nant people; alfo, acknowledging our own inability to keep covenant with God, or to perform any fpiritual duty, unlefs the Lord Jefus enable thereto by his Spirit dwelling in us: And being awfully fenfible, that it is a dreadful thing for finful duft and afhes perfonally to tranfact with the infinitely glorious majefty of heaven and earth, we do, in humble confidence of his gracious affistance and acceptance thro' Christ, each one of us for ourselves, and jointly as a Church of the living God, and one with another, in manner following:

WE do give up ourselves to that God whofe name alone is Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, the One only true and living God, and to our bleffed Lord Jefus Chrift, as our only bleffed Saviour, Prophet, Prieft, and King over our fouls, and only mediator of the Covenant of Grace, promifing (by the help of his Spirit and grace) to cleave unto God as our chief good, and to the Lord Jefus Chrift, by faith and gofpel obedience, as becometh his covenant people for ever. We do alfo give our offspring unto God in Jefus Chrift, avouching the Lord to be our God, and the God of our children, and ourfelves, with our children, to be his people; humbly adoring the grace of God, that we, and our offspring with us, may be looked upon to be the Lord's.

WE do alfo give up ourfelves one to another in the Lord, and according to the will of God; freely

!

freely covenanting and binding ourselves to
walk together as a right ordered congrega-
tion and church of Chrift, in all the ways of
his worship, according to the holy rules of the
word of God; promifing, in brotherly love, to
watch over one another's fouls faithfully, and
to fubmit ourselves unto the difcipline and
go-
vernment of Chrift in his Church, and duly to
attend to all thofe ordinances which Chrift
hath inftituted in his Church, and commanded
to be attended by his people, according to the
order of the Gospel and the degrees of com-
munion unto which we have attained; not reft-
ing in meafures attained, but preffing after
all And whereas the meffengers of thofe
Churches, who have met together in the name
of Chrift, to enquire into the reafon of God's
controverfy with his people, have taken notice
of many provoking evils, as the procuring
causes of the judgments of God upon New
England: So far as we, or any of us, have.
been guilty of provoking God by any fin there-
in difcovered to us, we defire, from our hearts,
to wail it before the Lord, and humbly to en-
treat for pardoning mercy, for the fake of the
blood of the Everlasting Covenant: And as an
expedient to the reformation of thofe evils, or
whatever elle has provoked the eyes of God's
glory amongst us, We do freely engage and
promife, as in the prefence of God,

FIRST, That we will (Chrift helping) endeavour, every one of us, to reform our heart

and

and life, by seeking to mortify all our fins, and labouring to walk more clofely with God than ever yet we have done; and will continue to worship God in public, private, and fecret; and this without formality or hypocrify: And more fully and faithfully than heretofore, to difcharge all covenant-duties, one to another, in church-communion.

SECONDLY, To walk, before God in our houfes with a perfect heart, and that we will uphold the worship of God continually there in, according as he, in his word, doth require; both in respect of prayer and reading the Scriptures, that fo the word of God may dwell richly in us: And we will do what in us lies to bring up our children for Chrift, that they may be fuch as have the Lord's name put upon them, as, by a folemn dedication to God in Chrift, ought to be: And will, therefore (as need fhall be), catechife, exhort, and charge them to the fear of the Lord; and endeavour to fet an holy example before them, and be much in prayer for their converfion and falva

tion.

THIRDLY, To endeavour to be pure from the fins of the times; efpecially thofe fins which have been, by the late Synod, folemnly declared and evidenced to be the evils that have brought the judgments of God upon New England; and, in our places, to endeavour the fuppreffion thereof, and be careful

fo

fo to walk as that we may not give occafion to others to fin, or speak evil of our holy profeffion.

Now, that we may obferve and keep this facred covenant, and all the branches of it, inviolable for ever, we defire to deny ourselves, and to depend wholly upon the power of the Eternal Spirit of Grace, and on the free Mercy of God, and Merit of Chrift Jefus; and where we fall fail, there to wait upon the Lord Jefus Chrift for pardon, acceptance, and healing, for his name's fake*.”

TIME

MATHER ut fupra, p. 95.The Acknowledgment of Sins, mentioned in the foregoing bond, confifted of fourteen diftinct parts. The duty of confeffing the guilt of covenant-violation preceded that of covenant-renovation; and the manner of covenanting is des fcribed, by this hiftorian, in the following terms: "In this Renewal of Covenant, there were fome Churches, who, from 1 know not what objections, of there being no express warrant for it in the New Teftament, and their doing it implicitly in every act of divine worship, and the imaginary danger of innovations, would not comply with the advice of the Synod: But all the virgins were not fo fleepy; and very remarkable was the blef fing of God upon the Churches which did'not fo fleep. In short, many of the Churches having, on previous days of fafting and prayer, confidered the expectations of God concerning them, they were willing, a new to declare their most explicit confent unto the Covenant of Grace, and moft explicitly to engage unto a growing watchfulness in fuch duties of the covenant as were more peculiarly accommodated unto their prefent circumftances. They publicly devoted another day to fasting and prayer, whereat a vaft confluence of other neighbours were ufually prefent; and, on this day, the

TIME would fail me to delineate the focial covenanting which took place in the Protestant Churches, by their mutual fubfcription of each others Confeffions of Faith; yea, and their fwearing to maintain the articles contained in them, which they deemed the PRESENT TRUTH. Nor can I stay to infert the various leagues which were formed for the fupport of the Proteftant caufe, fuch as the EVANGELIC UNION, &c. That love which difpofed the children of Chrift to furrender themselves unto him, as their rightful Lord, difpofed them to rifk their life in the cause of their brethren in him. And greater love hath no man than that he fhould lay down his life for the brethren.

minifter of the place having, in the forenoon, prayed and preached fuitably to the occafion, he proceeded then to read the Covenant; whereunto the affent of the Churches was then expreffed, by the brethren lifting up their hands, and the women only ftanding up: And many thoufands of fpectators will teftify, that they never faw the special prefence of the great God our Saviour more notably difcovered than on thefe folemnities." MATHER, ut fupra,

DISSER