these four things, as he is of a fact which he has seen with his eyes, and of the truth of which he can make oath before the civil magistrate.*

But at present the only question is this, namely, What are the qualifications which are requisite to full communion in the visible church, according to Mr. M.'s external covenant? The covenant of works requires perfection, as the condition of its blessings. The covenant of grace requires repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, as the conditions of its blessings: but what does Mr. M.'s external, graceless covenant require, as the condition of its blessings? What qualifications are requisite to bring a man into this covenant, and to give him a right to all the privileges and blessings of it in the sight of God? If this question cannot receive a satisfactory auswer on Mr. M.'s scheme, then his scheme can never be practised upon. He gave no satisfactory answer to it in his first book, as was shown in the sixth section of my reply to it. He has now made another attempt to answer this question in his second book. Let us hear his answer, and consider it.

He says, "that perfection is expressly required in this external covenant." What! as a condition of its blessings? as a necessary qualification to full communion in the visible church? which was the only point in hand. If so, then no mere man since the fall might join with the visible church.

He says, "This covenant requires the holy obedience of a gracious state." What! again, I say, as a condition of its blessings? as a necessary qualification to full communion in the visible church? the only point in hand. If so, then no graceless man, as such, can be admitted into the visible church.

* Mr. Mather, in his preface, says, "I am not so fond of my own judgment, or tenacious of my own practice, but that I stand ready to give them both up, when any one shall do the friendly office of setting light before me." He himself, therefore, cannot swear to the truth of his scheme; he has not "that certain knowledge" of it, that he has "of a particular fact, about which he is called to give an evidence in a civil court." It is only his "prevailing opinion." And if his external covenant is a mere human device, his practice upon it is what God hath not required at his hands. He has no warrant to put God's seals to a covenant devised by man. And, according to his scheme, he ought not to act in this affair without absolute certainty. To be consistent, he ought to act no more on his plan, until he is infallibly certain that it is his duty; for, to use his own argument, "if it being a real duty is that which gives us a real right to act, then it being a known duty is that which gives us a known right;" and I may add, "this is a self-evident proposition." But more of this, in Sect. XI.

He says, "This covenant requires the utmost endeavors of the unregenerate." What! still I repeat it, as a condition of its blessings? as a necessary qualification to full communion in the visible church? the only point in hand. If so, then no unregenerate man, who has not as yet used his utmost endeavors, can, as such, be admitted into the visible church, which will keep out every unregenerate man, because no such unregenerate man ever existed.

Again, having spoken of the convictions, that the unregenerate may have, he says, "Under these convictions he may come to a fixed resolution to forsake all known sin, and to practise all known duty; set himself to seek an interest in Christ, and to seek needed influences of divine grace. And he may confirm these resolutions upon his own soul, by a solemn covenant dedication of himself to God; engaging by divine assistance to obey the whole will of God, one particular of which is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And I will add, that he may confirm this covenant between God and his own soul by gospel seals. It cannot be denied that the natural powers of our souls do render us capable of such covenanting with God; and the only question is, whether God has required this of sinners? This is the question in dispute." Upon which the following observations may be made:

1. Was this the covenant in Gen. xvii.? Was Abraham "under conviction"? Had he come to such unregenerate fixed resolutions"? Did he bind himself in some future time to believe? No, just the reverse. Abraham had been converted above twenty years before this transaction, (Gen. xvii.,) and had both believed, and obeyed in a saving manner, through all this period; so that "the question in dispute " is not, whether Abraham entered into this covenant in Gen. xvii.; for Mr. M. does not pretend he did; and therefore the covenant with Abraham, (Gen. xvii.,) and this covenant of Mr. M.'s, are not the same, but very different. His external covenant, therefore, is, as he declares, "distinct from the covenant of grace," and "of a different tenor," and for "a different purpose;" for nothing was more remote from Abraham's mind, than to enter into covenant, and bind himself to a course of unregenerate duties, in order to obtain converting grace. "Of this there is no dispute;" so that "this is not the question in dispute," whether Mr. M.'s external covenant is the same with that covenant into which Abraham personally entered. (Gen. xvii.) Where, then, in all the Bible, will Mr. M. find his external covenant, as above defined? for no such covenant was ever exhibited by the God of Israel. Besides,

