courses composed on this radical, fundamental grace, and I beseech you, be not mistaken in this; here you have the hinge and vital source of religion, even in an entire, affectionate, voluntary, and universal accepting of Jesus Christ, as our King, Priest, and Prophet, to be ruled, guided, and saved by him in his own way. O sirs, if you do not this, you do nothing; if you believe, you shall be saved, but if you believe not you shall be damned,* that is plain English; and truly, my friends, all men have not faith, this faith of the operation of God, this precious faith. O, therefore, look after it, long for it; come with a broken heart to a bleeding Saviour; come weary and heavy laden, and lay your load on the Son of God; come with a troubled, humbled heart, wounded with a sense of sin, and look up to this brazen serpent for help and healing; reach out thy trembling hand and get hold of the skirt of his garment, or rather with old Simeon embrace Jesus Christ in the arms of thy faith, and then thou hast these mercies of the covenant. 7. Enter into a solemn covenant with the Lord; there is no way to be interested in the mercies of the covenant, but by entering into covenant. This, this is the work I would persuade your souls unto; this, indeed, is the life of religion, which is so called [a religando] from binding, because it binds, as it were, God and man together, and joins their interests in this blessed bond of the covenant. O, therefore, set yourselves to enter into a solemn engagement. † Give up yourselves to the Lord, openly profess that you are the Lord's, or else subscribe with your hand, and yield up yourselves to the Lord, to whom, of right, you do belong, and take God as your God; say, "the Lord our God will Mark xvi. 16. + 2 Cor. viii. 5. Isaiah xliv. 5. 2 Chron. xxx. 8. we serve, and his voice will we obey," as the people of Israel once did; and thus do you make a covenant this day-lift up your hand to the most high God, as once Jacob did, who made a vow, saying, "if God will be with me and keep me in this way that I go- -then shall the Lord be my God."-Gen. xxviii. 20, 21. Now consider, friends, hath not God done as much for you as Jacob here desires, or even more? and why should you not take God for your God? Say thus: I have heard of the Lord's goodness, nay, I have experienced a large share of his kindness and compassion; he hath done that for me, which none else could, and hath undertaken to do yet much more; and, therefore, God forbid that I should cleave to any other God all my days, as I would be wholly the Lord's, so I will have only the Lord, and as he is the only true God, so he shall be my God. This is that which the Scripture calls avouching the Lord to be our God, and if we avouch him to be our God, he will avouch us to be his people, Deut. xxvi. 17, 18, which imports the mutual conditions of this blessed covenant, even a reciprocal embracing and accepting each other; the saints take God to be theirs by the saving grace of faith, and God receives them by a gracious act of favour, love and condescension; only be sure you remember that the articles of agreement are of God's own framing, and the soul must come up wholly unto his terms, else no engagement; God will not abate any thing of his appointed conditions, it must be sincere faith, though it be but weak, which empties the soul of sin, and self, and turns wholly to God, and doth resign up itself universally, voluntarily, and perpetually to be the Lord's; and in the same manner the believer takes God to be his, and looks upon this as his mercy, as well as his Josh. xxiv. 24. 25. duty-his highest preferment, as well as his greatest concern, and sweetest enjoyment. O, thinks a pious soul, that I could be more the Lord's than I am. I am too much my own; but I will enter into the strictest engagement to be only for God, and not for another,* then I may expect he would be for me; and O that I could take the Lord wholly for mine, and only as mine, and join no other lovers with him; I need none but him, he is all-sufficient, and my exceedingly valuable and great reward. Upon this condition God takes you, and you shall gain by him, and the gospel covenant, and all the mercies of it; if you be not willing to "forsake all for him, you are not worthy of him ;”† but I shall spend no more time about this, because so many have written on a soul's covenanting with God. See Mr. Baxter's Saint's Rest, part 1, p. 176-182, et alibi passim. Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Allen, and Mr. Vincent have prescribed directions and a form of words for a solemn covenant with God. Secondly, How may a doubting Christian assure himself of these covenant mercies? Many pious souls may have an interest in these, yet not be assured of their interest, which, however, is of great consequence and concernment, though not to the being, yet to the well-being of a Christian; therefore, we are commanded to give diligence "to make our calling and election sure," 2 Pet. i. 10, not in respect of God, say interpreters, with whom all things are firm and invariable, but in respect of others, say some, that those with whom we live may see the tree is good, because the fruits are good; but I rather take it, that we must labour to clear these up to our own souls, that we may have some real, well-grounded assurance thereof in our hearts, and both these are mercies included in the gos*Hos. iii. 3. † Matt. x .37. Luke xiv. 28, 29. Vit. Aret. in loc. pel covenant. Only take notice that calling is before election, there we must begin, and so ascend from the work of grace in our hearts to the workings of grace in God's heart, for our love is a reflection of his love to us. Grace is a fruit of election; this, then, is a weighty case of conscience. Suppose a real Christian to be dark and doubtful about his state, and to be full of questionings and disputings whether these sure mercies of the covenant do belong to him. What must such a person do that he may be assured of his interest therein, and that they may indeed be sure to him? Now for answering this question, I shall propose these directions:* 1. Study the precepts, promises, and precedents in the Scriptures; be diligent in reading the word of God. O, of what use would this be! There you may find what God commands, how saints have obeyed, by what means they have manifested their integrity and interest in Christ; here you may find what are the conditions of the covenant, and upon what terms the mercies thereof may be enjoyed, and what are the infallible characters of such as have received benefit thereby; here you may find Christ the main and choicest mercy of the covenant; yea, for this end were the Scriptures written, that we might have comfort in God, and by consequence also, assurance of our interest in him. Rom. xv. 4. For this reason did Christ speak, and John write divine truths, † which are upon record, that the joy of our Redeemer might be in us; yea, that our joy might be full. An express text you have in 1 John v. 13, "These things have I written unto you, that believe * See this point handled solidly in a Treatise called, "A Believer's Duty towards the Spirit," &c. on Ephes. iv. 30. Read 6th Direct. page 158-183. See Baxt. 32 Directions. † John xv. 11. 1 John i. 4. on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know ye have eternal life." The more you study the Scriptures, the more clearly you may read your names in the book of life; your hearts, if sincere, will echo to the word you read, because the law of God is written in your hearts, therefore read and study this blessed book; these words form a charter of your heavenly inheritance, food for your hungry appetites, glasses in which you may discern the complexion of your souls. 0 Christians, neglect not the Scriptures, look up for a right understanding, and due application of every passage therein, and then comfort yourselves, and one another with these words.-1 Thess. iv. ult. 2. Attend upon a lively ministry; here the terms of the gospel are propounded-the mercies of the covenant are displayed-true believers discovered and characterized; here you may meet with a Barnabas as well as with a Boanerges; yea, it may be, the hand that wounded may heal you. God usually makes the fruit of the lips to be peace,* and many times sends some choice interpreter to declare unto a man his righteousness, and clear up his integrity; † and therefore it is, that God directs all such as walk in darkness to obey the voice of his servants, or rather gives this as their character that they do so; and God gives ministers a charge to comfort his people,|| and lays up such comforts in their breasts to this end, that they may comfort such as are cast down. § O the reviving words, you may hear in the ministry of the word! Here you may have doubts resolved, cases of conscience proposed and answered, also hearts opened and anatomatized; here the Spirit of God is often conveyed which seals up the * Isaiah lvii. 19. || Isaiah xl. 1, 2. + Job xxxiii. 23. Isaiah 1. 10. § 2 Cor. i. 4. |