USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dedham > Articles of faith and covenant adopted by the First Church in Dedham, March 8, 1821, with a list of the members > Part 5
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COVENANT. 1
God, angels and this assembly witness these solemn transactions and bear testi- mony to your vows.
You profess a true repentance for sin and a cordial trust in Christ. You have made diligent inquiry by a study of the sacred Scriptures and by a careful examination of the heart to ascertain your qualifications to attend the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper. And it is in the fear of God and with a sincere desire to obey the precepts and honor the institutions of the gospel that you request an admission into this church,
[Vote of the Church is then taken.]
You are now members of this church of Christ purchased with the price of his blood. You do seriously, deliberately and forever, in the presence of God, angels and this assembly, give up yourselves in faith and love and holy obedience to God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost --
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accepting the Lord Jehovah to be your God, Jesus Christ to be your prophet and priest and king, and the Holy Ghost to be your sanctifier and comforter and guide. You promise by the aids of divine grace to come out from the world and be separate from its snares and pollutions, to receive in love the pure doctrines of the gospel, to walk in the statutes and ordinances of the Lord blame- less, and to do honor to your high and holy vocation. You submit to the inspection and dicipline of this church.
You engage to sanctify the Lord's day, to read with diligence the word of God, and to worship him with reverence in the closet and in the family and in the congregation of his people.
"This you promise and engage to do, with humble trust in the grace of God and with an affecting belief that your vows are record- ed on high and will be reviewed in the day of final judgment.
The members of the Church rise to acknowledge the reciprocal obligation of the Covenant.]
We then, the members of this church, do joyfully receive you into our holy commun- ion and give thanks to God who has inclined your heart to fear his name. We promise to treat you with affection, to watch over you with tenderness, and to offer our prayers to the Great Head of the church that you may be enabled to fulfil this solemn covenant.
The Lord bless you and keep you : the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you : the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
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The God of peace who brought again from the dead the Lord Jesus, that great Shep- herd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ. The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. Now unto Him who is able to establish and keep you from fall- ing, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Num. 6. 24. Heb. 13. 20, 21. I Pet. 5. 10, 11. Jude 24.
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APPENDIX.
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¿form of Covenant adopted at the organization of the Church in Dedham : Nor. 8th, 1638.
We, whose names are subscribed, having found by woful experience, the unsteadfastness of our hearts with God and proneness to go astray from. Jis ways, for which we desire to abase and humble ourselves in his presence, and desiring to be joined forever to the Lord, and to cleave together in spiritual love and communion, according to his holy institutions, that we might enjoy in his name such holy helps as the Lord Jesus in wisdom and compassion hath ordained in his gospel for his people, thereby to let out himself unto them, and to build them up in faith and holiness, till he have prepared them for everlasting communion with himself :
We do therefore, in the name and presence of God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, and before his people here assembled, solemnly enter into covenant with the Lord our God, professing and acknowledging the Lord Jesus, our blessed Redeemer, to be the only priest, prophet, and king of his church, and (through the help of his grace) his only merit we rest upon for our par -: lon and peace with the Father ; his only teaching and righteous govern- nent, with all the blessed ordinances of his kingdom ; we do embrace and submit unto in all things, as the only rule of our lives, renouncing all our own righteousness, with all the doctrines, devices, and commandments of nen, not agreeing with his holy word ; especially all the superstitious and yrannous commands of Antichrist, and his adherents, wherein we have in ny kind been entangled ; professing and promising, through the help of his ich and free grace, henceforth not to live unto ourselves, but unto the Lord esus, who hath bought us with his blood, avoiding carefully all such hings as be offensive to his majesty, and dishonourable to our profession f his name, with all such dangerous temptations as our sinful hearts arc ront to be drawn aside withal, in special, the inordinate cares of, and en- inglements in, the affairs of this life : Promising and professing also, hrough the help of the Lord, to live together in this our holy fellowship, ac- ording to the rule of love, in all holy watchfulness over each other, and ithful mutual helpfulness in the ways of God, for the spiritual and tem- ral comfort and good of one another in the Lord ; and all to the setting rth of the praise of his rich grace in Christ, who hath called us in his undant mercy to this holy fellowship with his Majesty and one with other.
form of Covenant adopted May 230, 1683, when the church solemnly renewed their Covenant. *
We, who through the exceeding riches of the grace and patience of God yet continue members of this church, being now assembled in the holy
*On March 4th, 1742, with special fasting and prayer, the church solemn renewed their corenant in this form of words.
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presence of God and in the name of the Lord Jesus,-after humble confes- sion of our manifold breaches of Covenant before the Lord our God and. earnest supplication for pardoning mercy through the blood of Christ, and due acknowledgment of our great unworthiness to be owned as the Lord's covenant-people, -- also acknowledging our inability to keep covenant will: God, or to perform any spiritual duty, unless the Lord Jesus enable us thereunto, by his spirit dwelling in us, -- and being awfully sensible that it is a dreadful thing for sinful dust and ashes, personally to transact with the infinitely glorious Majesty of heaven and earth, -- We do in humble confi- dence of his gracious assistance and acceptance through Christ, each of us for ourselves and jointly as a church of the living God, explicitly renew our covenant with God and one with another, in manuer and form following :- viz.