2. It may be inquired, What does Mr. M. mean by "engaging to obey the whole will of God"? (1.) Does he mean, that men who know they have no grace when they join with the church do covenant and promise that they will from that time and forward, as long as they live, be perfectly holy, and so in fact "obey the whole will of God"? But this is to promise to do what they infallibly know they shall not do; which is a piece of scandalous immorality: for such promises are no better than wilful lies; and this therefore cannot be the thing he means. Or, (2.) does he mean, that a sinner under conviction enters into covenant with God that he will in fact repent and believe the moment he joins with the church, and from that time and forward, as long as he lives, persevere in a life of faith and holiness, pressing forward toward perfection? But this, again, is not much better than wilful lying; for it is to promise that which he has no sufficient reason to expect that he shall do, as he has no heart to do it, and no title to "the divine assistance," to give him a heart to do it. And, besides, if he expected to be converted so soon, he might wait only one week longer, and so be converted before the next Sabbath; and thus put an end to all controversy about the affair. This, therefore, I suppose, is what no awakened sinner ever meant when he joined with the church; and what Mr. M. would not have them to mean; and therefore, (3.) All that awakened sinners can mean, or that Mr. M. can be supposed to intend that they should mean, when they "engage to obey the whole will of God," is no more than that they should "endeavor to do it; " as he expressed himself in the first book. "And I will allow that none but such as profess the Christian religion, and will endeavor to conform their practice to the rules of it, ought to be admitted into the church." And if this be his meaning, why did not Mr. M. answer the questions which were put to him in my former piece?"But pray how much must they endeavor?" etc. And besides, if all they mean is to bind themselves to unregenerate, unholy, graceless duties and endeavors, then it will follow, that these graceless duties, according to Mr. M., are the "whole will of God;" for they engage "to obey the whole will of God;" and, on the present hypothesis, unregenerate duties are all they engage; and therefore these unregenerate duties are all that God requires of them. But will Mr. M. say this? No, by no means. For he expressly declares, "Nothing short of perfection may be looked upon as the whole of what is required." What then does Mr. M. mean? In his preface, he says, "I have endeavored, both in this and in my former piece, to set my sentiments in a plain and intelligible light." We believe he

has "endeavored" to do it, but yet he has not done it; for no consistent meaning can be put upon his words.

3. But perhaps it will be said, that Mr. M. has with great plainness exactly stated the requisite qualifications for church membership, in these words, "a fixed resolution to forsake all known sin, and practise all known duty," if we only understand his words in their plain, common, literal meaning. But is this his meaning, or will he stand to it? For, first, the candidate for admission is to come to a fixed resolution to forsake "all known sin." But enmity to God, impenitence, and unbelief, are "known sins," as all acknowledge, but gross Antinomians. And secondly, to practise "all known duty." But to repent and believe the gospel, to love God and our neighbor, to lead lives of universal holiness, are "known duties; "for all who profess to believe the Bible to be the word of God, do in fact acknowledge these to be duties indispensably required of all the disciples of Christ; yea, of all to whom the gospel comes; gross Autinomians excepted. To be sure, our Savior affirms, that no man can be his disciple unless he doth deny himself, take up his cross, and follow him. And thirdly, the candidate for admission into the visible church, is to come to "a fixed resolution" to do all this; to a resolution which is "fixed," in opposition to one that is unfixed; so that his goodness shall not be like the morning cloud and early dew, which quickly passeth away; or like the stony and thorny ground hearers in the parable, (Matt. xiii. ;) all whose religion came to nothing, because their resolutions were not "fixed." Now will Mr. M. stand to this, that none ought to be admitted into the visible church, but those who are thus, in deed and in truth, "come to a fixed resolution to forsake all known sin, and practise all known duty; and who are so infallibly certain that they are come to this "fixed resolution," that they could give oath to it, with the same assurance as they could to any matter of fact which they see with their eyes; without which assurance, according to him, no one can with a good conscience make a public profession of religion, and enter into covenant with God? If he will, every unregenerate man in the world will be secluded, as will appear before we have done.

Look through the Bible, and you will find no class of unregenerate men so very self-conceited, as to be habitually confident, that they have "a fixed resolution to forsake all known. sin, and practise all known duty," but the Pharisees. They could say, "All these have I kept from my youth up;" and, "Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment." And the very reason and