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willing to enter into covenant with God, cannot be fincere in his confeffion of fin and mourning over it, whatever he may pretend.

For the right managing of this duty of personal covenanting, these three following advices are offered.

1. See that you understand, and rightly take up the covenant, the covenant of grace, together with the way and manner of a finner's perfonal entering into it, and being inftated in it unto falvation; the which are to be learned from the holy fcripture alone, as being revealed in it only. Mistakes and misapprehenfions of these things may be of very bad confe quence in the practice of this duty: for which caufe men ought earneftly to pray, that God would, by his own word and Spirit fhew them his covenant, according to the promise, Pfal. xxv. 14.

According to the fcripture, the covenant, namely, the covenant of grace for life and falvation, is not left unto you to make, in whole nor in part, by propofing and condefcending on terms thereof, as a party-contractor: it is made already, compleately made and concluded in all the articles thereof, whether conditionary or promiffory; and that between GOD the party-contractor on Heaven's fide, and Chrift as Mediator and fecond Adam, the partycontractor on loft man's fide. And it is registered in the facred records, the holy fcripture. And you are invited unto the fellowship of it, Pfal. lxxxix. 3. I have made a covenant with my chofen,David my fervant. 1 Cor. xv. 45. The laft Adam, 1 John i. 3. That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you that ye alfo may have fellowship with us : and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift.

The condition of it is, Chrift's fulfilling all righte cufness in the name of his fpiritual feed, Matth. iii. 15. Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. This righteousness was ftated from the broken cove

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nant of works; and that in three things, namely, perfect holiness of nature, righteousness of life, and fatisfaction for fin all which Chrift did fulfil, in his being born perfectly holy, living perfectly righteous, and making compleat fatisfaction by his death and fufferings. And thus the condition of the covenant, on which is founded the right and claim to the promises of it, is fulfilled already to your hand.

The promise of it, refpecting loft finners, is the promife of eternal life in its full latitude, compre hending all things neceffary to make a finner holy and happy: that God in Chrift will be their God, and they fhall be his people, Tit. i. 2. In hope of eternal life, which God that cannat lye, promifed before the world began. Heb. viii. 10. This is the covenant ; -I will be to them a God, and they fhall be to me a people. And it is begun to be fulfilled to all who have taken hold of the covenant; and is ready to be fulfilled unto all, who yet fhall take hold thereof.

This covenant is the plan laid by infinite wif dom for the falvation of loft finners; upon which they may fafely venture themfelves, for time and eternity, as upon a bottom infallibly fure, Ifa. lv. 3. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, (Heb. I will cut to you an everlasting covenant), even the fure mercies of David, 1 Cor. i. 23, 24. We preach Chrift, -Chrift the power of God, and the wifdom of God. It is heaven's device for repairing the lofs we fuftained by Adam's fall, whereby we become unholy and miferable, lying in ignorance which we could not cure, under guilt and the curfe which we could not remove, and under bondage to fin and Satan which we could not break, ver. 30. But of him are ye in Chrift Jefus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteoufnefs, and fanctification, and redemption. The great defign of it, is to exalt the free grace of God, in the falvation of finners; to fhew therein the exceeding riches of his grace to them, in

Christ.

Christ. It is a plan laid for cutting off all ground of boasting from the creature; to make Chrift all, and the creature nothing in its own falvation, as being indebted to free grace for the whole thereof, Eph. i. 6. To the praise of the glory of his grace. Chap. ii. 7. That he might fhew the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us through Chrift Jefus. Ver. 9. Not of works, left any man should boast. It is much like unto a contract of marriage, devised and drawn by a wealthy and wise physician, of his own proper motion alone, between himfelf and a poor woman, drowned in debt, weak and witless, and withal over run with lothfome fores, rendering her incapable to do any thing, whether for her own relief, or for his fervice; and this upon a defign to have her wholly indebted to him for her relief, the payment of her debt, the management of her perfon, and her recovery for action and business.

