he Lord Jesus Christ, who is the
All-sufficient _Mediator_ of it: Let us therefore do, _that_, by
Resigning up our selves unto the Saving, Teaching, and Ruling Hands of
this Blessed _Mediator_. Then we shall be, what we read in _Jude 1._
_Preserved in Christ Jesus_: That is, as the _Destroying Angel_, could
not meddle with such as had been distinguished, by the Blood of the
_Passeover_ on their Houses: Thus the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Sprinkled on our Souls, will _Preserve_ us from the Devil. The _Birds of
prey_ (and indeed the _Devils_ most literally in the shape of great
_Birds_!) are flying about. Would we find a Covert from these
_Vultures_? Let us then Hear our Lord Jesus from Heaven Clocquing unto
us, _O that you would be gathered under my wings!_ Well; When this is
done, Then let us own the _Covenant_, which we are now come into, by
joining our selves to a Particular _Church_, walking in the Order of the
Gospel; at the doing whereof, according to that _Covenant_ of God, We
give up Our selves unto the Lord, and in Him unto One Another. While
others have had their Names Entred in the _Devils Book_; let our Names
be found in the _Church Book_, and let us be _Written among the Living
in Jerusalem_. By no means let, _Church work_ sink and fail in the midst
of us; but let the Tragical Accidents which now happen, exceedingly
Quicken that _work_. So many of the _Rising Generation_, utterly
forgetting the Errand of our Fathers to build Churches in this
Wilderness, and so many of our _Cottages_ being allow'd to Live, where
they do not, and perhaps cannot, wait upon God with the Churches of His
People; 'tis as likely as any one thing to procure the swarmings of
_Witch crafts_ among us. But it becomes us, with a like Ardour, to bring
our poor _Children_ with us, as we shall do, when we come our selves,
into the _Covenant_ of God. It would break an heart of Stone, to have
seen, what I have lately seen; Even poor Children of several Ages, even
from seven to twenty, more or less, _Confessing_ their Familiarity with
Devils; but at the same time, in Doleful bitter Lamentations, that made
a little Pourtraiture of _Hell_ it self, Expostulating with their
execrable Parents, for _Devoting_ them to the Devil in their Infancy,
and so _Entailing_ of Devillism upon them! Now, as the Psalmist could
say, _My Zeal hath consumed me, because my Enemies have forgotten thy
words:_ Even so, let the Nefarious wickedness of those that have