"if ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed," John viii. 31, and many Scriptures* make this a condition, without which, there can be no salvation; and though the end is not yet come, yet is it the desire and design of your souls to pray, and read, and serve God all your days? You do not, you dare not set bounds or limits to your obedience; but say as David, Psalm lxxi. 14, "I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more,” as if he had said, I am so far from casting away my hope and faith that I will continue, yea, and increase in the exercises of religion. Do you resolve with David, to "keep God's law continually, yea, for ever and ever," Psalm cxix. 44, and pray still for supporting grace, verse 117, using all the rest of God's appointed means for your perseverance to the end? Thus I have dispatched this part of the examination, which is general, to try whether we be entered into covenant with God by reciprocal acts of giving and receiving; whether you have taken God for your God, and given up yourselves to him, as believers are wont to do. More particularly, I entreat you to inquire into the conditions of the new covenant, or the graces and dispositions promised therein, and lay your hand on your heart, and inquire, whether they be really in you? such as these, 1. I told you saving illumination is one important covenant condition. † Hath the Lord discovered to you the great and good things of his gospel? opened to you his blessed treasury, and anointed your eyes to behold all things in their lively colours? Have you got a clear discovery of the nature of sin and duty, misery and mercy, the creatures' vanity and Christ's • Col. i. 23. 1 Tim. iv. 16. Jam. i. 25. † Jer. xxxi. 34. beauty and excellency? Have you with an eagle eye pierced into deep gospel mysteries? This is not a brain knowledge, consisting in notions, but an experimental spiritual acquaintance with the things of God, impressing the soul with the sense thereof, and leading it into the life and spirit of Scripture truths; so that a Christian now sees divine things after another manner than he ever did before, and is led into all truth by the blessed Spirit. God promiseth that "all the children of the church shall be taught of God," Isa. liv. 13, which Scripture our Saviour doth cite and interpret, John vi. 45, of believing or coming to God, "every one, therefore, that hath heard and learned of the Father, cometh unto me." Ah Christians, have you learned this choice gospel lesson of going out of yourselves, and closing with Christ, unconditionally, upon pure gospel terms? This is the great lesson of the gospel, have you learned it? You are dunces, and deserve to be kicked out of Christ's school, unless yeu have learned this great and important lesson; besides, God teacheth many other lessons, as to hate sin, love God, and holiness, and to love God's children. Hence saith blessed Paul, 1 Thess. iv. 9, " as touching brotherly love; ye need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." This divine nature prompteth believers to this; they cannot do otherwise except they put off their very nature, for a Christian may find his heart secretly and sensibly carried out to all things and persons that have the impress and image of God, as the very name and the common nature of a brother is potent and prevalent to attract the affections: the truth is, he hath his chair in heaven who thus teacheth hearts-and if God be the teacher, he makes apt and 66 able, active and notable scholars.* O Christians, see and try your learning, ascertain who is your master. 2. Another disposition like this, or indeed, a fruit of the former, is God's writing his law in the hearts of men, he promiseth to put his law into their inward parts, and write it in their hearts," so that as tally answers to tally, indenture to indenture, face to face, so the heart of the Christian will echo and answer to the word of God; and he will feel something within his own bosom, that joins issue with the word without; so that he can now say with Paul, I consent to the law that it is good; whatever I be, the commandment is holy, just, and good. A carnal heart riseth up in rebellion against the word, and secretly loathes a spiritual command, and could wish it even razed out of the Bible, that it might sin more freely; but a gracious soul loves that word best, which restrains corruption most, and binds it closest in new obedience; hence saith David, 66 thy word is very pure, therefore, thy servant loves it," Psalm cxix. 140; the stricter the word is, the better I love it; I would have the law of God restrain the exorbitancies of my heart and life, it doth me good to be kept in, for I have a wild and wayward heart. O how glad am I of a word that searcheth, curbeth, and cutteth off my exuberant branches, I willingly fall under it and bless God for it, as one of the greatest mercies of my life. Can you say thus? When Cathedram habet in cœlis qui corda docet; quando Deus est magister quàm cito docetur, quod docetur.-Aug. + Jer. xxxi. 33. Heb. viii. 10. x. 16. Rom. vii. 12-16. Præsta ei cor tuum molle et tractabile et custodi figuram quâ te figuravit artifex, habens in temetipso humorem, ne induratus-amittas vestigia digitorum ejus.-Iran. advers. Hær. lib. 4, prop. fin. there is a controversy betwixt a pinching word and a repining lust, whether of them do you vote for? which do you give your voice for, and plead on the behalf of? Can you not take God's part, and his word's part, against a naughty, deceitful heart? or do you pick quarrels with the statutes of heaven when you should obey them? Ah sirs, try yourselves in this, and if you find that you have a counterpart of God's word within you, a transcript of this blessed copy in your hearts, then are you within the covenant. 3. God promiseth to give his people in covenant with him," one heart and one way," Jer. xxxii. 39; this imports both a oneness of heart within itself, and also, a oneness of heart with other saints; before conversion the heart was divided and distracted betwixt various objects; God must have part, Satan part, sin part, and the world another part of the heart; but now the soul gives itself wholly to God, as I have explained; hence David prays, "unite my heart to fear thy name," or make my heart one; a real saint is fully, entirely, universally given up to God; but of this, I have spoken before: likewise the covenant of grace makes Christians unanimous; hence it is, that as soon as souls have given themselves to God, they essay to join themselves to their fraternity, and unite with the society of sincere believers; † hence the primitive saints" were together with one accord;" yea, they were "of one heart, and of one soul;" || as the curtains of the tabernacle were coupled with loops, so were Christians with love; hence you hear so often mention made of fellowship in the gospel, and God's children are compared to a building fitly framed together, by * Psalm lxxxvi. 11. Acts ii. 46. + Acts ix. 26. || Acts iv. 32. 66 the cement of the Spirit; * yea, to members of the body, with relation to the head, † from whom, that is, Christ, the whole body is fitly joined together, and compacted.-Ephes. iv. 16. Well then, sirs, are you united and become one with the rest of the saints, though you cannot attain to a oneness in judgment in every lesser truth about discipline, &c. yet, are you one with them in heart and affection? yea, of one judgment and way with them, in main, material points of doctrine and practice, having one Lord, one faith, one baptism, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace?" cannot you say to others, "come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant, that shall not be forgotten?" || Are not your hearts glad when you see any come in, and worship the Lord? How stand your hearts affected towards such as fear God? Are you of one heart with them? can you cheerfully walk in one way with them as your dearest companions? is your chief content in these truly excellent ones? Then you are among the covenant people of God. 4. The fear of God, is a gracious disposition promised to new covenant converts, Jer. xxxii. 40, “I will," saith God," "put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me." This fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, § and it is often put for all religion; it is a holy, reverential awfulness wrought in a believer's heart, whereby through a serious sense of his glorious majesty, and tender mercy, the soul is afraid to offend God, and careful to please him, as a child is his father, by a conscientious obedience to all God's commands. I cannot stand to enlarge on this fully, but + Col. ii. 19. Phil. i. 5. Eph. ii. 21. || Jer. 1. 4, 5. § Job xxviii. 28. |