" We do in the name and presence of God, and our Lord Jesus Christ, " and before his people here assembled, solemnly enter into covenant with " the Lord our God,-professing and acknowledging the Lord Jesus Christ " our beloved Redeemer, to be the only Priest, Prophet and King of his " church,-And (through the help of his grace) his merit only we rest upon " for our pardon and peace with the Father,-his only teaching and right- " eous government, with all the blessed ordinances of his kingdom, we do " embrace and submit to in all things, as the only rule of our lives, -re- " nouncing all our own righteousness, with all the doctrines, devices and " commandments of men, not agreeing with his holy word, especially all " the superstitious and tyrannous commands of Anti-Christ and his adhe- " rents, wherein we have been in any kind entangled, -- professing and " promising (through the help of his free and rich grace) henceforth not to " live to ourselves, but unto the Lord Jesus who hath bought us with his " blood,-avoiding all such things as be offensive to his Majesty and dis- " honourable to our profession of his name, with all such dangerous temp- " tations, as our sinful hearts are wont to be drawn aside withal, -- in " special, the inordinate cares of and entanglements in the affairs of this " life, -- promising and professing also by the help of the Lord to live to- " gether in this our holy fellowship, according to the rule of love in all holy " watchfulness over each other, and faithful mutual helpfulness in the ways " of God for the spiritual and temporal comfort and good one of another in " the Lord-and all to the setting forth the praise of his rich grace in " Christ, who hath called us in his abundant mercy to this holy fellowship " with his Majesty and one with another."
And whereas there are many evils grown too common in this land, so fau as we or any of us have been guilty of them, we desire from our hearts to bewail it before the Lord and humbly to entreat for pardoning mercy, fot the sake of the blood of the everlasting covenant-And as an expedient unto reformation of whatever evils have provoked the eyes of God's glory amongst us, we do subjoin to our Church Covenant a further engagement, whereby we do as in the presence of God promise-
That we will (by the help of Christ) endeavor every one of us to reform his own heart and life, by seeking to mortify all our sins, and endeavoring to walk closely with God,-to uphold the power of godliness, -(to keep holy the Lord's day, and reverently and carefully to attend upon the di - pensation of the word and ordinances of Christ, and all parts of his worship, whether public or private, ) according as in the word of God, it is required of us to do.
We promise also, by the help of Christ, to walk before God in our houses with an upright heart, taking care that God be constantly called upon by prayer, and that the scriptures be frequently read in them, and that we will endeavor to perform all duty required of us toward our children for
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their spiritual good, both by example, instruction, government and prayer for them.
We do further engage, the Lord helping of us, to endeavor that we may be pure from the sins of the times, such as neglect or profanation of the worship or institutions of Christ, sabbath-breaking, vain and sinful company- keeping, mispending of time, excessive drinking, wanton and loose behav- jour, failing in truth, uncharitable and unrighteous censurings, sinful tale- bearing, corrupt communication, pride, covetousness and the like : And in our places to endeavor the suppression of them : And that we will make conscience to walk so, as that we may not give occasion to others to sin, or to speak evil of our holy profession.
Now that we may observe and keep this holy covenant and all the branches of it inviolable forever-we desire to deny ourselves and to de- pend wholly upon the eternal Spirit of grace, and upon the free mercy of God, and the merit of Jesus Christ,-and where we shall fail, there to wait upon the Lord Jesus for pardon and for acceptance and for healing for his name's sake. AMEN.
A form of Corenant adopted in 1767.
You believe that there is one only living and true God, the Maker, Pre- server and Governor of all things ; and that there is but one Mediator be- tween God and man, the man Christ Jesus.
You believe the holy Scriptures to be the word of God, and that they contain a full revelation of his will and of our duty. You believe the fall and apostasy of man, as held forth in the holy Scriptures, and that it is only on account of Christ's obedience and sufferings, that any can be recovered to the favor and image of God. You hope you have been brought to a humble, penitent sense of your sins, and to a willingness to accept of Christ in all his offices, as he is offered to us in the gospel. You have been en- deavoring, according to the apostle's direction, to examine yourself as to your fitness to attend the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper. And you hope it is from a sense of duty and a sincere desire to obey the command of Christ, that you now offer yourself to join in communion with his church .- And you heartily resolve by the help of divine grace to walk in all things. agreeably to the rules of the gospel.
This you solemnly profess and engage.
(Vote of the Church being taken.)
You are now a member in full communion with the church of Christ, pur- chased with the price of his blood. And you do seriously, solemnly, delib- erately and forever, in the presence of God, angels and this assembly, give up yourself to God, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, avouching the Lord Jehovah to be your God. You give up yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ, as unto your Prophet, Priest and King forever, promising by the help of his Spirit to walk in all the statutes and ordinances of the Lord blameless, au- swerable to the high and holy vocation wherewith you are called. You give up yourself (and your posterity) to this church ; submitting unto the rule and discipline of it ; putting yourself under the care and inspection of . it ; promising to receive counsels and reproofs with humility and thankful- ness : And duly to attend the ordinances of the Lord herein to be adminis- tered.
This you promise by the help of divine grace.
We then the church of the Lord do joyfully and charitably receive you into our holy fellowship and communion as one whom we hope Christ has received. We promise to admit you to all the ordinances of the gospel in fellowship with us ; to watch over you with a spirit of meckness, not for your halting but helping ; to treat you with all that affection which out
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sacred relation now calls for ; and continue our ardent prayers for you to the God of all grace, that you may be made to keep his solemn covenant, that. the sure mercies of David may be your everlasting portion. Amen.
.A form of Covenant adopted April 11th. 1793.
We profess our belief of the Christian religion. We unite ourselves together for the purpose of observing the precepts and honoring the institu- tions of the religion which we profess. We covenant and agree with each other to live together as a band of christian brethren ; to give and receive counsel and reproof with meekness and candor ; to submit with a christian temper to the discipline which the gospel authorises the church to adminis- ter, diligently to seek after the will of God, and carefully endeavor to obey all his commands.
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