This covenant is offered and exhibited to you in the gofpel, as really as that contrect drawn and figned by the phyfician, would be offered and exhibited to the woman, if he fhould come and prefent it to her, for her acceptance: Rom. x. 6. Say not in thine heart, Who fhall afcend into heaven (that is, to bring Chrift down from above): Ver. 7. Or, Who shall defcend into the deep? (that is to bring up Chrift again from the dead.) Ver. 8. But what faith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart : that is the word of faith which we preach. So that the righteoufnefs of Chrift, to wit, the holiness of nature wherewith he was born, and which he retained unfpotted till death, the righteoufnefs of his life, and his fatisfaction made by his fufferings, is in that word freely offered and exhibited to you, as the fulfilled condition of the covenant, being therein revealed unto faith, Rom. i. 17. Gr.; as alfo, the promise of eternal life, as the promife of the covenant to be fulfilled, being therein left you, Heb. iv. 1.

Hence

Hence it appears that the duty of perfonal covenanting is much mistaken and mifmanaged, where the party apprehending that God, in the word, declares himself willing to be his God, upon certain terms to be by him performed, different from accepting God's full and free covenant of promife, does accordingly make a covenant with God, folemnly taking him for his God upon thefe terms: promifing and vowing, that if God will be his God, pardon his fins, be at peace with him, and fave his foul, he will, for his part, be one of his people, and faithfully serve him all the days of his life, watching against all known fin, and performing every known duty. This is juft as if the woman, in the cafe before put, fhould tell him who offers her the contract, that he is content to take him for her husband, upon certain terms; particularly, that if he will be her husband, and do the duty of a husband to her, fhe will, for her part, be a faithful wife to him, all the days of her life, doing all that she is able to do for paying off her debt, managing herself and his household to the best of her skill, and taking all pains on her fores, to make her lovely in his eyes: the which being quite contrary to the design and end of that unusual kind of contract, which is, to have the wife wholly indebted to the husband for all, doth alter the nature of the propofal, and would quite mar the furprising match, which was in a fair way to be carried on.

But likeas in that cafe nothing remains for the woman to do, to intitle her to the benefit of the contract, but believing it to be a real and ferious, not a ludicrous deed, to fign her acceptance; which figning with the hand is neceffary, because her belief of the reality of the offered contract, and trufting to it accordingly, being inward acts of the foul, cannot be known among men, but by a proper external fign: even fo all that remains for you, to in

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state you favingly in God's covenant of grace, offered and exhibited to you in the gospel, is to take hold of it, Ifa. Ivi. 4.

And to the end that, in your aiming to take hold of the covenant, you may not be at a loss, fearing that you may miss any part or parts thereof, lying fcattered through the bleffed Bible; know, that Jefus Chrift, the fecond Adam, head of the covenant, is by his Father given for a covenant to you, Ifa. xlix. 8. So that you have the whole covenant in him; and you take hold of it, by taking hold of him offered and exhibited to you in the free promise of the gospel.

And this is done by faith, or believing on his name, according to John i. 12. As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the fons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Wherefore, by believing on the name of Christ, we take hold on the covenant, and are inftated in it unto falvation. And God hath made believing to be the means of inftating finners perfonally and favingly in the covenant, in confonancy with the great defign and end thereof, declared in the word, and of which before: Rom. iv. 16. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace. Chap. iii. 27. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay; but by the law of faith.

Now, to believe on the name of Christ, is to be lieve or credit the free promife of the gospel with application to yourself, and accordingly to truft on him as the Saviour of the world and your Saviour, in whom God will be your God, and you shall be one of his people, unto your falvation from fin and from wrath: Mark i. 15. Believe the gospel. Gal. iii. 2. The hearing of faith. 1 Theff. i. 5. Our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the holy Ghoft, and in much affurance. 1 Cor. ii. 4. In demonftration of the spirit, and of power:

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